Thursday, 30 September 2010
(on train)
Holly(as voice over): What would you do if i told you i was a thief? Yes, i agree, its not obvious, but its not as if i had a choice in the matter.
(flashback one)
(on train)
Holly(as voice over): I had the worst start in life. I grew up with parents that didn't care and don't want to know. I blame them for where i am now.
(flashback two)
Holly(as voice over): Things got better though, after i met Harley.
(on train)
Holly(as voice over): It was a complete accident how we met, and for once, my life felt worth living.
(flashback three)
Harley: ''See you later''
(on train)
Holly(as voice over): Then one day, by complete accident, i threw everything away.
Harley: ''Holly! What are you doing?''
(on train)
Holly(as voice over): And so i ended up here. Running away from home.
(flashback five)
Holly(as voice over): Id committed my biggest mistake ever. Lost everything, and felt so ashamed.
Holly: ''Excuse me, i need to get off.''
Joseph Beardsall Five Minute Film Analysis
The reason I decided to analyze "Strangers" is because I believe it strongly relates to our film and fits into the same genre of film. The genre of the film is drama, its a 7 minute film based around the difference in religious society's and the hatred towards each other. The first shot is a long shot of a train traveling down the underground which is a great shot to introduce the scene and set the location.The lightening is rather darkened but the train lights are very bright. There's also a diegetic sound of the train as it gets closer. Then comes the title and a medium shot of the back of a man looking at a train stopping then a panned close up from right to left of the man's head as he gets onto the train. Finally a medium shot of him walking down the train revealing what he is wearing. These shots show very good continuity of the train stopping and him getting on. As he sits down he has a harsh look at the man across from him, then the other man in a close up of his eyes and paper looks similarly back. This reveals the conflict between them.
The paper that the Arabian man is reading is the first sign of his religion as it is an Arabian paper so you presume he is an Arab. The next shot is a close up of the Jewish man still staring at the other man but also holding his necklace which has a Jewish symbol this then shows both their religions and also the reason for the conflict between them. The next significant part of the film is the medium shot of the train as a group of skin headed men walk down the train and sit next to the two men. The Jewish man then sees the group of men and puts the necklace back down his shirt so the gang do not recognize his religion this is portrayed in a medium close up of the Jewish male. One of the men sprays the Arabs paper with black spray paint in the sign of a Nazi which introduces the conflict between the gang of men and him, meanwhile the Jewish man is watching the conflict unfold. The gang of men are all similarly dressed in white shirts and have tattoos and ear pieces which help to show they over power the other two men.
Now there are a number of shots to show the conflict between the men which also helps build tension for the viewer as you can tell that the Nazis are trying to start trouble with the Arab. The tension is shown through a close up of one of the Nazis faces and him looking down then a close up of his foot been placed between the Arabs crouch which is also to show the skin heads intimidation towards the Arab. The two shots show great continuity as the Nazis looks down then it shows hes looking at his foot and him moving his foot. The next shot is of a close up of the Arabs face and him showing a sign of fear and defeat as he puts his head down to also show he is inferior to the men. The there's a long shot as there was at the beginning showing the train coming through the tunnel and then a pan from right to left to show it stopping.
There is no dialog throughout this film which means it relies on signs, camera angles and mise-en-scene to show the storyline. The next shot is a medium shot of the Jewish man as he prepares to leave the train and in the same shot there is diegetic sound of his ring tone which is a Jewish ring tone. This then reveals to the Nazis the man is Jewish. This suddenly changes the conflict onto him because Nazis are enemies of Jews and also Arabs. Then there's a over the shoulder shot of two of the Nazis backs and the Arab sitting in front of them this is to show that the conflict has not completely directed towards the Jewish man and the Arab is still a target for the Nazi men and also there is a large Nazi sign tattooed on the back of one of the Nazis heads which just confirms that they are Nazis.
Then there is a close up of the Arabs making eye contact with the Jewish man and a medium shot of the Jewish man doing the same and quickly throwing his bag to the Arab. This is where the two enemies make a short alliance to escape the situation. A medium close up of two Nazis confirms there shock at the attempted escape by the Arab and Jew. Then the shot speed increases and there are a range of close ups showing a struggle before two continuing medium shots panning right to left of the two men and then the Nazis chasing them. Then there is a medium shot of both the Arab and the Jew leaving the train followed by a shot of the doors closing and the Nazis been left on the train. A close up of the Arabs face as he breaths heavily reveals his relief to have escaped.
Finally there is a long shot of both the men celebrating their triumph as the train disappears down the tunnel. The men exchange bags and in a medium close ups of each of them they acknowledge there alliance and bid each other farewell. To finish there is one last long shot as both men disappear in opposite directions which show there alliance is over but there is now no hatred between the two men. What made me want to analyze "Strangers" was the moral story of two completely different people working together and becoming friends which is also portrayed in a different way in our own short film.
For my five minute film analysis I am going to look at the short film 'The Crossroad'. It was created and edited by media students like myself, and contains a lot of features that I will be including in our film. I also chose to analyse this film because it contains simular themes to ours, and shares the same genre of drama.
The film starts off with a long shot of the crossroads. Immediately relate able to the tile of the film for the audience and creating the setting of the film. The next shot is a medium point of view shot from behind the main character. Point of view shots also give an indication to the kind of genre of a film. In our film, because it is of a simular genre we will also try and include lots of point of view shots.
The film I have chosen to analyse is 'Welcome To The Rileys'. I chose this film as it is of a similar genre to our film, drama. It also follows the theme of a teenage runway and reform, which is also very similar to our film.
The film starts off with the back story off the main character, Mallory. There are multiple point of view shots, showing the characters insight and giving depth to her for the audience.
Research
After deciding what treatment idea we were going to produce into our film, the first thing I did was research into similar film genres. This would help with the generic features we should include in our film, as well as looking at their target audiences which would probably be similar to the target audience for our film.
While looking at drama films in general, the most successful ones seemed to be linked with another or multiple other genres. The most popular linking theme was romance, and closely following was action.
The next feature of drama films I looked at was the common themes that appear throughout. Tension between characters and argumentative behavior was a given. Also often included was family relationships. After finding this out by researching our aim was to include and emphasize these features of our film.
Another defining feature of drama films was the ending. Each seemed to achieve a "happy" or "moral" ending. In our film we plan to retain this idea of an achieving purpose ending, by Having our main character Holly realise the error of her ways, promoting a good message to our audience.
Even not seeing some of the drama film I researched, the genre of them was obvious by the poster. When looking at making our film poster we will have to research drama film posters
further to produce an appropriate film poster.
Friday, 17 September 2010
Film Title: Interchange
Duration: 5 minutes
Audience: Certificate 12A. Our target audience is people aged 15 - 25 and would appeal to both genders.
Genre: Drama
Synopsis:
First shot shows a close up of the character Holly’s arm sliding down a banister as she runs down some stairs.Another close up reveals a train time’s board. Final close up. The next shots show Holly asking at the counter for a one-way ticket to London. The following shot is of Holly getting on to a train. As Holly gets on the train and sits down, a voice over pursues as Holly introduces herself by describing her background.
While the voice over is on, a series of flashbacks take place that relate to the voice over topic.
Flashback 1 – Holly Pearson breaking into a house.
The shot then changes back to Holly sat on the train and she receives a text from Harley saying ‘I forgive you, Sheffield train station?’ Holly deletes this message.
Flashback 2 – Voice over of Holly saying how life seemed to get better when she met Harley. Then see the meeting of the two. Both bump into each other in Sheffield train station. Sheffield sign is shown in background of the shot.
Shot quickly back to on the train at present time and a stranger sits down next to Holly.
Flashback 3 – Voice over continues but says she was still living rough, and Holly is shown walking round streets with her backpack, she bumps into Harley again and they hug and he says see you tomorrow then. After he’s walked off she sets up her sleeping bag.
Shot again back to the train, conductor announces a random train stop.
Flashback 4 – Holly is shown climbing through a window of a house, breaking in. She starts putting things in her bag, ornaments etc. then a light comes on and Harley is stood there. It’s his house. Harley shouts and Holly apologises and runs off.
The shot focuses back to the present again with Holly on the train. Holly’s voice over says, “you’re probably wondering what happened after that. Well I ran away and got on this train”.
Flashback 5 – while this voice over happens, shot of Holly running away.
Last scene back to present time and the conductor announces Sheffield stop. Holly gets up quickly and says, “excuse me I need to get off” and pushes past the person sat next to her. Holly getting off the train and the Sheffield train station sign is the last shot
Friday, 10 September 2010
Treatmeant Idea
Documentary
Duration: 60 min (including 3x4min ad breaks)
Channel: Channel 4
The documentary follows the life of disgraced ex pro footballer, Keith Jelleyman, after being released from prison after serving 2 years for GBH, after beating up match referee Dermot Gallagher following Jelleyman’s debut for lower league outfit Accrington Stanley in 2008, in which he was sent off for head butting an opponent. Using archive footage, exclusive interviews and for the first time ever, an account from Dermot Gallagher, the documentary follows Jelleyman’s struggle to fit back into normal life, the highs and lows of infamy and retells the story of his early life, as well as that faithful afternoon back in 2008. Reporters Danny Richardson, Joe Beardsall, Nancy Smith and Jasmine Pearson are given exclusive all area access to Keith as he tells his story.
The documentary begins with a report from Gillett Soccer Saturday, 23rd February 2008. Host Jeff Stelling reports of a red card in the game between Accrington Stanley and Torquay United. This is particularly significant as referee Dermot Gallagher is refereeing for the first time since his well publicised break up from his wife, who has fallen victim to John Terry’s, Russell Brand’s, Les Dennis’ and Sven Goren Erickson’s promiscuity. The report then takes a more sinister turn however, when pitch side reporter Chris Kamara states that he cannot believe his eyes. It appears that Keith Jelleyman, the 23 year old Accrington Stanley centre back, making his debut for the club, has started attacking the referee after being dismissed for a violent conduct, and that not even 5 security staff, 22 players, both teams coaching staff, the club mascot, or even the Ginsters pie sellers from half time can calm Jelleyman down, chaos has ensued.
Newspaper reports then appear on screen, revealing an anger problem that Jelleyman has, and his reasons for attacking the referee, before a voice over from Jelleyman himself tells his side of the story. He tells of his reasons for the attack, apparently Gallagher himself tried seducing Jelleyman’s wife in his own despair, therefore Jelleyman sought revenge, especially after being sent off by Gallagher. He also tells of his sentence to prison, and his rise in fame, as interviews with witnesses, including the pie sellers tell their account of events. A brief history of Jelleymans life is also told by narrator Danny Richardson, including Jelleyman being expelled from school for going on a rampage with a water pistol, anger management problems and beating up TV producers offering Jelleyman a contract to be the new face of Wobbly Jelly Inc. Interviews with members of Jelleyman’s family also appear, as well as reconstructed footage.
The programme then shows Jelleyman’s struggle to buy a house, with estate agents refusing to sell property to such an angry character – this then ends up with Jelleyman spending the night on the streets, as, ironically, a wrapper floats by with one Dermot Gallagher on the front, the new face of Wobbly Jelly inc, this entices Jelleyman more. More interviews appear about Jelleyman’s prison experiences, including a cooking contest, where Jelleyman was disqualified for lacing his ‘mousse de poisson fume’ with poison, in order to seek revenge after an inmate took the saying ‘nailing Jelly to a wall’ slightly too seriously. Jelleymans life seems to be coming to a sad end after it is revealed that he is still a public hate figure. At this point, our interviewees are forced to abdicate after a hate mob chases Jelleyman with large metal plates, chanting viciously ‘Jelly on a plate! Jelly on a plate! Wibble Wobble Wibble Wobble Jelly on a plate! ‘The screen fades with Jelleyman on the run. Screaming “I’m coming for you Dermott! “ Jelleyman is obviously still angered by Gallagher for sending Jelleyman off 2 years earlier and ruining his life.
The programme flashes forward to 3 months later, and concludes with Jelleyman trying out for local club ‘Dodworth Miners Welfare’ his life seemingly back on track, apologising to everyone for his actions, taking anger management classes, and finally buying a house in Barnsley. Jelleyman and his family tell through a series of photos and interviews that Jelleyman his finally on the up, that he is no longer the hooligan he once was, and that he is ready to start his life again. The last shot is of the main focus Jelleyman preparing to make his debut for Dodworth, and asking another team mate who the referee is. The team mate replies ‘Dermot Gallagher’ and Jelleyman’s face darkens.
Channel 4 is proud to present, Keith Jelleyman: Thrown a wobbly
Documentary Title:
The lives of the homeless
That homeless person
Sasha Wilkins, homeless and hungry
Duration:
Extract lasting 5 mins approx
Audience: This documentary would appeal to both men and women, a high percentage teenagers.
Synopsis: Opening sequence starts with voice over of reporter, whilst showing relevant clips of homeless people/person getting on with their life. Will include facts in this speech, to shock and interest the audience. The title sequence will then appear. After this the next scenes will look more in depth at certain person's story. The reporter not on camera, starts asking the homeless person questions about living on the street and how it came about. In the scene when talking about dangerous experiences, there is a flashback, which means a change of scenery, and someone dragging the homeless person into a car follows. Slow mo to make it dramatic yet clear. The st scenes end with a paragraph that concludes what has been learnt and also "if you have been affected by any of the issues in this program . . . etc".
Suggested Elements: Dark dingy environment, filmed t night to achieve and portray to the audience the feel of living homeless. Lots of voice overs and also elements of the homeless people talking whilst not showing their faces and them doing other actions, which will put across the feeling of homeless people not having an identity which is how they often feel.
Questions reporter could ask.
How do you get food?
Where do you get washed?
Would you consider sleeping with people to get money?
Do you get scared?
How did you become homeless?
Did you want to become homeless?
Do you ever think about killing yourself?
Could follow two people's stories as a contrast.
For inspiration for my idea for a documentary and how it would play out, I used TV documentaries I had seen in the past and thought of the successful techniques that these used, and how we could as a team make our documentary similar. I also researched into youtube videos of similar briefs and found this one most helpful and as an ideal what we would have like to achieve.
film teatment ideas.
Holly: a 18 year old girl who has been brought up by a gang of gypsy thief's and murders who tort her to kill and steal for a living. As she grows up she realizes that it is wrong to kill and steal but is made to continue doing it for her father who is part of the gang. Then one day she decides to run away and tries starting a fresh life but after realizing her only talents where stealing and killing she is forced to return to her old ways to earn money to be able to live. Her past has left her to be very untrusting of people and insecure.
Andrew: An 18 year old lad studying at college, who lives a normal life, plays football and likes to party. He is a very soical and trust worthy person who has a good upbringing. He is very gullible and trusts people easily but also has high opinions of people and gets to know them for who they are before judging them.
Story Line:
The story begins with Holly running onto a train then she begins to tell her story of her past of been brought up as a gypsy. This includes flash backs about important parts of her past which have made her who she is. Then there are various shots of Andrew playing football with his mates before them leaving him and him walking through the park. As he travels towards home he puts his iPod in which forces him to walk into holly. This is when the characters meet for the first time. . He finds her phone and returns it to her and they begin to meet up as friends. As they become close he begins to like her and attempts to kiss her and she pushes him away and walks away. Then he returns home and she begins to prepare to steal from a house. When she arrives she brakes in through the back window and then to her surprise she finds it’s his house and she then in shock points her gun at him. He pleads with her to stop and tells her she can change but she then brakes down in tears and points the gun at her head before running away once more. The film ends with her on the train once again looking at photo of them together.
Duration:5minutes
Genre: The genre of the film is drama so I decided to look for a film clip of the same genre. I watched "An Education" as the story is similar as it has the same genre and also revolves around a man and a women.
Title: Who's There?
Genre: Thriller
Cert: 15
Duration: 5 mins
Audience: Anyone interested in thriller movies, over the age of 15
Synopsis: A young girl wakes up one morning to find that her parents and brothers have mysteriously disappeared from the family home. Suspecting that everyone must have left early from work and school, she carries on with her normal day and heads off to college. When she arrives home there is still no sign of her family, so she decides to call the police. After a few days of investigating and no sign of the family, the young girl begins to feel as though she is being suspected of her family's disappearance.