The title- WithOut Control

The title comes up halfway through the opening and it will look like the following:

The blood fits in well with the zombie theme and the special effects make it look more profesional.

Locations for the opening

In the first two scene's which cross-cut there's Kyle laying on the bed and Hannah in a science lab. So i thought of simply using my bedroom for Kyle's scene and a science class at Copleston High for the lab scene. Because my room has a PlayStation three which will allow Kyle to play on loud and a double bed for him to lay with the phone beside him from Hannah.

And the science class will have the vials and solutions to look like a potion.
E.G.

The next riot scenes will be recorded off YouTube and the news so that i don't need to record them my self and find the locations.

E.G.

The last scene when Kyle gets chased i will go to Martlesham heath because i will easily find a large bit of space to record the wide shot in which he gets chased. Also he will fade away into the bushes to the future is unknown.

E.G.

Script

There will be little dialogue during the opening because 'actions speak better than words' and Hannah will be crying and drinking the potion so you don't need words to show she is reckless and emotional. Also as Kyle is more concentrated on his game than the phone call you tell that he is lazy(regular teenager).

Though at the start when Kyle is on his bed playing and the phone is ringing and Hannah is in the lab, they say:

Kyle: Eh, I'm playing
Hannah: Kyle, pick up!
-                                                                     puts down phone
Hannah: This is your fault (look at phone)

Then when Kyle rings back he says:
Kyle: Don't do anything stupid, you know your not supposed to be in your parents lab!

And finally when Kyle is getting chased:
Kyle: This was all my fault, all of mankind could be lost because of me. I must resolve this mess and find the cure.

This short bits of dialogue help the audience realise that there's been a mutant virus epidemic and that Kyles girlfriend started it all. Also it gives a bit of Kyles character away, like him being lazy but caring deep down.

Genre research

The main genres in film are: Action, adventure, comedy, crime, documentary, drama, family, fantasy, horror, musical, romance, science-fiction, sport, thriller, war, western.

Because my film is about a zombie out break it will contain a lot of blood and suspense meaning horror/thriller.
However along the way there may be some comedy references so i believe the best genre for my film is horror-comedy.

A few similar examples are 'Shaun of the dead' and 'Zombieland'





They are both like the film i thought of, because they both are horror-comedy's with zombies featured in them, although unlike 'Shaun of the dead' where at the end everything is resolved, 'Zombieland' ends when things are still not resolved.

Because its a horror-comedy you expect the zombies to look covered in blood and have a ragged look.

However the comedy will have to come across in the dialogue like in 'Shaun of the dead' "That's the second album i ever bought" when a zombie was closing on them and they hesitated to throw it.

Also the zombies could look slightly comical like in 'Doghouse' starring Danny Dyer, there was one fat zombie that ate fingers on cake.


Or in another horror-comedy 'Lesbian vampire killers' where all the vampires were lesbians.


Also the film would have to make the audience tense and jump a few times, for instance having a zombie jump out on them. This is because you expect this from a horror or a thriller.

From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_horror
In horror-comedy films gallows humor is a common element. While comedy horror films provide scares for audiences, they also provide something that horror films do not: "the permission to laugh at your fears, to whistle past the cinematic graveyard and feel secure in the knowledge that the monsters can't get you".

Shaun of the dead opening

Shaun of the dead is my personal favourite horror-comedy film. I think what makes this film is the actors in it(Simon Pegg and Nick Frost). Also my opening is quite like this so i thought it would be a good idea to review a similar film.

First there's a mid shot of Shaun with a cigarette and a beer, the mise-en-scene is very effective in this clip because he has a vague expression showing he's been in the pub a lot for a great length of time, also his tie is undone showing his lack of etiquette. Average man.
When Liz talks about Ed, the camera pans to him on a fruit machine and he starts swearing at it. So the film has introduced the first two characters well. Which is good for the audience for them to start liking them. Liz says "I want to spend more time together" this shows they are together which helps the audience understand the characters roles. When Shaun asks what 'exacerbates' means this shows that she is more intellectual than him and she is asking for change, this shows that they have their differences and they aren't very much alike.

This opening is very clever because it shows all the main characters right at the start, this helps the audience again to get a feel for who they will be seeing. Through out their conversation Liz is asking for change and Shaun is agreeing but at the end of the scene when the bell is rang for last orders and he sips his beer, you see a vague look on his face again showing that he isn't concentrating much and admiring his beer. Then it blurs out and some non-diegetic music starts up. The music is a up beat song with sound effects in between showing craziness.

Through out the music there's a series of graphic matches to let the scenes flow easily together, the scenes are of everyday life like people in the super market and at buss stations. But whats odd is that all the people you see at the start turn to zombies later on in the film, so its showing you all zombies that Shaun will see later on. Another interesting scene is when the title appears on the floor and the teenagers are staggering forward like zombies, there's a sort of irony.

Finally the last scene is ironic again because he staggers forward and as the camera tilts up he groans like a zombie and acts like one, looking tired. So at first you think he has turned but then you just see he is hung over.

This opening i think is very good because it sets up the plot, genre and characters up right at the start. So you can work out the disequilibrium, this helps the audience understand everything that goes on well.

Ive learned that a bit of irony in the opening will set up the rest of the film and give hints to the audience about the films plot. Also with good use of dialogue and mise-en-scene the main characters can be set up well in only a couple of minutes.

A students film opening

I watched this opening created by another AS Media Studies student, because my genre is a thriller/horror like this.

This is by far the best opening I've seen. First they use a few production companies like 20th century FOX which is a major US company that would help the film become more popular, also with there reputation the film would be seen by a greater audience.  Also they have their own indie companies 'Skyline studioes' and 'COART' this is good for their companies to get it out in the world however people may avoid the less well known film production companies.

The best part of the film is the opening few quick shots of documents and writing, because this creates a feel of suspense. Which helps the audience determine the genre of the film. The non-diegetic sounds through the first couple of minutes is very clever how they through out are changing volumes and there are disturbance sound effects which fits well with the pictures being shown. I believe that the sound effects are used again to gain suspense and to build a feel for the genre.

After that there's an ellipse of the man opening a bottle and rummaging through screwed up papers showing he is restless/stressed which helps the audience understand that all is not well right from the beginning. It reinforces this again when it tracks over the mess on his floor which includes his clothes and work.
Through out this scene there is troublesome non-diegetic music which whispers showing that he is disturbed and not feeling his normal self. As the camera tilts right up you see on the self a gas mask showing that either something is wrong with the world at his present day or that he is in fact unusual.

The close up of his eye is showing that he isn't concentrating hard because he is blinking quickly and not focused, then he spins the globe and puts his beer down showing his boredom. This tells the audience he is a lazy worker although it could be just that its late. On his bed furthermore there are bottles and clothes again showing his laziness and showing that he must be disturbed by something.

He rubs his eyes showing he is tired and it flashes back seeing a fight break lose, this suggests that the reason he is tired could be because of the recent events.

Then you see him living a normal day going to work on the tube which a paper. This is the equilibrium because he is living a every day life in London. However he is smoking in the last few shots which could either be that he is stressed or that he simply just smokes. I however think the idea is because of him being stressed. This tells the audience that something (maybe the fight shown earlier) is troubling him. The last clip is of him standing alone in a long shot, this suggests that no one can help him.

I like this clip mainly for the first few minutes because i think the sound effects are synchronised well with the quick shots and they together build a suspense and a feeling that something has gone wrong in the world that needs to be fixed.

Ive learned that sound effects can make the film opening look more 'blockbuster' when used well and that also it is effective to help the audience understand the genre/theme.

Narrative structure and codes

The film is split into three parts; Beginning-Middle-End

Equilibrium-Disturbance-Resolution
Also known as: Equilibrium-Disequilibrium-Equilibrium

A more accurate plan would be: A hero/ine meets the agent of change, this create the problem which is the hero/ine's quest that leads to the return of normality.

Equilibrium means a state of normality.
Disequilibrium mean the opposite so that normality isn't occurring.

There are two forms of 'Narrative codes'; Enigma and Action codes.

Enigma codes are when the film creates questions for the the audience which can sometimes be the disequilibrium. They can be answered at any time so they attract attention and curiosity from the audience.

Action codes are often the answers to the enigma codes, they give the audience information which they will either need to know or help the audience understand something.

Draft and final storyboard

This is my first storyboard.

This is my final storyboard, i made some changes so that people could understand the plot better and could get a better understanding of the characters personalities.

Main characters

Kyle

The main character is Kyle Austin, he is a 18 year old boy and acts like a stereotypical teenager. He is exceptionally lazy and thinks of himself first, although due to his laid back lifestyle he is popular and loves to go out with his mates. Although because of his laziness he didn't answer his phone which was his distressed girlfriend on the other side. Due to her being the one to start the mutant outbreak, he feels responsible and completely changes to a brave ambitious boy that feels he has to put everything right. Because of his ambition the audience should like him and hope that he succeeds. This story helps him grow up and become a man. At the end he turns off his phone to answer Hannah's phone showing that he's changed.
No props needed

He is like a younger version of Ed (Shaun of the dead) who spends all his time playing his console and not living his life. Also Ed is very lazy like Kyle with rubbish all over the apartment.


Hannah
The other main character is Hannah, Kyle's 18 year old girlfriend. She is seen as emotional at start because Kyle doesn't answer the phone, and also seen as reckless and depressing because she drinks the potion her parents have been studying and she knows it could kill her. Although after she drinks it she becomes a viscous blood thirsty monster. So at first the audience will feel sorry for her but then they will want her curred after you find out there is an anti-dote.
Red contact lenses needed after she drinks the potion to make her look contaminated

Hannah is quite like Dianne in 'Shaun of the dead' because she gets emotionally involved with her house mate and as he gets killed she runs into the zombies after him and becomes a zombie  too. The only difference is that she isn't shown after she turns.

Layer Cake Opening

The opening of Layer Cake starring Daniel Craig is exceptional due to it being so unique, also most of the budget for the film is spent for the opening. As you can tell the creators obviously wanted to draw the audience in straight away and let them see what the films about.

Daniel Craig narrates throughout the opening so this informs you that he is the main character even thought you don't know which one is him yet... Then the camera tracks back and he introduces himself "That's me." as he is shown walking up the street. He is made to look smart and superior because of him mentioning that he wants to get out of drug dealing when he has enough money, this shows that he is not greedy and knows that its a dangerous role. Also he deals out the money to his friends showing he is in charge (authority), which shows that people must trust him to work for him. Even though he is a drug dealer the audience is made to like him because hes not 'power hungry' and knows that its a dangerous and risky business, however due to him only wanting to earn a certain amount and acting like its just a job people feel happy for him as he thinks he can nearly quit. Also there's a long shot of him mixing another powder in to the drugs so that it looks like there's more and he will gain more money, this again shows his intelligence and business prospects, moreover the mise-en-scene shows him wearing gloves and masks so you realise he does not take drugs and this again makes him more likable.

The opening introduces all the main characters showing what they are like so you get a feel for the plot, which will help the audience get to know the characters easier. Also it sets up the disequilibrium by showing him nearly able to quit and leave the drug dealing business but then his boss (Jimmy) asks him to dinner and you can tell by the looks of his partners that this is bad...
Just by seeing the characters in the opening you can tell the genre is action because of the drugs, guns and the look of the gang's.

The camera work was simple but effective, when he introduces him self and the camera tracks back, it is on a crane because the camera fly up a few floors and zooms, where you go into the room. At the start there are a lot of well planned graphic matches like the girl walking past to the police guard, this helps the opening flow because he is talking about different times, like going through the ages of drugs. Mostly they just tracked people walking or have a long shot of a group, but this worked well to introduce the characters. There's one special effect, which would of cost a lot due to the amount of props they would of used, this is where he walked through a shop and every item on the shelf change as he walked past, his message was that drugs will be used greater in the future.

All the music is synchronised to the scene, for instance; he was walking thinking everything is going well so there was calm music. This is just to help the audience understand his emotion and how the situation is then.

I personally think that this opening works well because it introduces the characters, you can tell who the villains are and you realise which ones you are supposed to like. Also you can see plot, genre and what the disequilibrium is.

Ive learned from this that the opening is vital to grab the audience's attention which will hopefully draw them in to want to watch the remainder of the film. Also that maybe it showed be the most concentrated piece of the music and spent the most time and money on.

Synopsis Edited

'Without Control' - A horror film where an ordinary lazy teenager fights to save mankind.

A lazy eighteen year old male named 'Kyle Austin' has a girlfriend from hell, she literally wants to kill him. This story is about a broken hearted girl that drinks a potion made by her lab working parents that turns her to a blood thirsty killer, and once she's killed one they come alive again like her. She and Kyle have been arguing and because he is ignoring her she attempts to kill herself by drinking the potion, this makes Kyle responsible so he feels its up to him to cure everyone. The epidemic has a cure though that Kyle finds in his girlfriends parents house. Her parents warned her not to take it as they thought it would kill her, but they have another potion that cures it. He has to kill to survive whilst looking for solutions to cure mankind.
At the start 'Kyle' meets with five others and they together go to her house and see that she was the one that started it all off. They drop the cure in an attempt to escape some mutants but pick up the instructions, then they look for a lab and the ingredients to make the cure. However there are now thousands of mutants about after their blood so it makes the journey very hard. After they make the cure they have to inject the main source meaning Kyle has to find his girlfriend (Hannah) to stop the killing but on the way he loses four of the five friends that joined him on his quest.

The equilibrium is of the boy playing his game acting like it's just another normal day but the disequilibrium is right at the start when the girl drinks the potion and her eyes are red.