Film Studies

Film Studies for New Media

Filmic Conventions –

There are any ways films have progressed, areas such as story boarding, music, costume and make-up, lighting, scriptwriting techniques (dialog, structure, emotion) and visual effects etc.

Story boarding

Story boarding has influenced the film industry by using art to visualize their film before it is made, allowing creativity to flow and gain ideas but also to discard ideas that cannot be fulfilled.

Storyboards are used to show various aspects of a film which include – lighting, character, movement, animation techniques, dialog and storyline directions.

They can be presented as a simple line drawing, sketch, rendered sketch, animated and real life images.

Costume, Make-up and Character Appearance

As film progressed costume, make-up and appearance have also progressed. From basic everyday wear to the extreme, from the elegant to the poor, from reality to CGI.

examples:

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1699703_1511794,00.html  –(best costume of all time)

http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2010/12/07/the-five-best-and-worst-examples-of-movie-makeup/  — (best and worse make-up)

Music

John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman star in the film that sees violence, comedy, crime and pop culture collide as mobsters, a boxer and a gangster’s wife find that their stories inter-link.

The soundtrack was a hit in itself, reaching Number 21 in the US billboard charts. With no score written for the film, Quentin Tarantino chose rock, soul and surf tracks to accompany the movie.

Music scores are very important for films. The score itself can make the film more interesting (heighten emotion, interest from viewers, suspense etc). Films can also make the music popular.

Good examples from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Original_Score#2010s

Visual Techniques

Camera Angles:

Different camera angles and movements can create different moods and effects. They can also get across the story you want to tell more efficiently.

Animation Techniques:

Easing is used to make animations move in a life-like way by varying the rate they move at. Animation tries to imitate real life therefore, it is best to base movements around it. E.g. objects do not always move at constant speed.

Deformation for animation is popularly used to deform characters. You can manipulate aspects of them. E.g. Their arm and leg lengths to change height.

Split Screen:

Split screen allows the viewer to see the time line of the film better by showing what is happening in two areas at the same time. A split can create different moods. In the example above from Kill Bill the music and lighting effects give the impression something bad is going to happen.

Green Screening:

For the weather to be viewed on TV the weather presenter is green screened meanwhile the weather map is on another layer. Both are then viewed as if together. Advantages include: reduces filming cost, saves time, free from filming delays like weather or time, more background choices without having to leave the studio.

Lighting

Off Screen Space:

The standard lighting scheme for classical narrative cinema. In order to model an actor’s face (or another object) with a sense of depth, light from three directions is used. A backlight picks out the subject from its background, a bright key light highlights the object and a fill light from the opposite side ensures that the key light casts only faint shadows. The lighting being off-screen.

Scriptwriting and Plot

Climax:

There are several aspects involved in a plot but the most common is climax.

This is seen as the most interesting part of a film as it creates a memorable scene. A climax reveals the theme of the movie therefore when realised a conclusion of the film is next as there should not be anymore to tell.

e.g. In the Lord of The Rings the hobbit finally destroys the ring – that is a climax. The theme is believed to be “Even the smallest person in the World can make the biggest difference.” – referring to the hobbits.

Metaphor:

Opening of Shrek – Story book becomes reality. This type of metaphor helps to tell and navigate through the story. Also, helps to signify the beginning and ending of the film.

(pic of shrek book)

This type of opening and ending can become like a brand or signature. Disney used this type in many of their animated films.

Main Story Structures-

There are five main story structure types:

Linear

A characters story is told from beginning to end, a straight through story.

Episodic

An episodic plot structure is a series of installments or stories related by the same place, character or theme but each has their individual plot or purpose. There is usually no true beginning, middle and end to the series. This structure can be used to highlight the passing of time through the many episodes for example, a character changing or growing through the story. Episodic plots use only a three-act structure; beginning, middle and end in each of the installments or stories.

In Friends the TV series all main characters and places involved stay the same. There may be additions but on a sub-level. Each episode has a beginning, middle and end but we see the continuing growth of the six main characters as the ‘bigger’ story is told through the individual instalments.

Thematic

A series of separate incidents involving different characters but are linked by a similar problem, location or dramatic concern.

Associational

A compilation of moments or incidents which are based upon strong widespread concerns or experiences; birth, death, love, etc. Usually, there are no direct links between scenes in associational films. This type of structure is used for mainly poems and art or experimental films.

Circular

A sequence of separate incidents containing common aspects and ending back at the start of the story.

Story Types

Phil Parker in The Art and Science of Screenwriting (1999) suggests that there are ten basic story types:

Romance

When a character is missing emotion, something or someone. To the character to gain that emotion they lack they must find the something or someone they yearn for. Usually, the character has to overcome a stumbling block and in most cases the character is triumphant and finds that something or someone.

Unrecognised Virtue

The character with virtue becomes part of someone’s world and falls in love with a strong, powerful character in this world. The character tries in every way possible to show they are desirable to this strong, powerful character but the power of the relationship weakens it therefore, the character tries to resolve the issue for the powerful character, by doing so the character’s true virtue is established.

Fatal Flaw

The character has a trait that brings success and allows them to achieve opportunities denied to other characters. They use these chances for their personal gain at the expense of the other characters, but when he recognises the damage caused they set a new challenge. However, the quality that brought them success makes the new challenge fail.

Debt That Must Be Repaid

The character desires something or someone and becomes aware that something or someone is available which will possibly allow them to get what they want but at a price. The character agrees to pay the price later and pursues their original desire. The character tries to avoid resolving the debt but is eventually confronted by the debtor and the debt is paid back.

Spider And The Fly

The character wants to make another character do their bidding but they have no power to force them therefore, they work out a plan to force them to do it. The character successfully carries out the plan, achieves their original goal and faces a new future.

Gift Taken Away

The character has a gift which they lose and seek to get back. The search for the gift leads them into a new situation to which they become reconciled.

Quest

The character is set a task to find someone or something. They accept the challenge and search and find the someone or something. They are then rewarded, or not, for their success in the quest.

For example, in the Star Wars series a young man joins forces with friends and allies in order to fight the tyranny of the evil empire to regain peace within the galaxy. In return, he discovers part of his own, previously unknown, legacy.

Rites Of Passage

The character realise that they have reached the next ‘age’ in their life and try to learn what they need to know to adapt to this new age. They try to act as if they have already gained the essential knowledge but fail. They then stumble upon a challenge which requires them to look beyond what they have already achieved. Their success reflects their development into the new phase of their life.

Wanderer

The character arrives in a new place and discovers a problem associated with it. In facing the problem they reveal why they left the first place, then attempt to move on to another.

Character Who Cannot Be Put Down

The character establishes their ability in a certain situation but then face a greater challenge, which they accept. They succeed by overcoming a range of antagonistic forces.

Die Hard, 1988:

On a Christmas Eve inside a hotel in Los Angeles, people are held hostage by German terrorist. The terrorists are unaware that an armed civilian is running around the building, taking the terrorists out. The civilian is John McClane of the NYPD, who was at the party with his wife. Without shoes, socks, or a regular shirt, and armed only with a small pistol and his brainpower, John fights for his life and the life of the hostages against the terrorists.

Genre-

There are many genres but the most common of them are:

Drama:

A genre that depends mostly on the development of true characters managing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, racial prejudice, drug addiction, religious intolerance, crime, poverty and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves, other characters and society.

Romance:

A romance can be outlined as any film in which the main plot revolves around the romantic interest of the characters. Common themes include the characters making decisions based on a recent romantic attractions.

Comedy:

A genre in which the main emphasis is humour and stories in this style by tradition have a happy ending. One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies.

Something About Mary, 1998:

When the character Ted Stroehmann, age 16, is in love with Mary Jensen and asks her to prom, in a typical American comedy things start to go wrong for the mix match of a geek and his dream girl. After losing contact 13 years later Ted is still in love with Mary he tracks her down where there are more complications as he isn’t the only one to fall in love with her. A battle begins between Ted and four other characters to win Mary for themselves.

Thriller:

Thriller is a genre that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as the main fundamentals. Good examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. The hiding important information from the viewer and fight/chase scenes is common. Frequent techniques in crime thrillers are ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, and kidnappings. Mystery thrillers feature investigations and the whodunit technique. Psychological thrillers use mind games, psychological themes, stalking and obsession. Elements such as conspiracy theories, false accusations, paranoia, and action are also common in thrillers.

Horror:

Horror films can be disturbing movies that attempt to extract the emotions of fear, disgust and horror from viewers. Often feature scenes that startle the viewer and frequently overlap thriller, fantasy and science fiction genres.

Horror films confront the viewer with their own nightmares, hidden worst fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. If some films contain a plot about serial killers, a disease/virus outbreak and surrealism, they may be distinguished as “horror.” Plots written within the genre often involve ghosts, gore, werewolves, torture, ancient curses, vicious animals, vampires, demons, cannibals, zombies, haunted houses and masked serial killers.

Saw, 2004:  Saw extracts fear and disgust from the viewer as they watch the characters make their next move in the ‘game’. The idea of having ‘normal’ characters being kidnapped and tortured, physically and mentally, makes the viewer feel disgusted as the events seem as if they can happen in real life. However, the viewer is engaged intellectually as they try to piece the evidence together in order to find out why the characters are picked for the ‘game’ and how the characters will react to the situation.

My Chosen Genre – Horror

Horror films in general follow a set of conventions that is apparent throughout the genre, below is some of the most common aspects:
– Dark/shadowy lighting
-Isolated location
-Female victim
-Disruption of normality
-Sub plot of male/female relationship
-Defeat of a monster/murderer

Background and further examples:

The first use of horror was in the 1890’s by Georges Méliès in his silent film Le Manoir du Diable aka The Haunted Castle.

The first monster to appear in a film was Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre-Dame, from Victor Hugo’s novel Notre-Dame de Paris 1831.

The first vampire-themed movie was made during the early 1920’s by F. W. Murnau, Nosferatu (1922), supposed to be an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

At this point Horror was being explored by Hollywood and new creative monsters were being portrayed in films. Horror was often seen as a B-Movie genre, low-budget but still commercial (lower end) motion picture. Questions were raised whether horror would be appealing to an audience.

In th 1950’s – 1960’s technology had evolved which made horror develop from a Gothic nature to contemporary. There was a shift to include
aliens, mutation (of human and nature) and nature (deadly, invasions). Japan mainly taking advantage by producing Godzilla.

In Great Britain on the other hand had created a world-wide success through the use of a serial killer in Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960).

However, during the later stages of the period demonic horror scenes were becoming popular.

Through out the 1970’s and 80’s not much changed except the B-Movie productions were being criticised but years later some became cult-classics.

1990’s

Sequels became a hit and were appreciated by th audience. The films in this period tended to be more horrific in the sense that they were playing with the fears of the audience, a wider range of fears were being confronted in horror.

– clowns and dolls, murder, psychological (teasing), the living dead, vampires.

There is a recognised movement within this period. The films New Nightmare, In the Mouth of Madness, The Dark Half and Candyman were part of the movement which saw the connection between fictional and real world horror.

At the end of the 1980’s horror took a step backwards as there was constant slasher movies but in the 1990’s they were very successful. The difference being they added a comic value to the slasher movies. For example in Wes Craven’s Scream the characters often mentioned what happened in films they had watched making it ironic that this was going to happened to them, mixing humour and fear or shock.

2000’s

Sequels were common and very succesful in the early stages of the 2000’s. There were now several sub-genre’s to pick from and directors often mixed between them or combined factors. Sub-genre’s that had been left behind were making a come back as technology had evolved there was a chance to remake films and make sequels as the horror could be made more realistic or creative.

Films such as Saw were huge as the story could be a real life situation, the use of the effects conveys this to the audience. The film series of Saw holds the Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing horror franchise in film history.

A new type of horror is becoming popular, reality – real live, low-budget and based on “true events” for example, Paranormal Activity.

Conventions applied to Horror –

Music:

The use of a horn or guitar strings as a victim walks towards a door or window and a sudden boom of music as the door is opened by the victim to reveal what is on the other side is a musical cue that often appears in horror films. The audience hears the build up and anticipates a sudden rush of dramatic music as the tension builds and builds. Is there going to be a climax or anti-climax?

The same piece of music is often applied to the same character. For example, when the murderer is near the victim the music will start to play slowly, if the murderer is about to get close to the victim and maybe the victim’s end is coming the music will get louder. For example, most people would recognise this effect being put to use in the movie series Jaws.

Not all films have sound effects for example, in The Blair Witch Project there was no sound effects, only the sounds of the characters as they filmed it ‘naturally’ – hand-held cameras, was meant to look like there was no editing as it was meant to be a real story.

But in most cases sound effects are important in films as it helps to intensify the actions of the characters and other aspects related to the emotions, tensions being felt by the characters and also those of the audience. Sound effects are usually exaggerated to make an impact upon the audience. However, some noises are just used at a low-level to create a background noise. This could heighten the dramatic music scores. If there is a sudden stop and pause between background noise and the music score playing then the audience will pick up on this and tension will be built, a gasp from the audience and emotions high.

Montage & Visual Techniques :

There are many techniques used to create shock, tension, suspense etc. I am going to focus on the main types for the genre but a lot of them can be crossed with other genres.

The main thing to consider is the audience and how you want the film portrayed. Are you wanting to create shock or suspense? Referring to Alfred Hitchcock, he applies the rule of keeping the audience in the loop all the time. One way to do this is to pick shock or suspense. His example, If two people where in a Cafe at a table chatting and a bomb goes off, it is shock – it lasts seconds and no one knows it was going to happen as the audience was not informed. However, if the viewer was informed the bomb would be placed in the Cafe and was to be set to go off at a given time, and the characters had to defuse the situation before it blew up that would be suspense. Ar they going to succeed in saving lives by diffusing the bomb in time or will they fail and a great many fatalities occur? An important point when keeping the audience in the loop is no to ‘spoon feed’ them but to give them small bites (can be regular or not).

Other ways are, someone alone in a room or house feels that there is someone or something else there. They investigate and it turns out to be something like a cat or branch of a tree hitting a window or its reflection in a mirror. Usually when the character returns and caries on with what they stopped to investigate, the someone or something appears. Sometimes the culprit is simply just looking or a more focused study of the victim. There are times where the murder is going to kill the victim but again it is the question of is it straight away, here and now – upfront or a longer wait – can be strategic.

A strategic method maybe the murder is watching the victim for a few days, then the victim is walking home or somewhere at night alone in a quiet street. The murderer is behind bushes, the audience is informed of this so it build tension. Climax: the murderer jumps out and kills the victim. Anti-Climax – the murderer plans to jump out and as he is about to the victim is not alone anymore, someone else appears in the scene. The murderer is out numbered and waits longer.

Another idea that I personally have not picked up on as a potential visual technique, is framing. Making the victim bigger on-screen so that the camera is filled up with something innocent. Or to have the character smaller on-screen so that the surrounding area is visible. The audience will look continuously at the empty space waiting for it to be filled with a monster that will attack the victim. Important – if the hole is filled too quickly or not quickly enough the audience will lose interest and the film’s visuals will suffer.

– green screening is another very important technique in modern horror as it allows the director to make the film more appealing and the potential of the story to be fulfilled.

Lighting:

Connected to the point of visual techniques above. There are many effects the director can use, some are mentioned above. Directors have their own techniques, styles and unique combination’s which in turn make their films individual. Lighting’s role is not just to light the scene but to compliment the director’s style and chosen techniques. It controls the visual effects, shots and attention of the audience.

Key points that lighting affects –

– it affects the audiences mood

– draws our attention to certain details

– helps the style of the movie

Key points that affect the lighting –

– position of objects, characters etc.

– story ( what is happening in the scene, time, date etc)

– genre

– shot type

there are lots of point to consider but these are the basic and most important.

Character Types:

The “Shover”- a typical slasher movie always has to point out the strong and the weak at the beginning. It’s very easy for the audience to pick out who the cowards are, and they usually make themselves known. The weak usually give up but on occasions they do fight to stay alive.   The shover is the person in the group who shoves another character into the direction of killer to distract as they run away and hide. This person will always get their comeuppance, often the audience will agree to their killing.

The Non-Listener– The characters that intentionally ignore the main character’s instructions and do as they ‘think’ best. Usually, if they stick to the authority of the main character they would have survived. Typical personality aspects for this type is they are selfish, stubborn, and usually don’t hear the killer sneak up on them.

Forgettable/Generic/No-name Characters– In that group of characters, you don’t know or can’t remember certain characters names within the first half hour, then they will die. Characters that say pointless dialogue, will die. Only able to refer to a character by a stereo-type followed by a number such as, “girl #2,” “security guard #5,”…they will DIE!

The Prude– Now a prude is much different from a virgin. A prude in a horror movie is someone who doesn’t drink, smoke, do drugs, or have sex and they JUDGE everybody around them. Usually stuck up the whole time they’re onscreen and are also usually the first to go.

The “Vice-Abuser”- Horror films have changed over the years. It used to be if you smoked pot, drank, had sex, you were instantly axed. Nowadays, you can be the ‘slut’ and conquer. You can be the ‘stoner’, and end up the hero. However, if you do two ‘vices’ then you are usually dead in five minutes.

The “Turning Point” Person– There comes a time where a crucial decision has to be made, and it’s always the wrong one made by one person. Even lead protagonists are not safe if they make this mistake. Unless however, they’re in a mainstream horror film and the director opts for a “cop-out” ending instead.

The Best Friend– Best friends to the hero = bumped off. They provide the moral support for the lead character and if they don’t die, they are most likely the killer.

The “Too Interesting/Funny” Character– Every laugh this character gets out of the audience, its them getting closer to their fate. “Aww…I really liked him/her.”

The “Gimp”-If a character gets severely injured for example getting shot, stabbed, or twisting their ankle, they will be struck. The killer is looking to get rid of easy targets for the main target to be their only focus.

The “I can’t!” Screaming Girls– A screaming helpless female that will frustrate you is another favorite for the killer. However, in recent times the helpless can emerge into the heroine. However, if a female in a horror movie stops running, starts to cry, and screams out repeatedly the words, “I can’t!” over and over again, they can’t survive. The director cannot afford to have them over the interest of the audience.

The “Famous Person without Top Billing” Character– A high-profile actor or actress who does not have the main central character in a horror movie with a lesser known or unknown actor in ‘their place’, will die in usually in the opening scene as they are there to simply to start the film with a bang.

The Horror Aficionado– Horror Aficionados are usually the “too interesting/funny character” in the film. (See above for the fate of those characters)

Aficionados are there to provide the lead with enough knowledge to successfully make the right choices to stay alive. Once their purpose is served, they’re usually gone.

Keeping a horror aficionado alive is like the characters in the film have stepped out the TV and stole the script and control of the movie.

Story Techniques:

A large amount of films take on the element of ‘escape’ which features a story of suspense as characters want to escape the situation they are in. For example, in the Blair Witch Project the characters are stuck in the woods and in the Exorcist the character is stuck in their own body. They want to leave but they can’t.

In some films it is the character’s themselves that make the possibility of escaping impossible. They make decisions that are mistakes – usually not known by them or the audience until they look back.

In the Exorcist the girl can’t escape as the demon is inside her. Her family can’t leave as they love the girl. It is in the top horror movies of all time probably because of this idea that the mother loves her child so much she doesn’t want to leave or kill her to kill the demon.

Final Project:

I will be combining my final project with my Motion Graphics Final Project as the two are related in many ways. My motion graphics will be of a horror theme as the film studies trailer is of the horror genre. I aim to produce opening titles, ending credits, transitions, kinetic typography and maybe some video mime to accompany the film for my film studies. Below is the intended storyboard for the combined project.

*for motion graphics page see motion graphics above.

Storyboard:

I intend to use a similar techniques to the Paranormal Activity film as this would heighten the tension in my trailer. Home filmed footage is popular at the moment in horror movies. The main reason being people think the footage shot is actually home vidoes, making them believe the story more. My trailer features one of the characters being dragged away by the murderer. The character will only be in the film for the first part of the film and will take on the character type of “the prude”.

Final Film: