Showing posts with label Research and Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research and Planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Creating the set This was one of the hardest and time consuming parts of the project, which required a huge deal of planning and cooperation. It was a huge mission to endeavour to manipulate a media classroom into a bedroom situation.
The Main Bedroom The bedroom we create was made out of MDF panes which were provided by the drama department, it took a lot of hard work to get the panes as drama was often using them and they clashed with the our time table. When using the panes they were very tall and heavy and we had to transport them to the media room every time we rehearsed, they were held down with brick weights and getting them into position was difficult between the three of us. To make them look more like walls we covered them in pink and white fabrics acting wallpaper, this meant ironing stapling and using a ladder to get to the top of the panes. Our set all together was made up of five wood panes and the set was only half of the room. We only built two walls because this saved time and we felt we could produce our film from our storyboard using these. Along with actually creating the bedroom set we needed to add the little touches that made this a girly room, this meant bringing in a load of furniture and props from our houses. I got a lift and I brought in a table-chest of drawers, a camping bed, a wicker basket, pillows, photo frames, girly ornaments to make the room seem real.
To make our bed we used a camping bed which we had raised on stage blocks provided by the drama department, we used a bed sheet to neaten up the bed and make it look more lifelike. I believe a big part of making the room seem like a young girls room were the small touches like clothes on the floor, posters and cd’s which we had to set up for several hours the night before filming.
The Door When filming we did not have a door attached to our set which was included in our scene. We had to shoot a different door and combine the shots making them look realistic whilst editing.
We conducted some research on Tag lines and why they are used :
What is a Tag line ?
(quoted from wikipedia) A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product (like a film), or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product. Some tag lines are successful enough to warrant inclusion in popular culture.
Below is my own definition of tag lines and research on tag lines that I have derived.Appolgies for the bad quality this was scanned in from my book.
As a group we could not decided on a name for our film, we thought it would be a good idea to jot down some thoughts therefore everyone was gave a chance to express their opionon. We create a chart of titles and after listing all we could think of we went through and decided whether we liked them or not. We also wrote a brief quote on why we did on did not like the title suggested.
It just so happens that it was the first title we thought of that would become the title of out film "BEING ANNIE" was selected for its passive, short, snappy and easily memorable qualities.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
As we are creating an opening to a modernised fairytale it is important to do some research on fairy tales. I started my listing all the fairy tales I has enjoyed and remembered from my childhood.
The ones I came up with were Peter Pan, Aladdin, Rapunzel, Snowhite, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Little Mermaid and the Beauty and the beast. I noticed that all of the fairy tales I could remember has been re-produced from old tales by Disney. So really our aim was so create a Disney style film however using a low budget. Realistically on a schools budget we could not make a major blockbuster like Disney films however we could create an independent film with the treatment as good as a Disney one.
I decided then to conduct some research into common themes and codes and conventions of a fairytale. Here is a list i derived :
1) A good fairytale includes aspect of magic or luck. 2) Always a battle between good and evil and to reassure the audience good normally prevails. 3)Normally, fairy tales hold a moral or message such as patience is a virtue.
Settings Fairy tales often take place in : 1) enchanted forests 2) castles 3)gardens 4)mystical made up lands
Characters often used 1) The innocent and trapped little girl. 2) A fairy god mother 3) The evil step mother 4) The handsome prince.
I then started to look at modernised fairy tales as a whole and analyse them :
Enchanted
A Cinderella Story
Fairytale Research - Morals
Beauty and the Beast
The moral in the Beauty and the Beast is looks can be deceiving. The problem in this story is that the character (Beast) was once a handsome prince however, a curse was placed over his kingdom after refusing to help can old lady in which she turned him and everything else in the castle into thing they don't want to be for example, there is a candle, a clock, a teapot however, the prince received it worse as at twenty he is trapped as a beast. The resolution of the story contrives from Belle being able to look further than physical appearance as eventually falls in love with the beast and the curse is lifted. As the main audience for this film is young children though it has many audiences the purpose of the film is the convey a message to the film which in this film shows that looks can be deceiving, in addition by the prince getting cursed by the old lady also makes children scared of being horrible to others.
Cinderella The main moral in Cinderella is good things will come in time and overall matches our narrative best. The problem with in the film is that Cinderella is trapped by her evil step mother however also the fact that Cinderella is of a lower class than the prince which is frowned upon still today. Cinderella suffers self esteem issues and can only confide in her mice friends and fairy god mother. Th resolution of the story brought together by Cinderella sneaking off to the ball after her fairy god mother dressed her up. There she dances with a prince however, has to get home as the clock strikes twelve. A clever sub-plot of her losing her glass slipper is used and the prince tests every girl in the town to see whether the shoe will fit. Her two ugly step sisters fight endeavouring to fit their fat feet into the shoe. It is not until the handsome prince notices Cinderella in her rags and edges her on to try on the shoe. It fits and the two get married and fall in love allowing Cinderella to escape the clutches of her evil step mother. The story teaches the audience that if you wait long enough and try hard enough something good will come.
The Little Mermaid The Little mermaid does not live on the land she lives in the sea with her father Tritan, she has a wits, beauty and song all under her name and the evil Ursula is jealous of this. One day Ariel goes of floundering with Flounder against her fathers wishes where she sees a boat in trouble. On the boats is Eric, who struggles with the conditions of the sea and knocks himself out. The mermaid helps him by taking back to shore and she sits there watching him until he wakes. This is where we encounter the problem in the story Ariel has now fallen in love with Eric however, the two are completely different species Eric cannot live in water and Ariel cannot live on land as she has a tail. So when tempted by Ursulas bargain of taking Ariel's voice in exchange for legs she excepts. The resolutution of the story ends when Ariel gets her beautiful voice back and marries Eric. The moral of this story is a simple one, don't talk to strangers.
Snowhite The moral again in this story is don't talk to strangers. The problem in the story is that Snowhite's step mother wants to be the fairest of them all but Snowhite is bless with the best looks. The step mother cannot accept that the magic mirror tell her "Snowhite is the fairest of them all" The resolution of the story is that the evil step mother who turns herself into a witch in an attempt to get Snowhite to eat a posioned apple is killed by the forest animals and Snowhite is awakened by true loves kiss.
Possible Modern Fairytale Ideas
Idea 1 - Inspiration taken from Snowhite An older sister looks after her seven brothers and sisters in a council house. However, with so many children bills cannot be paid and the baliffs want to take away some of the famillies stuff leaving them with next to nothing. Her luck is changed when she falls in love with a social worker and they get married solving the famillies financial problems.
Characterisation -The Baliffs act like the bad in this story taking on the role of the witch in the orginal story. - The seven children play the seven dwarfs in the orginal. -The social worker become true love. - The older sister becomes Snowhite
Feedback and Evaluation This is a good idea as it is a comtemporary version of society using sterotypical lower class issues which lower class face such as social services and depbt problems.
Idea 2 - Inspiration from Cinderella A young boy falls in love with an actor, and they instantly fall in love although her two evil step brothers prevent her from marrying the boy because he is of a lower class. So they family decide to leave the country pulling their sister away from the boy, However, she leaves a letter to her lover explaining the situtation and her rushes to her house to catch her before she leaves for the airport. However, it is to late she has already gone. Fortunenately, she forgets her passport and has to return home to a rather reluctant boy at the door and the two share true loves kiss.
Characterisation - The boy takes a Cinderella type role of lower class and social status. - The girl becomes the prince role. - Her brothers play the evil step sister role.
The Lion and The Slave
In class we looked at the Lion and The Slave story and completed a worksheet on the narrative structure which is included in the PowerPoint below :
