Genre conventions.
As part of my film I have to decide upon a genre and with my story in mind the genre I will be looking at is the genre of post apocalyptic horror.
In order to achieve in my aims and context I must follow many conventions from this genre it self.
Films made of this genre are usually low budget and consist of similar story lines like 28 days later and doomsday. Where there is some form of outbreak or some form of disaster that affects either a country or the world.
The main features of the film however usually don’t include the actual outbreak or disaster but do have reference at the beginning in order to allow the audience to understand the diegiesis of the film.
There is often use of long shots which establish the scene and portray a character as being lonely.
Also the use of iconic areas like above the Big Ben tower which is usually really busy yet in this sequence there is know one around.
Many films of this genre typically use very little lighting as to create the sense paranoia and loneliness.
There Is also always the character that dies within the sequence creating emotional reactions from the audience and this is usually an older character who is portrayed as either the father or mother of the group in which are trying to survive.
Many films of this genre have a creative narrative in were the characters chance of survival is extremely minimal and so they often show other groups trying to and often there is a collaboration at some point but not all groups have the same agenda for example in Diary of the dead the military use their weapons and authority for self benefit. Also at the start of many post-apocalyptic films there is use of samples from news television and radios recording the screams and events that had unfolded previous to the film. like I said above this is often used to show the audience what happened previously.
Monday, 28 September 2009
Sunday, 27 September 2009
horror.
GENRE RESEARCH.
Horror.
The horror genre started in the 1890s with several short silent films such as the devils cave in 1886 and the unholy one in 1889.
Hollywood then discovered horror through a series of German experimental films and so developed the genre for the viewing of a wider audience in films such as Dracula and Frankenstein in 1910.
Hollywood then started to mix the genre with other genres such as science fiction in the 1930s and this instantly created the popularity of the genre we know today.
Horror films generally have lower budgets then most other genres and so is a perfect genre to look at for my final film project.
The genre has many conventions but also easily fits into other genres as well. For example most horror films are incredibly dark with little lighting and gothic or supernatural settings. The miss en scene of such films varies however there is always use of the antagonist either as a murderer, being or some form of spirit/ virus.
Also almost all horror films are set in either a dessert of some form or completely of the beaten track that’s not to say that directors always use this.
Director Danny Boyle set his film in the city and that has many characteristics of a horror but also many of the Jason and Freddie films have also been set in suburbs of city’s and so the genre is constantly changing,
The film narrative also revolves around a group mostly and this usually ends up being one or two left at the end usually with the protagonist being the central role throughout the film.
With the genre having a generally low budget this means there is great use of hand held cameras and the natural setting and lighting available this to could be useful to bare in mind for my film.
Skins is a British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England through the two years of sixth form. The controversial plotline explores issues including dysfunctional families, personality and eating disorders, substance abuse, sexuality, teenage pregnancy, mental illness and death. The show was created by father and son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Britain.
The television drama of skins influenced the writing behind the project film as the actors used in our film was aged 16 to 20 and so we wanted the group to have the humor of a group of youths with bad language and commitment issues. One character that heavily influenced cast deciding in our film was the leading characters of tony in series one and two and cook in series three and four. These characters have the same values throughout the series however differ in opinion as cook is very boisterous and allows his fists and anger to get the better of him however tony is calm and collected and tends to use his intellect for the wrong reasons.
looking at the film this film has heavily influenced my ideas and uses many conventions that i will follow. i hope to use a hand held camera but as it would be used in films like 28 days later giving the sense of spectatorship and being verysimilitude.
the cameras provided for us are handheld anyway but i hope to use the camera correctly rather then it being wobbly as a mistake.
the film also uses the concept of fast moving zombies/infected which i belive is key in the film studies film me and mark are going to produce.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Aims and context.
Aims and context.
My aim primarily is to create a short film within the post apocalyptic genre.
A major part of my aim is to please and entertain the audience using various elements within the film itself.
the target audience for my film is 16 to 24 year olds and is a unisex film. the reason for this is the film is based around teenagers and so this age of target audience would appreciate this the most. we also believed both males and females could relate to this film and so this also helps when defining our target audience.
I want my target audiences to feel scared whilst watching the film but also to be able to relate to the characters in the film.
The film itself will have dominant ideologies taken from the youth of today’s society and so helps the audience to warm to the characters an decide for themselves who they like and don’t like.
My role within this film is the cinematographer and as part of this I will be in charge of the mise en scene of each scene filmed.
As a cinematographer I will be taking control of how each scene is filmed and what is in front of the camera as part of mise en scene.
One film of which is a big influence to our film is the Danny Boyle film 28 days later.
Due to this I have done some research based on the genre and will be looking at previous work from Anthony Dod Mantle who was the cinematographer of 28 days later,the last king of scotland,antichrist and slumdog millionaire.
One issue that I had problems with previously was planning the shots so that they showed the audience the meaning and reactions I wanted to project so this time more planning is going into the way in which our shots will be taken and were they will be shot.
I have had some practice at making a small film previously in media studies and so much of my experience from there will be used upon this film however learning from my mistakes like above.
My aim primarily is to create a short film within the post apocalyptic genre.
A major part of my aim is to please and entertain the audience using various elements within the film itself.
the target audience for my film is 16 to 24 year olds and is a unisex film. the reason for this is the film is based around teenagers and so this age of target audience would appreciate this the most. we also believed both males and females could relate to this film and so this also helps when defining our target audience.
I want my target audiences to feel scared whilst watching the film but also to be able to relate to the characters in the film.
The film itself will have dominant ideologies taken from the youth of today’s society and so helps the audience to warm to the characters an decide for themselves who they like and don’t like.
My role within this film is the cinematographer and as part of this I will be in charge of the mise en scene of each scene filmed.
As a cinematographer I will be taking control of how each scene is filmed and what is in front of the camera as part of mise en scene.
One film of which is a big influence to our film is the Danny Boyle film 28 days later.
Due to this I have done some research based on the genre and will be looking at previous work from Anthony Dod Mantle who was the cinematographer of 28 days later,the last king of scotland,antichrist and slumdog millionaire.
One issue that I had problems with previously was planning the shots so that they showed the audience the meaning and reactions I wanted to project so this time more planning is going into the way in which our shots will be taken and were they will be shot.
I have had some practice at making a small film previously in media studies and so much of my experience from there will be used upon this film however learning from my mistakes like above.
diary entry 1.
september and octobers meeting and diary review.
september.
as part of meetings me and the director mark have decided upon an apocalyptic theme film with the idea of a young group of survivors. this could also lead to a sequence with influences of skins to add the humour if we so wish.
as a cinematographer this will be a challenge as much of what we discussed seems to be outside in fields and open spaces which again means relying on the use of natural lighting.
To use this to a maximum i researched cinematographers from 28 days later and researched appocalyptic films for example armagedon and film magazines contaong the history of the genre in order to get the feel of the cinematography.
october.
in octobers meetings we have discussed a more in depth film sequence were by the charcters are heading south to survive and as i said early we decided upon the characters being youths. the story was originally going to be purely a horror /apocalyptic however we have now decided the film should a more comedic element like influences such as skins. this would mean that acting as the characters wouldnt be so hard to our team who only has one actor.
we plan to start filming by the last week in october starting the intro to the sequence.
september and octobers meeting and diary review.
september.
as part of meetings me and the director mark have decided upon an apocalyptic theme film with the idea of a young group of survivors. this could also lead to a sequence with influences of skins to add the humour if we so wish.
as a cinematographer this will be a challenge as much of what we discussed seems to be outside in fields and open spaces which again means relying on the use of natural lighting.
To use this to a maximum i researched cinematographers from 28 days later and researched appocalyptic films for example armagedon and film magazines contaong the history of the genre in order to get the feel of the cinematography.
october.
in octobers meetings we have discussed a more in depth film sequence were by the charcters are heading south to survive and as i said early we decided upon the characters being youths. the story was originally going to be purely a horror /apocalyptic however we have now decided the film should a more comedic element like influences such as skins. this would mean that acting as the characters wouldnt be so hard to our team who only has one actor.
we plan to start filming by the last week in october starting the intro to the sequence.
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Task
Task.
to create a short film between three to five minutes in length and this must engage with issues raised within the production of meaning.
all students will be working together on their projects however each student must be responsible for there own production role.
my production role is cinematography.
A cinematographer is in charge of all technical desisions that create the image for a particualr scene. for example lighting ,cameras and most of the mise en scene.
one film which takes a big part in influencing mine and marks short film is 28 days later in which Anthony Dod Mantle was the cinematographer for the film.
Anthony Dod Mantle, born 1955 in Oxfordshire, England.
British cinematographerr notable for his work in digital cinematography. Dod Mantle directed photography on three dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of wallander.
i had to decide upon a genre for our film and with having in mind a 28 days later/apocalyptic themes we decide upon a post apocalyptic science fiction.
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fictionthat is concerned with the end of civilization either through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster.
Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world or civilization after such a disaster. the main focus of this genre is looking at the psychological affects and emotions.
to create a short film between three to five minutes in length and this must engage with issues raised within the production of meaning.
all students will be working together on their projects however each student must be responsible for there own production role.
my production role is cinematography.
A cinematographer is in charge of all technical desisions that create the image for a particualr scene. for example lighting ,cameras and most of the mise en scene.
one film which takes a big part in influencing mine and marks short film is 28 days later in which Anthony Dod Mantle was the cinematographer for the film.
Anthony Dod Mantle, born 1955 in Oxfordshire, England.
British cinematographerr notable for his work in digital cinematography. Dod Mantle directed photography on three dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of wallander.
i had to decide upon a genre for our film and with having in mind a 28 days later/apocalyptic themes we decide upon a post apocalyptic science fiction.
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fictionthat is concerned with the end of civilization either through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster.
Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world or civilization after such a disaster. the main focus of this genre is looking at the psychological affects and emotions.
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