Thursday 25 February 2010

A Scriptwriter's Job

The job of a Scriptwriter

A script writer basically writes scripts that can be used for film, television or any other dramatic compositions. They need to be skilled in order to create an enticing story, however also reasonable and clever for things like an adaptation from a book or video game.
They are skilled writers who prepare scripts for commercials, soap operas, comedies, and dramas that appear on television, in films, and on stage.
Scriptwriting is an art form, and creating art is never easy. Every time you watch a TV show, watch a film or even play a computer game you are taking in the work of a scriptwriter.
With today being driven by the various mediums of entertainment scriptwriting has becomes one of the best page and attractive jobs going. Film scripts have been sold for in excess of $1 million. With that sort of money floating around it's no wonder people are becoming more interested in the idea of scriptwriting.
However scriptwriting can be a difficult task. Even the best of scriptwriters often have difficulty getting creative and thing of effective stories to write and can go for years without writing a single script.

Example:steps of how to write a script properly

Monday 22 February 2010

Characteristics and features of the villian in 'the Gamble'

Characteristics and features of the villain in ‘The Gamble’

• He will look dark and mysterious, which will add to his character’s personality.

• He will dress in black with a white mask, similar to the one of ‘the phantom of the opera’, which makes the audience immediately know that he is a villain and make them think that half of his face might be disfigured.

• He will speak calmly and occasionally get aggressive over something unusual, which is similar to the stereotypes of many psychopaths in thrillers, who seem calm in the most intense and horrific situations.


• He will move around franticly and always fidgety, to show how restless he is and how his body is unconscious of controlling itself from commuting evil deeds and showing no remorse.

• He will smile constantly and stare at people with his eyes wide open, which will also make him seem sadistic and crazy.

• His hands will move quick, similar to magicians, which relates to his character, as he enjoys magic and shuffles cards in a frantic manner, whilst wearing white gloves.


Reservoir Dogs opening sequence

on set- applying the make up in 'the gamble'












Make-up was extremly important in making our scenes seem more realistic, so that it can give an impact on the audience that we desired. I brought the make up in and Reece applied it to me and Isaac's faces. For Isaac's character we needed to have a scene where he was all battered and bruised, therefore we applied different shades of purple and foundation to create the correct contrast of colours to form a bruise. For my character, 'the villain' we had to draw on a moustache and goatee to make him look more like a magician. We used a bit of eye liner on his eye too, so that his identity is further hidden, as the eyes are one of the best places to look to uncover somebodys true identity.


pictures on set of the lighting, location, props of 'the gamble'













These are the props and equipment we had to use for our production 'the gamble'. We used the drama hall as the set for our film, as it was a very straightforward and direct location for us to use. It was also ideal for what we had in mind for our opening scene, which was a dark spacious empty room. This enabled us to use the cameras freely and have easy access to the equipment, as it is all based in the college. We borrowed tracks, camera, tripod, microphone and two small lights and a big one for the lighting. The tracks were important for us, so we could experiment with the shots and produce different angles for a scene to create more intensity towards the audience. We used the microphone to create an effect by placing it carefully near the actors, so we could hear their dialogue more clearly. I brought in crops such as, make-up, deck of cards and the toy, which all contributed to the scene and make it look more realistic and enticing.


pictures on set of the 'good guy' john in 'the gamble'












This image shows 'John', who is the main character of our production, 'the gamble'. He is being portrayed as a businessman, who has it all but is about to lose it all instantly due to his gamble. We dressed him up in a black and white suit, similiar to the dress code of the film, 'resiviour dogs', which is a simple, vibrant colour to show his status instantly to the audience and that he is a smart businessman. The black and white colours show that he likes to keep himself looking elegant and show he is a man of power.



pictures on set of the villain in 'the gamble'








These are pictures of my character in our thriller production, 'the gamble'. We decided to give him a mysterious look but his full image is hidden, so that not much is given away of whom the true identity of the villain is to the audience. We also decided to give him half a white mask, to give him magician features, which gives the audience an enigma that he may do magic or perform something magical but evil. The fact that half his face is shown can also give the audience some idea of the character's personality, which may mean he has a split personality due to what features are shown.


Stereotype of a villain in a typical thriller

How villains should be in a typical thriller


· Villains need to look evil, so dress him/her in black. Black is traditionally represented as the color of evil.

· Villains usually behave in a sneaky manner to manipulate naive individuals to acquire wealth/sex etc. Ensure that the villain has minimal interaction with the general public or society at large. He is supposed to dole out diabolical orders to his minions to destroy some good man/good cause.

· Most villains are extremely cunning and manipulative, so maybe your villain knows a lot of things about weapons, gadgets, minds, and/or the society that he lives in. Villains almost always have an extraordinarily selfish motive to do their dastardly deeds.

· Most villains have evil grins pasted across their faces; it's best to give them an nasty expression. Traditionally, theatricality is extremely important in the art of movie-making. However, some avant-garde directors can direct villains to show zero expressions on their faces.

· A Villain works to destroy/kill the hero in most movies, so define a few tricks and traps that they hide up their sleeves.

Friday 19 February 2010

all members of production need to watch this


come on familia we have some let downs. but remember that we can all help each other toward a better grade.
i would like to seee mre dedication. more effort more care.
this is going to be graded. so take this opportunity to make the most of this blog.
its a new way of learning
so come on
all of you have potential
so let us make this project great

team work can create great things

importance of lighting research

Lighting has come to be an important component of cinema's visual design. It is widely recognized that in film, as elsewhere, it can create a substantial emotional impact. A primordial response to darkness and light is a deep-seated element of human psychology that filmmakers have harnessed in order to influence the ways viewers respond to narrative development. On the one hand, deep shadows can make a character seem untrustworthy or conceal a host of horrors. On the other, bright, diffused lighting can provide comfort and reassurance or create the impression of an angelic countenance. Extremely bright light can cause discomfort, though, and can even be used as a weapon,

Film lighting has three main purposes. The first is clarity of image.
-- quest for greater realism-- the creation of atmosphere or emotional effect.

the main reason why I am using lighting is for clarity and atmosphere effect

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making and/or the production of a film.[1] Many people also consider film producers, cinematographers, film editors, and special effects experts to be filmmakers[2].

A film director is a person who visualizes the screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision. In some cases, film directors do not have absolute creative control. The director can also be selected by the producer. The producer in this case very likely has veto power over everything from the script itself to the final editing of the film, often in anything from slight to extreme opposition to the director's vision.

When directing individual episodes for a television show, a director's responsibilities are somewhat diminished, since the visual look and emotional impression of the TV series has already been established, usually by the person billed as the show's creator, executive producer, or producer. Those directors who choose or are chosen to work in TV traditionally have had to accept that they will not be as lauded, or as well-paid, as their big-screen counterparts.[3]

Film directors are responsible for overseeing creative aspects of a film. They often develop the vision for a film and carry the vision out, deciding how the film should look. They also direct what tone it should have and what an audience should gain from the cinematic experience. Directing a film is a kind of storytelling. Film directors are responsible for approving camera angles, lens effects, lighting, and set design, and will often take part in hiring key crew members. They coordinate the actors' moves and also may be involved in the writing, financing, and editing of a film.

The director works closely with the cast and crew to shape the film and may often take suggestions on pertinent issues. Some like to conduct rigorous rehearsals in preproduction while others do so before each scene. In either case this process is essential as it tells the director as well as other key members of the crew (Director of Photography, stunt choreographer, hair stylist, etc.), how the actors are going to play the scene, which enables them to make any necessary adjustments. Directors often use storyboards to illustrate sequences and concepts, and a director's viewfinder to set up camera angles.

i was confused on what a directo really does.

so i used wikki pedia to get my focus correct so ican direct effectively with knowing my roles




The director also plays a key role in post-production. He/she works with the editor to ensure that the emotions of the scene and the close ups, mid shots and wide or long shots appropriately reflect which character is driving the narrative. The director also advises on the (colour) grading of the final images, adding warmth or frigidity to the composition of the shots to reflect the emotional subtext of the character or environment. They also participate in the sound mix and musical composition of the film.

Methods of film directing which I will adapt

Appear in their film and Outline a general plotline and let the actors improvise dialogue.

with the lighting I chose to go with the red gel. Red has connotations of danger and blood.
so I used it as within the story someone's life is going to be lost due to the gamble which John made. the red foreshadows this.
this

whats the purpose?

While I was sitting posting things up on my Blog, I started to wonder why do people make movies and what is so important about opening sequences?

I came to conclusion that movies entertain, project a message, and are something which people can relate to visually. This then led me to think, what is the point of our film and our opening sequence?

Well our film projects those material things that can all be lost in an instant. The storyline hopefully makes the reason realise that in life there are more valuable things to prioritise. It shows how nasty the world can be; the world can use you, chew you, and spit you out. And the nasty mysterious man may seem bad but at a deeper level he is trying to help John see that what he is chasing for is worthless.

Money makes the world go round. But does it make the sun go up or down?

Does it make the season change? But does it save you from the inevitable race against death? Hopefully the story line of the man falling to the rock bottom will make the audience more conscience that there is more to life.

Moving on the opening, of the scene hopefully intrigues the reader. I want to give away clues which will in engage but not give the whole film away. The purpose of an opening is to entice the audience. Further more I want to establish the mysterious man as evil and a psycho when really he is the smartest and in crazy way trying to help john. So the audience gets a misconceived view of the mysterious man.

After thinking about this I have a clearer view of the underlined purpose of the whole project other than a media project. This will help more as a director to direct the actors to portray this and construct a meaningful opening.

John character development

Using the GOTE process

  • Goal – John’s goal is to be a successful business man and to keep his reputation while trying to go higher. He will do anything to get back to the top rather than face the shame of declining.
  • Obstacle – his obstacle is overcoming his failure and being back at the top.
  • Tactics – john will do anything to get his success back after underperforming and being out cast by business, family and society. So he tries to get back by hard work put then uses a “quick fix” solution how ever during this he gambles more than he can afford and is now battling for two thing which he cherishes the most - his high status in business and his daughter.
  • Expectation – He expect to get the best of both worlds with out paying the price. But as we know in life we can not get all we ask and want. Sacrifices will have to be made. And he will have to choose.

The final story board





o
Reece: camera man and make up artist and editor
Itendo: director, actor, lighting, story developer

we both worked on this stroy board of the opening sequence.
obviously durring the shooting we have added more shots and camera movements
but this is what we used as our skeleton.

ITENDO DESIGNS

THIS IS THE CARD I GOT
FOR THE CARD SCENE
I GOT THE QUEEN OF HEARTS
BECAUSE OF THE HEARTS
WHICH SYMBOLISES
THE LOVE JOHN
HAD FOR HER DUAGHTER
AND BASSICALY
IN HIS LIFE SHE'S HIS QWEEN.



I CHOSE THIS IMAGE AS THE GIRL LOOKS
INNOCENT AND VULNERABLE.
HER PINK T - SHIRT HAS CONNOTATIONS
OF HER BEING A SWEET "GIRLIE"
GIRL
WHICH MAKES HER MORE "LIKEABLE"
and more fragile
This is what I came up with on photo shop.
used the hearts to make it more realistic
however to emphasis and to create enigma
i wrote "The Gamble" which some how suggest the daughter has something to do with the problem
And I put skulls on it to differentiate it from other cards so the audience that this has an importance
and the skulls have a negative connotation to it
this is our production logo... i researched on line for how other production came out with their names and it was usually a name which had a personal meaning and logos are usually simple.
"la familia" is a word which bonded our group together at the basic filim we done in college...our first laugh same from Dylan trying to say "la familia" and Reece just laughing at his spanish accent. Therefore the name is something we all remember. The circle behind it symbolises unity which our group has as we are all different age group, race, and background but through media we become as one. And the urban font "productions" represents the urban youth culture we all follow.

HOW TO BECOME A CHARACTER RESEARCH!!!

To be believable an actor needs to truly study their character. There is a very simple method that an actor can use to do this. It is called the GOTE method. GOTE is a very easy to remember acronym. It stands for Goal, Obstacle, Tactics and Expectation. This is a very basic approach to breaking down a character. Now lets go over each of these objectives.

Goal is what the character is going after. It is the whole purpose for the play. The goal kicks off all of the action. The goal is to be persuaded by the character. Now the goal can't be general, it needs to be something very specific. For example a general goal would be "I want to feel fulfilled by marrying someone." A more specific goal would be "I want John to marry me." The goal needs to be very targeted. A good exercise is to imagine you are starving and there is a sandwich just out of your reach. Now try to reach for it. That is how you need to be when going after your goals.

The obstacle is what stands in the way of the goal. The obstacle needs to be in direct opposition to the goal. For example if the goal is "I want John to marry me" the obstacle may be "My parents hate John." The character needs to struggle with the obstacle to reach their goal. This is what makes a play interesting and not just 2 people having a conversation about the weather on stage.

Tactics are what a character uses to overcome the obstacles and reach the goal. This is were a play gets fun. The tactics make the character real. The tactics a character chooses shows the audience what type of person they are. The tactics can be funny, honorable, deceitful, etc. There can be multiple tactics used by an actor. A good actor will be able to move from tactic to tactic with ease in order to achieve the goal.

Expectation gives tone and excitement to the tactics. This is what stops the goals from being too academic and boring. It shows what is the characters excitement and enthusiasm behind their goal.

You can find what the character's GOTE is by just studying the play. An actor should take notes when reading a play. You can set up a GOTE sheet to have with you as you read. Just take a paper and write Goal, Obstacle, Tactics and Expectation. It is also helpful to write name, sex, age, marital status, education and make up a typical day in the life of the character (a day that does not take place during the play).

It really doesn't take that much extra work to setup a GOTE sheet. A character needs to come alive to the viewer. They need to draw the viewer into their world. An actor needs to do everything to create a character and world that is 100% believable. Studying a character's GOTE sheet can add the 3rd dimension to a character that is often missing in theater.

Michael Russell

Thursday 18 February 2010

The role of a film producer

Seven opening

Gladiator analysis

The Reece and Isaac show



Here Reece and Isaac record another video of Dylan and Robert not showing up to finish our media production, and the thoughts of another media group who like Reece and Isaac want to get a good grade in media.(this is the same day)

The Reece and Isaac show



In this video Reece and Isaac went to the drama studio expecting to get the rest of our filming done, however the other two members failed to attend!!!!

Saturday 13 February 2010

Opening of seven

In the beginning a very basic tune is played, and then slowly you hear abstract, irregular noises which slowly join the slow tune. As the music continues the sounds become more frequent, this gives a very eerie feel. At the very end of the non dietetic soundtrack a non dietetic voice says “you got me closer to god” which gives an insight into what the movie is about.

A close up of an open book is shown however the pages of the book are out of view, there is a cut which reveals a picture of a man’s very deformed hands, it then cuts to show a man using a razor blade to shave his finger prints off. This has been done to show the mind state of the character because he would only want to conceal his fingerprints if he was planning on doing a crime. The fact that he cuts his fingertips off, instead of wearing gloves shows this person is not your average criminal, and along with the weird and unsightly pictures he is looking at gives the initial thought that this man is insane. Another cut shows a very deformed woman’s face in a photo, then cuts to where it introduces the title of the movie, which is seven, however it is written se7en, and looks very messy as if it was scratched on. This is to show the nature of the movie because it is unusual to have both the word seven with the number seven in the middle, because the number seven is in the middle of the word the viewer automatically assumes the number 7 represents the letter v.This also shows the importance of the number seven to the viewer because it has both the word and image in one.

There is a medium close up of the man opening a box, we are shown the plasters on every one of his fingers, and this shows that what is in the box is related to the previous scenes where you see the presumed same person shaving off his fingertips. There is another cut which shows a lot of time and work has been put into his “project” and that he is looking at the pictures for more than just curiosity, and he may have objectives related to this pictures. There are several more cuts showing him sticking photos into pages of writing, this again shows he believes this is a project, the fact that the director made so many scenes showing the man creating pages of these abominable pictures, and clearly showing he is not researching them shows he is not a detective or any sort of protagonist but a antagonist. A medium close up which is completely black except a small space where a small picture of a boy is shown, and the person draws a line through the boys eyes, this is because he is blinding the boy because he doesn’t want to see the boys emotions through his eyes or he may see not see these people with emotions simply objects. By making most of the screen black except the boys face it draws the viewer’s attention to his face. There is another cut which compresses time, which then shows the boys face completely covered in black pen; this is because showing the man slowly draw lines through the boys picture is boring for the viewer because we can see he did this by cutting to when this has been finished.

More scenes show the person studying more gruesome pictures and sticking more of these pictures into his written work. I noticed that all the pictures of young children had a black line running through there eyes, this may be because he sees the children as being innocent so he does not wish to see their eyes, or perhaps the person was abused as a child.

The person then cuts the word god out of an American dollar; this gives the viewer an idea into why the person is studying these pictures. The fact that the person cuts the word god out of the American dollar rather than underlining it as he previously did with the other words, and that the camera zooms up to a close up of the person cutting it out shows the reader the importance of this action, and may give the impression that this person believes god has been taken out of America. Also when the person cuts the word god out of the dollar a non diegetic sound of a man’s voice saying “you got me closer to god”. This reinforces the idea that the person believes he s serving god, or that god has been taken out of American society.

The final cut reveals a small part of the setting in which the person has been doing all this work; you know this because the books on a bookshelf are the same type of book the man was writing in. By showing loads of books similar to the book the person was writing in, it shows the reader that all these books have been filled in with the man’s sick, demented research, this shows the person as a fanatic which is usually a trait a protagonist has in the general media.



Thursday 11 February 2010

opening title sequence for 'seven'

SEVEN

Use of Camera
The opening sequence of Seven starts off with a lot of extreme close ups of the character and objects. The close up of the character’s hand conceals the identity of him and gives the viewer a very vague idea of what he will look like. There is also extreme close up of needles and sharp objects that the person is using on his hands in the scene, which emphasizes brutality and torture of the character and how sadistic they is to be self harming themselves. The close up camera shot of the needles and hand makes the viewer feel uncomfortable, as the cutting of skin is quite accurate and shown to the full. We are instantly given the impression the mental state of the character is not right, as we are shown gruesome shots of sharp objects being placed slowly into his thumb, which makes the viewer feel the pain and express horror upon them. The fact that the whole of the opening sequence is extreme close ups, helps to keep everything obscure from the viewer, as it doesn’t show much but objects and a hand. The close up of the gruesome photos and highlighted writings, gives us the indication that this thriller is going to be a mystery and that person being shown at the beginning with no face, is the villain.
Sound/Editing
The sound throughout the very first two minutes is diegetic sound, as there is no soundtrack that is being played to open the movie. The sound is also very suspense, as you feel that it is building up to something that is going to give you a real shock. The beat of the sound is minor and steady but there is odd screeching noises that interrupt it, to make you feel a sense of discomfort, as it is played to represent pain. The sound of the beat gets louder, as you the scene continues, to emphasize the intensity of the character and the objects in the scene. There are word’s at the end of the song for the first time, which say ‘you got me closer to God’, which could be significant to what occurs later on the film and gives us an idea that there is a religious motive behind the character. After the opening title sequence, we hear the sounds of traffic and police sirens, which could be a direct sound to let us know that the beginning is set in the city with busy rush hour.
Mise-en-Scene
The opening sequence starts off with a book opening, which contrasts in showing that the film is just beginning, just like a book and that a mystery starts now. We then see a series of gruesome sharp objects and the character self harming them. They use a blade to cut the skin of their fingers, which emphasizes their extreme behaviour and shows that they are trying to conceal their identity, by removing their fingerprints. The first scene starts off in the ciy and says Monday, which could mean that the film is going to go by the even days of the week and show different events in that week. We are then introduced to William Somerset, who is fairly old and looks organised by the way he puts his tie and suit on. He also look like a veteran, as his emotions show him lacking enthusiasm, which shows that he has been doing the same thing every day for a long time now. His flat doesn’t seem very family orientated or welcoming and it seems that he is living alone in this gloomy urban neighbourhood. When he sees the dead body, he continues to lack emotion and sensitivity, as if he has seen it all before. We are then introduced to another character, David Mills. There is a huge contrast between the two, as he is younger, cocky and full of energy.

Wednesday 10 February 2010

Costume for protagonist

This is the first draft for the script of 'the Gamble'.

These are the first 5 storyboard drawings for our production"The Gamble"
These are the second 6 storyboard drawings for our production "The Gamble"

Costume for antagonist

PICTURE AND SHOT REFERNCES FROM FIGHT CLUB

THE GAMBLE SYNOPSIS DRAFT TWO

my first synopsis

research on lordof the flies

Questionnaire

ideas for make up

Friday 5 February 2010


Screenwriting:
How To Format Scenes In A Film Script


This is an example of how to format a script on what you need to include to make it good. I will use this to inspire me on how to format my script for the gamble and make it

make up research



In this video clip it shows you how to make injuries such as scratches more realistic.This is important for our group because the main character in "the gamble" has been beaten up.

FIGHT CLUB

FIGHT CLUB THE COUPLE SHOTS AT THE END ARE VERY SIMILAR TO THE SHOTS I WANT TO CREATE.

THE AND ANGLES OF THE CAMERA AND THE GUN IN HIS MOUTH WILL BE USED AS A REFERNCE

THE MAKE UP ON THE GUY SITTINING DOWN IS VERY VIVID AND I WILL USE THIS TO DIRECT THE MAKE UP ARTIST WHAT TYPE OF MAKE WILL BE SUTIBLE!!!!

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/03/28/fight-club/

part one dra5ft of story board ( not finished)











Thursday 4 February 2010

Sams comment

Nothing on blog - this must improve, you are already falling behind. Preliminary grade for planning & research: U

we will talk about this in lesson on friday - come to lesson with CLEAR group roles for production