Monday, 2 April 2012
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Monday, 26 March 2012
Task 10: Evaluation
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In our opening film sequence, we feel that some typical thriller conventions were used, but also challenged. An example of typical conventions which we used is we changed the lighting within the film to give it a more eerie atmosphere.
[Insert screenshot]
Another typical convention that we used was using tense, fast paced music for when Tony enters the building. We changed our music which originally was quite slow in tempo, but when we changed it to a fast tempo, it made Tony appear a lot more scary and intimidating, which is how we wanted him to be like in the film.
There were some conventions which we challenged in our film. For example, typically the antagonists in a thriller are a lot older or mature. However in our film, the antagonist Tony is about middle-aged, which is quite surprising because in most thrillers, the antagonist is expected to be about 40-50 years old.
[Insert screenshot]
Another convention which was obeyed in our film was that we used quick cuts in the beginning. Quick shots and cuts build up pace and tension within the film and is used in many thrillers, for example 'Sherlock Holmes'. We used this technique in the very beginning of our film when Tony enters the communication centre. A series of quick, seamless cuts is used and builds up tension as Tony enters the building, showing the audience how intimidating he is.
A convention which we obeyed is how Tony and Donny are in a constant psychological battle. Most thrillers do this because it builds up tension, also it differentiates who out the characters has the weakest mental state. Tony and Donny are constantly trying to get under each other’s skin and are always trying to provoke each other. It builds up tension because, the more they argue, the more aggressive they become.
[Insert screenshot]
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In our film, overall I would say we haven't really challenged typical thriller social groups. One example of this is the antagonist and protagonist is both males. This is typical in a thriller as the main antagonist and protagonist are at a high level in the hierarchy of characters. A woman is really considered a big threat normally, due to the idea that they are seen as ‘the weaker gender’ thus we have not included a woman as an antagonist or protagonist. However, we have included a female character as a secretary, which is typical in the majority of films because, women are minor characters so in most thrillers, they are given minor roles. A secretary is an example of one of these roles.
However in the age category, we have challenged a typical convention. With the character of Donny, his character is a young leader in his late 20s which can be considered unusual in a thriller. In a thriller, a protagonist is usually much older as they are considered more mature, which we were originally going to do. Although, we thought that if we had Donny as a young person, it would suit his personality. We wanted Donny to be a very arrogant person who is very full of himself. Young people tend to be a lot more foolish and big-headed, so if we had a young person playing Donny his arrogant characteristics will look more realistic.
Another aspect which we covered is social class. Typically in a gangsta-crime themed thriller, the antagonist and/or protagonist are very well presented in order to show significance and importance. The two main characters Donny and Tony are big and serious businessman. In our film they are dressed up in smart business suits and both act true leaders. This will enhance their social status, distinguishing them from other characters, making them appear superior, which is what we wanted as the focus is on them and no one else.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Warner Bros Film Company has created many great thriller films since they were founded in 1918. After over a decade of beginning the company, they began to build success of gang themed, thriller films. One of the earliest they made was The Public Enemy in 1931. Since then many thrillers have been created by Warner Bros, including The Departed which won several awards and four Oscars.
Warner Bros films have a good history of creating successful thriller films since their early stages of development. Thus we have come to the conclusion that they would be the best film studio to distribute our film as it is a thriller, which features in their specialised genre. With a big company like Warner Bros, they can put enough funding into the film to give it the features of a typical big budget such as; state of the art special effects and the best advertising they can afford.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Any particular social can watch the films as it is not directed at any social area. There is mixture of classes thrown into the film such as upper class (A or B) people represented by the important business men, and lower and middle class represented by extras (C1, C2, D or E).
Age however is slightly restricted. Due to our film being classified as a 12A, we feel that it is not a good film choice for young children, given the fact that there is some violence in the film. Also, thrillers aren’t considered to be the most popular genre by younger teenagers as the long and sophisticated plots can become boring for them. Therefore we feel our film is targeted mainly for a more mature audience who can follow a longer and more in depth storyline, whilst still enjoying the film.
No particular ethnic group is targeted or related to in the film either. There isn’t a mixture of any social races other than white Caucasians, but there is not any obvious reasons shown for that in our film.
5. How did you attract/address your audiences?
Our film name was quite important in making our film interesting to audiences. ‘The Deception’ is a very unusual name to call a thriller, but we feel it shows a strong sense betrayal and deceitfulness, which is what our plot is mainly about, two men engaging in conflict over an act of disloyalty. This also drip feeds information to the audience about the plot and theme in our film. This is a key portion into the advertising of the film, because it gives the audience a hint to what the film is about, and then they can decide whether or not they would be interested in going to the cinema to see the film.
Also the type of characters in the film can attract an audience as well. Tony and Donny are two very important, big business men (A/B class) who are linked with people in crime. When they clash, it is as if two big corporate giants are fighting for money and respect, and are willing to become violent in the process.
Different marketing strategies would be involved the process of advertising. One of these would be traditional marketing. This would be any type of advertising that does not involve the internet. An example of this is public posters. These are one of the most common forms traditional marketing used in the present day. Public posters make lots of people aware of the film by implanting images into their minds, just by quick glances at bus posters, bill boards etc.
The other form of marketing is viral. This is marketing by the use of the internet. This can be in the form of leaked screenshots, online trailers etc. This method is the most effective way of advertising currently as most young people are now using the internet. If we were to advertise our film by the internet, I think the best way to do this is by creating a website which slowly drip feeds information to the public, it would create great anticipation for the film, thus a bigger audience would want to go and see the film.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
When we began the preliminary task during the early stages of our course, we learnt useful techniques when filming. One useful technique we learnt about is the 180 degree rule, where the camera cannot go past a certain point when characters engage in conversation; otherwise it can be confusing for the audience. We did notice during the production of our film we did break this rule, but after we detected our mistake we corrected it immediately and there was a noticeable improvement.
We also learnt different techniques we do with the camera. We learnt of variety of camera angles which we used in the film. We understood which angle was best to use for a particular part in the film for example, when we wanted to show Tony’s superiority, we used a low angle shot to make Tony look like a larger, and more dominant character.
On the iMac computers, the film editing software we used was Adobe Premier. There were a lot of different effects we used to edit our film. An example of this is changing the lighting in shots. With this we created a dark and eerie atmosphere in the film to create tension and an uncomforting feeling within the audience. It was very good thing for us to learn because, by changing the filters and lighting, we were able to change the atmosphere in the film through a very creative process.
Another technique we learnt on the iMac’s is the use of dissolves. We learnt that dissolves were a good method on showing a passage of time. A part in which we used dissolves in the film is changing to the scene in Tamworth. We thought it was very effective and did the job we intended it to do.
I developed various I.T techniques through the creating of the blog. As we made new posts in the blog, I learnt some I.T skills through this process. One of which we used was embedding a video. When we made our preliminary task, it was put on youtube.com by our teacher. From then on, I was able to embed our video with a youtube.com link into the blog. This enabled whoever was reading the blog, would be able to watch the video on the blog without looking for it on youtube.com. I then did this again in my thriller analysis of ‘Red Dragon’. I embedded a video on youtube.com of the trailer for ‘Red Dragon’.
Also by the blog I was able to insert images which were found by a browser. This technique was the most useful to me as there were a lot of images inserted into my blog. I think this became very useful in most of my posts, such as the report film certification. This was because if no one had heard of the film classes, they would instantly recognise the logo of the certificate as they always displayed during the showing of a film.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From working in my group, I have learnt a few skills to cooperating with a filming group. One of them is the quality of acting. When we did our film, we thought doing one take would not be enough. For this we would try to do at least three different good shots of a sequence, then this would give options in the editing.
Also I found it very useful working in a group for the filming. If it were just one person operating each role, the film may not have too much variety and creativity. Instead we all gave in our opinion and decided which was the best for each what we were deciding. For example, we were able to use wide range of camera angles and shots when we all fed in different ideas.
When using the camera we learnt a lot of news techniques. One of these which we liked diong in the prelimniary task was the shot reverse shot. This was probably our camera shot that we used in the preliminary task, which we again used quite a lot of in the main project. We loved minxing and incorporating a varietyof camera shots and angles inton the film as it made the film better, and it also helped us develop a good level of creativity.
A peice if software which used as well was GarageBand. This was where we created our own composed music and applied it to a Charlie Chaplin sketch. Although we didn't compose our music in our project, it was still helpful and practical to learn these skills in case we would need them for any new projects in A2.
In conclusion, I believe the preliminary task has been very useful in terms of developing my film making skills. I learnt a good quality and variety of camera techniques, editing skills and much more. These were especially useful as we needed them for our main project. Without the basic skills and techniques which we learnt, we may not have made a good peice of work.
In our opening film sequence, we feel that some typical thriller conventions were used, but also challenged. An example of typical conventions which we used is we changed the lighting within the film to give it a more eerie atmosphere.
[Insert screenshot]
Another typical convention that we used was using tense, fast paced music for when Tony enters the building. We changed our music which originally was quite slow in tempo, but when we changed it to a fast tempo, it made Tony appear a lot more scary and intimidating, which is how we wanted him to be like in the film.
There were some conventions which we challenged in our film. For example, typically the antagonists in a thriller are a lot older or mature. However in our film, the antagonist Tony is about middle-aged, which is quite surprising because in most thrillers, the antagonist is expected to be about 40-50 years old.
[Insert screenshot]
Another convention which was obeyed in our film was that we used quick cuts in the beginning. Quick shots and cuts build up pace and tension within the film and is used in many thrillers, for example 'Sherlock Holmes'. We used this technique in the very beginning of our film when Tony enters the communication centre. A series of quick, seamless cuts is used and builds up tension as Tony enters the building, showing the audience how intimidating he is.
A convention which we obeyed is how Tony and Donny are in a constant psychological battle. Most thrillers do this because it builds up tension, also it differentiates who out the characters has the weakest mental state. Tony and Donny are constantly trying to get under each other’s skin and are always trying to provoke each other. It builds up tension because, the more they argue, the more aggressive they become.
[Insert screenshot]
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In our film, overall I would say we haven't really challenged typical thriller social groups. One example of this is the antagonist and protagonist is both males. This is typical in a thriller as the main antagonist and protagonist are at a high level in the hierarchy of characters. A woman is really considered a big threat normally, due to the idea that they are seen as ‘the weaker gender’ thus we have not included a woman as an antagonist or protagonist. However, we have included a female character as a secretary, which is typical in the majority of films because, women are minor characters so in most thrillers, they are given minor roles. A secretary is an example of one of these roles.
However in the age category, we have challenged a typical convention. With the character of Donny, his character is a young leader in his late 20s which can be considered unusual in a thriller. In a thriller, a protagonist is usually much older as they are considered more mature, which we were originally going to do. Although, we thought that if we had Donny as a young person, it would suit his personality. We wanted Donny to be a very arrogant person who is very full of himself. Young people tend to be a lot more foolish and big-headed, so if we had a young person playing Donny his arrogant characteristics will look more realistic.
Another aspect which we covered is social class. Typically in a gangsta-crime themed thriller, the antagonist and/or protagonist are very well presented in order to show significance and importance. The two main characters Donny and Tony are big and serious businessman. In our film they are dressed up in smart business suits and both act true leaders. This will enhance their social status, distinguishing them from other characters, making them appear superior, which is what we wanted as the focus is on them and no one else.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Warner Bros Film Company has created many great thriller films since they were founded in 1918. After over a decade of beginning the company, they began to build success of gang themed, thriller films. One of the earliest they made was The Public Enemy in 1931. Since then many thrillers have been created by Warner Bros, including The Departed which won several awards and four Oscars.
Warner Bros films have a good history of creating successful thriller films since their early stages of development. Thus we have come to the conclusion that they would be the best film studio to distribute our film as it is a thriller, which features in their specialised genre. With a big company like Warner Bros, they can put enough funding into the film to give it the features of a typical big budget such as; state of the art special effects and the best advertising they can afford.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Any particular social can watch the films as it is not directed at any social area. There is mixture of classes thrown into the film such as upper class (A or B) people represented by the important business men, and lower and middle class represented by extras (C1, C2, D or E).
Age however is slightly restricted. Due to our film being classified as a 12A, we feel that it is not a good film choice for young children, given the fact that there is some violence in the film. Also, thrillers aren’t considered to be the most popular genre by younger teenagers as the long and sophisticated plots can become boring for them. Therefore we feel our film is targeted mainly for a more mature audience who can follow a longer and more in depth storyline, whilst still enjoying the film.
No particular ethnic group is targeted or related to in the film either. There isn’t a mixture of any social races other than white Caucasians, but there is not any obvious reasons shown for that in our film.
5. How did you attract/address your audiences?
Our film name was quite important in making our film interesting to audiences. ‘The Deception’ is a very unusual name to call a thriller, but we feel it shows a strong sense betrayal and deceitfulness, which is what our plot is mainly about, two men engaging in conflict over an act of disloyalty. This also drip feeds information to the audience about the plot and theme in our film. This is a key portion into the advertising of the film, because it gives the audience a hint to what the film is about, and then they can decide whether or not they would be interested in going to the cinema to see the film.
Also the type of characters in the film can attract an audience as well. Tony and Donny are two very important, big business men (A/B class) who are linked with people in crime. When they clash, it is as if two big corporate giants are fighting for money and respect, and are willing to become violent in the process.
Different marketing strategies would be involved the process of advertising. One of these would be traditional marketing. This would be any type of advertising that does not involve the internet. An example of this is public posters. These are one of the most common forms traditional marketing used in the present day. Public posters make lots of people aware of the film by implanting images into their minds, just by quick glances at bus posters, bill boards etc.
The other form of marketing is viral. This is marketing by the use of the internet. This can be in the form of leaked screenshots, online trailers etc. This method is the most effective way of advertising currently as most young people are now using the internet. If we were to advertise our film by the internet, I think the best way to do this is by creating a website which slowly drip feeds information to the public, it would create great anticipation for the film, thus a bigger audience would want to go and see the film.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
When we began the preliminary task during the early stages of our course, we learnt useful techniques when filming. One useful technique we learnt about is the 180 degree rule, where the camera cannot go past a certain point when characters engage in conversation; otherwise it can be confusing for the audience. We did notice during the production of our film we did break this rule, but after we detected our mistake we corrected it immediately and there was a noticeable improvement.
We also learnt different techniques we do with the camera. We learnt of variety of camera angles which we used in the film. We understood which angle was best to use for a particular part in the film for example, when we wanted to show Tony’s superiority, we used a low angle shot to make Tony look like a larger, and more dominant character.
On the iMac computers, the film editing software we used was Adobe Premier. There were a lot of different effects we used to edit our film. An example of this is changing the lighting in shots. With this we created a dark and eerie atmosphere in the film to create tension and an uncomforting feeling within the audience. It was very good thing for us to learn because, by changing the filters and lighting, we were able to change the atmosphere in the film through a very creative process.
Another technique we learnt on the iMac’s is the use of dissolves. We learnt that dissolves were a good method on showing a passage of time. A part in which we used dissolves in the film is changing to the scene in Tamworth. We thought it was very effective and did the job we intended it to do.
I developed various I.T techniques through the creating of the blog. As we made new posts in the blog, I learnt some I.T skills through this process. One of which we used was embedding a video. When we made our preliminary task, it was put on youtube.com by our teacher. From then on, I was able to embed our video with a youtube.com link into the blog. This enabled whoever was reading the blog, would be able to watch the video on the blog without looking for it on youtube.com. I then did this again in my thriller analysis of ‘Red Dragon’. I embedded a video on youtube.com of the trailer for ‘Red Dragon’.
Also by the blog I was able to insert images which were found by a browser. This technique was the most useful to me as there were a lot of images inserted into my blog. I think this became very useful in most of my posts, such as the report film certification. This was because if no one had heard of the film classes, they would instantly recognise the logo of the certificate as they always displayed during the showing of a film.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From working in my group, I have learnt a few skills to cooperating with a filming group. One of them is the quality of acting. When we did our film, we thought doing one take would not be enough. For this we would try to do at least three different good shots of a sequence, then this would give options in the editing.
Also I found it very useful working in a group for the filming. If it were just one person operating each role, the film may not have too much variety and creativity. Instead we all gave in our opinion and decided which was the best for each what we were deciding. For example, we were able to use wide range of camera angles and shots when we all fed in different ideas.
When using the camera we learnt a lot of news techniques. One of these which we liked diong in the prelimniary task was the shot reverse shot. This was probably our camera shot that we used in the preliminary task, which we again used quite a lot of in the main project. We loved minxing and incorporating a varietyof camera shots and angles inton the film as it made the film better, and it also helped us develop a good level of creativity.
A peice if software which used as well was GarageBand. This was where we created our own composed music and applied it to a Charlie Chaplin sketch. Although we didn't compose our music in our project, it was still helpful and practical to learn these skills in case we would need them for any new projects in A2.
In conclusion, I believe the preliminary task has been very useful in terms of developing my film making skills. I learnt a good quality and variety of camera techniques, editing skills and much more. These were especially useful as we needed them for our main project. Without the basic skills and techniques which we learnt, we may not have made a good peice of work.
Monday, 19 March 2012
Target audience age certification
For our film we have classed it a certificate 12A. We feel that is suitable becuse, there are few discrete references linking to illegal dealing and violence, but does not actually show any footage of this. For example, one of our scenes features the main protagonists engaged in some violence, however no violent actions are actually being shown. This means it is not too violent or explicit to be clssed as 15 or 18 but, there are still some references which may be unsuitable for children under the age of 8.
The BBFC (British board of film certification) is the official council which gives all films an age certification, classing into for suitable categories.
The first classification is U. This means that the film is suitable for ages above 4, without being accompanied by an adult. This age certification is most common computer animations, and family films. 'Finding Nemo' and 'The Santa Claus' are examples of U classifications as
not explicit messages are shown or hindered.
.
Another film certificaton is PG (parental guidance). This basically means that the majority of the film is suitable for most ages, however they may be a few scenes unsuitable for young children. For this, children under the age of 8 must be accompanied by an adult in order to watch these films.
12A is another film certificate, which besically mean persons under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. Adults who are accompanying the uderage children must be a minimum age of 18. Films under this category can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, moderate swear words, infrequent strong language and moderate violence/sex references.
The next certificate is 12. This is similar to 12A, however children under 12 cannot watch these films even if accompanied by an adult. The factors which differentiate this classification from 12A is that there may be some extra material which is inappropriate for children under 12. Genres such as action can be sometimes put under this category, as long as the images shown aren't extreme.
15 is the next category. This means people younger than the age of 15 cannot see these films. These films can contain; adult themes, hard drugs, strong language, sexual references, and undetailed sex activity. Alot of thrillers are put under this catergory as there are alot of thriller plots relating to gun violence, hard drug useage, and strong language.
18 is another film classification. Nobody under the age of 18 can view these films. Most explicit restrictions are not limited in these films, excluding sexual images where are some limitations. Horrors are commonly put under this category as there are scenes which show strong aggressions, and gory scenes.
The final BBFC certificate is R18 (restricted 18). This means films under this age certificate cannot be shown at any cinema and only in adult +18 stores. This because explicit and unrestricted pornographic scenes can be seen. Adult films are always classed under this category.
Our media film is a thriller, but we have concluded that it should be classed as a 12A. We do have one scene which does show violence, however we edited it out as it was not needed. There are hinderences to gang violence in the film, however no clips which actually display this, so therefore we do not feel it should be in any other age certificate other than 12A.
The BBFC (British board of film certification) is the official council which gives all films an age certification, classing into for suitable categories.
The first classification is U. This means that the film is suitable for ages above 4, without being accompanied by an adult. This age certification is most common computer animations, and family films. 'Finding Nemo' and 'The Santa Claus' are examples of U classifications as
not explicit messages are shown or hindered.
.
Another film certificaton is PG (parental guidance). This basically means that the majority of the film is suitable for most ages, however they may be a few scenes unsuitable for young children. For this, children under the age of 8 must be accompanied by an adult in order to watch these films.
12A is another film certificate, which besically mean persons under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. Adults who are accompanying the uderage children must be a minimum age of 18. Films under this category can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, moderate swear words, infrequent strong language and moderate violence/sex references.
The next certificate is 12. This is similar to 12A, however children under 12 cannot watch these films even if accompanied by an adult. The factors which differentiate this classification from 12A is that there may be some extra material which is inappropriate for children under 12. Genres such as action can be sometimes put under this category, as long as the images shown aren't extreme.
15 is the next category. This means people younger than the age of 15 cannot see these films. These films can contain; adult themes, hard drugs, strong language, sexual references, and undetailed sex activity. Alot of thrillers are put under this catergory as there are alot of thriller plots relating to gun violence, hard drug useage, and strong language.
18 is another film classification. Nobody under the age of 18 can view these films. Most explicit restrictions are not limited in these films, excluding sexual images where are some limitations. Horrors are commonly put under this category as there are scenes which show strong aggressions, and gory scenes.
The final BBFC certificate is R18 (restricted 18). This means films under this age certificate cannot be shown at any cinema and only in adult +18 stores. This because explicit and unrestricted pornographic scenes can be seen. Adult films are always classed under this category.
Our media film is a thriller, but we have concluded that it should be classed as a 12A. We do have one scene which does show violence, however we edited it out as it was not needed. There are hinderences to gang violence in the film, however no clips which actually display this, so therefore we do not feel it should be in any other age certificate other than 12A.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Task 8 - Casting
Characters and Actors
Donny McCann (main protagonist) - Charlie Sloan
Charlie Sloan has been chosen to play the character of 'Donny' as we feel he is best at playing the part. Charlie looks and can perform very arrogantly and has a very sly or cunning appearance. This is important because, Donny must be a very cocky character, as one of his important features is getting under Tony's skin.
'Big' Tony (main antagonist) - Alex Cottis
We have chosen Alex Cottis to play Tony as we feel that he looks exactly like we intended Tony to look. Alex has a very deep and serious voice. He also a tall and big brute, which we feel is typical for a gang leader.
Vinny (henchman #1) - Joe Lombardi
Phil (henchman #2) - Dan Getliff
Joe and Dan have been chosen only on apparance. We wanted our henchman to be bigger than Donny, but not as big as Tony.
Receptionist - School Receptionist
Typical middle-aged females are usually seen in most movies as a receptionist or secretary. The shool receptionist fits this image perfectly, and so we have allocated this role with her.
Donny McCann (main protagonist) - Charlie Sloan
Charlie Sloan has been chosen to play the character of 'Donny' as we feel he is best at playing the part. Charlie looks and can perform very arrogantly and has a very sly or cunning appearance. This is important because, Donny must be a very cocky character, as one of his important features is getting under Tony's skin.
'Big' Tony (main antagonist) - Alex Cottis
We have chosen Alex Cottis to play Tony as we feel that he looks exactly like we intended Tony to look. Alex has a very deep and serious voice. He also a tall and big brute, which we feel is typical for a gang leader.
Vinny (henchman #1) - Joe Lombardi
Phil (henchman #2) - Dan Getliff
Joe and Dan have been chosen only on apparance. We wanted our henchman to be bigger than Donny, but not as big as Tony.
Receptionist - School Receptionist
Typical middle-aged females are usually seen in most movies as a receptionist or secretary. The shool receptionist fits this image perfectly, and so we have allocated this role with her.
Task 7 - Role Allocation
Role Allocation
Director - Alexander Williams
Assistant Director - Alex Barton
Camera Operator - Alexander Williams
Assistant Camera Operator - Alex Barton
Screenwriters - Alex Barton/Alex Cottis
Casting Director - Alex Barton/Alex Cottis/Alexander Williams
Location Manager - Alex Barton
Props Master - Alex Cottis
Costume Designer - Alex Cottis
Film Editors - Alex Barton/Alex Cottis/Alexander Williams
Task 5 - The Script
Scene one:
(Tony walks through the Landau Forte Communications Centre doors and up to reception)
Office Women: Hello Sir, how can I help you?
Tony: I’m here to see Mr McCann.
Office Women: Any Particular reason?
Tony: Business.
Office Women: Ok Sir, just take the lift to top floor where one of his assistants will take you to his room.
(Tony enters the lift and then a dissolve shows passage of time. He knocks on Tony door)
Donny: Tony, nice to see you. So, did you take care of… matters, the other day?
Tony: Of course I did, when have I ever let you down?
Donny: Glad to hear it. I just suppose, well, I suppose I didn’t expect you to go through with it...
Tony: Why?
Donny: Come on Tony, let’s face it. Your reputations not what it used to be. (shrugs shoulders)
Tony: (pause) You trying to be funny? (aggressive)
Donny: Look I’m a busy man, business to attend to. You know how it is.
Tony: (raises voice) You’re standin’ on thin ice Don, and you know what I do to people who mess me about.
Donny: (laughs) Look, I haven’t got a problem with you, but If you have a problem with me then you know where the door is.
Tony: You’ll regret this Don. (Tony walks out and slams the door shut)
Donny: (laughter as Tony walks out)
Scene Two:
Location: Tamworth outside ‘Home Bargains’ by alleyway. Donny walks into phone box and makes call to Big Tony.
Donny: (sarcastically) Tony, long time no speak. Look mate, after our little spat the other day I think it’s about time you realised that I call the shots around here.
(Tony replies on phone but we do not see him)
Tony: Listen Donny, when you gonna realise that times are changing. Im the big boy around here now, and I want my money.
Donny: Don’t be so pathetic, we all know you’re a coward deep down. And you want your money? Come get it, cus I aint giving you a penny.
Tony: Donny, Donny, Donny. Be careful what you wish for. After all, I’m never too far behind.
(Donny slams phone down and walks out of the telephone box. Donny walks up the alley about to smoke a cigarette, but then he sees some of Tony’s henchmen with their arms folded blocking the route. Donny turns around to see Tony glaring angrily in his face.)
Tony: BOO.
Donny: Tony, how convenient, I was only just speaking to you on the phone. (laughs nervously)
Tony: (laughs sarcastically then pulls a very intimidating face instantly. A metal bar slides down his arm and comes out by his wrist). So, Money?
Donny: Look ‘ere Ton, I was only joking with you, bit of harmless banter you know? Surely we can come to some sort of… arrangement?
Tony: If there’s one thing I don’t like its people who can’t keep their promises. And you’re one of them. Phil, Vinnie, you know what to do.
(Metal bars slide down Phil and Vinnie’s arms and they walk menacingly towards Donny).
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Task 4: The Pitch
Film Plot Ideas:
As a result of our survey, we decided that the Genre we wanted to exploit was Thriller. We then came up with 4 ideas for our plot, and after analysing our ideas with the positives and negatives we came up with one solid idea.
Idea One: The film would be set in a countryside mansion in a secluded area. The antagonist would be female to break the stereotype of male antagonists. The woman stalks the mansion leaving traces of her tracks behind. The protagonist finally finds the woman, who turns out to be mentally unstable.
Idea Two: The film would be set in Hopwas Woods, where the trees overhang to keep a dark secret. There is a legend that whoever walks in to the forest, comes out a different person, and it’s a change for the worst.
Idea Three: This film is set at a Theme Park, where a group of tourists from abroad have come to enjoy the thrilling experience the rides bring. But, someone isn’t too keen, and the tourists are in for a rollercoaster ride that is worse than any theme park ride and one that ends in devastating fashion.
Idea Four: In an alleyway in the heart of Tamworth, someone’s authority is about to be stamped. A cocky individual has met his match in a gang leader, who is sick and tired of being bossed around, so its about time he did something about it.
Our mind map of ideas and film titles
Characters and profiles
Name: Donny McCann
Gener: Male
Age: 28
Occupation: Business/Inside man
Characteristics: Cocky, manipulitive, arrogant.
Appearance/ Costume: Suit and tie, tall, professional clothing.
Characteristics: Cocky, manipulitive, arrogant.
Appearance/ Costume: Suit and tie, tall, professional clothing.
Role: Main protagonist
Name: 'Big' Tony
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Occuption: Gang leader/ Hitman
Main Characteristics: Aggressive, easily aggiated/ provoke, professional.
Physical Characteristics: Tall and chuncky, suit and tie. Outdoor scenes; jeans and trench coat.
Role: Main antagonist
Monday, 30 January 2012
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Task 3 - Audience Research
In the lead up to the producing and filming of our media studies film, we have created a questionaire which will be answered by anonomous people to help feed our group ideas of what we could use in our short film. The questionaires were then done and tallied, to give different opinions and ideas to include in the opening of the thriller film.
Below is a table of data regarding thriller, horror and romance films.
1. 70% suggested a serial killer as the best antagonist.
2. 80% suggested that most thrillers are given a 15 certificate.
3. 80% said the editing should be quick and seamless.
4. 90% suggested that incidental should be used in the opening rater than ambient.
5. 80% said the opening of a thriller should be fast paced.
6. 80% said they prefered a murder mystery theme over a gang crime theme.
7. 50% suggested that a thriller should be set in a city.
8. 50% was suggested for both the choice of a male or female protagonist.
9. 70% said that a thriller should be set in a present day time period.
10. 90% said that they like a twist in a thriller film.
With all of the votes tallied, we have a clear vision of how we will create our opening of a thriller film.
We are still in debates of what type of antagonist we are going to have, between a gang leader and a serial killer. We will probably come to a final decision, before we begin the development storyboard. However, in our recent planning, we are leading into the conclusion of choosing a gang leader as our main antagonist, but we may give him some of the properties that a serial killer has, such as some mysterious chaarateristics.
With most people suggesting that a typical thriller has a 15 age certificate, we may include some key characteristics which give a thriller a 15 age certificate such as; violence, guns, greusome images etc. Although, we may have to keep it relatively age appropriate for younger people as some of the above suggestions might be inappropriate to put into our final project.
With relation to the question about editing, we should make the transitions of scenes quick to build up tension within the scenes. This will also create high excitement within the audience. Typical thriller beginnings go straight into the action, so the fast editing will be something similar to this.
Question 4 said that most people would prefer to hear incidental music rather than ambient sounds. This works well for what have intended to do in our film, as we are going to start with a chase scene, so incental music works better than ambient sounds as it can create more tension within the scene.
Most people we surveyed said that our opening should be fast paced. This tells us that we should immediately start the film with an event which makes the audience excited, but also puts them on edge. Maybe something like a chase scene could do this.
Most people said they prefered a murder mystery theme over gang crime. Again we are still in debates with this topic, as this question is linked to the first question of the antagonist we are going to have, so both questions will determine the outcome of what theme and antagonist we will have. Again we will come to a final decision before creating storyboard.
A lot of people also said they wanted to see the thriller set in a city or urban environment, which is ideal to what we have pictured our project to be. However, one result said it should be set in a rural area. This may be a good location aswell, as crime is unexpected in the countryside.
The survey gave equal results on the gender for our protagonist, so we are still discussing the gender of the protagonist, but it is likely that we will choose a male character over a female character. This is because a strong male is typical, but if we did choose a female protagonist, it can be surprising for the audience.
The time period people wanted was a present day period, which is what we originally planned for our film, so we will stick with that as our time period.
The majority of people said that we should include a twist. We may do this however, a twist is better usually at the end of a film, so it may not be included as it won't give such a surprising effect.
UK Film Council Statistics
We need to find out some key statistics for horrors, thrillers and romantic comedies, before making our production. The UK film box office helps as it allows people to pin point key parts of information.
From this table you can tell that overall, horror produce the most films making 31 which was 5.6% of all releases. For the horror genre the top performing title was Paranormal Activity 2 .The second most made genre out of the three was thriller making 20 films which was 3.6%. Last was romance making 19 films which was 3.4%. Out of all genres there was 557 releases.
The highest gross at the box office in millions was the romance genre making 58.4. Second was the horror genre making 54.1. Last by a long way opposed to the other two genres was thriller, which made 19.3. There was a total of 1,023.6 million made over all genres.
For each genre, each films has a top performing title. The top preforming title for thriller was Shutter Island. For the horror genre, the top performing title was Paranormal Activity 2. Finally the top performing title for the romance genre was The Twightlight Saga: Eclipse.
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