Unit 1 Original idea/Material used/type of production

I have been asked to come up with a storyline/plot that I will be using for my production which will later will be contributed to a whole group production. Doing this will help me learn about the pre-production process to a near professional standard.


I have constructed an idea of having my main genre to be horror as it's the easiest. We all know how to scare people. The main idea is having a little girl finding a bush and being the stereotypical gullible 8 year old she walks into the bush and hears a piano playing which was at a jolly tempo. She follows the piano and as she walks a man follows her trying to kidnap her. The little girl gets to a worn-out brown shed and as she enters the man (can't see his face) also enters and then there's a muffle scream which depicts that he has caught her and she has learnt her lesson from that very moment. I've also decided to keep it open-ended this is because after research of what genre to use I have noticed that most horror movies are open- ended just to keep the audience wondering what actually happens next which is a good thing when producing as it tells you that the audience is interested and engaged.


As I'm going to be using a single camera it might be difficult to show the little girls every expression on her journey to the shed as single cameras don't allow much angles to be taken into consideration unless you film with the camera from different angles. This is time consuming and might not seem realistic to audiences as the time intervals of certain shots might not go together. However, having one camera means it's easier to film in a "woody" sort of location (portable) and also it will allow me to film a tracking shot of the girls journey to the shed whilst moving the camera briskly so the audience can feel like something is about to happen, basically anticipation.


An example of a film that brought about this idea for me is "The Cabin In the wood"(I've added a trailer of the film below). This film was an inspiration for my film because it's also about gullible/fun/adventurous youths going to have fun in a cabin in the middle of the woods. They thought everything was going to be fine until weird and scary stuff started happening such as seeing a different reflection in the mirror or unexpected gruesome killings.

Assignment 1: Task 3- Narrative endings

I will be talking about open-end narratives and close-end narrative with examples and their appeal to the audience.

Open-end narrative:

 Open-end narratives are common mostly within TV shows/dramas and some films in order to leave the audience with excitement and an adrenaline rush to want more which leaves high expectations for whats coming next and would probably be a motivation for the makers of the open-ended productions.

Facts

• Tend to have more than one story line (realistic)
• more knowledge about the characters for the audience 
• It could go on forever 

Eastenders and Hollyoaks are the two open-ended TV soap dramas familiar to me therefore, it will be easier for me to go into depth on the thrill the open-end gives me and to explain what exactly is an open-ended narrative.

Cliffhanger from Hollyoaks, Sinead laying on the floor 

This is the end of an episode in Eastenders where Phil was laying on the ground, hurt and covered with blood. The episode has been left as a cliffhanger with the "DUFF DUFF DUFF" which is always used to end an episode. This would leave the audience in suspense and wanting to find out what happened to Phil and who did this to him and how it happened. This causes social interactions and is entertaining because audience become intrigued.


The same practice is used in the production of Hollyoaks to also keep the audience in suspense and wanting to find out more. Hollyoaks also has the score which is designated only to Hollyoaks.

Close-ended Narrative 

YOU GUESSED IT! Close-ended narratives is the opposite of Open-ended narrative. The plot and storyline actually comes to an end. 

Facts

• Close-ended narratives tend to manipulate the audience on which character they should like or dislike 
• Time is compressed (unrealistic), therefore most of the events and the story is mostly special 
• Tend to be 2 hours (films)
• Tend to follow linear structure (beginning, middle and ending)
• Main audience are people who nonintellectual or like things wrapped up quickly

An example of a close ended production is Shrek.

Shrek and Fiona getting married

This movie ended with Fiona and Shrek getting married even though not everybody supported which was shown in the middle of the movie. Finding out that Shrek and Fiona ended up getting married would have been pleasing for some audience because it would be satisfactory for the people who actually wanted them to get married however some audiences might want it to continue. For example, to show what happens after the marriage, a sort of twist which would be more conducive.



Another example is Attack the block. 

It's also close ended. The screen shot shows the end where the boys defeated the aliens and one of them is dragging one of the dead aliens on the floor. This would have also been satisfactory to the audience to know that they actually defeated the aliens despite the boys nature of living in one of the baddest blocks in south London. However, others would have wanted a twist too. For example, if the aliens actually come back.
I feel like this film will not be close-ended for long and maybe the producers are actually planning to publish a part 2 because a continuation with this movie is possible. I would definitely watch another one. 

However, i'd say i prefer open ended films as i like to be intellectually challenged which is basically the main audience for open ended films anyway. 

Single Camera Production Analysis: Undeclared episode 7 season 1 -Unit 22

Here is my analysis of Undeclared, an American sitcom single camera production which has perfect examples of camera movements, sound techniques, camera angle and shot types.

Camera Angles

I'm going to start with the simplest to analyse which is camera angles. At the beginning of episode 1, season 1 the character Dave has been filmed constantly on a low angle which i think depicts his role in this episode. Dave is the character who completes assignments for college students which denotes the use of low angle as he's obviously smarter than the other characters, he's more superior, their grades depends on Dave. The other characters (Rachel, Steven and Lizzie) are mostly at eye level which I think the producer has intentionally done to show how they feel that their work is not done and the fear they had in the scene where Lizzie and Rachel met Dave. The audience should feel the same way or empathise.

Another scene for Analysis is the scene where Steven's dad is proud of Steven as he achieved a good grade , the use of over the shoulder helps the audience understand the subject in depth; how Steven feels that he didn't actually do the work, where this is taking place and the way he reacts to what his father is saying, "..all the tuition is paying off", Steven raises his eyebrows to show how disappointed he is with himself. The camera also switches making Steven's dad the subject over Steven's shoulders which puts the audience in Stevens shoes; the heavy excitement coming from his father is drowning him and conscience pricks him.

17 minutes in to the episode, an example of a high angle has been shown with Dave being the subject  on the floor with the camera. Which obviously shows inferiority and how deluded Dave was thinking he was still in a video game. The camera being at high angle meant that's how Steven and Rachel were looking at the subject which shows that at the time they were more sane and right than whatever state Dave was in.

Sound techniques 

The obvious sound I can refer to in this episode is dialogue as the characters have American accents due to the  constant background "r" which gives you an insight of where this single camera production was set. Undeclared was filmed at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA. I think this sets a foundation in the audience heads in terms of stereotypes that American students are reckless and what is happening in this episode fully supports the stereotypes as they are actually being rebels and getting somebody else to do their work. 

Let's use the scene where Stevens Dad was showing enthusiasm of his sons grade. He had a happy/appreciative tone and at a high pitch which I think matches what is going on in the subject and is different to how he was at equilibrium (in other episodes).




Another sound technique that I noticed the Score from 2 minutes into the episode where Rachel, Steven, Lizzie and the other characters were running,  having fun and joking about. On IMBD it says that the score was produced by Joey Santiago and Michael Andrews. Joey Santiago is a Filipino-American guitarist and composer hence why in most of the scenes where the scores are you can hear guitars. I think the use of the guitar scores for a American teenage sitcom like this is wise to add emphasis to the stereotype and the characters youthful behaviour. The soundtrack used in the middle scene where the three: Rachel, Steven and Lizzie were in the school field also playing about which worked very well.

Camera Shots 

There is a scene where the camera is long shot to show where the character is and give and idea of what is going on. For example, Marshall was at the ATM  cashing out money. The long shot makes it possible for audience to know what is going on. Another camera shot i can find an idea for in Undeclared is where the camera was held at medium close up while Marshall and Steven spoke. This allows the audience to know how the characters feel and to put themselves in the shoes of the characters. This is the impact it had on me. Marshall was pleasing Stevens eyes with the money he just withdrawal-ed however he was just pleasing Marshall he was also pleasing the audience (me). The producers of this production have great ways to engage the audience as Cut-in's have been used in most scenes, an example of this was in the scene where Lizzie and Rachel were doing there work, the camera has been set up to show the girls closely highlighting text in textbooks. It was to show their frustration of having to do school work and being completely clueless about what was going on.  The idea being portrayed can be informing for student audiences as they could empathise and could teach that is you actually do your own work and you wouldn't struggle.

Camera Movements

The various camera techniques that have been used in Undeclared also adds to the morals and helps the audience know what is going on. In the scene where Marshall and Steven were walking down the hall way. The camera has been made to track both of them walking with the addition of panning to add emphasis to how the conversation of the two characters is running whilst walking. This engages the audience. This same camera movement has been shown in other scenes too like in when the students were out in the dark trying to get into Dave's house near the end of the episode. This was used to show the confusion of the characters at that point in time. This was very understandable. Another camera movement is the pedestal where the camera has either been lowered or put higher to show either the difference between tom characters height or just to show how tall somebody is and how intimidating they could be to other characters. An example of a scene which shows that is the same one where Marshall and Steven were by the cash machine and were opposite each other. The camera had been made to pedestal.

Unit 22 Linear vs Non Linear structure

I'm going to start with my favourite.

Non linear narrative structure 

The non linear narrative structure is when the story line doesn't have a specific order so this means it allows the film/production to use flashbacks (a scene in a film, novel, etc. set in a time earlier than the main story) and basically in non-chronological order (The same way i'm starting with non linear structure even though the title clearly states "Linear .Often, the order of the events is rearranged or deconstructed which describes the main characters feelings or psychological state (literary), in most cases heart break and sadness. Single camera production is excellent when making non linear films. However, it will all make sense in the end. This sort of narrative is very exciting because it makes the audience want it adds up to at the end. 

An example of a non linear film is "Inception", the order was clear from the beginning because it started in a building with people confronting each other and tension was present which obviously is not a equilibrium. It is not normal. Also as the scene continued there was a cross between time or maybe two worlds, so whatever was happening in the present world had an effect in the other world. 

This guy is being drowned. 

                                                                               

Water appears in the next world

This scene is an example of the crossing of the two worlds. As this guy is dipped into water in this world, in the other world water comes gushing from the windows in the other world. This supports my point of the literary side of non linear films because the use of this structure is to point out that 'whatever you do always has an impact on your life whether you like it or not.'

Most people enjoy non-linear films because they like to be challenged, people that like being intellectually challenged. They like to know something has happened and then find out. So this is the target audience for Inception. It allows escapism as the audience are basically travelling with this man and they are out of reality.

                                                                          

Linear Narrative Structure   

You obviously know what the definition of linear means by now, the opposite of non-linear narrative. 

The linear narrative structure runs in chronological order, events happening in order in which the characters experience and can be explained with Todorov's theory (in my opinion). Most people do not prefer this structure because it is too simple and not as complicated as films should be, film is a art and should go out of the ordinary.

An example of a film/production with linear narrative structure is the simpsons and i will describe it in the three stages when talking about chronological order (beginning,middle and ending):


Beginning starts with everything being normal and everything is casual. 

Marge and Lisa has just been shopping 

Middle shows some sort of conflict with the villain and Victim. In this case the mayor vs the simpsons.

The mayor is being targeted by Marge and Lisa as they are suspicious.

The whole family has sorted out the issue. 

At the End the villain often gets defeated and gotten rid of while the hero is complimented and praised. 

Having a linear narrative has a smooth effect on the audience as the story is running smoothly and won't be challenging to understand what's going on.

Unit 22- Todorov's Narrative theory

Now i will be talking about Todorov's theory of how every film/story/plots have the same structure and pattern. This involves these five stages:

1. Equilibrium which is the start of the story/plot and everything is how it should be
2. Disruption which is when something happens, a problem, something that would disrupt the normal 
3. Realisation; this is the part where everyone realises what is going on and it is chaos 
4. Reparation is when the character(s) tries (or actually solves) to repair the problem
5. New equilibrium is the ending where the happiness is restored and everything is normal again

I'm going to be using the first Shrek movie. The trailer below should also show my reference to Todrovs theory.

1. This is the equilibrium where everything is normal. Shrek lived in a swamp and enjoyed scaring people and being the beast. This lets the audience understand how things were before anything happened. It also make the audience want to know what's going to happen next.
2. This is the disruption stage where the fairytale characters/ animals appeared because Lord Farquaad had dumped them there. In order for Shrek to have the swamp to himself again him and Lord Farquaad made a deal that if he rescued Fiona the princess he could have his swamp back. This is the stage where the audience can now empathise as we are actually going to be following Shrek to rescue Fiona. Its quite effective.
3. This is the realisation stage where Shrek realises that he is actually in love with Princess Fiona even though she was meant to get married to Lord Farquaad . He tried to ignore his feelings because the only reason he was there was to get his privacy back. Again this is engaging as this is also part of the journey, the audience will empathise for Shrek that he loves Fiona.
4. This is the reparation stage where they try to solve or repair the problem (realisation stage). Shrek and Donkey went to crash the wedding to get Fiona and also found out that Fiona was also and ogre. Shrek and Fiona had to fight to get away as the whole town opposed ogres.
5.  This is the ending of the play where happiness is restored as Shrek and Fiona were now together living in the swamp along with the fairytale characters and Donkey. This stage would be the end of the quest and the audience would obviously be happy because the happiness has been achieved.

Unit 22- Genre

I am going to be discussing these three genres; Science fiction, Horror and Romance.

Science fiction is a movie/film genre which is normally based on current or future science or technology. An example of this is Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice which involves characters having special powers and can be classified as being supernatural.     

                                                                                                                                                            

 Looking at this trailer  audiences can tell that the setting for this movie is probably in the future as there are humans in a suit which gives them super powers as well as cars that don't exist  (extra-terrestrial life forms/objects) and look/hint how cars will look in the future. For example, having cars that are as fast/swift as the wind. There's also ideas of other worlds which also makes up science fiction.

                                

The genre of this movie "Trump" can be classified as being horror this is because horror movies are very disturbing yet engaging. Also, the motive for horror movies is to scare the audience as well as to keep the audience alarmed which is discomposing. This movie has displayed all these aspects of horror movie as the whole plot is to scare the US citizens that if Donald Trump were to be elected as president as it would ruin the states and possibility of genocide.

Now Romance, I will be using the movie Caveman as a prime example of the genre. This is because of the hidden feelings between the main characters Astin and Belle but the audience can see that they're attracted to each other. Romance movies are basically love stories which focus on passion, emotions and attractions which is mainly between the two main characters. In Caveman, Belle and Astin are best friends who want to be best friends but are actually very attracted to each over. They try to date others but it just doesn't work out. They are a perfect fit for each other.  This is romance.

                                                        

Unit 22- A1 -Formats

The objectives i will  be touching up on in this essay

• Argue for each format, why they would be engaging for an audience (Serials, Series and one off specials)
• use subject terminology, including Audience uses and gratification 

I will be talking about Serials, Series and one-off productions and their impact on the audience with examples of single camera productions. Mostly, tv dramas/soaps.

Serials

Serials are productions where each episode picks up from the previous episode. So it continues. SOAP's tend to follow this format; they keep the full nature of the story hidden and revealing the basics episode by episode to keep viewers in tact and hooked to the show.
Examples are:

• Scream Queens
• Hollyoaks
• Eastenders
• Empire
• Game of Throne 
• Lost
• Pretty Little Liars 
• Neighbours 

Scream queens is a single camera serial production shown on E4 every tuesday which consists of one story arc/narrative arc that there is a College campus where sorority groups and house groups exsists and a 1995 sorority pledge which went wrong is now causing a series of murders in the college campus. On top of the story arc there are temporary issues which will obviously erupt such as when Grace's dad found out that there is a muderer(s) in the campus and he wanted her to leave but she didnt want to. This got him really angry and he didn't want to talk to her anymore. Another example, when Chanel no.1 found out her boyfriend had been cheating on her with one of the other Chanels. Here's a video of this scene.







Another example of a tv serial is Hollyoaks which is about the everyday lives of the inhabitants of Hollyoaks regarding relationships, love and career. That's the main plot. But other things happen on top of it like finding out that your step dad has been sexually abusing your little sister and the process of finding out would have happened after at least 3 years of the situation. In fact this happened recently with Pete Buchanan and Cleo Mcqueen. Pete had been having sexual intercourse with Cleo after she turned 16 even though he had the intentions to do so when she was underage. But being over age now, he took the opportunities. After the gruesome act had been found out by the rest of the family, more convictions had been confessed by Cleo's other sisters against Pete. This has landed Pete in Prison for his gross behaviour. I would say this plot could be classed as being very informative to the audience.


 However, people have said the wait is worthwhile as when you do find out about things like this you start to link episodes to episodes.

This is a screenshot showing peoples comments on Hollyoaks 

This screenshot shows people's reviews on Hollyoaks and how "addictive" it is despite the pathetic events that happen. So it's not so pathetic then if they are actually watching it! According to the screenshot it's also clear that Hollyoaks (being a serial) also allows social interaction. There are so many sites that talk about Hollyoaks and predict whats going to happen on the next episode.

Lastly, another example of one of my favourite serial is Empire. This is because it gives an insight of what happens in the hip hop music industry and how aggressive it is behind the scenes in terms of competition so that's the call to tell the world that hip hop is actually quite pathetic nowadays. Or it is just not easy to get into the music even if you have great potential.
Empire is shown every tuesday on E4. It's mostly for entertainment as we get to see different established celebrities performing and the artists just made for the show.
The main story is about a hip hop tycoon who has to choose between his three sons who are trying to take over his multi-billionaire dollar company, while his ex-wife cookie is trying to build her own company and make it big. However, as this is the foundation different ghastly events occur which audience find entertaining and having to wait for a whole week to see what happens next allows social interaction and makes it to become addictive to some viewers. 

  
This video shows Cookie and Anika fighting 

Series 

Series consists of new story line in every episode but you still have an insight on the background story (narrative arc). 

Example of TV series:

• Dr Who 
• Two pints of larger and a packet of crisp  
• How i met your mother 
• Family guy 
• Simpsons 
• Top gear 

I will be using series of How i met you mother to explain Series in depth. 

This is a screenshot from YouTube showing the different names of episodes in a season/series. The first every episode was called Pilot where the story started. Ted Mosby started telling his children the story of how he met their mother which was set in the future. Then episode 2 was named Purple Giraffe where the story had already began and can be classed as a flashback; Ted throws a party in order to see Robin but she didn't come so he kept trying and trying. 

The idea is that all the episodes would add together to actually help the audience find out how Ted Mosby met "the mother". We didn't get to find out until Season 9 which i think the use of non-linear narrative was smart and would have caused social interaction with the audience as it's like putting a puzzle together and when you finish you're satisfied. 

Season 9 we found out Lily was the mother who was in fact one of Ted's best friends and was secretly a nymphomaniac which meant her and Ted had been in a sexual relationship in the past. The sudden reconciliation of their relationship at the end of the season was surprising, i'd count that as the twist.  

One-off production 

One-off productions can be films or dramas  shown once on TV and not repeated as often.

Examples of these are:

• Mother love 
• The last train 
• Ultraviolet 
• Stone tape 
• Unloved 
• Recovery 

This is a screenshot from the end of Recovery which appeared on TV (BBC) in 2007 on the 25th of February. This story was obviously a close-ended narrative as everything was completed in this episode and there hasn't been a part 2. The story was about a happy young couple and one day the husband Alan got hit by a car and lost his memory which changed his personality and the way he acted. His behavior fluctuated from being childish and overly happy to being aggressive and overly angry. His wife Tricia tried to make him recover by reminding him of who he was. He started to recover after a while but was still finding it difficult. 

The whole episode must follow Todorov's theory because of the way the events have occurred. 

[See unit 22 Todorovs theory]

Unit 22 Single vs Multi-camera productions

Single camera productions or multi-camera production?

I'd go with the single camera production, why spend lots of money on multiples cameras to film when there's a cheaper alternative by buying one camera which can do the same job but just takes a tad bit longer and a bit more effort, i mean who wouldn't? Single camera production are better especially for directors, putting aside money, its more easier  to control each shots you take because you've got it in order on your camera rather than trying to find different shots on different camera. yes, the previous sentence was a bit messed up, same way using a multi camera would be too. Also, a single camera is easier to set up whilst using multi cameras can take a very long time especially because large equipments are involved. Single camera productions allow you to have aesthetic control; such as lighting and sound for each shots which enhances the scenery and  image. If you look at the picture of Earl you can see the lighting control as theres bright light so this shows that everything shown in this medium shot is imporatnt and the audience has to take notice of it. Single camera production are also portable and it means less equipment.  Multi cameras are mostly used for reality TV shows (big brother) or unreal places which is on stage, an example of this is Mrs Browns boys which means the audience/viewers can actually see through windows and see some equipments. This make it very unprofessional. 

My name is Earl" was a single camera production, the sitcom was a success and you can't even tell the type of production. Most producer would obviously be inspired by this film and go down the cheap-production-good-film route too. Another example is Downton Abbey  who have won 46 awards and 166 nominations. 

However, single camera productions has it's disadvantages too. You can only film one person at a time to give that effect of a multi camera production which means there's less realistic reactions from the characters which wouldn't really get to the audience and make them feel the same way they do. It's also risky using a single camera because once your work is lost (due to broken camera or accidentally deleting it) ,that's it, you're going to have to re-film it which can be very time consuming. With multi camera production, you can cover more areas in a day and be able to show emotions and feelings from different angles as well as smooth transitions from character to character which nicely done in Hollyoaks and Britain's Got Talent as they are TV shows which are clearly produced quickly.

Camera from the top 

Camera probably positioned on the floor 

Another example, Big brother: