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Story Board

Labels

Shooting Timetable

Saturday 6th December: shooting field scene.
Megan to bring: camera, white shirt and trousers, make up, spray bottle.
Gabriella to bring: umbrella, white top, simple, white trainers.

Date to be confirmed for clinic scene.
Megan to bring: camera, white trousers, make up, spray bottle.
Gabriella to bring: Blood capsules, medicine bottle, white trainers, white doctors coat, black, men's trousers, black, men's ploished shoes.

Film Synopsis

Grace is settling in to a 6 month sentence at the ‘Easy Living’ clinic where she is recovering from a mental disorder. Following her arrival, awful things begin to happen. She finds her self in awkward situations with the carers and they begin to punish and beat her for reasons unknown.
Having successfully escaped, Grace finds herself in unfamiliar countryside and begins to have flashbacks of her time at the clinic. She passes out from confusion.

Opening scene

The screen starts off black, and the young girl (Grace) appears in the screen with a close up shot of her face. She looks distressed, sweaty and dirty as she has just escaped from a mental hospital where she had been staying but the doctors there do not know what her illness is. Then the shot changes to a spiral shot to a long shot and follows her running through fields in a state of panic whilst dramatic music is playing. Whilst she is running she experiences flashbacks of her stay at the hospital showing her with her hands tied behind her back on the floor with blood on her face and clothing. A doctor walks into the room and places some medication on her bedside table and seems to not to notice or care about the fact that she is tied on the floor in obvious pain. This is because this is all part of her mental illness and is not actually happening. In this shot she is showed spitting blood onto the floor and having blood on her t-shirt. This is not present in the beginning of the film but is after the flash back when the shot returns to her running through the fields. This is because with most films involving mentally ill people you see what they see and are thinking about. Before when she is first shown running she is not thinking about what happened to her whereas after the flashback where it is returned to her running again she is thinking about and so the blood is visible.

In a state of panic she begins to have loads of quick sharp flashbacks and flashes of white which rapidly appear in and out of her head. This leads her to have a panic attack and faint on the floor. The shot then goes to POV shot and you see her eyes blinking with her vision blurring fading into a blank screen.

Character Profile

Name: Grace
Age: 17
Appearance: Long blonde hair, blue eyes.

Grace is the main character of the thriller film. Following several incidents which occur within her home, she is diagnosed with a mental disorder and has been sentenced to 6 months in a recovery centre. Realising that she is getting mistreated within the recovery centre, she decides to run away. The opening scene of the film shows Grace running away and a flashback of an example of how she was treated. If the film were to continue and end up being full length, the audience would come to discover that Grace’s flashback is not of what happened in reality. Because of her mental disorder (which had not been correctly diagnosed by doctors) she believes that certain things are happening, when in reality, they are not. In the scene which shows Grace lying tied up on the floor, she is actually just lying on her bed semi-conscious. This truth would be told later in the film by playing what would appear to be footage from a camera inside the room at the recovery centre.

Costume and Props

Costume-
Girl
• 2 plain white T-shirts-one should be clean, the other with blood
• 1 pair of White trousers
• 1 pair of white trainers, clinical looking

Clinic worker
• 1 pair of Black, men’s trousers
• 1 White, doctor’s jacket
• 1 pair of Black, polished men’s shoes

Props-
• Bottle with tablets, sticker should have a long name for medication
• Make-up e.g. Mascara for girl
• Hair brush to make girls hair messy
• Blood capsules for moment where girl spits out blood
• Bed with white sheets to show simplicity
• White pillow case
• Small, simple wooden table for clinical room.
• Spray bottle to spray girls face to look like sweat during running scene

The completely white outfit for the main character (Grace) is worn to show that she belonged to a mental asylum. It is also worn to show her innocence, and this contrasts with the background of the dark forest. The clinic worker's outfit is worn to show that he is businesslike, and that the audience should not get emotionally attached to him, because he is almost like a stereotype of a doctor. Everything inside the room of the asylum (apart from the wooden table) will be white. This represents simplicity and will hopefully create a realistic looking room belonging to an asylum.

Audiences and Institutions

Case Study: This Is England

Certification: 18

Frequent use of strong language and violence occur throughout the film; this is one of the main reasons that ‘This Is England’ has such a high certificate rating in the UK. In other countries, the film has been given a widely varying range of certificate ratings. In France for instance, ‘This Is England’ is rated as a U which suggests that the opinions of different cultures on the suitability of a film can differ greatly. English audiences can still relate to the issues which are shown through the film because of the familiar locations. This makes the film more personal to the English audience and therefore gives it reason to have a higher certificate rating. The use of drugs and violence is shown in a way which makes this type of lifestyle seem exciting, therefore this film appeals to the 18 - 25 demographic, including adolescent boys. This film could also have been issued the high certificate rating to try to prevent younger children watching the film and wanting to follow in the footsteps of the young boy in the film. The film has a theme of racism running through it and seeing as this was not uncommon in the 80s, racist comment are frequently used by the skin head characters.

Filming Locations:
Filming took place in an area of Lincolnshire called Grimsby and some scenes were shot in Nottingham. This is relevant to the storyline and adds even more realistic elements to the films as it was set in this area of England.

Production Companies/Distribution:
Big Arty Productions
EM Media
Film4
Optimum Releasing
Screen Yorkshire
UK Film Council
Warp Films

Set up in 1999, ‘Warp Films’ is a production company, based in Sheffield. The company employs 3 full time members of staff, one of which is Shane Meadows. Set up by the Labour Government in 2000, The UK Film Council (UKFC) operates to promote the British film industry. It is funded through sources such as the National Lottery and …. It’s objective is ‘To stimulate a competitive, successful and vibrant UK film industry and culture, and to promote the widest possible enjoyment and understanding of cinema throughout the nations and regions of the UK.’(Quoted from Wikipedia) ‘Film4 Productions’ is a British broadcasting company, which is also a part of Channel 4. They have taken part in the construction of many films in the UK. ‘This Is England’ was distributed by ‘Optimum Releasing’ on DVD in the UK. This distribution company is well known for their contract with ‘Studio Ghibli’, which has produced many anime films including ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘My Neighbor Totoro’.

Reviews:

UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/apr/27/drama2
http://www.timeout.com/film/news/1481/lff-this-is-england-review.html

The overall impression that the reviews give is that Thomas Turgoose acted brilliantly as ‘Shaun’ and the storyline was impressionable and interesting to watch.

USA
http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/movies/27engl.html
At the beginning of this review, it seems that the violent aspect of the film is being focused on too much. Unlike the UK reviews, Manohla Dargis fails to relate with the morals and good qualities of the storyline, and instead concentrates on the bad.

User Comments

Gary – London (UK) – 9/10
‘A snippet of life in 1983- told through the eyes of an impressionable 12 year old-against the back-drop of the Falklands War.This film shows Director Shane Meadows at his best, a new generation Mike Leigh/Ken Loach. Gritty, ultra-real story telling (not least because it reflects time and events from Meadows own childhood.From the outside this movie might look like an all out "Doom and Gloom" exercise (akin to Nil By Mouth?), but it is so much more! It has a great sense of love and nostalgia for the time and place-not too mention the Skinhead culture. However, it also shows how the initially innocent fashion trend of the Skinhead- which came from the "Mods" and "Ska" music scene- was twisted and subverted by a racist element from within. Fashioning a striking look (near bald heads with imposing Dr Martin boots) a perfect foil for those wanting to make a clear impression of aggression for the National Front.Performances are great- Turgoose as the young fatherless lonely boy- searching for someone to lead the way. Special mention to Stephen Graham as the aggressive, neo-Nazi, Combo. He is a horribly violent man, but played with such depth by Graham, you can see he has his own issues which have destroyed him. Ultimately, he is the saddest and most tragic of all the characters in it.Graham's is an Oscar/Bafta performance if ever there was one! Summary- A brilliant slice of life from the 80's reconstructed with love , affection, humour and a dash of "Venom"- eat your heart out "Spideyman"!’

Emuir- 1 – Florida (US) – 5/10
I found the film overall to be depressing and I disliked the foul language, yet it is not a film that I will forget. It does give an insight into how the gangs recruit isolated young people. The young boy has recently lost his father in the pointless Falklands war. His mother is a quiet unassertive widow trying to cope with raising a young son as well as the loss of her husband in Margaret Thatcher's vanity war. They live in a dreary treeless council estate in a time of high unemployment as nationalized industries are being shut down and firms are moving to countries where costs are lower. The tourist England of the picture postcard villages, titled upper classes, Masterpiece Theater, boarding school, country pubs and everything we Anglophiles think of as England is not present in the lives of these young men. They might as well be living in a small town in the former Soviet Union. At first, the lonely fatherless boy is befriended by a bunch of cheerful, friendly, but aimless youths who take an interest in him more as a little mascot. Every gang has its wannabe who runs errands and makes the older boys feel more important. Suddenly he has a purpose and a sense of belonging to a family. All this ends when combo, a thug, comes out of jail and takes over. Things take a darker turn as Combo recruits them for the racist National Front. I was a little bothered by Steven Graham's Liverpool accent, as the film was set in East Yorkshire, but I told myself that he had probably moved in. I would have liked to see a more extensive "making of" documentary which explained where they found all those 80's items in the convenience store. Clothes and furniture are easy, but the small stuff and groceries! Although I found the film disturbing, after all, who wants to be entertained by watching young thugs fighting and swearing, it did give me more of an understanding of the hopelessness of the young men depicted in the film. If you want to be entertained, don't watch it. If you want to learn something, I recommend it.

Gold Standard:

A1: 4/4
A2: 4/4
A3: 4/4
A4: 4/4
B: 4/4
C1: 2/2
C2: 1/1
D1: 1/1
D2: 1/1
D4: 0/1
D5: 1/1
D6: 1/1
D7: 1/1
D8: 1/1

TOTAL: 30
The pass mark for tax relief is 16 and the total number of mark to be ticked is 31 so it is clear that ‘This Is England’ can definitely be classed as a British film.

Movie Connections:
American History X – has similar themes to ‘This is England’. It covers issues such as racism and has a main focus of violence. Both films have a deeper meaning to them and later on, reveal morals about love, friendship and family.

Awards Won and Nominated:

2008

BAFTA Awards

Won - BAFTA Film Award – Best British Film
Mark Herbert, Shane Meadows

Nominated – BAFTA Film Award – Best Screenplay
Shane Meadows

Empire Awards – UK

Nominated – Empire Award – Best British Film

Nominated – Empire Award – Best Newcomer
Thomas Turgoose

Golden Trailer Awards

Nominated – Golden Trailer – Best Independent Poster

London Critics Circle Film Award

Nominated – ALFS Award – British Breakthrough – Acting
Thomas Turgoose

Nominated – ALFS Award – British Director of the Year
Shane Meadows

Nominated – ALFS Award – British Film of the Year

Mons International Festival of Love Films

Won – Best European Film
Shane Meadows

Won – Young European Jury Award
Shane Meadows

2007

Bangkok International Film Festival

Nominated – Golden Kinnaree Award – Best Film
Shane Meadows

Flanders International Film Festival

Nominated – Grand Prix

Gijón International Film Festival

Won - Young Audience Award ("Enfants Terribles")
Shane Meadows

Newport International Film Festival

Won – Best Director Award
Shane Meadows

2006

British Independent Film Awards
Won – British Independent Film Award – Best British Independent Film

Won – British Independent Film Award – Most Promising Newcomer (On Screen)
Thomas Turgoose

Nominated – British Independent Film Award – Best Director
Shane Meadows

Nominated – British Independent Film Award – Best Screenplay
Shane Meadows

Nominated – British Independent Film Award – Best Supporting Actor/Actress
Joseph Gilgun

Nominated – British Independent Film Award – Best Supporting Actor/Actress
Stephen Graham

Nominated – British Independent Film Award – Best Technical Achievement
Ludovico Einaudi

London Film Festival

Won – UK Film Talent Award
Mark Herbert

Other Films Made By Shane Meadows:

Meadows has directed a total of 10 films; ‘Somers Town’ (2008), ‘This Is England’ (2006), ‘The Stairwell’ (2005), ‘Northern Soul’ (2004), ‘Dead Man's Shoes’ (2004), ‘Once Upon a Time in the Midlands’ (2002), ‘A Room for Romeo Brass’ (1999), ‘24 7’ (1997), ‘Small Time’ (1996/II), and ‘Where's the Money, Ronnie?’ (1996).

Thomas Turgoose’s Audition:
The way in which Thomas Turgoose was auditioned, was extremely rare for the casting of a main role in a film. A man, possibly a casting director, filmed Turgoose, whilst asking questions about his life and interests. In this way, the casting director realised that Turgoose had a similar personality to that of ‘Shaun’s’ character. Turgoose had been expelled from school for violent behaviour; this behaviour showed the same sort of frustration that Shaun feels in the film. When asked what he thought of acting, Turgoose replied ‘It’s alright’. This seemed to be one of the factors that Shane Meadow was looking for when finding a performer to play Shaun. He didn’t want an experienced actor, he wanted a young boy who had felt a lot of the emotions as the character and had a lot of attitude. This technique worked especially well with Meadows’ way of not scripting the scenes. Turgoose was able to form a natural reaction, which was therefore realistic and believable.

Sin City - Frank Miller/Robert Rodriquez (2005)

Opening Shot – In the background, sounds of traffic from a large city are played. A woman stands in a long, red dress standing on a balcony. This shows her vulnerability because she could fall or be pushed over the edge. Her red dress represents love and sexuality. A vast cityscape stretches out in front of her.
Mise en Scene – Rain lashes down onto the paved floor, this is a classic thriller signifier and can represent sadness or depression.
Opening Credits - A spinning shot of a large city morphs into the words ‘Sin City’ which is spelt out by the tops of certain buildings. Comic style pictures and stills from graphic novels are shown across the screen along with flashes of light. This technique is commonly used to show that the film has been based on a comic book. Blood red writing slides across the screen to display the cast’s names. The colour of the writing gives the idea that there will be dangerous things going on in the film. Contemporary music plays in the background which has a heavy bass line and sounds very mysterious yet dramatic.

Perfume Advert

(Bottom) This was the original photograph that I took for the perfume advert. I liked the positioning of the body and arms and the eyeline was facing upwards. For the final advert (Top) I worked with the photo on Photoshop to change certain aspects. I enhanced certain colours and made the dress a darker shade of pink so it stood out more against the green leaves. I added contrast between all of the colours and removed blemishes from the skin in an attempt to create a professional looking advert. The branches of the tree create an arch around the model which draws the viewers eyes to the centre of the photograph. The overall effect gave me the idea of Eve in the Garden of Eden. With this idea, the bottle would seem to represent the apple which Eve takes off the tree, therefore the viewers should feel a subconscious urge to take the bottle. I chose the bottle because it is a rounded shape and looks almost like one of the apples in the photograph. I tinted it with pink so it fitted in with the model's dress. I couldn't find the font that I wanted to use so i am still unsatisfied with my advert. Apart from that, i am mostly pleased with it.

Planning of Perfume Advert

Initial Ideas

For my perfume advert, I knew that I wanted the model to be in a tree to show how she was natural and fitted in well with nature. I chose the design on the left for my actual advert because it showed the model to be adventurous aswell as beautiful. The model is looking towards the sky which is used in many adverts. To me, it shows that the model is optimistic about the future. The colour of the dress shows that the model has a bold personality and isn't afraid to stand up for what she wants.

Analysis of Touch of Pink- Lacoste Perfume Advert

This picture of the advert (right) is slightly different from the one I was analysing.
A blonde woman wearing a short, pink dress and white boots hovers in the sky with her arms out to the side and one leg bent, this gives the impression that she is flying or weightless. The model is staring up into the sky and she has a little smile on her face which gives the idea that she is meant to be somewhere else but is currently right where she wants to be. Her interesting body shape draws the audience’s eye to this advert.
Near the bottom of the page, the clouds behind the model are a pink colour which could be thought of as representing a ‘rose tinted world’; this idea could appeal to many people. On the bottom, right hand corner of the advert, the same colour scheme is shown on the bottle. It starts as dark pink at the bottom and gets lighter at the top just like sky in the background.
The models clothes seem fairly childish as they are simple and they have the feeling of the 60s style as well. This would appeal to the audience because the model’s clothes show that she is carefree and happy and the advert makes them think that by wearing the perfume, they could feel the same. The model’s dress also has the Lacoste logo on it with gives the company a chance to advertise their products even more.
This advert has also thought of men being the target audience; you can very nearly see up the model’s skirt which I think would appeal to men. The advert has to appeal to men as well as women because most of the time, men buy perfume for their partners and by making the model seem fairly exposed, Lacoste have succeeded in getting the men’s attention.
The name and theme of the perfume would especially appeal to women who favour the colour pink. Lacoste may have stereotyped women a bit here because it is not the vast majority of women who would choose pink as their favourite colour, even if it seems like it should be that way.
The name of the perfume ‘Touch of pink’ is displayed just above the perfume bottle. It is the same colour as the models dress, so it immediately draws the readers attention and it is all in lowercase letters, which makes it seems quite fun and shows that there are ‘no rules’. This mixes with the idea of the model seeming like a child, which should appeal to the women audience because it seems like the perfume will free them from their grown-up responsibilities. The bottle is a very simple shape which fits in with the childish them of the advert. The world ‘Lacoste’ is in a larger font and is all in capital letter to show that out of everything in the advert, the word ‘Lacoste’ is the most important.

Changing the Meaning

This photo (left) creates a huge sense of mystery. The dark shadows and averted eyeline suggests that something sinister is going on. This is almost a close-up and shows some details on the person's face. The other photo (right) is a birds eye view shot taken from a balcony. It also creates a certain sense of mystery as it is in black and white and the model is using interesting body language. His arms are folded and his face is showing expressions of surprise and also slight humour. The t-shirt and hair are very dark and if the face and arms had been made slightly lighter (using photoshop) the shot would be using chiaroscuro lighting.

Perfume Advert Analysis

Charlize Theron is shown wearing a lacy, low cut top or dress and a large gold earring in her right ear. She has one hand placed at the top of the dress and looks as if she is about to pull it off like she ‘can’t contain herself’, while the other hand tugs at her earring.

The advert has a main theme of gold (gold earring, gold eyeliner, golden skin, gold bottle) and the background is fairly dark but shows a blurry chandelier which gives the idea that wealthy people would wear this perfume.

The model’s eyes stare down into the camera and one eyebrow is raised which gives the impression that she knows something that the reader doesn’t and that she is in control. It makes the advert intriguing and mysterious and also makes the viewer want to be just like the model.

This advert also should appeal to men. The model shows a lot of skin and cleavage which automatically draws a man’s attention and makes him think of his own partner in the way he is thinking about the model, which consequently should make him want to buy the perfume for his partner.

The bottle of perfume is placed in the bottom, right hand corner of the advert. It is large and gold which makes it look very expensive and grand. ‘Sparkles’ have been added to the bottle to make it seem more special and they make the bottle stand out even more. Next to the bottle, it says the perfume name ‘J’adore L’absolu’. The word J’adore, meaning I Love, is in a large Serif font which I think is supposed to represent the passion of the advert. ‘L’absolu’ is in a smaller font and is in italic writing to stress the meaning of it which is ‘the absolute one’. The fact that the perfume name in French, probably appeals to the viewer because it seems more unique, more special and by owning the perfume they may think that they will also become ‘unique’ and ‘special’. In the top, right hand corner, ‘Dior’ is displayed in white, on top of the darkest background. It is also in a serif font and it gives the impression of wealth and of being ‘proper’. At the very bottom of the advert it says ‘The new Eau de Parfum: J’adore L’absolu’. Notice how it says ‘The’ instead of ‘A’, this is so the advert sticks in the viewers mind as the only new perfume that has recently been released.

Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels

Like many thrillers, this film started off with extreme close-ups of a characters eyes. The characters are male and speak with low pitched voices. I have found that this creates a huge sense of mystery and intrigue as you can't possibly know who the character is.
Alot later on in the film, a man is shown being sick in an alleyway after having just lost a hugely important game of cards. A high angle shot is used, this creates a really good affect because it shows that the man could be feeling extremely small inside and by looking down on him we, as the audience, seem to have a better prospect than the character.
Alot of interesting shots are used. In one character's house, there are bars surrounding the door to prevent anyone from getting further inside the house. Whenever there are people inside the caged area, it immediately occurs to the audience that they are criminals. This is because the image looks as if they are in a prison cell.

'Vertigo'

Having watched certain sections of Alfred Hitchcock's films, 'Vertigo', I feel I've learnt a few things about thrillers already. The opening credits show extreme close-ups on a woman's lips and eye with a rotating spiral behind them. Spirals are a main theme throughout the film from the square, spiral staircase that John Ferguson (the detective) has to climb to the representation of the twisting, turning plot.
This film includes classic thriller signifiers; the Feme fatale, the flawed hero (who is afraid of heights) and a main theme of mystery and deciet.

The Thriller Conventions

Most thrillers revolve around a source of crime and corruption, often using ‘ordinary’ settings, either to create a false sense of security for the audience or to increase the audience’s awareness of the likelihood of the plot. Atmospheric music takes a huge part in the Mise en scene of thriller films, it builds up the tension and suspense and without it a scene could have a completely different feel to it. Thrillers often make use of close or vast, open spaces to create the feeling of claustrophobia and panic. Staircases, corridors and labyrinths are all examples of enclosed spaces which are frequently used in thrillers. Twists and turns of the plot are often used to keep audiences captivates; the film ‘Vertigo’ shows many images of spirals to symbolise the twist of the plot.

Beginning of the Blog

It's extremely hard to know where to begin...so I'll start with this:

In media studies, we are currently studying thriller films and their conventions, in order to understand them completely when it comes to making the first three minutes of our own. So far we’ve looked at still images from ‘Sin City’ and short sections from ‘vertigo’ and ‘China Town’. For my own research I have also recently watched
‘The Bourne Identity’, ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ and ‘Battle Royale’. So far, this has been extremely useful and I’ve already got some ideas for the thriller we will be filming.