Initial Film Treatment Ideas

2010, the height of teen imitation superheros, and four particular teeangers in Bristol are up to the challenge. Nerdman, Geekboy, Protecterrr (arr, we be from Brizzle) and Shoc-King and are a team of average nerdy teenagers who want to make a difference to the justice system - by sorting things out themsleves. However, with the combined upper-body strength of a 7 year-old girl, they face an up-hill struggle.

The film commences with the four 'heros' being called upon to settle a conflict. A gang of Chavs, cronies of the Nerds most feared bully; Chavman, have been causing havoc around the local area in Bristol, and beating up 'losers' and 'gorms' - the Nerds see this as to be very wrong, and 'undemocratic'.

Before any real conflict between the Nerds and the Chavs happens, we go back 2 months previous, to the formation of their crime-fighting group.

This would include; Nerdman and Geekboy being friends, and getting fed up with getting picked on, and also, Protecterrr and Shoc-King being friends and having similar problems, but the individual pairs dont get on well with each other at this stage.

Nerdman and Geekboy decide that they are going to create secret identities, and to fight back against their injustice, but to try to be very secretive about it - so the bullies and others dont find out who it is.

Nerdman and Geekboy make costumes and try to find a problem that they can fix, an easy one that would be easily done and get their confidence up. They go to the park, try to stop a fight between two 5 year-old boys, but Nerdman ends up getting punched in the leg and they leave the park as quickly as possible. However, on leavin the park, they encounter Protecterrr and Shoc-King. They instantly deduce who they are, and are very confused. The four of them go to Nerdman or Geekboy's house - their Headquarters. They explain all to Protecterrr and Shoc-King and invite them to join them - for the good of Nerdkind everywhere. With comedic interruptions from the mother of Nerdman or Geekboy - depending upon location - to add to humorous aspects of the situation. Protecterrr and Shoc-King agree to fight alongside Nerdman and Geekboy, for the good of Nerdkind.

We then come back to the 2 months later, back to the iminent confrontation between the Nerds and the Chavs. The costumes will be funny enough, and clearly showing the difference in social status between the two groups to hilarious effect. There is not a fight, Nerdman's lightsabre fails to work, so calls retreat of the team, and they all run off - with their identities still safe.

The group meet back at the Headquarters and assess their failed attempt at enforcing justice. Nerdman wants to quit, but its Protecterrr who comes up trumps for the group, by appealing to Nerdman's fancy for a specific girl - 'Girls dig heros', so Nerdman agrees to keep working with the group, promising that he will help the group to be stronger and that they should go out the next day, in order to patrol the streets and to make ammends for the failings of the day.

Nerdman has nightmares of the failure that may happen, and being humiliated further, therefore failing in his bid to ask out the girl that Protecterrr had used to convince him to 'continue' to fight the bullies. However, this spurs Nerdman on, to keep going and working with the team.

Their chance to prove themselves, with an audience that needed it, was coming up, the Nerds sensed it.

Protecterrr and Geekboy begin to plan up training techniques, because they think the team need more physical presence to oppose villains, whilst Nerdman and Shoc-King plan strategies of how to handle certain situations. (a montage sequence needed here, with a fade out to signify the time change to next part of the narrative)

All four boys are walking our of school at the end of the day. There are other students from the school around them, and all of a sudden, ahead of them, a gang of four 'older' students are attacking a younger one, to get his phone. Behind the Nerds, are a group of girls from the same year as the Nerds, including the one who Nerdman has an eye for. One of the girls exclaim and point out the wrong-doing. With nowhere to change, and with little time to prepare, the four Nerds exchange a series of expressions, before Nerdman makes the decision - he's going to stop this situation between the gang and the young one. With an 'OI!' and a shake of the fist (almost Boris Johnson style - referenced later on for comedic effect), Nerdman races towards the alteration. His fellow Nerds are right behind him and the gang are very confused and startled by the onrushing Nerds, so make a break for it, with the young kid's phone. Geekboy stops to help the boy and reassure him that everything will be okay, but the other three chase the gang to get the phone back.

The gang eventually start to tire, and chuck the phone in a bush. Nerdman picks up the phone and takes a deep breath, saying 'I'll get you back, one day'. They regroup with Geekboy, the boy, and the group of girls. Nerdman holds up the phone in victory, and passes it back to the kid. The group of Nerds and the group of girls walk the kid home and then go to the park.

The film ends with the Nerds having a picnic with the girls in the park, all paired up - 'Girls dig heros'.

Teen Comedy Actor - Justin Long

A likable, boyish-looking actor with thick eyebrows and a friendly smile, Justin Long is a perfect teen actor - in Dodgeball in particular, he is gormless enough to be comedically funny, but is innocent and gets the girl at the end. He is relatable to, by the target audience, and empathisable to the secondary audience. He is well know for his humorous reactions within the narrative and good comedic timing and performance.

Additional Textual Analysis

As research for our practical, we had to do a textual analysis of a film, that corresponded with the genre our group wanted to emulate. I chose Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, as it is one of my favorite teen comedies. The first thing we the audience sees, is the distribution company logo with accompanying music, for this film the Universal logo and orchestral track are parodied, being put into a retro game 8-bit styling, this tells the audience the general feel of the film, like a video game.

After the distribution logo, we hear an opening narration, with almost a transcript in bold black letters, appearing on a white background, the narration is comical as it describes Toronto, Canada as a 'mysterious land'. Following this is a tilt shot, which is a very effective transition from the transcript, the shot stops on a medium/long low angle shot of a house, which sets up the scene. We can also tell that the setting is cold, as there is snow on the roof and on a tree, there's also icicles hanging from a roof. We hear a characters voice before the shot changes, to a medium/long shot of the characters in the kitchen, this aids in the transition, because we haven't just automatically changed scene, we are intrigued by the voice, and so it lets the director change scene to show us where the voice is coming from. The medium long shot lets us establish the setting and the characters in it, we see three characters sat down at the table, who are well lit, and one stood up and darker, from this we could interpret that the character standing up is different from the others, a black sheep character, this could also be shown by the fact the other characters are looking at him. While there is a conversation between Scott (character stood up) and Kim (character sat down), an over the shoulder high angle shot is used (over Scott's shoulder), we could say this puts Kim in a weaker position, and that she is not the character we should be focused on. Low angle shots of Scott show he is that he should be the focus of our attention, and that he is important/powerful than the others. The other two characters Stephen and Neil are shown at relatively eye height, this could show the relationship between these two characters and Scott, because being guys they'd probably have similar interests, while Kim being the only girl might feel left out, so she is shown in high angle shots. There are close ups of each of the characters faces while Scott talks, showing there reaction to what he says, we could interpret this as almost a point of view shot. This then switches to an over the shoulder high angle shot of Kim, we could say that she might be jealous (the topic of conversation being about Scott's new 17 year old girlfriend Knives Chau), this may lead her to be weakened by her jealously, because she speaks in monotone and is quite expressionless, she tries to carry a 'tom boy' façade. A medium shot of the group shows that the attention is still on Scott, and shows the emotions of Kim and Stephen, but Neil is blurred in a narrow depth of focus, this could show he's not important.

When Scott answers the door for his girlfriend Knives she is shown in high angle, she is shy so this might reflect the weakness that comes from that, but this could also be a point of view from Scott as she is shorter than him, and vice-versa for Scott. When Stephen comes into the frame we are in an over the shoulder low angle shot from Knives' point of view, this most likely represents her shyness and stature. When Stephen shuts the door to talk quietly to Scott, we zoom in to a two shot close up, this probably represents that the conversation is meant to be isolated from the others, and to show the characters emotions.

As I can not get the clip uploaded as it is not online, I've linked the trailer to prove it exists:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_RrNCqCIPE

Work on Garageband

Last lesson we experimented with the Garageband software on the iMac and looked at the range of musical instruments and compiling some together to get the right sound. With our genre being comedy/action, we want a spoofy action soundtrack, and we created a decent attempt using some electric guitar, a drum beat and the use of some synth. Our track must be subtly over-the-top action-esque so that it adds to the humour as and when it happens in the scenes.

The importance of a good and accurate theme tune is that it represents the genre perfectly, and helps to build the atmosphere that is relevant to the narrative and how it needs to be recieved by the audience. The best thing about comedy as a genre is that it can use music associated with other genres can be used for the comedic effect, such as taking a real action-styled piece of music and put it to a seemingly average task, for example in Bean (The Ultimate Disaster Movie) when the loud dramatic music is played when Mr. Bean is shaving. This adds to the character image that we are building in our mind.

Mood Board of Inspiration

Further Research into Introductions to Comedy Films

In the 2004 film Starsky & Hutch (the modern film adaptation of the 1970s television series), there are some techniques that would be great to adapt into my groups film opening production task. The film actually starts off with the introduction to the villain, however that is not the approach we want to take, but from 00 : 02 : 16 (Hours : Minutes : Seconds) to 00: 04 : 22 where the main characters are introduced through their own narrations. From the Starsky & Hutch scenes, they highlight the character traits that they both have sperately, and we can see the contrast, and anticipate the comdic chemistry they must have, because, the film is named after them, we know they are important to the plot. Additionally, the actors, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson (and Vince Vaughn) are recognised as comedic actors from the Frat Pack, and this builds up the anticipation of a good, funny film ahead. Facial expressions are very important to comedy films, and to get the right expression is key - Ben Stiller is an expert at producing serious looks with humorous aspects to them.

A Variety of Genres

The opening two minutes evaluation.

Western: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Mise-en-scene: cigarettes, unshaven, hat, horses
Camera: long shot (establishing scene), still close-ups
Editing: deep bold colours, slow transitions, not much happening (an anticipation build-up)
Sound: flute, guitar - traditional western music, an ery silence (anticipation again)
Generic Conventions: quiet, not much going on - building of tension at the start

Horror: Scream
Mise-en-scene: average house, doors and windows with no curtains - voyerism
Camera: close-ups of facial expression
Editing: slow, speeds up with introduction of bad guy presence (over the phone)
Sound: quiet - too quiet...
Generic Conventions: bad guy, attractive woman - victim, blood, knife

Romance: P.S. I Love You
Mise-en-scene: normal couple, normal appartment (high up)
Camera: over-the shoulder shots - the distance of the relationshop of the the couple at this time
Editing: production credits straight out of the way
Sound: slow, easy-listening
Generic Conventions: a couple, conflict (usually not at the start, but is at the start of this film), ongoing questions for audience to htink about before the plot unravels

Adventure: Pirates of the Caribbean
Mise-en scene: costume (accurate to set the period of time the story is set - conventionally in the past)
Camera: low angles of boat, and of Elizabeth Swan - showing the importance of them
Editing: name of film straight away, with no distracting cast names during introduction - signifying the serious plot aider at the beginning
Sound: quiet violins, gradually building up, they get more clunky, dawnting - something about to happen
Generic Conventions: mystery, starts further back in time, giving a bit of back story, then to return to main event

Sci-Fi: The Running Man
Mise-en-scene: headset - technology, uniformed costume
Camera: close-up of face - reaction shot of character recieving conflicting views
Editing: quick-pace for action aspects, the colour red forshadowing the danger, a backstory written down in rolling titles - detail about the sci-fi universe the film is set in
Sound: tense, futuristic
Generic Conventions: the backstory written down in rolling titles - the detail of the sci-fi universe film is set in, is set at a different time to present (may be future, or past)

Drama: The Persuit of Happyness
Mise-en-scene: pyjamas, soft toy = child, afro + sideburns = 1980s
Camera: low angle of the USA flag - the authority and respect of the nation
Editing: slow transition, left to right - the daily routine (ordinary), the 'y' in the title suggesting the solution (of the title question) is mathematical
Sound: delicate, violins, contrast to image on occasion
Generic Conventions: relationships, relatable, real

Comedy: Bean
Mise-en-scene: silly things in the mirror
Camera: close-ups of funny expressions
Editing: quick pace - over-exaggeration of sequence of images
Sound: over-exaggeration to whats happening, dramatic for trivial images
Generic Conventions: recognised actor(s), funny action, facial expression

British Realist: The Full Monty
Mise-en-scene: dark, bleak, REAL
Camera: up above - watching/spying
Editing: establishing setting with small screen, just a small introduction, put credits underneath it
Sound: upbeat in promotional advert, quiet in factory - dying industry
Generic Conventions: REALISM, accurate characters, accent, colloquialisms

Film Noir: Touch of Evil
Mise-en-scene: city life, nice car, smart dress
Camera: always tracking thoughout opening sequence with no cutting or altered view - almost a point of view shot
Editing: no cut, straight to action, anicipation built of bomb going to go off - when??
Sound: accurate of the time
Generic Conventions: city scene, dark, night (theme)

Action: Mission Impossible 2
Mise-en-scene: virus injection (implications) (green=toxic poison), white coats, test tubes
Camera: close-up - see the action, establishing setting - birds eye shot of Sydney
Editing: quickly transitioned
Sound: quick, calmer on plane
Generic Conventions: fast pace = action, russian character brings mystery

Generic Codes and Conventions of Comedy

Within the genre of comedy, there are several aspects that occur regularly, for example, the music is genrally upbeat, and lighthearted. However, this can be altered to subvert and mock another genre, for example, to change the musical score to that of a more serious tone, when the action is that of something silly, the genre action or thriller is belittled, making humour. Also, there are a lot of close-ups, because the actors, especially in the sub-genre slapstick comedy, pull funny and over-exaggerated expressions. Also, it is conventional for actors to stick to this genre, and rarely do other, 'more serious' films in other genres, such as Ben Stiller or Will Ferrell or Jack Black (all members of the comedic film-makers group, the Frat Pack) - they rarely star in (or produce) films outside of comedy.

Comedy is such a large genre, and there are many sub-genres that have spawned from it, like Slapstick Comedy (e.g. Bean (The Ultimate Disaster Movie)), Romantic Comedy (e.g. Along Came Polly), Dark Comedy (e.g. In Bruges), Sci-Fi Comedy (e.g. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Teen Comedy (e.g. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World), among others.

Second Prelim

Prelim Video

Evaluation of Prelim Task

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PnWvZmJC8M

In general, I am very pleased with how our video has turned out, we managed to incorporate all of the various shot types into it, except the dutch angle. This is because we couldn't find an appropriate place to use it, as it would have looked very out of place, and confusing. Unfortunately, in evaluating the video, having already produced it, I can notice that we broke the 180 degree rule, by having the high angle shots of Lara going over the other side of me, rather than maintaining the shots from the other side of the room. We had experienced some problems using the imovie program (the black and white function wasn't working), however, we were able to sort it out on another Mac, and I think it has worked very well and helped to develop the style of the film we wanted (old, Godfather-like). The main thing that I'm not as pleased with, is filming in school (it was the easiest thing for me and Lara to do) so the background setting appears to be a classroom and there are computers and even a bottle of Lucasade in certain shots. In the proper project, I will ensure that the set will be more professional and a better representation of the plot/situation. All in all, I am happy with the way we worked together and have produced a decent preliminary project.

(I apologise for the lateness of the post - I only realised I hadn't published it when I checked my blog earlier today)

Straight Cut.

This editing technique is where two shots, generally of different settings, are quickly and directly cut in sequence. This can be effectively used to highlight a separate aspect of the plot in a different scene, for example where Johnny and Lorna are tied up in Savage's castle, and they 'need a miracle' we then straight cut to a shot of Bough popping his head up from the 'poo tube'. (8.22 - 8.26 of clip) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYxQSWYl13E&feature=related

This effect that this type of editing of shots has, in this example, is comedic effect, linking to the genre and unexpected impact to the hero and princess' dilemma.

Mode of Address, The Active Audience and The Ethnographic Model.

The Mode of Address is where a media text, or institution addresses its audience, in the specific style for the audience - these are unique and differ to different addressers and addressees. A good example of this is stand up comedians coming on the stage and asking the whole audience how they are, being sociable and welcoming - addressing them directly as a large group of people.

The Active Audience is where the audience decode the meaning of a text. They are active in interpreting the meaning they understand from it. David Morley conducted an investigation where he concluded that there are three types of active audience; the dominant (who except the message), the negotiated (who accept it in general, but make a few alterations) and the oppositional (who disagree and reject the idea completely).

The Ethnographic Model is where the researcher for the media institution conducts a survey/investigation/interview to find out more about a particular audience group. This starts with domestic environment, then about the variation of gender, and then about technological usage.

The Hypodermic Needle Theory.

The Effects Theory, or as it is more commonly known as, The Hypodermic Needle Theory is the media theory that explains that information can be passed on by different things, people, organisations or just different types of media and how people respond to this. Some people will say that the media is 'injecting' different things into our minds to influence us in certain ways. Of course, every person on the planet is different and will interpret news and other opinion in very different ways, for example, a political broadcast from the BNP (the British National Party) would have no real impact upon me, and would not influence me to believe in their ridiculous views (although may spur me to do something against them) but it may appeal to another person who may be impressionable and have a similar view.

The media outlets in different countries will let you see what they want you to see, for example, in North Korea, the dictator Kim Jong-Il only wanted to show the matches at the 2010 world cup in South Africa where their team was shown being victorious (however, he showed the live match of their 7-0 loss to Portugal and was incredibly angry). The media in our country, a few years back, made the then leader of the Liberal Democrats, Menzies Campbell to look like an old fool who was a joke. This influenced the public to not take him and the Liberals seriously, so he eventually resigned for the good of the Liberal cause.

The whole theory of the Hypodermic Needle was formed by The Frankfurt School, a group of theorists who were German Jews who fled Germany before WWII as they could see how Hitler's dictatorship and extreme views where influencing the counrty. In America they could see the developing media could have similar effects upon impressionable people.

Ideology of Ben Stiller.

Ever the family man, Ben Stiller has his priorities set. He has a great relationship with his parents, including them in some of his projects, for example he co-stared with his father, Jerry, in Zoolander (an epic film) which Ben wrote, produced, directed and stared in. He always looks to work with his friends and is acknowledged as the leader of the Frat Pack, a group of comedic geniuses. He stands for family, he stands for friendship, and also likes to give back to the people, supporting several charities. All in all, the guy is private and respects the role of celebrity and is a great role model who keeps himself to himself.

Genre as a Marketing Tool

This is the Resident Evil: Afterlife film poster. It has a relatively dark background, signifying the nature of the storyline, and it supports the horror genre of the three previous Resident Evil films (and games). The image of Milla Jovovich is in an action shot of her falling from a tall building, with a couple of firing guns - suggesting the action genre, but this image of her is a long shot, getting her whole body in, and some of the darkness above and below her. Within the mise-en-scene (this might not be entirely clear from this smaller image), there are wrecked vehicles and damaged, unused buildings, suggesting the danger and human peril in the plot.

The date and 3D is noted in red coloured writing, which represents blood, again linking to the horror concept, ranks these words behind the more important ones (the film title in shiney silver, brand/franchise identy), and the date is smaller as well as being red. The red contrasts less with the dark background, whereas the silvered title contrasts more and stands out.

The fact that the main charatcer is a woman, it subverts the Proppian theory. I think that the reason why she is represented here in dark clothing helps to signify the darkness and horror elements in the film.

Scopophilia and Voyeurism

Scopophilia is where we get pleasurable feeling from looking at others in physical forms. This can help to understand about life and, as a child, it develops understanding. Voyeurism is where you can see someone, without being seen yourself. An example of this would be to look through a key hole, or through an open window. 

Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey, a feminist who noticed that in films and other narratives, that there was identification, where there is the male lead, the hero, who the viewers relate to and follow his viewpoint throughout the narrative. The objectification, is where the male lead has a romantic interest, and from the hero's point of view, there is the desire for the female, linking her to being an object. Of course, this can be subverted in some contexts, but is still widely used in narratives.

Propp's Theory

Vladamir Propp was a Russian critic who noticed that folk tales and films had many similarities. They had the same basic narrative structure, and have similar characters - stock characters. Propp suggested that characters have a narrative function, to provide a structure for the text. These stock characters are:

• The hero, who is the main focus of the narrative, and who is seeking something out.
• The villain, who opposes the hero in his quest.
• The donor, who provides an assist to the hero where he can through magical means.
• The dispatcher, who sends the hero on his quest.
• The false hero, who disrupts the hero's success by untrue means.
• The helper, who aids the hero where he can, generally a side-kick.
• The princess, who is the reward for the hero, and is the subject of the plot from the villain.
• The princess' father, who rewards the hero for his efforts.

Often, nowadays, narratives tend to subvert the theory, by making a female hero, and by leaving out several stock characters, who wouldn't effect the narrative.

Semiotics

Roland Barthes argued that verbal language is not the only way to communicate. Other things can communicate message through meaning, implied and obvious. Three stages of signs: The Signifier - the actual thing, the physical form of the sign; The Signified - the concept that the signifier produces and implies; The Referent - the real, individual message.  

Over-The-Shoulder Shot

The Over-The-Shoulder Shot is a shot most commonly used during dialogue, when different characters are speaking, then the camera can switch over each person's shoulder. This helps to show relationship and different perspectives on the speakers.

Low Angle Shot

The Low Angle Shot does the reverse of the High Angle Shot - the subject is now superior to you, and they have more power. Generally assosiated with evil characters, but can be used effectively at moments of swings in power from the good side to the bad (and vice-versa).

High Angle Shot

This High Angle Shot shows the subjects to have an inferior power to ours, as we are looking down upon them. The higher the angle, the weaker they are implied to be.

Extreme Close Up Shot

This Extreme Close Up Shot is puting the emphasis upon a certain aspect of the characters facial expression, e.g eyes, mouth or even eye brows. This rather scary example of me, is a bit further out than a proper extreme close up, but the effect is similar.

Close Up Shot

The Close Up Shot of just the face gives an extreme effect of the character's facial expression, and is the key focus, so there is little else that attracts the attention in the background.

Medium Close Up Shot

The Medium Close Up Shot is similar to the Two Shot, but with main key focused character. The head and shoulders of the character will be visible, so arm gestures can be seen, and general facial expressions and emotions can be recognised.

Two Shot

The Two Shot helps to establish relationships between characters and also gives more detail upon facial expression. With two (or more people) in the shot, something is happening in the scene, with dialogue or some form of communication between them.

Medium Shot

The Medium Shot cuts the person off above the knee, and the shot type allows focus on facial expression, but more focus upon hand gestures, body language, and can help to establish relationships between characters.

Long Shot

The Long Shot is a closer shot of character and things closer to them, in their on-screen environment. Generally, the average sized human will be in the centre - with space above the head and below the feet, but as I'm shorter than average, there is slightly more room above my head.

The Very Long Shot

The Very Long Shot is an establishing shot that can illistrate the setting/scene and could signify the a crowded area that could then be zoomed in to pick out a key character, or it can be used to show the lonliness of a person, standing alone. This shot is more about scenery and less about detail and character.

Why I Chose Media Studies.

I have chosen media because I enjoyed the subject at GCSE level and also, it is such a large topic and key to our everyday lives. I have aspirations to become a journalist and knowledge obtained in this forthcoming course will be vital whilst working in the media.