Films Distribution Prezi

Script Writing

In the lesson today we were looking at scriptwriting and you would work at putting a script together. We looked at rules and general conventions of writing a script and what makes it look professional  and less professional.

The first part that was looked at was the Slugline or Scene Heading.

This is always in capitals. It states whether it is esternal (EXT) or internal (INT) and sometimes the time of day.

Example: EXT. PARK - DAY



The next part was Action.
This is the decription of the scene, which includes the description of the setting and characters. If this is the first time a character is seen then there name will always be capitalised.

Example: The park is bustling and full of people. Leaning against a tree is ELIJAH SANTOS, a man in his late teens to early twenties, who looks like he hasn't slept in a long time.



After this was was Character Headings.
Before the character speaks the writer puts the CHARACTER NAME to show the reader that the dailogue following is of this character. The character name can be an actual name (JAY) or a description (FAT MAN) or an occuptaion (POLICEMAN). At times you have INSPECTOR #1 and then INSPECTOR #2.
Thw character heading is always centred. (or indented 3.5" from the left margin)

Example:

 ELIJAH

 

 

 

Next was Dialogue.

This is what the characters say. It is Indented not centred. It is indented 2.5" from the left margin and 2" from the right margin.

 

Example:

 ELIJAH

 

                                                     What time is it?

 

 

Parentheticals was the last.

These are breif descriptions of the way the characters talk or behave, attitude etc. They are rarely used. They are indented 3.0" and 3.5" from the right.

 

Example:

ELIJAH

 

                                                                (angrily)







Opening Sequence Planning (Inspiration)

I looked at a few openings that I thought worked well and thought about what they did to make it work so well, and how it was done.

I looked at 3 Title Sequences in detail, 2 films and 1 TV show. These were; Evil Dead, Afro Samurai Resurrection, and True Blood. I also took a look at Dexter but not in as much depth.

Afro Samurai

From Afro Samurai, I looked at the manga type drawings and minimal animation used as I thought it worked very well and looked very effective even though it was simple and did not look to difficult to pull off for the most of it.

I found it intersting because it was an animated opening but it did not have much animation, much of it was still drawings. This drew my attention as it is something that could be possible to do without too much hassle.

Evil Dead

Evil Dead is made very effective by the connotations and enigma codes and is enhanced heavily by soundtrack used. The music is very creepy and outs you on edge, mainly because of the assosiations that sound created by the music has with the genre of horror. It conforms to the conventions of horror film in both the audio and in the Visuals. The visuals is based mainly on the theme of blood. It connotes this first with the red text, and then throughout with the constant red and black, and with the constant peircing and slicing/cutting movements which are always followed by blood splattering or dripping. It is intreseting how it almost made completely out of red and black, and the images of objects are made out of shading with red on the black. The only colour there is apart from black is different shades of red. This is also an abstract opening. This was good for ideas, but would be very hard to try and replicate so an idea whic will most likely not be run with.

True Blood

This is another abstract opening. It hints on the themes of the show, such as vampires, blood, sex etc. But it does not show us any of the characters of the show, or tell us anything about the plot. It constantly reminds us of death, by showing us dead animals, at the start the first thing we see is what looks to be a dead fis, soon followed by a crocodile, which also appears to be lifeless. It also shows us a pouncing snake, dead meat in a butchers, and a dead rat on the road in a blood splatter aswell as more examples of this. It also hints there could possibly a predator, probably a vampire, with the church billboard that says "God Hates Fangs." (0:45) This is also important as religion is a prominant theme in this opening sequence. There are many snippets of church services and mentions of God within the sequence.

Titles Text Analysis

Text Analysis

The text of the Spring Breakers title is very unconvential  says a lot of the film. The colour scheme for example, although there are other colours, is based primarily on the colours pink and blue. These are usually colours used to represent boys and girls, men and women.

 

The text is built mainly of flowers butterflies and fire. The fire could possibly be a suggestion of the possible conflict and chaos in the film between between the females, or possibly males and females. The flowers and butterflies both add to the girly feel of the titles with the colours, as both are generally matched with the female stereotype.

 

The Boondocks title is simple and is composed of a old fashioned type thin gold font on a gold background. This gives quite an old and retro feel which is quite contradictive to the actual show as it is very modernised. Also on either side of the writing there is the silhouettes of 2 of the main characters, brothers Huey and Riley Freeman. This gives us an insight to the characters of the show but doesnt give away too much about them. This is cleverly done because if you have seen the show before then even just from the silhouette the two are instantly recognisable but if you have not seen it before then the images will not mean anything to you. This partially conforms to the titles convention of white block writing on a black background, but with the colour or the text changed.

The Dark Knight Rises is composed of blue flames with a black background and write text. This is quite conventional but with blue flames added to create a silhouette o the well recognised. Without this it would be the traditional black background with white text. The simplicity of it is effective as it can instantly be recognised as a batman film even thoughb it is not explicitly stated.

Dark Kight Rises Opening Sequence 9 Frames Analysis

25 Word Pitch

Two sisters. One attracts, one kills. Dexter meets Friday 13th. The film is twisted which represents the mental state of both characters and their past.

Favorite Opening Sequence Presentation

Conventions of a Opening/Title Sequence

https://bubbl.us/?h=1bcc9f/37aeba/186yYfL5hlrog

Narrative Theory

Narrative

"Any account of connected events, presented to a reader or listener in a sequence of written or spoken words, or in a sequence of (moving) pictures". 

The narrative is often confused with the story, which is slightly different. The story is the whole story behind what we see in the film. 

The narrative is the part of the story that we as the audience see. It is the way that the story is presented to us, the plot that it follows. For example, in Star Wars, the story in its simplest form is a small band of rebels attempting to take down an evil controlling empire. The narrative is what we see, which is the adventures of Luke Skywalker and his supporters, such as Han Solo and the princess etc.



When looking at Narrative Theory, there are three main approaches that are considered.

Todorov

The first is a theory by Todorov.
This theory is quite simplistic but accurate.

It is focused on 3 parts of the narrative.

• At the start, there is an equilibrim, a normal situation that the audience get used to.
• After this there is a disequilibrim, a situation that upsets the balance of the story.
• At the end a new equilibrim is set, and balance is restored.

 

Syd Field

The next is by Sid Field,  an American screenwriting guru. He also believed that narratives were split into 3 sections, but added in more detail. His main contribution was the adding of the idea of Plot Points.

 These "plot points" were effectively the key points in the narrative where there was a real changing point that would have a big effect on the story. He also renamed the 3 sections, as Set Up, Confrontation, and Resolution.



 

Vladamir Propp

Propp is another significant theorist concerning narrative theory. However he focused more on character roles rather than the actual narrative itself.

1. The Villain is the character who struggles aginst the hero, and is usually the one who causes the disequilibrim or confrontation. This is normally an "evil" character, and the antagonist om the film. This character has a negative effect on other characters within the film.

2. The Hero or victim/seeker. This character reacts to the donor, and normally chases after the Villain, and weds the princess. 


3. The (magical) helper. This character helps and assists the hero in the quest. They usually accompany the hero for the majority of the film. However they are sometimes captured by the villain, and the hero is sidetracked on a mini quest to get their sidekick back.

4. The princess and her father. Gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.

5. The dispatcher. This is the character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.

6. False Hero, This character takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.

7. The Donor prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.

My Favourite Title Sequence (City Of God)

Saul Bass Case Study

Continuity Editing Task.

Here we were given a a opportunity to show and develop our editing skills, in the form of this continuity task. This was interesting for me as it was my first time editing video footage.

As this task was purely focusing on editing, we did not film our own footage. We were given some rough footage that had multiple different shots for each part of the scene.This enabled us to truly do our own edit as it meant we all could chose our own shot for each part, and so could to some extent put our own spin on the story and running of the film.

Considering that it was my first edit, i think it went reasonably well as I don't think the footage we were given was too difficult to edit, and i think the I managed to achieve reasonably good continuity within the edit.


(To insert video when I get it from mac)

Themes and Style

Theme -
An underlying subject or idea that the film revolves around, acting as a foundation for the film.

In title sequences the theme is often the key theme taken from the film. This is used to give an audience an idea of what to expect from the film. It usually has a similar tone regarding visuals, audio, narrative etc.

An example of this is Dexter. This is a show based on a blood splatter analyst, who is also a serial killer. He is obsessed with blood and cannot controll his urge to kill, so to consolidate this need he attempts to try to make the best of it and hunts down and kills only criminals who have escaped being sentenced for crimes. The main theme of this show is blood, and this is a main of the title sequence also. This is displayed with the use of blood and also other common objetcts which resemble blood, such as ketchup. Throughout the title scene there are uses of things that either look visually like blood, or are commonly associated with blood. An example of this is the cutting of meat and a splatter of ketchup just after which looked like a splatter of blood coming from the incision on the meat.



Other themes can usually be categorised under a few sections. Narrative themes, Location themes, and Genre themes, and occasionally themes of a specific object or idea.


For example, Friends has the narrative theme of friendship, which is evident throughout the narrative of the show.


Grand Theft Auto Vice City has the location theme of Miami, as well as the ongoing theme of a lavish lifestyle and fast living. Criminal activity is another theme throughout.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

For this task we decided to go with the idea of a police interrogation, and I think that idea worked well for this task because it ran well with the instructions of walking through a door, sitting down and having a few lines of conversation. I think the footage that we caught was good and not too difficult to edit but we did encounter some issues while filming.

The main problem we had with filming was the setting. There were not many available rooms that matched the set needed for this film, so eventually we had to settle with a printer room with a desk in it. In some shots this printer can be seen (see left). This presented a problem as the room was just a little bit too small and although we could do most of the filming relatively simply it meant that some of the shots included in the could not be filmed in the tight space. This also made it difficult to conform to the 180 degree rule as it quickly became very limited so we had to experiment with other shots we had not previously planned to use, such as this shot which we tried to make look like a CCTV camera (see below.) Another problem was there was a lot of background noise caught from corridors etc.

Overall I think this task went reasonably well, but if it was to re do the task I would possibly to try to find a bigger room as the size of the room was the cause of most of the problems that we faced on this task. Also possible trying to find a quiter room as there was quite a lot of background noise coming from corridors outside.

Preliminary Task

Continuity Task

This was a continuity  task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. We were told we had to demonstrate 3 techniques in the task, which were match on action, shot/reverse shot and conformation to the 180 degree rule.

180 Degree Rule

The Rule

The 180 degree rule is a rule concerning camera work which is followed in order to avoid confusing the viewers. An imaginary line called the axis (see above) goes through the two cameras concerned in the shot. The rule states that you cannot cross over the axis with a cut, and you must film just on the selected side of the axis. This will make it more easy to comprehend as it will make sure that one character is always on the right and the other is always on the left, and they will not switch. If you cross the axis, it is knows and crossing the line, or jumping the line.

Breaking The 180 Degree Rule

It is possible to break the rule, but it can be very difficult to do properly so in most circumstances it is easier to just conform to the rule. The most common way to break the rule is to simply move the camera round the axis by tracking.

Sound Techniques

Dialogue - A conversation or argument between two or more characters




Diegetic Sound - Sound made in the scene that is heard by characters in the set can hear. I.e. birds chirping




Non-Diegetic Sound - Any sound heard in the finished film that cannot be heard by the characters in the set, i.e. a soundtrack





Sound Motif - A sound that becomes associated an object or character, so when you hear the sound you automatically think of the object or character. I.e. the music from jaws.





Synchronous Sound - Visual movements matching sound. I.e. in music videos, dancers perform dance moves synchronized with the music, in time with the sound.


Contrapuntal Sound - sound that does not match the visuals of what you can see. It will feel inappropriate and will not fit the tone of the visuals.

Voice Over - The narrator or a character talks over the top of the scene, they can can be heard but not be seen.

Soundtrack - Music played over the top to add emotion or provoke a particular feeling within the audience.This cannot be heard by the characters on set.


Ambient Sound - Everyday background noise used to make the the scene more realistic. I.e. wind or cars.

Macro and Micro Analysis

Macro is the whole image. It is the finished product that you view. It is looking at the whole piece and analysing it as a whole rather than looking at specific parts. Usually macro representation looks at the genre, representation and narrative.


Genre is basically the category a film is put in. When looking at genre, you have to look at the narrative techniques to see how it is out together. The story and filming techniques are among what makes up what genre it is. There are several ways films can be categorised in several ways, and there are different things to look at to help do this.

Mood - is the tone and emotional feel of the film.

Setting is where the film is based or where the action takes place.

Target Audience - who the film is aimed at.

Format - the way the film was shot.

Theme - concepts the film was made about.

- Main film genres include action, comedy, crime, drama, adventure, horror and science fiction amongst others.

Narative is simply the story that the film follows, but is very important as with no story line, there is no film.

Representation is another key part, as it suggests a lot more than can be said in the film. The way characters or places are represented is used to give the viewer emotions and feelings about people/places in the film. It helps the viewer form attachments to characters, so makes the film more emotional and relatable.

Micro is the smaller parts that come together to make the bigger picture, usually revolving around the cinematography This includes cinematography, which covers camera angles, movement, sound and mise-en-scene.

Lighting - is very important as it heavily influences the audiences emotional response to what they are seeing.

Camera Movement - plays a big part in how action is portrayed and also effects the viewers emotional response to the action.

Sound  - gives another dimension to the film, enables dialouge. 

Editing Techniques.

Cut – the most common type of video transition. Simply replacing one shot instantly with the next. Used from flicking from one side to the next, often in scenes of action, arguments or conversations. The name is from old fashioned movies when the editor would literally cut the film and glue the parts together.

Cross Fade/Dissolve – Gradual fade from one shot to the next. Also sometimes known as a mix. Used for slowing the pace of a video. Used for creating a tone i.e. relaxation. Used for showing scenic shots i.e. waterfalls, mountains. Creates a feel of time passing by or aging

-------> Shot, Reverse Shot – When a shot is shown, then the reverse        shot is shown. Usually from two characters viewoints. Used often for conversations or argument.

Jump Cut – Transition between two shots, where the shot appears to go forward in time, where the section of the clip has been cut out.

Graphic Match and Cut Away – a cut from one subject to another. This can be two objects of the same shape or that generally graphically match. This is used to help continuity of action and linking the two shots.

Parallel Editing/Intercutting – a cut from two separate events that are happening simultaneously. Often used to show one persons unawareness of another event happening at the same time, when two events are happening at the same time.

Match on Action – connects different views of the same action in the same moment, multi camera set up used. Different cameras pick up where the last camera left off.

-------> Wipe – Very old dated transition that is not often used in modern film. Was popular in the 70’s and

80’s when computers were first being used for film. An example where this was used a lot was in Star Wars.

Montage – Different things going on at once show everyone what’s going on. Shows a long duration of time in a short time. I.e. Rocky training.

Mise-En-Scène

Mise-En-Scène is the arrangement of everything that appears before the camera

Composition - the arrangement/placement of objects or people in the shot. The word means literally “putting together”

Sets -  the background and how it is made to look like for the camera

Props – an object on stage/set usually used  y the actor. Generally anything moveable on camera that is not fixed to the set, apart from costumes, actors, electrical equipment and scenery.

Actors – A person who acts/portrays a character

Costumes – “A style of dress, including garments, accessories, and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period, or people” – dictionary definition

Sounds – these are synchronized with the film and give a new dimension to the film. They enable many things to be done, i.e. speaking, which just would not be part of the film without sound.

Lighting – is important as it often shows how a character or object is wanted to be represented on film.

These are important as they all contribute to how a person or object is represented in a film. The mise-en-scène of a shot can sometimes be used to the mind-set of the subject. Most of the mise-en-scène is done before the filming even starts.