Similar films to ours.

Similar films to ours.

The 5^th wave.

 The 5^th wave is an apocalyptic science fiction film which was directed by J Blackeson in 2016.

In this apocalyptic film a spacecraft the size of a small city is orbiting earth. The creatures upon this spacecraft are referred to as: “The others” and on the 5^th wave are their attack “The others” merge consciousness with the human’s host. They are around 300 survivors in a small camp when the army roll up and take all the children saying that they’ll be back for the rest of the adults. What the children don’t know is that when the children get to the army base the military use deceptive technology to convince the children that all humans that’re outside of this base have been possessed. The army then train these children forming squadrons out of groups of them and send them on missions to kill the remaining humans.

This film is similar to ours due to “The others” merging consciousness with the humans as in our film it’s the clones absorb the consciousness of the human.

28 days later.

28 days later is fantasy/ Science fiction film which was directed by Danny Boyle and was released in 2002. Some animal rights activists free a chimp from a medical research lab. This Chimp was infected with a rage virus. The film starts with the main character(Jim) waking up from a coma in hospital after a month to find the entire city deserted.  Jim then finds a group of survivors who he joins on a gruelling journey to what the group hopes is safety.

This film is similar to our films as they both are post-apocalyptic SC-fi films. In 28 days later however, it’s more of a zombie like apocalyptic film whereas mine is more mind controlled clones.

Detailed description of the first 3 minutes of my film

Detailed description of the first 3 minutes of my film

The 4 main characters are sat around a camp fire in a wooded area, can be set at dusk or early morning. They are talking about how the world went to pot. The screen then goes black and you can hear sirens and devastation. The characters are discussing the law the government passed. The screen will then transition to another scene, flickering transition, to a new room where a scientist is talking to the camera about the new law that everyone must give a sample of their DNA to the officials who will use it to help prevent crime. The camera then flickers/ fades back to the main characters sat around a campfire. They then say that after that there was rioting and, looting as the people were not happy with the new law that was passed. The scene then cuts to footage of buildings on fire and mobs running through the streets. When it cuts back the camera then cuts to footage (looking through a man’s eyes) as he’s stumbling towards the group in the woods. We then see a hand grabbing one of their shoulders and they turn around and scream. The camera then does a shot reverse shot of the person whom the hand belongs too and it’s a clone of the same person. With the camera placed on the floor looking up at his clone, the camera is drifting in and out of focus. The camera then re focuses on all the characters. They are the top of a hill and are holding hands in a circle as a plan approaches. Then all of a sudden the screen goes black. The next scene the camera is positioned laid down on the floor (in 1^st person again).He can see one of his fellows hitting the dead clone on the floor with a baseball bat, he’s been set on fire. He’s out of breath and panicking. End of 3 minutes.

BBFC Film Ratings And Certification

Bbfc, film ratings and certification from connorc123

Post apocalyptic narrative and character analysis in depth- Nicole Collins French

 

sub genre information (post-apocalyptic)- Nicole Collins French

a)Storyline
The storyline of a post apocalyptic movie is similar to Todorov's equilibrium theory, where everything is fine, something destroys the equilibrium then there is a re-equilibrium at the end of the movie, or maybe there is no re-equilibrium, but there will be another film after the one made to keep people on edge and to the have a re-equilibrium made in the second film.
b)Characters
The characters of a post apocalyptic film vary in each film, some have a group of characters to begin with and them some characters get killed or lost, in another scenario a lone survivor meets people and they unite, or there is a pair of people and one either dies or gets lost or they unite with other people.
c)Setting/locations
In a post-apocalyptic movie the setting is usually in a deserted city, which life seems extinct to show that it is a post-apocalyptic film. Other locations used are in a science facility, or in a government base. However, usually the setting which is most common is in s deserted place which isolation is noticeable.
d)Camerawork/cinematography
The camera work in post-apocalyptic films is usually fast paced. Ariel shots are mostly used to establish the area and the fact that humanity has changed dramatically. The short takes allows the audience to feel as though something bad has happened and that something has distorted the equilibrium. Close ups are used to show to the audience specific details of things, such as people, which is similar to other films.
e)Editing
The editing of post apocalyptic films is usually fast paced to give a sense of some sort of dstorion to normality. Sometimes dissolves or fade outs are used to show a long period of time has past and there has been a dramatic change, that is if the event on how the equilibrium has been distorted has not been sown in detail.
f)sound/music
The music in a post-apocalyptic film is dramatic and gives a sense of adventure to show that some sort of even is going to happen which will restore a distorted equilibrium. Loud and dramatic music could symbolise a distortion to the equilibrium or a solution to the distortion. Non-diegetic sounds sometimes are used to emphasise un natural noises or natural sounds which need to be pointed out to the audience more to make it deem more intriguing.
g)iconography
The iconography used in post-apocalyptic films are usually: deserted places, weapons such as guns, sometimes the toxic symbol, masks and armour.
h)titles (font etc.)
The font used to address the post-apocalyptic theme is usually big and bold to grab the attention that the 'end' has come and it is not a laughing matter. The bold font underlines the fact that the situation should be noticed and not ignored and the big sized font allows the text to be visible enough for the audience to understand the situation. Usually red, black ,grey and alternate de-saturated colours are used to show that the life has been such out of the earth , or the red suggests that blood could be spilt or that some aggression/war is coming.

Films similar to the group movie- Nicole Collins French

 Spiderman has a similar genre to my group's film, as they are both to do with a tamper of DNA and somehow it has caused a changed with in person's life. In my group's movie, DNA is copied and clones are made, leading to a new 'human race' as people then need to fight to survive.

Cloned has a similar idea in the sense that people have been cloned and the original humans need to fight or escape to survive. In my group's film the 4 remaining charcaters which are left are trying to survive the new 'race' and at the end the 4 characters unfortunately die from a bomb explosion which was set by the government.

The 5th wave is compareable to my group's film as in my groups film it revolves around a post-apocalyptic phase where survivors have to survive, which is similar to the 5th wave as in that movie it is a post-apocalyptic film where a group of children have to survive against external sources.

28 Days Later can be compared to my group's movie, as in 28 Days Later, London is taken over by a rage virus which initially wipes out all humans in the London area and in other places in England. This leads to survivours fighting for their survival whilst in a post-apocalyptic area. This is like my group's film, as stated in the 5th Wave comparing statement.

Similar Films To Ours

 

The 2005 film, The Island, directed by Michael Bay is quite similar to our film in the cloning aspect and the Sci-Fi themes throughout. The trailer for the film can be seen here.

 

 

Also similar to our films is Blade Runner as lots of characters, although not clones, don't know if they are real people or not, similar to how the clones in our film don't know if they are real or not. Here is the trailer. 

Another similar thing to our film is the 2016 TV series Westworld. Although not a movie, the series is quite similar to our film and Blade Runner for that matter due to characters not knowing if they are real people and various clones of "Hosts" being available to be made. Here is the trailer.

Research to the history of science fiction

 

Research to the history of science fiction

 

Science fiction as a film genre that captures the essence of extra terrestrial threats from unknown galaxies or the fight between humans and their own inventions. Sci fi was believed to be first originated around 2000BC by the works of Sumerian: Epic of Gilgamesh. However, this first approach is counter argued by a second approach between the 17th century and the early 19th century following scientific revolutions. Science fiction films throughout the years have changed and dispersed in many directions leading to iconic sub-genre's of sci fi such as sci fi horror and sci fi fantasy. As the years progressed through sci fi the first films inputted extra terrestrial threats such as E.T. however this later changed to situations such as epidemics and human caused infections that lead to mutations, as this seemed relatable at the time. This spread of infection was mainly used in the sub genre sci fi horror as the reliability, that this could actually happen, scared the viewers.

 

 

 



 

 

Science fiction came around quite early on due to people constantly wondering what was out there as generally people were scared to travel past the mountains as they thought it was the edge of the earth. After people journeyed across the earth folks used to tell stories of their journeys which lead to the mythical creatures and people often wondering what it was like in space. So sci fi generally came about through curiosity of the unknown.

 

Genre History Research

The genre we are doing is Sci-Fi/post apocalyptic. Firstly, on to Sci-Fi:

Sci-Fi first started to gain main stream popularity in the 1950's largely due to the invention of Technicolor allowing things such as the aliens and monsters of the genre to be seen in their glorious colours which stood out from many of the Westerns and Noir films at the time which were usually in black and white or had very muted colours. However, before the 50's Sci-Fi films did have a fair bit of popularity, in particular the 1927 film Metropolis. Another main reason for the influx of creatures, aliens and monsters in these 50's films is due to the contemporary films at the times. These fears were things such as communists invading the US, and blending in to normal society un detected, much like lots of the aliens in the films at the time.

In the coming years up to the 1980's, not that many Sci-Fi movies were made, however, the ones that were often became very iconic. These include movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Close Encounters of The Third Kind and TV shows such as Westworld, which is actually being re made today and is very well received by critics and fans.

The 80's saw a huge resurgence of Sci-Fi movies however, with such hits as Back To The Future, Alien and Blade Runner being made and adored by fans and critics, only increasing the popularity of Sci-Fi films for years to come. Lots of things inspired these films but it could be most argued that with the 80's, it truly seemed like the future was here, with inventions such as VHS and coloured TV becoming increasingly popular. This may have led to lots of Sci-Fi films being made as a result of future inspiration.

Lots of this success continued into the 90's with hits such as Terminator 2: Judgement Day,
Gattaca and Independence day being released.

The 2000's saw the large popularity of the internet being adopted by many and large technological breakthroughs in things such as cloning and artificial intelligence which were the direct inspirations behind many films such as The Island, Ex Machina and Matrix Reloaded.