Sia | Breathe Me

An emotional song i have also look at is "Breathe Me" by Sia which is again very quiet and would fit well with the emotion for the flashbacks.

Air - Ephemera

Another song I have looked at is the song 'Air' by Ephemera. This is a very relaxing song and is quiet in a way that would be perfect for the flashback as i don't want anything too overpowering so it distracts the audience.

Cyndi Lauper and Sarah McLachlan - Time After Time

This is the song which i am thinking of using for the flashback sequence as it is a classic song and reflects the meaning of the scene in the lyrics. It also has two singers which i works well as it is based around two characters.

Filming

I hope to start my filming over christmas and have it done by the new year. If I film over christmas this means i can return to college and start my editing and be finished by Easter.

Update :)

I have completed my three textual analysis and I have to complete my storyboard. The storyboard is taking me a long time due to other work commitments but I am working on it and I hope to get it completed soon.

:):)

Textual Analysis (3)

For my third textual analysis I am looking at a scene from the film "Little Miss Sunshine"(2006). This scene is set in a diner and is when you see the division between the family relationships unfold whilst they eat breakfast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BmJLxPHLkE

Editing
The opening of this scene starts with a establishing shot of the table which shows the relationship in which they are sitting. There is then a cut to a MCU of the character 'Olive' played by Abigail Breslin, who is the youngest in the family. This shot is cut to when she asks her mother, Cheryl a question. There is then a cut to when Cheryl responds. This shot reverse shot is very common in conversations between characters as they ask each other questions the audience see their reactions. As the waitress comes to the table it cuts to a straight on shot of her which is a point of view as she is seen to be talking to the camera. This enables the audience to feel as though they are at the table with the characters. As the father, Richard, orders his food it cuts to a two shot with him and Cheryl in the shot. again this is shot reverse shot as it is between the family and the waitress and it goes back and forth. As the family start to bicker the waitress isn't seen. This shows the division between the family as the audience feel like they are involved in the bickering at the table. The MCU of the character Frank, played by Steve Carrell shows his anger towards Richard. This is a sign to the audience that these two characters don't get a long. As Frank teaches the family about the term Alemode there is a cut between Frank, Cheryl and Olive to show the families interest in this topic but we see that Richard is on the phone and isn't at all interested. This again puts the divide in the family. This sequence is all in shot reverse shots and close ups to show the conversations they have between each other.




Cinematography
The cinematography in this scene is very important as it shows how each character is being represented to the audience. for example the establishing shot shows them all together at the table doing the same thing which is reading their menus. As it cuts to Olive asking her mother a question part of her face is blocked due to the red menu. This makes her look hidden in the crowd and made to look small and vulnerable. Olive is also placed to the right of the frame with her left side left open and empty. This could be seen as the way in which the family is divided up into two groups. The character Frank is framed on his own which represents him not having much in his life and him feeling lonely. The shot of Dwayne is unusual in the fact that the first shot is of him writing his order down with a slow tilt up to his face. This is different for the audience as it would usually be his face that you would see first so the audience can recognise the character. As he doesn't talk the shot of his hand writing shows how he is already known to the audience as they can recognise him from writing. The shot of Frank, Dwayne and the Grandfather all in one frame shows the division and how they are on one side with Olive and Cheryl cut out. However after that the shot of Olive is partially taken up by the Grandfather which shows how she is in the middle rather than on one side. With Richard being framed on his own towards the end of the scene shows how he is cut out of the group and seen as a man who has different views and opinions to everyone else.


Mise-En-Scene
The costumes in this scene are very different and personal to each character with a mixture of colour and tone. Olive is wearing a red and yellow tracksuit which highlights herself. Being in such a bright colour makes her seem more important than the others and different to other kids her age. The film is focused on her and there is the use of red in each shot. As well as Olive, Dwayne is wearing a yellow t shirt which also highlights his position at the table. This makes the children stand out from the adults and their positions in the family and at the table. The mother, Cheryl is wearing neutral colours which show that she is a calm person and at times be left out and ignored as we see later on. Richard is wearing a very bold coloured shirt which has a bold and muddled pattern which represent him as a bold and confident person who also has muddled feelings and ideas. Richard brings out his mobile which makes him look very arrogant and uninterested in everything around him even though everyone else is.


Sound
This scene is dominated by dialogue and diegetic sound of the diner and the music playing. This makes the scene more realistic as the dominance of dialogue and kitchen noise is common in American diners. As the scene opens up a lorry drives past the window and the noise is highlighted as it drives past. This can be seen as a way of showing how the family are in odd places along their drive and also gives a sense of realism as it is an every day occurrence to people and road trips.

Textual Analysis (2)

For my second textual analysis i have looked at a scene from The Shawshank Redemption (1994). This scene is near the end of the film and when Andy Dufresne has escaped from prison and the wardens cant understand how. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCtgM1hWcUY

Sound

The sound in this scene diegetic and is dominated by dialogue. However as soon as they realise how he got out music starts to fade in and this is representing the possibility that he has left the prison and it also represents the shock that the other prisoners and wardens have. The sound of the stone going through the poster is echoed as a way of emphasising the realisation. This is also when the non diegetic music starts. As the tunnel is revealed the music starts as if to match the shock of the characters. The next shot is then matched with the cut in the music.

Cinemtography

The cinematography in this scene is simple but effective as there are shots which are in between two characters. The antagonist in this film is framed by himself whereas Red is in a frame with two other people which represents him being crowded by people and him unable to break free which is how he feels in the prison. The shots of the antagonist are close ups which make him seem more intense and aggressive. Half of his face is also in darkness which represents his good and evil side. Whereas Red is very calm and inn a medium shot. As the warden imitates a voice of the poster the camera angle has changed to make it look like the warden is talking to the camera and as though the audience are in the scene. When the warden throws the stone through the poster there is a slow zoom out on the shot of Red as the warden walks up to the poster. This is being used as a realisation and also keeping the audience guessing until the very end of the scene. As the tunnel is revealed behind the poster the camera is positioned inside the tunnel and zooms backwards to give perspective for the audience on how well the tunnel was built. The three characters are framed in the hole which also shows their shock.

Editing

When the wardens are talking to Red the editing is a typical shot reverse shot pattern as you see in conversations. the editing is continuity editing so that the narrative is continuous. When the warden imitates the poster there is an eye line match to the poster so that the audience recognise what he is talking about. However before this eye line match there is a shot which makes the audience feel like they are in the position of the poster. This is highlighting the position of the poster and almost giving off clues as to what has happened. As the warden throws a stone through the poster it carries on you don't see an eye line match to the poster until later on. Instead you see the reactions of the characters first. The cut to the inside of the tunnel makes more of an impact on the audience as it gives them the scale of the tunnel.

Mise-En-Scene

This scene is set inside Andy's cell so is cramped and very bare. The costume for the warden is very clean and smart compared to the prisoners. He is wearing a black jacket and suit and black thick rimmed glasses. This look makes him look more powerful and intimidating to the audience and the prisoners. This emphasises his power over them and his status. Red is dressed in his prison clothes which are a faded blue colour. Even though you know that Red and the other prisoners are guilty of crimes such as murder and theft you feel an emotional attachment to them and are supporting them more than the guards and the warden. This is why the prisoners are dressed in a faded blue as this looks less threatening than black.

Script

INT. Tina’s bedroom. Day time. TINA is wearing all black, MEGAN is wearing white.

MEGAN
I thought I might
find you up here. Tina you have to go
out more, this isn’t
healthy for you.

MEGAN stands in front of Tina.

MEGAN
I know we have been distant
since the accident
but I don’t think we
really need to ignore each other do you?

TINA gets up and gets a DVD. She puts it into the DVD player and watches it. MEGAN watches her do this.



MEGAN
Why are you watching this?

TINA
(quietly)
I miss you Megan

MEGAN
Well why haven’t you been talking to me.
I’ve tried so hard to contact you
but you have just ignored me.
(Emotionally)As if I don’t exist to you anymore.

TINA
(emotionally)
I’m sorry Megan.

MEGAN
Well what did I do so wrong?
I thought one of us should start living
after the accident instead of staying
in a pit of grief. It wasn’t your fault.
We are both fine aren’t we?

TINA
It was my fault, I wasn’t paying
any attention
and then all of
a sudden the
car was upside down and you were…

MEGAN
(Angrily)
What? I was what?
Tina I don’t
understand will you
just answer me!


MEGAN
HELLO!!

TINA
I can’t believe you’re gone.

MEGAN
(shocked, quietly)
Oh my god

MEGAN stands back and looks shocked.

MEGAN
(quiet laugh)
At least I know why your mad at me now.
I’m going to go now.

To Do List

This is the list of things i have to complete before i start filming my sequence.

• Complete Storyboard
• Take location pictures
• Finish textual analysis
• Do animatix
• Shoot

Setting/Props/Location

Setting

• House - One location in this scene.

Props

• DVD

Costume

• Megan - White summer dress not fancy
• Tina - Black/dark top and jacket with jeans

Screenplay

INT. Tina’s bedroom. Day time. TINA is wearing all black, MEGAN is wearing white.

Megan enters bedroom calmly. She walks up to Tina. Camera backward tracking.

MEGAN
I thought I might
find you up here. Tina you have to go
out more, this isn’t
healthy for you.

Camera is ‘her eyes’ and forward tracks towards Tina on the edge of her bed. MEGAN stands in front of Tina.

MEGAN
I know we have been distant
since the accident
but I don’t think we
really need to ignore each other do you?

TINA gets up and gets a DVD. She put’s it into the DVD player and watches it. MEGAN watches her do this.

MEGAN
Why are you watching this?

TINA
(quietly)
I miss you Megan

MEGAN
Well why haven’t you been talking to me.
I’ve tried so hard to contact you
but you have just ignored me.
(Emotionally)As if I don’t exist to you anymore.

TINA
(emotionally)
I’m sorry Megan.

MEGAN
Well what did I do so wrong?
I thought one of us should start living
after the accident instead of staying
in a pit of grief. It wasn’t your fault.
We are both fine aren’t we?

TINA
It was my fault, I wasn’t paying
any attention
and then all of
a sudden the
car was upside down and you were…

MEGAN
(Angrily)
What? I was what?
Tina I don’t
understand will you
just answer me!


MEGAN
HELLO!!

MEGAN looks out of window and then
to a desk where she sees an invite
to a funeral. Camera tilts down
to eye line match.

TINA
I can’t believe you’re gone.

MEGAN
(shocked, quietly)
Oh my god

MEGAN stands back and looks shocked. Camera goes to handheld. Close up.
She watches the tapes. Footage is shown for 50 seconds - 1 minute.
MEGAN looks across at TINA.

MEGAN
(quiet laugh)
At least I know why your mad at me now.
I’m going to go now.

Camera slowly zooms out and MEGAN leaves the room. TINA stands up and leaves the room. Camera tracking then leaves the house.

Textual Analysis (1)

For my first textual analysis I am looking at a scene from ‘The Sixth Sense’. I am looking at this scene because it has a similar layout and effect which I want in my own sequence. This scene involves the three main characters all placed in Cole’s apartment living room. The staging of the character make it look like Malcolm and Lynn Sear are having a conversation. I will look at the stylistics such as Mise-en-Scene, Cinematography, Editing and Sound.

Mise-En-Scene

When the scene starts we have a straight on shot of Malcolm and Lynn staged as though they are having a conversation. They are positioned opposite each other with Lynn looking slightly to the left of Malcolm. Her left arm is raised which makes it look like she is thinking. This emphasises the idea of them talking to each other.

Cinematography

The camera is positioned straight on with the door in the background which Cole comes through. This shot lasts for 3 seconds before Cole enters the room. This makes it look like the conversation has just finished between them and Lynn is thinking about what to do. As Lynn stands up the camera tilts to show her leaving her chair and greeting Cole. The next shot is then a two shot with Lynn and Cole talking. The camera stays one distance away and doesn’t involve any close ups. This acts as a sort of eye line match as we are seeing them talk from Malcolm’s perspective. The only close up we see is of Malcolm. This could be seen as a way of making Malcolm be different and stand out. The close up makes him look more isolated in the frame. The lenghtly shots used in this scene are an aspect of Shyamalan's work and what he is known for.

Editing

The editing in this clip is shot reverse shots with the use of cuts. As M Night Shyamalan is well known for his long shots we don’t see an edit until Lynn gets up and greets Cole. This is a cut to a close up of Malcolm and him watching Cole be greeted. This is to show his reactions to the conversation they are having and makes it look like he is listening for any signs of odd behaviour from Cole.

Sound

The sound in this scene is all diegetic as there is no music used in the background and it is based on the dialogue. This makes it more of a personal scene as you are seeing the relationship between mother and son.

I like this scene because it reinforces the idea that Malcolm is alive in the film to the audience and just makes it look like they are having a normal conversation. This scene inspires my ideas because i want the audience to believe that my character is alive until the very end of the scene.

Soundtrack Choices

I have decided on a couple of ideas for soundtrack and one is the music to the short film "Hole In The Paper Sky" (2008). This is very emotional music and i feel it will go well to the scene i am doing. This can be heard here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v704TugpMgM

Characters

I have two main characters in my imagined film. The protagonist is Megan, she is a 19 year old student who tragically dies in a car accident but doesn't know she has died. Her best friend Tina, who was also in the car accident is grieving the death of Megan. She feels guilty for the accident and she feels lost without her friend.



The sequence i am doing is the point in the film when they both make peace with reality. I am going to use inspiration from a scene in 'The Sixth Sense' where it looks like the two characters were having a conversation when in fact one is a ghost. I want to have an impact on the audience when they realise that Megan is a ghost so the script, and acting will have to be made to look like they are having a conversation or an argument.

Narrative Structure

Equilibrium

Protagonist ( Megan West)

Disruption ( Car Accident)

Quest ( Megan trying to resolve things with Tina)

Climax/Resolution ( Megan realising she’s dead/Funeral for Megan)

Re-equilibrium ( Megan and Tina at peace in separate ways e.g. Megan literally and Tina emotionally)

Aims and Context

Aim - For my creative project I will be making a sequence form my imagined film which is called ‘Hereafter’. The sequence will be 4-5 minutes long and will be based towards the end of the imagined film. It will act as the resolution to the narrative. The genre is family drama so I will be using the conventions to carry the narrative. This includes making the emotions of the characters the main focus of the drama.

Context– In order for me to complete my aim I will be using mise-en-scene to portray the main characters. I will do this by using costume to connotate emotion such as white connotating innocence and angelic whilst black connotates death and mourn. My target audience will be females and a mainstream audience. I will use stylistics to draw the emotions from the audience. When I show the flashback sequence I will slow it down in the editing so it is in slow motion and so it emphasises that it’s memories. I will also echo the sound and dialogue to again emphasise this as a memory. I will use a soundtrack for the sequence so that it becomes more emotional for the audience. In the flashback sequence I will be using the handheld camera so that it is more realistic and looks more like a home video for the audience. I will also change the contrast of colours as I want it to have a tint of blue so that it looks cold and a memory. The mise-en-scene I will use will be very contemporary as it is a drama. For example the costume I will use will be contemporary and familiar to the audience.

Genre and Conventions

The genre of my imagined film is a family drama. This is a sub genre of 'drama'. This genre depends mostly on in depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. These include themes such as alcholism, drug addiction, crime, poverty and corruption. These themes make the characters in conflict with themselves and society. All film genres can include dramatic elements but films of the drama genre focus mainly on the drama and the main issues.

Some well known films of this genre include: Forrest Gump (1994) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9Xypuvv1lo, The Shawshank Redemption (1994) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hB3S9bIaco and Titanic (1999) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5gtS3pgA3Y. Films of this drama have been frequently nominated for Academy Awards especially best picture.

Early films such as 'The Grapes of Wrath' (1940) were the first films of the drama genre. This films showed the effects of depression. Films such as 'All About Eve' (1950) focused on relationships and developments of them. This film particularly focused on women and their relationship with men.

In Shawshank Redemption we see Andy become friends with the other in mates and especially with Red and how they develop into best friends. Another example is obviously in Titanic with the relationship between Rose and her mother, Rose and Jack and Rose in relation to her status and behaviour.

Family drama is a sub genre and focuses on family relationships. An example of this is in 'My Sisters Keeper' (2009) which focuses on the family of a girl dying of cancer and how it tears them apart in different ways.

The characters in these films are ordinary people and who look ordinary due to the era. For example Jack in Titanic was a normal man of lower class who looked very ordinary. In modern drama films the costume is modern and as are the props. If the film was set in the 1940's the costume, props and setting would all be authentic to the diegesis. As the genre of Drama portrays mainstream issues of society the setting relates to these. For example in 'My Sisters Keeper' the main setting is in a hospital as she is battling cancer. Another example is in 'Shawshank Redemption' the prison and the cell is the main setting as it is portraying the life of men in prison.

The props used in dramas are similar to real life. For example in 'Titanic' the props used by the upper class people are very authentic to what they could use in real life. This is because dramas follow mainstream stories and sometimes true events.

Synopsis - "Hereafter"

Equilibrium

Protagonist ( Megan West)

Disruption ( Car Accident)

Quest ( Megan trying to resolve things with Tina)

Climax/Resolution ( Megan realising she’s dead/Funeral for Megan)

Re-equilibrium ( Megan and Tina at peace in separate ways e.g. Megan literally and Tina emotionally)


Synopsis – “Hereafter”

After being in a tragic car accident Megan West and Tina Walker go their separate ways despite being in an event which is life changing. Megan embraces her life and can’t understand why Tina is avoiding her. Trying her best to communicate with Tina she finally realises she is in fact dead and Tina has been grieving the loss of her. This results in Megan coming to terms, being at rest and leaving this world.

Chosen Sequence

For my project i have decided to do a sequence form an imagined film. My sequence will involve two characters and one of them is dead but they don't know they are. The sequence will be shot in a dark room with iconography of grieving as it is just before the funeral of the deceased character.

Brief

For A2 film studies i have to develop a short film or sequence between 3 and 5 minutes. With both of these options i have to engage with the micro features raised in FM1 in relation to the productionof emaning and the study of film stylistsics and theory.