Film Blog Update 13/12/10

Currently I am finishing my storyboard and script. Once finished I shall upload them.

Digital Mood Board

Here I have uploaded a picture of a digital mood board I created to illustrate my ideas and influences for the films final narrative.

1) My first influence came from the analysis of the film 'The Blair Witch Project' I saw this as a main item I could take influence and ideas from for example the use of mise-en-scene and the use of cinematogrpahy.

2) The second image shows, the idea of a conventional element of the horror genre, the use of a disguised protagonist. Typically a hood/cloaked figure.

3) Thirdly the location which I would set my film is a main element, therefore I have a image of the countryside at night. I chose this location due to the use of the motif of the typical isolation associated with particular areas, especially at night. Which again is a typical convention of horror films the setting of night.

4) The fourth image on the mood board, represents the importance and the use of the handheld camera within the diegsis of the film. Although it is the main item used to film the sequecne it also acts as a prop within the film as it is that characters main piece to document the events happening.

5) The use of the static symbolises the use of the editing within the film, as it is handheld filming and shows events post of them happening there will be a use of jump cuts in the digesis to symbolise the footage being fast forwarded/played back to different events within the tape. This creates a sense of realism for the audience giving a sense of a real nature to the film. (The influence of the jump cuts is taken from the car scene in Breathless 1960 Jean-Luc Goddard).

6) In the bottom left corner I have featured the image of the inside of a car, this is a visual example of the main setting of mise-en-scene within my film. The characters will be driving to their holiday destination (the sequence will end as they hit the cloaked figure).

7) Finally another influecne I have used is from the film Clovrfield, the use of the handheld camera is seen as a predominate element within the film. Therefore I will study the typical use of shots from the film and the Blair Witch to gain a stronger sense of how to create a found footage film.

The Script to my film.

Script:-

(There is a harsh effect of static within the first scene, this then fades to reveal a shaking camera shot at night and the character of Ryan running into the woods, alongside the camera man.)

Ryan: Run, For God’s Sake RUN !

Jake: *Heavy Breathing & Crying*

*static*

(The scene changes to the family getting ready to leave for their holiday the camera is pointing towards the mirror in a hallway, and the only element of the family shown is their suitcases and there voices as the talk)

Alice: Are we all ready ?!

Ryan: No. I can’t find it.

Jake: You can’t find what ?

Ryan: My phone. I put it down, and someone took it !

Alice: Did you check your room ?....

Ryan: Not a word!

Jake: Can we please go. Now!

*static*

(The static phases out to the camera man alone in the woods at night running and walking around afraid)

Jake: *Heavy Breathing*

*Loud Scream*

(The static effect comes back and the film jump-cuts tot he family in the car. Jake still has the camera and is filming the family holiday. The song Jag vet en dejlig Rosa is playing in the background on the radio)

Ryan: Well this is fun.

Jake: We have only just set off. Moron.

Alice: Don’t start already please.

Ryan: Why are you filming this anyway. Its kinda’ sad.

Jake: I just thought it would be cool if we could actually remember this holiday for a change, instead of,

Alice: Meaning ?!

Ryan/Jake: Nothing. (Both Laugh)

(The scene jump-cuts to further in the sequence, the sequence is now taking place later in the day.)

Jake: So how long till were there ?

Ryan: Yeah. I’m kinda getting bored of seeing tree’s, tree’s and tree’s.

Alice: I need to check the map, let me pull up over here.

Ryan: Let me guess near a tree.

(Jump-cut)

(The scene now becomes, Alice and Ryan outside the car arguing over the map and directions the scene firstly starts with Jake having the camera on the dashboard of the car and going to see what is happening. He later goes out with the camera to see what is happening, also taking the camera with him.)

Jake: Whoa, whets happening here.

Alice: Your brother is being an idiot, thinking he knows how to read a map.

Ryan: Well, I do you should just listen, and then

Jake: Both of you just leave it out, ok why don’t we just drive up and ask for directions at a house or something?.

Ryan: That sounds nice, then they can take us into the basement and feed us to their interbred kids, and the rest of hill-Billy village.

Jake: You really need to stop watching films in your room and get out more.

Ryan: Bite me!

Alice: Just get in the car. Now!

*static*

(The family are back in the car and the time has again progressed into later during the day. They are talking about the man, who gave them directions)

Ryan: Where about’s is it then, because this is getting boring.

Jake: Stop whining the guy said its around here some where.

Alice: I think it might be through this clearing.

Jake: It’s starting to get dark by the way.

Ryan: And.

Jake: And I’m saying I don’t wanna be driving around the woods in the dark. Ok.

Alice: Not while i'm driving.

*Static*

Ryan: Down the lane, bet its faster.

Jake: No its dark and I have crap signal as it is.

Ryan: Oh lets just go nothing with happen.

Alice: He’s right it might be quicker.

Jake: What ?! No !

*Static*

(Thud)

Jake: What was that ?!

Alice: I’ll go see.

*Scream*

*static*

Storyboard Sheets.

Initial Ideas (2)

For the second part of my research I wanted to look at how I would create a scene within a car like on the third textual analysis, (Texas Chainsaw Massacre). I firstly looked at the elements of sound and how they can create tension and fear in the within, the car. I decided to chose the following music;-

• ACDC- Highway To Hell. (Irony within the diegsis) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0LDbf4ipWM
• Krzysztof Komeda- Rosemary's baby (Soundtrack) (Sense of fear as it becomes night) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deyc4uLg8ew
• Robyn-Jag Vet En Dejlig Rosa- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcNEOQ6Cj7U

Initial Ideas Taken From Analysis'

My initial ideas taken from the analysis' is to take a main feature of each and develop this into my own work, for example mixing a combination of the French New Wave's use of jump cuts to give the feeling of realism to the film in its literal textual form, alongside the use of the amateur camera work features of cinematography from the Found Footage genre and the use of the mise-en-scene which creates claustrophobia such as the van sequence in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. With a combination of all these components I will be able to create a Food Footage film for my creative project.

Textual Analysis 3 (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974) (Hitchicker Sequence) (4:00-6:41 minutes)

For my final textual analysis, I will look at the Hitchhiker sequence from the 1974 version of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In this scene the group of teenagers have been driving along a country a lane and pick up a hitchhiker on roadside, covered in blood and seeming to have a mental problem. The group soon discover he is deranged and throw him out of the van after he cuts one member with a shaving blade. In the scene I will look at how the stylistics (Mise-en-scene, Cinematography, Sound and Editing.) are put together to tension and uneasiness for the characters as well as the audience, I will also look at the conventions of a horror sequence to see how it is created.

The mise-en-scene within the sequence, is mainly focused on the use of the Van the group are in, this follows a convention of horror as they are in a confined space with the hitchhiker therefore creating tension for the audience to pick up on, this is something I want to adopt that I can install in my own creative project. Secondly we have the appearance of the van, for example were the group are placed in the van we have a large amount of windows giving open space and light, however where the hitchhiker is placed we have a enclosed area with less space and light. This in turn gives character recognition for the audience we automatically know that the hitchhiker is only there as a negative force for the group. Furthermore with the presence of costume and make up in the scene we also get a sense of who we see as the bad character with the use of the blood on the hitchhikers face showing obvious danger, even down to his dark costume. This along with the use of the enclosed space of the van gives a claustrophobic feeling as they are trapped with this character. Further into the scene we see the hitchhiker bring out a camera and taking photos, this makes the group feel uneasy as well as the audience, again we get the feeling of entrapment with this character and see the group being put in danger. I want to try and recreate this effect within my own work, to give a sense of danger that will allow the audience to identify the genre.

The main use of cinematography comes from the use of low angle shots and medium close ups in the sequence. We get the use of low angle shots when we have a shot of the group, this shows the solidarity of the group and their number, compared to the hitchhiker, on the other hand the use of the medium shot of the hitchhiker shows his mental state through the use of a fixed shot, we can tell with the use of the low angle shots of the group that they have more power than the hitchhiker as a group, however the shot of his shows hen really has no sense or acknowledgement of the groups established power, he is just focused in this one shot we get know sense of emotion of the character through the use of shots. We only really get a close up when we see the hitchhiker burn the photo, this it to emphasis the danger the characters are in, however it also emphasises the metal state of the hitchhiker as we as the audience wonder what he is doing with the photo. After the close up we again move to the use of a medium shot, showing the lack of emotion of the character of the hitchhiker again he has no emotion and things what he is doing is normal. However the other characters see this as not normal and start getting scared, it is emphasised with the use of the camera shots in the sequence it changes from medium shots, to close-ups to extreme close-ups giving the, impression that they are frightened, however when the shot changes back to the hitchhiker it remains a medium shot as he sits clapping to himself. We see this effect again as the hitchhiker cuts one of the group in the van with a razor blade, we get the same type of shots. I want to apply this type of techniques to my film to over-exaggerate the emotion of the characters and the use of amateur camera work.

The final stylistics I will look at is the use of sound and editing in the scene, the main use of sound comes from the use of diegetic dialogue and the use of the radio in the background. This gives a sense of realism with the characters interacting and the radio playing in the background. Secondly the main use of editing comes from the use of basic cuts from one shot to another, alongside the use of shot reverse shot during character interaction. The use of the cuts matches the pace of sequence as the events unfold in the van. Giving a sense of quick fast paced movement taken from the horror genre.

Textual Analysis 2 (Beathless) (Car Sequence)

For my second textual analysis I will look at one of the car scenes from the film Breathless (1960, Jean-Luc Godard). I wanted to look at the this scene as I wanted to look mainly at the use of jump-cuts from the era of French New Wave as it is one of the main stylistics of editing I want to try and incorporate into my own project. In the sequence we as an audience are in the car with Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and Patrica (Jean Seberg) as they are making their way to Italy in the convertible. The scene mainly focuses on the character of Patrica as she in central to the main use of the jump-cut in this scene. I will look at how the scene is created with the use of main stylistics; Cinematography, Sound, Mise-en-scene and Editing. I will also look at how I can apply main of the feature within the scene to my own creative project.

The first aspect I will look at is the use of Mise-en-scene within the scene and how it is used to create the sequence. The first feature of Mise-en-scene I will look at is the use color, as we can see the main aspect of color comes from the monochrome colors of black and white, this is due to the lack of color viewing in the era the film was shot in, however we can also see this as a way of reflection of the times the film was created, giving it a feel of French life within the 1960’s. Furthermore we get this feeling with the use of the cars, people and the general look of the setting of the scene. However there is a reason why we get a real feel for the setting this is due to Godard’s use of voyeurism within the scene, the only people who knew they were being filmed were the actors and the crew members, the general public and the general environment, were natural as they were not informed of the filming allowing use as a audience to get a real sense of French life in the 60’s due to the aspect of voyeurism. The costume of the characters is also important in the scene for example, the costume of Michel is typically an icon for the criminal, hat, sunglasses and a long coat.

The cinematography in the scene is quite basic, as the scene only has one main focus camera style which is a tilted angled, over the shoulder close up of Patrica in the passenger seat of the car. This shot is used as it becomes more apparent that there is the presence of jump-cut as we can see the setting behind her change. Furthermore as the shot is locked in a fixed position we can also get a sense on movement from the change in setting behind her. On the other hand we also have the use of a high angle medium shot of Michel in the driver’s seat; this is to give a sense of who Patrica is talking to in the scene.

The final two areas are the use of Sound and the use of Editing in the scene, firstly we have the use of sound, usually this is made up of the use of dialogue (diegetic sound) however alongside this we also have the use of the non diegetic sound of the sound track as the two are having a conversation. Furthermore the type of the music fits in to the narrative well as it is a jazz band playing in the background, relevant as jazz music was big in the 1960’s, this again adds to the image of the film and the portray of the era. The final stylistic is the element of editing; the main use of editing in the scene is the use of the jump cuts. There are various reasons that the jump-cut is used in the scene, for example on of the main elements of French New Wave cinema was to make the audience realize that it was just a film, taking them away from the idea of diegsis (the filmic world) and bringing the back into reality. Further more the jump cuts are also there because of a trademark of Jean-Luc Godard, who used the jump cuts to break down a lengthy sequence of the car journey. I will use the effect of jump cuts to create a sense of realism within my creative project this alongside the use of the handheld camera will give a verisimilitude effect for the audience.

Textual Analysis 1 (Blair Witch Project) (End Sequence)

The first textual analysis will focus of the use of the genre I am using to create my film, therefore I will look at how the use of the conventional elements are brought together along side the main for stylistics (Mise-en-scene, Cinematography, Editing and Sound) are brought together to create a sequence. The scene I will look at is the final scene of the film and shows the two remaining characters entering a house in the woods believed to be the Blair Witch’s home. The scene ends with the main character falling on the floor and dropping the camera, the film then ends leaving the audience wondering what has happened.

The mise-en-scene of the clip follows the basic conventions of a horror genre, however as found footage is a postmodern genre ( a mixture of genre conventions used a the foundations for a new genre) as uses the conventions of horror and documentary, this means horror conventions become found footage. The first main conventional aspect of mise-en-scene is the use of isolation in the clip with the two main characters in the woods follows a cliché of horror/found footage as it sets the audience up for what they think will happen next. With the use of the hand held camera ( A cinematography aspect) the colour and lighting within the sequence also falls in to place as we can see the use of lighting automatically becomes quite low to give that feeling of total darkness giving the audience more fear about the event that will unfold, furthermore the use of colour is also determined by the type of the filming (night), the place of filming (the woods), this again allows the audience to determine the genre of the film they are watching. The next location we see in the clip is the use of the house in the isolated location of the woods. The house again follows the main conventions of am horror film, a scary location in a isolated area. Once inside the house we get a fearful feel from the use of the hand prints (of blood) on the wall again gives a creepy effect to the scene however with the use of the camera we also get a realist feel. As the two characters continue through the house we get more use of the mise-en-scene within the house with the use of the abandonment of the house giving it a broken down and scarier feel. The final use of mise-en-scene I will look at is the use of the costume of the to main characters in the scene, they both wear quite average costumes, mainly focused around the idea of camping, therefore we seem them as average people, giving the perception to the audience that hey are average people and becomes more appealing to the audience.

The cinematography in the scene is focused primarily on the use of the handheld camera, which adds to the effect of realism also adding to the verisimilitude of the film and giving a more personal viewing experience for the audience. The use of the shots in the scene, seem to be made to look amateur do to the angles of the cameras position again this adds to the use of the verisimilitude within the digesis. The use of the camera follows the basic conventions of found footage as we have the shaky filming and the use of the jilted angles to give a real first person view of the events unfolding. We also see the sue of a mixture of shots used in the sequence due to the amateur theme the cameras are structurally set up to film the footage in a rushed manor due to the narrative of the film.

The next twos stylistics I will look at is the use of editing and sound. The main sound it the diegetic sound of the characters dialogue, we also have the use of the witches scream the fast paced sound gives the audience significance of action within the narrative. There is also the use of the camera noises such as the use of the recording of he camera and the noise it makes adding to the use of verisimilitude. Secondly the use of editing in the sequence gives a first had point over view that the genre is found footage, the main us in the use of the jump cuts in the sequence as it cuts from one scene to another. This gives the impression that the tape is being played back and sections are being fast forwarded to the actual events. This gives the audience the feeling that they are the ones watching the events after they have happened.

















http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMQQpmm5u3w

Textual Analysis

To help gain inspiration for my creative project, I will analyse three clips each having a different use towards my work the three clips I have chosen to analyse are:

• Blair Witch Project (1999) (End Sequence) - Use of Found Footage Genre.( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMQQpmm5u3w )
• Breathless (1960) (Car Scene) - Use Of Jump Cuts and French New Wave Cinema. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KUVwKp6MDI )
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) (Hitchhiker Scene) - Horror Genre/Use of Mise-en-scene. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-73BUDHcCCc )

Narrative Structure Chart

Equilibrium

Protagonist (Family members)
Antagonist (Killer)

Disruption
The Family hit the killer
The killer begins to kill the family members.

Quest
The family try to survive, the killers wrath.

Climax
The killer murders all the family members, and the camera is found by the police.

Resolution
The police find out what happend to the missing family, However the killer is never found.

Requalibrium

Synopsis

Synopsis;

A family set out on a holiday which is filmed by a member on a handheld camera. Whilst driving they neglect to see something on the road and hit it with the car, whilst shock is initially felt through out the car, the drive goes to check what they have hit. Once everyone gets out of the car they see that they have hit a person and presume that they killed him. Not knowing what to do they throw the body into the woods and begin to drive on, still full of fear and shock, suddenly the car tyres are punctured by an unseen object. As the group inspect the damage they notice they have no signal on their phones, this causes them to panic. They then decide go find help, however unbeknown to them their tyres where punctured by a trap laid earlier by the person they hit, one by one the characters begin to be killed of as the hit and run victim tracks them. The camera is later recovered by authorities who play it back and find out what happened to the missing family.

Aim and Context

Context:
For my creative project, I will be creating a short sequence taken from my imagined film ‘Lay By’. The sequence will be the opening to the film and show the characters going to their destination (Holiday). The sequence will be in the genre of Found Footage.

Aim:
My aim will be to allow the audience to identify the genre but also create a feeling of realism within the sequence with the aid of the conventions of the genre (Found Footage) and the use of method taken for French New Wave Cinema, to install the feeling that the film Is real footage rather then a film. I will look at the use of jump cuts taken from French New Wave cinema from films such as Breathless, (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) whilst combining this with the use of found footage genre conventions by looking at films from this genre such as Blair Witch Project, (Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez, 1999). Alongside this I will also look at the other stylistics I can apply with the aid of the conentions from this genre such as isolation created for the use of mise-en-scene.

Found Footage Conventions

The conventions of a Found Footage Genre are;-

• Isolation of the characters.
• Use of handheld footage.
• Documentary stylistics; such as, a theme or topic based around and investigation.
• Post the events taken place.
• All (or with the exception of one) the characters are killed.
• Amateur cinematogrpahy to create verisimilitude.

Genre and Conventions;- Found Footage Genre (Sub-genre)

The genre I have chosen to look at is the genre of found footage, this means the film is set post the events of narrative, the genre has been identified as a genre as it has become popular within the last few years with film directors and has been used in an array of film, mostly horror or thriller, which raises the argument of it actually being its own genre or a sub-genre of horror.

The first usage of the genre was in 1980 in the form of the film, Cannibal Holocaust (1980). It was then establishes as it’s own genre after the release of ‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1999), ‘Cloverfield’ (2008) and ‘Paranormal Activity’ (2009). As well as being used in horror and thrillers it has also been used in science fiction films such as ‘The McPherson Tapes’ (1997) and ‘Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County’. The actors tend to be average looking, amateur "everyman" types with whom we can identify. Even if you don't believe the events of the film did happen, the informal acting and style of film making causes the viewer to feel a sense of "this could happen to me" much more so than a slick high budget production. The genre still can be classified as a sub-genre of horror as it features main of the same conventions and stylistics, such as; the feature of character isolation for example [REC] (2007) the use of the isolation is emphasised with the mise-en-scene and cinematography. However it combines the conventions of modern horror alongside that of modern documentaries, such as; to document events to allow the audience to understand what is going on. This allows found footage to create its own conventional code. With a mixture of different genre conventions this also allows a mixture of stylistics with in the narrative of the production. The main example of genre conventions within the genre of found footage, is the main idea of the horror genre the idea of isolation of the characters, meaning they are put in a situation alone give the feelings of the horror genre; sacredness, loneliness, endangerment and many more. However with the use of this convention from the horror genre along side the conventions from the documentary genre,; the one to one experience the audience gain from documentaries, this allows the audience to get a up front and more personal look at the genre of horror thanks to the use of the mix of conventions from both horror and documentary’s. This means the effect of the film becomes much more realistic as the audience are seeing it through the use of the conventions. For example The Blair Witch Project (1999) ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMQQpmm5u3w ) this can be seen in the end sequence when the ‘Blair Witch’ it shown attacking the characters. This then gives a much scary appeal to the audience as they are put in the perspective of the character. Many more films use this approach such as; [REC] (2007)

Another main convention of the found footage genre is that either one or none of the characters survive the narrative this is all based around the idea of the footage been found by somebody else and played back to find out the events post of them happening. Or if somebody does survive them showing the footage to somebody else, either way many of the characters do die in a found footage film. This can be seen in films such as Paranormal Activity (2009) with the single female character surviving the story (depending on which of three endings are shown) and [REC] (2007) ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfczJAB-lKk&feature=related ) with the final remaining character dropping the camera and being dragged away, the last image we are shown is her being dragged away in the camera screen. Another conventional feature is that the characters fate becomes sealed as soon as film begins, the audience already know that characters with be killed within the narrative, secondly all the characters are killed equally and there is no real judging of the character, where as in a traditional horror film, there are various reasons in which a character may die such as slasher films the main antagonist has a grudge or something similar against the character giving them a reason to become a killer and follow basic narrative structure. Furthermore the genre of found footage also breaks the rule of narrative structure as we as a audience only get to see the footage through the eyes of the main characters, therefore we see what they see and get no back story or insight as to what is happening unless the characters themselves discover what is going on, this can be seen in Cloverfield (2008) the characters don’t know what is attacking New York or what is happening therefore us as an audience don’t either. This can be seen as a positive convention as we as an audience are place centrally into the story of the film and are made to be like the characters not knowing what is going on.

A final convention I have chosen to look at for the genre of found footage is the convention is the use of mixed footage for example in the film; Cannibal Holocaust (1980) ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ-Xp6VC7RQ ) the film does show found footage however it also shows footage recorded in the method of ‘normal’ cinematography such as in traditional horror films. Meaning that the film is a mixture of filming techniques. However there is also positive to the use of non handheld cinematography in the genre of found footage. It allows the use of handheld footage to seem more believable within the digesis. This is because we as an audience begin to see the digesis through traditional film techniques once we are introduced to the narrative when we are show what we believe to be real footage through the use of found footage it becomes more believable for us, as we have become accustom to the characters. This means it is just as effective as a whole film in the same stylistics.

To conclude the use of the conventions of the found footage genre help to create films which seem believable to the audience as we are put right at the centre of the film and place in the same scenario as the characters. This creates a good basis for a psychological twist for the audience. Furthermore the use of a mix of conventions from both the horror genre and the genre of documentaries allows the verisimilitude to collide with the creative writings of script writers and directors to allow a film which works well in generating horror yet making it seem real to the audience. With films such as The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Paranormal Activity (2009) the genre of found footage will create better and more adventurous films which will appeal to generations to come.

Genre and Convention

The first piece of research needed to be carried out was what type of genre will our short film/sequence be, therefore we had to research the genre and its conventions to help us decided of how we're going to fulfil the brief around this.

A2 Flim Studies Creative Project FM3 (Brief)

The brief is to create a short film (3-5 minutes), while creating the film we must engage and apply the issues raised in FM1 (Film Language) in relation to the production of meaning and the study of film and stylistics.