I have just had an idea for a log line of the film im not sure if we will use it in the film but it was just a quick idea....
THEY SAY A LOVED ONE COULD NEVER HURT US....
BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THAT LOVED ONE IS AFTER VENGEANCE....
I thought about this because Grimaldi is not the real antagonist it is actually Samantha's boyfriend.
This blog is here to document how I have progressed with my media project. It is a running daily commentary of things I have embarked on whilst studying Media this year.
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
flow chart of roles
Sam, Taylor, Moe and me all had allocated roles on the basis of what each of us felt we could do best and felt confident it. We worked with each other on developing the ideas, choosing cast, research and selecting the music for the SFX. Below is the roles and responsibilities each of us had however it is not a exhaustive list because much of the work we did do together.
Naming of the film ...GRIMALDI
In class today me and Sam were discussing the possible title of the film as I was writing up the script that I had created. Taylor then told us that he had done some research on clowns and had come across “GRIMALDI”. At first I did not understand the relevance of this name until I my self researched it and found out that Joseph Grimaldi (1778 - 1837) was exclusively a theatrical clown. He is considered the Father of Modern Clowning because he is the entertainer who elevated the Whiteface clown to a starring role replacing Harlequin. This title is very relevant to our open title sequence and to the film on the whole as there is no better way to talk about a film with a clown without us making the character come to life. The name it self has a lot of history whilst also sounding quite Ominous. Grimaldi was the ultimate clown and we would like to pay homage to that. Furthermore the title sounds different and it’s not something that many audiences may have heard before but it sounds interesting as the title doesn’t give much away from the film.
NEW SCRIPT
When we began filming and we were reharsing with our actress ( Magnolia Thomas) we as a group all noticed that the script that I had written prior to filming did'nt really match our film. So we took 5mins out to brainstorm with our actress and come up with some new and appropraite script that would be befitting of our plot, we also wanted it to sound realitic coming from the character.
Starts of with music
Samantha Evans - toy
Samantha Evans -What the ??
Samantha Evans - Arghhhhh
heart beat (sfx)
Samantha Evans -You stupid pathetic toy
Starts of with music
Samantha Evans - toy
Samantha Evans -What the ??
Samantha Evans - Arghhhhh
heart beat (sfx)
Samantha Evans -You stupid pathetic toy
Script
Example of script
I looked at some examples of film scripts with Sam. This particular film script gave us an idea of what ours should look like. In our open title sequence there is not alot of dialogue most of the dialogue is when the main character is talking to her self.
FADE IN.
EXT. PRIMARY SCHOOL - MORNING.
Through the windows of a ground floor classroom a maths lesson
is underway.
INT. PRIMARY SCHOOL, CLASS ROOM - MORNING.
CHARLOTTE HANSON is searching for her pencil.
PETER UPSON, a jolly boy with floppy hair, makes a noise like a
FART and everyone GIGGLES.
ADAM TRAVIS, a naturally malevolent child, notices Charlotte and
nudges his friend TONY PALMER, who grins.
With the reactions of an assassain Charlotte looks up and sees
the two boys starting to laugh.
Morally appalled her hand shoots indignantly into the air.
CHARLOTTE
Miss!!
The TEACHER looks up from her marking.
Tony’s eyes are wide with panic.
BLACK.
SUPER IMP. - TITLE.
BACK TO SCENE.
Tony stands by the Teacher’s desk. He is small with messy hair
and a look of shame. The Teacher is quite young, although in
this setting she is older than the hills.
TEACHER
Why did you hide Charlotte’s
pencil Tony? Don’t you know it’s
wrong?
TONY
(quietly)
Adam told me.
Disappointed she shakes her head.
Adam squrims in the corner of the room.
TEACHER
And if Adam Travis told you to
jump off a cliff - would you do
that too?
TONY
No miss.
The Teacher nods at him, the logic of her argument plain to see.
TEACHER
Well then! Go on, give Charlotte
her pencil back and get on with
your long division.
Sullenly Tony takes the pencil and starts the long walk back.
The other children watch darkly from their moral high ground.
TONY (v.o.)
It’s not fair. I wish she’d jump
off a cliff.
His bottom lips juts out in depression.
Mechanically he sticks out the pencil for Charlotte, who takes
it from him in a prissy fasion.
CHARLOTTE
Thank you very much Tony.
She gets on with her work and he sits down again.
TONY (v.o.)
What if Miss told me to jump off a
cliff?
Adam punches him on the arm.
ADAM
(hissing and furious)
GRASS!
Tony turns away and ignores this, starting to do his Maths.
TONY (v.o.)
No, I wouldn’t jump off a cliff if
Miss told me to. Does that mean I
shouldn’t do what she says either?
Tony looks up from his sums, his forehead furrows in
concentration.
TONY (v.o.)
If you apply her logic to any
authoritarian relationship then -
Tony sticks his tongue out to make more space in his head for
thoughts.
TONY (v.o.)
Surely that means obeying the
commands of any ruler is always
the first step on the road to
totalitarianism!
The pencil slips from his hand and bounces on the floor.
TONY (v.o.)
Of course! The sublimation of
personal responsibility to the
will of either a single leader or,
in the broadest possible sense,
the society into which one is
born, what Rosseau describes as
the “General Will” - is not only
the avoidance of our natural duty
- but - it lays us open to abuse.
His jaw drops open in astonishment.
TONY (v.o.)
If we simply accept what we are
told then what is to stop our
acceptance of future actions being
taken for granted and thus our
name being put to deeds we would
not wish it put to!
He folds his arms and sits back on the small wooden chair.
TONY (v.o.)
E.G. the German public and the
holocaust of the Jewish nation in
the 2nd World War!
Charlotte is staring at him like he is mad.
Another thought strikes him and he looks around the room at the
collection of seven and eight year olds.
TONY (v.o.)
My GOD! I must explain this to the
others! I must, inject them with
the revolutionary zeal necessary
to bring about the overthrow of
the oppressive establishment and
thus bring about the birth of a
utopian future!
The Teacher is still marking maths books.
Adam is fighting with Peter.
TONY (v.o.)
All children will be equal! Black,
white, Asian and Leyla Fuyad, who
isn’t really any of those but does
have a bike that can’t go
backwards.
LEYLA is chewing her pencil and staring vacantly out of the
window.
SUSIE is drawing horses on her maths book.
TONY (v.o.)
No one would work unless they felt
inspired to!
The Teacher is subtly reading her horoscope below the table.
ANDY is picking his nose.
TONY (v.o.)
We would learn with the beauty of
nature and everyone would have an
EQUAL TURN IN THE SANDPIT!
INT. SANDPIT - DAY.
A child drives a toy car wildly through the sand.
INT. CLASROOM - DAY.
Tony’s eyes are wide with inspiration.
Leyla is still staring out of the window.
TONY (v.o.)
I must leap to my feet and say:
DREAM SEQUENCE:
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY.
Tony is on his feet, his fist raised - he takes a deep breath.
The rest of the class look at him.
TONY (v.o.)
Friends! Romans! Countrymen! And
Leyla Fuyad! Do not submit to the
mindless crush of authority!
END DREAM.
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY.
Adam is trying to break the solar cell on his calculator.
TONY (v.o.)
Do not so passively bow your heads
in the face of Mr.Green the
Headmaster just because he can
simultaneously point and click his
fingers!
INT. SCHOOL HALL - DAY.
MR.GREEN simultaneously points and CLICKS his fingers.
DREAM SEQUENCE:
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY.
The rest of the class listen to Tony as he talks, arms
outstretched.
TONY (v.o.)
Throw off your shackles and tear
down these walls! You have nothing
to lose but your break time
biscuit and the year five’s
superior rights on the climbing
frame! Who is with me?
Thirty eager hands rise into the air.
INT. LONG CORRIDOR - DAY.
The doors swing open at the far end and the children start to
charge SCREAMING down it.
TONY (v.o.)
Put down your Berol pens and pick
up your swords and let us storm
the Nature Gardens!
EXT. THE NATURE GARDEN - DAY.
Children charge across the grass - one boy has a large flag.
INT. SCHOOL HALL - DAY.
The children are singing hymns in Assembly.
TONY (v.o.)
Together as a single nation with
one pure, out of key voice, let us
sing rude words to the hymns in
assembly!
PETER
(singing)
“Someone’s weeing Lord, cuym by
ahhh!”
EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY.
The children run around with their anoraks zipped up.
TONY (v.o.)
Let us unite in putting our coats
on backwards and zipping our
Parkas up until we can NO LONGER
SEE OUT!
INT. LONG CORRIDOR - DAY.
The children charge SCREAMING.
TONY (v.o.)
And let us charge into battle,
running down all the corridors
wearing nothing but the INCORRECT
FOOTWEAR!
END DREAM.
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY.
Tony smiles.
With a rush of adrenaline and a SCREETCH of chair legs, Tony
stands up.
Charlotte and Adam stare at him, the room falls silent.
The Teacher looks up from her horoscope and fixes him with a
hard stare.
TEACHER
Tony?
Tony clears his throat.
Peter Upson makes a noise like a FART and everyone LAUGHS.
Tony pales, swallows hard and sits down.
He shoots Peter an evil glare, Peter is still LAUGHING.
TONY (v.o.)
I bet no one never did that to
Lenin.
FADE OUT.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Analysis of a film website
I thought it would be a good idea to look at some film websites and trying to analyse them. My favourite film website was
http://www.foxmovies.com/
The layout of the page was not crowded, the options are clear and it uses neutral/calming colours such asd green and blue. At the top of the page it has the fox Movies logo.
All the new releases are at the bottom of the page moving around and waiting for you to click them. Once you click on one you can see some important information such as Trailer, synopsis and a link to the actual films website. I found it very easy to use, nice to look at, informative and to the point. If i had to create a film website it would be one like this.
http://www.foxmovies.com/
The layout of the page was not crowded, the options are clear and it uses neutral/calming colours such asd green and blue. At the top of the page it has the fox Movies logo.
All the new releases are at the bottom of the page moving around and waiting for you to click them. Once you click on one you can see some important information such as Trailer, synopsis and a link to the actual films website. I found it very easy to use, nice to look at, informative and to the point. If i had to create a film website it would be one like this.
Sunday, 7 November 2010
LAST FINAL SYNOPSIS
After brainstorming and coming up with atleast 3 diffrent versions of our plot we atlast have our final synopsis which we wrote in class.
Our title opening sequence begins in a girls bedroom were we are given a view of the room twice, once from an audience's point of view and the second is a more dramatic entrance to the room including the added visual effects to emphasise the element of a thriller to the audience. We then see the main character (Samantha Evans) tossing and turning in her bed until she gets fed up with the clown's melody and therefore projects this anger and throws the clown to the floor and goes back to sleep.
(Alarm clock goes off)
A view of the alarm clock shows that the alarm clock in going off and therefore Samantha has to wake up in order to start her day. After turning off this alarm clock and turning the lights back on, Samantha realises that the clown she threw on the floor is back on the side next to her alarm clock. Therefore due to her uncertainty she grabs this toy clown and takes it downstairs and throws it in the bin believe she has got rid of this abnormal toy. Only to realise once she goes to shut the front door to go back inside, a dark hand is projected infront of the door stopping it from closing and causing Samantha to scream in both desperation for someone to help her and fear of what or who could be behind the other side of this door.
Our title opening sequence begins in a girls bedroom were we are given a view of the room twice, once from an audience's point of view and the second is a more dramatic entrance to the room including the added visual effects to emphasise the element of a thriller to the audience. We then see the main character (Samantha Evans) tossing and turning in her bed until she gets fed up with the clown's melody and therefore projects this anger and throws the clown to the floor and goes back to sleep.
(Alarm clock goes off)
A view of the alarm clock shows that the alarm clock in going off and therefore Samantha has to wake up in order to start her day. After turning off this alarm clock and turning the lights back on, Samantha realises that the clown she threw on the floor is back on the side next to her alarm clock. Therefore due to her uncertainty she grabs this toy clown and takes it downstairs and throws it in the bin believe she has got rid of this abnormal toy. Only to realise once she goes to shut the front door to go back inside, a dark hand is projected infront of the door stopping it from closing and causing Samantha to scream in both desperation for someone to help her and fear of what or who could be behind the other side of this door.
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Narrative theory’s
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
When I began researching I had no knowledge of who Propp was. When I started to read about him I realized that a lot of the films I really enjoyed or seen all tied in with his narrative theory’s. For example Lord of the Rings. Frodo is our hero and Bilbo Baggins is the hobbit who is in possession of the ring. Bilbo Baggins and Frodo both have to leave the shire which ties into Propp’s (ABSENTATION). (INTERDICTION) is when Frodo is told to not put the ring on because of the dangers associated with it. (VIOLATION of INTERDICTION) is when Sauron starts to summon his army and he is lurking in the darkness even though Frodo is not directly fully aware of him being there. As the plot develops throughout this film, the evil Sauron gains information about the ring and Frodo (DELIVERY). As you can see Lord of the rings clearly follows the 31 functions. The plot later ends on a cliff hanger because it is the first film but throughout the second/third films it ends with a happy ending with the ring being destroyed, antagonist being killed (PUNISHMENT) and a happy time for everybody resulting in Sam getting married (WEDDING).
Lord of the rings also follows Levi-Strauss binary oppositions for example:
Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Propp extended the study of narrative structure. In the Formalist approach, sentence structures were broken down into analyzable elements, or morphemes, and Propp used this method by analogy to analyze Russian fairy tales. By breaking down a large number of Russian folk tales into their smallest narrative units, or narratemes, Propp was able to arrive at a typology of narrative structures.
After the initial situation is depicted, the tale takes the following sequence of 31 functions:[3]
When I began researching I had no knowledge of who Propp was. When I started to read about him I realized that a lot of the films I really enjoyed or seen all tied in with his narrative theory’s. For example Lord of the Rings. Frodo is our hero and Bilbo Baggins is the hobbit who is in possession of the ring. Bilbo Baggins and Frodo both have to leave the shire which ties into Propp’s (ABSENTATION). (INTERDICTION) is when Frodo is told to not put the ring on because of the dangers associated with it. (VIOLATION of INTERDICTION) is when Sauron starts to summon his army and he is lurking in the darkness even though Frodo is not directly fully aware of him being there. As the plot develops throughout this film, the evil Sauron gains information about the ring and Frodo (DELIVERY). As you can see Lord of the rings clearly follows the 31 functions. The plot later ends on a cliff hanger because it is the first film but throughout the second/third films it ends with a happy ending with the ring being destroyed, antagonist being killed (PUNISHMENT) and a happy time for everybody resulting in Sam getting married (WEDDING).
Lord of the rings also follows Levi-Strauss binary oppositions for example:
Frodo (Good)/ Sauron (evil)
Mythical creatures such as Elves, dwarves/ Ringwraithes and Sauron's dark army,
Shire/Mordor
You can see these binary oppositions throughout the story. There is also a clear indication on what is evil and what is good as the story itself is based on that.
Torodovs narrative theory is about Equilibrium. At the beginning of Lord of the rings everything is good and balanced. This is the initial situation where Frodo and Bilbo Baggins are in the shire on a relaxing afternoon. The interruption occurs when Frodo is introduced to the ring by Bilbo this is when the mood shifts and a problem arises, with the ring entrusted to Frodo. In the last of the trilogy the return of the king the totally new equiliumbrium is restored for both good, bad/evil. In the case of Lord of the rings Sauron is defeated, the ring is destroyed, and Frodo and his friends go back to the Shire to live happily ever after.
Lord of the rings also uses the function that Propp say’s that there are 7 main roles that characters play or assume in a story.
1) The villian Sauron fights with the hero Frodo
2) False hero is someone who claims to be a hero. Boromir ( the son of a king who acts as if he is a hero)
3) Hero. Seeker hero, often has help from a donor and gets married at the end. Frodo.
4) Donor. Prepares and provides hero with a magical fix. The white wizard Gandalf.
5) Helper. Helps, rescues, solves. Legolas, Aaragon, Sam, Pippin etc...
6) Dispatcher send hero off. Gandalf sends Frodo away from the shire.
7) Princess. A wanted girl, she exists as a goal and marries a hero.
By studying and analysing all these narrative theorys it has helped both me and my group come up with the initial ideas/story/plot for the sequence.
 |
| Princess |
 |
| Donor. Gandalf |
 |
| Antoganist ( works for Saurmon) |
 |
| Our Hero/ Protagonist. Frodo |
Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Propp extended the study of narrative structure. In the Formalist approach, sentence structures were broken down into analyzable elements, or morphemes, and Propp used this method by analogy to analyze Russian fairy tales. By breaking down a large number of Russian folk tales into their smallest narrative units, or narratemes, Propp was able to arrive at a typology of narrative structures.
After the initial situation is depicted, the tale takes the following sequence of 31 functions:[3]
- ABSENTATION: A member of a family leaves the security of the home environment. This may be the hero or some other member of the family that the hero will later need to rescue. This division of the cohesive family injects initial tension into the storyline. The hero may also be introduced here, often being shown as an ordinary person.
- INTERDICTION: An interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go there', 'don't do this'). The hero is warned against some action (given an 'interdiction').
- VIOLATION of INTERDICTION. The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale). This generally proves to be a bad move and the villain enters the story, although not necessarily confronting the hero. Perhaps they are just a lurking presence or perhaps they attack the family whilst the hero is away.
- RECONNAISSANCE: The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc.; or intended victim questions the villain). The villain (often in disguise) makes an active attempt at seeking information, for example searching for something valuable or trying to actively capture someone. They may speak with a member of the family who innocently divulges information. They may also seek to meet the hero, perhaps knowing already the hero is special in some way.
- DELIVERY: The villain gains information about the victim. The villain's seeking now pays off and he or she now acquires some form of information, often about the hero or victim. Other information can be gained, for example about a map or treasure location.
- TRICKERY: The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim). The villain now presses further, often using the information gained in seeking to deceive the hero or victim in some way, perhaps appearing in disguise. This may include capture of the victim, getting the hero to give the villain something or persuading them that the villain is actually a friend and thereby gaining collaboration.
- COMPLICITY: Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy. The trickery of the villain now works and the hero or victim naively acts in a way that helps the villain. This may range from providing the villain with something (perhaps a map or magical weapon) to actively working against good people (perhaps the villain has persuaded the hero that these other people are actually bad).
- VILLAINY or LACK: Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc., comits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc.). There are two options for this function, either or both of which may appear in the story. In the first option, the villain causes some kind of harm, for example carrying away a victim or the desired magical object (which must be then be retrieved). In the second option, a sense of lack is identified, for example in the hero's family or within a community, whereby something is identified as lost or something becomes desirable for some reason, for example a magical object that will save people in some way.
- MEDIATION: Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc./ alternative is that victimized hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment). The hero now discovers the act of villainy or lack, perhaps finding their family or community devastated or caught up in a state of anguish and woe.
- BEGINNING COUNTER-ACTION: Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action. The hero now decides to act in a way that will resolve the lack, for example finding a needed magical item, rescuing those who are captured or otherwise defeating the villain. This is a defining moment for the hero as this is the decision that sets the course of future actions and by which a previously ordinary person takes on the mantle of heroism.
- DEPARTURE: Hero leaves home;
- FIRST FUNCTION OF THE DONOR: Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc., preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor);
- HERO'S REACTION: Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against him);
- RECEIPT OF A MAGICAL AGENT: Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
- GUIDANCE: Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
- STRUGGLE: Hero and villain join in direct combat;
- BRANDING: Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf);
- VICTORY: Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
- LIQUIDATION: Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revived, captive freed);
- RETURN: Hero returns;
- PURSUIT: Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
- RESCUE: Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
- UNRECOGNIZED ARRIVAL: Hero unrecognized, arrives home or in another country;
- UNFOUNDED CLAIMS: False hero presents unfounded claims;
- DIFFICULT TASK: Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
- SOLUTION: Task is resolved;
- RECOGNITION: Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
- EXPOSURE: False hero or villain is exposed;
- TRANSFIGURATION: Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc.);
- PUNISHMENT: Villain is punished;
- WEDDING: Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).
CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS
Levi-Strauss looked at narrative structure in terms
of binary oppositions. Binary oppositions are sets of opposite values which
reveal the structure of media texts. An example would be GOOD and EVIL - we
understand the concept of GOOD as being the opposite of EVIL. Levi -Strauss
was not so interested in looking at the order in which events were arranged in
the plot. He looked instead for deeper arrangements of themes. For example,
if we look at Science Fiction films we can identify a series of binary
oppositions which are created by the narrative:
Earth
reveal the structure of media texts. An example would be GOOD and EVIL - we
understand the concept of GOOD as being the opposite of EVIL. Levi -Strauss
was not so interested in looking at the order in which events were arranged in
the plot. He looked instead for deeper arrangements of themes. For example,
if we look at Science Fiction films we can identify a series of binary
oppositions which are created by the narrative:
Earth
Space
Good
Evil
Humans
Aliens
Past
Present
Normal
Strange
Known
Unknown
I have watched alot of films and have seen examples of Strausses binary oppositions. I have analysed the film Die hard
Wide shot / Extreme close up
Office / home
loud party/ quiet lobby
Guest/ intruder
Future/ Past
Marriage/ job- career
office/ back alleys
loud persons/ quiet persons
Intimate/ arguements.
Roland Barthes' narrative theory claims that a narrative can be broken down into five codes or sets of rules.
Action code which refers to the events taking place
Enigma code which refers to the questions raised and answered
Semantic code which refers to the characters and characterisation
Referential code which refers to the information and explanation
Symbolic code which refers to the connotations of signs
GRIMALDI ( Todorov Narrative Theory)
We have our protagonist Samantha Evans. Antagonist Grimaldi. The sequence starts of with a Equilibrium where Samantha is asleep but it shifts as soon as the alarm clock goes off, as you can see her tossing and turning. Samantha Evans is good and Grimaldi is Evil.
Wide shot / Extreme close up
Office / home
loud party/ quiet lobby
Guest/ intruder
Future/ Past
Marriage/ job- career
office/ back alleys
loud persons/ quiet persons
Intimate/ arguements.
Roland Barthes' narrative theory claims that a narrative can be broken down into five codes or sets of rules.
Action code which refers to the events taking place
Enigma code which refers to the questions raised and answered
Semantic code which refers to the characters and characterisation
Referential code which refers to the information and explanation
Symbolic code which refers to the connotations of signs
GRIMALDI ( Todorov Narrative Theory)
We have our protagonist Samantha Evans. Antagonist Grimaldi. The sequence starts of with a Equilibrium where Samantha is asleep but it shifts as soon as the alarm clock goes off, as you can see her tossing and turning. Samantha Evans is good and Grimaldi is Evil.
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