Our group came together and we all presented out individual story boards, with these ideas we were able to come up with a final story board which everyone was happy with including the best parts of each one. Also we were able to come up with a shot by shot list, stating where, when, what, how long, shot type, length, action, etc....
Basic Plot
First of all the father goes out and leaves the child with the mother, someone is watching them, mother went into the kichen when a mysterious person follows her in and knocks her out, the girl is sitting in the corner where the a mysterious person helps her up, the mother's phone starts to ring, this is when the two disappear down the road, the mother is now running around the house looking for the child, then out side.
Firstly shots of the father leaving the child with the mother, getting into the car and driving away. This could be filmed from many different angles such as from inside the house mid shots, out side the house, across the road long shots, close ups of faces, the hand opening the door, the feet walking to the car, high angle, low angle or pans. A mixture of these together would both show the sequence well from all different angles but create quick editing.
Basic Plot
First of all the father goes out and leaves the child with the mother, someone is watching them, mother went into the kichen when a mysterious person follows her in and knocks her out, the girl is sitting in the corner where the a mysterious person helps her up, the mother's phone starts to ring, this is when the two disappear down the road, the mother is now running around the house looking for the child, then out side.
The shots would involve...
Firstly shots of the father leaving the child with the mother, getting into the car and driving away. This could be filmed from many different angles such as from inside the house mid shots, out side the house, across the road long shots, close ups of faces, the hand opening the door, the feet walking to the car, high angle, low angle or pans. A mixture of these together would both show the sequence well from all different angles but create quick editing.
Then it skips to the mysterious person entering the kitchen and the babysitter on the floor unconcious. This can be shot as a point of view shot of the mysterious person, this would be shot not using a tripod to make the shots jerkier and more realistic, then they shine a torch around the room until the come to the babysitter. Also this could involve the mysterious person slipping into the darkened room , filmed as an over the shoulder shot showing the hand pushing the door open. Then to acompany this second idea a shot of the babysitter on the floor with a phone in her hand which starts to ring, this sequence finishes with a close up of the phone ringing. Possibly these all filmed with the lights off, presuming we have the correct equiptment to light what should be show correctly such as torches and spotlights, if not a dim light could be used.
Next the shot reverts back to where the child is, in the corner of a room. This shot should be a high angle making her look like the victim, she could be sitting there trying to shuffle further into the corner upon seeing the mysterious person enter the room. This person extends a hand to the child and after some deliberation the child takes the hand, this shot should be a low angle close up of the hands. Remebering that this is only a trailer these shots will only be very quick.
This is where the action begins. The babysitter is comes around and is running all around the house in despair looking for the child. Shots such as up the stairs, opening doors in panic, calling out, close ups to show emotion on her face, looking inside cupboards, double checking places and then she decide to look outside.
Here the disorientation becomes apparant, it is rush hour, there is traffic everywhere, people on the streets. This could be shown by the babysitter standing on the street turning around looking and the camera moving in the opposite direction, the babysitter bumping into people on the street, close up of their faces of annoyance and hers anguish and distress.
Here the disorientation becomes apparant, it is rush hour, there is traffic everywhere, people on the streets. This could be shown by the babysitter standing on the street turning around looking and the camera moving in the opposite direction, the babysitter bumping into people on the street, close up of their faces of annoyance and hers anguish and distress.
Storyboard, showing the shots and scenes described above.
The copy (Text on screen instead of a voice over)
When everything seems safe..... It becomes a parents worst nightmare..... But someone else's need..... The hunt begins..... When the find their child..... MISSING
THEORY
Viktor Shlovsky
Fabula - Story behind what is seen on the screen
Syuzhet - only events we have seen or heard within the field of vision
Genre;
"The kind/type of media text."
John Fiske
Barthes
Derrida
Levi-strauss
Genette
Narrative;
The theory to our film trailer is the narrative theory of Vladmir Propp.
His theroy was involving structuralism, that every tale consisted of 31 spheres of action;
- ABSENTATION
- INTERDICTION
- VIOLATION of INTERDICTION
- RECONNAISSANCE
- DELIVERY
- TRICKERY
- COMPLICITY
- VILLAINY and LACK
- MEDIATION
- BEGINNING COUNTER-ACTION
- DEPARTURE
- FIRST FUNCTION OF THE DONOR
- HERO'S REACTION
- RECEIPT OF A MAGICAL AGENT
- GUIDANCE
- STRUGGLE
- BRANDING
- VICTORY
- LIQUIDATION
- RETURN
- PURSUIT
- RESCUE
- UNRECOGNIZED ARRIVAL
- UNFOUNDED CLAIMS
- DIFFICULT TASK
- SOLUTION
- RECOGNITION
- EXPOSURE
- TRANSFIGURATION
- PUNISHMENT
- WEDDING
1. VILLAINY and LACK: Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc, comits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc). There are two parts to this stage, either or both of which may appear in the story. In the first stage, the villain causes some kind of harm, for example carrying away a victim or the desired magical object (which must be then be retrieved). In the second stage, a sense of lack is identified, for example in the hero's family or within a community, whereby something is identified as lost or something becomes desirable for some reason, for example a magical object that will save people in some way. 'Lack' is a deep psychoanalytic principle which we first experience when we realize our individual separation from the world. Lack leads to desire and deep longing and we look to heroes to satisfy this aching emptiness.
2. STRUGGLE: Hero and villain join in direct combat;
Now these are the fairlytale versions of what would happen in our trailer, here is our adaptations.
1. VILLAINY and LACK: In this case the Villiainy is committed, and the girl is taken from the house. The second stage is not far behind, with the babysitter realsing the girl is gone, this is when she begins to search for her.
'Lack' is a deep psychoanalytic principle which we first experience when we realize our individual separation from the world. Lack leads to desire and deep longing and we look to heroes to satisfy this aching emptiness.
2. STRUGGLE: Here the struggle is not physical as such, it is more of a pschological struggle to follow the "clues" given by the abductor.
The film trailer will not have an ending unlike the theory of Tzvetan Todorov.
His theory was the narrative theory of equilibrium.
- There is an evident equilibrium - The happy family at the start, the child and Mother waving the Father off happily
- This equilibrium is disrupted by someone or an action - The child is taken
- This disruption is acknowledged - The Mother can't find the child
- There is an attempt to restore the equilibrium - The Mother begins to look for the child inside and outside the house, then attacked.
Roland Barthes' Enigma codes also play parts in this film trailer, "portrays a mystery to draw an audience in, pose questions and, as such, become intrigued in the piece. For instance, a murder mystery will often not reveal the identity of the murderer until the end of the story, which poses the question "Who is the murderer?" ". This is exactly how we intend to portray our film trailer using 2 of Barthes' 5 codes.1. The Hermeneutic Code refers to any part of the story that is not fully explained (in this case most of it as it is a teaser trailer and there is not time to be explaining all of the ins and outs of the story) and hence becomes a mystery to the viewer making them want to go and see the actual film.
The full truth is often avoided, for example in:
Snares: deliberately avoiding the truth - Possibly leading the viewer to thinking the girl had been killed or something like that when infact she is still alive and well.
Equivocations: partial or incomplete answers - Such as finding a teddy bear the girl goes nowhere without, or a sock/shoe.
Jammings: openly acknowledge that there is no answer to a problem - Such as when hope is lost after the Mother has looked everywhere she can think of.
The purpose of this is typically to keep the audience guessing, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved, which will not occur in our film trailer.
2. The Proairetic Code builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which gets the reader guessing what will happen next.
The Hermeneutic and Proairetic Codes work as a pair to develop the story's tensions and keep the reader interested. Barthes described them as:
"...dependent on ... two sequential codes: the revelation of truth and the coordination of the actions represented: there is the same constraint in the gradual order of melody and in the equally gradual order of the narrative sequence."
1. Introduction and setting of the scene - the opening couple of shots
2. Explaination of affairs
3. Initiating the event - The realisation that the child is missing
4. Emotional response or stating of goal by protagonist - Looking for the child
5. Complicating actions - the following isn't contained in a film trailer
6. Outcome
7. Reactions to out come
Representation;
"The ways in which ideas, objects, people, groups and life forms are depicted by the mass media."
"Also a method used by the media to create meanings."
There are two different approaches to representation, political and philisophical.
Charlotte Perkins' theory of sterotypes will be used in our trailer.
1. Some stereotypes are positive
2. They are not always that minority groups are less powerful
3. They can be held about one's own group
4. They are not rigid and unchanging - the child being found by the mother making her strong, possibly the fabula.
5. They are not always false - such as the women being weak and not being able to find her child in the trailer, shown in the syuzhet.
The timing for filming our shots has to be very precise, almost in chronological order due to the time of day it is filmed at. Dusk is crucial to our plot, the child goes missing at dusk and the Mother has not very much time before it gets dark to find her and as the light fades, so do the hopes of finding her.
Here is the idea for our photo for the film poster.
Here is the idea for our photo for the film poster.
It is taken from the back, with the child looking round at the camera possibly and holding a teddy bear. It is taken in the dark with only somelight from maybe street lamps or torches, we don't know yet if the flash is needed or it will make things too bright.There is no sign of a struggle but the expression on the childs face is distressed and yearning.The trailer will start with our own logo which we will make like all other proper movie and film companies. It will consist of our initials JLMV productions.
