Thursday, 26 February 2015

Final Script






After a combined effort by both Zach and myself we have colluded together to create a final draft of the script from which we can form the basis of beginning to film within the coming weeks.

Old Habits Die Hard

(Over the shoulder Mid to Close shot of protagonist (Toby) Made to look like He is Filming a Vlog)

Toby: Is this thing on?... (Sits back in chair, relaxing, but on edge) 

(Music Starts - Slow with fade in)
(Camera fades to black then re-enters on a track/Panning side on shot of Protagonist walking)
(Starts at waist then pans down to legs)
(Low Angle Camera shot of Protagonist's feet walking)
(Approaches door, Match on action opening door)

(Voice Over) Toby: I think it started when I was a kid, growing up around my deadbeat parents who would rather light up then go out. I promised my self that I would never be like them but I guess all the time I spent fighting it just ended with me falling harder.

(Music picks up pace and matches the cutting of the shots)
(Sequence of drug related imagery at fast continuous pace)
Toby:  Not for pleasure. (Echo in background)
Toby: I love the hits man, but only when they last. 
Toby: Just to survive. (Echo in background)
Toby: They get fewer and fewer every time.
Toby: Just to survive. (echo in background)
Toby: I need this, I crave it and I will do whatever it takes to get it.
Toby: To drag yourself out of a shithole and into the light of normality. (Echo in background)

(Music remains fast paced)
(Sequence of shot of over the shoulder shots of protagonist faced with danger)

(Music slows, shots speeds down)
(Over the shoulder Mid to Close shot of protagonist (Toby) Made to look like He is Filming a Vlog)
Toby: If you're like me then we I comes down to it remember this, to get what we need you have to get good mates who share your struggles.

Cut to scene of Marty and Toby
Marty: I thought you were done with this shit bro?
Toby: Yeah, well I was never one to keep my promises. I’m back in the game. 
(Voice Over) Toby: When you’ve been in the ‘game’ as long as I have you begin to realise when shit's going down. If you fail to notice it quick enough you could be fighting for your life or worse pride. Then one day you have to wake up to reality that you ain’t ever going to protect something till your out of the game for good.

Vincent: I believe you owe us something my friend 
Toby: A long time ago perhaps. Today both you and I know I don’t owe you shit.
Vincent: Time (Heavily exaggerated) doesn't change a damn thing Toby!

(Music explodes to life showing Protagonist from behind facing off against a group of people, then a group of people line up with protagonist, groups walk towards each other)
(Middle man points at Protagonist)
(Sequence of close ups of main characters)
(Over the shoulder Mid to Close shot of protagonist (Toby) Made to look like He is Filming a Vlog)
(Slow Panning shot to protagonists face)
Toby: My names Toby Scott and this isn't a story.... Its my life.
Release date flickers on to the screen from a street lamp.
Fade to black

Tuesday, 24 February 2015

Media Essay

For the following Media Essay I examined the trailer for Science Fiction/ Action Adventure hybrid movie spectacular Jupiter Ascending, to see how large, corporate Hollywood Media conglomerate studios such as Universal Studios market a film to appeal to it's target audience of male viewers, a similar target audience to that of our production; in the hope that, albeit on a smaller scale, we are able to emulate some of the measures used to befit our own smaller scale production.




“How is the trailer for the film Jupiter Ascending constructed to appeal to its target audience?”



 


http://enigmasmovies.com/uploads/images/jupiter_ascending_movie_poster_2.jpg


 As with many trailers, the trailer for “action adventure” film Jupiter Ascending is constructed to appeal to its target demographic in a multitude and a variety of ways with the ultimate aim of encouraging their targeted audience to go and see the new film upon its release and exhibition in cinemas.


  • The Genre of the film trailer Jupiter Ascending is presented to the audience overtly to the audience as belonging to the genre of Science Fiction. This becomes evidently clear to the audience due to the setting of the trailer being predominantly set in the deep regions of space. An element of Science fiction also becomes clearly apparent to the viewer due to the repeated use of advanced technology shown in the trailer to the viewer. It is these subtleties that inform the viewer almost instantaneous of the film trailer beginning as to what the genre of the film will be given the clear indicators shown through the fantastical setting of deep space.   
  •  The Narrative of the film trailer is one that is fast paced and full of action. Typically, the narrative presented to the viewer in the trailer is one that has been presented in many guises before in varying film titles. In Jupiter Ascending, this typical story has been replenished with different characters and a revitalised and regenerated surrounding to bring the story up to date for a modern age. The narrative of the film is a simple construct in that it follows the story of an unbeknownst individual who possesses a great deal of previously unknown power. Indeed, in the trailer the female protagonist is told that she “is entitled to the Earth” and that she only needs to claim it from the cruel and antagonistic character revealed only as Emperor Barmelow who intends to “harvest the Earth” before it is taken from him. She is aided by an attractive male bounty hunter who intends to see her take her rightful position in the hierarchal position of intergalactic politics. 
  • Pace The pace of the trailer is very energetic and fast paced and it is this fast pace that drives the narrative of the story forward in the trailer, as the trailer is somewhat relentless in its pace with a few hiatus moments in the trailer to provide the audience opportunity to catch their breath.
  • Target Audience The target audience of the trailer is orientated towards the male demographic as we see the female protagonist in distress and being saved by an attractive and good looking male protagonist to attract female members of the audience.
  • Voiceover: The trailer requires little use of a voiceover as the relevant audience information that conventionally would be expected to perhaps be found through a voiceover is presented to the audience as titles onto the viewing screen. Relevant information such as the producers and investors of the film project, in this instance Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, are presented to the audience through the use of intertitles as well as the producers of the film project who in this case are credited as having been behind the hugely successful action and adventure film trilogy of the Matrix.
  • Credits and Intertitles In the absence of a voiceover being used in the trailer, it is the credits and intertitles dispersed throughout the trailer that convey to the audience the necessary and relevant information about the film that they require such as who produced the film and additionally who directed.  
  • Soundtrack and Music The music builds to a crescendo and tumultuous conclusion as the trailer steadily progresses to ramp up the tension and increase the intensity of the situations with which the characters are placed in to energise the audience to go and see the full feature film.
  • Shot Types/ Camera Angles. Perhaps in order to successfully and eloquently demonstrate the vast expanse of the setting of the film, it is largely wide angle shots that are used in the majority of the trailer as it is through this viewing angle that the audience are able to obtain the maximum scope and vision of the immersive world of the film.
  • Special effects: If there is one thing that the trailer is keen to showcase in it’s upmost above all other aspects of the trailer, then it is the special effects and the financial expenditure that has been invested into the project. Without Special Effects and the advancements in CGI computer technology the film would hold little attraction or serious contention to large media outlets and large  media conglomerate cinema chains, which would be looking to the trailer as a means of persuasion from the film studio to showcase the film in their cinema, with the aim to convince the cinema chain that the film will be a sound success financially and a money spinner for the cinema, a gamble worth investing in as the likelihood remains that it will pay off for both commercial parties and do well at the box office.  Perhaps more importantly, however, is the fact that as the film is classifying itself into the genre of Science Fiction with the setting holding a very futuristic feature and element to it instantly encapsulates the audience into the world of the film.
  • Unique Selling Point of the trailer The Unique Selling Point of this trailer is it’s unique ability to not only captivate the audience in it’s first instance with the exotic and vibrant fantastical locations of a future galactic age but to maintain the interest of audience members by providing a level of relate-ability to members of the target audience who, no doubt at some point during the trailer’s duration, are questioning their connectivity and relate-ability to the characters given the setting of the trailer and the daring situations from which the characters must escape from to ensure their continued survival. The point of most relate-ability for audience members in my eyes would, most probably, occur in the portion of the trailer where we see the attractive female protagonist, identified in the trailer as on an intergaltic scale possessing an extremely influential and powerful position in the hierarchy of foreign politics, participating in an arduous and mundane task of cleaning out the latrines. This moment in the trailer not only appeals to the audience in terms of being able to relate to the character’s situation but also provides humour for the audience as it is both unexpected and rather comical to see a character in a position of such unbeknownst power to be partaking in such a job devoid of vivacious nature and variety.  


To conclude, the trailer uses a variety of media film elements that aim to construct a viable and attainable profitmaking film for the producers of the project without compromising on the quality of the finished product.


    

Production Company










To maintain the suspension of disbelief for our audience and for our film trailer to seem as realistic and authentic as possible, Zach and I decided to create our own production company to make our trailer and the supposed complete production seem all the more realistic. As the film trailer which we are producing fits purportedly into the genre of Social Realism, we decided to reflect this fact in the name of our fabricated production company. We named our production company "Indi-Pendent Productions"; we chose to name our production company in this way as through the separation of the two units of the word independent through the use of a Haiphong and the intended, incorrect spelling of the first part of the word "Indi" emphasises the colloquialism of the genre of social realism as "Indi", films of the genre are often termed in this manner as through this labelling by film goers they are singled out and labelled as markedly different and unique. However, through the spelling of our production company name, we have chosen to emphasise the fact that the films this fictitious studio would back and subsequently produced are different and this is a fact we were keen to emphasise through the abnormal and markedly unique spelling of the word "Independent."      


We chose to illuminate our logo in a darkened shade of emerald green to connote to the audience the subject matter of the trailer prior to viewing it. We believed that the use of the colour green would systematically aid viewers in their depiction of upcoming events in the trailer and they would know that the subject matter of the trailer would be inclusive of the world of drugs and the dark consequences associated with partaking in their recreational use. We believed that the use of the colour green would symbolise drugs most potently as the connotations of health whilst suggesting health and wellbeing are in direct contrast to the subject matter of our trailer, depicting the other far more negative side associated with drugs in society which we were hoping to replicate in our finished trailer. The isolation of the green colour used on the font surrounded by an impenetrable black background made the logo and more importantly, the fictitious company stand out and become obvious and apparent to the viewer which was our main focus when creating the logo.


I believe if our production company did exist in real terms it would be similar in nature to existing studios such as Film4 and BBC Films, organisations that help fund small directors with their commercial short film ventures, most notably of the Social Realism genre. I am proud of the production company that we have created as I feel the logo is both simplistic, recognisable, bold and memorable, attributes that we are keen not just to be possessed by our production company logo but our film trailer production in general.