Journey: Evolution of an IDEA DRFT
Learning basics
This was the first step I took in Media, as before I even knew what a film opening was I needed to learn basic terms and conventions. So this was some of my starting points about learning the basicsML Basic media language – shot types, angles
-E.C.U
An Extreme close up shot, if on a person, often has the bottom of the nose and top of the forehead in central frame, anymore becomes a close up shot. An e.c.u connotes to an emotion and helps anchor the preferred reading.
An example is in X men, helping to show the hate magneto has towards wolverine
-C.U
A close up shot, usually doesn't go below the shoulder, and doesn't go above the hair. Close up shots are used to show a facial expression, helping reveal a protagonist. Close ups are often paired with a shallow field of focus as to connote that the focus and importance is on the closer character.
-M.C.U
A medium close up, reveals more of the background as the frame goes slightly above the characters head and goes slight lower then the shoulders. It helps show a characters focus, location and gives some mes en scene as you can see hair and clothes in context.
In this shot we can see a woman in a forrest. We can connote, from the denotation of the light colours, earrings, lipstick and hair style, that the woman is most likely upper class
-M.S
Medium shots are often used to reveal a protagonist or an antagonist, with the frame slightly above the characters head, but slightly higher then the waist.
In pulp fiction, these two characters are the protagonists and very much alike. However if you weren't aware of this its very easy to tell based off of their outfits, guns and facial expressions
-M.L.S
-L.S
-2 Shot
-Group Shot/ 3 Shot
-High Angle
-Low Angle
-Worms Eye
-Birds eye
-OTS
-Dutch Angle
-Match on Action shot
SOURCES1 Playlist of films I’ve researched
➭Airplane - As my favourite film, I thought it would be a good area to start as far as research into films. It was a top of the charts film at its time, and uses a series of media techniques
➭Star wars - As a franchise that has spanned for decades, it would make sense that the techniques in the film provide as a good area of research based off of the popularity of the movies
➭Ferris buellers day off- After watching feris's day off it is obvious for people that don't know media terminology, that there are several different cuts to different shots
➭Indiana Jones, raiders of the lost ark- Another classic film, but instead based off of mystery and adventure, I thought its would be interesting to explore further into what makes this such a big hit
➭Terminator - Adding to the classics but another sci-fi, I would like to go further into why a sci-fi film such as star wars blows up, but films like the terminator don't get close to the same level of fame
➭Wayne's world- Another classic but not like any others on the list yet, it takes a much more comedic look at two small town radio producers, and what happens when they go big. It appears that it plays on people's wanting for success all while staying comedic for a good laugh
➭Alien- Top horror film of its time, an alien species of the future terrorises the crew of a space ship, using fast cuts and close up shots to portray the fear of the characters, and putting the audience through the same amount of terror
➭Predator- Predator takes a look at what it would be like if humans were hunted like they hunt animals, adding another species to the top of the food chain. The movie uses a lot of ELSs to show how small the group of humans are in the wilderness ( symbolises how small they can be on the food chain)
➭titanic - A classic love story, and although I never enjoyed this movie myself, many did so I thought it was important to look into how shot types can be used to show a relationship in a movie ( shots like 2 person shots and others)
➭avatar- One of the highest earning movies on the planet, but not one of the most liked. It made me question how effective can marketing be in selling your movie to an audience and what role in plays in the media industry, I am excited to go further into it
➭Them- A not so known classic of its time, Them is a movie that is chessy yet somewhat terrifying as massive ants try to take over the planet. While yes it is a chessy movie which always adds to the comedic side of things, the variety of shot types used in the film made it one of the biggest horrors of its time
➭Birdemic - A terrible film, Bad CGI, acting, cuts, advertisement, and much more. It will be interesting to compare this to the better films in the list
➭Airplane - As my favourite film, I thought it would be a good area to start as far as research into films. It was a top of the charts film at its time, and uses a series of media techniques
➭Star wars - As a franchise that has spanned for decades, it would make sense that the techniques in the film provide as a good area of research based off of the popularity of the movies
➭Ferris buellers day off- After watching feris's day off it is obvious for people that don't know media terminology, that there are several different cuts to different shots
➭Indiana Jones, raiders of the lost ark- Another classic film, but instead based off of mystery and adventure, I thought its would be interesting to explore further into what makes this such a big hit
➭Terminator - Adding to the classics but another sci-fi, I would like to go further into why a sci-fi film such as star wars blows up, but films like the terminator don't get close to the same level of fame
➭Wayne's world- Another classic but not like any others on the list yet, it takes a much more comedic look at two small town radio producers, and what happens when they go big. It appears that it plays on people's wanting for success all while staying comedic for a good laugh
➭Alien- Top horror film of its time, an alien species of the future terrorises the crew of a space ship, using fast cuts and close up shots to portray the fear of the characters, and putting the audience through the same amount of terror
➭Predator- Predator takes a look at what it would be like if humans were hunted like they hunt animals, adding another species to the top of the food chain. The movie uses a lot of ELSs to show how small the group of humans are in the wilderness ( symbolises how small they can be on the food chain)
➭titanic - A classic love story, and although I never enjoyed this movie myself, many did so I thought it was important to look into how shot types can be used to show a relationship in a movie ( shots like 2 person shots and others)
➭avatar- One of the highest earning movies on the planet, but not one of the most liked. It made me question how effective can marketing be in selling your movie to an audience and what role in plays in the media industry, I am excited to go further into it
➭Them- A not so known classic of its time, Them is a movie that is chessy yet somewhat terrifying as massive ants try to take over the planet. While yes it is a chessy movie which always adds to the comedic side of things, the variety of shot types used in the film made it one of the biggest horrors of its time
➭Birdemic - A terrible film, Bad CGI, acting, cuts, advertisement, and much more. It will be interesting to compare this to the better films in the list
Semiotics rap
Connotations and connote
Like a sailing boat
Now your thinking of a captain
With a big hat that’s 10/10
That’s symbolic like a three shot
It connotes scenarios, like a lot
An example is a love triangle
Or if it was horror there’d be a Dutch angle
The next word is denote
That’s the textual detail in a goat
Well that’s an example but what you should project
Is To describe the detail of an object
It’s not about symbolism, unlike a baptism
It’s about what happens not what you think about them
It’s a bit like this rap
You shouldn’t think about it you should just clap
Now we come to narrative enigma
Could show the presence of ligma
Okay now all jokes aside
It’s how the director makes a hidden side
This could be like a high angle
To show a character is week and might get strangled
It’s all about the suggested info
How a character might feel low
Up next is detail that is intertextual
Like Rick and Morty being intellectual
It’s about understanding references
It helps appeal to target audiences
An example would be the simpsons
The amount of references, theres tons
Without the intertextual knowledge
The show would be as funny as a dying hedge.
That’s the end of my rap of semiotics
Before someone needs antibiotics
I hope I got all of this right
Otherwise my media grades arnt in sight.
PRELIM AND MICRO DRAMA
These were my first steps going into actually editing a film together and although that I may have had help from the others I was very proud of my contribution to both of these because it was a next step for me
INITIAL PITCH
Film Opening Pitch 1
Genre
- psychological thriller
I picked psychological thriller to allow for more experiments trying to build up tension and how to get the audience on the edge of theirs seats
Characters
- Josh a 40 year old male with black hair and a masculine face with no facial hair, average high and in good shape
- Jaziah a 20 year old male with blond hair with a young face no facial hair, slightly under average and in good shape
Base idea
- Working Title 'Two bullets in the chamber'
Main character 'josh' ex marine commander dealing with form of PTSD, Josh's job revolved around keeping everyone in sync but then also having to deal with the dark sides of the military E.G( wife beating, suicide, homicide, other traumatising experiences and ect..) but he blames himself for some of the examples above as he sees his troops as family and to him these acts are his fault.
Conventions
- POV shots
- Flashbacks
- set/costume design
- mis en scene
- screen colouring
Pitch
The synopsis is that we see Josh in a plain room, and we immediately see him having a nightmare and then it cuts to a flash back of him in the military. Soon after that we see that he is struggling mentally because we see conflict in his mind of wether his friend shot himself or he shot his friend, now the means that there is a question to be asked 'did he actually or is it him blaming himself'. finally after the gunshot Josh shoots up and moves around his room, until he takes a gun from his desk and leaves the room
MORE DETAIL
- Opens to a grey apartment room ( similar to the newest version of Sherlock Holmes ) and josh is in bed, visibly having a nightmare, the camera will slowly pan onto his face. Once Josh's face is centre screen a flash back to him and one of his marine friends talking on training grounds and then another quick cut to his face and then into Josh's friend in a black room in a chair with a gun to his head, another quick cut and then cut back and in a flash josh now holds the gun against his friends head. This scene builds up until a gun shot is heard with a pitch black screen, until finally it cuts back to josh shooting up on his bed at the middle of the night, then the scene continues with Josh going to his desk picking up his belongings until he picks up a gun and leaves, the door shut is where the opening should finish.
Signifiers
- plain apartment room ( working class)
- military costume + background training ground (ex marine)
- gun in desk ( ex marine )
- crushed beer can on the floor ( problems / alcoholic )
- masculine strong male shows protagonist
Challenges and Opportunities
- Creating the tension of the gunshot will be hard to build up
- trying to get access to a military training ground could be hard
- getting the timing right with each shot
- making the signifiers key to understand so that the preferred reading is anchored
- Lots of potential for shot types
- lots of media language potential for use when having to use it in exam.
- very easy to anchor the preferred reading
- Good practice for improving cinematography skills
Inspirations
- Sherlock Holmes
-Alien
-Dead man waling
-Dead man's shoes
-This is England
- psychological thriller
I picked psychological thriller to allow for more experiments trying to build up tension and how to get the audience on the edge of theirs seats
Characters
- Josh a 40 year old male with black hair and a masculine face with no facial hair, average high and in good shape
- Jaziah a 20 year old male with blond hair with a young face no facial hair, slightly under average and in good shape
Base idea
- Working Title 'Two bullets in the chamber'
Main character 'josh' ex marine commander dealing with form of PTSD, Josh's job revolved around keeping everyone in sync but then also having to deal with the dark sides of the military E.G( wife beating, suicide, homicide, other traumatising experiences and ect..) but he blames himself for some of the examples above as he sees his troops as family and to him these acts are his fault.
Conventions
- POV shots
- Flashbacks
- set/costume design
- mis en scene
- screen colouring
Pitch
The synopsis is that we see Josh in a plain room, and we immediately see him having a nightmare and then it cuts to a flash back of him in the military. Soon after that we see that he is struggling mentally because we see conflict in his mind of wether his friend shot himself or he shot his friend, now the means that there is a question to be asked 'did he actually or is it him blaming himself'. finally after the gunshot Josh shoots up and moves around his room, until he takes a gun from his desk and leaves the room
MORE DETAIL
- Opens to a grey apartment room ( similar to the newest version of Sherlock Holmes ) and josh is in bed, visibly having a nightmare, the camera will slowly pan onto his face. Once Josh's face is centre screen a flash back to him and one of his marine friends talking on training grounds and then another quick cut to his face and then into Josh's friend in a black room in a chair with a gun to his head, another quick cut and then cut back and in a flash josh now holds the gun against his friends head. This scene builds up until a gun shot is heard with a pitch black screen, until finally it cuts back to josh shooting up on his bed at the middle of the night, then the scene continues with Josh going to his desk picking up his belongings until he picks up a gun and leaves, the door shut is where the opening should finish.
Signifiers
- plain apartment room ( working class)
- military costume + background training ground (ex marine)
- gun in desk ( ex marine )
- crushed beer can on the floor ( problems / alcoholic )
- masculine strong male shows protagonist
Challenges and Opportunities
- Creating the tension of the gunshot will be hard to build up
- trying to get access to a military training ground could be hard
- getting the timing right with each shot
- making the signifiers key to understand so that the preferred reading is anchored
- Lots of potential for shot types
- lots of media language potential for use when having to use it in exam.
- very easy to anchor the preferred reading
- Good practice for improving cinematography skills
Inspirations
- Sherlock Holmes
-Alien
-Dead man waling
-Dead man's shoes
-This is England
If I'm honest looking back I don't know what I was thinking with this first pitch, but I do know I really liked Sherlock Holmes at the time and I have a feeling that was 90% of my inspiration
Revised pitch
Then came the revised pitch and again I don't think Louis and I were listening to Mr Burrows much, it was more that we had an idea that made sense to us and so we ran with it
Updated Film Opening Pitch
...
Changes looking to be made:
- Addition of a postmodernism element
- Changing newspaper to new broadcast
Credits to: Spikey Films
SMART FILM OPENING IDEA
Mr Burrows explained why once again our idea would've been hard to do, and it didn't make much sense so instead we joined the other group in there film opening and then at the same time Seth left media so it became the four of us
Sound track ideas
As we have to create the music ourselves (or get someone else to make it), we decided to ask some friends to recreate an instrumental of 'Ghost Town' by The Specials. We chose this song because it is used in Shaun of the Dead, which is the movie we are taking key influence from. Along with that, we filmed Donnie singing that in the shower, so we can find a way of mixing the music with Donnie's singing. Here is the original Ghost Town...
Here is the version we will be using in our opening
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