Evaluation for exam

I felt that I was not 100% prepared and ready for this exam. I did the minimal amount of study and as a result, I don't think I achieved these papers up to my full potential. I do feel I did OK  in representation as it was fresh in my mind. I do think I fell short as I struggled to remember the exact slogans and captions used iun the advertsements. Genre I feel I completely "Ballsed up" ( I did get you're permission to say this) as I had forgotten the characters names and kept changing my mind about what i was writing about

Film treatment

So the scene is going to start out with a pan shot going across Burnside highschool with the song 'The way you make me feel' by Michael Jackson playing in the background. Then when the music hits its first accent beat when Michael Jackson screams, the camera cuts to me dancing around the school, thinking that I am 'Hot stuff' and own the place. There will be various shots of me doing this and there will be shots of other people's reaction to this behavior. This is to help bortray my passion for performing and dancing and it will help bring some comdey to the film.

As the chorus comes to an end in the film, the camera will cut straight to shot where there is a test paper beiong slammed on my desk from the my POV. The focus will then be put onto the grade 'Not achieved' and then there will be a long shot of me arguing my grade to my teacher5. The teacher says that shes going to contact my parents and tell them that my complete lack of focus and out of school committments are getting in the way of my school work. I then beg her to give me a second chance and then the teacher will give in and tell me to pair up with one of the other members in the class and they can tutor me that night and then resit the test again the next day.

The shot then cuts to me on the bus going to dancing. Still undecided on the types of shots i want to do for this part. Im going to have various shots from different angles with a sound track in the background ( Some sort of dancing music) of Dancers practicing. I will al;so have cutting to a scene where the person meant to be tutoring me is waiting for me to turn up so that I can finish my essay. In this scene there will be silence so that the audience can focus on the frustration of the character as they are having to wait. This will also give good contrast to the other scene where we are able to see the dancers enjoying themselves. The cuts will keep going untill we come to a shot where the person tutoring has left.

Concept

I want to incorporate my dancing somehow in my film but still unsure how. I don't know whether to have it as a comedy/spoof,  have a wee bit of romance or have it as a boy/girl wanting to dance but his parents don't agree with this decision sort of thing.

If I was to go with the spoof idea, I would probably go with a mix between 'Take the lead' and 'Step up'. So I would probably run the movie as a similar outline as these movies but instead of having a serious approach to it, I'll add some humour by not taking the dancing quite so seriously. So there are a group of boys who get up to a lot of mischief and trouble and are forced, as a discliplinary action to take up Ballroom dancing. They will then be pared up with some girls and learn disclipline, focus and other things along the way. Having people to play these roles should be easy enough to do as I have friends in the dancing world who are keen to help me out. The intention of this film will be to entertain the audience and maybe even get them to think about ballroom and Latin dancing as being a good thing to take up.

With the romance idea, I could have dancer who has to choose between their career in dance and their boyfriend/girlfriend type thing. I'm not too keen on this idea but it is an idea. There could be a prestigious competition coming up ( like Nationals or something) but getting in the way of this couple practicing is one of them spending too much time with their other half. So maybe start the movie off with a view of all these really good dancers practicing and then move to a shot where we see the girl of this partnership sitting alone, waiting for her dance partner to turn up. Then the guy can turn up, and they argue about him spending too much time with his girlfriend, then he makes a promise that he will come in the next day to parctice with her but again he fails to show. Then he must make the decision. Dancing or his girlfriend. Once again, finding actors and dancers shouldn;t be too hard to sort out. The intention that i would be going for in this would be a sadness when the poor guy wants to follow his dream and dance but doesn't want to lose his girfriend in the process. So really, this filmed will be aimed at the more feminine in the audience.

Lastly, the idea of having a boy who is failing school because of his dancing. His dancing takes up so much of his time that his school work is going nowhere. Dancing is his passion and that is all he wants to do but his dad doesn;t agree with this and feels he should quit dance and focus on his school work. His mum feels differently about this and supports his dancing 100%. This turns into a divorce between his parents as the boy leaves school to take up dance full time. I was thinking to add some tragedy to this story, at the end of my beginning, have a scene where the boy was being silly or in a driving accident and breaks his legs. This will bring sadness to the audience as the boy now has nothing. His passion towards dancing is now ruined and becaus ehe left school to persue his dancing career, he does not have the skills to be in a wel paid job. I will probably end up playing the boy but finding people to play my parents could be tricky. This is because it will need to be some pretty good acting if i want to get my point accross.

Killer in disguise

In the films 'Psycho' directed by Alfred Hitchcock and 'Scream' directed by Wes Craven, a convention conveyed was having a killer in disguise. In 'Psycho' , we witness Norman Bates as the 'Bates Hotel' owner dress up as his mother killing Marian Crane. Norman is living in a fantasy where his mother is still alive when really it is just him dressing up as his mother as she has taken control of him. Norman's mother only took over when Norman ever got close to someone or if he felt in trouble. For example, when Marian Crane stays at the 'Bates Hotel', Norman starts to feel attached to her and think of her as being more than a friend and thats when Norman's mother jumps in and takes over and takes matters into her own hands.
The movie 'Scream' on the other takes a more scary approach by having the killer in a ghostly mask. We only ever see this masked murderer when the characters break one of the rules of horror films are broken. No sex, no drugs and no drinking. The mask on the murderer is a very long face with it's mouth wide open and eyes opened wide to help show fear. The murderer was also wearing all black to highlight the face even more.

How the length of takes is used in the opening of 'Deja Vu'

In the beginning of the scene, the take lengths are at a moderate speed so that we can take in all the actions and feelings in the scenes atmosphere. We are able to see the excitement, energised people ready to set sail. The reason for the speed of the takes here is so the viewers are able to grasp all these feelings and are able to relate to the situation more.

During the explosion on the boat, we see two completely different time lengths of shots. Just as the explosion happens, the takes are very quick and sharp, showing different angles of the boat in smithereens. This is to give the effect of an instant life changing event. The viewers feel sorrow and relate to the fact that at any moment their lives could end.

After the quick, sharp takes, the takes run longer as they show us the aftermath of the explosion. This is effective as the viewers feel somewhat silent. We also feel sorrow as we see innocent lives flying through the air on fire. It also gives us viewers time to think of what we would do if we were in that exact situation. What can you do? What could you have done to stop this? All these questions that run through the viewers minds draw them into the movie. As we see the long takes of the devastation, our hearts sink, us viewers seem powerless. We feel part of the film.

How shot sizes and camera movement is use in the opening scene of 'Deja Vu'

As the opening scene begins, we see crew members leap out of their buses and sprinting onto the boat. As the crew member's are sprinting, the camera is tracking their movements, emphasising their enthusiasm and excitement towards getting on the boat. The shot size is a mid-shot so that we can see more than one crew member racing towards the boat. This gives an even greater feeling of excitement as it shows many crew members as enthusiastic as each other to head on their journey.

During the boat explosion, we are able to see exactly what happens as their are numerous camera angles being shot. As soon as the explosion happens, we see it viewed from the crew members perspective who is outside the car, then it is quickly moved out to a close-up shot, then we see some panning from right to left circling the boat and then we see the explosion as a long-shot which starts to slowly pan up. After the explosion, we finally see the aftermath of the explosion from a birds-eye view. Using all these shots, angles and camera movements emphasise the devastation and strength of the explosion. It makes us viewers feel more sorrow for those who are aboard the ship.

How the music is used in the film 'Deja Vu'

The music plays an important job in the opening scene as it conflicts with the characters moods and expressions. As I mentioned earlier in the last post, the crew, families, children are all excited about there adventure. The music on the other hand is morbid and depressing. This feeling is being portrayed by the soft, slow but negative way the pianist is playing. This gives mixed messages to the viewers as what they see and what they hear are in this case two completely different feelings. This creates suspense as they do not know what is going to happen.

As the scene moves on from the gloomy music, a marching band starts to play classical, upbeat music to create a cheerful atmosphere on the boat. We know this as we see the people on board the ship reacting in a positive way. The music keeps playing, keeping that cheerful atmosphere in place. This music is effective as it leads up to the explosion of the boat. It gives the explosion of the boat a dramatic effect as the cheerful atmosphere is turned into a traumatic event. The music gives a a quick and vast change in the viewers mood, coming from a feeling of happiness to a feeling of sorrow in a matter of seconds.