script (unfinished)

The pitch meeting

Meeting room-day

Opens up on a mundane looking room with an uninspiring tan color for its walls and carpet that no one could quite decide if it was meant to be that dull a shade or if it's color had just faded over the years,johhny a producer sits alone in the room looking as dull as everything else with his black wardrobe and shaggy grey hair, the door opens and another man walks in and sits opposite johhny at the desk.

johhny:

(in a mildly annoyed, slightly sarcastic tone )

So you finally have a script for me?

The second man, a much younger and taller man who works as a writer for johhny, produces a script from his bag

Writer:

Yes sir I do.

Johhny:

What took you so long? I even gave you an extension for writing it but I only get it now.

The writer places the script on the desk and slides it gently across the table

WRITER

Sorry about that sir, I had abit of a creative block

(he begins to monologue)

First I originally planed on writing something horror based about a haunted alley way which was ecentially just a rip off of something I saw on Netflix but then I got bored so I tried to write a scifi involving monsters and space robots.

JOHHNY

(quickly cutting the writer off before he can finish his sentence)

Great those scifi films are what all the kids now, we might actuallty make a decent profit!

2.

WRITER

(mildly annoyed)

Sir if you would have let me finish you would know that I gave up on that idea after remembering that the average public secondary school has a higher budget than our special effects department.

JOHHNY

(raising his voice slightly as he gives in to curiosity)

Ok then just let me read the damn thing! Just please don't tell me its another sergeant justice sequel, they seem to be the only thing people remember us for nowadays.

Johhny picks the script up of the table and begins reading,

focuses on his face

as he goes through the script an aray of mixed expessions form on his face ranging from excitement to visable confusion

trainspotting sa

Trainspotting has a unique aesthetic for a film depicting drug addiction being hyper realistic compared to the social realistic aesthetic which would normally be used, a social realist film who use its athletics the ground both itself and the audience in reality so it can present the issues at hand as they truly are, where as the hyper realistic aesthetic of trainspotting does the opposite,  it shows the scenario through a blurred lens which some would argue  distorts the view of reality that films like these are meant to give us. I would argue that it was Boyel’s intention to use the aesthetic of trainspotting to show the world as  it really is and just like how fish tank uses its almost exclusively diegetic sound and long takes to represent reality, I believe that trainspotting uses its unrealistic angels and constant  breaking of reality through non diegetic sound and moments of non linear story telling to show how reality is perceived from the view of a drug addict.

Trainspotting camera work and sound design play together to create scenes in the film that make you feel like you’re on drugs. A social realist film would ground you in reality to show you the issues experienced by its characters and have you relate to them and trainspotting does exactly the same, it conducts itself in a way which is meant to show you how its characters see the world. By making the audience watch the film through the same abstract lens which they see the world thus making it easier to relate.

This is on full display in the scene commonly dubbed as “the worst toilet in Scotland scene.” As Renton enters, we seen some point of view shots which are slightly warped showing us that despite the effects of the heroine wearing off he is still under some influence. It is also important to note that everyone is looking at Renton which could indicate that in his mind everyone is watching him, the stares he gets from everyone in the room could represent how he feels people are watching him where in reality the chances are he is imagining it as most people wouldn’t pay much attention to someone walking in to go to the toilet let alone the whole room. As he enters the bathroom we see the state it is in, and it is important to realise that this scene is clearly not an exact depiction of reality, while bad toilets exist it is clear that this toilet has been exaggerated which could be a way of representing the exaggerated aspects that drugs can cause, but more importantly I think the toilet and by extension the bathroom itself is a visual representation 0f 90’s Edinburgh and 90’s Scotland respectively. A common Scottish slang for a bad place is a shit hole and that is exactly what the toilet is. The toilet is a metaphor for Edinburgh as 90’s Edinburgh was very much a shit hole and the fact that Renton has no choice but to use that toilet is a representation of how he is stuck in Edinburgh, further more the rest of the bathroom being equally disgusting represents how just as Edinburgh was bad the rest of Scotland wasn’t much better. Renton’s dialogue stating he’d settle for anywhere is meant to represent that he has no choice but to live in Edinburgh, he didn’t choose to be born there and him having no choice but to use that toilet represents how he didn’t get a choice in where he grew up, furthermore the fact he doesn’t try another toilet represents how he could move from Edinburgh  but the rest of Scotland is no better as he could try another toilet but the rest are no better, he could always move to another country just as he could try find another toilet but the fact is he’s desperate and doesn’t think he could make it away from his family and friends just as he couldn’t make it to another toilet on his own. When he tries to retrieve his drugs from the toilet it represents him going deeper into the shit hole and the fact he is going down there for drugs represents how the people of Scotland had been gripped so tightly by drugs that they are willing to go to anything to get them. This scene over all represents how bad Scotland’s drug problem was in the 90’s and the imagery of Renton diving down through a visual representation of the shit hole that Edinburgh was just to get his drugs tells the audience how bad it really was.

The representation of addiction culminates when Renton must get another hit even though he is meant to be in rehab. His entrance being a jump cut from the previous shot is another aesthetic showing us how the drugs make him see the world as Renton literally jumping from shot to shot tells us he is still looking through the lens brought by being an addict, but after he takes the shot we see him sinking into the floor symbolising he has gone to far and might have to pay the price. Renton sinking slowly into the ground represents him dying as his coffin being slowly lowered into the ground and the shot of Swanney looking down at Renton means two things, one it reinforces the idea of Renton falling into his grave as that is what the shot physically resembles and how Renton is moving further away from life as the light gets further and further away from him but it also supports the idea of the film being shot through a drug lens as the point of view shot as Renton falls deeper into the ground shows the audience what he is seeing and while him falling clearly represents him going further away from life, it also represents how the drugs make reality seem far away from him and almost take him to a different place, it’s as if he’s falling out of reality and into addiction.

La La land

the cinematography in La la land is used to establish strong responses from spectators ex specially
in the final scene which shows the alternate take on the films events

when i first viewed this scene i felt a sense of humor by no cause of the films plot but by witnessing   J.K.  Simmons dancing so having seen him in over films i was more engaged with all the scenes he was in but that short sequence enlightened me enough to enjoy the rest of the sequence more than i do without it because i associate it with that humour. This probably made me few this with a positive view rather than negative.

the following sequence is like a culmination of all that has come before it as it re tells all the films events with a key difference of Seb and Mia staying together, this gave me a sense of completion as the film came full circle by revisiting a scene from the beginning as well as other key events only to resume back at Sebs jazz club.

It starts off at the previously mentioned scene with J.K. Simmons where seb gets fired and harshly brushes Mia aside but now instead he goes in for the kiss and the audience is then swooped around with upbeat music, but this is unrealistic and a display of fantasy as seb and Mia didn’t even know each other’s names at that point so would not have went to kiss each other like tha. This is an indication that the following sequence is pure fantasy and the events playing out occur in a way that would be impossible to happen in real life. The people randomly bursting into dance( a common musical trait) further cements that non of this is real this creating the idea that this outcome was impossible to attain, on my first viewing of this scene I didn’t realise how hopeless them ending up together was but to give credit were it is due this was a clever way of hinting that their future being together was only something they could dream off and the harsh world of reality EG people not randomly bursting in dance wouldn’t allow.

This sequence puts the 50’s musical imagery on full force with vibrant over saturated colours and painted backgrounds which creates a detachment from reality further more employing a bright and positive reaction from the audience. I felt a sense of joy for Mia and Seb as I saw them dance up and down the overly saturated streets as if they were cartoons further more adding to why their relationship was only something that could exist in a place like this. I find that it y hard to be displeased with this as, unless you despise the characters of Mia and Seb, there is nothing to be angry about and it makes the audience pleased to see the two characters they have followed relive the fantasy of all they have been through, but this enjoyment was bittersweet.

As the recap reaches the present we are soon sent back into the dimly lit, blue toned room with Seb once again playing the piano, it is at this point reality kicks in as the fantasy colours are now all absent. The two protagonists take one last look at each other as they silently say there goodbyes.

While the scene gives a pleasant ending to to story it made me realise that the film lacks a key factor of most good films, I found it unsatisfying, the main portion of them reaching their careers is done in a time skip and once the bright colours and cheerful music which was making me feel joy had faded I realised none of that happened and the previously mentioned music and colours only created a false sense of satisfaction, it was then that I realised that I didn’t care about the actual story only the simulated joy of this scene and when that had gone I was then exposed to the unsatisfying conclusion.

winters bone

the film winters bone is a neo realistic film about mountain life in America and relies heavily on understanding the culture and society of such rural areas.

In the scene where the protagonist Ree is asking her neighbours for information on her missing father Jessup, she finally arrives at the house of the societies patriarch Thump Milton in a last desperate attempt to learn the truth about her farther. Thumps wife Merab emerges from the door with along with a presence over Ree. Merab is standing on the steps creating a natural elevation of her over Ree instantly telling the audience of a gap in hierarchy between the two women. Ree knows that Thump is just beyond her reach but Merab denies her entry. we do not even see Thump in this scene because he is so far up the hierarchy ladder that Ree cannot even speak to him and to someone unfamiliar with the type of society seen in this film it might seem odd, why can't she see the man. The camera being at a high angle looking down on Ree shows her beneath Thump and even his wife, this is reflected through out this whole sequence as each home she visits on her quest for answers takes her further up the land and thus growing the gap in rank between her and the people she is dealing with, this is evident as the more homes she visits the more hostile the people she speaks to become as she is eventually not even allowed in the house once she arrives at Thumps residence.

This is an unfamiliar hierarchy to those from other backgrounds and if an audience had a passive viewing they would have no clue on the situation Ree finds herself in, an audience with an active viewing might be able to deduce from the dialog that the characters live in a society where law has little influence and all the structure stems from a lineage of families. Ree makes a statement about        "having some of the same blood" which to outsiders would make them families but the film takes place in such a closed off and isolated community that everyone is related.

  i personally found it hard to understand the dialogue between Ree and Merab during their encounter due to their accent but when i tried to watch this scene again with more of an active viewing i picked up on more dialougue and was able to piece together more information about the world than a passive viewing would allow

it would be hard for people to have an alignment with Ree in this scene because most 17 year old wouldn't be able to relate to her situation as they would be thinking about themselves and their future, not caring for others and being an adult. As evident from Merabs line about if Ree had a man, she is exspected to be married at this point, which is almost impossible for most movie viewers to relate to.

What differs winters bone from the mainstream films we see regularly is there is no clear cut good and bad characters (which is a standard of the neo realism genre) because we are not given an explanation and even when viewing actively the information only allows us to understand the characters to a certain degree. We are unable to tell who to trust and who to align with, teardrop is a violent meth head but he is close family to our protagonist and a key aid to her, whereas marab seems nice in this scene by giving Ree a drink and warning her multiple times, which makes the audience trust her, but this trust is instantly destroyed when her and the other women beat Ree down to a bloody mess, only then to help her by revealing her dads resting place and helping her retrieve the evidence she needs to prove his death and alive the conflict of the film. It is the complex layers and lives of people who live in these societies that make it hard for mainstream audiences to understand as these characters have more depth than typical movie characters and unlike another Jennifer Lawrence lead film, the hunger games, which also deals with a young girl tasked with adult duties in a society with an dangerous hierarchy, there is not enough exposition to explain this almost alien world as there is with its mainstream counterpart.

Evaluation

In our film we emphasised the battle between Mara and the figure through framing, for example the opening shot was made symmetrical to highlight the feud between the main characters as it showed their opposition. In many shots we used negative space, such as in the close-up shots of Mara and the figure, to create an uneasy tone and make the audience uncomfortable. We used a graphical match cut to transition between her dream and reality conveying how her anxiety has an effect on her life.

However, we had to remove possible ideas due to time constrictions and the inability to film in a bedroom, therefore we had to adapt by having her wake up in college. This lead to us getting rid of a scene of her walking to college which put more focus on the represented anxiety. For future reference, we will make our plan achievable.

checkmate script

Checkmate

FADE IN:

EXT. FIELD - DAY

Two people sit in an alley with a chess board between them.

MARA, a teenage girl dressed in white/grey clothing is controlling the white chess pieces, while an unidentified FIGURE dressed in black is controlling the black pieces.

The game is nearing the end, with the FIGURE only moving one chess piece to win and put her in checkmate.

When the chess piece hits the table, an upbeat song begins to play.

INT. TABLE AT COLLEGE

The song continues to the next setting, and is revealed to be MARA’s alarm.

MARA sits up and turns her alarm off. Then, she looks around at the homework she was completing and sees the FIGURE at the top of the staircase next to her.

She gathers her papers and leaves briskly. 

INT. CLASSROOM

MARA sits at the front left side of the room, with the FIGURE at the back right side.

TEACHER, a strict teacher stands at the front of the class teaching Maths.

The TEACHER is going over the work for the lesson, but MARA is daydreaming instead of paying attention. In the background, there is the sound of a pen being clicked/tapped and the clock ticking.

TEACHER

MARA?

        MARA is taken out of her daydream when the teacher says her name. 

TEACHER

Mara, you please answer the equation?

MARA is visibly frightened and confused. As MARA’s anxiety grows, the figure draws nearer, moving from the back of the classroom to the middle, moving diagonally like a chess piece.

TEACHER

                      Mara, I said, could you please answer the equation?

MARA

I-I uhh

TEACHER

Was anyone who was paying attention help mara?

The FIGURE is now sat right next to MARA, as the TEACHER shifts their focus, MARA lets out a breath of relief, and opens a box of pills. She takes one pill from the bottle and swallows it to calm her nerves. Once she swallows the pill, the same music from the alarm begins to play.

EXT. BUS STOP

MARA walks to her bus stop, wearing earphones with the upbeat music playing through, and she stands waiting at the stop for her bus. Standing across the road from MARA is the FIGURE.

EXT. ALLEY

MARA runs into the alley. The figure appears and then they’re both standing in the same place as in MARA’s dream, facing each other. 

There is a cut to the two kings of the chess set in the same place as MARA and the FIGURE, as the black chess piece knocks over the white. 

FADE TO BLACK

cinematic ideas

Cinematic Ideas

Our short film is a psychological horror, using a narrative portraying a conflict between two characters, portrayed using the mise-en-scene of costume with the main character, Mara,  wearing white and the other character wears black to highlight their opposition. In the first scene of the short film, we plan on using the prop of a chess board that the characters will play to foreshadow the events of the film, with them playing chess they will be face-to-face with one another. Through this first scene there will be no sound except for the diegetic sound of the chess pieces being moved, until the last chess piece is moved and then an upbeat song will begin to play, which will be revealed in the next scene to be a phone alarm for Mara to wake up, thus creating a sound bridge. The transition from the first scene to the next will be made using a graphical match cut from a bird’s eye view/aerial shot of the chess board to a close-up of a phone. She’ll end up in a classroom that will be lit with low key lighting to give off an uneasy feeling. The teacher will be shot using low angles to convey Mara’s fear of them and their power. We will have another sound bridge from when Mara takes her tablet the upbeat music plays, which will be coming from Mara’s earphones in the next scene. In this next scene Mara will be waiting at the bus station with graves behind her, foreshadowing the end of the film. Then it will move onto the final scene of the film, which will be set in the exact same area of the chess scene to imply that this is their final confrontation.