CHARACTER PROFILES

Characters


Main Character: The Deceiver
Name: Matt 

The character of Matt, caucasian, our main protagonist, best friend to Jacob is tall, slim build with styled fringed hair. The character of Matt we decided we'd like to be socially considered 'good-looking' and on-trend in terms of style and simply your average teenage 'cheeky chappy'. this is a deliberate and specific casting because we intend the main character to appear contrary to the characteristics of his personality in the film e.g. Dark, Sinister, Mysterious and Obsessive.








 


Character: The Deceived
Name: Jacob

The character of Jacob, black african, our second protagonist and best friend to Matt is average height and medium build.
We deliberately wanted him, to appear like your average teenage lad but we also decided in terms of physicality we want him to be the total opposite to our main protagonist Matt. Jacob will have a noticeable naivety to him and appear gullible. It was also important Jacob's character appears the same age as Matt, so to create a convincing impression they are indeed best friends in the same academic year etc.

 






POSTED BY TOSIN

MODERN TECH IN FILMS/PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Modern Technology in Films/Product Placement

Our plot is largely centred on the use of technology e.g. iPhones, Computers, iPads etc and this can also be considered product placement.

Product placement is a form of advertising, which is getting very trendy since last year, especially in music videos and films. The main reason why the most famous artists agree to use product placement in their videos is because they can make a lot of money from it.
Especially Apple products in Hollywood movies over the last couple of years; the number of shown iPhones, iPads and iPods have increased considerably. In 2011 there were 40 percent more iDevices in the popular box office movies. .

(Apple Laptop- ‘Twilight’)

(Sony Laptop- 'The Social Networking')

Through research I have come to understand one of the objectives of product placement is ‘Treating the product as ‘hero’ because it leads to positive sales result...’ Disregarding the sales aspect, I wouldn't necessarily consider the technology we intend to use ‘hero’ but definitely a defining aspect of our plot which I believe will create a level of familiarity and appeal with our target audience as they are most likely to use it themselves to e.g. Smart Phones, iPods etc

We may conclude that brand placement offers a promotional tool that may prove powerful, and It’s important we should be clear enough about the linkage or fit of the technology form in the plot of the film.

Example; Technology in film

‘Cyberbullying’ is a great example of how the internet and social networking sites can be abused, distorted and manipulated at the expense of others.

Cyberbully (stylized cyberbu//y) is a television film by ABC Family network that worked with best selling teenage Seventeen magazine to make the film, and hopes it will "delete digital drama". The film tells the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online by peers via a social networking site and consequently attempts to commit suicide.

Although, cyberbullying isn’t one of our themes, this movie’s plot, and how it focuses its attention on the power and anonymity behind the internet is definitely exploited especially by teenagers in this film and thus it leads to cyberbullying.

This film concentrates on the fact, many of the internet users contributing to the online abuse are very unlikely to say the same things or express the same views in person. This is similar to our plot and protagonist- he would never express the obsession and ‘love’ he has for his best friend but rather hide behind this façade, the internet has created.

I think this is something we can draw from when developing further the cultural link between the ideas of plot to today’s society.

POSTED BY TOSIN

PLOT/CONCEPT

Plot:

Our plot will be based on a male protagonist who is madly in love with his best friend, also male, but jealousy and obsession provokes him to abuse the use of a social networking site e.g. Facebook to create a fake profile of a 'made-up' female. With a simple acceptance of a 'friend request' and through a web of lies and false identity; he causes his friend to begin to fall in love...with the girl he created.

Themes:

- Internet
- Anonymity
- Obsession
- Identity
- Social Networking abuse/manipulation
- Unrequited Love

Cultral/Society Link:

- The power of social networking in today's society (especially amongst the technology generation- youth)
- The Anonymity of the internet 
- The idea of us being who we want to be through the medium of internet

POSTED BY TOSIN

COMMON CONVENTIONS: Trailers

Trailers

Traditional (Theatrical) Trailers

·        Substantially longer traditional trailer with extended scenes from the movie. ‘First trailer baits the viewer; the second trailer pulls the viewer deeper into the story.’

·        Progression of the story

·        More dialogue

·        Cinema Release Dates

·        Rhetorical questions to the audience (Typography)

·        Normally duration of 1-3mins

·        Normally released after the teaser trailer

Teaser (Commercial) Trailers

·        short snippets of the film plots

·        Normally very short (30-60secs)

·        Film company name and website address at the beginning of the trailer and during the black fade at the end of the trailer.

·        Cinema Release Dates

·        Most likely to use Montages/various editing techniques

POSTED BY TOSIN

Poster Deconstruction

The main colours used in this are black, red/orange and white and shadowing is created as well and this furthermore creates an enigma within the picture itself. The sense of the unknown grabs attention even more and with the unusual colours, this evokes a strong sense of contrast and gives an eerie feel to the whole poster.

The row of houses at the bottom lining the collar bone of the photograph of the protagonist could be mistaken for lining of clothing but then  it could denote where the film is set; in a humble suburban area. But then it subverts the conventions of a suburban area of being innocent and quiet with such an uncanny name.

The font of the title of the poster, ‘Disturbia’, is in typewriter writing which makes it seem more documented or personal. The font is simple but the word itself is quite a chilling word and conforms to the stereotype of a thriller because the word creates tension.

The word ‘Disturbia’ is juxtaposed next to the protagonists lips to make it look like it is being said. This heightens any fear created before and conforms again to the stereotype of an enigmatic thriller.

The tagline juxtaposed along the top of the poster evokes a sort of realism to the audience and this creates fear and paranoia, elements commonly present in a thriller movie.  The fact that it is juxtaposed along the top goes against the golden rule and this means that in order to read it the audience has to avert their gaze from the middle and look at different parts of the poster, hence they will look at it for longer and absorb in it more.

main picture however conforms to the golden rule and because most of the action is in the middle and are of different contrasting colours, this makes it a whole lot more interesting and intriguing to look at for a longer period of time.

This poster is an inspiration for us as as a group we have planned to use a similar close up shot with contrasting colours. The enigmas created within the poster are inspirational, also.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ

Scene Deconstruction

TORMENTED- scene deconstruction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

14:18 – 16:18

 

 

CAMERA ANGLES

 

 
• This scene starts with a medium close up shot of the nearly full moon in the foggy night’s sky, again setting the scene for a typical slasher film. The long shot that follows shows the setting in a graveyard, a conventional setting for a slasher or horror movie therefore making the film conform to its stereotypes and being a traditional slasher/horror.
• The medium shot at 16:09 shows the stab wound gushing out with blood, again conforming to the stereotypes of a slasher with lots of blood and gore
• The over the shoulder shot used at 14:15 makes as though the killer is involved with the young peoples’ party and is watching what they’re doing, giving an eerie feel to the clip and creates a sense of paranoia and tension.
• At 14:18 there is a medium close up shot of the nearly full moon in the foggy night’s sky, again setting the scene for a typical slasher film.
• There is a close up shot of the boy peeing at 15:33 and this could be considered quite vulgar, but it is something a brave, rebellious teenager would do so in this way it conforms to the stereotype of young people but in a negative light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MISE EN SCENE

• The outfit that Justine is wearing is red and black and white. These are traditional horror colours to be used in horror or slasher films and the fact that the black and red are on the white; it could connote innocence being tainted as they are a group of young teenagers.
• The snooker table connotes fun and growing up and these all live up to the stereotype of teenage parties being fun yet doing things that they shouldn’t be.
• The fact that they are drinking shots to Darren’s death and almost ridiculing it shows that they may be old enough to understand what’s happened but not old enough to care.  This tends to be the case with teenagers, so their target audience of teenagers will be able to relate to this.
• The attire that the boy in the top screenshot is wearing is very typical of a “chavvy” or a streetwise boy to be wearing with the bright green headphones and the doo rag. This could make him seem like a bit of a bad boy and as he is urinating on a grave this is really rude so it could reflect how other people see British teens, as rude. His gold chains also could be mimicking gangsters and again this could conform to the negative gang culture stereotype some people relate teenagers to.
• The stab wound and the stupendous amount of blood that comes out of the wound is quite graphic and teenagers into slasher films would see this effect quite impressive and this conforms to the stereotypes of a slasher being gory as pre mentioned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOUND

 

 

 

• When talking about Darren, April says “fuck me he was ugly.” This disrespect is what people often associate with young people especially in Britain so it conforms to those stereotypes.
• At 15:48 the sound of the sharp sword coming out of the ground could be considered chilling so this is effective especially in that tense clip of the scene.
• The boy in the hideous chav outfit says “rest in piss”. Disrespectful and often the impression older people get of the younger generation in Britain, making the film more real.
• The profanity used throughout this scene goes with all of the points made above about disrespect and other peoples’ impression of us a young generation of Britain and the current one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDITING

 

 

 

 

 

 

• 15:36 x-ray vision is used and this creates more suspense and goes along the traditional lines of editing with the old school x ray vision but it is effective as parts are put into fast forward, too, so this again adds to the tension created already.
• The fast bits could also be sly jump cuts and this gives a sense of disorientation and maybe gives an insight to the viewer as to how the killer’s mind is working.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ

Poster Deconstruction

• This film poster clearly conforms to the stereotypical colours used in a typical horror movie poster: red, white and black. This makes the poster more traditional and quite predictable in terms of colour.
• White is usually a colour connotation of innocence and purity yet but placing the white colours within this poster it makes the innocence look like it has been tainted and is surrounded by negative and evil vibes. This could reflect the young actors and actresses in the film that relate to the teenage target audience that the film appeals to, also; tainted youth.
• The quote in favour of the movie is juxtaposed along the top of the film poster in capital letters in white so that it stands out against the black background. This was done so that the quote supports the idea that the film is good attracting more viewers and at the same time it promotes the film to the audience.
• By placing an attractive male actor which presumably is the protagonist in the middle of the poster conforms to the golden rule and people will look in the middle to see him shirtless and good looking. This would be ideal for attracting teenage girls, which appears to be the main target audience for this film.
• The lifeless characters around him denote death and this is almost always a certainty in slasher films. The black and white colours as with the red evoke ominous feelings as well as a sense of fear and the opposite colours create binary opposition within the poster which could connote good against evil.
• The tagline “new class of terror” makes the film seem as though it is not even different in style but almost as if it is of its own breed making it seem superior to other slasher films, enticing the audience more.
• The title name is in bold printed capital letters and this makes it more effective as even though the details are minimalistic like the background and font, the main picture makes it look as exciting as it needs to be.
• The actors and actresses in the picture are all dressed in school uniform which relates to the target audience of teenagers.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ

Scene Deconstruction

LOL- scene deconstruction

CAMERA ANGLES 

• At 0:16, there is an over the shoulder shot of Lola looking at Jake. This is when he is singing, and it makes it apparent to the viewer that he is singing to her even though he is performing in front of a whole crowd. This makes the song more personal and conforms to the stereotype of a romantic film where the boy serenades the girl.
• At 1:01 to 1:04 there is a zooming in medium close up shot of Lola, and the lyrics read when this is done are “hand in hand, sparkling eyes”. This says to the viewer that he is in fact singing about her and she is actually in a slight spotlight so she stands out from everyone else. Again this suggests that his words are genuine and it is even more romantic that he has put these words into a song on her behalf.
• At 1:26 there is a medium shot of Jake and Lola kissing. The spotlight is cast upon them and the camera does a pan right around so that the clip ends on the back of Lola’s head. This is done in slow motion under a spotlight and this adds to the subtlety of the romantic side of the film, emphasising this amorous moment and stresses the fact that this is love between two young people hence enforcing the idea of the romantic element and that romance is a common feature in a teenager’s life.
• 1:48 shows a medium shot of Lola’s mother biting her finger in a ditsy fashion. This shows how love has affected her and almost echoes the movements of a young girl which could show that this is what being in love has done to her: bringing out her youthful side. This conforms to the stereotype of romance again.

 EDITING

Throughout this scene most things are in slow motion and the way this is the last scene of the film could make it seem cliché but then conforms to the stereotype of a happy ending in a romance film. The clips in slow motion are clearly for focusing on the moment and again add to the slow paced nature of a romantic film, but still contrasts t the fastness of the life of a teenager.

SOUND

The diegetic sound in this clip is actually the main soundtrack of the film and works especially well in this clip as it is a positive clip and the song is upbeat and the lyrics are passionate such as “I’ve been crazy about you all this time” and “’cause when I’m with you I’m grinning.” It works as the film is coming towards an end and the song finishes it off well and goes with the happy ending.

MISE EN SCENE

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• At 0:46 the scene shows a clip of Lola’s mum and her new boyfriend in a boat with plenty of lights: this sets the scene for a romantic boat trip and the lighting against the black really sets the scene as both are arm in arm and look like they are having a good time.
• The microphone Jake uses and being on stage actually makes him look professional and makes his song appear more heartfelt when he sings to Lola on stage in front of everyone. His attire also makes him look “cool” which is a convention of a typical teenage genre film.
• The medium shot of the iPhone at 2:16 conforms to the stereotype of a modern film which uses modern technology, another aspect of being a teenager in the era so it also includes conventions of a teenage film.
• The dress that Lola is wearing is a sleeveless black dress which is low cut, suggesting still towards the end of the film that she is a sexually overt character and also being a teenager showing off your body is a common feature so a lot of teenage girls can relate to her dress sense whether it be in this scene or throughout the whole film.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ

Trailer Deconstruction

LOL

EDITING

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->The trailer consists of mainly quick fade in and fade outs transition wise and this conforms to the stereotype of a film of a romantic genre to be quite slow paced and subtle.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->The credits used all show up as if being typed which goes with the idea of new technology and instant messaging being a big part of the film which furthermore agrees with the target audience of young teenagers ho frequent the internet often: the blue and white could also connote the usage of Facebook, another frequently used social networking site for teens which will make them more relative to the film

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->The voice over gives details about the romantic side of the film such as “it feels so good to love someone so much that it hurts” or “trying to love but laugh out loud.” These again conform to the romantic stereotype of the film but also stick to the teenage drama genre as well. The lines said in the voice over give enough away so that the audience know what the film is about, but still creates enigmas because if they haven’t yet watched the movie then they won’t know what these lines mean or lead to.

SOUND

The school bell at the start of the trailer initiates the start of it and also queues the first scene introduced of the teenagers at school. This fits in well with the genre of a teenage drama and conforms to the stereotypes of this genre, too, as a school bell is a sound obviously common in the school environment.

Colloquialisms are used such as “go with the flow” or “whatever” so the stereotypes of a teenage movie is conformed to. This can make the target audience of mainly teenagers be able to engage more with the film as diegetic speech used in this trailer is things that they would say.

“A C in History, a D in biology?”  “There are a few things I won’t tolerate...”like messing up your life.”  These are typical things that a mother would say to their teenage daughter which can make the film seem more realistic and something that the target teenage audience can relate to.

It’s so good to love someone so much that it hurts” – this is diegetic evidence that the film conforms to the genre of a teenage romance that the film is trying to portray.

CAMERA ANGLES

• Medium close up shots are used especially for the intimate moments throughout the film and this emphasises the romantic moment and also highlights the actors’/actresses’ attire  e.g. 0:14 and this makes it obvious that these people are mainly teenagers, giving the genre and target audience away so the teenagers hopefully lured in by this film trailer.
• ·         Over the shoulder shots are used, such as at 1:14 to show who the conversations taking place are being exchanged with.  At this time in the trailer one can see that the conversation is between Lola and her mum, again going with the stereotypical mum and daughter conversation.
• ·         At 2:00 there is a medium shot of Lola who has positioned her hands in a love heart shape over one of her eyes. This is a connotation of love and enforces the stereotype of love and romance within one hand gesture. It could be considered by some as cute and this could be part of the enticement for the viewers.
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MISE EN SCENE

The most obvious mise en scene for this trailer is the outfits. They are young and vibrant looking consisting of leather jackets, denim for the boys and girls and skirts and low cut tops for the girls. This conforms to the teenage genre as the outfits are youthful looking and are typical things a teenager would wear.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ

Poster Deconstruction

The film poster background is a mid shot of Miley Cyrus, the protagonist. This is an attribute to promoting the film and luring teenagers (the intended audience) to watch this as she is a popular teenage actress featured in other teenage based films such as the Hannah Montana Movie and The Last Song. People will see a known face and if they are fans they will this will give them even more reason to watch the film. Also some consider her to be attractive, mostly teenage boys so by choosing an attractive actress the film will gain more hits if they watch it for her sake.

The house style of this film poster consists of soft, almost pastel colours but the font is in fuchsia making it stand out from the page and possibly match its target audience of mainly girls.

The actual title of the movie is in text speak showing that it is up to date with technology and how the film will revolve around maybe text messages or some form on instant message which will satisfy the teenage target audience of this film making them more relative towards the movie. The font is also in a digital type lettering which furthermore backs up the idea of how the film is set in the new era.

The attire of the protagonist is very modern and is typically what teenage girls wear and the slight off shoulder shirt could suggest the actress being a slightly older teenager which conforms to the films target audience and genre.

Looking closely at the slogan of the shirt, it reads “on the road to love” which could connote a possible romance in the film and the pink font conforms to the romantic genre.

Miley Cyrus looks deeply engaged in the iPhone in her hand, again promoting the idea that the film is new and “cool”, intriguing teenagers to watch it hence achieving their target audience.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ

Website Deconstruction

THE RING

http://thering.asmik-ace.co.jp/

• Montage introducing the website makes it more eerie and fits the genre of horror as the images are distorted and subvert to its stereotype of being technological and keeps related to that theme. The images also reflect what the movie is about.
• The sound clips used when you hover the cursor over the icons for navigation are really effective in making the website different to others as the sound clips all differ from each other and subvert to the stereotype of horror with the sounds of distortion playing and may come to surprise, adding to the fear and tension it hopes the producers hoped to create.
• The colours used are typical for a horror genre: black, white and red. This conforms to the traditional side of horror even though the concept of the film is very modern, so it could show how even though it IS a different concept, it holds onto the roots of horror still.
• The syringe labelled “the tape” defines it as a definite article enforcing the idea that there is a possibility that it could be real.

• The website is quite easy to navigate with clear buttons and links to go to but personally I found that at times the site could be quite confusing especially when watching the trailer as there is a list of settings that the viewer may not know about.
• The thing I found most intriguing with this website for the fans were the abstract images leading to gags such as the piece of rope used as an icon labelled in Japanese. The whole point of this was to make the viewer answer and be interested as to what would eventually pop up once completing answering a set of questions. This to me heightened the fear but also kept me intrigued hence wanting to see more of what other gags the website had to offer.
• At the bottom of the introductory page the site has made sure to include that the film was made by Dream Works and this could encourage the audience that haven’t already seen the film that it is of good quality and has been produced by one of the major film companies.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ

THE RING: Scene Deconstruction

THE RING- SCENE DECONSTRUCTION.

CAMERA ANGLES

The scene is first introduced with a close up of the television zooming out into a long shot so the television is in full view. This creates suspense and the TV being on its own gives the clip an ominous feeling as though it is something dangerous that lures people it; this additionally creates fear.
As the man watches the tape, the TV is filmed as though we are watching it from his eye which makes it a point of view shot which makes it even more frightening because the audience is placed in the protagonist’s shoes. As the tape progresses one can see the young girl crawling out of the well and the long shot enables us to see her fully in her dirtied nightdress and the hair covering her face. This creates more fear and this could create an enigma also as the audience won’t know what kind of a face the girl has.

At 0:55 one could say there is almost an over the shoulder shot of the TV towards the man. This could suggest that the TV has a mind of its own, well the video at least and this conforms to the stereotype of horror: making something inanimate seem as though it has a life of its own.

The tracking shot starting from 1:06 again follows the girl from the television that has exited the TV screen and become a living thing. It then continues as a close up shot of her grubby, deathly looking hands and the same is done with her feet at 1:30. This will enforce the idea of reality and for the audience that will be truly affected by this film, they might think that this could happen to them which again adds to the tension and fear of the whole scene, conforming to the stereotype of horror.

The close up shot of the girl at the end of the clip is built up by a quick zoom about 4 seconds before. The face revealed is horrific and sinister which adds to the fear of the whole scene the most because this is the moment the audience were anticipating the most.

MISE EN SCENE

The most obvious mise en scene in this whole film is the fact that they chose the girl as the main actress, as the object of fear. This conforms to the stereotype of horror by using a little girl and by doing this they have made something innocent turn into a disturbing character, almost like a villain which causes uneasiness and shock to us as humans seeing that drastic change.

The use of make up is also very effective. The deathly blue colour of the girl’s skin looks believable and adds to the fright as she looks like an actual corpse. Her make up on her face looks like there are slight scratches and the bags under her eyes look raw; this makes up her look the most personally speaking
The dirty nightdress she wears in covered in blackish stains against the white and this is binary opposition: good against evil. The white could connote the innocence of the child, but as she has been turned into a sort of villain the black could suggest evil tainting that innocence.

EDITING

The special effects used in this scene in particular are really impressive in making it seem more realistic and more interesting to watch for the audience such as when Samara comes out of the TV screen

At 1:16-1:18 that ~teleportation” effect helped to make the scene more scary as she moved from one place to another so quickly, it showed the audience that she really was something of the supernatural- conforming to the stereotypes of the supernatural being a popular resort in horrors.

A tracking shot used when Samara comes out of the TV screen which shows the audience how fast  Samara is moving and that she really is animate now as she is having to be followed because of her movements. This adds to the shock and horror that has already been building up.

SOUND

The phone ringing in the silence creates fear as one can really hear the robotic and resounding trill of the phone ringing. It makes as though all of the inanimate objects are against the man who is alone watching the screen which can make the audience feel as though the same can happen to them, so the fear could even come in later.

The quick violin sounds create suspense and build up the tension until the end of the scene where Samara’s face is revealed. This is typical of a horror movie and conforms to its traditional stereotype well.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ

THE RING: Poster Deconstruction

• Firstly, the thing that mostly stands out in this film poster for me is the close up of the girl and the facial expression made by the child actress: the scorn. This makes the film poster even more striking and harrowing and it looks almost abnormal that a child would pull such a sinister looking face, heightening the fear and achieving its goal of being chilling within its horror genre.
• The poster also conforms to a certain trend found in horror films of using a child as the main focus and as the protagonist such as The Exorcist or Insidious. This is seen as a scare factor as it looks as though something as innocent and oblivious as a child is tainted by the supernatural: it makes just about everything known to us look vulnerable.
• In this close up we can clearly see that the girl has cuts and deathly bluish white skin on her face and this again makes the whole poster seem even more evil looking. Also by having the hair over her eye like that, jet black in colour, it really stands out against the blue colour format of the poster and the one eye looks as though it is staring directly at the audience making it more personal and intimidating.
• The blue colour format of the poster subverts the stereotype for horror when the usual colours used are gothic colours such as red, black and white. The blue colour gives a cold feeling, emotionless and it could represent the surreality of television and how superficial and cold it is but it provokes all sorts of emotions and makes all kinds of impacts.  To add to the fact that it is going for the cold televised look, at the top of the poster there are faint lines and they just about smudge on the title just like a static television would d, connoting that television will be part of the main basis of the film.
• The block capitals used to make up the title make it simplistic whilst still making an impact, again making it look “perfect” as though things seem like that on television but almost too “perfect” which could make it look more harrowing.
• The trees in the background seem as though there is a black gaping hole in them and again this could suggest tainting something innocent and natural.
• The light cutting through the ‘g’ of ‘The Ring’ looks as though a television is being turned on, again conforming to the main topic of the film which is television.
• The poster abides by the golden rule as the main focus of the poster itself, the close up of the girl is within the triangle and looks the most effective.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ