Techniques used for composing ideas

  Stickies

My thriller - Creating the treatment

During the lesson today i achieved a great deal.

• I pitched the treatment to my teacher, I got given the green light to go ahead with the idea. The outline of the treatment is as follows:

 A protagonist, that of a middle-aged father living with his son, is sleeping in his bed. We begin to see his dream about his deceased wife and the audience quickly realises that she had drowned during a vacation trip. 

The father wakes up suddenly and makes his way straight to his son's room. He presses his ear to his son's door but it is quiet. 

Thinking his son is asleep, the father makes his way to the bathroom-he sees a glimpse of his wife at the sink. After hearing a distant female scream, he rushes to his son's room, this time opening the door only to find he is not there. 

He immediately rushes downstairs, noticing that someone has been in the kitchen. The protagonist walks outside and, having an instinct, runs deep into the garden. 

He stops. Snippets of his dream are shown and the father walks forward slowly-the camera shows his feet stepping near to photos of his wife on the ground. His eyes suggest the impossible has become possible.

• I brainstormed how to create the signs that the man is either still dreaming or that something supernatural is afoot.

- the man is awoken by the odd dream. It is almost as if he has been disturbed by someone in the room.

- there are several connections with the strange 'supernatural' signs and the protagonist. The vision of his wife in the bathroom, the scream, the steaming saucepan, the radio and the photos on the floor will make the event surreal.

• I worked on establishing the back story of how the man's wife drowned. Cultural codes:

  The willow was part of mourning poetry created in the 19th century by women to commemorate the death of a loved one. The Celtics also believed that if you come across a willow you will find your dreams will immediately become more vivid and meaningful.

 In Act 4 Scene 7, Queen Gertrude, in her monologue (There is a willow grows aslant the brook), reports that Ophelia had climbed into a willow tree, and then a branch broke and dropped Ophelia into the brook, where she drowned.

 Ophelia "Death of a Mayfly" by deerdancer

Looking At Title Sequences

'Moon' had a very documentary type of opening sequence and is unveiled as something 'corporate' and 'cankerous'. The focus on one character throughout the entire sequence reflects the loneliness and solitary theme that runs throughout the entire film. The titles are blended into the scenes almost as though they are part of the actual set, sometimes placed on the walls and in the sky looking down. This could portray the insanity that the protagonist goes through later on in the film; its almost like they're in his mind. Taking a step back, the title simply sets the scene beautifully allowing the audience to see the daily routine of one man on the surface of the moon. Without revealing too much, Simon Kilroe allows the audience to become aware that the film focuses on only one man but as to why such an environment is empty, is unknown.

'Dexter', the award winning American TV series, has to have one of my favourite opening sequences. The words, 'Dexter' is immediately shown on the screen in blood lettering. Once we realise what Dexters about, we realise he is a blood analyst for the Miami metro police department. However we soon begin to realise he is also a killer who seeks to clean the streets of criminals. The title sequence is very clever as it relates a normal morning routine to Dexter's life and personality. The act of shaving causes Dexter to drip blood in the sink, one drop at a time. Likewise, Dexter cooks his breakfast which includes cutting a blood orange violently and cooking a cut of pork in a hot pan. When he flosses his teeth, he tightly strangles the wire around his finger just like when he ties his shoes conveying the inner violence and 'monster' qualities. This is one clever and effective way to show the genre of a production before it has even started.

'Bored to Death' opening sequence is a unique one. The title is that of a storyboard, telling the audience what happens throughout the movie before the film has even begun. It isn't real people acting out the story but comic like characters who seem to come out of a 1940s comic book. The text embroiders the imagery as shapes and labels. With what sounds like the jingle of loose change, the type scatters and floats to the ground just like turned tree leaves. It is a very unusual sequence as the story is being told simultaneous to the traditional style of presenting the cast to the audience. Moreover, like 'Moon' the  typography blends in with its surroundings, for example, when the executive producer is presented on the door when opened by one of the characters.

Extras Analysis- How Gender Is Represented

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender using the following:

• Camera shots, angles, movements and composition
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene

The 5 minute extract of the English sitcom Extras includes three main scenes in which genders relate and collide. I will be talking about all of the above and how they work together to conveys these relations.

 To begin with, a court case with a serious and intriguing discussion is taking place. The courtroom, having a formal and genuine atmosphere, stresses how authentic the scene is meant to look. The 'double' actors fill the roles of a judge, two lawyers and the man who supposedly committed the crime. Maggie, one of the jury actors seems to be uninterested and we get the sense she does not want to play that role at all. Orlando Bloom, convincing the judge that not giving flowers is suspicious, is dressed as a real barrister outfit and wig. Quickly, Bloom is interrupted by the female barrister because he himself never bought flowers for her. This has a dramatic effect on the mood of the scene and the audience begins to question why such an outbreak in a courtroom occurs. The argument helps convey the obvious romance between the two barristers. In this particular point in the extract, gender is portrayed as equal as both have matching clothes and similar argumentative skills. Bloom even asks the judge, 'Does a reef count?' which makes the whole scene seem improbable. When the judge finally tell the couple to 'Kiss and make up' the audience realizes that the scene is not quite right in terms of how unrealistic the court case is. The music is also a very important aspect of the scene to take notice at. When Bloom interrogates the suspect, we hear tense and suspenseful music, a genre which suits a court case very well. However, when the two barristers share a romantic kiss, the style of music changes dramatically. The classic cheerful symphony piece is cued and the strings help show a stereotypical scene. The lighting is also less high-key and is instead more warm to stress the love in the scene more. It is also useful to note that the female barrister raises half a leg when kissing Orlando Bloom to promote the idea of what females stereotypically do in particular circumstances.

After the long smooch, a distant voice shouts 'Cut!' and the whole set is seen in different light; people start to talk and cameras and lighting equipment are seen. This is all due to the breaking of the 4th wall convention. Maggie, the uninterested actress sitting in the jury box, is sitting all by herself and she can't help but notice that Orlando Bloom is surrounded by many female fans. Maggie then receives a phone call from her friend who is played by Ricky Gervais. You quickly realize that Maggie is rather ditzy and, like her work, rather uninterested with the topic of conversation. The Mise-en-scene shows him on a set which backs up the idea of him getting ready to act in a sit-com. After the brief phone conversation, the camera is close up of Maggie and then of Orlando getting a photo with a couple of females. There is a similar close shot of Maggie and she rolls her eyes as does Bloom in response. He becomes enticed as to why Maggie was rolling her eyes and so he comes over and puts his arm around the bench in confidence. It is clear that Maggie is uninterested in what Bloom has to say. Bloom is quite surprised when Maggie claims that the only reason why he's like so much is because of how famous he is. Of course, it doesn't seem to have affected Maggie that she threw him off. Bloom carries on showing his arrogance and claims that he is better than Jonny Depp. Editing included the shot reverse shot between the conversation between the two characters. You can carefully notice how Bloom's language and tone is much different than when he was playing the role of a barrister- In fact quite the opposite. The relationship between Maggie and Ricky is more equal whereas Bloom cannot relate to unhappiness and boredom. 

The third scene begins with a shot of the BBC building form the outside. You are then familiar to the location when you see Ricky sitting down where he called Maggie. You are able to see Rick's new sit-com which is again breaking the 4th wall convention. Ricky shows similar body language to Maggie and is slumped in his chair not really showing any form of excitement. Steven Merchant who tries to reassure him makes things worse instead. Camera shots are used to how Ricky's face in sadness and how he is pessimistic about is TV show. Ricky's agent brings a replacement to his role in the show, thus adding more reasons to be unhappy. Symbolism might be involved as Ricky is sitting down not using any energy whilst his replacement is standing up. This could mean that the replacement has more motivation and enthusiasm to play the role than slumped sitting Ricky. In terms of Maggie and Ricky, the genders are very similar mainly due to the personalities and motivations of both characters.

English Director - Ridley Scott

My Media World

The modern phone- iphone

Media plays a huge role in everyone's life nowadays. From the internet to high street advertisement media is an aspect of our lives which we take for granted. For example, i have a mobile phone (iPhone 3Gs) and i mostly use it for making calls, communicating through SMS and Facebook, playing games and surfing the web. It is astonishing how one small personal gadget can perform all of these tasks both quickly and simultaneously. To keep in touch with my friends, I use Facebook. You are able to post information on other peoples walls and send messages through Facebook chat. I use the internet for 20 hours each week and 10 hours of TV along with that.

Lost in Translation (2004)

 If i want to see a film, I tend to check the rating of the film on IMDb. If it has a substantial rating then i will either see the production at the cinema or buy the DVD. Recently, it has become more common to digitally download movies, TV programs and music. For films, although it is easier and more convenient, i tend to enjoy the 'cinema' experience which involves a dark setting and a wide screen TV. I have always been a huge fan of films and have a passion for films which have a theme like 'Don't Look Now' by Nicholas Roeg and 'Lost in translation' Sofia Coppola. 

 
Cleverly, if you miss a particular program on TV then you can normally choose 'Catch up TV' to quite literally catch up and watch the program missed on demand. This is a huge convenience for the public who have to work long hours everyday or if someone has a particular event that they cannot miss. 

Technology is changing and developing everyday and media enables us to see this development in an everyday environment.

My Magazine Cover

My First Title Sequence on After Effects