"The Deprived" | The Animatic w/ Analysis

"The Deprived" | The Animatic and it's Analysis

In this post you will find the final antimatic for my trailer of "The Deprived". Please do note some, I believe three, of the shots have mysteriously vanished from the display. So I would like to apologise for the bizarre shot absences. 

Also this is just the antimatic, it does not hold the final shots, the final mise-en-scene etc. The soundtrack although jolty will feature in some parts of the final piece. 

 



A Critical Analysis of the Animatic Process

The animatic is the most up to date and professional document after the actual trailer. It profiles every shot in order, with time, dialogue and soundtrack. It is created to help assist the filming process. The process of making the animatic can be a long and strenuous duration. It involves stills of the shots you would eventually wish to include in the trailer. They would only be draft images, but would give you the vague image of how it would eventually look. The animatic involves the still, the draft soundtrack, the intertitles and the dialogue.

Unlike the storyboard the animatic uses actual photos rather than just drawn pictures, this means more time and effort is required to ensure the right shot, angle, lighting etc is properly produced. The transition was slow at first in adapting from pictures to photos, it was hard because it required more time over every shot, making the whole process a lot longer and prepared. The storyboard it ensure we had a schedule, not in chronological, but in locational order. We shared the shoot in three major groups, each with different locational backdrops. This ensured we could get the bulk of the shooting done whilst saving valuable time, this meant our time management was used wisely. The various locations seen in the animatic don’t really depict the desolate nature that would be seen in the final product, this was to save time and maximise the time to edit, which we felt would be the most lengthy part of the procedure. In the animatic it depicted one major place of which we will be showing in the final product. It portrayed a desolate building with a mountain backdrop with a ruined wheat field. This was a setting that was fairly close and fairly easy to access, and was a place we immediately knew we wanted to incorporate. It mixes in with our mise-en-scene very well and will require very little fixing to eliminate anything that would interfere with the correct mise-en-scene. So this is the ideal shooting setting, which will eventually be colliding with the misty mountains of the Blorenge Mountain and desolate buildings and factories. We have checked for our health and safety authorisations and we are ready to shoot.

The props were often donated to the group via our peers, but they were chosen in consideration with our mise-en-scene. In the animatic we as a group made the decision early on to minimalise the focus on props as we believed it would limitise the time for editing. However in the final version of the trailer we would have focus on the bloodied watch, which would have stopped at 7:13 symbolising the religious and superstitious aspects and combining them to make the trailer more compelling for the viewer. We would also highlight the various backpacks of the characters. This would symbolise the level of devolution humanity has undergone, and it would show that survival is paramount now, contrasting to our comforts rather than needs. The actors were fellow members of the group which helped to speed up the shooting process, as we didn’t need to go out asking for help. When actually shooting the animatic we decided in the heat of the movement to change the order of some shots in order. For example we were shooting at a particular location and whilst considering the structure of the animatic we as a group chose to change a few things. Notable examples consist of the fire shot with the feet shots. I feel this made the structure and feel of the animatic more professional as the trailer seemed more progressive and suspenseful.

The length of the shots did dramatically vary throughout the animatic process as we actually witnessed the longevity of every shot, again something we couldn’t experience when using the storyboard. One example is the panning shot of the two boys tied sitting against the camera, which we first expected to last for approximately four seconds, but once we discussed at experienced the shot at four seconds we as a group decided the audience needed to be exposed to the poignant shot for a longer time. So the animatic opened our eyes to things such as timing that we couldn’t have realised using just the storyboard. Adding to this were the various transitions. We as a group focused on the idea of slow fade outs predominantly to black, which would symbolise the decent to metaphorical darkness for humanity, but upon testing the various different fade ins and outs we had improvised, and in my opinion bettered our original ideas on transition.

The actual construction process was quite long, arguably the longest was the shoot. This was because we were worried at the start of the quality of the shots, we needed an assurance that it was primarily a planning document and a very early rough draft of the final product, one we had this verification we moved forward. We began with the shooting getting the shots with three different groups and shoots, meaning the time was on our side. Once we knew we had the shots we went about their order, length and transitions. At first it was very hard to adapt to having to this to every single shot. This required time and made us feel satisfied we allowed each other more time to get to know the editing software. In this situation we essentially allocated roles once in the suite, one’s job was to always refer back to the storyboard, giving a fellow group member at the computer the information on the shot order, length and transition. Whilst others worked in the music suite making a suitable soundtrack that would give a realistic mood and atmosphere to the animatic. These allocations ensured we all knew our responsibilities and what we all had to do, this allowed to meet the final deadline with a reasonably respectful animatic.

The soundtrack we believed had to make in constant co-ordination with the shots, otherwise there was a possibility the two wouldn’t match or be on time. So, with this in mind, we constructed the two different formulas at the same time, making the whole process slower but I believe making the project fairly more successful. It was in most part one of the hardest parts of the whole process. We found it near impossible to export the soundtrack to a suitable format to be able to use on the animatic, making the process a lot slower then we initially planned, but once we had learned the exporting process I feel the project prospered.
The use of inter-titles were a very late addition to the animatic. Although we had good idea all along of the contents of the various inter-titles we planned to include in the animatic. We knew that we wanted our various taglines that we wished to include on our individual posters, an example is “SURVIVAL IS INSTINCT”. This I feel portrays the most very basic human instinct in a setting which all characters base their actions on, survival. The wording is separated in three inter-titles engrossing the audience making them ask “what comes next?” adding to the animatic’s code of enigma. The speed and the use of the inter-titles increases as the pace of the animatic quickens, this allowed us to sandwich the inter-titles against quick, aggressive, flash-like shots which portray the ugly side of humanity. We felt this made the animatic more hard-hitting for the viewer and showed our target audience was of a 25-35 age group.

The soundtrack was most probably the most fun part of the entire process as yet. In my group we do have a few musicians we allowed the group to benefit from their talents and I feel the soundtrack does show this. The slow guitar riff at the beginning is performed by fellow group member Will Kearse, who we believed had the ability to produce something good enough for the animatic and eventually the final trailer. Here he produces a grim and slightly unsettling mood which accompanies the images brilliantly, which I also feel gives off a atmosphere to the audience informing them of the bleak nature of the project. Will and I did investigate other post-apocalyptic media projects and their soundtracks and we believe Will’s piece was inspired by the motion picture “The Road” and the Naughty Dog game “The Last of Us”. These inspirations are fellow post-apocalypse projects which informed us that they were the correct inspirations to have. The animatic however doesn’t possess all of the eventual soundtrack we plan to have ready for the final trailer, we plan to have several other extracts included in the trailer. These vary from gun shots sound-effects to shuddering thumps which would assist very quick cuts.

The pace of the animatic I feel will eventual be seen to mirror the pace of the final trailer, at 1:46 it goes with the modern codes and conventions of other trailers in terms of its length and narrative style. The pace itself however was something I was very controlling over. At a very early stage I always knew I wanted it to start slow and get gradually get faster and faster and eventually plateau at a very slow ending. This came to me after watching the trailer for the low budget French film “Our Day Will Come”. It still stands in my opinion as having a very strong influence on the animatic and I hope this will continue on through to the final product. The trailer featured very quick flashes of shots, out of order with the film’s timeline which depict severe anarchy and expands the trailer’s code of enigma making the trailer more memorable to those watching it, and this is something I have been very desperate in trying to integrate into our project with a section dedicated various shots lasting half a second making the pace very fast and energetic.

I feel the animatic identifies its target audience through its bleak and unforgiving narrative. The animatic isn’t a comedy and this identified through the various intertitles such as “when they come…will you run…or fight?” Which clearly identifies the project as a sub-genre of survival, it also hints at strong violence, but doesn’t show it, these hints I feel will help to expose the target audience of a higher age group.

Improvements I feel would consist of the length of time of the shoot, I feel it would need to dramatically decrease as I feel it did damage the time for editing, although it was small, it wasn’t small enough and I feel it did damage the quality of the project. I feel in the real trailer we would need to be far more professional as a group in finishing the shoot quicker and then giving us even more time to get equipped with the software, as I feel none of us had the time before hand to be confident in the editing phase. Also the amount of soundtrack on the actual animatic as I feel the soundtrack alone is enough to influence an audience member to go and see the trailer and if we had expanded on our current extracts I feel it would have greatly benefitted the animatic making it sound and feel more professional and this is something we will have to incorporate in our final project. This leads on to quite possibly my biggest regret and that is the lack of mise-en-scene in the shots. Yes the animatic is a planning document, but I feel it would greatly improve the look of it if we had put more effort in making the shots look much more like they were from a post-apocalyptic world. This would however have taken much more time than we had, but this is something that we have to involve in our final trailer.

To evaluate my role in the whole process makes me believe I took a commanding creative role in the group, I feel I took charge of the shoots and any creative changes involving shot angles, lengths or transitions. I ensured my desire for the animatic’s quick pace influenced the final animatic, and I feel I ensured we all were aware of shoots via social media and text message meaning we all knew the times and locations. I feel I took an active role in the creative sense of the soundtrack, making sure Will had a second opinion before finally involving it in the animatic, this was essential to ensure Will was happy with his work. I was present at every shoot taking most of the pictures as Will, Lloyd and Charlotte performed in front of the camera. This meant I had the responsibility of the angle, lighting and style of most shots. This is a role I feel comfortable with in going through into the final product but I do feel I need to be more in touch with the editing software so I can offer help and not have to rely on others to do the editing as I offer advice. So overall I am happy with my efforts, but as I said improvements will have to be made to improve the final trailer. 

 

Codes and Conventions of a Post-Apocalyptic Film

The list below holds in my opinion the main codes and conventions to a successful Post-apocalyptic film:

• A tight community of protagonists/ survivors of the apocalypse. - Such films as "The book of Eli" follow this convention, although the film does not follow the towns people, rather a lone survivor passing through. But it still gives a sense of civilisation, no matter how barren or damaged. Other movies such as "The Road" as this follows two male figures, and any signs of other survivors are depicted in cannibalistic smaller groups, or families of dead people, hanging from trees, this creates a larger sense of hopelessness in the audience and challenges these conventions. TV shows such as "Revolution" also follow this convention, showing it provides a solid basis for a successful post-apocalyptic project, This is something we, I feel wont be incorporating into our project because there are just two lone characters. This is a risk we debated as a group, but following our main influence "The Road" I feel this strategy will work out.
• Abandoned and Isolated locations. - This is a very common convention for this genre, creating a sense of loss of a civilised society, barren wastelands of derelict houses and cars does this theme justice, and again created a sense of hopelessness that the audience feels for the characters. This is seen in motion pictures such as "The Book of Eli" and "The Road" where often abandoned cities shape the harsh world, this gives me hope for our project.
• Survival. - All movies of this genre must stress the survival theme, as it allows us, the audience, to feel real fear and loss for the characters we are identifying with. This relates to the main characters of our project. Firstly Jack, willing to do anything to survival, he believes in the survival of the fittest, whilst his weaker and more dependent co-character (Adam) has to relay on other people, such as Jack to help him survive.
• Heroic male protagonist, mentally and physically. - This is again important as the audience needs a dominant character to give the narrative, and the story a chance, if the character was weak and vulnerable we would not expect them to survive the apocalypse, so making the film unrealistic. This again relates to Jack of whom is the more domineering of the two main characters, he is the one who demands attention whilst his counterpart Adam (played by William Kearse) gains more empathy and sympathy from the audience.
• Dangerous and deadly antagonists. - This can be shown in the general sense or through a single character. Usually in this genre it is a dangerous male, with a gang or group following him, that do his bidding. For example, "I am Legend" although the antagonist is not human, there is still a ranking of authority, with him at the top, and his minions below him. Again the Book of Eli is another good example of this, with a man in charge of a large gang of scavengers, making him appear more dangerous and deadly. In our project we will have a gang, most probably cannibalistic which rule over a certain area of land, planting fear deep in any of earth's survivors. This particular gang will be headed by the trailer's main antagonist, the gang leader. He provides an air of unpredictability and horror, he will strike fear into the audience giving them a reason to root for the two main characters and care for their safety much more. 
• Death. - Death is another key theme in this genre that needs to be highlighted. To create other themes in the movie such as fear, hatred, loss, and depravity, death is the usual starting point. "The Road" is a excellent example of a movie that uses this to its advantage. Showing images of families that have hung themselves and people that have been brutal killed for the basics of supplies. It is rare to find a post - apocalyptic movie without a large influence from this theme. Jack especially finds the journey in this trailer associated with death, giving the character an edgier feel, but at the same time he will gain some sympathy from the audience for the hardships he has and will face.
• A dangerous and deadly environment. - This links to both the abandoned and isolated locations and the dangerous antagonist. A deadly environment in the movie means that throughout the film there is always a sense of tension, as the characters can never really escape the danger. As they live and journey in it. And this links to the next point of. The isolated nature of the setting symbolises the fact that for the characters there is no escape they are trapped in a world of pure evil and horror, they either choose to fight it or die. And this again relates to the setting of our project, of which will be mostly set in a rural mountain area. The significance of this would be to show that the survivors are alone with no chance of escaping. The misty fog which we hope to incorporate into it will resemble the blurred morals of both Adam and Jack.
• Constant fear. -  This is something that can be seen in every post-apocalyptic movie, showing that something dark could be lurking beyond everyt urn. This makes the trailer seem much more exciting and action packed, giving the audience the idea that the film's pace will be very high helping to attract a bigger audience to the actual film. The atmosphere in the trailer/film will always be murky, symbolising the unknown and the unpredictable nature of the world the characters live in. This can be related to our trailer where the exact location of the setting is unknown as there are no rules, no guidelines and hardly any sense of humanity left to care about locations.

(In accordance with Will Kearse)

"The Deprived" | Questionnaire Results

"The Deprived" | Questionnaire Results

Above is one of 10 questionnaires that I ensured were completed by random strangers and those in our target demographic. In having the feedback I have had no real surprises. All those asked said "yes" to "watching movies". This ensures me that all ages watch movies and films which tells me that who ever watches the film have a chance to liking the film. Most responses did state they are well acquainted with the post-apocalyptic/survival genre, this has given me immense confidence that we as a group have a good foundation for something successful. Most responded to preferably watch BBFC rated "15"/"18" films, which again helps to suggest our intention of having a "18" certificate would ensure people would still be attracted to the film. 

In all the responses the respondents claim to have watched at least one post-apocalyptic/survival film, which not only gives us confidence on our chosen genre, but also tells me that those asked are aware of the genre and their answers should be really appreciated as they are very likely to be interested in the trailer. When asked why the "like" the survival genre most stated they were "engrossed" and "completely interested" in how people act in "desperate" situations. Others stated that they "loved" the "action sequences", this is something that we as a group have tried to integrate as much as possible without making a trailer unsuitable for all audiences.

Below are the official statistics of the results.

"The Deprived" | First Draft Poster w/ Analysis

"The Deprived" | First Draft Poster w/ Analysis

Sorry for the confusing rotation

To the right is my very first poster draft for the poster of my project "The Deprived".  Below the draft is my first analysis of the first draft. 

Looking back there are several problems with the draft, but with it being a first draft, I now have time to adapt it, and make it better.

I do however feel there are some good points to the poster, of which can be seen in the analysis and in the final sum up at the end of the post

Here is my analysis of the draft, along with the teacher referrals, good and bad points. These points will be summed up at the bottom of the post.

In the analysis I analyse the poster, its connotations, its deep meanings and how the audience can understand the genre. The latter is something I feel (in looking back) I did the weakest, and this is something I MUST improve to have a good final draft and offer a good, professional looking poster.

Another aspect, upon looking back that I need to improve is the lack of a realistic Billing Block. It needs to improve to provide the on-looker with at least a decent presentation and representation of the project.

To the right is actual audience feedback which states "Nice tagline" - This does give me faith that there are still some good features to keep on the poster. The tagline was something I took alot of time over, and I (after receiving this) am very adamant to keep it.

More audience feedback reads "Good title arrangements". This (like the tagline) was something that I took very cautiously. The structure of "THE" being turned in on the word "DEPRIVED" is something I have seen on many notable film posters, it helps to provide more space and it makes the film seem more slick and professional.

Teacher Feedback

To the right is my teachers original feedback. Here we can see the grading system in relation to my poster. Here I have learnt my current grade is a high D (D+) of which is disappointing but also inspiring to help me achieve the higher grades

The feedback suggests my title and tagline are of standard, but everything else (especially the attention to conventional details) needs to improve. On reading the 'Strengths' I understand my title connotations and the character's engagement with the audience are on par, but upon reading the areas for improvement, I now know what I have to do to meet my potential.

Final Summary/Demands for re-draft

Good things:

• Interesting title with successful connotations.
• Intriguing tagline which helps the audience identify the film's genre.
• Character's engagement with the audience.

Bad things/Things that need to improve:

• The un-clear structure which confuses the on-looker to think there is two pictures of the poster.
• The questionable decision to include a car on the poster, would there really be drive-able car?
• The lacking attention to conventional details, such as the Billing Block, the release date and multi-platform media to help the audience feel more engaged.
• Possible use of colour?

 

"The Deprived | Adam Costume Analysis

"The Deprived | Adam Costume Analysis

This coat/hoodie will be worn by the 17 year old Adam. The fabrics relate to Adams' personality, the hard feeling fabrics on the outer parts of the coat contrast against the fluffy nature of the inner parts of the coat, symbolising the hard shell of Adam is matched with a soft core, showing vulnerability and a avenue for the audience to relate to the character.

This hoodie goes with modern day teenagers, most of which where hoodies in some form, this adds to the realism of the mise-en-scene, but it also depicts Adam as realistic, this would go underneath the jacket above, providing warmth in a world where everything seems cold and murky.

 

The jeans will eventually be battered and bruised ready for the shoot, but these are stereotypical jeans which symbolise the 'everyday' nature of Adam, that he is just a teenager. 












By already having two coats on, this could be a jacket for another character, but this is one coat fellow group member, Will Kearse, was very strong in including. I believe it could look very dirty and resemble the morals of the inhabitants of Earth when placed in a post-apocalyptic world. This one is in the maybe pile.

This pair of mountain boots I feel perfectly fit not only the costume needed but particularly for the character of Jack, of whom before the apocalypse was very independent and would have already owned a pair of boots like this

"The Deprived" | Acting

Cast

The two leading roles of Jack and Adam, who play the two teenage boys will be played by fellow students William Kearse and Robert King. Will playing the younger boy Adam, and Rob playing the older, more aggressive Jack. As for the rest of the cast, consisting of gang members, A gang leader, and other wanderers. These will be played by other members in the group, Lloyd Pocknell and Charlotte Parfitt. the gang leader being played by either me or Charlotte, as of yet is undecided. For extras and gang members I have managed to find a few people that are willing to take there time out to help with the trailer, mostly close friends. This has made the project feel much more close-knit then first anticipated 

Left, Robert King, right, Harry Fields. Two keen volunteers

Above are two volunteers in a early sight shoot, here we see Robert King, playing Adam and fellow student Harry Fields (extra) getting used to the setting, getting an understanding of where the shoot will eventually take place and discussing ideas for further shots

"The Deprived" | Storyboard

"The Deprived" | Storyboard

 To the right are several pictures showing my group's storyboard. This is the final draft but we do expect to have to add in other shots and the inter-titles, of which we know where and when to be inserted.

Overall, I am happy with the final draft, maybe more detail on the size of the shot could have been included, with possibly the transition details too, but we do however know all these details, it would however have been more beneficial getting the details on record.

The drawings themselves were a group effort each member having their say on the shots in the trailer, we then discussed at great detail the effects, diegetic soundtrack, diegetic dialogue/sounds, panning, zoom etc. Will Kearse a fellow member of the group asked if he could take most of the ideas home to then draw (and with his skills in art) we all believed that would be most beneficial.

This however didn't take away from the fact that we ALL had a part to plan in the making of this, it was very hard trying to fine tune the final draft as there were plenty of shots we all wanted. I believe we all inserted our own mark on the shots that we hope to have in the trailer (e.g I had a dark, envisaged feel to the shots I chose, whilst fellow member, Lloyd Pocknell wanted to emphasise the mise-en-scene to make the genre more identifiable with the audience. I feel it is these kinds of contrasts that make this final draft interesting and will hopefully make the trailer successful.

 On a final note, we have just finished the structure and contents of the Billing Block to be placed on the final inter title of the trailer.

Below is the final, completed Storyboard in a power point form.  Please note this version doesn't contain the studios, the inter-titles or the billing block. These will be added on the final, real trailer.

"The Deprived" | Setting

"The Deprived" | Setting

On the right are the original photos when we were scouting locations for filming the trailer. The first picture to the right is an example of the road shots, with the brush and leaves located everywhere. To promote more mise-en-scene in every shot we are going to pour vast amounts of random litter and garbage to again suggest the post-apocalyptic genre.  We of course would ensure no sounds, cars

We as a group have identified and visited many of the locations in which me and my group will be shooting at, these area are public and more often out in rural areas so any permission to enter or film in these area should not be needed. One of our main locations is up the side of the Blorange Mountain, overlooking Abergavenny. This is where we have found an abandoned farm house in which we can shoot a lot of our scenes. We have also explored the woods to the east of Abergavenny and found a number or deralict stone houses in which we can film. Most of our other locations will be on quiet roads as our film depicts a journey.

 These particular photos on the right are examples of our one trip to our main shooting site for wreckage. The are very dirty, confined and ugly images which to indicate the level of which humanity has fallen

These photos will hopefull give you a early image as to the feel and look of our trailer.

 

"The Deprived" | Genre Theory

"The Deprived" | Genre Theory

When we had chosen, as a group, to film a trailer based on the Post-apocalyptic genre, we knew alot of research had to be done as it was (although becoming more popular) a niche genre.

The post-apocalyptic genre is on the risen according to The Guardian journalist Paul Harris who states;

"Hollywood's "dream factory" has taken a decidedly nightmarish turn. Suddenly the Apocalypse is in fashion"

Paul Harris goes on to state;

 "Directors and movie studios are clambering over one another to see who can create the most dystopian and destructive vision of the near-future".


These statements among many others assure us that the genre is on the rise and would be very attractive for our target audience. 

In the post-apocalyptic genre there are always scenes of explicit violence and language, our film in continuing that trend, wont be any different. Admittedly in the trailer, you as an audience, will only ever get hints of violence, or to maybe see the aftermath of the action. This is essential for all audiences to be able to see the reader and help broaden the film's reach and appeal.

After researching other Post-apocalyptic films we had learnt it often told a journey, as seen on "The Road" - the one main inspiration for this project - which offers a brutal, yet must watch journey across America to the coast. Whilst conducting this research we had also discovered that in the Post-apocalyptic worlds seen in films there are a frequent amount of gangs and militias that pose and threat to the innocent and threaten to control parts of the world. This is something we are keen to adapt into our product, making one particular gang (and it's leader) the trailer's main villains. This goes forth with modern codes and conventions and will hopefully make the trailer seem more professional and in-touch with real film plots and trailers.

Another main aspect of a Post-apocalyptic film (after conducting the research) is that there is constant fear, never does a moment go by that the characters nor audience arent scared. This is something I have put across to the actors of whom agree, making the acting fit in with modern day codes and conventions which help to make the film more professional.

"The Deprived" | BBFC Classification

"The Deprived" | BBFC Classification

In the post-apocalyptic genre there are always scenes of explicit violence and language, our film in continuing that trend, wont be any different. Admittedly in the trailer, you as an audience, will only ever get hints of violence, or to maybe see the aftermath of the action. This is essential for all audiences to be able to see the reader and help broaden the film's reach and appeal.

In comparing to other Post-apocalyptic features such as "The Road" we, as a group, noticed most of this genre are age rated "15" by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). This informs us that this genre doesn't portray violence to a huge degree,  instead the audience are offered more of a psychological package. This told us that with decreasing amount of actual explicit violence shown on screen in Post-apocalyptic films we shouldn't feel the need to spoil the viewer in the film, or indeed in the trailer.

To demonstrate the low level of violence and gore we are allowed to show in U rated trailers, for viewing for all ages, the trailer for "The Road" is below.

This trailer symbolise my points above, they tease the viewer implying strong violence, without showing it. This tells the viewer not only of the target age demographic but of the film's possible genre. This is just one example of the accepted level of violence, danger and threat allowed to be shown in a trailer.

Original "Victim" Plot Synopsis

Original "Victim" Plot Synopsis

17 year old Will Stuart has been bullied his entire high school life. It is on this particular day where he is punched, pushed and stolen, he now feels enough is enough. After being bullied Will turns to his best (and only) friend for the final time. He asks Dan, his friend, "what do I need to do" (in reference to the bullying) Dan offers no advice then Will leaves his friend stating "its time to end this...".

At the end of the school day Will arrives home. He feels that he is on a mission to avenge his years of torment and with his father being a farmer, he steals his father's gun. He then goes upstairs and practices how to hold the gun infront of a mirror, he learns of the way to hold the gun, dealing with the grip. He begins to start an emotional relationship with the gun, believing the gun and himself are the only things that can end his torment.

On Saturday he spends all his savings on gun tutorial tapes online, using up all the money he ever had. He uses his father's credit card to buy an immense amount of ammunition, he ensures the products are left outside the house, when his parents are working. After they are all delivered, he feels ready.

Nothing stands in his way, he has the gun, he has the ammunition. But he finds himself deliberating what he plans to do. "Is this right?...What about my parents?" He finds himself doubting his plans, should he go forth with his plans?. He takes one school week, five days, to fully consider his possible actions. In these days, he cries every night, fearing his parents' pain and sorrow in the aftermath. He does however have one more encounter with his bully, of whom (again) punches, pushes and spits upon him. Will's mind is set, he can't take this anymore. Tomorrow he kills his bully.

Later that night, he tells his parents he is going to round Dan's house, he is however lying. He takes his gun and some ammunition to a local farm owned by his father. Here he practices his shooting for the final time, he has mastered this skill at the age of  17. He has become a product of society's downfall and now tomorrow he gives the world his anger that has been building his entire life.

His final morning consists of waking up at 7.00am (like everyday) he then brushes his teeth, showers and then dresses. His facial expression however is different, he seems excited, he seems like he has been waiting for this moment. After getting ready, he takes his final voyage down his house's stairs and walks into the kitchen, he seems to relish this journey. He is making the most of this final morning, his final engagement into the everyday pattern of his life. After skipping breakfast, he takes extra care in kissing his parents goodbye. The last ever words he tells them are "I love you". These are words they will never forget.

The time turns 8.43 and after walking normally, as if nothing were to happen, he has the school gates in his sight, he begins to inhale and exhale deeply, his breathing quickens. He suddenly takes his gun out of the bag, the rifle just fits, he puts it on the ground and does his bag up and puts it back on his shoulder. He picks up his rifle, no one of yet has noticed, no ever looks at him normally, so why would they notice. He begins to walk towards the school, the rifle nestled in his right hand. He holds it one handed, but then lets the gun trail against the pavement as he begins his final venture into school.  The eerie, brooding sound pleasures Will, as people begin to notice Will's horrifying figure. People begin to run, quickly walking away to protect themselves, as muttering and shouting began to occupy the airwaves. This however clearly has no effect on Will, who is listening to the screeching gun and seemingly completely unaware and disconnected to the fuss and mass fear he has created. One thing does demand his attention though and that is his bully. He finds him standing up against a wall, and Will points the gun barrel towards the bully and utters the words "library, now". The bully and Will proceed to the library, whilst students run for safety. As they reach the school library, the bully begins to cry and beg for mercy, believing Will is going to kill him for the years of aggression he has given to Will. Will forces the door open with the barrel of the rifle and demands the bully to be quiet, the bully, in a vulnerable state obeys and is told to sit in the corner of the library.

The librarian  falls into a complete state of panic, she cant breath properly and falls to the ground, her body begins to spasm as she searches for air. The bully in witnessing this moment of supreme sadness resumes his cries, this time louder and with more sorrow for what he has caused. Will looks down on the librarian who now is red and asks "do you even know my name?" The woman unable to speak, her eyes bloodshot in her search for oxygen simply mouths "Will Stuart" as her head falls loudly to the floor making the bully scream in horror. Will swiftly turns to the bully in understanding he wasn't alone, there were people to talk too. Will's face portrays stark horror and complete disbelief, he believed he was doing something right he know feels a life has ended needlessly as he was wrong. In this moment police sirens echo outside as Will inspects the aftermath of his actions, police are everywhere, the blue colouring of their lights paint Will's saddening morals as he hears something from outside the library. He turns in panic and holds the rifle to his head. Police storm into the door, shouting "put the gun down!", the bully holds his head in his hands, sobbing, rocking back and forth on the spot attempting to stay moderately calm. Will feels something on his cheek, it trails, but he still is unaware of what it is. It falls to the floor as he notices that it was a tear, the police however continue in their attempts to calm Will. It is at this point one officer notices the body of the librarian behind her desk, still bloodshot from her death, he calls an ambulance. Will aware of his actions mutters the words "Please tell people it wasn't my parents' fault.. Tell them that I love them" Will then turns to face the bully, who in looking at Will's face begins to cry again as a officer responds to Will's mutter by saying "Will, your gonna tell them yours-" BANG.

Blood swarms around the librarian's laying corpse and soon drifts towards the bully's screaming body. He has learnt his lesson, as various officers surround Will's paling corpse. The call for a ambulance is repeated. The time turns 9.19 as sirens forbid anyone from speaking and police tape borders those involved and those not. Britain won't forget this for a while.

"The Deprived" | Audience Research

"The Deprived" | Audience Research

 

 In conducting the audience research, we as a group believed the best format would be a questionnaire. Below is a replica copy of our primary questionnaire. Questions here underline our desire to firmly identify the target demographic.

 

From this questionnaire I believe we shall find the definitive film title, the aspects of which our trailer should primarily focus on, the prefered setting of the film and the length of the actual trailer. To adapt to our target audience's demands our product would seem more admirable to them, thus increasing their loyalty to the project. This also helps to expand the film's appeal to a wider demographic.

 

 

"The Deprived" Plot Synopsis

"The Deprived" – Movie Plot

 

The setting is a post-apocalyptic world where all known common law and political systems have fallen into disarray. Riots formed in the cities, food became scarce, and soon it became kill or be killed. We begin the story following a young boy called Adam, at only 17 he has been traveling the wastes alone, heading south as the days grow colder and darker. After searching a farmhouse for supplies he is taken by surprise by a local gang who knock him out, place a sack over his head, and drag him away. He begins to regain consciousness outside what appears to him as an old industrial complex. All he sees is the sky above him through the gaps in the stitching and the muffling of voices around him. Eventually a voice cracks from the side to line them all up. This is where the story begins.

After a few second Adam hears footsteps in front of him that stop abruptly. Again after a long pause he is blinded by a sudden flash of light as the sack is pulled of his head and a tall silhouette stands before him. He leans in close looking into Adams eyes. He orders his men to throw him in with the others, and he is taken into the rusted maze of steel and iron. He is dragged into a dark, cold room where he is strapped to a pipe by his hands. Looking around him his eyes begin to adjust to the light and he sees the others, all like him tied up against the walls. Blood running from their heads, all a variety of ages, but all male. One by one they are dragged from the room by their hair kicking and screaming. The screams, one by one soon abruptly stopped. And again the same dark figure would enter the room picking his next victim, with more and more blood covering his dark skin and rusted machete each time. Until but Adam and another young boy remained. As the door again screeched open, the figure approached Adam, cutting his binds and grabbing his hair… before he could drag him clear the wall Adam is released and he hears shouting and scuffled movement of feet behind him. He turns to see the young boy, binds around the figures neck strangling him, until his body lies motionless on the damp ground.

The two decide to stick together and sneak out of the site, avoiding guards and taking what supplies they could find of their own. They come across a map with a combat knife dug through it on a table. As Adam runs out the door jack quickly grabs it and follows. They run into the nearby woods where they are safer, they wander through the woods till they find a small derelict cottage on the side of a mountain where they decide to make camp as the light begins to fade. Setting down their rucksacks and making a small fire, the both sit back against the stone walls of the crumbling house in silence, staring into the fire. The older boy introduces himself to Adam, “I’m Jack by the way” and Adam does the same. After a silence Jack askes where Adam is heading and the pair begin to talk of their journeys, Adam more open than Jack, who keeps most of his history to himself. To which Adam respects, people have no good history after the blackout, everyone just went insane, and those who didn’t either ended up dead in the street, or wandering the wastes for, well, anything.
Jack pulls out the dirty map from his pocket showing Adam, the map is covered in scribbles and markings. The two decide they would stick together until they find enough supplies to be on their way alone once more, “Strength in numbers” jack mumbles. The next morning the two set of together. Thinking maybe one of these markings on the map indicated a gang supply dump or something that would help their situation.

They travel the overgrown landscape together, scavenging abandoned houses for food and shelter. They come across Items and places that remind them of what life was like before, and how simple it was. Many of the houses and buildings they search, they find people dead, that have opted out, either shooting themselves or hanging them and their families. One house in particular they enter is still inhabited, and a middle aged man takes Adam at knife point, obviously terrified the man eventually releases Adam, to which jack responds by brutally stabbing the man in the chest. Arguments break out between the pair on their differing views and morals in situations, and tensions begin to build. Eventually we learn that Jack had a younger brother called Michael, who was around Adams age. One night, as Jack and Michael lived alone, Jack was out scavenging. Only to come back to his secluded farmhouse to find his little brother is missing and a trail of blood leading into the woods. Ever since Jack had promised himself he would find his brother no matter what, and convinced himself that he was still alive. He also shares that his parents Hung themselves from the tree outside his window only a few weeks after the blackout, leaving him and Michael alone to fend for themselves.

Eventually the two find one of the markings on the map, Jack runs in, with excitement for what he may find. Adam enters more cautiously and is hit by a smell that cuts through him. He finds jack stood in the centre of the room, empty, apart from a floor submerged in pile upon pile of torn and ragged clothes and dried blood. Jack becomes angry and begins kicking and throwing his fists at the lack of supplies. But he suddenly stops. Crouching down facing away from Adam he picks up a child’s watch from the ground, it was his brothers. He never took it of ever since he had it for Christmas when he was eight years old. Jacks eyes well up and he stands shouting for his brother. “Michael!! MICHAEL!” Adam tries to calm Jack down but is hit with Jacks anger and frustration as jack tells him to leave him alone. The gang perusing them hears the shouting and goes to investigate. Adam spots a trail of blood leading under and old bookcase, he follows it, pushing it out the way to reveal a door way. Leading into a basement. Where he finds a room with a large metal door at the far end, with a “caution, Extreme temperatures, Freezer” on the door, the ground around it covered in pieces of flesh and fresh blood. And old wooden table sits to the centre with an assault rifle and ammo surrounding it, inspecting the rifle he finds a note on the floor, it reads.

“Right we are running low on ammo, so use whatever else you can find to kill ‘em, we can’t spare any more. Me and the boys never did like eating around the shrapnel anyway” …”Cannibals”. Adam murmurs to himself, shocked and disgustedat what he had just read… “We need to leave now” Jack enters the room, with desperation still in his eyes. “What is it… what does it say!?” Adam is reluctant to give him the note but jack snatches it from his hands. Reading it carefully. As he reads the anger and frustration builds in his eyes, tears begin to stream down his emotionless face. And he drops the note.” Jack please, wait” Jack pushes past Adam throwing him aside. Hearing the rabble of the gang outside, he picks up the assault rifle and cocks it. Adam tries to grab it of him but Jack hits him over the head with the butt of the gun, and Adam lays motionless on the floor. Blind fury fills his eyes and he walks with gun in hand up the stairs and out the front door, where he is greeted by a line of red eyed twitching men, all with blunt weapons and machetes in hand. They snort and snarl at the sight of the boy, and with the order of their ranking member “Get him!” they charge at Jack. With no hesitation, and a dead, motionless expression, he lifts his automatic and unloads the whole magazine into the 11 men, and the air is filled with a mist of pink blood, as the body’s hit the concrete, and the echo of gunfire shuttles through the valley. And everything turns silent.

Adam regains consciousness, the ground around him is damp, and he realises he is in the centre of a field with his hands binded behind his back. And he feels the cold steel of the gun barrel slowly rest against his forehead. “Jack?” “Jack listen to me please… Everything is going to be okay we can still find him” again he repeats, slower and more calm “Everything is going to be okay” There is a long held pause and the sound of wind in the trees and the grass swaying fills the air. Jack, in a quiet, almost whisper of a voice murmurs. “Nothing is ever going to be okay.” He lifts his rifle into his own mouth, pausing for a second, and fires, and his lifeless corpse hits the soft grass, as birds flee and flutter around the field. And once more the sound of wind fills the air, silence.

Fin.

The Road | Motion Picture Trailer Analysis

The Road | Motion Picture Trailer Analysis

 

 

The Road Trailer Analysis from TheTobyHowell

Film Trailer | Audience Demographic

Film Trailer | Audience Demographic

Upon creating the plot, we as a group, had strong feelings for a post-apocalyptic survival story, a story that would engage and keep the audience obssessed with the trailer. With this in mind the following blog will inform you of the target audience, demographically and psychographically, that our trailer is aimed for.

After researching the genre online I have found that often in this genre the films are incredibly bleak and contain strong language and violence. They are physcological challenges on the audience that almost prove to be a test, to see how much they can take. They often contain suspenseful elements to link in with the survival genre and thus create a gloomy, yet incredibly eye-catching atmosphere. With these facts in mind I have chosen a age range of 25-40 years of age. This has come after gaining secondary research on sites such as (www.idmb.com) which told me that due to the physicalogoical baggage the genre can inflict on the viewer, the intended audience would need to be of an older age bracket. After linking this in with my project I feel that this is a valid statement and would influence our intended audience. I feel anyone under the age of 25 are vunerable to be mentally affected by the bleak intensity of the film and this (in my opinon) has to mean 25+ is the correct age bracket. To stop at 40 years is simply a prediction that those aged 25-40 would find the film more entertaining, more hard-hitting than those older than 40, possibly because those who are 40+ are more immune to the hard-hitting nature of the film, and this is something I would want every member of the audience to feel, affected. This is why the film will be a 18 certificate.

The ideal target audience for the film, would be a avid film fan, one with a vast collection of films, and one who is emmursed in all film genres. The person takes pride in their love affair with motion pictures and activley goes to the cinema on the regular basis and this person has inter-textual knowledge in the film/TV world.  This demographic find films as a art form and loves to discuss their passion. They are hard working and from a working class background with a committing job. Jobs most notable consist of computing, blogging and other jobs in media that relate and link in to their passion of movies. They are also avid gamers, with at least one big name console. Their income will be low to moderate, showing their determination to exhaust their passion of films whilst overcoming possibly strict financial barriers. The demographic would be 65% male and 35% female symbolising the stereotypical "nerdy" culture and nature that the audience will possess. Psychographically the demographic also possesses the urge to spend fairly large sums of money (in accordance to their earnings) to satisfy their film cravings, either in conventions, cinema trips or a friendly get together.

All of these beliefs and issues I believe can be seen and demonstrated through the mood board below 

Mood board 

 



Kill List | Poster Analysis

Kill List | Poster Analysis

 

 

Winter's Bone | Poster Analysis

Winter's Bone | Poster Analysis

 

 

 

The Road | Poster Analysis

The Road | Poster Analysis

Prisoners | Motion Picture Analysis

Prisoners | Motion Picture Analysis

After doing further research and thinking into what particular additions I want added to my trailer's genre, I have realised after watching "Prisoners"it has the pace, the character depths and the atmosphere I would really like to integrate to my project.

The film offers a very different plotline to that of my trailer, it does however have elements of suspense and poses as a modern classic in the thriller genre. 

Admittedly this film will have major differences to what my trailer will show, but there are possible similarities that I would love to integrate into my trailer:

• Very mysterious characters with motives unknown that are multi-layered.
• A trailer that suggests twists and turns to keep the audience glued to their seat
• A dark (mostly at night set) background to the film symbolising the dark horrors that await the characters

These are features that I feel would really benefit the trailer I am creating, features that I feel could really help to benefit my genre being survival, crossed with a suspenseful thriller. I believe they would make the audience more aware of the genre, it will help the audience understand what they would be in for if they were to watch the film, as well bringing more of wider range of viewers too. I wish to integrate the horror and suspense aspects of "Kill List" (as seen in my previous film analysis) and combine it with the tense thriller-like feel of "Prisoners" and make my project a suspenseful survival trailer.

Kill List | Motion Picture Analysis

Kill List | Motion Picture Analysis

On trying to identify new themes to replicate in my trailer I found myself trekking deep into some classic examples of the suspense thriller. One case is Ben Wheatley's "Kill-List". A "cult classic in the making" according to CLASH. 

I believe the film blends a man's decent into a unimaginably horrible conclusion, with bleak (thriller-esque) foreshadowing.

The film itself is very brutal and is very unforgiving. "Kill-List" brings not only suspenseful drama in a thriller format, but it also features strong elements of horror which keeps the dramatic and suspenseful elements alive. The genre follows a set lists of codes/conventions and over-lapping themes that (in my trailer) I would like to replicate, these include:

• A over-whelming sense of wondering into the mysterious unknown. A feel of impending doom.
• A soundtrack that fore-shadows doom and fear.
• Realistic characters in a setting that would bring the worst and most unpredictable out of them.
• A real sense of mystery, and a feel of complete ignorance for the viewer.
• Character motives that question what is normally good or bad

These themes and codes/conventions that are in the film would really fit in my trailer and plot. I believe they would fit in with the suspenseful thriller aspect in my film, and would help bring some welcome scares which could help the suspenseful feel. The characters in "Kill List" really question whats right and whats wrong. Something that the characters in my trailer will be asking themselves in every action they commit, thus making this film a big influence and inspiration to re-create the atmosphere and character depth. The soundtrack (partly heard in the trailer) really brings out the eerie, creepy feel in the film. This (again) is something my trailer will try to feature, not really in the same sounding style but I hope it will try to bring out the unpredictable nature of the world the characters are now in.