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.

The history post apocalyptic and science fiction genres- Nicole Collins French

Research of a post apocalyptic, science fiction

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, science fantasy or horror fiction. The apocalypse may be presented as a natural disaster such as: an earthquake, flood or war between humans or the apocalypse may be created by outside events such as: an alien invasion or a zombie-aocalypse, or the apocalypse could be man made sue to: break of viruses, experiments gone wrong or a medical disaster. Post apocalyptic is a sub-genre of science fiction and horror, which is made to scare people to think about the future and how it could posdsibly be like. People do not know what the future will bring us, therefore if a post apocalyptic film is made then that will frighten the audience and put them on their feet as they do not know if the world will end and or even when.

Apocalypse is a Greek word referring to 'the end of the world'. The firs post-apocalyptic film was made in 1936 which was callecd 'Things To Come'. 

Science Fiction

There is no litreral definiton of "science fiction"

Robert Scholes calles the history of science fiction, "the history of humanity's chnaging attitudes towards space and time...the history of our growing understanding of the universe and the position of our species in the universe."

Science fiction usually realtes arround a threat that could become possible, leading to a catastrophe to scare the demographic.

Mood board

First 3 minutes of Film

First 3 minutes of the film

Title: The Torturous Trio
Genre: Fantasy horror
 

Dr Jefferson Montero was working alone on a cold, dark Friday night down in his laboratory working on some remedies to cure a disease that had him bullied all way through highschool: Dwarfism. Dr Jefferson Montero was constantly bullied in high school for being exceptionally small and was always the one to get knocked left to right as he didn't have much strength. So, from then on Jefferson made it his ultimate goal to make this vaccination for dwarfism so no one else has to go through the horrors he went through in high school.

Whilst Dr Montero was searching around for his components to his vaccinations the math didn't seem right on the chalkboard so he double checked and found the error he had made and then could finally get underway with his cure. After a few chemical reactions and moments pass by, he checks out the window and it is still dark outside. Finally, his vaccination is finished.

As Montero collects his vaccinations together, he collects them all and calls his nervous test subjects in from the corridor. The 3 test subjects walk in the desolate laboratory looking around cautiously to ensure they weren't being deceived when Montero said he could cure their illness. After the 3 test subjects have entered, the doctor one by one, fastens the people up to the beds and injects them with the serum.

At first, nothing happened. But then, all of a sudden the "dwarves" started to grow as the doctor had planned however their bodies were also deteriorating and mutating. As they continue to grow, they bust the belt buckles attatching them to the bed and kill off the doctor menacingly. Then they scuttle down the corridor and up the stairs to the exit and they open the door waiting to enslave humanity.

 

My film idea

As media studies: short film idea

The idea is an apocalyptic based horror film set in present day.

Background information

 A new law is passed saying that every citizen of the United Kingdom must have a mandatory D.N.A check which will be kept on record for crime prevention and as a crime deterrence.  Little known to the residents this is secretly conspiracy and the government are actually creating clones of all humans. These clones then have to find their biological parent and absorb their conscience and mind which leaves the parent brain dead and collapsed on the floor. The government want a population that they can control, the perfect nation that they can also be used to lead into a war against some of the most powerful countries such as North Korea, Russia and finally America where they shall conquer Donald trump. This is inevitably will happen and it’s out of the hands of the 3 characters that the film will follow throughout the film.

The beginning

The main characters are sat around a camp fire in the woods. They are talking about how the government passed a law sating that everyone had to give them a D.N.A sample as to help prevent crime. They then are talking about how clones then fell from the sky and started absorbing the people’s consciences, and as they cannot be destroyed with normal weapons they soon took over. As they saw this they ran to the hills and hid in the woods. They find out the weakness of the clones when they are attacked by one and end up setting fire. The clone belonged to one of the main characters, as he touches the clones face he sees a vision of how he dies which is from a bomb being dropped on the group as they are in a circle, holding hands. He jumps back from the vision, panting and does not tell the others of the vision he just saw. They group then decide to test this new method of killing clones on a few stray ones on the top of the hills, as they conquer these the camera cuts and the screen goes blank.

The middle

The main characters are in the woods, again, with blow torches and other methods of fire and are building weapons to fight the clones with. (The clones are still wandering the village). As they are disguising their plan of going back deeper into the village to gain more supplies and that it was handy that these blow torches and weapons were in a garage on the border of the village. The camera then goes fuzzy and blurred. It re-focuses on a man in a white lab coat. He is sending a message, addressing the clones what he did to them and his big plan of world domination about taking over the world.  He then tells them that they need to make their way to the nearest check point as he’s going to destroy any survivors by dropping small nukes on towns and cities. The vision is cut and the same character who had the vision earlier, jumps back. Due to him touching the clone earlier he is connected to them and is able receive the broadcasts. As he jumped back he is panting out and of breath. The others are asking him if he’s okay and alright and he brushes them off. They then make their way down to the city and its almost empty. They are just a few left and they are all traveling in the same direction. After much arguing the decide to stock up on supplies and follow them to see where they are going. They break into a car and slowly travel down the roads and discover that all the clones are in some kind of metal structure with wooden sides. They decide to try and set fire to this and kill all the clones from the city.

The Ending

The next scene is a dolly shot around the round structure, all along the base is wooded and branches. As the camera, has moved around ¾ of the structure it stops and we can see the main characters pouring petrol, diesel and other highly flammable liquids onto the piles of wood. Then an alarm sounds and a few armed guards come out of the structure, and a few on top start shooting at them. ****** They dive into the car and set off, skidding, and drive around the car. A van filled with some of the armed guards in chase them. The van tries to run them off the road several times but fails. As the van reaches the edge of the city it stops and a massive hound chase the care back to their hideout. The main characters are unaware of that they are being followed. They park the car on the top of a hill then are attacked by the big hound. It pounces on one of the characters and is snarling at him, about to bit into his juicy flesh. Then a large knife was planted in its skull and it keels over. Lying on the ground he looked up and saw that one of his mates looking down upon them. About an hour later they can all hear a loud noise. They look up towards the sky and see 9 jets flying a V formation heading towards them. The know this is it, that this is the end for the. They stand on the top of the hill in a circle, their hands locked with each other’s as it all ends……(sad music playing, this is the same as the vision earlier)  

Alternative part

*******

As they all run, trying to dodge the bullets but one of them stays behind, trying to set the wood on fire. One of the guards lands a bullet in his chest and he slowly starts to bleed out. Another character, hearing the bullet penetrating his skin turns and sprints back for him, but the increase gun fire means he must head back. As he dives back into the car a bullet scrapes his left arm, and as the car speeds off, he watches his slowly fade away….

*******

Mood board for short film

Film Idea First 3 Minutes

First 3 Minutes

The main character, Thurnis, is scrolling down his Facebook news feed when the credits start to kick in. The credits are a part of Facebook though and are posts them self so when Thurnis scrolls past them, each cast members name and roll is shown. After the credits roll with music playing in the background, probably non copyrighted music but if I asked I bet I could use music by Jerry Paper or Homeshake or someone else I know if I explained the situation to them. After scrolling past the credits, Thurnis finally reaches a post with a link that says "predict your death". The link looks normal, nothing stands out about it in anyway, however, Thurnis doesn't care and clicks the link anyway because he's bored and has nothing better to do with his time. When the page loads up, he clicks a button that says predict while the rest of the page is just decorated with a black background and skulls plastered on said background. After Thurnis clicks predict, a bar appears in the centre of the screen that says predicting and slowly starts to fill. Thurnis waits in anticipation while the bar sits still at 99% for about 5 seconds, he is visibly sweating at this point; enough to fill two Olympic sized swimming pools. The bar finally reaches 100% and the words "3 Days" pop up on the screen. We then cut to Thurnis' face with a blank expression, he then blinks and a second after he blinks, we cut to Thurnis in a shopping mall buying lots of expensive products. Firstly we see him walking out of H&M with a large fur coat and lots of bags on either arm, then we cut to Thurnis in the Apple Store buying the latest iPhone and all necessary peripherals. After this, we cut to Thurnis indulging himself in trays and trays full of delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken; gravy covers his mouth whilst countless bones litter across the table and the floor. Thurnis looks satisfied yet still incomplete as his stomach hangs out of his untucked T-Shirt. Thurnis then attempts to stand up and leave the table, however, he cannot, he is so over encumbered by eating so much Kentucky Fried Chicken that he physically cannot stand yet, meaning he has to wait it out. About 3 hours go by and less and less people fill the mall. This is shown as a time-lapse as Thurnis sets there as the crowds move behind him. 

 

Brief Mood board for my movie with descriptions-Nicole Collins French

This iconographic symbol of a heart reflects the idea that my movie's main genre is romance.

This college underlines the fact that the main issues happen in the college which Liam attends, leading him moving house. Then the house below shows a new home for Liam and his mother.

This photo of the two teenagers show the idea that two teenagers fall in love at the new house.

This photo of the people around a tale shows 

that some magic takes place and which is what happens in my movie, as Liam becomes able to see the dead.

This suicide note shows that someone in my film ends their life, which is Liam.

Related images from other movies

The Notebook includes a relationship between two teenagers, which is what my film involves.

This lighting is quite natural lighting which is mostly the lighting that I will be using, however at the end of the film I will be using low key lighting to portray the idea that something bad is going to happen and that depression is all that Liam feels at the end of the film.

My Film Idea Mood Board

My research into my genre (romance) - Nicole Collins Fench

Research into romance


Romance Movies Typically Include
- Usually aimed at a female demographic
-Hearts, wedding bells and flowers are items of iconography which symbolise love
-Typical romance film usually shows status of power, sexuality, gender and relationships
-Usually includes emotional feelings which are negative , e.g: someone's family member dies, a relationship ends, or something happens to someone which changes the way they act
-Often, directors use other genre elements and place them into the film
-Heroes tend to be men

Typical storyline of a romance movie
-Two characters get introduced and meet somehow
-"The boy meets girl" scenario
-The characters fall in love or become attached to each other
-The equilibrium between the characters somehow gets distorted
-One of the characters tries to change the situation-Traditional 'happily ever after' . The equilibrium is restored

Characters in a romance movie
Typically, in a romance movie, the characters are similar or almost exact to Vladimir Propp's character theory.
-A hero
-A villain
-A helper
-A false hero
-A dispatcher
-A princess
-The donor
-The princess/prize

The editing in a romance movie
The editing of romance films is usually fast at the beginning to show an unsteady equilibrium, short takes and straight cuts are usually used , then once the two main characters meet the editing is quite slow (long takes are used) to connote passion and love. Once the equilibrium gets restored then a dilemma occur, destroying the equilibrium again, where then the editing becomes fast paced to show the idea that something is unstable and confusing. Then when one of the characters (usually a male) tries to fix the situation, slow paced editing is used to show the idea that he is TRYING to fix the issue, but it is only coming together very slowly. Once the problem is sorted the editing is quite natural and normal paced, straight cuts and sometimes a fade out is used.

The music in a romance movie
The music of a romance film is usually soft, gentle music with calm, rare, sound effects to connote elegance between the characters, until something happens between them. Then once something does happen the music becomes more non-diegetic and the music used is more tense to show that the relationship is becoming broken.  Not may sound effects are used, that way the demographic of the movie can relate more to the situation that the two characters are in.

Mise-en-scene
In a teen romance movie, the setting is usually where teenagers tend to be, for example: high school, college, bowling arena, cinemas. This is because teenagers often bond once they are in a place they feel comfortable in. Often, characters in a teen romance film have specific clothing styles to show who they are stereotypically, for example: a cheerleader in her cheerleader outfit, there would be a jock, a geek, and other stereotypes like those which would be sown by the way they dress.