Sunday, 21 February 2010
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Monday, 8 February 2010
Group - Film Treatment
Our film is going to be called 'Polaroid', and the opening sequence will feature two main characters. The main protagonist of the film will be called George Weah, and he will be tormented and tested by the antagonist known only as G.U.S who has kidnapped his girlfriend Jodie Morris. Our opening sequence will also feature a flashback from where the remainder of the film narrative would progress, were we making it.
Opening Sequence
The sequence will open with a blurry screen that comes into focus in a rundown room which looks to be part of an abandoned building. This will be a POV shot from the main character, George. This room will have many polaroid photos on the wall, which will be crossed out in red pen, and will have bloody fingerprints and smears on them. After a few have been shown with close-ups, mixed in with shots showing that George is tied to a chair, there will be a loud bang from a door being slammed. Then the antagonist will be shown to have entered the room, however his face will be obscured throughout this scene. The antagonist will become known to George simply as G.U.S, but the identities of both characters remain unknown throughout the opening sequence. G.U.S will then sit down next to George and begin to fiddle around with something that is also obscured. George begins to panic, before it switches back to POV to show a needle up close, which will squirt liquid. The needle disappears from view, and Geroge becomes more distressed. Still from POV a polaroid camera appears close-up and flashes. The screen goes completely blank/white at which point text appears saying 'One week previous' showing that a flashback has taken place. The sound and visual of an alarm clock will slowly fade in before a hand comes down on the alarm clock to silence it. As the hand retreats from the alarm clock, there is a polaroid photo in it's grasp. The hand it turns out belongs to George and the picture shows a girl smiling. This girl is George's girlfriend and on the back of the photo the is a location and time. Below this text it will be signed G.U.S. The scene will then end.
Ideas for the rest of the film
The basic idea of the rest of the film is that George goes to the location at the time specified and a public telephone rings. The person at the other end of the line will inform George his girlfriend girlfriend is being held hostage by him (This person being G.U.S). G.U.S then sets out tasks for George, with polaroid photos giving further clues to the next task. When completing one task George himself will be captured and will then wake up to find himself in the senario of the opening sequence we will film. After falling unconscious again he will wake up in a high rise building. This final task set by G.U.S is that he shoots the Primeminister, or his girlfriend who is in the opposite apartment building with a rifle. The door to the apartment is rigged meaning George cannot escape. After contemplating it for a while George assasainates the Primeminister, and is subsequently arrested. A further flashfoward would the show Georges girlfriend visiting him in prison six months later. The would film then end.
Opening Sequence
The sequence will open with a blurry screen that comes into focus in a rundown room which looks to be part of an abandoned building. This will be a POV shot from the main character, George. This room will have many polaroid photos on the wall, which will be crossed out in red pen, and will have bloody fingerprints and smears on them. After a few have been shown with close-ups, mixed in with shots showing that George is tied to a chair, there will be a loud bang from a door being slammed. Then the antagonist will be shown to have entered the room, however his face will be obscured throughout this scene. The antagonist will become known to George simply as G.U.S, but the identities of both characters remain unknown throughout the opening sequence. G.U.S will then sit down next to George and begin to fiddle around with something that is also obscured. George begins to panic, before it switches back to POV to show a needle up close, which will squirt liquid. The needle disappears from view, and Geroge becomes more distressed. Still from POV a polaroid camera appears close-up and flashes. The screen goes completely blank/white at which point text appears saying 'One week previous' showing that a flashback has taken place. The sound and visual of an alarm clock will slowly fade in before a hand comes down on the alarm clock to silence it. As the hand retreats from the alarm clock, there is a polaroid photo in it's grasp. The hand it turns out belongs to George and the picture shows a girl smiling. This girl is George's girlfriend and on the back of the photo the is a location and time. Below this text it will be signed G.U.S. The scene will then end.
Ideas for the rest of the film
The basic idea of the rest of the film is that George goes to the location at the time specified and a public telephone rings. The person at the other end of the line will inform George his girlfriend girlfriend is being held hostage by him (This person being G.U.S). G.U.S then sets out tasks for George, with polaroid photos giving further clues to the next task. When completing one task George himself will be captured and will then wake up to find himself in the senario of the opening sequence we will film. After falling unconscious again he will wake up in a high rise building. This final task set by G.U.S is that he shoots the Primeminister, or his girlfriend who is in the opposite apartment building with a rifle. The door to the apartment is rigged meaning George cannot escape. After contemplating it for a while George assasainates the Primeminister, and is subsequently arrested. A further flashfoward would the show Georges girlfriend visiting him in prison six months later. The would film then end.
Thursday, 4 February 2010
JM - Analysing an opening sequence - 'Memento' (Nolan, 2000)
Analysing an opening sequence: Memento (Nolan, 2000)
Genre
1. Thriller
2. The audience's generic expectations of the basic format of any film are not conformed to because there is a time reversal in the opening sequence, rather than the time being real, all action is reversed. However, when looking at the content of this scene there is the usually iconography of a thriller such as blood and a gun, meaning that the content conforms to the audience's generic expectations of the text.
3. This sequence conforms to the characteristics of the genre, by using an atmospheric string/orchestral style of music throughout. The room that the sequence is shot in is very dimly lit, and the room itself is very shabby and derilict. There is also blood on the walls, and a man is dead on the floor.
Film Language
1. The mise-en-scene creates a sense of mystery and aggression in this sequence. Use of props such as the gun create the aggression as it is used to commit a murder in this sequence, and the photograph of the victim after he has been shot creates the sense of mystery. The photo also sets up the role, and may indicate to the audience that photos will become a pivotal point in the meaning of this film.
2. The long extended close up of the photo developing in reverse (going from an image to being blank) creates the feelings of mystery, suspense and confusion that dominate this sequence. Another key shot in this sequence is the solitary empty bullet shell lying on the floor, which allows the audience to realise that the man on the floor has been shot. The final important shot is the close up of the man being shot in the head in reverse, his scream being the only vocal sound made by either character in the sequence, and jolts the audience at the climax of the building tension. The cutting rate throughout is very slow and this techniques allows the audience to soak up the tension of the narrative.
3. The String/Orchestral music used throughout the sequence is just another factor that anchors the feeling of tension ans suspense in the opening sequence of memento. The music is soft and slow, but plays in such a way that it has the tense effect it is intended to create.
4. We learn very little about the characters through dialogue, but we do learn that the man with the gun is very calm, even when commiting a murder through his complete lack of dialogue or emotion.
5. The obvious visual technique used is a time manipulation to make the sequence play out in reverse. By doing this the director adds to the confusion of the scene, which in turn makes the scene tense.
Narrative
1. The narrative is organised in a very strange and confusing manner in the opening sequence of Memento. With the time manipulation that is used the narrative of this scene is in complete reverse. This is a very odd structure and could confuse the audience intially.
2. The audience is positioned in a way that they are a mutual observer in this horrifying and confusing opening. With little dialogue and a reverse narrative it is hard to sympathise with either character. Although one man has commited a horrendous crime, we as the audience know nothing of his reasoning, which is the same for the victim, who may have done something to enrage the man with the gun to the severity to which he is willing to kill.
3. The techniques of the identification in this sequence are that the man with the gun is an agressor and it is the gun and his actions that clearly show this. The man who is shot is thus identified as a victim of the aggressor.
4. The major themes of the narrative are of death and murder. There is a man who has been killed, by another man and now lies dead on the floor. This sets up a theme of murder for the rest of the film.
5. Tension is created and maintained throught the different techniques of sound, mise-en-scene and camera work. Combinations of the String/Orchestral music on the soundtrack, time manipulation, lack of dialogue and iconography such as the use of a gun all create and maintain the tension.
Representaion and Ideology
1. There are only two characters in the opening sequence and they are both white males. The fact that the aggressor is male represents men as an aggressive and violent sex and this representation is created through the use of a gun and the fact that he murders someone.
2. I understand this question, however I cannot any evident beliefs and values, or an ideological discouse in this opening.
3. The denotations of the gun that the aggressor uses to commit the murder are that this man is armed and has a weapon, but this connotes many things also. It connotes that this man is aggressive and violent as well as someone who breaks the law. It also connotes more about this man in the fact that he could be dangerous because of the fact that guns are dangerous when being used.
Media Audiences
1. I believe that the target audience for this film would be the 18-24 age range, cutting out 15-17 year olds due to its cetificate of 18. I also believe that the film is also aimed more towards the male section of this age range due to its high violence content, an area that men are typically more interested or enthused in than women.
2. The probable and possible audience readings of this text are that it this film is an intense psychological thriller, but there will also be a fair degree of violence and action involved.
3. In my personal opinion i enjoyed this film and found that it had many of the conventions of a Thriller film. With the degree of violence in this film I feel more enthralled due to me being male, however this does not mean that females would not enjoy the film. Also as a younger person I am not as put off by the violence as opposed to the more mature audience who may be put off. However once again, this does not mean that everyone in this group would not enjoy the film. Finally, despite the rise in British gun crime, the area I come from there is very little notion of guns. However with more accessability to guns due to American law, the fact I am British does alienate me slightly from the storyline.
Institutuional Context
1. Having been in previous films such as 'Rules of Engagement' (Freidkin, 2000) I feel that Guy Pearce may have been a draw to the film from those who had viewed this film.
2. This film was produced by the 'Newmarket Capital Group' which is a Los Angeles based production company. Being a relatively large studio this film qualifies as an 'industrial' film.
3. Jonathan Nolan designed the film's official website. The website was intended to provide further clues and hints to the story, while not providing any key information or spoilers. After a short intro on the website, the viewer was shown a newspaper clipping detailing 'Leonard's' murder of 'Teddy' (The murder depicted in the opening sequence). Clicking on highlighted words in the article leads to more material describing the film, including Leonard's notes and photographs as well as police reports. The filmmakers employed another tactic by sending out Polaroid pictures to random people, showing a bloody and shirtless Leonard pointing at an unmarked spot on his chest. Since 'Newmarket Capital Group' distributed the film themselves, Christopher Nolan edited the film's trailers himself and sold them to inexpensive American cable-TV channels like 'Bravo' and 'A&E', and websites such as 'Yahoo and MSN'. It was the trailers that were key to the film gaining widespread public notice.
4. There were no real clues, apart from the names of the production companies that were shown prior to the sequence, to as whether or not this was an 'independent' film or and 'industrial' film. All the visual effects used were pretty basic, such as the manipulation of time. The best production value in the opening sequence is the effects used in the murder, such as the gunshot and blood spatters, which give a slight clue to the films 'industrial' production, due to these effects being of a high quality.
Genre
1. Thriller
2. The audience's generic expectations of the basic format of any film are not conformed to because there is a time reversal in the opening sequence, rather than the time being real, all action is reversed. However, when looking at the content of this scene there is the usually iconography of a thriller such as blood and a gun, meaning that the content conforms to the audience's generic expectations of the text.
3. This sequence conforms to the characteristics of the genre, by using an atmospheric string/orchestral style of music throughout. The room that the sequence is shot in is very dimly lit, and the room itself is very shabby and derilict. There is also blood on the walls, and a man is dead on the floor.
Film Language
1. The mise-en-scene creates a sense of mystery and aggression in this sequence. Use of props such as the gun create the aggression as it is used to commit a murder in this sequence, and the photograph of the victim after he has been shot creates the sense of mystery. The photo also sets up the role, and may indicate to the audience that photos will become a pivotal point in the meaning of this film.
2. The long extended close up of the photo developing in reverse (going from an image to being blank) creates the feelings of mystery, suspense and confusion that dominate this sequence. Another key shot in this sequence is the solitary empty bullet shell lying on the floor, which allows the audience to realise that the man on the floor has been shot. The final important shot is the close up of the man being shot in the head in reverse, his scream being the only vocal sound made by either character in the sequence, and jolts the audience at the climax of the building tension. The cutting rate throughout is very slow and this techniques allows the audience to soak up the tension of the narrative.
3. The String/Orchestral music used throughout the sequence is just another factor that anchors the feeling of tension ans suspense in the opening sequence of memento. The music is soft and slow, but plays in such a way that it has the tense effect it is intended to create.
4. We learn very little about the characters through dialogue, but we do learn that the man with the gun is very calm, even when commiting a murder through his complete lack of dialogue or emotion.
5. The obvious visual technique used is a time manipulation to make the sequence play out in reverse. By doing this the director adds to the confusion of the scene, which in turn makes the scene tense.
Narrative
1. The narrative is organised in a very strange and confusing manner in the opening sequence of Memento. With the time manipulation that is used the narrative of this scene is in complete reverse. This is a very odd structure and could confuse the audience intially.
2. The audience is positioned in a way that they are a mutual observer in this horrifying and confusing opening. With little dialogue and a reverse narrative it is hard to sympathise with either character. Although one man has commited a horrendous crime, we as the audience know nothing of his reasoning, which is the same for the victim, who may have done something to enrage the man with the gun to the severity to which he is willing to kill.
3. The techniques of the identification in this sequence are that the man with the gun is an agressor and it is the gun and his actions that clearly show this. The man who is shot is thus identified as a victim of the aggressor.
4. The major themes of the narrative are of death and murder. There is a man who has been killed, by another man and now lies dead on the floor. This sets up a theme of murder for the rest of the film.
5. Tension is created and maintained throught the different techniques of sound, mise-en-scene and camera work. Combinations of the String/Orchestral music on the soundtrack, time manipulation, lack of dialogue and iconography such as the use of a gun all create and maintain the tension.
Representaion and Ideology
1. There are only two characters in the opening sequence and they are both white males. The fact that the aggressor is male represents men as an aggressive and violent sex and this representation is created through the use of a gun and the fact that he murders someone.
2. I understand this question, however I cannot any evident beliefs and values, or an ideological discouse in this opening.
3. The denotations of the gun that the aggressor uses to commit the murder are that this man is armed and has a weapon, but this connotes many things also. It connotes that this man is aggressive and violent as well as someone who breaks the law. It also connotes more about this man in the fact that he could be dangerous because of the fact that guns are dangerous when being used.
Media Audiences
1. I believe that the target audience for this film would be the 18-24 age range, cutting out 15-17 year olds due to its cetificate of 18. I also believe that the film is also aimed more towards the male section of this age range due to its high violence content, an area that men are typically more interested or enthused in than women.
2. The probable and possible audience readings of this text are that it this film is an intense psychological thriller, but there will also be a fair degree of violence and action involved.
3. In my personal opinion i enjoyed this film and found that it had many of the conventions of a Thriller film. With the degree of violence in this film I feel more enthralled due to me being male, however this does not mean that females would not enjoy the film. Also as a younger person I am not as put off by the violence as opposed to the more mature audience who may be put off. However once again, this does not mean that everyone in this group would not enjoy the film. Finally, despite the rise in British gun crime, the area I come from there is very little notion of guns. However with more accessability to guns due to American law, the fact I am British does alienate me slightly from the storyline.
Institutuional Context
1. Having been in previous films such as 'Rules of Engagement' (Freidkin, 2000) I feel that Guy Pearce may have been a draw to the film from those who had viewed this film.
2. This film was produced by the 'Newmarket Capital Group' which is a Los Angeles based production company. Being a relatively large studio this film qualifies as an 'industrial' film.
3. Jonathan Nolan designed the film's official website. The website was intended to provide further clues and hints to the story, while not providing any key information or spoilers. After a short intro on the website, the viewer was shown a newspaper clipping detailing 'Leonard's' murder of 'Teddy' (The murder depicted in the opening sequence). Clicking on highlighted words in the article leads to more material describing the film, including Leonard's notes and photographs as well as police reports. The filmmakers employed another tactic by sending out Polaroid pictures to random people, showing a bloody and shirtless Leonard pointing at an unmarked spot on his chest. Since 'Newmarket Capital Group' distributed the film themselves, Christopher Nolan edited the film's trailers himself and sold them to inexpensive American cable-TV channels like 'Bravo' and 'A&E', and websites such as 'Yahoo and MSN'. It was the trailers that were key to the film gaining widespread public notice.
4. There were no real clues, apart from the names of the production companies that were shown prior to the sequence, to as whether or not this was an 'independent' film or and 'industrial' film. All the visual effects used were pretty basic, such as the manipulation of time. The best production value in the opening sequence is the effects used in the murder, such as the gunshot and blood spatters, which give a slight clue to the films 'industrial' production, due to these effects being of a high quality.
AO- Analysing an opening sequence- Phone Booth (Schumacher, 2003)
Genre
- Phone Booth is a psychological thriller
- There is not much suspense or tension created in the opening sequence of the film. The sequence suggests is that technology plays a big part in the film. Also the fact there are no main characters that are established in the opening sequence suggests that what ever happens in the film affects a lot of people. However these techniques are usually used in crime thrillers, because of the technology used.
- The opening sequence conforms to characteristics of a thriller through the music, which has characteristics of machinery and technology, linking in with the theme of the opening sequence. Also the opening sequence has shots of a policeman, conveying crime and deviation- which link into characteristics of thrillers. However, the singing at the beginning of the sequence would not normally be associated with thrillers, and so has a contrasting effect.
Film Language
- The opening sequence is shot in
- The movement of the camera starts off slow, but then increases, which adds to the intensity of the sequence, the cuts between different groups and individuals are also quick, and quite jumpy, this adds to the uneasiness for the audience, it also creates more mystery surrounding the sequence and the people in it.
- The music in the opening sequence anchors the images by increasing the movement of the camera and the cuts to them as the music increases, so they are simultaneous.
- There is not much dialogue in the opening sequence of the film, which adds to the mystery of the film, and that the audience doesn’t really no what is going on. However, towards the end of the sequence there is a voice-over narration, and he has a deep voice, which we associate with evil and sinister behaviour. He starts to talk about the people of
- The director uses the sequence at the beginning to connote that the film had something to do with technology and science, because of the zoom into the satellite, and then the zoom into earth, which happens to be the inside of a phone- again associating the film with phones and technology.
Narrative
- There isn’t much of a narrative, because no characters are established in the opening sequence of the film and there is hardly any dialogue, the only dialogue is the voice-over, but we have no indication to whom or where he is. The only thing we get from the sequence is that it looks to be situated in
- The audience are positioned with the people in the city, as if they were there watching what people were doing. This is shown through the quick movement of the camera, portraying the busyness of
- There aren’t any examples of identification in the opening sequence of the film, because during the sequence we are never focused on one particular person for a long period of time, so no relations can be made.
- The major themes that are in the narrative are is the idea of technology being at the centre of the narrative, and that most people that are in the opening sequence is on a phone. Another theme that is in the narrative is crime, and images/shots that connote crime and violence, however these are themes that will come about later on in the film.
- There is not much tension created in the opening sequence of the film, however there is some mystery and uncertainty that is created in the opening sequence. This is done through the lack of knowledge and understanding that surrounds the film.
Representation & Ideology
- There are many social groups that are represented in the opening sequence of the film; however the groups are not a focus point of the film, as they are just representing different social groups within
- A common belief that is used throughout the opening sequence is that phones and technology as a whole are used all the time in life, today, and that they now control a big part of our lives.
- The semiotics of the framework represent that people that do bad things are usually punished, and do not get away with carrying out a bad deed.
Media Audiences
- I think the target audience would be predominately men aged from 15-35, because of its high intensity plot and the crime involved.
- The probable reading of the text is that the film is a crime thriller- because of the connotations of weapons that shown. There is also a lot mystery surrounding the film, as there aren’t any characters established at the beginning of the film, and the antagonist is never seen. Another probable reading could be that people always get what’s coming to them, because the main character cheated on his wife, he was targeted for an attack.
- I think that this film is a bit outrageous, and I don’t think that this could happen in reality; however I am hooked by the mystery and suspense of the film. I don’t think that I was influenced much because of my age, gender or background, except that there are consequences for everything in life.
Institutional Context
- The film had bankable stars such as; Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Radha Mitchell, Katie Holmes. They are important because they help to promote the film and bring in an audience.
- The film was produced by 20th Century Fox, an industrial film company.
- The marketing strategy was to package the key attributes in the posters, with bid pictures of Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker and Kiefer Sutherland. The film had a production budget of $11 million, and a prints and advertising budget of $25 million. This suggests that 20th Century Fox invested a lot of money into advertising and getting the film across to audiences.
- Yes, because the film opens in the centre of New York, which they would have had to close off while they shot these first few scenes of the film- this would have cost quite a lot of money.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)