We chose our friend Sabby to be our main character as she lives very near us which will make filming a lot easier for all of us and since the main part is quite a standard teenage girl, there were no specific requirements she had to fulfil.
Character Profile: Ally Quinn is a 19 year old girl who just recently got out of school. She still lives with her parents. She has a close relationship with her parents, especially her mum but she can sometimes act uptight as if she is hiding something from them. Although she is a kind and friendly person, she also is quite fierce and brave. She also has an air of mystery and suspicion which may lead to suspicions over false accusation about Jasper. She doesn't do a lot of exercise generally but she enjoys running when her mind is preoccupied with other things and when she likes to get away from her family/home. W. H
In half term, Bea and I went to Southbank to take photos for ideas of where we would ideally like to film the opening of our thriller. The main attraction of the Southbank Centre is that it has many different aspects to it which is what we really require as in the narrative of our thriller, our main girl will be going for an early morning run through the city and so Southbank will be able to provide many different backdrops.
To make our main character stand out from the rest of the scene, we also wanted to incorporate lots of colour as our plan for the costume is going to be quite grey and dark. This makes the Southbank Centre perfect as it contains a number of bright colours in between buildings as well as quite drab, concrete buildings.
A lot of the main colours come from stairways around different parts of the Centre, which I think is also very good as it means we can incorporate interesting shots using the height of the stairs.
We would also really like to incorporate shots of landmarks of London to make it clear of where the setting is and also to make our character seem quite detached from her surroundings.
The river is also going to be of huge use to us as we would like the surroundings of our character to be constantly moving so we would probably be filming on Saturdays at Southbank to include lots of people so it is very busy around her when she pauses from her run.
We also took a number of pictures of grungier/bleaker areas of Southbank Centre as we would like it to look quite depressing to match the mood of our character.
One of the main ways James Cameron engages the
audience in the film ‘Aliens’, is through sound. In the opening sequence,
Cameron tends to use a lot of climatic orchestral music, which is quite
contrapuntal to the futuristic images on screen. This creates quite an ominous
and exciting atmosphere and also compliments the sci-fi genre of the film. Cameron
also uses a number of diegetic mechanical noises, for example the bleeping
noises on the computer screen, within the scene. This has the effect of being
more realistic as well as making the audience feel more included in the scene,
as if they are actually in it and can hear everything. It also gives an idea of
setting as the noises of the computer and the sounds of scanning etc. makes the
setting seem very futuristic and helps the audience believe that it is a
spaceship. Towards the end of the opening sequence, Cameron also emphasizes and
focuses on the sound of the characters breathing – this makes the audience feel
quite uncomfortable and makes them feel quite up close to the characters. Also,
before the dialogue, the sound can be seen as quite threatening and so warns
the audience that there may be danger. However, when the dialogue cuts in, the audience
feels more safe and secure and also allows the characters to begin to be
introduced to the audience.
Another main way Cameron engages the
audience is through lighting. In the very first shot, the lighting is blue
which has the effect of making everything look very cold and clinical, forcing
the audience to believe that this new world that has been created is quite a
cruel and dangerous world. In the first shot actually inside the spaceship,
Cameron decided to use little lighting and only on one side which causes the
whole set to be in shadows, making the set look very dark and uninhabited
resulting in the audience feeling nervous. Cameron also chooses to cover some
of the set in an icy dust, which reflects the light, attracting the attention
of the audience and also inviting them to the idea that the ship is very old. The
little lighting also creates quite a mysterious feel in the shot of a sleeping
character as she is still in shadow so it creates an uncertainty of who she is.
Another way he uses light to engage the audience is through creating
silhouettes. This is achieved very successfully in one part of the opening
scene where, by using a strong white back light, he creates a very strong
silhouette of a robotic creature. This alerts the audience that something is
coming before they even see it producing quite a sinister and dangerous feel.
There is little use of graphics within the
opening scene apart from in the credits, which are also important in engaging the
audience. The ‘ALIENS’ title is created with very cold blue lighting, which can
be quite intense for the audience and so immediately engages them and pulls
them into the film. The white credits also stand out very boldly against the
black background and so catch the audience’s eye and draw them in.
The most important way Cameron engages the audience
is through camera shots and angles. At the beginning of the opening sequence he
uses a number of wide shots to show the setting of the scene. This is extremely
important, especially as the film is futuristic as it allows the audience to
become familiar with the setting and era of the film. He also uses a very long
panning shot when we first see inside the spacecraft which engages the audience
by making them quite nervous at what could be hidden in the set but also allows
them to really get a feel of the place that the film has led them to. These
types of panning shots also give the audience the feel as if they are scanning
the ship like the robots and so makes them feel more part of the film and more
in touch with the futuristic/sci fi feel. Another point at which a wide shot
that is used is important is when the silhouettes of the robots are coming up
to the door. This zoom shot allows the audience to see everything that is
happening while still keeping an air of mystery and allowing the tension to be
drawn out. Cameron also uses a number of extreme close up shots of the sleeping
figures face. This makes the audience feel quite uncomfortable but also reveals
to them that this character is extremely important and so familiarizes her face
to them.
Location: For
location, I would really like to use a number of different urban places with a
lot of grey brickwork but also some aspects of bright colour. To link with the
style and tone, I would like to make the shots quite grey/blue, making it look
quite flat and grotty as I really like how this looked in Fish Tank. However, I
would also like to use some contrasting shots of colour to also link to the
style of some of Wes Anderson’s films. For these reasons, I think the Southbank
Centre would be really useful as it has the perfect balance between colour and
also contains lots of grey architecture. Generally I would like to use colour
in the background for the main character and so I think the Southbank skatepark
would be perfect for this. By using colour in the background, I would like it
to juxtapose against the character, who I would like to be dressed in quite
dark clothes and possibly use some affect to make them look as if they really
don’t fit in. I’d also really like to use some of the rows of houses in places
in Central London such as Notting Hill and Portabello Road to add more colour
in. I also have an idea of what type of camera shots and angles I would like to
use with different locations. For the very urban and grey shots, I would like
to use quite close up, open shots to give an air of business. For these shots I
would really like to use bridges/the river as well, to make it seem like
everything else is moving around the central character while they are
stationary.
Style and Tone: For
style and tone, I have two main ideas that I would, if possible, like to
incorporate together. As I would like my location to be very urban and to have
quite a depressing and menacing feel, I would like to have a grey/blue
background to give quite a grimey and flat feel to the camera shots. However,
I’m really inspired by the style of Wes Anderson, who focuses on the text and
graphics as well as the framing of the shots and mise en scene. He tends to be
very particular with how things are placed and what colours are used and so I
would really like to incorporate some of his style by using colour and framing
to contrast against my main character which highlights her against the
background.
I
really like the way Anderson tends to introduce the settings of the scenes with
clear bold font. However, I think this lightens the mood and makes it slightly
comical, however I would like to use this style for the positioning and font of
my credits so that they look bold and stand out against the background.
I also have an idea of having the whole
opening scene as very busy and crowded and so for this I would like to copy
some of the frames of the opening scene in ‘Collateral’, by having a clear shot
of the most important character and then have everything around them very
blurred. To create this, I would like to have open shots to make it look messy
and crowded. By having my main character stationary and clearly framed, I think
it singles her out from the crowd and obviously shows she is the most
important.
My
main influence of style and tone comes from ‘Fish Tank’ and grotty TV series
such as ‘Skins’ and ‘This is England’. Films/programmes like these have a very
urban feel and reflect on this in the grey/blue style which I would really like
to replicate in my opening.
Character: For
my main character, I would like to generally base her look on one of my
favourite actresses, Chloe Moretz, especially her roles as Lulu from 'Hick' and
Abby from 'Let Me In.' However, to match my idea of a grey/flattish style and
tone, I would like my character to look slightly more ruffled with less of a
Hollywood glossy feel, so I would also like to take on the style of the actress
Juno Temple and Mia from 'Fish Tank.' For my characters personality, I would
like her to be quite independent and feisty but also have a weaker side to her,
similar to the character of Effy from 'Skins.' I would like her to be between
the age of 17-20 (to be fully decided after narrative). I am not 100% sure of
what I would like her name to be yet but I think something quite short and also
slightly original but not completely abnormal (similar to Effy or Lulu).
Title and Credits: For my title, I am not 100% sure about what I would
like it to be but I think it would like to be short, possibly one word or just
the main character’s name. I really like titles of films such as ‘Hick’,
‘Broken’ and ‘Skins’.
I would like subtle and simple,
bold font, similar to the style from ‘Fish Tank’. I would also like it to be on
the sides of the screen so not centre and while the picture is showing, so no
blackouts etc. For example: Wimbledon – I really like this opening but for my
film I would not like to use blackouts and I want to have the graphics towards
the bottom left/right of the screen instead of the centre
Music:
For sounds within the opening, I would either just like to use diegetic sounds
(business of streets, talking etc.) or I would like to use quiet background
music, most likely classical (mainly piano) and quite subtle. Alternatively, I
would like to use quite melancholy vocals.
For either case, I think I
would like to use a voice over of the main character talking (within her own
thoughts, memories etc.)
Narrative:
I’m not entirely sure at the moment, but the image I have in my mind is having
the main character going for a run/walking through busy streets but making her
look very stationary and slow compared to the rest of the surroundings. I would
like her to be talking over the top, possibly referring to an important memory
(not decided yet.)
