Storyboard

Storyboard - Cinematic

We took the images we have made from our storyboards and turned it into a cinematic using Sony Vegas 11 and Final cut pro. Although combining a lot of shots, and having a couple missing out it gives the general idea of what our film is going to look like, with the inclusion of text and sounds when they are needed.

The music is the final music we are going to use - with my friend having made it (spoken about it in the post about sound and soundtrack) with the speech just there in order to show where it is planned on coming in.

JL

Film Production

 Film Production Booklet

1 

• Angelina Jolie
• Family relations - Married to Brad Pitt 
• Well-known actress 
• Because of this she will induce a large target audience, especially due to her mix in film genre's from romance (Mr and Mrs Smith) to action and adventure (Salt and Tomb Raider)
• She would be one of the main attractions of the film, due to not only her acting skills but here looks - Male audience? 
• Previously an Oscar winning actress as well as winning multiple awards for various appearances in well known and profitable films.

2

• I was told to go and see Fight Club via word of mouth, although having seen it before the film provided enjoyment not many others could. Another, for Media homework was to watch Identity. I actually really enjoyed it, especially seeing as I wouldn't have watched it if I was recommended it.
• The word of mouth technique works in reverse however, Elysium is a film I was planning on seeing but recently I have been told by a few people that it wasn't very good - unrealistic and o development on character. This really let me down and actually made me not want to see the film.
• The most recent film I saw at the cinema was actually Thor 2, purely because me and some friends wanted a mindless action film to go to. Marketed as nothing but a pure action film was the reason I went to see it.

3

•  1. Paranormal Activity - $15,000 budget - $107,917,283 profit at Box office (USA) 
•  2. Blair Witch Project - $60,000 budget - £14,901,157 profit at box office (UK)
•  3. Avatar - $237,000,000 budget - $760,505,847 profit at box office (USA) 

4

• The Kings speech - $15,000,000 budget. Producers: Momentum Pictures, Weinstein Company, The UK film council
• Never let me go - $15,000,000 budget. Producers: DNA films, Film4 and Fox searchlight pictures. 
• Skyfall - $150,000,000 - $200,000,000 budget. Producers: Eon Productions and Danjaq.
• The financial backing that the films have are nowhere near the Americans. This is why the majority of films are produced in Hollywood with British actors, producers and editing teams. 
• There has been a rise in multinational producers since British films of the 1990's such as Momentum and Danjaq (In Kings Speech and Skyfall respectively).

5

• The 28 Days Later soundtrack has become iconic within the film industry. It has been used in multiple TV shows since its release in the influential horror film and has actually become popular as a song for people to listen to. It is the inspiration to a lot of recent music for the Thriller/Horror film genre. The use of synthetic FX and electric guitar gives it the sound of a mainstream song while still being able to be used in films.
• Not only in film, but also game music has been very influential and popular within audiences. The Soundtrack to the massively popular game L.A Noire has become popular and even having one of the tracks making it in to the iTunes charts. The typical Noire type music, with the smooth Jazz and the tense atmosphere is easy listening and actually gained the game popularity.

6 

• The main way in which Lionsgate have survived in the "Cut-throat world of film" is by their production of very popular horror series, one of which ha a colt behind it. Saw and Hostel and both unbelievably popular films in terms of their profit and their audience attendances - even if it is generalised to a specific audience. They do not only produce mindless horror however, their film portfolio is actually incredibly diverse and powerful. Films such as Precious, The hurt Locker, Juno and The Cove and all massively inspirational, real life dramas. Affiliating themselves with such films are essential in their survival and actually improve the quality of their image greatly. Finally, affiliations with other big names in other forms of entertainment, such as books. The Hunger games is currently their biggest expenditure, being based on a book trilogy which sold over 50 million copied in the USA alone.

Sound, Soundtrack and Ambient Noises

Soundtrack

The soundtrack we wish to use in our film must be suspenseful, and not of a high tempo. Something along the lines of the start of 28 days later, with he piano and quit yet rhythmic acoustic then electric guitar, accompanying the dark and rather bleak setting in which the opening to our film starts off. Another example of theme music which replicates this tone is that of the music style constantly occurring through Fight Club. The very dark, dismal tone which suggests darkness replicates the film we wish to produce and actually helps the way the audience view the film. We do not want the film to have a happy beginning, nor do we want it to be too dark. This will both draw the audience's attention away from the bleak, and slightly inactive start to the film and more towards the nature of the psychological - hence to references to music in 28 Days Later and Fight Club. Both Tracks can be found below.

Link To 28 Days Later Theme
Link to fight Club Full Soundtrack

Alternatively we could take the idea of the film "Angels" and create a loud, yet mysterious beat without the vocals, but with humming. This has an added dimension and because of this can create a similar, yet slightly different tone to our opening. The synth used within the track also helps to create the atmosphere we desire to create, fitting perfectly with the occurrences in the film.

Link To Angels Theme

Due to the requirement of not using Copyright music however, what we have decided we must do is look to music streaming sites such as Soundcloud and look for permission from the creators. If we do this however, film music (especially suspenseful film music) isn't a popular genre. One which suprisingly comes close to it is that of Trap music, and luckily enough I have a friend that is actually a reasonably big beat Trap beat Producer in Finland. His Soundcloud profile will be linked below, along with the song that we are going to end up using in the film - a deep and ambient trap beat resembling that of youtube beat producer Solitude (link below) - the low, deep and ambient noise really reflects our films atmosphere and although sets a very negative tone also resembles that of Fight Club, and The Darkest Child by Kevin MacLeod (link also below.)

Link To AXELDOE's Soundcloud (Friend)
Link to Darkest Child Soundtrack
Solitude Trap beat

Ambient Noise 

In terms of ambient noise within the film - the majority of the first minute and takes place by a road side in the middle of quite a built up district. Because of this sounds of cars and passers by are going to be prominent, meaning that a lot of added noises are going to have to be used. The ringing of a mobile phone to break up the second flashback is also important as it must be surprising enough to the audience, yet still maintain the atmosphere and not beak the mood due to what occurs after the phone rings. For this, sounds which are found in Final Cut should do fine. The other way in which ambient noise must be used is by the other persons voice on the phone. Me and my partner wish it to have a muffled and undefined tone, yet still audible to the audience. To do this we are going to record it separately and overlay it in the film, allowing us to sync it perfectly and also maintain the mood in which we want to obtain. 

With the film being of the psychological nature, everything to do with sound must maintain this. The tone and atmosphere produced by the music and various FX must accompany the events within the film naturally and not sound out of place. Maintaing the suspense is key in order for our film to work, and we see sound as the best way to do this. Voices should be kept clear (with exception to that already mentioned) - sound should be kept quiet but always constant with the loudest thing being the soundtrack - except for when speech takes place. 

JL

Sound Practice

In the making of our clip about a "Nightmare parents evening", we learnt how to use the directional microphones, cutting and importing sound tracks from the microtrack linked to the boom pole. With relation to our film, these are very much necessary due to the exchange in speech at the top of the tower. The importance of where the boom pole and mic is in relation to the actor can't be understated and is essential in understanding what he/she is saying and creating the atmosphere we wish to obtain. During the making of the short clip we had some problems, with the microphone echoing and with some static in the background. This was overcome however through the sound effects in final cut, especially the one called "Car Radio" which reduced all external noise.

 

Shot List

Shot Number	Shot Angle/Movement	Time	Notes
1)	Close up of The killer (Kevin) zooming in slowly on his face	4s	Character looks distressed, obvious that he is thinking about something
2)	Screen flashes to black then 1st person view of Kevin walking down a street – from his perspective	8-9s	Kevin is breathing heavily and looking from left to right, shiftily
3)	Another black flash on the screen and the scene jumps to a first person view of Kevin when he is killing the man (Tyrone)	6s	Kevin Lunges at Tyrone, because its first person there is a close up of Tyrone’s face
4)	During the flashback a phone ringing is heard	1s
5)	Close up of Kevin looking down at his phone and picking it up	2s	Does so hesitantly
6)	With his head in his hands, he answers. Shot of a close up of his face	6s	Muffled voice can be hear in the backgroubnd, from the other end of the phone. Kevin Says, collectively, “I’ll be there soon”
7)	Kevin gets up and walks out of frame	3s
8)	He then walk in to frame, opens the door and slams it shut behind him	3s
9)	Kevin, walking down the alley looks behind him (from a 1st person perspective) and looks at the ground	5s
10)	Black flash on screen and he sees the dead body, in the place that he killed Tyrone before from the same angle as the previous shots stopped	2s
11)	Another Black Flash and the scene cuts to the present day again with no body on the floor – again same angle as the previous two shots	2s
12)	He turns around and walks off to the other end of the alley	3s
13)	Mid Shot of Kevin walking out of the Alleyway, behind him a menacing figure appears out of the shadows and begins to follow him, Kevin walks across the line of the camera leaving the man behind him  in the centre of shot	6s	Person following him is Tyrone and wearing the same clothes as he was when he was killed
14)	Long shot of Kevin emerging from a side road, running across the road and arriving at location (2)	5s
15)	Matching action of Kevin entering the door	2s
16)	Pan of Kevin after he enters the room to him walking up a flight of stairs	4s	Nods at receptionist, shows a sense of familiarity – looks to be in a rush although
17)	At the top of one set of stairs, Kevin runs across the shot while going up and behind him Tyrone again comes in to shot and walks up the stairs behind him	7s	Dim lighting
18)	Arriving at the top of the tower, pan of Kevin walking to the night time view of London seen from the top of Location (3)	4s
19)	A sound behind him makes Kevin jump and turn around, camera follows his gaze and sees a man, dressed in an overcoat	4s	Man looks mysterious, seems to be holding something.
20)	180 rule while Kevin and the man exchange words – see notes	15s	Mysterious man – “You assure me it’s done?” Kevin – “Yes it’s done, I’m sure of it. There is no way he could have survived that”
21)	Close up of the mysterious man’s face. He nods in approval	3s
22)	Mid shot of the two, side on showing the man give Kevin a package. He then walks out of shot as Kevin puts the package in his inside pocket	6s
23)	Kevin turns back around to the view and looks out over London again.	4s
24)	A shot from over Kevin’s shoulder, showing behind him, Tyrone is approaching him slowly	3s	Tense music starts playing again
25)	There is a close up of Tyrone’s hand about to touch Kevin’s shoulder from behind him	5s	Tempo of music increases
26)	A loud sound makes Kevin turn around – shows from his perspective that nothing is there.	3s
27)	Quickly after he turns around the screen cuts to black and the titles come appear	3s + titles

JL

History Of British Film

A History of British Film Since 1984

1

•  Independent cinema grew in popularity immensely from the 1980's-1990's - This was helped by the work of directors such as Derek Jarman
• Drama films also rose to a mass popularity, it was seen as a golden age for films like Four Weddings And A Funeral and others of its genre.
• Thatcherism was prominent, but British realist cinema withstood the harsh economy caused by it. This caused an abundance in films like Riff Raff
• Then, in 1996 the film industry went in 2 directions. One of which is that of Sense and Sensibility - Based on the Jane Austin Novel, and the other of Trainspotting, the classic. Both of which helped increase Britpop's influence in the film scene.
• Trying to capture other groups of audiences, such as the youth and the elderly.

2

• Never Let Me Go - A film set in the future, would fall in to the category of Drama, Romance and Sci-fi. Not very successful at the box office however, only making £1.5million off a £15million budget. The film seems to take a different stance to the rest of DNA films, taking a more character bsaed approach to the films compared to their other productions such as -
• 28 Days Later
• 28 Weeks Later
• Strictly Sinatre
• One other film which the company made is Dredd 3d, a remake of the original Judge Dredd. This was even less successful at the box office, taking only £13million off a £50million budget. It falls under the sci-fi genre again but is also action and adventure, and crime. It is lacking in the storyline department and focus' mainly on action
• This focus on action is a stark contrast to the focus on character in Never Let Me Go - Their earlier films are much more like Dredd and focus on action, drugs and other themes associated with the crime genre. Their earlier films are also much more successful, like Trainspotting and Shallow Grave.

3

• Momentum pictures are very focused around horror films. Of their latest releases, Insidious Chapter 2, Woman in Black, Dark Skies and V/H/S, all are centred around the horror genre. This could be because of the growing market for horro films in the UK, or because they have produced so many it has become a stereotype of Momentum, it is profitable as most of the films receive a profit.
• Although horror is their main genre, they have also produced a wide range of independent and different films such as Welcome to The Punch, The Kings Speech, and Enders Game. This shows a diversity and just how big they are as a distributor, seeing as Kings Speech is one of the top 5 highest grossing films.

Psychological Thrillers - Memento Opening

Although sparce in events that actually occur in the opening scene of Memento, it could tell us a lot about what happens in the actual film. The opening credits start off with ambient background music, suspenseful yet mornful. The credits are over a black screen which allows us to concentrate on the main actors and the music, straight away setting a tone for the film. The next shot is the shown is that of a man holding a polaroid photo, the sort seen usually on Crime scenes. Fitting with the nature of the photo, it shows blood staining the walls and some sort of forensic person in the foreground, expanding on this the next few scenes are that of the man shaking the photo, trying to remove what it shows. This is where the idea of the psychological comes in, it could either be showing that the man who is shaking the photo is trying to forget something that has happened to him, or that he is trying to remove all evidence of the event happening.
Although not entirely related to our opening, being minimalist in the events that occur and having them not actually mean anything without the context of the film, the idea that the opening can set the scene so well using only text, one shot and music gives us the idea that establishing a tone early on i the film is a nessecary occurence in an opening, and also emphasises the importance of music to do this.

Psychological Thrillers - London To Brighton

London To Brighton - Tone, Mood, Sound, Plot and Characters

The opening of the film immediately sets the tone for the rest of it. The Desolate, bleak surroundings in which the first 10 seconds happen is typical of the psychological/Crime thriller genre in which the film most definitely falls in to. The graffiti on the walls, Some of which reading "Tense" and "Ghosts" setting the tone for the rest of the film. Although not psychological as such, the film plays on the ideas of social realism by referring to the child's prostitution and they runaway youth. Not entirely relevant to our film, however the music in the background and the setting are very similar to what we wish to be in our film. See the post "Storyboard", in order to view the similarities. We took inspiration from London To Brighton in the making of our storyboard in the setting of the film being urban, and in a desolate place.



JL

Psychological Thrillers - Fight Club

"I Know This, Because Tyler Knows This"

Fight Club, A cult film. Probably the best or its genre and undoubtedly one of the best films ever, is the epitome of a psychological thriller. The opening credits, not entirely to do with the genre are still a work of art and involve beautiful use of graphic effects in order to create an intense and exciting opening, leaving you prepared for what is to come. The following scene is a stark contrast to this, and starts the film off in a way it wishes to continue. The idea of the psychological is first introduced when, as the quote leading the post says - "I knew This, Because Tyler Knew This". This draws a link between the unnamed narrator of the film and Tyler, one which is not natural. The unnamed Narrator (actually called Jack Moore, as seen on checks and various small things around the play), by Freud's terms, uses his superego to a great effect - basically meaning that it suppresses the feeling that he needs better and makes him content with the life he is living. All too much however, as the superego creates Tyler, a split personality of Jack in order to break out against popular culture.

The opening scene, when looking back in retrospect, is the epitome of this. Straight away, he draws a link between himself and Tyler by saying that he "knows this because Tyler knows this" and that the gun was clean, because he knew Tyler/himself's love of cleanlieness. The filming in this opening scene is predominantly special effects cutting to mid shots of the bombs, setting the scene of where they are and their surroundings. The following shots are panning and mid shots of Jack at the testicular cancer meeting, even though he is a "faker".

The idea of sleep deprivation is also prominent within the film. Importantly, in regards to the psychological, this can have detrimental effects on the recipient and actually cause schizophrenia. In regards to our film, we could never replicate something of this magnitude. Being the colt that it is although, we can take a lot of pointers to it. As with identity, Memento and A Beautiful Mind the idea of the psychological is introduced in the opening scene - only seen although when looking back in retrospect. Because of this, we should make the opening obscure in a way that could later be determined as psychological. The idea of Kevin (in our film) being followed by his past (Tyrone) can very easily be reflected if the rest of the film was fully made. Also, the opening scene is important in setting the scene. Living conditions, daily life, and appearances are all dealt with in the various films mentions opening. This must also be reflected in me and my partners film.


JL

Psychological Thrillers - Shutter Island

Research In To Films Concerning the Psychological -

Shutter Island is a 2010 American psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese. The film is based on Dennis Lehan's 2003 novel of the same name. Production started in March 2008. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels, who is investigating a psychiatric facility on 'Shutter Island'. The film sets in 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston`s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He`s been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn`t been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy`s shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals ``escape`` in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity. 



JR

Psychological Thrillers - Identity Opening

Identity - "I Met a Man Who Wasn't There"

Identity (2003) Staring John Cusack and Ray Liotta opens with a voice over the titles, played from a tape from an interview. The psychological elements of the film are introduced straight away, looking back in retrospect.  The man says "Going up the stairs, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today, oh how I wish he'd go away" - referring to his split personalities and how he switches from one to another. A close up of the mans name - Malcolm Rivers is then shown, accompanied by the sound of thunder.

The tone is now set, that someone is looking over past evidence of a murder case from someone who has split personalities. The close ups of the stick men drawings with blood coming out of their throat is a precursor to what is actually going to happen, and also the mental state of Malcolm. The origin of the mans mental disorder is then looked in to, referring to his past. There is a suggestion of his mother having something to do with it, and when slowed down one can see the criminal records of her being arrested for possession - and while she was out leaving him abandoned in a motel. 

Looking back at the opening to the film in retrospect, it actually seems obvious that the events that were going to occur were in the mans head, and Malcolm wasn't sane. The use of a motel as the setting for the film referred back to where he was left as a kid, the names and birthdays of all the characters showing similarities. In terms of creating a sense of the psychological, as well as the rhyme at the start the clueless nature of the man in the interview helps to reinforce the idea. 

When I first watched the film, the twist actually came as a surprise to me. When re watching however the opening contained many clues as to what the film was going to be about and what the twist could have actually been. As with the film we wish to make, this could be replicated. Taking the opening to Identity on its own, it would not make much sense in relation to the rest of the film but once the film has been watched, it puts things in to perspective. 

JL

Film Proposal - Narrative

Narrative

• Psychological Thriller
• The opening scene would show a character who is having flashbacks of a murder. He is sat in his front room thinking. The phone rings and the flashback cuts out. He says he will meet this mysterious man in the 'Tower'
• The flashback is of a 1st person perspective which is going to be walking down the alley at location 1 and then the flashback will be broken up and vague. the flashback jumps to the killing of a man.
• These flashbacks are to be distressing the character who is 'losing his mind'
• The character leaves his house and the audience can tell he is distressed by the way he is heavily breathing and shaken up.
• The character walks down the same alley from the flashback and then he again has a flashback of the body of the man who was killed.
• The character is to be followed by another character who will play the psychological character who is not really real but is a trick of the subconscious mind that is the main character. This is the man from the flashbacks and the man who was killed but it all just a trick of the mind.
• The locations show that the setting will be in a rural london area and estate.
• The opening scene will show the main character 'losing his mind' am how this would effect him.
• The opening scene will show silhouettes of the psychological being and flashbacks of the murder that took place, this will leave the audience in a state of suspense for not knowing what really happened.
• The man will go into the tower of location 2 and he will meet a man who will hand him cash for the job that he had done which would have been the killing of the man from the flashbacks.
• The flashbacks are haunting the main character and he is going insane because of it such as seeing the dead character in the present day through hallucinations.
• The opening scene will show that the murder was a contract killing for money as the main character was just an average citizen who has not got much money. The killing is haunting him though.

Audience Conclusion

From the multiple surveys we did, combined with the vox pop's and interviews we have decideed that our film should be catered more towards the 16-24 age group, as we first decided. The majority of people here preferred action sequences in suspenseful thrillers, which doesnt require much character development and can easily be marketed as a mainstream film. Also, when interviewed we likened our film's atmosphere to that of Kidulthood, and Se7en. Many of this age group, of those who had seen both films, thought that this was something that they would love to go and see. This will be our main target audience, but there is also room for a niche audience of the 41-47 category. We found that on the whole, thrillers stood out to this audience much more than the typical comedy or drama film, but not as much as it did with the 16-24 year olds. This means that the film we are planning on producing actually has a large range in which we can produce to and isn't narrowed down by it only being applicable to one set of people. Also, with the elder age group they tend to go to the cinema more than the younger, or that their children are actually in the age group that are our target audience. Not saying this is a family film, but both parents and children would be interested in seeing this and this would actually create a bigger market for the film.

JL

Online Survey Findings

These are some screen shots of the findings from the Media blog which was posted online.

From this we can see that from the past 2 survey questions, the majority ofpeople who took part in this survey were women from the age of 30-50. This would explain the majority decision in the love of comedy and light heaarted films. From the lower ages however, Action and Thriller films are preferred. This confirms that our target audience should be from the 16-24 or so age group, and that we are marketing to the right people.

With the majority of people who took part in the survey, the storyline, Friends recomendations and actors were the most popular things. The storyline is what we are focusing on in our film, due to the stereotypical nature of our film we will take a turn on it and focus more on the Protagonist's mental state than the actual violence - putting emphasis on the storyline.

The findings for these questions will help me and my partner to understand which audience to aim our film at and how to make it more interesting for the audience to branch out and gain a better interest.