Plan for Preliminary Task 2

Plan for Preliminary Task 2:


Concept:
TITLE: Why? - Establishes one of the main aims of why Dylan is coming back(the most important one)

Target audience: Mature audience 15+

Institutional/Genre Conventions: 
*Characters: Olivia(Isabelle)- Wife of Dylan, killed him now has to face consequences for him coming back
             Dylan(James)- Husband of Olivia, was not killed by Olivia despite her attempt, he's come back to ruin Olivia's life and to find out why she did what she did
             Mysterious figure- con-conspirator to Dylans attempted murder, gets killed by Dylan and has his phone used to establish meeting time with Olivia

*Setting/Time:- Olivia and Dylan's house(Maryann's house)- Changed later to Max's house
                      - Park(flashback)
                      -Street(chase sequence)

*Props/Costumes:  *rings
                               *couple photo and frame
                               *fake blood (paper) 
                               *paper bag/envelope
                               *gun decorated
                               *hoodie
                               *fake scar

*Key Genre Elements: *Chase sequence
                                    *Driven and a recurring reason for going a bit                                                                 psychologically unstable 
                                    * The person you thought was dead is now coming back to                                              haunt you with a vendetta (ring, photo and gun inside an                                              envelope) 
                                    * Plot Twists
                                    * Flashbacks'
                                    * Lighting(twist convention)

*Filming/Editing Choices: *Quick cuts/ long drawn out scenes- quick cuts creates tension heightens heartbeat, long drawn out scenes causes heightened inquisitivity and thus we want to know more but the movie purposely makes us wait for it and thus when it happens it would catch people off-guard
                                         *Bright light/dim light- bright light creates the effect of making it relatable if it's in the day it will be bright which emphasises the relatability and realism. Dim light creates the effect of tension as we see very little of what goes on which puts an emphasis on the scary side of a thriller
                                         *Sound: I will most likely use a mixture of high pitch and low bass music in order to get the right mix of the 2 extremes which I think is highly important for the action and psychological thriller sub-genre

PLOT SYNOPSIS:
Olivia has killed her husband Dylan with the reasons for doing so unclear. We start the film of her contemplating a picture with both her and Dylan together with their signatures LIV&Dylan
She goes to bed, leaving the picture on her bedside table. The next morning, she wakes up and prepares for her day, she does not realise that the picture in the frame is missing, however, before she leaves the house she notices that her rug had been moved slightly, she ignores it. When she returns home, she finds a note with WHY? LIV written in blood. 
She freaks out and goes to her bedroom to start crying. She then notices the picture missing and starts to link everything together, the rug, the note and the missing picture. In a panic, she calls a mysterious person and tells he/her whats going on, however, that person had been killed by Dylan who was now on the other end of the phone and sets up a meeting place.
At the meeting place, they establish eye contact and a chase scene breaks out, Dylan is too fast and runs away, leaving behind an envelope with the picture with liv's face scratched out his wedding ring and the gun she used to "kill" him with, Liv starts laughing cynically.
We then go to a flashback, of liv attempting to kill Dylan and then fleeing from the scene, throwing the handgun into the bushes, but Dylan's hand moved slightly once liv cut out of frame.

CHARACTERS:
Olivia/Liv: Olivia is the main character in this story, she had attempted to kill her husband Dylan and now has to deal with the fact that that he was back and is coming for her. Her character is constantly shrouded in mystery as we never get to know why she did it, we get links leading her to a person that may have aided her and the letter WHY is never answered.
Dylan: Olivia's deceased husband, he is back for answers as to why Olivia had tried to kill him. We rarely see his face and when we do we see it only for a scene where they share a quick glance before it erupts in a chase. He too is shrouded in mystery as we don't know his true intentions.

PRACTICALITIES OF FILMING/CONTENT:
*Our idea is realistic in the fact that despite this not being a very probable scenario in real life, is realistic in the fact that compared to other films this has a more realistic feel where the characters are ordinary but do have a dark side.
*Someone could trip and falls during the chase sequence
*We have to film at a park but it's for public use and there usually isn't a lot of people there at 4 in the afternoon
* Check Equipment list
* a difficult shot to get would be the pov shot of Olivia shooting Dylan and the chase sequence   

A Treatment for Why?                                                                                          

Prepared by Vernnon Ding

28-3-18

The film has to be a maximum of 2 minutes long and has to be focused on a thriller subgenre. We decided that we were going to go with an action and psychological thriller with certain twists that make it unique and interesting.

We decided to set the film's locations in easily accessible locations that were easy to film in and that it would match our themes. We decided to film at Max's house due to its location being near a park and was a generally quiet place compared to our first option being a house next to a street that had cars driving up it constantly and thus would have provided a lot of unnecessary background noise that would have been an extra hindrance to the editing process.

Title-> Why?

We decided to give our film the title Why? as it represents the question that Dylan is asking Olivia that reoccurs throughout the film, “why did you try to kill me”. This question in itself is the driving force behind Dylan’s actions throughout the film but the question itself despite being asked constantly, is never answered and thus almost leaves behind in its wake a paradox.

Characters:

Olivia (Isabelle): For our main character of the film, we decided that we were going to twist the representations of a female in films, as we made Olivia and rival to Dylan, our male lead. Her character is unique due to fact that we tried to mould her character so that the audience would have a conflicting time in deciding whether to feel compassion for the character or completely shun her due to her act of killing Dylan. Throughout the film, she is tracked down and “haunted” by Dylan whom she believes she has killed and should be dead. We follow her progress of slowly realising that he has come back due to the hints that he has left throughout the film. In the end, the audience gets to witness Olivia undergo the beginning symptoms of losing her sanity, proven by her cynical laugh at the end of the film.

Dylan (Jackson): Dylan, is our male character that just like Olivia, gives the audience a feeling of uncertainty, as we do not know whether he is a villain or is only acting like this for revenge. Throughout the film, we do not follow his character but we do get evidence of his actions through the missing ring, the carpet being moved and the note. In the end, he slips away and creates a cliff-hanger not just for us but for Olivia as we are uncertain what he would do next.

Ideology:

·        The message of our film is that actions have consequences. We see Olivia being haunted by her past mistake of killing Dylan and we see the effects it has on her, slowly driving her insane.

·        We decided to include representations of, Gender roles and love and romance.

·        We decided to challenge the representation of love and romance as we see a twisted version of this, where a wife has killed her husband and is feeling remorseful but also afraid. Gender roles are also challenged, as we decided to make the wife the murderer instead of conforming and picking the male. This twist gives an additional effect and could potentially draw the audience in more as they would have seen a female being the “main antagonist” and would be a change from the typical male villain.

Mood and Tone:

The overall mood of this film is that of sadness. This is backed up by the tone of regret and remorse.

Camera shots:

The most common shot in our film is arguably the over the shoulder shot. This helps involve the audience and it makes them feel like they are really there in the midst of the film and is overall intended to increase the engrossment of the audience. It also gives off a personal feel and thus would cause the audiences to form a relationship with the characters whether it is hate or empathy.

Symbolism:

·        Ring: We open with Olivia playing with her ring and it goes missing but shows up again with Dylan’s ring, symbolising Dylan letting go of their marriage and their only connection we know of.

·        Gun: The gun that Olivia uses to shoot Dylan shows up again in the envelope and symbolises a return of the tool that caused this which Olivia had attempted to discard. This fully symbolises the fact that the past has really come back.

·        Note: The note appears twice, once when its left at the door and again in the envelope this shows Dylan’s audacity to return to the house thrice, once to take the ring, once to leave the note and the final time being to retrieve the note.

Creative Critical Reflection: 1

Critical Reflection: 1

Question 1

emaze;https://app.emaze.com

Question 2

Question 3

Powtoons: https://www.powtoon.com

Question 4

Question 4 by Vernnon

Representation - Codes & Conventions

Task-

Representation - Codes & Conventions

A representation is a way in which, a director is able to portray to us as the audience different stereotypes of groups or people that we usually see in movies, the directors are given the ability to challenge or conform to these representations. Representations, in movies, are usually split up into 7 distinct categories expanded individually below.

Love & Romance:

Love and romance are probably one of the most common representations used in movies.
It usually revolves around a male and a female whos love story somehow intertwines with the main plot or is the main plot, however in recent year it has been broadened to include homosexual relations to fit and please the more modern and somewhat "PC" audience.
This representation usually has a male "chasing" a female and a source of intervention that separates them resulting usually in the male having to fight a physical or emotional battle in order to get the female back. This representation could arguably be the most used, having its presence in most films either as the main plot or as a subplot. It could also sometimes be used to increase its targeted audience. The usual technical elements used to convey this representation would be extreme close-ups or close-ups this element helps convey across the emotions and the action of the character whether it be crying due to the separation or a smile/kiss. This helps us as the audience get more engrossed in the film, as we get the feeling like we are there witnessing the moment. Another element that may be used would be music, the usual example of music used would be the violin or the piano, music that we usually associate to love.

This scene from the Titanic (1997) is a classic example of love and romance being used as a representation. It has a male and a female leaning close to each other and the camera panning into a close-up of their fingers interlocking and when they kiss, it highlights the affection they share with each other. As the camera zooms in from a wide establishing shot of the boat and the ocean to Jack and Kate, it highlights the significance of their love as its compared and favoured above that of a beautiful shot of the ocean it also emphasises the scale of their relationship as its compared to the ocean. The music used in the clip is iconically recognised due to its famous score. The vocals and the piano rises from a lower tone to a higher one, matching the significance of this moment, highlighting Jack and Kate's rising romantic relationship and progression as they advance from interlocking hands to ultimately kissing.

Class and Status:
Class and status is a representation used by directors to differentiate different groups in society. In movies, the usual groups that are separated are Rich and Poor, different high school cliques. It is almost a "cliche" in modern films but it is usually the upper class or those with a higher status that is portrayed as the main antagonist The usual way directors may decide to showcase these differentiations, would be by props and attire, and camera angles. 

In this image taken from the film Vertigo, we see Gavin who is a rich businessman talking to Johnny a detective. This image shows class and status due to technical elements stated above. We can derive that these two men are wealthy due to their attire of suits and ties, however, we can also tell just from the picture that Gavin has a superior status to Johnny due to the camera angle. Hitchcock uses an angle that depicts Gavin being taller than Johnny, thus showing to us that Gavin has a superior status above that of Johnnys due to his towering stature.

Gender:
Gender is a predominant representation used in movies that are rarely highlighted or noticed due to it already sinking and having its roots in society. However, that was the past where males were painted as the hero, having to be masculine and were always the one to save the day and were overall the main character or the villain. Women, on the other hand, were given more docile roles, either as a support to the main male cast or in usual plots, the "damsel in distress". They were usually painted as weak and fragile, fitting into what society saw women be. In the present, due to movements and the strong wave of 'gender equality', we now see more women being cast as the main roles, being the ones to save the day with Wonder Women being one of the main examples of the growing presence of females in the movie industry. Directors usually, use technical elements like iconography and the theory of the "female/male gaze". Camera angles once again play a predominant role in showing gender but sometimes the music may play a part as well.

In this clip from Batman v Superman, we see a classic example of a male antagonist (Lex Luthor) and a male protagonist (Superman). We also see Lois Lane fitting the "damsel in distress" role, requiring Superman to save her as she gets pushed off the building. We also see a change in music, with it being a tune of a mishmash of piano and strings, depicting the heroicness of the male and the romance that comes out of it. The attire also shows gender differences, as Superman is forced to wear a skin-tight suit in order to show off his masculinity, whilst Lois is made to wear clothing that would stereotypically tell us that her character is an office worker. We see a twist this time to the usual theory of a "female gaze", as the director depicts to us the "male gaze". This highlights to us the intent of the directors to appeal to the female audience in order to entertain them but it also shows to us the caring and almost guardian angle like characteristics to Superman as a male superhero, a twist to the masculine focused characterisation that the "male gaze" usually provides.

Ethnicity:
Ethnicity apart from Gender roles in films is one of the most talked about and 'controversial' representations in film. We however as a new generation, see more films that tackle the old generations view of ethnicity, usually classing the whites in roles of power and righteousness whilst for example, Hispanic or African American characters are portrayed more as the criminals. A film that is an example of a developing view, would be Black Panther, which has a predominantly African cast. Props and attires, camera angles are the most commonly used Technical elements.

This clip in the movie Get Out, highlights ethnicity as we despite not getting any big hints from the props and attire of the characters, maybe hinting towards a form of equality, we also get that same sense from the camera angles, where both characters are filmed from the same height, however, the type of shots to give us a hint towards the tackling of ethnicity. Throughout most of the clip, the camera shot or distance while filming the white lady, the distance stays the same as she questions Chris whilst the camera progressively zooms in on him as he dwells into his memories. This camera distance changing only for Chris as he breaks down emotionally highlights the difference between the power of the two characters, where the white character remain cold and distant as she questions Chris, who shares his emotions and thus gets highlighted.

Regional Identity:
Regional identity as a representation is not commonly expressed or used in films, however, examples of such a representation maybe are different sides of a country for example, West Auckland to North Auckland. In West Auckland, the state of living may be lower than that of North Auckland, the crime rates are different and the overall state of each side could be said to be polar opposites. The different technical features the director may choose to use could range from mise-en-scene to music.

In the movie Black Panther, we see Eric Killmonger and T'challa confront each other. Through their different accents, we are able to distinguish each of their respective regional identities. While T'challa's accent has a strong African ring to it, Eric's is American. We can also tell by their attire what region they identify with. Eric dawns a bulletproof vest and a t-shirt whilst T'challa dawns a more traditionally African inspired dress. 

Physical ability/disability

In this clip, we see Mags an elderly lady sacrifice herself for the other younger tributes. The heightened almost dramatic like music as she walks into the fog, puts emphasis on her death and due to her disability of old age and her muteness we recognise that her disability is holding back the other tributes abilities. Mags is depicted to be taller then the rest of the characters, this shows that despite her disabilities, her valiant sacrifice puts her above that of the other characters, almost giving her a superiority in this situation. The lack of emotion on the other characters after Mags's death shows that they do recognise the meaning and benefits of her sacrifice.

Age:

In this clip and image of suits, we are able to tell by mise-en-scene the difference between the ages of Mike and his Grandmother. Edith is wearing a basic t-shirt and cardigan, reflecting the simplistic lifestyle of the older generation, whilst Mike is wearing a more modern suit which reflects the more modern lifestyle of the working middle-aged class of modern day society. The music that is played when Rachel tells Mike about Edith's death, is almost melancholic like, the voice sounding almost depressed which reflects Mikes mood upon finding out. Age through this could be described as almost like an emotional catalyst, the deaths of the elderly, commonly usthe ed by director to inflict emotions of sadness and pain amongst the audience.