Captain's Log - 19/12

Over the weekend, we filmed most of the scenes on the pier. This includes the first scene, and most of the flashbacks, apart from the final one. We decided to cut one of the flashbacks out, as it was too similar to another, both involving Wesley attacking Lucas first. I will adjust the preceding "real" scene, either choosing the most important one, or combining them.

I have also been looking at examples of reviews for our ancillary task, analysing the layout of images, text and the structure and content of the review, as research for when I will do the review of our film.

Review Analysis Research

  Empire Magazine

• Clear layout, splitting the review into several parts for easier digestion.
• Both the synopsis and verdict are very brief, easier to quote and reference elsewhere in the magazine.
• Star rating appears twice, first and last.
• First paragraph focusses on the background of the film.  Second, a more detailed synopsis of the narrative. Third, actual review and references to other films. Fourth, negatives. Fifth, final positive point.
• Details on the film at the sides, as well as a DVD release date and a short summary of the DVD's advantage.

Gorilla Film Magazine

• Single image at the very top of the page, below title.
• Simple layout
• 1st paragraph details the premise and basic plot of the short film. 2nd immediately targets a flaw in the film's presentation and premise. 3rd paragraph compliments the themes of the film, but does not discuss the film particularly. 4th paragraph criticises the presentation further, particularly the mise en scene and how unrealistic the vision of the future seems. The 5th rounds out the review, tying the discussion of the films into the criticisms of the film and the acting.

 New Empress Magazine

• Simple layout, just a straight review.
• Rating in images, much larger than everything apart from the picture.
• 1st paragraph is a short summary. 2nd  is a synopsis of the plot, the 3rd a review of the film's overall approach. 4th more specifically reviewing cast and directors and the 5th concluding the review and rounding out the opinion.

Total Film

• Image relatively small compared to others
• Humorous subtitle.
• Star rating emphasised and directly below title.
• Release date at the start of review.
• 1st sentence in bold.
• Much more informal tone.
• Humorous caption on image
• 1st paragraph explains premise of film, mentioning similar works. 2nd paragraph goes through the plot of the film, reviewing a performance at the end.
• Short, easy to read summary at end "In Short" section.
• List of facts and information about the film.
• Two wide columns of text, with image at the top of one.

Little White Lies

• Image at the top, dominating the top third of the page.
• Title in bold
• Original title in original language as subtitle.
• Small details about film below title; director, star and release date.
• 1st paragraph referencing similar works, and a very short summary of the review. 2nd and 3rd paragraph list plot. 4th and 5th much more analytic than review. 6th adds context of director and actor's previous work. 7th paragraph final summary.
• Review split into three sections: Anticipation, Enjoyment and In Retrospect. Each given a short descriptive and a numerical rating.
• Three columns, with a fair amount of white space between image and text.

Audience Research

As a minor adjustment, we have decided to not use the "skinhead" costume idea for Lucas' character as it was too complicated and expensive for us to attain a good costume in such a style. However, we have decided to go for a basic suit: blazer, trousers and shirt, of a mainly grey or black colour. This would have a modern effect, and could replicate some of the retro appeal, as well as suiting some of the hipster/indie fashion sensibilities.

Captain's Log - 20/11

In today's lesson, I finished my task which I started in the last lesson, summing up costuming ideas for the two main characters. I used the website Pinterest to gather 5 similar ideas for the costumes for each character.

Costuming

Costume Ideas Pinterest Board

For the character of Lucas, we were intending to create a thug/delinquent look. Instead of defaulting to a a stereotypical "chav" character, we played with the idea of either a "biker" leather jacket-style look or a skinhead style. While we originally intended to go for a skinhead look, believing it to be very visually unique, it proved difficult to actually obtain the clothes required to make the outfit. Instead, based on the clothes which the actor had, we decided to have the character of Lucas wear a suit. This does play up the vaguely noir tones used in the voiceover and which we wish to demonstrate in the cinematography. It does give the character of Lucas a more confusing interpretation by the audience, but we hope that that will work in our favour by confusing the possible, and unknown, reasons for the conflict between the two characters.

Wesley's clothing is going to be much more casual, ordinary clothes than Lucas. This ensures that he will fit into no particular group and will be generally more relatable as a character, as well as being much less visually unique than Lucas, creating a duller character from the beginning. We've opted for a t shirt, leather jacket and jeans, which is quite a timeless "look" as well as being relatively generic.

Captain's Log - 16/11

Over the last few lessons, I have been writing a shooting script for the scenes storyboarded by Ed. Not all of the scenes are storyboarded however, mainly due to the repetitive nature of the pier scenes, which do not call for a storyboard or shooting script because they are formulaic and almost identical to the others.

Shooting Script for Storyboarded Scenes

Shots	Shot Description	Audio and Dialogue
1	EXT. Pier LS – Lucas and Wesley facing each other	Limited diegetic. Music.
2	LS – Lucas getting punched. Track around car in the foreground to show Wesley on the ground.	Punch effect.
3	CU – Wesley lying down, camera spirals up.	Wesley VO “So much for taking the hit like a man”
4	LS  - Wesley stands up, spits blood. Camera follows his movements.	“Wasn’t expecting a hit like that.” Rustling of getting up.
5	CU – Wesley checking his face for bruises.
6	MS – Wesley straightens himself	“At least he’ll leave me alone now anyway.” Rising non-diegetic
7	LS – Wesley walks away	“At least he’ll leave me alone now anyway.”
8	EXT. Street LS – Wesley walks along the street. Camera pans down from the sky.	“You know, when something happens and you make your choices, and then you mull it over, and make different choices?” “That’s the benefit of hindsight.” “The French have their own phrase for it: l’esprit de l’escalier.” “My problem still had a punchline.”
9	CU – Wesley looks into the car wing mirror.	“Not too bad.” “Like it never happened.”
10	CU – Wesley walks up to camera. Camera pans up.	Music.
11	OTS – Wesley looks over at the hallucinations across the road.
12	EXT. Pier LS – Wesley and Lucas stare at each other, begin fighting.	Fighting sounds.
13	CU – The two fight. Wesley runs down the pier. Camera tracks.	Fighting sounds.
14	LS – Wesley continues to run. Original shot of pier.	Fighting sounds.
15	EXT. Street MS – Wesley crouches, hiding.	Street sounds.
16	CU – Lucas stops and sees Wesley. Camera pans up.	Street sounds
17	EXT. Street LS – Wesley walks past the original street, sees where he crouched down	Voiceover. “Maybe running wouldn’t be so good an idea…”
18	EXT. Pier Original pier shot, two face off.	Non-diegetic music comes in subtly
19	OTS – Lucas throws a punch, Wesley blocks and returns a punch.	Fighting sounds. Building music.
20	OTS – Wesley follows through with the punch. Lucas falls down.	Fighting sounds. Building music.
21	Long shot/OTS – Real Wesley watches from a distance. Camera tracks slowly. The imagined Wesley pulls out a phone.	Distant fighting.
22	CU – Phone drops by Lucas’ body. Zoom in to show the number dialed.	Phone dropping. Ringing.
23	EXT. OTS – Camera following Wesley as he walks along the street	“I’m sure we could have worked something out.
24	OTS – Behind crossing.	“Like stopping a train by asking nicely”
25	EXT. Pier Lucas arguing on the phone and throwing his phone into the sea.	Music. Seaside sounds. Fighting.
26	EXT. Street ECU – Shot of mirror, Wesley approaching.	Walking.
27	ECU – Wesley picking up glass, drops it	Glass smash on floor.
28	CU – Wesley putting his finger to his mouth and sucking.	Sucking sound.
	Film continues...

Script

EXT. PIER - EARLY EVENING - REAL

Two male teenagers face each other, WESLEY and LUCAS. Wesley looks intimidated and is clearly inferior.  Lucas raises a fist. Hits Wesley. He falls.

Wesley lies, face down, on the ground. Lucas walks away, into the distance.

WESLEY (V.O.)

So much for taking the hit like a man...

Wesley places his hands on the ground and pushes up, lifting himself. He pulls his knees up and kneels, leaning back on his legs. He puts his hands to his face, checking for blood or bruises. He picks himself up and takes a few stumbling steps. He bends double and spits blood from his mouth.

WESLEY (V.O.)

Wasn't expecting a hit like that.

Wesley straightens himself up.

WESLEY (V.O.)

At least he'll leave me alone from now on anyway.

He takes a few steps down the street, lapsing into a pace.

WESLEY (V.O.)

Hopefully..

EXT. STREET 2 - REAL

Wesley walks along the street, looking around for any people walking by.

WESLEY (V.O.)

You know, when something happens and you make your choices, and then you mull it over, and make different choices?

The road is lined with parked cars. Wesley walks towards one.

WESLEY (V.O.)

That's the benefit of hindsight.

WESLEY (V.O)

The French have their own phrase for it: l'esprit de l'escalier. That's more for jokes.

He bends down and leans in close to the car's side door.

WESLEY (V.O.)

My problem still had a punchline.

He looks into the wing mirror, and touches his face, again checking for cuts and bruises.

WESLEY

Not too bad.

He picks himself up and starts walking off.

WESLEY

Like it never happened...

Across the street, he sees two male teenagers, staring each other down. Himself and Lucas.

EXT. PIER - IMAGINED

Two male teenagers face each other, WESLEY and LUCAS. Wesley looks intimidated and is clearly inferior.

Lucas steps forward and throws his punch. He slips on the wet ground of the pier. His punch falls short as Wesley quickly steps back. Lucas struggles to regain his balance. Wesley takes a second's hesitation before running off down the pier.

He turns back. Wesley has ran to the end of the pier. He isn't stopping.

EXT. STREET - IMAGINED

Wesley is hiding, crouched down beside the street. Lucas approaches and stares down at him.

EXT. STREET - REAL

Wesley stands still, staring at the place where he saw himself crouched down. Then, he turns off and walks away.

WESLEY

Maybe running wouldn't be so good an idea.

EXT.

WESLEY

There's the regular solution to a fight.

WESLEY

Hit first.

WESLEY

Supposed to let them know who you are, what they're dealing.

WESLEY

I think Lucas already knew.

WESLEY

It would have been worth a try.

WESLEY

Second chances are never worth much.

EXT. PIER

Two male teenagers face each other, WESLEY and LUCAS. Wesley looks intimidated and is clearly inferior.

Lucas steps forward, clenching a fist. Wesley's hand darts up to his face. Wesley steps back, almost in shock at his own movement. Lucas drops immediately. He lies, motionless on the ground.

EXT. STREET - REAL

Wesley watches this scene unfold. He sees the imagined version of himself pull out a phone, dial 999 and drop it beside Lucas' body.

The real Wesley watches, and solemnly walks away.

EXT.

Wesley walks along a road.

WESLEY (V.O.)

I'm sure we could have worked something out.

WESLEY (V.O.)

Like stopping a train by asking nicely.

A man runs across the road towards Wesley.

MAN

Can I get a light?

WESLEY

Sorry mate?

The man looks concerned and touches his face as a mirror suggestion.

MAN

You alright?

WESLEY

I'm fine.

WESLEY (V.O.)

Something says I got off easy the way things went.

EXT. PIER - IMAGINED

Two male teenagers face each other, WESLEY and LUCAS. Wesley looks intimidated and is clearly inferior.

Wesley raises his hands up. He says something. He begs. Lucas steps forward and throws a punch. Wesley hits the floor. Lucas follows up with a kick to the stomach.

Wesley lies, face down, on the ground. Lucas walks away, into the distance. Wesley struggles to breathe.

EXT. STREET - REAL

Wesley sits down, leaning heavily forward, elbows resting on his knees. He stares out across the street.

WESLEY (V.O.)

Problem solved, you think.

WESLEY

Take a hit, be a martyr, and it's end of the story.

WESLEY

Every story's got an epilogue.

WESLEY

The hit's got consequences, reverberations.

WESLEY

Doesn't everything?

EXT. PIER

Two male teenagers face each other, WESLEY and LUCAS. Wesley looks intimidated and is clearly inferior.

Lucas steps forward, priming a punch. Wesley hesitates, a look of fear spreads across his face in an instant. He throws his hand out. It connects with Lucas' stomach. He backs away, coughing and panting, gasping for breath.

Wesley holds his hands up and begins to talk. Lucas still struggles to breathe. Wesley's mouth moves quickly, he steps back.  Lucas finally straightens up. He moves to throw a punch but pulls back at the last second. He laughs hugely, and walks away.

EXT. ROCK ROAD

Wesley walks by, turning off the street onto a small path across to the multi-story car pack.

He looks around, and then drops down to sit on the steps. He huddles up and pulls his jacket tight around him.

WESLEY

Talking about stories, I wonder what his was.

WESLEY

Troubled young man like that.

WESLEY

Makes you think really.

As his hands pass by his jacket, he notices the bulk of the phone pressing out.

WESLEY

I'm glad he got to work out his frustrations on my face.

He slides his hand into the pocket and pulls out his phone.

WESLEY

I'll just think of it as charity.

He stares at the phone, but doesn't press any buttons, staring at the reflection in the black screen.

EXT. PIER - IMAGINED

Two male teenagers face each other, WESLEY and LUCAS. Wesley looks intimidated and is clearly inferior.

Lucas steps forward and raises a fist. He pauses. A phone rings in his pocket. His hand dives down into his pocket. He turns away from Wesley and raises the phone to his ear. His face drops.

He talks on the phone and gets visibly aggravated. He starts gesturing wildly. Wesley simply stands and watches. Lucas shouts into the phone and then throws it into the water.

EXT. STREET

Wesley walks by.

He notices a piece of a broken mirror lying on the ground.

He picks it up, rotating it into his hand, watching the reflection shift.

It slips slightly in his hands and he throws it down to the floor. He looks, and sees a cut across his finger.

He puts the finger to his mouth and sucks at it, a pained expression on his mouth. He sees the imaginary shades of him and Lucas again.

EXT. PIER - IMAGINED

Two male teenagers face each other, WESLEY and LUCAS. Wesley looks intimidated and is clearly inferior.

Lucas raises a fist and hits Wesley. Wesley shakes under the force of the blow, but stands his ground. He returns a punch of his own. Lucas grabs him, and throws him to the ground. He pins him down, and they tussle, flailing fists at each other. Wesley pushes him away slightly, lifts his legs up to press his feet against Lucas' chest and kicks off.

Lucas stumbles back onto his feet. Wesley picks himself up. They stand there, facing each other down. Lucas turns, and walks off and Wesley straightens himself out.

EXT. STREET - IMAGINED

Wesley stumbles along the street. He is still beaten and battered from his fight with Lucas. He stiffens, as if he has heard something. He whips around and sees Lucas, standing menacingly, cricket bat in his hand. Wesley, without hesitation, sprints away.

They run through several streets, before coming to the same street where the real Wesley had picked up the broken mirror. He sees him, standing there.

EXT. STREET - REAL

Wesley stands still as the two apparitions sprint past him. He continues to stand still, even as they run into the distance.

WESLEY (V.O)

Definitely should have done something.

Captain's Log 6/11

Over the half term, I managed to complete the script, which Ed used to complete the storyboards. I now need to do the shooting script, a fairly simple task, as it only requires putting the script in a different format and adding additional details on precise actor movement and shot types and camera movements. I also finally need to consolidate the research I have done on visual motifs and voiceovers. Once the technical issues are dealt with, it would be easy to complete these tasks.

Voiceover

Visual Symbols and Motifs in Film

Examples of visual motifs are quite common in film. They are used, most often, as a subtle metaphor to suggest something about the protagonist, the situation or the location at the time.

In the Godfather, the presence of oranges signifies death or violence, and specifically heralds it. In this scene, as Vito Corleone buys oranges in a NYC street, he is the victim of an assassination attempt. As he falls, he knocks a basket of oranges to the ground. Later, when chasing a child around an orange grove, and after eating an orange, he falls to the ground and dies. The clip below is a compilation of the various uses of oranges in the trilogy, some a little more vague or abstract than death or violence, and very open to interpretation.

In the Sixth Sense, red is used to signify a bridging between the world of the living and the dead which only the young boy, Cole, can see. For example, this scene at night, in which he hides from the visions of the ghosts, in a bright red tent, as seen in the clip below. His jumper before the attic scene in which he is trapped with a ghost is also a distinct red colour. This is a much more subtle use than the one in Unbreakable, discussed below, as it is not associated with any particular character, and often appears as part of the background, as with the tent scene.

Sixth Sense Tent Scene (I apologise for the lack of embedded video, there are content claims on all relevant videos which prevent embedding)

Unbreakable is a realistic interpretation of the classic superhero myth. To include the typical costumes, but in a far subtler way, M. Night Shyamalan gave both David and Elijah, the superhero and villain respectively, their own characteristic colours. David's is green and notably his green poncho is worn during his first act as a hero, as seen in the clip below. Elijah's is purple and most of his clothings and his comic book have a purple or blue focussed colour scheme.

The visual motif in Blade Runner are the origami figurines left by Gaff. Each one; a chicken, a man and a unicorn has a specific meaning relevant to that part of the film. When Deckard is refusing his "call to action", Gaff makes the chicken, symbolising Deckard "chickening out". The other two are less clear due to the variety of differing cuts and versions of the film. The matchstick man origami could symbolise Gaff knowing of Deckard's attraction to Rachel, or Gaff telling Deckard to man up. The final, the unicorn is the most unclear, but a dream Deckard has of a running unicorn, only present in certain versions perhaps suggests that Gaff may know that Deckard is a replicant, by knowing his dreams. Whatever, the interpretation, the origami figures are used as these very vague symbols, open to interpretation, but suggesting ideas about the characters without stating them in dialogue. In the clip below, you can see Deckard finding the final origami figure.

Captain's Log 09/10

Today, we received a brief detailing what needed to be done by the deadline, the 1st lesson back from half term. We have now started to more productively work towards this deadline. I have personally started work on the script, although constrained slightly by the openness of our project and the variety of undecided alternative scenes that could be filmed. So far, I will work on the "real world" scenes, which act as bridges between the imagined alternative scenarios, as they will vary very little, and the bridging dialogue is necessary to be written.

Captain's Log - 28/09

IN yesterday's lesson, we drew up two spider diagrams for ideas of both alternative scenarios to occur in the film and possible endings. We came up with a variety, both rather simple and easy to do as well as more complicated, but interesting ideas, which will probably use, as part of our general aim to be a bit more experimental. We also worked on two possible transitions between the real and imagined realities in the films, both of which are very complicated. I, also came up with the idea of using a sort of visual motif, some sort of object which can be seen to signify a separation between real and imagined, taking inspiration from outside the genre, particularly from The Godfather and the appearances of Oranges before scenes of death -

Pitch

Captain's Log - 25/09

Today, we, unfortunately, presented a bright pink Prezi to the rest of the class and a camera. Apart from  a few overly long rambling sentences, stutters and mispronounced words, it went well, covering all the ideas and presenting them. We also received a few very good questions from the class and Miss Moore, which we could use for the evaluation topic of audience response, as well as allowing us to expand the ideas presented and even giving us more ideas to explore for our film.

Captain's Log - 19/09

In today's lesson, I have carried on with creating the prezi presentation for our pitch, contributing most of the ideas concerning the narrative and plot of the short film. I have also continued doing research and finding clips of our inspirations.

Captain's Log - 18/09

So far, we have thought up the idea and narrative for the short in discussion, and gathered a fairly solid narrative structure. We have also considered ideas from other films, such as Pusher, and Run Lola Run, on how our film could be more innovatively shot and visually interesting. We have considered effects to use as well, in post-production, to best display the abilities of the team members in such a short film. Also, we have come up with overall approaches to the film, with an aim to try to fit too much into the short film, rather than too little, as other A2 projects seem to have done.

Prophecy Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyb-7ljlqFo

Mise-en-scene

The location is very appropriate to the narrative and circumstances. It appears to be set in a small apartment in some part of London, with fits in with the accents of the actors and their clothing, appropriate to young people, to create a more believable setting. The film also seems to utilise a very muted colour scheme, with very little strong colours, this gives it a sort of gritty realism.

Camerawork

The camerawork for most of the film is very conventional, mostly medium shots and close ups, with the occasional Dutch Tilt, first used when the younger boy, Ali, begins to act strangely, transferring the older brother's emotions onto the audience. There is also a POV shot composed of the same shot, superimposed onto itself an moving around to simulate the elder brother's drunkenness. Another similar shot occurs after the older brother's death showing his dead face. Given the way that it repeats the style of a POV shot, it could be said to represent an out of death experience. It continues when he wakes up, to show confusion on the part of the character.The way the shots follow the older brother's movement and viewpoint, it is clear that we are meant to empathise with him and his view on the events and his younger brother's strange behaviour.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film is very dramatic, being quite operatic and classically influenced, apart from the diegetic music over the older brother's headphones. The mostly classical non-diegetic soundtrack, is at odds with the realism of the mise-en-scene and camerawork. However, it does serve to allude to a more important aspect to the narrative, before it is explained visually or in dialogue, creating a clever and subtle use of foreshadowing. It reaches a crescendo at the climax as the protagonist discovers Ali's prophecy. The diegetic sound on the other hand is very conventional, showing more of the realism shown in the mise-en-scene, apart from a static noise accompanying the glitch effects.

Editing

The short film has a very good use of editing. A strange glitch effect across the actors creates a huge contrast between the realistic presentation of the rest of the film, really making the strangeness of it stand out, and creating confusion and mystery. From the point when the older brother falls onto his bed to his death, a black outline appears around the edge of the screen. This is quite subtle, not being something that an audience might notice on a first time viewing, so it registers on a subconscious level, making the tone become much darker, fitting in with the narrative as Ali's prophecy is soon to come true.