Sunday 22 November 2009
Codes and Conventions of a horror film.
Their are a number of codes and conventions that appear in a horror film.
Setting - generally a horror film can be set in any location. However there is a theme that runs through the setting, usually they are dark, isolated places where people would not necessarily choose to go/be, as this gives off the scary, "horror" feel of a film. In trailers i have watched examples of settings are: woods, big, old mansions and "normal" civilian houses set at night.
Props - props that are used in a horror film are: weapons, that are used to commit the crimes i.e. knifes, guns, crucifixes. Fake blood is used to show the injuries sustained by the victims and the extent of the crime. Heavy make-up i.e. face paints can be used to hide the identity of the villain an example of this is the Joker in Batman. Masks can also be used to do this.
Colours - The typical colours used in a horror film are red and black. Red is often associated with blood, death and love and black is associated with mystery, darkness, death, all of these are main themes of a horror film. These are used through, clothes of characters (usually the villain is in black or red), the setting usually contains these colours and the props.
Sound -
diegetic = this is always used, examples of this are general speech or stereotypically in a horror film screaming.
non diegetic = this is added post production, it is normally sounds that cant be made naturally during filming and need to be technologically enhanced. i.e. a strong heartbeat
sound effects = sounds that cant be made naturally as they are invented. E.g. a wolf howling
sound bridge = music or a sound that links two scenes together
voice over = generally a narrator speaking over and through the trailer, are very popular in all kinds of trailers, especially used in American made films. A voice over explains the narrative further and adds to the whole ambiance of the trailer.
Camera -
establishing shot = at the beginning of a scene, it sets the scene and if used at the beginning of the trailer shows the equilibrium.
close up = this shows detail of a person, this is very important in a horror film/trailer as it shows the victims face and emotions normally when they are being killed, so this allows an audience to feel close to them. Also used when a villain is found as the close up reveals there identity.
mid-shot = this shows general action and is the main shot used most of the time throughout a trailer
long-shot = this shows setting and surroundings which allows an audience to feel more involved.
POV = would mainly show the victims point of view, as the audience would mostly put themselves in their position, not that of the villain.
Themes and Narrative structure
- death
- murder
- mind games
- torture
- supernatural goings on (ghosts/curses/zombies)
Representations of Characters
Villain - cunning, clever, strange, troubled, twisted, in control, ecentric, crazy and holds on human compassion or remorse. In a trailer of 'Batman' that I analysed the villain was the majority of these characteristics and was easily recognisable because of this.
Victim - helpless, stereotypically an attractive female, attracts danger, weak and scared
Setting - generally a horror film can be set in any location. However there is a theme that runs through the setting, usually they are dark, isolated places where people would not necessarily choose to go/be, as this gives off the scary, "horror" feel of a film. In trailers i have watched examples of settings are: woods, big, old mansions and "normal" civilian houses set at night.
Props - props that are used in a horror film are: weapons, that are used to commit the crimes i.e. knifes, guns, crucifixes. Fake blood is used to show the injuries sustained by the victims and the extent of the crime. Heavy make-up i.e. face paints can be used to hide the identity of the villain an example of this is the Joker in Batman. Masks can also be used to do this.
Colours - The typical colours used in a horror film are red and black. Red is often associated with blood, death and love and black is associated with mystery, darkness, death, all of these are main themes of a horror film. These are used through, clothes of characters (usually the villain is in black or red), the setting usually contains these colours and the props.
Sound -
diegetic = this is always used, examples of this are general speech or stereotypically in a horror film screaming.
non diegetic = this is added post production, it is normally sounds that cant be made naturally during filming and need to be technologically enhanced. i.e. a strong heartbeat
sound effects = sounds that cant be made naturally as they are invented. E.g. a wolf howling
sound bridge = music or a sound that links two scenes together
voice over = generally a narrator speaking over and through the trailer, are very popular in all kinds of trailers, especially used in American made films. A voice over explains the narrative further and adds to the whole ambiance of the trailer.
Camera -
establishing shot = at the beginning of a scene, it sets the scene and if used at the beginning of the trailer shows the equilibrium.
close up = this shows detail of a person, this is very important in a horror film/trailer as it shows the victims face and emotions normally when they are being killed, so this allows an audience to feel close to them. Also used when a villain is found as the close up reveals there identity.
mid-shot = this shows general action and is the main shot used most of the time throughout a trailer
long-shot = this shows setting and surroundings which allows an audience to feel more involved.
POV = would mainly show the victims point of view, as the audience would mostly put themselves in their position, not that of the villain.
Themes and Narrative structure
- death
- murder
- mind games
- torture
- supernatural goings on (ghosts/curses/zombies)
Representations of Characters
Villain - cunning, clever, strange, troubled, twisted, in control, ecentric, crazy and holds on human compassion or remorse. In a trailer of 'Batman' that I analysed the villain was the majority of these characteristics and was easily recognisable because of this.
Victim - helpless, stereotypically an attractive female, attracts danger, weak and scared
Wednesday 18 November 2009
Deadly Sins
Deadly sins
Sound of school bell.
Camera pans across classroom showing 5 students at their desks looking extremely bored. Showing their individual character through various actions eg: basketball player in his uniform playing with a ball. Geek reading. Goth listening to loud music, class clown lying back trying to distract others. A camera pan, until BIANCA is in the frame. She wriggles looking frustrated and angry until she leaves her seat.
Long shot of her walking out the door. She looks at herself in the door window to see her reflection. Camera bounces back to her and shot turns to a point of view shot, of her walking down the corridors to the toilets.
She opens the toilet door (close up of her hand) and walks towards the sink. She runs her fingers through her hair, while doing so she looks in the mirror and sees a figure of a person in black behind her in the mirror. She turns her head around seeing no one there. She panics and slams all the cubicle doors open to reassure herself that no one is around.
She returns back to the sink were she washes her face. She looks up into the mirror and begins to cough; gradually blood starts to come out of her mouth.
BIANCA
(Panicking making weird hand gestures)
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH
She stagers towards the doors to exit the bathroom,
BIANCA
(Whilst staggering)
Help!
Shot of her staggering holding on to walls leaving blood marks. As the previous figure appears behind her watching her.
Sound of school bell.
Camera pans across classroom showing 5 students at their desks looking extremely bored. Showing their individual character through various actions eg: basketball player in his uniform playing with a ball. Geek reading. Goth listening to loud music, class clown lying back trying to distract others. A camera pan, until BIANCA is in the frame. She wriggles looking frustrated and angry until she leaves her seat.
Long shot of her walking out the door. She looks at herself in the door window to see her reflection. Camera bounces back to her and shot turns to a point of view shot, of her walking down the corridors to the toilets.
She opens the toilet door (close up of her hand) and walks towards the sink. She runs her fingers through her hair, while doing so she looks in the mirror and sees a figure of a person in black behind her in the mirror. She turns her head around seeing no one there. She panics and slams all the cubicle doors open to reassure herself that no one is around.
She returns back to the sink were she washes her face. She looks up into the mirror and begins to cough; gradually blood starts to come out of her mouth.
BIANCA
(Panicking making weird hand gestures)
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH
She stagers towards the doors to exit the bathroom,
BIANCA
(Whilst staggering)
Help!
Shot of her staggering holding on to walls leaving blood marks. As the previous figure appears behind her watching her.
Sunday 8 November 2009
Step up (Drama/crime)
In class we was set homework to research our chosen themes for our title and opening sequences this will help us to make a successful and effective film;
As Step up ties in with our chosen theme which is Drama i thought Step up would be a good example;
Plot
Tyler Gage (channing tatum) is from the wrong side of the tracks, caught up in a world of drugs,violence and crime. After leaving a party Tyler and his two friends end up outside the maryland school of the arts they break in and findthemselves in the theatre where they destroy the set. the boys are busted by a rent a cop and he grabs Mac, tyler tackles the cop telling mac and skinny to run and is taken to court the next day he is made to serve community service at the scene of the crime........
Director:Anne Fletcher
Hear from the director herself;
17 Again
At 17 Mike O'Donell was on top of the world; he was the star of his high school basketball team, and was a shoo in for a college scholarship. And is dating his soul mate, Scarlett. But on what's suppose to be his big game wherein college scouts are checking him out, Scarlett reveals that she's pregnant. Mike decides to leave the game and asks Scarlett to marry him which she does. During their marriage, Mike could only whine about the life he lost because he married her. So she throws him out. And when he loses his job, he returns to the only place he's happy at - his old high school. And while looking at his high school photo, a janitor asks him if he wishes he could be 17 again and he says yes. One night while driving he sees the janitor on a bridge and apparently jumps in and he goes after him. When he returns to his friend, Ned's house, where he has been staying, he sees that he is 17 again. He decides to take this opportunity to get the life he lost.
Director: Burr Steers
Hear from the director himself;
Love and basketball
In 1981 in L.A., Monica moves in next door to Quincy. They're 11, and both want to play in the NBA, just like Quincy's dad. Their love-hate relationship lasts into high school, with Monica's edge and Quincy's top-dog attitude separating them, except when Quincy's parents argue and he climbs through Monica's window to sleep on the floor. As high school ends, they come together as a couple, but within a year, with both of them playing ball at USC, Quincy's relationship with his father takes an ugly turn, and it leads to a break up with Monica. Some years later, their pro careers at a crossroads, they meet again. It's time for a final game of one-on-one with high stakes.
Director: Gina prince-bythewood
Heres a trailer;
ATL
As four friends prepare for life after high school, different challenges bring about turning points in each of their lives. The dramas unfold and resolve at their local rollerskating rink, Cascade.
Director:Chris Robinson
Heres a trailer;
As Step up ties in with our chosen theme which is Drama i thought Step up would be a good example;
Plot
Tyler Gage (channing tatum) is from the wrong side of the tracks, caught up in a world of drugs,violence and crime. After leaving a party Tyler and his two friends end up outside the maryland school of the arts they break in and findthemselves in the theatre where they destroy the set. the boys are busted by a rent a cop and he grabs Mac, tyler tackles the cop telling mac and skinny to run and is taken to court the next day he is made to serve community service at the scene of the crime........
Director:Anne Fletcher
Hear from the director herself;
17 Again
At 17 Mike O'Donell was on top of the world; he was the star of his high school basketball team, and was a shoo in for a college scholarship. And is dating his soul mate, Scarlett. But on what's suppose to be his big game wherein college scouts are checking him out, Scarlett reveals that she's pregnant. Mike decides to leave the game and asks Scarlett to marry him which she does. During their marriage, Mike could only whine about the life he lost because he married her. So she throws him out. And when he loses his job, he returns to the only place he's happy at - his old high school. And while looking at his high school photo, a janitor asks him if he wishes he could be 17 again and he says yes. One night while driving he sees the janitor on a bridge and apparently jumps in and he goes after him. When he returns to his friend, Ned's house, where he has been staying, he sees that he is 17 again. He decides to take this opportunity to get the life he lost.
Director: Burr Steers
Hear from the director himself;
Love and basketball
In 1981 in L.A., Monica moves in next door to Quincy. They're 11, and both want to play in the NBA, just like Quincy's dad. Their love-hate relationship lasts into high school, with Monica's edge and Quincy's top-dog attitude separating them, except when Quincy's parents argue and he climbs through Monica's window to sleep on the floor. As high school ends, they come together as a couple, but within a year, with both of them playing ball at USC, Quincy's relationship with his father takes an ugly turn, and it leads to a break up with Monica. Some years later, their pro careers at a crossroads, they meet again. It's time for a final game of one-on-one with high stakes.
Director: Gina prince-bythewood
Heres a trailer;
ATL
As four friends prepare for life after high school, different challenges bring about turning points in each of their lives. The dramas unfold and resolve at their local rollerskating rink, Cascade.
Director:Chris Robinson
Heres a trailer;
Thursday 5 November 2009
Coach Carter (2005)
Genre: Drama, Basketball
Plot
Coach Cater was inspired by a true story, an inspirational account of controversial high school, portray of human courage and conviction is about overcoming the obstacles of your environment and showing young men a future that stretches beyond gangs, prison, drugs and yeseven basketball. Paramount pictures presented a MTV movie in 2005 produced by Thomas Carter and written by Mark Schwhan and also John gratins. Inspired by the life ken carter describing himself as a “little guy from Macomb, Mississippi, Ken Carter grew up with seven brothers and sisters. When his family moved to Richmond, California, carter played basketball from 1973-1977 for the same high school which put Richmond on the news and also put Carter in the headlines.
Making it real
When the film makers involved in “Coach Carter” got together to make a film inspired by Ken Carter’s life, one thing was eminently clear- the man wasn’t just an advocate for education, he also really knew basketball. To that end, it was very important that every basketball scene looked authentic, and to make that happen, Mark Ellis of reel sport was brought on the serve as basketball coordinators for the film.
Music
“In putting together this project, we screened the film for a broad range of artist we felt would connect with the theme and heart of the movie” says Andrew Siater “ the result is a soundtrack that truly reflects and supports, and has become emotionally inseparable from the film. It is a tribute to how the artists were by the movie’s power and honesty.
Awards
3 wins& 14 nominations
Plot
Coach Cater was inspired by a true story, an inspirational account of controversial high school, portray of human courage and conviction is about overcoming the obstacles of your environment and showing young men a future that stretches beyond gangs, prison, drugs and yeseven basketball. Paramount pictures presented a MTV movie in 2005 produced by Thomas Carter and written by Mark Schwhan and also John gratins. Inspired by the life ken carter describing himself as a “little guy from Macomb, Mississippi, Ken Carter grew up with seven brothers and sisters. When his family moved to Richmond, California, carter played basketball from 1973-1977 for the same high school which put Richmond on the news and also put Carter in the headlines.
Making it real
When the film makers involved in “Coach Carter” got together to make a film inspired by Ken Carter’s life, one thing was eminently clear- the man wasn’t just an advocate for education, he also really knew basketball. To that end, it was very important that every basketball scene looked authentic, and to make that happen, Mark Ellis of reel sport was brought on the serve as basketball coordinators for the film.
Music
“In putting together this project, we screened the film for a broad range of artist we felt would connect with the theme and heart of the movie” says Andrew Siater “ the result is a soundtrack that truly reflects and supports, and has become emotionally inseparable from the film. It is a tribute to how the artists were by the movie’s power and honesty.
Awards
3 wins& 14 nominations
Selena. (1997)
Selena. (1997)
Written and directed by Gregory Nava; the story of a girl who had the spirit to believe in a dream and the courage to make it come true. For One Brilliant, Shining Moment...The American Dream Came True. Discover the true story of one of America's brightest stars...that faded too soon. Nava had further directing success in 1997 with the film selena, starring Jennifer Lopez, who was nominated for the golden globe award for Best Actress. Selena was produced with the participation of the Quintanilla family, and her father Abraham is the executive producer of the film. One scene features Chris Perez playing the guitar for the family using closeup footage of his hands and the shot was filmed specifically for the movie
Written and directed by Gregory Nava; the story of a girl who had the spirit to believe in a dream and the courage to make it come true. For One Brilliant, Shining Moment...The American Dream Came True. Discover the true story of one of America's brightest stars...that faded too soon. Nava had further directing success in 1997 with the film selena, starring Jennifer Lopez, who was nominated for the golden globe award for Best Actress. Selena was produced with the participation of the Quintanilla family, and her father Abraham is the executive producer of the film. One scene features Chris Perez playing the guitar for the family using closeup footage of his hands and the shot was filmed specifically for the movie
Research on your chosen genre
Our target audience is aimed at the age range of 15-25 this is due to the theme which is drama and romance, we also aim to target both genders male and female as the chosen themes can appeal to both genders.
The fighting temptations
Drama films mostly depend on in-depth development. For example dramatic films include a very large spectrum of film genres crime drama, legal drama, historical drama, comedy drama, melodrama, romance or even tragedy. One director that conducted a drama film is Jonathan Lynn who based a lot of his films on comedy. Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay created and wrote every episode of the acclaimed BBC political comedy series Yes, Minister, and Yes, Prime Minister. The series received numerous accolades including three BAFTA (British Academy) Awards, two Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and two Pye Television Writers Awards.The cast is loaded with singing stars such as: Shirley Caesar, Faith Evans, Angie Stone, Melba Moore, Ann Nesby, The O'Jays, Montell Jordan, T-Bone, Zane, and many others.A New York advertising executive (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who is about to land a big account, has his life shaken up when it becomes known that he has lied about having a college degree. After being fired, his life is further shaken by his debtors who had counted on paying after landing the account. Having to go on the run, he is called back to his southern town roots, when his great aunt dies. At the reading of the will, he learns he has been asked to assume the mantle of choir director of his great aunt's church and if he can get the choir in the Gospel Explosion in Atlanta, he will inherit stock worth $150,000. Unfortunately the choir leaves a lot to be desired and he has to start recruiting. Among others, he gets three prisoners to join. More importantly, he gets a "sinner" (Beyonce Knowles) from one of the local night clubs to join. While initially scorned and resisted, nonetheless her voice wins everyone but the hardcore church busybody.
The fighting temptations
Drama films mostly depend on in-depth development. For example dramatic films include a very large spectrum of film genres crime drama, legal drama, historical drama, comedy drama, melodrama, romance or even tragedy. One director that conducted a drama film is Jonathan Lynn who based a lot of his films on comedy. Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay created and wrote every episode of the acclaimed BBC political comedy series Yes, Minister, and Yes, Prime Minister. The series received numerous accolades including three BAFTA (British Academy) Awards, two Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and two Pye Television Writers Awards.The cast is loaded with singing stars such as: Shirley Caesar, Faith Evans, Angie Stone, Melba Moore, Ann Nesby, The O'Jays, Montell Jordan, T-Bone, Zane, and many others.A New York advertising executive (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who is about to land a big account, has his life shaken up when it becomes known that he has lied about having a college degree. After being fired, his life is further shaken by his debtors who had counted on paying after landing the account. Having to go on the run, he is called back to his southern town roots, when his great aunt dies. At the reading of the will, he learns he has been asked to assume the mantle of choir director of his great aunt's church and if he can get the choir in the Gospel Explosion in Atlanta, he will inherit stock worth $150,000. Unfortunately the choir leaves a lot to be desired and he has to start recruiting. Among others, he gets three prisoners to join. More importantly, he gets a "sinner" (Beyonce Knowles) from one of the local night clubs to join. While initially scorned and resisted, nonetheless her voice wins everyone but the hardcore church busybody.
Sunday 1 November 2009
Skin Deep
My adaptation.
i chose to adapt my story skin deep to donkey skin as they include the theme of love and confusion.
Plot
Amy had never really fit in with her family from a young age she was always singled out at school and at home all Amy really wanted was to be loved. As years went by Amy started secondary school and was pressured by her peers to drink, smoke and do thing which wasn’t sensible and also suffered with anorexia. At the age of 15 Amy met a handsome young man whose name was Sam and they instantly fell in love, Amy wasn’t very used to being cared for and became dependent on Sam. At the age 16 Amy fell pregnant with Sam’s baby which left Amy with mixed emotions on how she going to tell Sam. As days went by, months went by and as time went by Amy found it harder to tell Sam, so she ran away and went back to her old ways of smoking, drinking and now also dealing with drug. 6 months later Sam was distraught and full of anger and confusion decided to search for Amy his one and only true love. 1 month after Amy was seen by a lake sitting on a bench where Sam approach her and set his eyes on her pregnant child numerous questions entered Sam’s head, Sam burst into tears and ran away. And now Amy was left thinking that she has to bring up a child as a single parent, she was afraid but most of all frustrated and wanted to hurt Sam. 2 months went by and the baby was born it was a girl, she was spitting image of Sam. Amy was still dealing with the fact of being a single parent and wanted revenge so she wrote a letter to Sam informing him that the baby had been born and that she was called Sarah. The letter also included an invitation to the celebration of Sarah’s birth, what he didn’t know was that it was an invitation to his death. Amy stabbed Sam and left him for dead Sam managed to reach for a phone and dialled 999 but died hours later in his hospital bed. Due to Amy’s childhood she was never told what was right from wrong and paid for her actions in the future. Amy was jailed for life and was sentenced with man slaughter, as for her baby Sarah was put into a foster home and eventually lived with her foster family who showed Sarah the love her mother Amy never had.
The firebird and princess vasilisa (Russian)
A royal huntsman found a feather of the firebird and, though his horse warned him against it, picked it up. The king demanded that he bring him the bird. The huntsman went to his horse, who told him to demand that measures of corn be spread over the fields. He did, and the firebird came to eat and was caught. He brought it to the king, who said that because he had done that, now he must bring him Princess Vasilisa to be his bride. The horse had him demand food and drink for the journey, and a tent with a golden top. With it, they set out to a lake where the princess was rowing. He set up the tent and set out the food. The princess came and ate, and drinking foreign wine, she became drunk and slept. He carried her off.
Princess Vasilisa refused to marry without her wedding gown, from the bottom of the sea. The king sent the huntsman for it. He rode the horse to the sea, where the horse found a great crab and threatened to crush it. The crab asked the horse to spare it and summoned all the crabs to fetch the wedding gown.
Princess Vasilisa refused to marry without the king ordering the huntsman to bathe in boiling water. The huntsman went to his horse, who charmed his body. He bathed in the boiling water and became handsome. The king went to bathe in the same water, and died. The people took the huntsman as king instead, and he married the princess.
Theme:love/ romance/loyalty
What:king gives demands to huntsman and overall the king wants to marry princess vasilisa but the huntsman and princess vasilisa end up marrying instead.
Character:king, huntsman, horse and princess vasilisa
setting: Forest, Lake and the kings castle
Plot:when princess vasilisa refuses many time before marrying the king, and the king dies and marrys the huntsman instead.
Saturday 31 October 2009
donkeyskin (french)
the moral of this tale is that it is better to undergo the greatest hardships rather than to fail in one's duty, that virtue may sometimes seem ill-fated but will always triumph in the end.
A king had a beautiful wife and a rich castle, including a marvelous donkey whose droppings were gold. One day his wife died, after making him promise not to marry except to a woman whose beauty and attributes equaled hers. The king grieved, but was, in time, persuaded to seek another wife. It became clear that the only woman who would fit the promise was his own daughter.
She went to her fairy godmother who advised her to make impossible demands as a condition of her consent: a dress the color of the sky, a dress the color of the moon, a dress as bright as the sun, and finally, the hide of his marvelous donkey. Such was the king's desire to marry her that he granted all of them. The fairy godmother gave her a marvelous chest to contain all she owned and told her that the donkeyskin would make an excellent disguise.
She fled. Eventually, she found a royal farm where they let her work in the kitchen, despite her ugliness in the donkeyskin. On feast days, she would
dress herself in the fine gowns her father had given her, and one such day, the prince came by her room and peeped through the keyhole. He fell in love at once, fell ill with his longing, and declared that nothing would cure him but a cake baked by Donkeyskin, and nothing they could say of what a dirty creature she was dissuaded him.
When Donkeyskin baked the cake, a ring of hers fell in it. The prince found it and declared that he would marry only the woman whose finger it fit. Every other woman having failed, he insisted that Donkeyskin try, and it fit. When she had dressed herself in her fine gowns, his parents were reconciled with the match. Donkey-skin later found that her father had remarried to a beautiful widow and everyone lived happily ever after.
A king had a beautiful wife and a rich castle, including a marvelous donkey whose droppings were gold. One day his wife died, after making him promise not to marry except to a woman whose beauty and attributes equaled hers. The king grieved, but was, in time, persuaded to seek another wife. It became clear that the only woman who would fit the promise was his own daughter.
She went to her fairy godmother who advised her to make impossible demands as a condition of her consent: a dress the color of the sky, a dress the color of the moon, a dress as bright as the sun, and finally, the hide of his marvelous donkey. Such was the king's desire to marry her that he granted all of them. The fairy godmother gave her a marvelous chest to contain all she owned and told her that the donkeyskin would make an excellent disguise.
She fled. Eventually, she found a royal farm where they let her work in the kitchen, despite her ugliness in the donkeyskin. On feast days, she would
dress herself in the fine gowns her father had given her, and one such day, the prince came by her room and peeped through the keyhole. He fell in love at once, fell ill with his longing, and declared that nothing would cure him but a cake baked by Donkeyskin, and nothing they could say of what a dirty creature she was dissuaded him.
When Donkeyskin baked the cake, a ring of hers fell in it. The prince found it and declared that he would marry only the woman whose finger it fit. Every other woman having failed, he insisted that Donkeyskin try, and it fit. When she had dressed herself in her fine gowns, his parents were reconciled with the match. Donkey-skin later found that her father had remarried to a beautiful widow and everyone lived happily ever after.
The goat girl (Greek)
A couple had no children; the wife prayed for any child, no matter what. One day, she gave birth to a baby goat. She grew up as playful as any child. Her mother wished that her father could have a jug of water, and the goat said she could carry it, if her mother tied it to her horns. She carried it to her father, and when she was coming back, she took off her skin in the woods to clean it. A prince saw her and fell in love. Though his parents and her parents were opposed, he grew sick with his love, and the queen insisted on the match, so her parents gave the goat to the queen, and the prince grew well again.
The prince and his parents went to a wedding. The goat girl changed into a golden gown and went to the wedding herself; after the dancing, she threw a golden apple among the guests to confuse them and fled, and the king and queen admired her beauty. On the second day, the same thing happened. On the third day, the prince ordered an oven heated in the bakery and told his parents he would not go. When the goat girl went, he seized her skin and burned it. When she returned, she tried to throw herself into the oven after the skin, but the prince restrained her, and they had a grand wedding.
Clever Maria (portuguesse)
There exists a substantial corpus of traditional folk tales in Portuguese. Little is really known about Portuguese fairy tales outside Portugal—some might even argue within the country as well—because of the language barrier and as a result of ‘a continuing failure to archive, catalogue and publicize the available material’ (Cardigos, 1996). Where tales have been collected, published, and analysed, this has been very much the labour of love of a handful of intellectual pioneers writing at the end of the 19th century or in the early years of the 20th.
Abstract: Maria was the youngest and prettiest of the merchant’s daughters. When the merchant leaves on business, she is the only one to obey his wishes and begins a bizarre courtship with the king through their antics in an attempt to out-perform the other.
Theme: Obedience
A merchant had three daughters, and the youngest, Maria, was the most beautiful. The king gave each daughter a pot of basil and forbade them to receive visitors. One day, the king came with two friends. Maria said she and her sisters would get wine from the cellar. The king said they were not thirsty. The sisters said they would not go. Maria said she would go just the same. Then she ran to a neighbour's and stayed there the night. The king was angry, but her basil did not wither, as her sisters' did.
The daughters looked over at the king's garden, and the oldest daughter asked Maria to climb down a rope and steal some fruit for her. A gardener caught her, but she escaped. The next day, the second daughter asked her to steal a fruit basket for her, but this time the king caught her. He questioned her, she denied nothing, and he told her to follow him to the house. Though he turned to make sure she followed him, she managed to escape. He fell ill.
Meanwhile, her two sisters had married the king's friends and had babies. Maria took the babies to show the king.Maria went about, calling for someone to give the babies to the king, who was sick of love. The king bought it and was infuriated that he held the babies. He knew the merchant had returned and ordered him to bring him a coat of stone or lose his head. Maria told him to take the fabric to the castle and demanded to measure the king. The king changed his order: he had to bring not the coat but his daughter Maria. Maria told her father to make her a doll of herself, with strings so she could make it nod and shake its head. Maria went to the castle and hid behind the doll. When the king recounted her misdeeds, she made the doll nod. Because she was mocking him, he cut off the doll's head. Its head fell toward him, and he said that the man who killed her deserved to die and turned the sword on himself. Maria jumped out to stop him. They married and lived happily.
Bella Venezia (italian) by Italo Calvino
Tales of this kind are grouped together as type 709, Snow White. Others of this kind include Bella Venezia,Myrsina, Nourie Hadig, The Young Slave and Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree. “The Jealous Sisters” is another Albanian fairytale. In both fairytales the death is caused by a ring.
Bella Venezia
An innkeeper named Bella Venezia asked her customers whether they had ever seen a more beautiful woman than herself. When they said they had not, she cut the price for their stay in half, but one day, a traveller said that he had seen such a woman: her own daughter. Bella Venezia doubled the price of his stay instead of halving it, and had her daughter shut up in a tower with a single window. Then one day Bella asked again whether her customers had seen a woman more beautiful than herself, and a traveller said that he had seen a more beautiful woman, looking from a tower. Bella Venezia asked the kitchen boy if he would marry her, and promised to do so if he killed her daughter. The kitchen boy led her daughter into the forest and killed a lamb in her place.
The daughter wandered until she saw twelve robbers order a cave open and shut: "Open up, desert!" and "Close up, desert!" She sneaked inside and cleaned up the place, and then stole some of their food before hiding. The robbers set watch, but each robber waited outside, for the person to sneak in, and so did not catch her, until the chief robber waited inside and saw her. He told her not to be afraid: she could stay and be their little sister. But one day a robber went to Bella Venezia's inn, and told her that a girl they had with them was more beautiful than Bella.
A witch begged every day from the inn, and Bella Venezia promised her half her fortune if she could put an end to the daughter. The witch went into the forest as a pedlar, persuaded the girl to let her in, and while showing her a hair pin, thrust it into the girl's head. The robbers found her body, wept, and buried her in a hollow tree.
One day, a prince went hunting, and his dogs sniffed out the tree where the girl was buried. He took her body back to the castle and could not bear to be away from her. His mother was angry and said that he could at least fix her hair. This revealed the pin. When it was pulled out, the girl awoke, and the prince married her.
In the many non-German versions, the dwarfs are generally robbers, while the magic mirror is a dialog with the sun or moon.[citation needed] In a version from Albania, collected by Johann George von Hahn and published in Griechische and albanesische Märchen. Gesammelt, übersetzt and erläutert (1864), the main character lives with 40 dragons.[citation needed] Her sleep is caused by a ring. The beginning of the story has a twist, in that a teacher urges the heroine to kill her evil stepmother so that she would take her place. The origin of this tale is debated; it is likely no older than the Middle Ages. In fact there are possibly two Albanian versions of Snow White: one where her stepmother tries to kill her, and another where her two jealous sisters try to kill her.
Tuesday 20 October 2009
Mean girls intro
There are a number of surprising elements in Mean Girls. We have all the usual teen movie clichés, like the big party while the parents are out, the competition, the prom; but Waters handles these scenes with a freshness that's lacking in something like Love Don't Cost a Thing, an atrocious film that was dishonest with its depiction of teen romance. Intelligence is also a strong point. Cady is a smart student, and the big game at the end is not a contest with cheerleaders, sports or dances, but with mathletes. Cady is enrolled in calculus, and she fakes a failing grade to get a guy to like her. This is a movie that respects intelligence and sees smart people as a fun-loving group. That's refreshing.
Overall, Waters makes a pointed examination of high school cliques and their potential for trouble. Finding acceptance in high school can be a tricky thing, and social pigeonholing can lead to wrongheaded decisions on who to hang out with. Cliques aren't a bad thing in general. Students with a common interest should be able to hang out with each other, but when one clique's own sense of superiority is so great that it causes hate discontent among other cliques, then resentment and hatred take over. Mean Girls isn't your typical high school comedy. The comedy is on the surface, but the real heart of the film lies underneath.
The strangers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnLRdAuzeP0
As a big hollywood movie the strangers include production values the use of cross cutting and voice overs makes it obvious that this movie is a horor movie. Also at the beging the film states that the movie is based on a true story which creates tension and as for the flickering on the screen makes you wonder what is going on. as for the first scene you hear a phone coversation which also leaves you thinking and questioning what is happening.
As a big hollywood movie the strangers include production values the use of cross cutting and voice overs makes it obvious that this movie is a horor movie. Also at the beging the film states that the movie is based on a true story which creates tension and as for the flickering on the screen makes you wonder what is going on. as for the first scene you hear a phone coversation which also leaves you thinking and questioning what is happening.
Wednesday 14 October 2009
30 minute shoot task.
in todays lesson we was set a task which consisted of filming 10 frames which shows someone being watched, Also was given instructions to get into groups of three who you have never worked with before therefore i chose to work with matthew and thelma.
we started by discussing who's doing what i chose to draw up the story board whilst matthew set up the camera and thelma filled in the shooting schedule and also helped me with extra ideas story board. we decided to keep the story simple of a girl watching her friend smoking and who wasn't very impressed.our next step was filming.
what worked?
due to our previous task prelim im glad to say we've learn't from some of our mistakes such as making sure our story board is straight forward and used various shots which would be easy to shoot in such limited time but was still effective, also there seemed to be a more relaxed attitude toward the work and each individual seem alot more confident.
my personal objective of the task was to see my strengths and weaknesses, one strength was being able to be the organiser, actor and film certain scenes and also as an individual felt more comfortable in my working enviroment due to working in a class room and the followed by working out side as before we worked on a staircase which was akward and i feel the scenes filmed on the stair we rushed due to angle issues.
what didn't work so well?
The choice of setting didn't work so well because of various other groups clashed with our location which used up time for future prefences in my ipinion should be more creative with our setting ideas as we can use any area within the school.
Also when it came to editing i noticed that due to the clashing with the other groups a couple of our scenes within the sound was interrupted this can be fixed by sound ediing and also ties in with the idea of above choosing and different filming area.
we started by discussing who's doing what i chose to draw up the story board whilst matthew set up the camera and thelma filled in the shooting schedule and also helped me with extra ideas story board. we decided to keep the story simple of a girl watching her friend smoking and who wasn't very impressed.our next step was filming.
what worked?
due to our previous task prelim im glad to say we've learn't from some of our mistakes such as making sure our story board is straight forward and used various shots which would be easy to shoot in such limited time but was still effective, also there seemed to be a more relaxed attitude toward the work and each individual seem alot more confident.
my personal objective of the task was to see my strengths and weaknesses, one strength was being able to be the organiser, actor and film certain scenes and also as an individual felt more comfortable in my working enviroment due to working in a class room and the followed by working out side as before we worked on a staircase which was akward and i feel the scenes filmed on the stair we rushed due to angle issues.
what didn't work so well?
The choice of setting didn't work so well because of various other groups clashed with our location which used up time for future prefences in my ipinion should be more creative with our setting ideas as we can use any area within the school.
Also when it came to editing i noticed that due to the clashing with the other groups a couple of our scenes within the sound was interrupted this can be fixed by sound ediing and also ties in with the idea of above choosing and different filming area.
Sunday 11 October 2009
Film Finance
film finance:
Age of Stupid was almost entirely financed by a crowd-sourced model via individuals and small groups of people including a hockey team and a women’s health center to the tune of £860,000. Additionally, and perhaps because of this, the film’s producers were able to create an astonishingly successful word of mouth campaign surrounding the US premiere – a live event shown in (many sold out) cinemas around the world featuring celebrities and a audience Q&A. Topped off with a clever website, alliances with various activist groups, and a strong presence on social networking sites, the film created a hyped up following way out of proportion to its relatively low budget.
About Spanner Films
London-based Spanner Films have produced three cinema-released documentaries - The Age of Stupid (2008), McLibel (2005) and Drowned Out (2003) - which have together been seen by 55 million people worldwide. They also pioneered the "crowd-funding" finance model, which allows filmmakers to raise reasonable-size budgets whilst retaining ownership of their films and the "Indie Screenings" distribution system, which allows anyone to screen independent films.
http://www.indiescreenings.net/
Age of Stupid was almost entirely financed by a crowd-sourced model via individuals and small groups of people including a hockey team and a women’s health center to the tune of £860,000. Additionally, and perhaps because of this, the film’s producers were able to create an astonishingly successful word of mouth campaign surrounding the US premiere – a live event shown in (many sold out) cinemas around the world featuring celebrities and a audience Q&A. Topped off with a clever website, alliances with various activist groups, and a strong presence on social networking sites, the film created a hyped up following way out of proportion to its relatively low budget.
About Spanner Films
London-based Spanner Films have produced three cinema-released documentaries - The Age of Stupid (2008), McLibel (2005) and Drowned Out (2003) - which have together been seen by 55 million people worldwide. They also pioneered the "crowd-funding" finance model, which allows filmmakers to raise reasonable-size budgets whilst retaining ownership of their films and the "Indie Screenings" distribution system, which allows anyone to screen independent films.
http://www.indiescreenings.net/
Tuesday 6 October 2009
Prelim evaluation
Prelim evaluation
In the prelim task, Rebecca and I got given a task of shooting a two minute sequence film and in this we were assigned two cast; Yasmin and Edward and also to use film terminology and independent filming for example continuity, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. We started off by story boarding our simple idea of a boyfriend who upsets the girlfriend and eventually break up. Rebecca and decided to organise a time for us to meet up over the weekend to finish our storyboard whilst exchanging each others mobile phone numbers this helped due to when Saturday came we face no problems with meeting because we had great communication skills.
On Monday we were given a shooting schedule which would help us to include continuity which was equally very important to the filming so that when it came to editing the film would flow, also we had a continuity sheet which enabled us to keep our good and bad shots organised. After contemplating about whether the shooting schedule would be helpful we decide to keep each shot in order as we automatically organised our storyboard without noticing. Rebecca and I decided to situate our location recce within the corridor and the stairs, as we explained our story to Yasmin and Edward we also gave them a script which was straight forward, we could have improved this by adding directions and frame positioning this would have saved a lot of time between Rebecca and I and our cast and also given them more time for rehearsal so this would have saved even more time due to where we had to corporate time between two groups as Yasmin and Edward filmed before us which ran into our time which we wasn’t prepared for and felt rushed.As a group overall we worked well together because each individual was dedicated, one of our weaknesses was that we needed more rehersal time, this would have saved alot of time and instead of concertrating on the script and shots we could have made the shooting schedule alot more detailed.
For the shooting of the prelim task we used a XH A1 camera to shoot our prelim task which we were taught how to use in previous lessons this included adjusting the tripod to the right height, then secure the camera onto the tripod and also adjust the spirit level this made the camera accurate and straight.then inserted the battery and tape then eventually switched the camera on.the prelim task has developed my production skills in many ways an example of this would be we had to be aware of our cast positioning and still include continuity additionally we kept the same props i also relised as an individual that oraganisational skills were just as important and technical skills which i hope to use a equal balance of each in my next film task, the prelim task also included independent filming being able to express our creativity within our work which was practical, for example we used a pan in one shot when yasmin walks through the door and edward follows behind, this was hard due to using a stair case and keeping both charathers within the frame, we over came this problem by using levels and using zoom to capture the close up shots this also helped capture the characters facial expressions which was very important when using shot reverse shot.
i think our short film appeals to people who watch soap operas and as for age would appeal to any viewer that is aware or interested of conflict within relationships. An example of this would be when edward sits down on the stairs with his hands on his head this creates tension for the audience and gives the feeling of failure which draws our scene to a close, this could be compared to eastenders such as it will never end and towards the end something always interesting happens which is called a cliff hanger.the short film would come under the romantic genre as it involves a couple.
Editing
In class we were shown how to use the new editing programme, Firstly we started off by plugging our camera into the computer using a usb cable the inserting the tape we used to film our prelim task. Then we plugged in the lacie drive which is basically a large memory card, the next step was to load the editing programme and go to file then scrool down to capture, this is where we was able to record each scene so that we would no longer need to plug in the camera which makes it easier for future editing also made editing easier due to being able to add headings to each scene which organised our work. After recording the next step was to playback all the scenes and see which ones included continuity and also included the shots we initially involed.
The problems we faced with editing?
rebecca and i found the editing programme straight forward and easy to use althrough we struggled to invole continuity but still include naturalism we overcame this by shortening our scenes this mage the shots not look so practiced and obvious that the cast were being directed. Another problem we faced was that everytime we had edited a scene and drag onto the time line one scene would over write another, We also overcame this by spacing each scene out and pressing the shift button on our keyboard. Due to this being rebecca and my first time editing i think we did a good job and manage to complete our independent film with success with a few minor delays.
as for engaging our audience our intial thoughts was to think what would we like to watch which is short and simple but still interesting so we refered to an everyday life dilemma which would hopefully relate to alot of our viewers.
In the prelim task, Rebecca and I got given a task of shooting a two minute sequence film and in this we were assigned two cast; Yasmin and Edward and also to use film terminology and independent filming for example continuity, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. We started off by story boarding our simple idea of a boyfriend who upsets the girlfriend and eventually break up. Rebecca and decided to organise a time for us to meet up over the weekend to finish our storyboard whilst exchanging each others mobile phone numbers this helped due to when Saturday came we face no problems with meeting because we had great communication skills.
On Monday we were given a shooting schedule which would help us to include continuity which was equally very important to the filming so that when it came to editing the film would flow, also we had a continuity sheet which enabled us to keep our good and bad shots organised. After contemplating about whether the shooting schedule would be helpful we decide to keep each shot in order as we automatically organised our storyboard without noticing. Rebecca and I decided to situate our location recce within the corridor and the stairs, as we explained our story to Yasmin and Edward we also gave them a script which was straight forward, we could have improved this by adding directions and frame positioning this would have saved a lot of time between Rebecca and I and our cast and also given them more time for rehearsal so this would have saved even more time due to where we had to corporate time between two groups as Yasmin and Edward filmed before us which ran into our time which we wasn’t prepared for and felt rushed.As a group overall we worked well together because each individual was dedicated, one of our weaknesses was that we needed more rehersal time, this would have saved alot of time and instead of concertrating on the script and shots we could have made the shooting schedule alot more detailed.
For the shooting of the prelim task we used a XH A1 camera to shoot our prelim task which we were taught how to use in previous lessons this included adjusting the tripod to the right height, then secure the camera onto the tripod and also adjust the spirit level this made the camera accurate and straight.then inserted the battery and tape then eventually switched the camera on.the prelim task has developed my production skills in many ways an example of this would be we had to be aware of our cast positioning and still include continuity additionally we kept the same props i also relised as an individual that oraganisational skills were just as important and technical skills which i hope to use a equal balance of each in my next film task, the prelim task also included independent filming being able to express our creativity within our work which was practical, for example we used a pan in one shot when yasmin walks through the door and edward follows behind, this was hard due to using a stair case and keeping both charathers within the frame, we over came this problem by using levels and using zoom to capture the close up shots this also helped capture the characters facial expressions which was very important when using shot reverse shot.
i think our short film appeals to people who watch soap operas and as for age would appeal to any viewer that is aware or interested of conflict within relationships. An example of this would be when edward sits down on the stairs with his hands on his head this creates tension for the audience and gives the feeling of failure which draws our scene to a close, this could be compared to eastenders such as it will never end and towards the end something always interesting happens which is called a cliff hanger.the short film would come under the romantic genre as it involves a couple.
Editing
In class we were shown how to use the new editing programme, Firstly we started off by plugging our camera into the computer using a usb cable the inserting the tape we used to film our prelim task. Then we plugged in the lacie drive which is basically a large memory card, the next step was to load the editing programme and go to file then scrool down to capture, this is where we was able to record each scene so that we would no longer need to plug in the camera which makes it easier for future editing also made editing easier due to being able to add headings to each scene which organised our work. After recording the next step was to playback all the scenes and see which ones included continuity and also included the shots we initially involed.
The problems we faced with editing?
rebecca and i found the editing programme straight forward and easy to use althrough we struggled to invole continuity but still include naturalism we overcame this by shortening our scenes this mage the shots not look so practiced and obvious that the cast were being directed. Another problem we faced was that everytime we had edited a scene and drag onto the time line one scene would over write another, We also overcame this by spacing each scene out and pressing the shift button on our keyboard. Due to this being rebecca and my first time editing i think we did a good job and manage to complete our independent film with success with a few minor delays.
as for engaging our audience our intial thoughts was to think what would we like to watch which is short and simple but still interesting so we refered to an everyday life dilemma which would hopefully relate to alot of our viewers.
Wednesday 23 September 2009
digital technology compared to analogue
Filmmakers first used digital technology in the 1980s to create fantastic new kinds of images for the screen. Since then, increasingly sophisticated tools have made it possible to produce, market, and sale motion pictures digitally.
Sunday 20 September 2009
media homework evaluation
In media we was given ten minutes to draw a storyboard that involved one person walking to the door opening the door and closing the door, Also include camera terminology and the was given ten minutes to take pictures and work out our story board heres my evaluation;
2. The second image is also a long shot image. Rachel and i decided to use levels to create the effect of the story progess, in the first image i was sitting down and in this image im standing.
7. The seventh image rachel and i decided to use a low angle shot. Also following from the previous image we still included the idea of tension as you can see my body is situated half way between the door. 
8. The eighth imageis a over the sholder shot. At this point rachel and i decided it was very impotant to think about the background as well as my body positioning, Which is also unpredictable because in this image i am looking the oppisite way to which direction i am going to walk in.
9.The ninth image is medium shot. This image shows the story coming to an ending.
1. The first still image rachel and i chose to make the shot a long shot due to being the first image on our story bored. The image shows clear body language which is that i am sitting down.
2. The second image is also a long shot image. Rachel and i decided to use levels to create the effect of the story progess, in the first image i was sitting down and in this image im standing.
3.The third image is a medium shot. Rachel and i decide to add a prop in to make it obvious that i am leaving.
4.Our fourth image we also used a medium shot but instead of taking a picture of the top half of my body we focused on my legs and feet, This shows i am walking and also makes the story more interesting.
5.The fifth image is a long shot. This image shows that i am reaching towards the handle of the door.
6.The sixth image is a close up. This shows my hand turning the handle, which can create tension due to having to wait instead of opening the door and another image of the door behind me, but by making the audience wait and makes the story unpredictable.
10. And my tenth image is a high angle shot. where you can see the top of my head and one foot infront of the other.
In my opinion rachel and i worked well together and stayed focused and got the work done fast.
Friday 18 September 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)