How did you use conventions of real media texts in your production?
- 3. The first scene was based in a morgue. The deceased body is laid on the table, with the two detectives standing opposite the coroner. This barrier between the detective characters and the coroner give the audience an immediate image for each character, along with representing Detective Barnes and Rosalie as a team. We placed implements on the table next to the body, which represents a morgue environment, and clearly shows that the body has been examined. We decided to have high key lighting in this scene, but then later decided to tone the high lighting down using Final Cut Pro. No spotlight was used, just the main light situated in this particular room. The white sheet was placed over the body, as we wanted it to mirror other films of this nature, making it as realistic as possible. The deceased body’s head was left uncovered as that was what we wanted the actors to be looking at and focusing on whilst our coroner character spoke.
- 4. This board was used in two scenes as we felt it represented a detective’s/investigator’s office, as they often show their case studies and evidence this way. We pinned some paper and photographs up onto it to represent this. In hindsight it would have been better to include much more information and photographs , as this would have looked much more realistic. As the first scene with the board, we see it behind The Boss’ head. The second time we see it centered between Rosalie and Detective Barnes, which shows the audience that this is the Detectives’ office and not The Boss’. As we see The Boss’ office later on when he’s discussing Rosalie with Detective Barnes. We placed desks and books in the shot, to represent the fact it’s an office. The desks facing opposite each other in this shot rather than next to each other, represents the feud between the two characters. In this scene we see Rosalie and Detective Barnes yelling at each other about the case, this opposition of the desks and facing each other tells the audience they are no longer the team they were.
- 5. Early on in the stages of deciding where we should film each scene, Guisborough woods was somewhere we definitely wanted to include in our filming. The woods gives the audience the typical thought seen in many films, if it’s a wood, something bad is going to happen. It shows a big open space, where it’s easy for characters to get lost, and it creates the sense of being lost and frightened. In this case, our male character who gets bitten and killed by Rosalie feels as though he is being watched, and begins running to get away. This is where the character of Rosalie is discovered as the murderer by the audience. As I played the character Rosalie, my hair was very distinctive whilst filming, which is something the audience would notice as they would be looking for anything to tell them who the murderer is. This shot portrays the character of Peter as vulnerable as he is being watched and chased by Rosalie. It also gives the audience pleasure as they are watching from Rosalie’s perspective, meaning they know something the other characters in the film do not.
- 6. The murdering scene was filmed beside a graveyard. In hindsight, it would have been a brilliant shot to include in the film, as the film is about the deceased. Especially as the female protagonist is a vampire. To add to our gothic theme, we decided that we should use the raw iron gate in this scene. The character of Peter shakes the gate, which portrays him as frightened as it’s a dead end and Rosalie is coming up behind him. The first still from the film above is before he faces his killer. The scene was filmed to create sympathy for Peter, as the audience know what is going to occur. The second still from the film above, shows the character of Peter turning around to face Rosalie, as Rosalie prepares for the kill. In the background of the shot, the woods are still in sight, which shows the audience it’s still in the same area. The woods add an eerie atmosphere to the scene.
- 7. The interrogation scenes were filmed using a small setting. The room being small adds tension as it’s a more intimate set up. The lighting was a very important aspect when filming the interrogation scenes, as we were only using a spotlight. This low key lighting was perfect for this scene, as it created shadows which added to the horror aspect of the film. The table barrier was used once again. In the first still of the film above we see Rosalie standing in the middle, in between the suspect and Detective Barnes. We wanted this to indicate the character was unbiased and wasn’t on either side, as she knows something the other two characters do not. The next interrogation scene differs from this one, as Rosalie is now again, standing next to her partner, in order for Detective Barnes not to be suspicious of his fellow detective. Detective Barnes is the dominant speaker for the most part of the film, especially in this scene. This would usually be to show male dominance, but in our film’s case, it was to show Rosalie had something to hide.
- 8. The ‘following’ scene where Detective Barnes and The Boss are following Rosalie was also filmed outside in Guisborough. Some of the scenes introduce a more urban image then we’ve seen previously in the film, as there are shops and houses included in the shots. Although this was the case, the setting was deserted of people, as we wanted it to feel as though it was solely the three characters, and no other people were involved. Here we see Detective Barnes and The Boss exiting the same building Rosalie did earlier in the film. This was our office building, which we wanted to involve as it created a more realistic image as to where the Detective’s worked and were based. As Rosalie is alone whilst she walks, and Detective Barnes and The Boss are acting as a team it depicts the character of Rosalie being alone in her actions. We didn’t introduce another vampire into the story as Rosalie’s friend, we wanted to solely focus on the relationship between Rosalie and Detective Barnes, and The Boss’ fondness for Rosalie before he finds out that she’s the culprit.
- 9. The final scene was filmed outside to continue the scene when The Boss and Detective Barnes are following Rosalie. We chose to film it next to a memorial burial, which is where Rosalie is standing when the two male characters look shocked to see her. This burial is a representation of death once again, and was to symbolize Rosalie’s burial, or coffin. We were going to involve extra dialogue from Rosalie explaining that she was buried there, to influence the vampire theme. This still from the film above shows once again the change in team, that was once between Rosalie and Detective Barnes, but is now between Barnes and The Boss. We decided to cut the scene where Rosalie runs for Detective Barnes with the intention of killing him. The ending clip is now Rosalie giving away the intent of killing Barnes and The Boss. We have left it for the audience to decide whether Rosalie succeeds with this, or whether she fails.
- 10. CAMERA SHOTS
- 11. The camera shots included in our film are… Over the shoulder shots – When the focus is on the character speaking, but also involving the character being spoken to. Seeing it from a character’s perspective. Extreme long shots – Effective when you want to emphasize the background and environment the character is against. Long shots – Involving the whole character’s body from head to toe. Good when you still want the character’s surroundings as part of the shot. Medium shots– More subtle actions made by the characters can be seen. Close ups – A good way of engaging the audience with the character emotionally, as all their actions and emotions are clear. Shot reverse shot – Where one character is shown looking at another character, then that character is shown looking back at the first character. Tilt shot – Good for when you want to film something that is above or below eyelevel. High angled shot – The camera looks down on the subject. Medium long shot – When you still want to see the character’s emotions but involve more of their body in the shot.
- 12. When the camera shots are used in the film… OVER THE SHOULDER EXTREME LONG SHOTS
- 13. EXTREME LONG SHOTS LONG SHOTS
- 14. MEDIUM CLOSE UPS
- 15. CLOSE UPS HIGH ANGLED SHOT MEDIUM LONG SHOTS
- 17. We looked at many theorists, and theory ideas and concepts before beginning to plan our film and the concept of that. We looked at the Russian theorist, Tzvetan Todorov, who suggests that many narratives follow a three part structure. That they begin with an equilibrium where everything is balanced. Progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally to reach a resolution when equilibrium is restored. We also researched into theorist Vladimir Propp’s character roles theory, which assisted when deciding on our character’s roles. We also looked at Barthes’ five codes. When deciding on a plot and idea for our film, we began with the idea of the zombie concept. We had started to research into zombie films, and began piecing together a plot. We then decided, for a zombie film to succeed you need a lot of characters involved, which would mean a lot of actors being willing to help us. We thought this might not succeed as an idea, then came the idea of a vampire and detective theme. We thought this was a more feasible idea, so we began writing our ideas. We researched into vampire films, such as ‘Dracula’ and the ‘Twilight’ franchise. We liked the idea of also having the detective theme, so we researched into films and TV series such as ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes.’ We then began to think about characters. We decided we wanted a male and female protagonist, to remove the stereotypical view of a male detective. We wanted our character of Rosalie to be as strong, if not a stronger character than that of the male protagonist, in this case, Detective Barnes. We did however want the stereotypical character of ‘The Boss’ in our film, this suited the plot we felt. The other characters in the film have minor parts, especially the character of the coroner and the suspects, who appear in one scene each. We established there should be two suspects, who get
- 18. interrogated. This adds more of a realistic feel to the plot. Peter, who is the ex- boyfriend of our female protagonist, Rosalie, appears in two scenes. This gives the audience a good incline into his character and what business he had with Rosalie. There are two characters who the audience can feel sympathy for, one being Peter, and the other being Detective Barnes. We felt this would appeal to the audience, as it creates emotion for them. When we decided on this vampire/detective theme, we changed our mind on which time period we should have it, as this would have a huge bearing on costume, and the script. The period of the 1960’s was our first choice, as it would be more understandable why we wanted our film to be in black and white. We then focused more on the costume concept and felt the 1980’s were a better time period to choose. But still wanting our film to be in black and white, we had to decide on why this would be the case. As the theme is based on the vampire idea, the concept of the film being in black and white would be a perfect idea to bring out a more gothic theme to our film, which was also mentioned in audience feedback. The black clothing worn by the two protagonists assisted with this idea also, so altogether it worked well and was a realistic idea and approach. My expectations of what the film would be like, and what it was like differed hugely. We included a soliloquy from the character Detective Barnes, when he begins to suspect his fellow detective as the culprit. A soliloquy is a brilliant way of engaging with the audience, as the character is talking directly to the audience and not to another character in the film. He shares his thoughts with them, which appeals to audiences as they then share something with a character, that no other character knows. We also include a voice over, which is put over our flashback scene. It’s a good way of showing a scene whilst
- 19. a character is also speaking. This way we can show the flashback of Rosalie’s past with Peter , whilst she explains to Detective Barnes and The Boss. The genres of ‘Stake Out’ are horror and mystery. The ensure we chose the correct genre for the sort of film we wanted to produce, we researched into different genres., which was also important because of our target audience, which is 15 – 40 year olds.