Breakdown of Shots

To further our planning progress the group began to outline specific individual scenes and more clear ideas for frames and camera movements to help us when it came to filming. It also will be a helpful guide during the editing process as it shows a more detailed structure in addition to the one we developed following the production of our treatment, script and storyboard. We anticipated as well that we needed to be able to show an audience that the 'time-loop' was in effect, so laying out out potential shot sequences meant we could be more efficient and not film certain scenes multiple times. This helped for initial filming ideas but also was flexible for us to adapt as we wanted when filming.

OPENING: ARGUMENT - (Black + White, Silent)
Two girls are both upset and shouting, shot from various angles.

IN THE HOUSE - FIRST DAY

1. Faye sits up in bed looking scared, alarm sound can be heard

2. Shot of her hand switching off the alarm and it's sound, lasts long enough so that the date and time on clock can be seen

3. Close up of objects on the floor. See girl scrambling to put them all in her bag, her face cannot be seen. As she is doing this a voice from downstairs can be heard telling her a parcel has arrived for her

4. Camera tracks her as she stands up with bag, then remains still as she walks away from it towards the door which she closes behind her

5. Camera is at the bottom of the stairs, (high angle) and stays still as she runs towards it quickly

6. Close up of delivery parcel is shown

7. Over the shoulder shot as she opens the parcel to reveal a book, she anxiously flicks over some of the pages

8. Medium shot of her glancing to check that no one has seen her before then putting it inside her bag

9. Close up of her sitting on the bottom step putting on shoes
10. Close up of her zipping up her jacket

11. Close up of her hand snatching keys from the table

12. Close up of her hand picking up her bag

13. Shot of her hand opening the door handle

14. Shot of her slamming the door behind her


IN THE FOREST - FIRST DAY
15. Walking away through forest, camera tracking her from behind
16. Low angle shot as she sits down on the spot she's picked
17. Close up on her bag as she takes her book out: it follows the book around and we see her hand stroking the spine and flicking through the pages
18. Long shot of her looking around to see if anybody is watching her
19. She goes back to flicking through until she finds the page she wants
20. Camera close up on her face, she smiles gently 
21. Mobile phone close up as it beeps for a new message
22. Cuts back to a close up of her running her finger over the page 
23. Close up on her face as she mutters words to the spell under her breath with her eyes closed.


IN THE HOUSE - SECOND DAY
24. Wakes up in bed with the alarm ringing and breathes a sigh of relief
25. Shot of her switching off alarm showing the date
26. Close on her as she is sat up, looks confused and rubs her eyes
27. Shot of the clock again
28. Shot face on to Faye - shown getting out of bed and gathering belongings: voice off tells her that a parcel came for her yesterday. She looks up (not into the camera) and responds saying, "no, it came yesterday." Mother responds as Faye gets her last belonging, "no, no, the parcel arrived just now."
29. Tracking shot as she grabs her bag and runs out of the door, shutting it behind her. 
30. Camera is at bottom of stairs and still as she runs towards it quickly
31. Close up of delivery
32. Close up of zipping jacket
33. Close up of snatching keys
34. Close up of picking up bag
35. Shot of her opening door handle
36. Shot of her slamming door


IN THE FOREST - SECOND DAY
37. Shot of her sat cross legged, slight high angle, she is muttering spell again under her breath
38. Phone message beeping can be heard which startles her and she jumps up
39. Begins to run away looking over her should. 


(Series of shots in a montage to show the passing of yet more days)


IN THE HOUSE
40. Wakes up looking at clock's date
41. Close up on the clock's date and time
42. Throws clock on the floor in desperation
43. Runs down the stairs without the bag - camera follows her from behind over the shoulder as she approaches her mother. 
44. Shot reverse shot conversation between the two regarding the time-loop.


IN THE FOREST 
45. Close up on her bag as she takes her book out: it follows the book around and we see her hand stroking the spine and flicking through the pages
46. Long shot of her looking around to see if anybody is watching her
47. She goes back to flicking through until she finds the page she wants
48. Camera close up on her face, she smiles gently 
49. Mobile phone close up as it beeps for a new message
50. Cuts back to a close up of her running her finger over the page 
51. Close up on her face as she mutters words to the spell under her breath with her eyes closed.
52. Faye is running through the forest scared and upset. Extreme close up to show her fear.

Script

INT: SALCEY FOREST – DAYTIME

MEDIUM SHOT: TWO GIRLS arguing… they are shouting at one another and both looking upset…FAYE slowly walks away from the argument…the scene is in black and white and in silence.

INT: BEDROOM – MORNING

MEDIUM SHOT: FAYE wakes up in bed looking scared. Sighs heavily. FAYE leans over to turn off the alarm that is bleeping.

CLOSE ON: FAYE picking up her belongings on the floor and putting them into her rucksack.

ROOMATE (OFF SCREEN)

There’s a parcel here that’s arrived for you

FAYE gets to her feet and leaves the room with the bag. She runs down the stairs to retrieve the PARCEL. She gathers the PARCEL and puts it into her bag before leaving the house with her rucksack.

ESTABLISHING SHOT: showing the scenery of the forest. Voices of PEOPLE nearby can also be heard. FAYE begins to walk away to another part of the FOREST.

ANGLE ON: FAYE sitting down alone in the forest. She takes the BOOK out of her bag. She looks around to check she is alone.

CLOSE ON: The page of the BOOK she is looking for.

FAYE
(to herself)

(Muttering the spell under her breath)

FAYE becomes frightened because she thinks somebody is near her. She walks away towards the forest.

INT: BEDROOM, IN THE HOUSE – THE NEXT MORNING

MEDIUM SHOT: FAYE wakes up in bed…the alarm clock is ringing…as she goes to turn it off.

CLOSE ON: The alarm clock. The date on the clock is the same as yesterday. FAYE looks confused.

FAYE gets out of bed to gather her belongings up and put them into her bag.

ROOMMATE: (OFF SCREEN)

There’s a parcel here that’s arrived for you

FAYE: (SHOUTING DOWN TO HER MOTHER)

No, there shouldn’t be, it came yesterday

ROOMATE: (OFF SCREEN)

No, no, the parcel arrived just now

TRACKING SHOT: FAYE leaves the room to go downstairs. She collects her parcel and bag as she leaves the house.

INT: IN THE FOREST – SAME SPOT AS THE PREVIOUS DAY – DAYTIME

FAYE sits down and gets out the BOOK from her bag.

FAYE
(to herself)

(Muttering the spell under her breath)

CLOSE ON: PHONE beeping, new messages and missed calls can be seen on the phone.

TRACKING SHOT FROM BEHIND ON: FAYE running away from the forest.

INT: BEDROOM – IN THE HOUSE – MORNING, DAYTIME

MEDIUM SHOT: FAYE wakes up in bed. Sighs heavily. FAYE leaves the alarm ringing and lies down again.

INT: BEDROOM – IN THE HOUSE – MORNING, DAYTIME

MEDIUM SHOT: FAYE wakes up in bed.

CLOSE ON: The ALARM CLOCK showing the date and time


MONTAGE: of repeated shots from the previous days to mark more repetitions 

FAYE throws ALARM CLOCK onto the floor in desperation. She runs downstairs and meets her ROOMMATE in the hallway.

INT: BEDROOM - IN THE HOUSE - MORNING, DAYTIME

ROOMMATE:

What's wrong?

FAYE:

(angrily)

I keep living the same day over and over again, I don't know why. It's happened all week. It's doing my head in now.

ROOMMATE:

(concerned)

What have you done? That can't happen.

ROOMMATE goes to comfort the FAYE, FAYE shrugs her away.

FAYE:

(desperate)

I had an argument with my friend and I wanted to put it right, but now I'm stuck in this day, I've had the same package delivered lots of times now.

ROOMMATE:
(nervous laughter)
Don’t be silly. I'm sure it'll be OK, don't worry too much about it.

FAYE turns her back to her ROOMMATE and shakes her head.

INT: BEDROOM – IN THE HOUSE – DAYTIME

CLOSE ON: FAYE waking up calmly, turning off the alarm clock and heading downstairs. She puts on a different JACKET and pair of SHOES to the ones she has been wearing previously.

INT: THE FOREST - DAYTIME

MEDIUM SHOT ON: FAYE walking through forest alone, like in previous days

ESTABLISHING SHOT: showing the scenery of the forest. Voices of PEOPLE nearby can also be heard. FAYE begins to walk away to another part of the FOREST.

ANGLE ON: FAYE sitting down alone in the forest. She takes the BOOK out of her bag. She looks around to check she is alone. She reads the MESSAGES on her phone and learns that the issues with her friend have been resolved.

INT: BEDROOM – IN THE HOUSE – DAYTIME

MEDIUM SHOT: FAYE wakes up, the date of the following day is shown on the alarm clock. 

Storyboard

Following the writing the treatment, as a group we needed to produce a storyboard in order to try and visualise our ideas. It was helpful for us to sketch out possible shots and sequences in our minds in order to try and anticipate what our film may look like and whether it could be what we intend to achieve. We created the storyboard to be compatible with the treatment which meant our ideas became more solidified. It also gave us the opportunity to begin to consider any dialogue or any other diegetic/non-diegetic sounds, as well as any effects we could possibly consider in the editing process.

Treatment

A black and white fight is shown between two teenage girls with music being the only sound accompanying the action. The argument takes place in a forest.


Faye awakes on the morning of 1^st November to her alarm clock ringing. She is reluctant to stop the alarm ringing and to get out of bed. On the floor of her bedroom her belongings, a mobile phone, jacket, scarf, torch and money are scattered. She collects these belongings into a rucksack and walks towards her bedroom door after hearing her roommate call, “a parcel has arrived for you.” This causes her to look agitated as she hurries down the stairs in order to retrieve the parcel. She looks around before she opens it to make sure that her roommate doesn't see what it is: inside is book on witchcraft. Faye puts the book inside her rucksack and puts on her shoes and jacket before unlocking the front door and leaving with the rucksack. She walks over the gravelled driveway to the driver’s door before pulling away from the drive.

The atmosphere of the forest appears to be calm and ordinary as Faye stands and observes the families and dog walkers who are present. She begins to walk down a footpath to a secluded part of the forest where she envisages she’ll be alone. She takes out the witchcraft book and runs her fingers down the spine in inspection and carefully flicks through the pages before looking up to check that nobody is nearby. When she returns to look back at the book she notices the page for the magic that can reverse past mistakes, the page she was intending to look for. It is here when her mobile phone beeps to tell her she has received a text message from one of her friends and there are a few missed calls as well. She doesn't realise nor read the message. She begins to trace her fingers over the page with this particular spell on it. She mutters the words of the spell and then slams the cover of the book shut as though she is alarmed by it. The tense atmosphere begins to build as she walks away briskly from the area which has become unnerving. She imagines that there is somebody else present with her and becomes frightened. She closes her eyes out of fear and wakes up in bed.

Faye wakes up she breathes a sigh of relief. She goes to switch off her alarm which is ringing and realises that the date on the clock is the same as yesterdays. She looks confused but puts the clock down and rubs her eyes in disbelief. She gets up and begins to gather the same belongings into the bag. Her room-mate shouts from downstairs that a parcel has arrived. Faye responds, questioning her by stating that the parcel came yesterday. Her roommate is confused, but calmly tells her “no, no the parcel arrived today.” Faye grabs her bag and runs downstairs and sees the parcel there still unwrapped. She puts on her jacket and coat and leaves the house again.

She arrives at the forest and sits down with the book in the same spot as she was in the previous day. She mutters the spell again unaware of the new messages that are flashing on her phone. She looks around her as she imagines she can hear voices and is shown running back towards her car.


She wakes up in bed again and looks at the time and date on the clock. She lies back down on the bed in frustration, closes her eyes and leaves alarm ringing.
               

On what is assumed the be the fourth repeat of the 1^st November she runs down stairs after stopping the alarm ringing to find her roommate. Her roommate begins to tell her that a parcel has arrived for her but Faye interrupts her, explaining angrily about her frustration with the repetition of the days. The room-mate is confused and tries to comfort her. Faye goes on to explain to her roommate about the book that she bought and that she wanted it to correct a past mistake.

Faye is shown running through the forest looking scared and upset. She lifts her phone from her pocket and it is shown that the date is still 1^st November.

A montage shows the further repetition of the days as she is shown multiple times to be gathering up her things and putting on her shoes and jacket, mimicking the first time she left to go to the forest.

Faye wakes up calmly and turns off the alarm clock. She sighs and as she leaves her room she walks past all of her belongings. As she slowly walks down the stairs she calls out to her roommate asking her if anything has arrived. Surprised by her question, the roommate responds telling “yes, it’s just come through the door.” Faye gives her roommate a smile as she takes the parcel from her and puts on her shoes and jacket. The shoes and jacket she puts on are different to the ones she has been wearing on the other days. She walks away from the door towards the car with the book in hand. Arriving in the forest she goes to sit in the same spot she has sat in on the previous days. As she glances around her, her mobile phone on the grass beside her begins to bleep continuously as an influx of text messages come through. She reads through the messages all from her friend who she tells her room-mate about when she is upset. The messages are all about the friend forgiving her and asking if Faye is OK. She tosses the book into some of the nearby bushes, symbolic of her now understanding that the situation is alright and she doesn't need to reverse anything anymore. She walks away from the book towards her car again. The next time she wakes up she realises that the date has moved forward to the next day. 

Case Study

"Groundhog Day"


Groundhog Day deals with the same day repeating itself over and over again and the protagonists struggle in trying to resolve the issue. The idea of a time-loop was one that was proposed by one of the members of my group initially, influenced by this film. It comfortably fits into the theme of magical realism because it is set in a realistic setting and the magic is incorporated into the film as something that character experiences themselves. Between my group we decided to individually cover at least a couple of films and share ideas with each other about what we had managed to discover from our case studies, allowing us to compare and contrast. Through studying the film I aim to gather an understanding of how a time-loop is convincingly portrayed in film and if Groundhog Day could give me any ideas regarding how to condense an infinite amount of time into five minutes of footage. I anticipate also that studying this will help me to contribute to group discussions about more intricate details of the plot structure and events that could take place in our own film, and more importantly it demonstrates to me how somebody may react to this particular situation to help with our own characterisation. 

The above are stills from the film:
1st, 2nd and 3rd frames: The first frame makes the scene look ordinary through the verisimilitude created by the typical mise-en-scene. At this point in the clip there is no reason to detect that anything is wrong, relating the film back to the magical realism genre. The clock is framed in the middle of the shot and all is in view to suggest that there is nothing to be worried about yet, though the audience begins to get hints of the mystery from the song that is being played again at the same time. To maintain the steady atmosphere the camera sweeps fluidly to the second frame, this contrasts to the quick editing that is used later when the character is aware of the situation. It is only when the third frame is shown that the character begins to question "why the hell" is the same radio broadcast being played again. As his suspicions are juxtaposed with the frame of him washing his face, it infers that something disruptive and out of the ordinary will be happening.
4th frame: This close up is shown when a new repetition of the day is acknowledged. As it fills the whole of the frame it is more threatening to the character who is becoming weary. The music accompanying the shot is done with string instruments and is piercing which helps the audience to sympathise.
5th frame: It is due to this weariness that the character believes he can do any action and will not have to suffer the consequence: he punches an old school college who the audience has seen to be irritable, an action that also personifies the futility of his situation. The facial expressions, louder speech and quickening of the editing portray the tensions between the two, and the setting on the road with cars behind emphasises the potential danger the old friend could face.
6th frame: The character goes through several suicidal attempts in order to try and stop the repetitions. The high angle shot helps to promote fear, though at the same time empowers the character as he is shown to be in control to a certain extent and looking down on everything below him. His fall is captured in a tracking shot and both the slow motion and the music promote gracefulness; the director would have done this to then contrast it with the character abruptly throwing himself in front of a bus which mirrors the futility he feels. 


The research has been helpful in order to show how the time repetition can be shown as the shot of the time is repeated and creates a message alongside it. Also throughout, the character  goes through different emotions regarding the situation, however I feel that my group's short film we may not have time to explore this: a juxtaposition is shown between the monotony of the time and how this increases the frustration of the character. Examples of the quick editing have helped me to understand how my group could try and use montages and short sequences to show the passing of time efficiently. The character in Groundhog Day feels isolated and misunderstood and this shows how we may want to portray our own protagonist as well. 

Fantasy Subgenre - Magical Realism

Magical Realism
Example Films: Groundhog Day, Like Water For Chocolate


In films with magical realism, magical elements are combined within the real world and they are described as being real occurrences; in effect the "real" and the "fantasy" are shown in the same stream of thought. The content of the genre can vary widely as long as it maintains some verisimilitude: for example, a time-travelling character could be living and travelling through their ordinary life. 


It is "...what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe." Prof. Matthew Strecher. 


Magical realism as we now know it to be has been around since 1955. It is seen to be related to surrealism, however it differs because the magic in surrealism is inferred whereas in magical realism it does exist within the plot. Also, magical realism tends to look at the mundane aspects of everyday life but through a "hyper-realistic" lens. 


'Dreamlike' states are common in magical realism and the genre often introduces different realities experienced by one character. A sense of mystery is always present in the genre as a prominent theme. 

Key Films

"The Wizard of Oz" (1939)
Director: Victor Fleming
Screenplay: Noel Langley
Starring: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan and Ray Bolger
Genre: Musical Fantasy
One of the best known fantasy films, especially because of it's special effects which were developed for the time it was made. It was released in a significant year of film in Hollywood which also saw the release of "Gone With the Wind."




As shown in the clip, the film contains many fantasy elements. The 'hero' is going on a journey and is being guided by helpers as is conventional in many fantasy narratives. The costumes and the setting help to emphasise the mystical elements, especially the red shoes worn by Dorothy which possess magical powers.



"Edward Scissorhands" (1990)
Director: Tim Burton
Screenplay: Tim Burton and Caroline Thompson
Starring: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder and Dianne Wiest
Genre: Fantasy Drama
The film is a modern day take on a fairy tale, fairy tale narratives are commonly associated with fantasy. Like many fantasy films it introduces a protagonist that isn't human, but still gains the audience's sympathies. 



Many of the fantasy elements become apparent in this trailer: these are conventions of Tim Burton as much as they conventions of the film themselves.
It is snowing at the start of the trailer which is considered to the type of weather in which mystical things occur and this coupled with the dark lighting and the Gothic setting emphasise the fantasy iconography. Edward Scissorhands is an outcast and misunderstood character which opposes the traditional "Hero" from Todorov's theory and the film is almost an anti-fairy tale as it does not end "happily ever after."

Notable Directors

Peter Jackson and Tim Burton 

have both been responsible for some of the most successful modern fantasy films. 

Peter Jackson's most notable work has been on "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, as well as on the remake of "King Kong." Jackson had no film training and his talents in directing have been self-taught through trial and error. In his early days experimenting with film making he managed to create impressive special effects using a small cost. His first feature production was "Bad Taste" (1987) and due to lack of funds his friends took on the leading roles. The film helped to shape his early recognisable amarteuristic style and became one of his cult-classics. When offered the opportunity to adapt "The Lord of Rings" he was pressured into trying to make it into one film, however he felt it would better if it was a trilogy. He is known for his visual scope and attention to detail which are both necessary for fantasy films to keep the narrative believable. Because of his innovate style he is now widely considered to be one of the film-makers of his generation.


Trademarks of Peter Jackson:
Often films close-ups using wide angles
Darkly humorous scenes of violence
Enormous visual scope with emphasis on landscape
His films frequently conclude with a bloodbath
In his movies, there are frequently axes and fake documentaries

Tim Burton is a creative director who is know for his quirky directing style; at Disney he grew tired of working on the mainstream films and wanted to create work he felt was more original, reflecting his now recognisable style. The Box Office success of "Batman" brought him to other's attention and his first partnership with Johnny Depp was on "Edward Scissor Hands."  He manages to twist some of the fantasy conventions as his heroes are often neurotic and cowardly but also intelligent, but he allows for audiences to sympathise with them. Drawings and animation were important to Burton in his breakthrough: it is through these he could experiment with his quirky plot ideas and characters. Animation for Burton also meant that he didn't suffer from constraints as he could exploit the unrealistic elements of the fantasy genre, creating his creative freedom. 


Trademarks of Tim Burton:

His films often have a Gothic feel to them, often including Christmas and/or Halloween scenes with plots that often focus around a misunderstood outcast

He often likes to open his films with a quiet night time snowfall

Most of his films tend to be either dark or colorful, and sometimes contain scenes of both

Often features castles, churches or other old buildings

The History of the Fantasy Genre

.

Genre Theory

Fantasy Genre: "Films that deal with fairy tale adventures or plots from the dark ages"


Following our initial ideas, we individually researched the genre ourselves to find out more about its conventions:


The Repertoire of Elements.

Films from the fantasy genre often create hybrids with the science-fiction and horror genres as the magical elements they include compliment these: all of the genres have the freedom to be flexible with their narratives and create a sense of unknowing. The genre revolves mainly around unexplainable events and wonder allowing to push the boundaries of possibility. The films are generally well received by both children and adults as they offer escapism and mystery. 


Good vs Evil is the most recognisable theme and is relevant to all fantasy texts: It involves conflict between two opposing sides. The audience is often lead to sympathise with the "good" character as the plot is lead by them. The good and the evil don't have to be shown through characters, the evil, for example, could be an unfortunate situation. Traditionally, evil characters invaded the lands of the good characters - a concept that is common in fairy tales.
-The Hero personifies the good: They generally live up to their role as the plot progresses because of what is demanded of them and represent the "moral goodness." The Hero undergoes a quest relying on a helpful force (often involving saving the world) which may be lead to self-improvement and/or a reward. Their experience will be mystical and contain elements of supernatural phenomena.
-The Dark Lord personifies the evil: They will have committed an atrocity that has made them feared by others and they threaten the equilibrium at the start of the narrative.
These characters do not have to be human; often they are talking animals or creatures which are believable in the genre.


Magic in some capacity will feature in a fantasy film as a defining feature. It is because of this that the films can have unrealistic plots. The magic often is usually only possessed by the Hero and/or the Dark Lord which helps to identify them both as influential characters. The Hero uses their magic for good and the Dark Lord uses theirs for evil. Fantasy characters that are associated with magic are wizards, witches and magicians.  Magic can be subtle or used as a "force", like in Star Wars for example and is realistic in the setting of the film. 


The events shown in these films are unlikely to happen in real life, though they may have some scientific relevance or truth in them. Because of this they are enjoyed by audiences because they offer escapism.


Examples of mystical characters would be vampires, dragons and fairies. 


Todorov's theory is most applicable to fantasy films. In addition to the Hero and the Dark Lord, the narrative includes a Reward, traditionally in the form of a princess who would have been distressed and a Mentor who is older and who guides the Hero. 


ICONOGRAPHY:

Because of the creative freedom of the fantasy genre it is difficult to define it as being either  a "male genre" or a "female genre." It is dependent on the type and the plot of the fantasy film. Emotional characters and themes are something associated with the female genre and will be applicable to most fantasy films. Also love is often an integral component, accounting sometimes for music with 'sweeping chords' also considered to be feminine aspects, whilst also dealing with situations that are infeasible in the real world. Contrary to this though, references to battles and conflicts between different worlds are compatible with the male genre. Ultimately though, as these films are used for escapism, they are generally considered to be female. They are high culture too; they are made with large budgets and appeal to mass audiences due to their 'tried and tested' formulas. 

In order to help us to try and establish what an audience would want from a fantasy film as a group we asked some people what they liked most about the genre and what they expect from it themselves. The two girls we asked were both of a similar age to the group members and so could be a potential demographic to consider for a target audience as we would relate to their thoughts and experiences regarding the fantasy films they may have seen.

Initial Ideas

As a group, Alisha Hans, Kathryn Davies and I noted down the initial ideas that we had regarding our film. We were all in agreement of the fantasy genre to begin with as it is a genre we are all interested in and we hope to develop a plot line that reflects the genre. Thinking of initial ideas together will prove to be a good starting point as it has begun to produce the above details and it will be something we can refer back to if needed.