Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Synopsis


Synopsis
By Liam Potter & Thomas Powers
Written by Liam Potter
John Candor wakes up dazed handcuffed to a chair in a warehouse and is being tortured by two men one of which is standing in the back of the room and one who is actively participating in torturing John, they want to know where he and his brother George Candor hide a case. They a series of questions relating to the circumstances up to the robbery, this triggers a flashback for John. The flashback begins with John and George sat in a car discussing what the contents of the case can do for them and how it can help them start a new life. Eager to get his hands on the case George dashes out of the car followed more cautiously by John.
Cut back to the warehouse scene, John is snapped back into consciousness with a punch to the face, spitting blood. The man in the suit is flicking through a criminal record document of John and his brother George. John is still being pressured to give up the whereabouts of the case, which John refuses to give up. Aggravated the torturer pulls a sheet off a steel medial trolley, reviling several torture instruments ranging from knives spattered in dry blood to car batteries with crocodile clips still attached. John’s reluctance exasperates the torturer who goes to pick up pliers and begins to twist John’s finger backwards.  The torturer stops due to a loud ringing sound emanating from the man in the suit; he grabs his phone and with a startled look rushes outside to answer it, telling the torturer to wait for his return. The torturer now alone with John turns back to the table of torture tools to grab his phone walks back to John and shoves the phone in his face. Showing him the disturbing images taken only a short while ago of his brother George being brutally tortured and finally killed. The torturer insults John's brother, the remark and the video infuriate John so much he breaks free from his constraints.
The man in the suit presses the phone against his ear as a loud, deep and gruff voice questions his progress with John, as the man repeatedly tries to reassure him that he has the location of the case. The gruff sounding man hangs up and the man takes a deep breath and tightens up his tie and opens the door to re-enter the warehouse. The mans eyes widen in disbelief as he stares at the pool of blood surrounding the torturer who has being pierced with several of the blades from the table. The mans hand loosens and his phone collides with the ground shattering it into pieces. The mans eyes rush around the room, but John is gone.
A car is driving down a long desert road with John at the wheel, still covered in blood and with a busted up face. The car comes to a stop and John grabs a shovel out of the boot of the car, he walks to the edge of a field looks down and begins to count his steps. He reaches a certain point and swings the shovel over his shoulder and thrusts it into the ground. As John approaches the car covered in dirt he drops the shovel on the ground and swings the case onto the hood of the car, slowly he unclips the locks and opens the case. For a moment he glares at its content and then smiles.


Sunday, 22 September 2013

Character Development / Costume

Liam Potter and Thomas Powers
Written By Thomas Powers
character development





Main Character-
  name- John Candor
  costume- shorts, t-shirt
John has a history of violence, he is known to be uncooperative at times and aways gets his own way. John has an ability to slip away from situations when he feels under threat. this means that he can break out of handcuffs. John has a criminal record from his history travelling with his brother. He has a close relationship with his brother George. George and John want to start a new life but the only way they can do that is by stealing, this idea of stealing to move on from crime doesn't at first seem like a great idea to john but he changes his mind from persuasion from his brother and realising there is no other way.

Torturer Number one- Name-unknown, dies

   Costume- shirt and tie wearing formal clothing style aside from rubber gloves
  props associated with character- mobile phone

This Torturer has a dark image about him, he seems to enjoy torturing John not because his job relies on it, but because he enjoys it personally. He is a relentless character who doesn't stop until he believes he knows everything there is to know, he is murdered by John Candor when he decides to push John too far. This death to the spectator can be seen as self defence against the Torturer and it can be seen as revenge for the pain the torturer inflicted on John both physically and emotionally by murdering John's Brother George.



Man 2- Name-unknown, does not die
  Costume- full suit, doesn't do any torturing he leaves to talk to boss.
This character shows remorse towards John so much so that he does not engage in torturing John. He has a mystery about him because the spectator doesn't know a lot bout him it is difficult to decide what his motives are. It can however poop be seen to the spectator that this man is only in the room to make sure everything stays how it should, he is more in his job because he has to be rather than the torturer who enjoys his work.




Supporting character (3)- Name-George Candor appears in flashback and shown on mobile phone as being tortured and killed. He has an eccentric personality and he is an eager person. he likes to do things quickly and sometimes doesn't take in to consideration consequences for his actions
  costume- suit for flashback scene. when in torture chair wearing trousers and vest top. Brother of Main character



Conventions Of A Short Thriller Film


Conventions Of A Short Thriller Film

In a short thriller film the cinematography is usually following on one character, this means that it is easier for the audience to be aligned with one character usually the protagonist, this is because because alignment must be faster and easier for the audience due to the shorter time scale. This affect is achieved with tight close ups on the protagonist coupled with low angles to make the audience feel the action from the protagonists point of view. In a short film cinematography is perhaps the most important part of the film this is because it allows the audience to experience what is happening more in depth, it brings the audience into the diegesis allowing them to experience the full story and impact in a shorter space of time.

Sound in a thriller is usually very sharp and usually has a high volume; this includes any dialogue spoken and the soundtrack. The tone of the soundtrack is usually high pitched to add to the suspense of the action happening on screen. The beat of a soundtrack can be timed to match what is happening on screen this is used in thrillers to create a larger impact upon the audience.  Dialogue in a short film is usually restricted to words or short sentences, this is because the actions of a performers in a short film are usually emphasised more to get the narrative and message across to the audience. This means that the story and action can be told more through visually imagery seen imagery than dialogue.

Mise-en-scene is key in short films for showing the audience what is happening in the diegesis. Usually in a short film the mise-en-scene has a story verisimilitude, this is because usually short films occur in the world the audience sees. The thriller genre is usually has strong verisimilitude, this is usually to subconsciously include the audience in the diegesis because if the audience could believe that it could happen to them they are more likely to believe the narrative. Lighting in the thriller genre is usually dark casting shadows on the antagonists this shows the audience that they are on the darker side of society it also shows the audience that the antagonists don’t have much hope for them in the narrative. This is usually in stark difference to the lighting on the protagonist, which is usually light, and direct this shows that in the narrative the protagonist has a glimmer of light and will be able to complete their mission and resolve the narrative. Colours in a thriller are usually black and white even if the short film its self is colour. Black is usually associated with the antagonists and white is usually associated with the protagonists because not only because it creates visual opposites between the characters but it also creates a visual representative of Levi Strauss’ theory of ‘Binary opposition’ with hero vs. villain.

Editing in a short thriller film is usually mainly comprised of cuts, this is because it speeds up the action on screen but it also serves to disorientate the viewer so they find it more action filled but do not necessarily know what is going on. However to build tension thrillers will usually have long shot durations which build tension. The tension built by the longer shot durations acts as a climax for the scene, which is then broken by the rapid action and cuts between shots. Jump cuts are sometimes used because in a thriller suspense can be created by what the audience does not see but gets the impression of seeing, this means that the audience have to fill in the blanks imagining something usually worse that what occurred. Shot reverse shot is used heavily because it is not only be used in conversations between characters but can also be used during action scenes or when the action reaches a climax.

The narrative structure of a short thriller film is usually the Todorov structure because there is usually an equilibrium, which is then broken by a disruption usually the antagonist committing a crime, or a character going missing. There is then a re-equilibrium as the protagonist solves the problem and things return back to how they where before the disruption.

A short film in general tends not to have a complex narrative, this is because it can be difficult for the audience to understand what is happening, it also means that it is easier to film and conclude the narrative in a shorter space of time. Short films also tend to have producers who take into account the capabilities of the film crew and also the budget of the short film. Usually the producer in a short film is also the director because most short films are low budget. Most short films are created for a specific audience; this means that they are tailored to get an emotional response more out of those audience members than others. However because a short film has to have a simple narrative they can appeal to wider audiences than intended.

The spectator’s interpretation of the short film may not be the intended one but it is the interpretation that the spectator gets from the film, this means that this interpretation understood becomes the meaning of the film to the spectator. To help with interpretations of the short film simple narratives are used so that the spectator can get the intended interpretation that is wanted by the director.

Tuesday, 10 September 2013

Genre ideas for short film.

The genre selected is Action. This means that we still need to decide on a sub genre.
Typical action sub genres include;

  • Action Spy
  • Action Adventure
  • Action Horror
  • Action Disaster
  • Action Sci-Fi
  • Action Comedy
Because of numerous subgenres, action can easily be incorporated into a short film and can be adapted to fit into a film.

An action spy film can be seen in James Bond. Because the action spy genre can be easily adapted, action spy films can have many different forms and interpretations. for example Robert Rodreguez's Spy Kids.


Action Horror is another easily adaptable genre because it can be interpreted in different ways. This means it's great for doing a short film because it is such a flexible sub genre. Examples of this include Resident Evil (2002 Paul W. S. Anderson).