Looking at Children of Men

Thursday, 4 November 2010

Looking at Children of Men

In this lesson, Charlotte and I discussed different aspects of the thriller genre in order to maintain a suitable plot for the opening of our media film. Firstly we accessed YouTube and watched the opening scene of an archetypal Thriller film; the first two minutes and twenty eight seconds of "Children of men " . The film enabled us to make a decision on the time period we were going to set our film in.
As Children of Men was set in the future we decided that we would find it difficult to create the atmosphere of a futuristic setting. We did however find the way the film contrasted with the stereotypical view of what the future could be like, i.e clean, technology orientated, far more advanced and machine operated, particularly interesting as at first it is not clear when and where the film is set as none of these aspects are included.
The television in the coffee shop, and also the motion picture advertisements out in the streets, allowed us to see the differences between our world now and the world that is portrayed in the film. Charlotte and I found that the atmosphere looked polluted and grey, giving the perfect setting for a thriller film.

Amy Reeve

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Initial Idea

The initial idea of our film is to include three main characters; two females and a male. The opening of our film will only focus on these characters, however if we were to follow on the story line, other characters would begin to emerge. The focus of our plot is a love triangle between the three of them. Charlotte will be playing the girlfriend, I shall be playing the lover and we are undecided on the male part, however this character will be the boy in the middle of the two girls. We were hoping to start the opening scene with the credits that we have decided to make similar to those of the film "Seven". We then thought that the first shot, should be an extreme close-up of Charlotte's eyes. We would then show a tear rolling down her cheek and as she blinks, the camera would fade into the next scene. This next scene would show different angles and shots of Charlotte writing in her diary. There will then be shots of photographs and annotations of Charlotte's hatred for the male character. The idea of the diary is from the film "Mean Girls" where they create a "Burn Book" about fellow pupils in their school. After this scene, there will be a shot of the books pages blowing, to symbolize a time lapse. The next shot will be of the male character and I in the window. The silhouette of our figures will show us hugging, with the camera at a worms eye view angle, looking up through the window. The shot will then show the curtains closing and then there will be a shot of Charlotte sending a text message that states; "Come get him!", the scene will then change to the male character and I asleep in bed. The next shot is a fade into the next morning where I awake alone in my room. I will get up and go downstairs to look for him and find a smashed cup of tea on the floor. I bend down to pick it up and find blood on the handle. There is a close-up shot of my eyes. The scene then changes to different shots and angles of charlotte walking down the road early in the morning. As she gets further away, it will be noticeable that she is carrying a shotgun. She will be shown heading to the woods. The camera will then fade to a pair of feet hanging in front of her. She will then lift the shotgun and the camera shot will show it going off. The scene will end with the feet struggling and then going still. This will be the end of the opening scenes for our Thriller movie.

More Inspiration:

There are certain aspects of current Thriller films that Charlotte and I would like to incorporate into our own Thriller. We found that the "Film Noir" setting of Sin City was extremely effective. Although black and white is often linked to older films, we found that it gave off a modern, quirky image. We decided that in order to make our film more unique we could either create a sepia effect or play around with the contrast.

Damien Rice:

I found his voice extremely emotional and heartfelt. The lyrics of his songs are mainly about love and the emotions surrounding it. There is also a sadness to his voice that would fit perfectly with the theme of our thriller. Instead of playing this quietly as background music, we would use it as a soundtrack instead of speaking in the opening scene.

Evanescence:

I found that Evanescence; My Immortal was slightly eerie, but it also conveyed an emotional image that went well with the type of feelings we would like to evoke in the opening two minutes of our Thriller. Her voice is beautiful and the type of camera shots that we would like to incorporate into our film should reflect on this. I especially liked the way her own music video was filmed, as there are some good camera shots and the black and white effect is something we may want to include ourselves.

Devendra Banhart:

This song called 'Insect Eyes' was the most interesting out of all three options as it conveyed a completely different emotion to the previous two songs. The tone to his voice is mysterious yet interesting and the quirky lyrics to the song, although they bear little relevance to our film, are thought provoking and would fit well with the conventions of the Thriller genre.

Foals:

We were hoping to use the song spanish sahara as the music is very calming in comparison to the other music on the blog. I also found that the lyrics were relevant to our film.

Previous Media Projects:

Charlotte and I looked at previous Media AS Thriller projects and found it a good source of inspiration. Many students have written about the software used for their effects and we could also see different aspects that we weren't too keen on. The opening one minute and ten seconds of this particular project was our favourite opening credits as it looked extremely professional: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPXaysjZbkA&feature=related

We also found that those that had speech incorporated into their films sounded less professional than those who had used a soundtrack instead. This made Charlotte and I agree that we would not use speech in our film. Although this would make it more difficult for viewers to understand what is going on in our film, it leaves the story line open, enabling more to be revealed in the later stages of the film, when speech would be used.

Research:

Charlotte and I have also been researching what the audience would prefer in a Thriller film. Although we are keen on focusing our ideas on what we have found out about the Thriller genre, we thought it would be important to include the preferences of the viewers as well. Seeing as our two minute opening is more of a psychological thriller, we found out that the audience would expect the conflict between the main characters to be mental and emotional rather than physical. People find that often the suspense comes from within one solitary character where they must resolve conflicts with their own minds. Usually, this conflict is an effort to understand something that has happened to them. With our film Charlotte is trying to understand why her relationship has failed and the viewers are almost made to feel sorry for her, until her jealousy over rules her mind and she finds herself solving her problems with violence and cruelty.

Weather:

Charlotte and I decided that the weather conditions when filming our Thriller should play a main role in creating the correct atmosphere for our film. Seeing as November is particularly gloomy, we knew that there would be days that would be perfect for filming and others that would be not so perfect. The fact that it has snowed already, means that the weather conditions may be varied and slightly unreliable. It wouldn't be particularly professional for us to start filming in the snow and then finish filming without any. Charlotte and I decided that twilight would be a good time to film as the skies are usually the same and we wouldn't have to worry about the different cloud formations and amount of daylight.

Problems with filming:

- Heavy Rainfall

- Fog/mist

- The fact it gets dark earlier this time of year (minimal amount of filming time)

- Snow?

Classification:

'Suitable for all

It is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. A 'U' film however, should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. 'U' films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror. If a work is particularly suitable for a pre-school child to view alone, this will be indicated in the Consumer Advice.

Parental Guidance

General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A 'PG' film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.

Suitable for twelve years and over

Exactly the same criteria are used to classify at '12A' and '12'. These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them. The '12A' category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12 may see a '12A' film unless accompanied by an adult, and films classified '12A' are not recommended for a child below 12. An adult may take a younger child, if in their judgment , the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult. The '12' category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a '12' rated video work.

Suitable only for 15 years or over

No one younger than 15 may see a '15' film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a '15' rated video work.

Suitable for adults only

No one younger than 18 may see an '18' film in a cinema. No one younger than 18 may rent or buy an '18' rated video work.

To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of not less than 18 years

The 'R18' category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. 'R18' videos may not be supplied by mail order.'

Last day (Christmas Holidays):

Today each lesson is fourty minutes long, so I have decided to use my free periods to blog our plans for the forthcoming weeks. Charlotte and I plan to meet up in the week before Christmas to film. We are also planning on blogging continuously over the Christmas period. Hopefully when we arrive back at school on Tuesday the 4th of December, we will be up to date with the work and will have made inroads into filming and blogging our progress.

Amy Reeve

Reeve and Bone - Group 6

Thursday, 4 November 2010

Looking at Children of Men

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