Character Portfolio.

Brian - The main protagonist of the film and the lead guitarist/vocalist in "The Racers". He lives in isolation, being a widow and having no close family, which is inferred by the positioning of photos in his house and then fully confirmed in his monologue to the irritating agent about his loneliness etc. He always dresses well and has a great difficulty with performing basic day to day activities, e.g struggling to walk and difficulty with eyesight. However his abilities as a guitarist are absolutely intact, and he is a fantastic frontman. He loves his bandmates dearly and is distraught when

George -  25 years of age. Tall and well built. Plays the Keys in the band, is an alpha male type character, that appeals to a lot of women and makes jokes to the other band members about their pulling technique, when closeups of his text conversations with women leave a lot to be desired, and shows how he is actually very poor with women.

Grant - Also 25 years old, also very tall but is very slender and feminine. Plays the Bass in the band, is very flamboyant and camp, for which he receives a lot of stick, mainly from George, as they're binary opposites. The dialogue won't contain any direct homophobic commentary, just some remarks about his appearance and the way he speaks.

Jackson - Plays the Drums of the band, is a very reserved character who cannot speak but understands all. Not only is it ironic that the loudest band member can't even speak, but he is a character that was inspired by the character who can only sign in the short film "....." from the given list of examples.

(These 3 band members go on the trip without Brian and are all reported missing presumed dead following the crash landing of their helicopter)

Mr Sharp - The abominable agent who goes to Brian (The Protagonist) whilst he is recovering from his heart attack. He goes to his house and informs the main character of his situation regarding future concerts etc and his record deal/possessions due to a technicality in his contract that makes him become in possession of everything he owns (house included) if he doesn't play them by himself, which he eventually comes to an agreement with Brian to make a compromise on the gig, without really showing a change of heart in the character. He's an evil and sinister man, whose life revolves around power, money and greed, sentimental items mean nothing to him, almost like a machine. At the climax, when the band reform, he storms out of the room aggressively and with great sourness, which is a really satisfying moment for the audience.

Some other unnamed extras do appear throughout the film, in order to fill out public locations, such as people attending the gigs as fans, people to occupy the pub the band are having discussions in. Some extras will be needed to come to the aid of Brian as he suffers a heart attack in public.

The Racers - Scene Proposals

Scene Proposals

Scene 1:  A crowd of screaming, standing fans all shouting encore. The camera pans around the audience from a high angle, as the audience looks down on them and the stage. The screen then cuts to black, where a male voice says "One more song boys?" and a different voice saying "Let's do it". The sound of the audience cheers highness dramatically, and the name of the film "The Racers" is displayed in White. The screen then fades back in from black, and an original song of the Band's is played. During the performance, closeups of their faces and various instruments/equipment are shown, which change in time with the song. (Main emphasis being on the old man in the band, the protagonist). The scene ends with the song being finished, with the five members all thanking the audience and standing together on the stage.

Scene 2: Set in a pub the day after the show, the guys from the band are all sat in a round, having conversation about last night and exchanging light-hearted banter. They also discuss how they're upset the tour of the country is over, and the boys all decide to go on holiday to the Caribbean. The older man can't fly, as he has had a hip replacement following an injury at a gig, which is explained. He says the rest of them should go and is happy to see them leave for a good time.

Scene 3: A few weeks later, the man can be seen abandoned in his house. He lives in a big house that's very empty, and he can be seen to be very sad and depressed at the isolation he is living in. The only thing that lights his rugged face with a smile is when he goes to his shelf and picks up an old photograph of him and his wife, and a photo of him and his bandmates. Later, he walks to the shop with great difficulty, using a walking stick that is worn down and quite unstable. He picks up a newspaper and is shocked to hear the headline that a plane has crash landed in the water. He picks up the paper, and sees a list of the people who have been confirmed "Missing presumed dead", where he sees the names of his bandmates. He then suffers a heart attack, and faints, and the scene ends with people crowding around him in support.

Scene 4: The camera blinks from light to colour, to resemble the man waking up. At the foot of his bed, is an agent dressed in all black (symbolism of evil). He tells the man that he has to play at a concert without them, or he will have to terminate his record deal and will become in possession of all his belongings, due to a technicality. The man then delivers a Rocky Balboa style monologue, in which he inspires the audience as well as convincing the agent to make all proceeds go to a charity close to the heart of one of his bandmates.

Scene 5: On the day of a gig, the man stands in front of a curtain and goes to address the audience, with guitar in hand. Before he gets chance to speak, an announcer takes over, and begins to tell the story of what has happened. Closeups of the man's face are used to show his sheer depression, but as the announcer develops his story he begins to explain how the band were saved, and a drum roll kicks in, to add suspense to the curtain rising with the band all stood behind it in dramatic fashion. The man  is perplexed and in utter shock, bursts into tears and runs over (at the best of his ability) to the rest of the band. A close up of the agent's face is shown, he looks very displeased and cowers out of the room. They then all play a song, and the film ends with the band holding the main character up, as he is fatigued and still not fully recovered, and take their victory bow, as the curtains close and credits roll.

The Basics Of Constructing a Screenplay

A screenplay/script is a written work by screenwriters for a film, television programme or video game. They contain narration of the movements, actions, expression and dialogues of the characters. The format is structured so that one page equates to roughly one minute of screen time, though this is only used as a ballpark estimate and often bears little resemblance to the running time of the final movie.^[ The standard font is 12 point, 10 pitch CourierTypeface.

The major components are action (sometimes called "screen direction") and dialogue. The action is written in the present tense and is limited to what can be heard or seen by the audience, for example descriptions of settings, character movements, or sound effects. The dialogue is the words the characters speak, and is written in a center column.

Unique to the screenplay (as opposed to a stage play) is the use of slug lines. A slug line, also called a master scene heading, occurs at the start of every scene and typically contains three pieces of information: whether the scene is set inside (interior/INT.) or outside (exterior/EXT.), the specific location, and the time of day. Each slug line begins a new scene. In a "shooting script" the slug lines are numbered consecutively for ease of reference.

Physical format[edit]

American screenplays are printed single-sided on three-hole-punched paper using the standard American letter size (8.5 x 11 inch). They are then held together with two brass brads in the top and bottom hole. The middle hole is left empty as it would otherwise make it harder to quickly read the script.

In the United Kingdom, double-hole-punched A4 paper is normally used, which is slightly taller and narrower than US letter size. Some UK writers format the scripts for use in the US letter size, especially when their scripts are to be read by American producers, since the pages would otherwise be cropped when printed on US paper. Because each country's standard paper size is difficult to obtain in the other country, British writers often send an electronic copy to American producers, or crop the A4 size to US letter.

A British script may be bound by a single brad at the top left hand side of the page, making flicking through the paper easier during script meetings. Screenplays are usually bound with a light card stock cover and back page, often showing the logo of the production company or agency submitting the script, covers are there to protect the script during handling which can reduce the strength of the paper. This is especially important if the script is likely to pass through the hands of several people or through the post.

Increasingly, reading copies of screenplays (that is, those distributed by producers and agencies in the hope of attracting finance or talent) are distributed printed on both sides of the paper (often professionally bound) to reduce paper waste. Occasionally they are reduced to half-size to make a small book which is convenient to read or put in a pocket; this is generally for use by the director or production crew during shooting.

Although most writing contracts continue to stipulate physical delivery of three or more copies of a finished script, it is common for scripts to be delivered electronically via email.

Story Structure

The French filmmaker Jean-Luc Goddard said that "Every story should have a beginning, middle and end, but not necessarily in that order."

Robert Mckee outlines the structure of any story like this:

1. An enticing incident or key event.

2. A struggle against all forces of life

3. A crisis

4. A climax

5. A resolution

"A story expresses how and why life changes from one condition to another condition at the end"

Exposition

All exposition within a story contains facts about the characterisation, history, society and the physical qualities of the setting. Details of exposition are employed to give the audience clues and to entice/hook them into the film. They only need to be included in the screenplay as and when the audience need to know them, and they should be very dramatised. 

The most effective way to employ exposition is to turn it into ammunition, which means to show exposition rather than making characters having unnatural dialogue in order to tell a story.

Characters and dialogue

Its best to produce detailed notes on the history of characters and to follow the same rules as for exposition, giving depth to characters and their emotions as what they say and do will be different to their internal thoughts and feelings.

Storyboard

Establishing shot -  Main character having goodbye and walks away (Glasses on)



Character's condition starts to deteriorate, schizophrenic voice takes over



Character beats the wall in frustration, in time with the music - Queen Keep Yourself Alive (Instrumental Version) - sings in competition with the voices inside his head, about wanting to take control over his own life.



Establishing shot for second day, sets contrast between the first day with happier non-diegetic music and a lighter, more beautiful scenery compared to a brick wall.



Shot of character leaning over the bridge gazing out into the lake, singing about how he feels isolated and alone, and wants somebody to understand what he's going through.



Camera tracks the character as he walks off of the bridge and continues into the park, singing continues



Second character introduced, singing about similar feelings of isolation and loneliness, although his is for his parent's inability to accept him for his sexuality. 

The two characters approach each other, simultaneously singing the same verse, almost declaring their love for one another. (Love at first sight does exist)



The two characters bump into each other and are posed as though they're going to kiss, although the right character makes a very awkward jerking body movement, which could be seen as a stabbing motion



The final shot is in colour, and leaves the audience questioning whether the character being carried is dead or alive, as the schizophrenic character skips away carrying him like a baby.

Link to film

https://youtu.be/varAP8Lag9M

Screenplay

Shot Plan for Musical

Shot 1:

• Well dressed Victorian Gentleman walking out of apothecary's shop
• Eye level Mid-Shot
• 3/4 second duration
• Diegetic audio of a door closing 
• Non diegetic eerie music 

Shot 2:

• Putting pills in pocket
• Extreme close up of pills/hand
• Diegetic sound of pills shaking
• Non-diegetic eerie music continues

Shot 3:

• Classy footwear - walking rhythmically 
• Low angle close up tracking shot of footsteps
• Diegetic sound of footsteps (Double footsteps to indicate the presence of another)
• Eerie non-diegetic music continues

Shot 4:

• Camera flips to film the oncoming feet. 
• Same low angle shot, no camera movement
• Diegetic footsteps continue and song fades in. Footsteps rhythmically fit into the song.

• 
  

Evaluation of Auteur Theory (Stanley Kubrick) Presentation.

In evaluation of the presentation that I delivered to Kayleigh about the 'Auteur Theory', referring specifically to the brilliant director 'Stanley Kubrick', I believe that my presentation did deliver a convincing argument as to why Kubrick is an auteur, and did manage to persuade my audience to agree.

Kayleigh said in her passage of feedback that I explained the key themes and techniques used by Kubrick, such as his one point perspective techniques, practical lighting techniques, and creating psychologically challenged characters. I believe that I did achieve this, which shows evidence that my presentation was a success, as this was one of my key aims whilst creating the presentation. In addition, Kayleigh said that I argued the auteur theory well, and gave a convincing account, with the use of various examples. I'm pleased that my presentation did communicate this fairly well, as it was the main purpose of my effort to show why Kubrick is an auteur, in my opinion, and to demonstrate where you can see his signature styles being represented in his work.  Therefore, I can conclude that my presentation was relatively successful from this perspective. Finally, my presentation did last throughout the allocated time of 15 minutes, with a matter of around 1 minute to spare.

However, there are a few key areas in which my presentation could have been improved, in order to make it a more comprehensive resource of information. Firstly, I didn't include enough research about the origins of the auteur theory, didn't define the theory before starting to talk about Kubrick, and didn't include any of the work or ideas of the theorists that developed the Auteur Theory originally. If I was to do the presentation again, I would definitely include some information about this, as it will give the audience a bit of background information as to what the Auteur Theory is, so they will be more likely to be understanding of the information given when I link the Auteur Theory to the work of Kubrick, or any other director for the exams, such as Orson Welles or Ridley Scott.

Furthermore, in my presentation I did not discuss why Kubrick could be viewed as not being an Auteur, which someone else in the class did do. Maybe an evaluation that really questions the strength of the auteur theory's application to Kubrick's work would have been healthily applicable, so if I were to do the presentation again, I would definitely research any issues with production that would have limited Kubrick from being a proper Auteur, and having full control and dictatorship over the way his films are made. Also, I could've looked at the ideas of people who don't believe in the Auteur theory at all, for any director, and apply their thoughts as o why Kubrick could be seen as not an Auteur, from an alternative viewpoint.

Finally, Kayleigh mentioned in her feedback that I could have potentially included a few more techniques that are applied by Kubrick. Whilst I thought I had included a good amount of them, and explained them in significant detail, rather than just list several and lack a detailed explanation for each one, Kubrick has a vast arsenal of techniques that he employs throughout his films, so if I'd researched even further, or spent more time watching and analysing more of the films in greater detail, I would've been able to add more examples. The only issue I would have faced in doing so, is in order to give proper explanations of all the techniques, themes and styles, I would need an elongated period of time, as I consumed the entire 15 minutes presenting the ideas I had already produced. Also, I believe that whilst concluding and summarising at the end of the presentation, I could've produced an additional slide that allowed me to have a reference point and make it clearer for the audience, rather than referring to the slide with Kubrick's name on it.

Therefore, in conclusion, I believe that my presentation was relatively successful, as Kayleigh, who viewed my presentation, was persuaded by my argument that Kubrick is an auteur. However, this is only a sample of one person, so I'd have to perform to a group to really test this. To improve my presentation if I were to do it again, I would include background information of the Auteur Theory for my audience to understand it better, and maybe a few more of the Auteur's techniques, as these are very interesting for an audience.

Luke Willis

How far do your chosen films demonstrate the importance of visual and soundtrack cues in influencing spectator response?

Luke Willis


To an extent, I believe that both 'Inception' and 'Winter's Bone' both rely on creating a certain aesthetic visual, and also having an emotionally motivating soundtrack in order to spark a feeling in a spectator and make them feel a certain way, hopefully taking a preferred reading to what the director intended.

In comparison, the two films are very different in nature. 'Inception' is a high calibre 'blockbuster' film released in early July 2010, with a wealthy budget of 160 million USD to play with. This represents a vast contrast in comparison to 'Winter's Bone', which was made on a budget of 2 million USD, which is 1/80th of Inception's budget, to give some perspective.

However, I personally believe that both Christopher Nolan and Debra Granik used the funds at their disposal in order to create a piece that does convey an intended message and does make a spectator feel an emotional response that would have been pre metitiated for them to feel.




For example, in 'Inception', in the scene where Tom Hardy's 'Eames' is in the middle of a conflict in a hotel corridor created in a dream sequence, which is rotating in correlation to how his body is being thrown about in a car chase happing in reality, in a sequence that lies symmetrically with the dream sequence. In both parallel sequences, we can observe an explicit tension being created, with shots being fired at the van, and stern looking men attacking Eames. However, the two sequences l0ook very different aesthetically. The real life scene has a very raw and natural feeling, the sky is full and foggy, the frame is lit with low-key lighting that looks natural, with rain not only falling heavily, but also there is water being spat up by the tyres of the van and bike, that appear to be advancing towards the camera. This may well be implemented into the sequence to give a melancholy atmosphere, as we commonly associate rain with thoughts of sadness or maybe even depression. As well as this, the rain could also be creating an addition to the tension being created in the scene by Nolan, as the spray does obstruct the spectator's view of the action. Another factor that may have been employed in order to obstruct the spectator's view and create tension could be that the camera is tracking the action from behind the vehicles at a low angle so we cannot see any of the characters or the gunman, however we can still here the auditory cues of shots being fired, which not only creates further tension, but puts the visuals in isolation so the spectator is forced to inspect and take notice of the auditory cues to add to their impression of the sequence's tension. Nolan would have intended for an audience to be able to relate to this tension and feel a build up of tension heading towards the climax of the sequence. Another commonly used technique in this type of high budget, action sequence is to hire a composer to create a score that not only fits with the action shown in the sequence, but is able to add emphasis on a dramatic level to really bring out the best suspense and tension that could have been created in this scene. Scores such as the one used in Inception are usually listened to subconsciously, as the mainstream audience watching Nolan's work are a mostly passive audience wanting to be thrilled by a high budget film with a good narrative and many special effects, so they wouldn't be paying any particular notice to the score in isolation, but having it in a subconscious part of their spectatorship will allow the music to influence them and give the sequence greater suspense, and they won't even realise it's doing so. To evaluate, Inception uses visually spectacular and greatly technical auditory cues in order to influence a spectator's viewing of the film, in this example to make them feel suspense and tension during a hectic action sequence.





Despite the elaborate difference in budget available, Debrah Granik manages to draw a specific emotion from her spectators, by using visual and auditory codes. The very first shot in the film is an extreme long shot of an area of countryside, which also works as an establishing shot. Another aspect of cinematography used in this shot is the use of a high angle, which makes the audience feel as though they are above any action that may happen in the film. In terms of the mise-en-scene of this shot, we can see a few caravans/trailers spaced out across a field. Even from such a distance, where we cannot see any details of the conditions at all, we can already feel the sense that these people live in a class below us, and aren’t nearly as wealthy. Also, the naked trees in the foreground of the shot could be representative of how empty these people’s lives are not only empty, but dull and lifeless. Finally, the natural, low key, dim lighting does convey an impression of sadness, but also a dull and cold, melancholy atmosphere.
The following shot is also a long shot, not with as much distance as the previous one. In the misé-en-scene of this shot, we can see two young children playing on a trampoline outside of their house. The house is extremely small, with only one floor, and it is made out of wood which we can clearly see is going damp, which gives an impression of poverty straight away. Also, I believe the trampoline has some significance. Firstly, there is not a protective layer of netting around the circumference of the trampoline, which could be representative of the amount of danger these children are in and there’s no resources to help, and the main dilemma of the film is to try and avoid losing their home. The next shot is also one of the trampoline, this one is at a low angle, just off the trampoline, about level with the springy part of it. The camera doesn’t move at all. In terms of the mise-en-scene of the performance, the little boy runs right up to the edge of the trampoline, dangerously close to coming off the edge. That could be symbolising how close they are to losing everything, and being thrown over the edge in life. Finally, a point reinforced by a later shot of him on a skateboard, could be that the children are never seen on firm ground, always on a trampoline or skateboard, which could be implying the way in which they lack any kind of stability or foundations in their lives, and we know from the rest of the film they barely have enough food or supplies to properly survive. This is shown in a sequence later in the film whilst cutting a wild animal they’ve killed, one of the kids asks if they have to eat the guts, and the response given is ‘not yet’ or something along those lines, which again reinforces the idea that things are progressively getting worse and worse, and the conditions that these people are living in are awful and properly inhumane.
Therefore this demonstrates how Granik has used visual cues in order to create a sympathetic response from spectators, as we are observing the abysmal conditions in which these small young children have to live in. The houses used in filming we real life people's accommodation, as the crew wouldn't have had the ability to create their own set, due to a low budget. This makes the film look and feel a lot more authentic and realistic than Inception, as the spectator is viewing a more real-life orientated version of events. The casting in Winter's Bone also contributes to this, as Jenifer Lawrence wasn't a big star at the time, so casting unknown actors helps an audience to relate to them more as we see them as real people like the rest of us, compared to seeing Leonardo Di Caprio in Inception, because we're aware of his real life personality, so it's harder for a spectator to respond empathetically to and sympathise with the character.

In conclusion, I believe that both Christopher Nolan and Debra Granik have drawn emotional responses from the spectators in their films by using visual and auditory cues, with Nolan using his elaborate budget in order to create a spectacle that is intriguing to a spectator, whereas Granik made her shots as authentic as possible, partially by choice, partially because she was isolated by a low budget, in order to make an audience sympathise with her characters and the standards of their living, which is drawing an emotional response from them