Final Cut

Intextuality in "Out of the Woods" (Lauren)

 Intertextual References (Lauren)

Intertexuality is an important convention to take into consideration when filming any genre of film or television show. It cross references popular culture and amplifies meaning within the media product. A show that utilizes this convention frequently is American cartoon Family Guy, that adds intertextual references for comic effect. 

Here Family Guy mimics a shot practically identically from the Thriller film North by Northwest, by Alfred Hitchcock in order to make the scene more humorous and attract a wider audience due to the 1959 release date of the film. Widening our audience is something we want to achieve with our intertextuality, hence using current immensely popular film, The Hunger Games, hopefully attracting a similar demographic of viewers.

Along with The Hunger Games, we also took inspiration from Inception and Sin City. Whilst studying the opening to Inception an idea was conceived in my mind to use an outdoor, daylight setting to film our Thriller, as well as having a character washed up either on a shore or a bank somewhere. Once we had established our plot it was decided this washed up character would be a corpse on the bank of a stream in making intertextual reference to Leonardo DiCaprio's character washed up and alive on a beach. The handheld camera shots used in this scene in Inception are to be mimicked when we film our Thriller opening, the canted angles intended to show confusion and disorientation. 

There are a series of shots we intend to lift directly from the opening of The Hunger Games and recreate for our Thriller with our protagonist. When we had decided upon the location, the woods, and that our character George would use these woods as a playground we had to establish what kinds of things he would be doing and playing with. Once I had suggested we cast my cousin as George, who coincidently does a lot of archery, the idea of him playing with a bow and arrow fell into place. In current films it is characters associated with forests and woodlands who utilize bows and arrows, Merida from Brave, Legolas from Lord of the Rings and of course, Katniss from The Hunger Games. Because The Hunger Games is a dystopian Thriller, it has similar conventions that we wanted to explore in our Thriller as well as a very similar location setting. So we lifted the following shots and aim to mimic them in order to attract a wider modern young adult audience.

Finally we took inspiration from Thriller Sin City, and the equilibrium and disequilibrium that is shown within the film, or more simply worded, the ordinary meets extraordinary convention often explored in Thriller films. An ordinary moment in the beginning of Sin City is when The Salesmen offers The Customer a cigarette on a balcony looking over the city. The extraordinary moment is that he then turns and shoots her for no immediately established reason. The ordinary we want to show in ours is obviously our character George playing normally in the woods, all light-hearted and happy, this contrasting with the extraordinary moment at the end of him finding the corpse. We also took influence from the colours used in Sin City, the colours of red and black particularly, hence the red scarf and red gloves we will use whilst filming. Red connoting danger.

Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

 Technically, since our preliminary task, we have improved significantly. When we filmed our preliminary task there was little to no thought put into lighting prior to our shoot, which I now blame on lack of experience in understanding the amount of thought and preparation that goes into making a scene come to life. Because of this, when we came to film, everything was very, very dark as we had no fill lights to brighten the scene. The shadows we created were not meaningful in anyway and no specific lighting techniques were achieved.

Contrast in lighting between two shots merely seconds apart, creating a lack of continuity. 

One of my favourite shots from the preliminary task is the close up of the door handle. I just think it really sets the scene for what it is to come, establishing the characters as extraordinary. However, because of bad lighting, this shot is ruined. It's a shame, but it appears as though it has a grainy, sepia filter because of the lack of light. If we had known how to alter the contrast and brightness of shots on premier pro like we do now, we could have made several of the shots brighter and alter their colouration so they all were similarly lit as opposed to completely random, therefore create a lack of continuity.

In our Thriller opening, lighting was taken very seriously because of our failure on the preliminary task. We learnt from our mistakes and instead filmed in broad daylight. This was because of numerous reasons, one being we were afraid that we didn't have the set up to create a decently lit opening, and two because of our intertextual references to both The Hunger Games and Inception, their openings, (which we took inspiration from), both filmed in broad daylight also. I was happy with what we achieved within our lighting though, personally being able to create a lens flare, the contrast in lighter and darker regions of this shot invoking drama.

Camerawork in our preliminary task was also abysmal. The use of shot reverse shot, due to lack of footage, was far too fast and jumpy, not really aiding to support our already weak narrative. This particular scenario taught me that you can never have too much footage, and although we had to go out and reshoot the ending of our Thriller opening, this was due to camera reasons, we still managed to capture a considerable amount more shots than we actually needed. In our Thriller opening, the camerawork creates a linear narrative in terms of camerawork and editing. The jump cuts we use are intentional, and not because we have a lack of footage. Also, the only use of shot reverse shot we applied to our Thriller held significance, a steadicam close up of our character George, showing his fear to the audience, switching to a handheld zoom in toward the corpse, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience. I think this shows how far we've come in understanding how every shot holds such significance, and the importance of a detailed storyboard, which we didn't have for our preliminary task. 

We didn't use a soundtrack in our preliminary task, just diegetic dialogue, and looking back, I regret this decision. In our Thriller, because we layered soundtrack we managed to build a greater sense of tension, and juxtapositions, everything interlocking with one another. We edited sound out of clips when people or a unwanted diegetic noise can be heard in the background. We didn't edit sound at all in our preliminary task, making for a few shots where the beginning of a word can be heard before quickly cutting elsewhere. This editing, as well as sound recording was messy and made for an amateur final product, hereby teaching us how effective sound editing is to making the final product appear more professional. 

Finally, in our preliminary task, we thrived to use a fade to black at the end when Fiona blows out the candle, to make for a sense of drama and form a threatening atmosphere. But again, due to our lack of knowledge of how to use premier pro, we just let the film come to an abrupt stop, which in truth looks terrible. We use a fade to black, and a soundbridge at the end of our Thriller in such an exciting manner than leaves the audience hooked, which is something we wanted to achieve in our preliminary, but just simply failed at doing.

After our preliminary task, our group split up. Due to a lack of communication, one person who was in our group for the preliminary task joined after we'd filmed, therefore making the situation complicated. And so, when it came to creating our Thriller opening, he and another member left. This lead me to realise that working in a smaller compact group of three is so much easier than working in a larger group of five as it shares the workload out more evenly. Our smaller group also made for an easier development of an engaging narrative, as because of similarities in personality in real life we were able to stay on the same page regarding how our plot would play out, as well as bounce ideas off one another. This was as opposed to our larger group for the preliminary task with many contrasting opinions.  We could have debates over which Thriller conventions to comply to and which to defy and make our own. It was so nice to have to support amongst ourselves, after I had edited the first draft of our Thriller opening, Emily took over to bring it to the final cut, but I would sit and give my opinion constantly as to what had to change and we changed it. Deadlines we were met with ease due to this teamwork .

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Failed attempt at chiaroscuro lighting. 

Flipped, high angle shot taken from the tree.

Steady panning shot of trees.

Presentational Devices

In my blog I have used a series of mind maps, prezi's, powerpoints and videos clips. I find it is easier to condense the point I am making on mind maps and powerpoints, therefore telling my reader my thoughts directly instead of warbling on. Prezi's are convenient in the sense they are presented in a very flowing manner, I am able to write large chunks of text, but I don't have to present it in that way, instead in a more aesthetically pleasing form. All three of these devices allow me to use photo references and then expand my ideas based on them in a contained, presentable way. I also have embedded video clips throughout to make for easy context to what I am talking about, this again lessening my word count as I don't have to word for word describe the scene. Essentially these extra ways of displaying my ideas make for a better and more specific read. 

How Has Technology Helped in my Research and Planning?

The internet was a wonderful place when it came to research and plan how to create a Thriller opening. I have been able to search for terminology, other people's workings, other examples of the Thriller genre and psychological sub-genre of our Thriller, reviews and professional takes on cinematography as well as certain techniques used throughout the world of film. This has helped me whilst writing case studies and ciphering which films to use as intertextual references. Youtube has been one of the biggest helps to me throughout research and planning. I am able to consistently watch and embed onto my blog any clip from a film or television show that I could possibly need, making writing essays and analysing them for my own use so much easier. Facebook was helpful in planning our filming, as well as collaborate work as we were able to communicate all of the time. And obviously above all, without the computer I wouldn't have been able to create the mind maps, prezi's, powerpoints and essays to aid me in creating our final product. 

 

Evaluation Question 5

 How did you attract/address your audience?

Narrative

In Out of the Woods we used a chronological, linear narrative into order to engage our audience and make the plot easy to follow, without and flashbacks or cutaways. We also conformed to Tzvetan Todorov's  concept of narrative, which is based around five mains steps:

1. Equilibrium. The plot must begin with a jolly and contented atmosphere, with everything in order. The characters must be fulfilled in their lives and happy, with nothing out of the ordinary occurring or any routine broken. In our Thriller film the equilibrium we present is our character George playing joyfully in the woods. It is obvious his ease and familiarity from the woods as well as the satisfaction this provides him.

2. Disturbance. Something must create a harsh and sudden contrast in the "too good to be true" tone currently being created by the film. This disequilibrium is an event that alters the course of the plot for the worst. The disturbance in our Thriller opening is George firing his bow and losing his arrow, leading to him discovering the corpse. This begins the excitement for the audience, as the tension building prior to this moment in anticipation of something happening has been lifted to an ultimate high therefore hooking the audience.

3. Realisation. The problem is then established and begun to be acted upon, causing havoc for the characters within the story. Although not shown in our opening, had we filmed the rest of Out of the Woods, the realisation would have been George acknowledging that all is not fine is the woods and that he is in fact in danger. The audience at this point will be invested in the story and concerned about the peril this disequilibrium will cause for George.

4. Restored Order. The plot line is then restored to it's prior glory by, most likely the protagonist, saving the day. In Thriller films the hero is normally a male character, this especially applicable to early Thriller films such as Film Noir. However, in more modern Thrillers, such as The Hunger Games, of which we took a great deal on intertextual reference from, females as the leading hero and protagonist are more common. This is a change through time however as often in Thrillers females are presented as Femme Fatale's who more often than not initiate or cause a vast majority of the disturbance which creates the disequilibrium. This idea reflected in our opening by the corpse causing the disturbance being a female. In our film, the restored order which would have been shown at the end would have been George over coming his fears and escaping the woods in a true psychological thriller genre, way.

5. Equilibrium. This signifies a full circle of action, the events of the film not altering the outcome extremely due to the hero saving the day. All is well again, our film most probably ending with George returning to play in the woods safely creating a narrative closure.

Character Type

We represent only two character types in our film, a hero and a Femme Fatale because there are only two characters in the opening. We display archetypes of characters as opposed to fully formed ones in the opening, therefore leaving some aspects of their personalities to the imagination of the audience, making them more mouldable to fit personal preferences. The fact they are not portrayed as neither rich or poor, higher or upper class makes for a more open mind set of prejudice toward them and larger probability of being relatable.

The hero, is not a stereotypical protagonist seen in Thriller films, represented here as a child, most films using masculinized men. Because of the psychological sub-genre of our film however I believe this creative choice will enlist more of an emotional connection between our predominantly young adult, female audience and the character. The female majority of the audience feeling more protective over our youthful hero. The fact that it is this defensive connection that will engage our audience more with our hero, makes him seem weak, and well, not very heroic. This is where props and costume come into play. A bow and arrow generally seen as a weapon, and because George is so capable with it foreshadows perhaps a more violent side to him. The red of his scarf also connoting danger, whether this be the danger of the woods, or the danger he himself holds is arguable. This therefore makes him a stronger male character, for our smaller male audience to become invested in, perhaps relating this child character to their own youth.

The Femme Fatale character is a plot device used to captivate the audiences attention. The intrigue caused by the corpses' sudden appearance when the audience have only been introduced to one character causes a series of questions to race through the viewers mind as to who, what, why, when and where? Much like other Thrillers merely using the Femme Fatale character to drive the plot, we have done the same, however in a way that fascinates the audience to continue watching. The corpse isn't relatable to our viewers, but her involvement could  particularly intrigue the male demographic of the audience as to what deviance has caused her death and whether this will be unveiled.  

Cliffhanger

The narrative ends abruptly with a cliffhanger. This cliffhanger is George discovering the corpse, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats and longing for more information. We created a sense of ambiguity through the use of a soundbridge into a fade to black at the end. This fade to black could be interpreted in several ways, one, because of the impending sound of crows, it invokes an impending sense of doom, the close up reinforcing this, as if George is about to be attacked. Another interpretation could be that George has blacked out due to shock, or alternatively the darkness of the fade to black is consuming George as if he is in a nightmare. Which ever one the audience opts to believe, all have one feature in common and that is that they create anxiety and tension all the while enticing the audience to keep watching and starting to build adrenaline. 

Technical Codes

Pan shot to create claustrophobia.

The sound in our film is very engaging and will definitely keep our audience hooked to the plot. The foreshadowing of the sound of crows throughout is very unnerving and conforms perfectly to the psychological sub-genre that our viewers will love. Jumps cuts are also used to establish the Thriller theme, collating to the idea of a passage of time forming a contrast between the slow of the edit at the beginning of the film, and the faster pace toward the end. Pan shots are used also to produce a feeling of claustrophobia, a common Thriller convention, despite the vastness of the woods. The feeling of claustrophobia alongside the tremendous location create an uncomfortable juxtaposition in which will give the audience the mental stimulation in which they are watching the film to feel. 

 Jumpcuts.

 

 

 

Intertextual References

Our three strong Thriller, intertextual references are The Hunger Games, Inception and Sin City. Our main focus out of the three to attract a similar audience was The Hunger Games as it draws in a young adult audience, much like our own. We replicated several aspects of this film as well as location, props and a series of shots. The desolate location seen in both is a way we both build tension and establish the character's isolation and vulnerability to the audience. Capturing the audience with a verisimilitude and detached setting leads to a more immersed experience.  

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our Thriller film is definitely an independent film striving to be mainstream, this clearly seen in our intertextual references to mainstream films such as The Hunger Games and Inception, both distributed by large conglomerate companies. However, it still remains as more of a Niche film due to aspects such as a lead child protagonist. Our film wouldn't be distributed by such colossal worldwide, vertically and horizontally integrated companies, such as Disney or Universal, instead smaller British companies that specialise in independent films:

FilmFour

FilmFour would most likely be front runner for the distribution of our film, not only would they be able to provide the production for our film due to partnerships with Warp productions, they'd be able to distribute it to a UK audience both through cinema and their own individual television channel. FilmFour has in recent years have distributed films such as award winning, 12 Years a Slave, as well as Niche film Submarine, (who coincidentally also has a young protagonist).

Despite the obvious choice of FilmFour, I believe if we were to try and distribute further afield to both a UK and European audience with a company who specialise in our Thriller genre. This company is New Line Cinema.

Warner Bro's

Warner Bro's is the parent company to production company New Line Cinema. This already establishes a great resource for production and most importantly, Warner Bro's having distributed the immensely popular and very mainstream films Harry Potter, therefore aiding us in our quest to make our independent film appear more mainstream. However, what I believe would be most convenient in distributing our film would be Warner Bro's past record for distributing Thriller films, and Psychological Horror films. Thriller being our main genre, Psychological being our sub-genre. Warner Bro's distributed both Annabelle and The Conjuring, these both attracting a similar audience to us as well as sharing same themes in exploiting child innocence to form fear and suspense.
As previously mentioned, Warner Bro's could distribute our film to an European audience. I don't think we would be able to distribute to America due to the British indie feel to the film, this not being something and American audience could relate to. Warner Bro's distributes to Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Argentina, as well as Canada and Japan if we were to try and market our film as slightly more mainstream.

I think the cinemas that will distribute Out of the Woods will be rather versatile, open to showing both mainstream and Niche films.

Vue

Vue cinema is a UK based multiplex cinema that will be able to distribute our film to more mainstream audiences. Not only does it show Hollywood blockbuster's, but also British indie films and live recordings of theatre and concerts. This allows for a large platform to display our product, the popularity of the cinema throughout the UK only aiding the demographic of people who will be introduced to it. Although I do believe blockbuster's guaranteed to make the cinema more money would be prioritized in the amount of showing times it was given over Out of the Woods, as we not take in so much money at the box office. Vue uses this technique continuously, most recently showing smash hit, Fast and Furious, far more regularly than Independent American film John Wick, perhaps suggesting a cinema that specialises in Niche films would be better suited.

Cinema City

Cinema City is owned by Picture House Cinema's as they specialise in showing Niche and independent films, we well as Hollywood hit's that are critically acclaimed and award winning. Because Cinema City deals predominantly with art-house films, it means we could reach out to a wider audience due to the more 'cultured', (people who enjoy foreign and Niche films for example), viewers and chances of our film being shown more frequently is higher.

Digital Technologies

After theatrical release, online distribution would be used to distribute our film to a larger variety of platforms to make for easier on the go consumption. Not only can Video on Demand be watched on smart phones, tablets and laptops, but now can be streamed onto your television through games consoles, making it practically impossible to not be able to stream your favourite film. Mediums such as LoveFilm would most likely host our film, as this Video on Demand service isn't as mainstream as other services such as Netflix. However, if our film were to be produced by FilmFour, our film could be distributed to their online video platform, Channel 4 OD, (on demand). We could even use social media to market the distribution of our film, again, expanding the demographic of our audience.

Film Festivals

If our film were to have been made in full and to a high enough standard, we most likely would have entered it into local film festivals, as well as more popular European ones such as the Berlin Independent Film Festival, Radiance Film Festival and Cardiff Film Festival. Making and distributing films as a student makes for thorough preparation for possibly studying media at University and pursuing it further after that, giving us prior experience in the film industry.