shooting plan;

The order in which i will film the scenes due to the locations i am at;

In daylight; 

1. The scene of the female getting kicked out of her house.

2. The female seeing the male helping the female who had fallen over.

3. The male killing another women in the woods.

4. The scene in the pub

5. A scene in a house of the male drinking and eating with the drink and food going down to show that time has gone by and also maybe a candle.  - I have changed this scene to the male looking at his knife collection but kept a candle burning in the shot.

When it is getting dark;

6. The alley way scene

7. The male chasing the female through the woods.

8. The male killing the female. 

Script;

The script for my short film is basic at the beginning and end but is more detailed in the middle where the two characters are having a conversation.

At the beginning of the short film there will simply be a women shouting 'get out' which is when the female character gets kicked out. The next bit of script we here is when the male character asks the women fallen on the floor if he could help her with her replying yes please. More dialogue begins when the characters ask about each other in the pub, the girl will ask why he isn't having an alcoholic drink, what he does for a job, the male character asks her why she has fallen out with her mum, what she does and says that 'the favourite part of my job is to watch flowers blossom, wither and die' at this moment the female leaves and he says 'where do you think you're going' the last bit of dialogue is the male saying 'now its time to watch you wither and die' when he kills the female. 

Time scale and locations;

I am going to film on the 30th of december between the times of 3pm - 4pm in the scenes which need day light and then again as it starts to get dark at 4:30 pm to which ever time is needed to get all the darker shots done.

Locations;
Blackwell avenue 
Mousehold woods
An alley way in Sprowston
A local pub

This is the weather forecast for the day i am planning to film, due to my short film being a thriller the weather will suit the genre better being dark and gloomy which is expected on this day. If there is light rain, as long as there is a clear view on the camera i will carry out the filming but if there is a heavy rainfall i will need to reschedule.

Narrative, Target Audience and Exhibition;

This video shows me explaining my narrative, genre, planned target audience and exhibition for the short film, magazine review and poster.

pitch 1, from Lucy Easton on Vimeo.

To do next;

• Action planning - done
• Time scale - done
• Location pictures - doing on the day
• Script - done
• Shooting time plan - done
• Photograph cast in suitable lighting - doing on the day
• Ask at a pub to be able to shoot there - done

Character profiles;

The male character played by Lewis Watson is going to have a mysterious and dark appearance, he has dark hair and will be wearing dark clothes and shoes. This represents his personality through his appearance, the actor i have chosen to play the male wears glasses occasionally which i have decided he will be wearing at the time. This is because some people link glasses with well educated and sophisticated people and i think with this image the audience will have more of a shock seeing what the man is really like and this also makes him have more of a mysterious persona. This character is a serial killer and i want this to come across as well as him being a normal person because i want him to have two personalities so the audience engages with his character more.

The female character who is played by Katie Speck has a very light and fluffy appearance being fair skinned and with blonde hair and very pretty. This is the exact persona i was looking for as the character needs to look vulnerable and in need of help in which she gets from the male character and i feel this look will help that come across well. She is a completely normal person but has family problems which has made her the vulnerable person she is and results in her being kicked out of her house which leads her to the fate she is stuck in.   

A list of aspects i need to consider when creating my short film, poster and magazine;

Story Board;

Story board from lucyeaston

Online magazine ideas;

 Sight & Sound magazine is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today.

I think that my film could fit in to this magazine as it is avaliable online and features a large amount of films with different genres. It suits my short film better than a magazine such as Empire as Empire mainly includes blockbuster films for film buffs.

My short film is more arty styled than a blockbuster and this magazine includes all types of film. The latest edition to be appearing soon (pictured above) includes reviews and synopsis' of this large lists of various films;

Baggage Claim                    Battle of the Year
Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson
Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 
Computer Chess
Day of the Flowers                Dirty Wars
Dom Hemingway                  Don Jon
Either Way/A annan veg        Ender’s Game
Escape Plan                          The Family/Malavita
Future My Love                     Gravity
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia
How to Survive a Plague
In Fear                                    Leviathan
Love Tomorrow                       Marius
Metallica Through the Never     Milius
Pandora’s Promise                   Parkland
Romeo & Juliet                        Runner Runner
Rurouni Kenshin                      Saving Mr. Banks
Seduced and Abandoned         Sunshine on Leith
Utopia                                    uwantme2killhim?
V/H/S/2                                 ¡Vivan las antípodas!
Who Needs Enemies               Wolf Children

This is an obvious view on how much the different film genres, styles and audieces vary in this magazine and thats why i feel my film will fit in to it as there will be someone within the magazine audience who will enjoy it and want to see it.

Review idea;

I could either create a normal magazine review or an online magazine review. I have chosen to create an online magazine review as i think this fits my target market better, my way of distribution being streaming and on channel 4 shows that the audience watching it will have access to the internet as it is needed to stream a film so they will be able to access an online review. Being in my target markets age range and as a fan of the thriller genre i would prefer to read a review online rather than from a magazine, one reason for this being it is much quicker and easier to access an online review and also being in the digital age i feel it is much more appealing. Another reason being that most online reviews are free and as most of my target market are likely to be students they may not be able to afford a film magazine as they can be quite pricey. Also the internet can be accessed from anywhere whereas certain magazines may not be in every store that is local to the audience. 

Online film reviews can be written by various people, such as by a film researcher for a big company like the BBC or from a journalist working for a magazine such as Empire. Also simply by a member of an audience on a website that allows them to create a review on different films. All of these ways of reviewing films are important for a film company, because there are so many ways avaliable it could either make or break a film. If there is many good reviews this will cause people to go and see the film after reading the review, also the opposite if the film is bad and reviews across the internet say this it could cause people to not even bother to see it if they listen to others opinions.

Poster ideas;

A character poster is used to feature a individual character from the film. Usually it contains the name of the actor and/or the name of the character played. It may also include a tagline that reflects the quality of the character.

 

A theatrical poster usually includes more than one cast member who are in a pose that looks like it is from a scene in the film but it is actually separately set up and shot. It commonly includes a location from within a film so the audience can have an idea of where and when the film is set. 

A teaser poster does not always include a character from the film, usually it is the location or mise-en-scene with the title of the film being the boldest thing within it. This will also include the film companys name and people working within it either actors or producers.

I have chosen to create a character poster for my short film, this is because as a member of thriller fan audience myself i think they urge the audience to see the film more. For the thiller genre i think it is more bold and gives an insight on the characters, i will use the male character in my poster. This is because he is the mysterious anti hero in my short film and it will make the audience wonder what part he plays and what type of character is being portrayed.

My planned audience for my short film;

My planned target audience from lucyeaston1

Pete Buckingham; audience trends, profiles and patterns -

Page 1;
Q1 - Pete Buckingham suggests that the age and income influences audience patterns, he states that ages 15-24's represent 40% of cinema audiences. 35-44s make up 38% of cinema audiences showing that younger people go to the cinema more. More upmarket audiences with ABC1 jobs make up 60-66% of cinema audiences which will most likely be due to them being able to afford the experience. This shows truth in the statement 'the older the audience, the more upmarket' saying that they will be willing to pay for a more upmarket experience, such as an art house cinema or gallery seats. An audience with high paying jobs are likely to have more time on their hands as they usually will not have children or children living at home which is shown by long days at work, they will have more time and more money to spend on leisures. 55 plus make up 32% of light cinema goers.

Q2- I think i am a mixed kind of audience; i will go to see big blockbuster films as well as small company produced films, films with big or small star casts in it, different genres, different styles. I do usually go to the cinema to see a film if an actor i love stars in it as i am a quite loyal fan to certain actors and i will always come out of it loving the film, sometimes just because that certain actors is in it and maybe without them i may not have enjoyed it. I usually view films through the cinema if they are ones i feel will be worth the money, only being in part time work makes you look differently at spending money to see random films. Other than cinema viewing i will watch films online or through Love Film or Netflix which i subscribe to as it is not much money a month for the range of films that are available to watch. 
Blockbuster films; 

Q2b- To find out about viewing habits/successful genres and narratives i would either research online through websites, blogs and statistic websites. Also read through film audience articles and books.


Pages 3-4; 

Q3- 

A; I watch films because i enjoy the whole experience from it, especially the cinema experience. I like how films are an escapism from the real world and the exhilaration that comes from watching them and the fulfilled feeling you get when the film comes to an end. I like that in films there are people to admire, weather its the stars real life self or the character they are portraying there is always admiration towards at least one person. I enjoy seeing the creativity and imagination from the producers and directors and how this changes the film for better or worse, the power over judging if the films is good or not and what else could be done with it and the unexpected of what the film can contain.
Cinema experience;









B; The aspects that attract me to a film consist of the actors within it, i will go to see a film purely because there is an actor i love or admire starring in it. Also if a film is created by a company which i know the films they produce and exhibit are always enjoyable such as Warner Brothers i am more likely to go and pay to see it knowing that their films have a quality and good content. The reputation of a film matters to me and i am more likely to see a film which is represented well and which the audience who have already seen have enjoyed, also if a film i have seen is part of a trilogy i am more than likely going to go see the next films if the first one was enjoyable for example; the Harry Potter series, Lord of The Rings trilogy which i have seen and other film series i am planning to see after really enjoying the first film are The Hunger Games and The Hobbit.                  
                                  Actors that urge me to see films-the Harry Potter cast;

  

C; I consume films in various ways, my most favourite being the cinema experience. i will also watch them online, stream them, watch them on t.v or buy the DVD. 
My favorite cinema;       








Q4; Drivers and Barriers - 

Drivers;                                           
Genre i like
Actors i like
Producers i like
Well known book
Everyones talking about it
Good and obvious hook
Surprising twist 
Sound track  

Barriers; 
Genres i dont like
No Big names and actors
Same few actors
Dont know the story
No one is talking about it -bad reviews 
No obvious hooks or surprising twist




I think all of the drivers above apply to me going to the cinema or to watch a film, not so much the well known book as i don't read much but every so often there will be a film or films from a book that i love, such as the Harry Potter film series. Pretty much all of the barriers would stop me from seeing a film apart from no big names or actors because i will watch a film even if it doesn't have any big names in it if it looks like it has a good quality and enjoyable storyline.

Cut down prezi of audience types & theory's;

Assessment Criteria;

All of this information is from the OCR website: OCR Specification

0. Research and planning 
   Level 4 16–20 marks 
• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed. 
• There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience. 
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding. 
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props. 
• Time management is excellent. 
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation. 
• There are excellent communication skills. 
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning. 
2. 
   
   Evaluation
   Level 4 16–20 marks
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.
• There is excellent understanding of the forms and conventions used in the productions.
• There is excellent understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.
• There is excellent understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.
• There is excellent understanding of the significance of audience feedback.
• There is excellent skill in choice of form in which to present the evaluation.
• There is excellent ability to communicate. 

0. Production
   Film 
   Level 3 
   The candidate is expected to demonstrate proficiency in the creative use of most of the following technical skills: 
• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot sizes and close attention to mise en scene 
• editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects 
• recording and editing sound with images appropriately.

0. Level 4
1. 
   
   
   

   The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills: 

   • shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot sizes and close attention to mise en scene 
   • editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects 
   • recording and editing sound with images appropriately.

   
   

   Print

   Level 3

   The candidate is expected to demonstrate proficiency in the creative use of most of the following technical skills: 

   • awareness of conventions of layout and page design 
   • awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size 
   • accurate use of language and register 
   • he appropriate use of ICT for the task set 
   • appropriate integration of illustration and text 
   • raming a shot, using a variety of shot distances as appropriate 
   • shooting material appropriate to the task set; selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting 
   • manipulating photographs as appropriate, including cropping and resizing. 

   
   

   0. Level 4 
      The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills: 
   • awareness of conventions of layout and page design 
   • awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size 
   • accurate use of language and register 
   • the appropriate use of ICT for the task set 
   • appropriate integration of illustration and text 
   • framing a shot, using a variety of shot distances as appropriate 
   • shooting material appropriate to the task set; selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting 
   • manipulating photographs as appropriate, including cropping and resizing.

Audiences;

 

Theory?	Definition
Cultivation	As audiences watch more and more film and television, they gradually develop certain views about the world, some of which are ‘false’.
Desensitization	If we are exposed to too much violence, or too much blatant sexuality, we will become less sensitive to real life violence and sexual behaviours.
Copycat	This approach suggests that people will imitate what they see in the media – e.g. if young people watch Natural Born Killers, they will go out on a killing spree. This is not so much a ‘theory’ as an assumption perpetuated by the Press!
Reception analysis	Audiences are seen as active producers of meaning, rather than as merely consumers of media meanings. They make sense of media texts according to their social position (in terms of their identity) – and their gender, race, class etc.
Uses and Gratifications	Instead of researching what the media do to the audience, this approach studies what the audience does with the media. This approach also takes account of people’s personalities and personal needs.
Hypodermic Syringe	Just like the syringe used to inject a drug into a body, the media ‘injects’ messages directly into the minds of the viewers/listeners/readers; and they can be as addictive as heroin ...

This box method has really helped me understand the different types of theory's for audiences in a clear and memorable way. I think that all of the theories above are true and agree with the impact they can have on society, as my short film will contain violence i believe the 'Desensitization' theory fits in to it. This is because there is a murder but to an outside audience watching this it wouldn't seem like a big deal as they are so used to seeing murders in films that it has become a common thing. 

Audience pete buckingham what people go to see from Elaine Humpleby

Audiences;

Understanding audience theory;

Audience behaviour / patterns of consumption

Active - the audiences reacts and engages with the film positively and actively.

Passive- the audience is watching but they are not fully engaging with the film, for example a women is watching a film but glancing as a magazine at the same time.

Traditional- a person that will go to the cinema to watch films which are usually the same genre or that have the same actors/actresses starring in them.

Hedonist-

Post-modernist- someone who loves the arts and will view films in various modern ways, not only at the cinema. e.g; streaming, on t.v, online etc..

Main lesson focus:

defining audience – starting with Pete Buckingham article/ new audience groupings

Activities

1. Analyse the following terms and discuss until there is genuine understanding

Industry and institution ways of identifying

a. Preferred- a preferred way of hearing about and viewing a film.

b. Oppositional

c. Negotiated

d. Two-step flow- being told from another person who has already seen the film if it is good or not, if good this usually will persuade you to see it.

e. Distribution processes & exhibition

HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY

direct influence via mass media

Or: Magic Bullet Theory

History and Orientation

The "hypodermic needle theory" implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behavior change.

Several factors contributed to this "strong effects" theory of communication, including:

- the fast rise and popularization of radio and television

- the emergence of the persuasion industries, such as advertising and propaganda

- the Payne Fund studies of the 1930s, which focused on the impact of motion pictures on children, and

- Hitler's monopolization of the mass media during WWII to unify the German public behind the Nazi party.

 

I think that people will look at examples of this theory in different ways depending on which genre of films they enjoy, such as for me i would used Harry Potter as an example to remember what effect the theory has on audience even though it was not in the time of the theory. This is because the film has a mass audience which react directly and with power to the film straight away, in which you would with an injection so to me it is a good rememberable example. 

The genre of my short film is thriller/horror, this could slightly fit in to the theory in that the audience will react straight away to the murder within it.

Through researching i feel i understand the focus of the lesson on;


Media Languages, Forms & Conventions
I feel that i understand the forms and conventions and i know what to put in to my short film so it fits the conventions of the genre which i have chosen, i need to use these so it is effective to the audience like other films in the genre.

• Media Institutions Introduction

I feel i know how the institutions use these theories to help make their films successful as well as using the different audience groupings to market the film so it attracts the correct audience which i will also do for my short film.

•  Media audiences

I have broadened my knowledge on media audiences through researching and looking in to Pete Buckingham's article. This has made me realise how much institutions look into many different aspects to research which audience is suitable for their film/media product. 

• Media representations

I have seen how media is represented differently by insitutions and producers.

Alan Cameron; modular narrative

     

This is my narrative idea changed to fit the modular theory.

The main characters are still a male and female, but their life's will be shown in separate scenes and link together in different ways in which they meet.

I could have scenes showing the female character arguing with her parents which shows the audience the lead up to her being kicked out of her house and why it has happened.

Also scenes of the male character either trying to or killing other women so the audience knows what he is like before he meets and murders the female character but this could lose the short films element of suprise.  

Rather than meeting for the first time when the girl is upset, although this will still happen. They could walk past eachother in normal situations such as down a street or in a shop and maybe bump in to eachother showing they have seen and ignoliged eachother before. Then when they actually meet properly in the alley way they will recoginise eachother slightly which will give the girl more reason to go with him.

Settings such as these would fit in this narrative idea;

Narrative idea 2; Toderov's theory

A state of equilibrium; 
A shot of a house which we expect is a family home, the shot travels across the windows and door then to a long shot of the whole house.

A disruption; 
A teen girl gets kicked out of her house by her mother which is the opening scene of her slamming out of the door. Also another scene is shown of a male character strangling a women to death.

A recognition of a disruption;
The next scene is of her sitting crying in a dark alley way which makes the audience realise there is a problem in her life. This is from the male characters point of view as he is walking up to her, he asks if she wants to go for a drink and as she is vulnerable and wants help and company so she accepts.

An attempt to repair the damage;

They have a drink and chat then he offers for her to stay as his for the night and with him until she can find other family or friends to stay with. The audience are un sure if he is the male from the earlier shot as it was not completely clear what he looked like, they will start to think this character will look after the girl.


The girl starts to realise the man is acting strangely and that he is a psycho. He chases through street into the woods trying to get to her. This is all from the male characters point of view.

He gets hold of her at one point but she fights her way out and carries on running.

A reinstatement of the equilibrium;
The man starts shouting that the girl left her bag at the bar, she stops and realises he is a normal guy and they end up falling in love.

This is clearly not a narrative i would choose to create as it is not interesting or good. I have changed it to this to fit in to Toderovs theory. 

Narrative Structure;

This is my first initial idea which i like and it follows Propp's character theory.

Theory's;

Vladimir Propp developed a character theory for studying media texts and productions, which indicates that there were 7 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed, which could be applied to other media:

1. The villain (struggles against the hero)
2. The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
3. The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
4. The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)
5. The false hero (perceived as good character in beginning but emerges as evil)
6. The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)
7. The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess

Tzvetan Todorov suggested there were 5 stages to a narrative:

1. Equilibrium – A happy start
2. A disruption of this equilibrium by an event – A problem occurs
3. A realisation that a disruption has happened
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption – the problem is solved
5. A restoration of the eqilibrium – A happy ending.

I believe that both of these theorists are correct, each theory may not suit every single genre but they do show clearly which ones they fit in to. I think that Propp's theory fits in to the fairytale/action and adventure genre really well as from the experience i have had from watching films within that genre they near enough always use each one of the characters that he stated but it will also fit in to other genres with similar character roles to. 

Todorov's theory fits in to a wider range of genre as it is more about the set narrative of a film rather than the characters within it which completely vary depending on the film genre and type. His theory is less pacific to a genre which is why many can apply to it, some films may mix up the order of this theory but it can be clearly seen in blockbuster films such as James Bond which is the main film i think of reading Todorov's theory as it sticks to each 5 ideas.

I think my planned short film has aspects of each of these theory's such as using 'the false hero' and 'the princess' from Propp's theory as my two main characters. I have used a typical 'princess' character as the main women role in my short film as i think it works well with my narrative and creates a connection with the audience as they feel sorry for her when she is victimised from the 'false hero'.

The reason i chose to have a 'false hero' is so that there is a huge twist within the plot to make the short film more interesting mid way through the running of it. The audience will think that the man is a hero helping the young women but as he starts to act oddly they will question his character and realise he was putting on an act all along. 

Research and planning; Narrative

-critical theory

the basics:

Narrative

Narrative is defined as “a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring in

time” (Bordwell & Thompson, Film Art, 1980).

Diegesis

The internal world created by the story that the characters themselves experience

and encounter.

Story and plot

Story – all events referenced both explicitly in a narrative and inferred (including

backstory as well as those projected beyond the action)

Plot – the events directly incorporated into the action of the text and the order in

which they are presented.

Narrative Range

Unrestricted narration – A narrative which has no limits to the information that is

presented i.e. a news bulletin.

Restricted narration – only offers minimal information regarding the narrative i.e.

Thrillers

Narrative Depth

Subjective character identification – the viewer is given unique access to what a range of characters see and do

Objective character identification – the viewer is given unique access to a

character’s point of view such as seeing things from the character’s mind, dreams,

fantasies or memories

then it can be more complex:

Modular Narratives “articulate a sense of time as divisible and subject to manipulation”.

Cameron has identified four different types of modular narrative:

 Anachronic

• Forking Paths

• Episodic

• Split Screen

Anachronic modular narratives involve the use of flashbacks and/or flashforwards, with no clear dominance between any of the narrative threads. These narratives also often repeat scenes directly or via a different perspective. Examples include: Pulp Fiction and Memento.

  Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, adapted from his younger brother Jonathan Nolan's short story "Memento Mori".

Memento is presented as two different sequences of scenes: a series in black-and-white that is shown chronologically, and a series of color sequences shown in reverse order. The two sequences "meet" at the end of the film, producing one common story


Forking-path narratives juxtapose alternative versions of a story, showing the possible outcomes that might result from small changes in a single event or group of events. The forking-path narrative introduces a number of plotlines that usually contradict one another. Examples include Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run.

Run Lola Run (German: Lola rennt, literally Lola Runs) is a 1998 German film, written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni. The story follows a woman who needs to obtain 100,000 German marks (50,984 Euro) in 20 minutes to save her boyfriend's life.

 

Episodic narratives are organised as an abstract series or narrative anthology.Abstract series type of modular narrative is characterized by the operation of a nonnarrative formal system which appears to dictate (or at least overlay) the organization of narrative elements such as a sequence of numbers or the alphabet.Anthology consists of a series of shorter tales which are apparently disconnected but share a random similarity, such as all ‘episodes’ being survivors of a shipwreck.

Lost is a drama series containing elements of science fiction and the supernatural that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean. The story is told in a heavily serialized manner. Episodes typically feature a primary storyline on the island, as well as a secondary storyline from another point in a character's life.


Split screen narratives are different from the other types of modular narrative discussed here, because their modularity is articulated along spatial rather than temporal lines. These films divide the screen into two or more frames, juxtaposing events within the same visual field, in a sustained fashion. Examples includeTimecode.

The film is constructed from four continuous 90-minute takes that were filmed simultaneously by four cameramen; the screen is divided into quarters and the four shots are shown simultaneously. The film depicts several groups of people in Los Angeles as they interact and conflict while preparing for the shooting of a movie in a production office. The dialogue was largely improvised, and the sound mix of the film is designed so that the most significant of the four sequences on screen dominates the soundtrack at any given moment.