Tuesday, 4 December 2012
BLOG TASK 7
• The hero, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium often by embarking upon a quest (or search). Propp distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the villain's attentions, and the seeker hero who aids others who are the villains victims. The hero is invariably the texts central character.
• The villain who usually creates the narrative disruption.
• The donor gives the hero something, it may be an object, information or
advice, which helps in resolution of the narrative.
• The helper aids the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium.
• The princess (the victim) is usually the character most threatened by the
villain and has to be saved, at the climax, by the hero. The father's (who in fairy tales was often the king) role is usually to give the princess away to the hero at the narrative's conclusion. He may also despatch the hero.
• The dispatcher sends the hero on her or his task (who can typically be the princess father)
• The false hero appears to be good but is revealed, at the narrative's end, to have been bad
Thursday, 22 November 2012
I'M HERE QUESTIONS
‘I’m
Here’ is a short film written and directed by Spike Jonze. Starring Sheldon and
Francesca who are the voices of Andrew Garfield and Sienna Guillory. I would
categorise this short as a sci-fi romance, the reason being, the characters in
the film are presented to us as robots however we can quite clearly see the
display of affection and love for one another. The film portrays Sheldon as
unhappy, displaying his everyday life as bland with no companion or nothing
there to make him happy. A change in Sheldon’s mood and general character
occurs when Francesca becomes a part of his life. When Francesca has all her
accidents, Sheldon at no time expresses any hesitation to help even with the
risk of his own life. Although the film shows the two characters in love, it could
be perceived as Sheldon having a greater
love for Francesca through his actions towards her throughout.
The film comprises evidence of prejudice between a
human female in the film and Francesca. When Sheldon is waiting at the bus
stop, Francesca pulls up and speaks to Sheldon, the female human lectures
Francesca for driving a car, stating that robots are not allowed to drive cars.
This kind of bigotry towards a certain type, in this case a robot, reminds the
viewers of times we can relate to such as black and white segregation. The
female human in the story feels superior to that of Francesca, with her being a
robot, and feels she needs to state this through her announcing Francesca isn’t
allowed to drive a car. The film’s main themes are love, friendship and
loyalty. We see the progression between being friends and falling in love through
Sheldon and Francesca. The loyalty Sheldon has for Francesca is displayed by
helping her throughout the film with the gift of his limbs as she loses hers.
The central character in this sci-fi romance short
film is Sheldon. He is depicted as a kind, giving, yet rather shy individual.
His character is isolated, which can be established when he tries to make
conversation with his neighbours, as they fail to acknowledge him. This in turn
enables us to sympathise with his character. He is shown as an affectionate
character when Francesca is introduced into his life, with him making huge
sacrifices in order to repeatedly help Francesca. When the two characters go to
watch Francesca’s favourite band, she loses her arm in the chaos of all the
people. Sheldon doesn’t hesitate to give her his arm, leaving him with no arm.
This sacrifice shows Sheldon’s kind and loving nature towards Francesca. His
character is very likeable, because of all the sacrifices he makes for
Francesca. The end scene where Francesca is laying on a hospital bed without a
torso, creates even more sympathy for Sheldon because of what he has had to
deal with, and then his ultimate sacrifice, giving Francesca his whole body,
leaving his head on the hospital bed.
Francesca is the love interest to Sheldon in ‘I’m
Here.’ When Francesca is introduced to the story, she is depicted as having a
loud personality, which is shown through her ignoring the female human when she
reprimands her for driving a car, and turning up her music. She is mysterious
as we don’t know about her character to begin with, which is what attracts
Sheldon to her. Her character is extremely ‘clumsy,’ which is what she says as
she lies with one leg missing. Her character continues to lose limbs throughout
the film, until eventually she loses her whole torso. We never truly find out
whether she purposely does this, or whether she is accident prone. When I
watched it, it seemed to me like she was taking advantage of Sheldon’s good
nature, but this can be viewed differently by different people as they watch
the film.
The target
audience for this short film is young adults over the age of 18. Absolut Vodka
sponsored them because their target audiences are the same, young adults over
the age of 18 are interested in drinking so the link is made between them. The
film is most likely to be viewed online and at film festivals, because it’s a
short film and not a feature one. You wouldn’t see a film like this on the
television, like you would a feature length film.
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Blog Task 6
This is our groups radio trailer: the part I played in it was I recorded my voice to incorporate into the clip, helping also with the production of the trailer with regards to genre, sounds, and the vocals used in the trailer.
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Blog Task 5- Review
ACROSS THE
HALL:
IMBD
ROTTEN TOMATOES
This movie was a huge mess. The plot was so messed
up. All the characters were incapable of rational decision making. Why didn't
they call the police? Why did June stop that man in the hallway? Why did Julian
tell Anna those things? I don't know. The writing definitely needed some
improvement. It's seems like ALL of what happened in the film could've been
avoided if only the people weren't so stupid. I don't understand the timeline of
the film. The way the scenes were put together was so odd. It kind of seemed
like Memento except Memento was able to pull it off, this film was not. The
scenes were out of order, but not in like a specific order, the scenes were just
randomly put together. It made everything pretty hard to follow. The acting
wasn't too bad, but the script was pretty lame. Mike Vogel was awesome. It was
just a weird movie overall. Not sure what the director was trying to do. I also
don't like the music selection within the film. The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C
Sharp Minor by Beethoven (I only know the name because I listen to it while I
sleep), was a bad choice for this movie. It just seemed really out of
place.
2. *****
Shall I be honest with you? I think I will. There's a plot twist in the middle of the movie. The thing about this plot twist is that I guessed said plot twist reading the back cover of the DVD. This is a better move than my Matchstick Men trailer prediction. So be warned for some predictability. Across the Hall follows the adventures of Terry (Danny Pino) as he sits in a hotel room across the hall from his fiance June (Brittany Murphy) who is engaging in carnal knowledge behind his back. Julian is hung up on this girl to the point that he steals his friend Julian (Mike Vogel) gun and plans on using it on the happy couple. It's up to Terry to keep Julian calm over the phone until he can arrive and help defuse the situation. This was originally a short film expanded into a full length feature. I haven't seen the short but it probably works better than this mess. I'm willing to bet that you can guess the twist from my synopsis above. That's fine. I tried. This is low budget suspense at its finest, meaning it sucks. Horrible acting and characters doing stupid things all around. Let's be honest- if a guy comes into your hotel and demands the room across the hall from the woman that he was checking the ledger for you should just take his money and then call the cops because they're just going to show up anyway. It's used as a plot device later in the film (poorly) so let's not spoil it. I could say that the acting is horrendous, but I can't tell if it's the actors or the script. This is expanded garbage that tries to be inventive but outsmarts itself by not remembering that audiences are looking for that twist. This isn't 1980 anymore. It's a new millennium, act like it. If you like to play an easy guessing game then this is the film for you.
MY REVIEW
In my opinion 'Across the Hall' provides a unique and thoroughly intriguing and engaging plot, both as a full length feature film but also as a short, however it must be said that I preferred the narrative as a short because it does appear that in the full length feature film it is just a really stretched out version of the short. However, taking this point into consideration, I can understand what Alex Merkin the director was trying to achieve with the full length feature, by transforming the short to full length feature, it plays on the element of mystery even further, therefore keeping the viewers engaged through the use of an enigma. Taking all into account, in my opinion the film should have been left as the successful short that it was.
IMBD
I was
completely caught off guard by this film. It has a great classic film/noir feel
to it which is far too uncommon these days. That it was clearly accomplished on
a smaller than Hollywood budget is all the more impressive. The pacing is steady
and deliberate which may throw some viewers off, but there is so much texture
and richness to each scene that you have the opportunity to really take it all
in and feel/experience the mood and atmosphere, unlike most movies in this genre
(think Mad Men, one of the best shows on TV, in this respect). The acting,
cinematography, music, lighting and direction are across the board very
impressive. I started watching thinking I would only sit through about 20 mins
or so, but I was totally compelled to watch the entire thing (twice actually!)
and found myself incredibly engaged.
In terms of story and twists, I quite enjoyed the way the structure of the film really didn't cheat or force these elements. Upon the second viewing I found really interesting clues that would have allowed me to figure things out the first time if I had noticed them then (pay attention to expressions, time of day and even the drink glasses in the film). The plot and story is very tightly woven together. Its easy to dismiss some of these things as cheap or devisive but thats a lazy criticism. They are clearly carefully crafted and not just thrown in there.
I hope to see this film hit theaters soon as I would love to experience it on the big screen. There are shades of Hitchcock and Kubrick that really excite me about a project like this. I don't know that its actually a 10, maybe an 8 or 9 (who knows?), but film efforts like this deserve major praise and hopefully this one will gain major momentum. Kudos to the creative team for bringing a smart, non effects-driven, character based thriller to creation. This is excellent work.
In terms of story and twists, I quite enjoyed the way the structure of the film really didn't cheat or force these elements. Upon the second viewing I found really interesting clues that would have allowed me to figure things out the first time if I had noticed them then (pay attention to expressions, time of day and even the drink glasses in the film). The plot and story is very tightly woven together. Its easy to dismiss some of these things as cheap or devisive but thats a lazy criticism. They are clearly carefully crafted and not just thrown in there.
I hope to see this film hit theaters soon as I would love to experience it on the big screen. There are shades of Hitchcock and Kubrick that really excite me about a project like this. I don't know that its actually a 10, maybe an 8 or 9 (who knows?), but film efforts like this deserve major praise and hopefully this one will gain major momentum. Kudos to the creative team for bringing a smart, non effects-driven, character based thriller to creation. This is excellent work.
A sort of
film noir, Across the Hall is dark, nonlinear, twisty, and above all, slow.
Basically, a love triangle gone wrong ends in murder, betrayal, and so forth.
It's almost Hitchcockian, as the entire movie takes place in a creepy old hotel,
with almost no mention of the outside world or any prior events.
This is definitely not for the impatient, as it seems to stretch a half-hour's worth of events into an hour and a half. The slow pace adds to the ominous, brooding atmosphere they were clearly going for. I can't help thinking I would've enjoyed this more as a short. The dank old hotel, the creepy slow-witted bellhop, and the dark, dreamy Matrix-like photography provided more than enough atmosphere on their own.
The story is told in nonlinear fashion, with scenes appearing out of order, sort of like Pulp Fiction. Only here, the story is intentionally harder to follow, especially in the beginning. You get the hang of it towards the middle somewhere. The filmmakers clearly thought it would be more interesting to show certain results first, before showing the circumstances leading up to them, which seems to me like a terribly easy way to create suspense and the illusion of twists.
The ending is presented in the oft-copied Usual Suspects fashion, which is all too common nowadays, showing up in movies whose twists are not nearly as deserving. While you're sitting through the disjointed climax, which is wrought with slow-motion and typically climactic music, if you're anything like me, you'll start mentally listing plot holes and thinking about how the film is trying to look more ingenious than it actually is.
The movie is well-produced and good looking, Brittany Murphy is beautiful as ever, and all the acting is above par.
This is definitely not for the impatient, as it seems to stretch a half-hour's worth of events into an hour and a half. The slow pace adds to the ominous, brooding atmosphere they were clearly going for. I can't help thinking I would've enjoyed this more as a short. The dank old hotel, the creepy slow-witted bellhop, and the dark, dreamy Matrix-like photography provided more than enough atmosphere on their own.
The story is told in nonlinear fashion, with scenes appearing out of order, sort of like Pulp Fiction. Only here, the story is intentionally harder to follow, especially in the beginning. You get the hang of it towards the middle somewhere. The filmmakers clearly thought it would be more interesting to show certain results first, before showing the circumstances leading up to them, which seems to me like a terribly easy way to create suspense and the illusion of twists.
The ending is presented in the oft-copied Usual Suspects fashion, which is all too common nowadays, showing up in movies whose twists are not nearly as deserving. While you're sitting through the disjointed climax, which is wrought with slow-motion and typically climactic music, if you're anything like me, you'll start mentally listing plot holes and thinking about how the film is trying to look more ingenious than it actually is.
The movie is well-produced and good looking, Brittany Murphy is beautiful as ever, and all the acting is above par.
An
interesting story, though a little predictable.
The suspense was upheld throughout the movie, and there was real tension in many scenes, accomplished through a nerve-wracking score and drawn-out scenes that got my teeth grinding.
I immensely enjoyed the cinematography and effects .. it created a dark and brooding atmosphere that had me mourning the conclusion before it came about.
The acting was fairly good, no real complaints. I especially enjoyed the hotel concierge character, who added an old-school feel to the film.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed the movie, although I found the story to be almost too simple for its length; it felt like a short story stretched to fit a feature length film.
The suspense was upheld throughout the movie, and there was real tension in many scenes, accomplished through a nerve-wracking score and drawn-out scenes that got my teeth grinding.
I immensely enjoyed the cinematography and effects .. it created a dark and brooding atmosphere that had me mourning the conclusion before it came about.
The acting was fairly good, no real complaints. I especially enjoyed the hotel concierge character, who added an old-school feel to the film.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed the movie, although I found the story to be almost too simple for its length; it felt like a short story stretched to fit a feature length film.
ROTTEN TOMATOES
2. *****
Shall I be honest with you? I think I will. There's a plot twist in the middle of the movie. The thing about this plot twist is that I guessed said plot twist reading the back cover of the DVD. This is a better move than my Matchstick Men trailer prediction. So be warned for some predictability. Across the Hall follows the adventures of Terry (Danny Pino) as he sits in a hotel room across the hall from his fiance June (Brittany Murphy) who is engaging in carnal knowledge behind his back. Julian is hung up on this girl to the point that he steals his friend Julian (Mike Vogel) gun and plans on using it on the happy couple. It's up to Terry to keep Julian calm over the phone until he can arrive and help defuse the situation. This was originally a short film expanded into a full length feature. I haven't seen the short but it probably works better than this mess. I'm willing to bet that you can guess the twist from my synopsis above. That's fine. I tried. This is low budget suspense at its finest, meaning it sucks. Horrible acting and characters doing stupid things all around. Let's be honest- if a guy comes into your hotel and demands the room across the hall from the woman that he was checking the ledger for you should just take his money and then call the cops because they're just going to show up anyway. It's used as a plot device later in the film (poorly) so let's not spoil it. I could say that the acting is horrendous, but I can't tell if it's the actors or the script. This is expanded garbage that tries to be inventive but outsmarts itself by not remembering that audiences are looking for that twist. This isn't 1980 anymore. It's a new millennium, act like it. If you like to play an easy guessing game then this is the film for you.
MY REVIEW
In my opinion 'Across the Hall' provides a unique and thoroughly intriguing and engaging plot, both as a full length feature film but also as a short, however it must be said that I preferred the narrative as a short because it does appear that in the full length feature film it is just a really stretched out version of the short. However, taking this point into consideration, I can understand what Alex Merkin the director was trying to achieve with the full length feature, by transforming the short to full length feature, it plays on the element of mystery even further, therefore keeping the viewers engaged through the use of an enigma. Taking all into account, in my opinion the film should have been left as the successful short that it was.
Blog Task 4- The Outsider
HORROR:
1.A character is outside in an
uninhabited area.
2. S/he cannot decide which way to go.
Something makes him/her head towards a settlement
3. S/he sees something that indicates
that this settlement is troubled and dangerous but carries on
4. S/he is set upon by a group who mock
him/her make sure s/he has no transport and try to make him/her
leave
5. S/he gets up and another comical
character comes and explains that there are two feuding gangs killing each other
and that outsiders don’t last long and the only people making any money are the
funeral directors/coffin makers
6. S/he goes into a bar/ seeks
refreshment where the bartender further explains the situation and the leaders
of the gangs and says it would be better to leave town if s/he doesn’t want to
get killed
7. The character is an assassin though
and just goes into the street shouting for the gangs to come out and offering
his services
8. The gangs come out and s/he kills a
load of the gang despite being outnumbered.
9. S/He then encounters the first group
of people who set upon him/her when s/he
first came into town and kills them all and orders a coffin for
them
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Introduction
Throughout this blog, I will be demonstrating the making of my short film. However, before the final process which will be the production of my film, I will be undergoing thorough research as to what is required in order to succeed in the niche market that is short film. I will be looking at what conventionally makes a good short film, although at the same time I will be ensuring it is my own unique product.
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