Blog 11 - A Change

After feedback from classmates and my teacher i have decided to make a few last minute changes to my film in order to make the plot more clear to the audience. Originally the plot of the film was about an experiment (369) waking up in an unknown location and then getting killed by the scientist who then gets killed by a previous experiment (222).

The location of the film has been changed from the school to my own home/friends home and experiment 222 will be replaced by matt (the original human 369 was based on) and the wife (scientists wife/matts mother). The plot of the film will still be simular in terms of the experiment seeking revenge however unlike my original idea, the experiment actually has a motive for the death of the scientist. The film still focuses on experiment 369 exploring a location and finding clues as to who he is however this idea will revolve around flashbacks he is getting from when matt was abused. Eventually finding out matt was used for a cloning experiment and killed, experiment 369 avenges matt by eventually killing the family.

Blog 10 - Review Research

For my film review research i will be researching the codes and conventions of film reviews from well known film magazines such as the Empire and Sight & Sound.  This research will allow me to identify traits that i can incorporate into my own review to make it as much like a professional review as possible.

The first film review i researched was a film review of "American Pie 2" in the Empire magazine.

Key Points to writing a review

• Knowing the background of the directors/actors etc allows the reviewer to make comparisons with the film their reviewing and previous work that person has done
• keep in mind: What kind of reputation does the director have? Any awards or famous films cast members may have associated with them? Is the movie based on a book/play/an event and what was the influences?
• Need to consider the movies target audience in order to review it fairly

General points to put into a review to make it interesting

• Acting - how good is the acting, does the cast members acting connect with the audience or is it unbelieveable
• Plot - Is the plot of the film original, controversal,  engaging or predictable and dull
• Cinematography - is there a variety of unique camera shots/angles used or is it mediocre
• Sound - Does the music used create the desired atmosphere, how do they use sound effects and how effective/believeable are these
• Atmosphere - Does the movie create the atmosphere it aimed to
• Character Development - Do the actors connect with the audience/do you care about their out-come
• Genre - Will the audience get what they came for? (comedy/romance/horror/action etc)
• Scripting - Does the dialogue used match the Genre intended (variety of witty jokes for a comedy etc)
• Other considerations are how innovative a film is, the editing, the lighting and the costumes. However not every film intends aim to be "high-art" so the film reviewed should be judged according to what they set out to be. Cut out the points unneccesary depending on the film (would not be much point mentioning the cinematography in a childrens animated film etc)

The Title and Intro

•  A interesting film review usually starts with a catchy title that sums up the reviewers thoughts of the film. For example a positive film review about the "Black Swan" may start with a title such as "Black Swan Soars" while a negative review may start with the title "Black Swan Sinks". This allows the reader to see the reviewers  initial thoughts of the film and will be interested to see why.
• Right after the title your first sentence you should use interesting information or facts such as a quote from the film or a comparison with the lead actors/directors previous work.
• After the opening line a short synopsis  should be given so the reader has a reference for the rest of the review however dont write any spoilers.

The Body

• The body is the part of the review where you detail why you like or disliked the film.
• Remember to organise the structure of your thoughts and dont play to a dislike or like too much (praising the film constantly throughout the whole review or harshly slating it throughout the whole film) as this may come across as unprofessional. However make it clear that the review is either positive or negative.
• In order to keep it interesting, use a variety of literature techniques such as metaphors, comparisons, adjectives and humour to prevent it getting boring.
• Keep in mind your target audience and use language to suit them for example using overly long words and comparing to much older films would not be suitable in a review for a childs film.
• Be creative in terms of comparisons and language however dont go off-topic too much as the review will become uninteresting and not what the reader wants to read.
• Give your complete honest opinion about whether you liked/disliked the film just remember to explain why you liked/disliked the film.

Conclusion



• Finish the review  with a strong consise statement that clearly defines what you thought about the film using interesting language or perhaps a pun to sum it all up.

Blog 9 - Poster development

CLICK HERE FOR CLOSE UP



This is the first draft for the teaser poster of my film. By showing it to the class i managed to get feedback on which i need to improve and change on the next draft, things i need to change are:

• The tagline needs to be changed as karma can come across differently to different people as the people in my class had different perspectives of it.
• My logo on the bottom left hand corner needs to have its colour changed due to its red/black colour theme makes it look like a part of the poster
• My website link needs to be changed from my blogger to a made up site that would match the film ETC http://www.369shortfilm.com/

Blog 8 - Music/Audio

Music/Audio Used



In my short film i will be using a variety of sound effects such as drilling noises and screams, each can be created by making the sound effect myself and using a voice recorder to do so. For my music i am going to use free copyright music from the website http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/index.html?genre=horror , i will be using different parts of different songs to set the atmosphere in the appropriate scenes. Some of the music i will be using is "The House of Leaves" and "The Final Count". I decided to use this kind of music as it is of a horror genre just like my short film and therefore the music will be appropriate in creating a hostile environment.

Blog 7 - Character analysis

Experiment 369

 Experiment 369 is the main character within the film and is seen having flashbacks of the sons past which showed his father abusing him, this is because experiment 369 is an exact clone of the son (now dead) and  the scientists intentions was that the replicas to had the memories the originals had. While searching the house to find more clues about his past and more flashbacks, the Experiment becomes more intent in avenging the once abused son.

The Son (Matt)

 The son named Matt is the son of the scientist and while his mother gave birth to him, she also died therefore Matts father saw Matt as the reason he lost the love of his life and therefore abused Matt and used him as an experiment. Throughout the film the experiments flashbacks show matt being abused by his father and eventually killed.

The Wife

The Wife is the mother to Matt and was once married to the scientist however died giving birth to Matt. Although you only see the wifes dead body during the end of the film it is evident the Scientist was in love with her and wanted her back at any means, in doing so he took the drastic measure to keep his wifes body in the roof and used his son as an  guinepig for a cloning experiment before cloning her and bringing her back to life.

Scientist

The scientist was the dad of a young boy named Matt. The scientist use to be happily married before he had his son however his wife died giving birth and so the scientist blames his son for the death of his wife. This therefore caused the scientist to become abusive towards his son and with the desire to have his wife back, he then begins to use his son as a guniepig for a cloning experiment he plans to use on his wifes body in the loft to bring her back to life. With the desire to have the clones replecate thoughts and memories the original had, this eventually leads to his downfall as the clone of his son seeks revenge for the abuse he suffered.

Blog 6 - Poster Research

Because my short film 369 is a horror film, i have decided to research about horror film posters in order to find common codes and conventions in order to use for my poster.

Evaluation of horror posters

• Horror posters generally tend to have a black background or have a large amount of the colour black incorporated into it. This is because black is often seen as a colour that represents evil and night time, both common traits in most horror films

• Horror posters generally tend to use white font, this is because the white font stands out from the commonly used black background, attracting  the viewers eyes and also making it easy to read

• Horror posters generally tend incorporate the colour red in either the font or the picture, this is because the colour red represents blood and gore, a common sight in horror films and can also represent evil when used in certain ways (such as colouring somebodies eyes red)

• Horror posters tag lines usually contain a personal pronoun such as "you", "you're" and "you've" as it gets the reader involved since horror films focus on scaring the audience by making them almost feel they are in the same situations the charaters are in.

• Horror posters tend to use sillouettes and only reveal certain body parts of a character, this so that the viewer can see that there is a mysterious lifeform within the film which is presumable attempting to kill the main character, however you will have to watch the film to find out the identity of the thing and what it does to the main character.

• Actors/Actresses names and tagline and sometimes the film title uses capitals for every letter and a thick bold font as it makes it stand out and easy to read.

• Although the posters i researched and analysed (The exorcist and Tumbok being final release posters and The Echo and The Crazies being teaser posters) mainly contained simple bold font for the title, Tumbok used a type of font in red which represented the seeping of blood, implying that the film will contain gore and gives a clear definition to the person reading it that its a horror film.

• The two final release posters (The Exorcist and Tumbok) both vaguely show the location where  the character will experience the horrific ordeals. Both of the locations are surrounded by darkness showing evil is contained there.



Conclusion

For my poster i will use:

A black background to show the film is horror

Incorporate the colour red into either the font or main picture to show gore is involved

Use white/bold/capitlised font over the black background so that it catches the viewers eyes and makes it easy to read

Feature my experiment or scientist character however do not show their face, making their identity a mystery to the viewer until they watch the film. My current ideas for the poster picture is the scientist behind a sign saying "experiment taking progress"  with blood splattered across the window the sign as on, taken at night time to create a dark atmosphere. Another idea is to show dangerous equipment such as knifes/hammers on a silver tray with the experiments hands covered in blood and bandages with the tagline or experiment numbers splatted in fake blood (tomatoe sauce) in the centre of the tray. Another idea is to have the scientist apperently dead, laying down in blood as the main picture, then above the picture have two eyes looking down at the picture (maybe also have two eyes under the picture looking up). However the third and final idea i have decided to use is the word "HELP" drawn with blood on tiles with scratc marks made by blood surrounded it with also the numbers "369". I decided to use this because the blood and word "help" will symbolize the horror and gore in my movie, but also doesnt give much away about the characters in the film.

Use a font style that gives the impression of horror such as a dripping font coloured in red, representing blood

Use a tagline which features a personal pronoun either (you/you've/you're), my current ideas for the tagline are "If You Was A Creation Would You Show Dedication?" or "And You Thought Frankenstein Was A Nuisance/Rebel/Pain/Mistake". This is because it gives off a little idea about the plot of my film but doesnt give too much away

Blog 5 - Shot list

Shot List

1) Close up - Scientist writing on board
2) Long Shot/Zoom in/Close Up - Experiment 369 getting up
3) Through Eyesight Shot - Experiment 369 explores location and flees after hearing a scream from an experiment taking place
4) Over The Shoulder Shot/Zoom in/Close up - Scientist monitoring experiment 369 (Scientist laughs)
5) Through Eyesight Shot - Experiment 369 fleeing down stairs and managing to get outside and spots a gate it can escape out of
6) Over The Shoulder Shot/Zoom in/Close Up - Scientist pushes button while monitoring experiment 369 (Scientist: "I dont think so")
7) Through Eyesight Shot - Gate closes infront of Experiment 369 and he tries to unlock it
8) Close up/Zoom out - Scientist ticking a sheet of paper as a reaction to experiment 369 not being able to escape (Scientist: "So far so good")
9) Medium Shot - CCTV watching Experiment 369 explore the location and enter a building
10) Medium Shot/Close Up/Zoom in - CCTV watching character inside building/zooms it showing a sign warning about experiment 222 escaping
11) Through Eyesight Shot - Experiment 369 walks up stairs and tries to open a locked door, when he goes to exit the building, a knock attracts his attention which shows a hand with the letters "222" on it covered in blood which makes him flee
12) Long Shot -  CCTV view showing experiment 369 exploring outside and eventually entering a building
13) Close Up/Through the eyesight Shot/Zoom out - Scientist presses a button which locks a door meaning experiment 222 has to go a different way which leads to a dining hall with experiment 222 dead on the floor, a flashback a scientist killing experiment 222 shows and then experiment 369 walks off and enters a door which is shown by  CCTV
14) Through Eyesight Shot - Experiment 369 finds documents and reads them about experiments able to regenerating
15) Close Up/Zoom in and out - Scientist kills experiment 369 and leaves the computer however it shows experiment 222 twitching and get up, a flashback of the regeneration paragraph shows
16) Medium Shot/Zoom in - Scientist suprised experiment 222 is coming after him and flees
17) Long Shot - CCTV view of Scientist fleeing from his monitoring room and experiment 222 entering it
18) Through Eyesight Shot/Medium Shot - Experiment 222  looks through what the scientist was doing monitoring the experiments and monitors experiment 369 killing the scientist (Scientist: Oh God!)
19) Close Up - Experiment 222 replaces the words on the whiteboard