Risk Assessment
Zombie/horror hybrid - "Dead Semeter"
Hazard
Person harmed
Property damaged
Actions taken/in place
Assessment
Further action required
1.
Allergy to makeup
Allergy Checks
Low
Getting dermatogoly tested makeup Make up suited for all
2.Cast or crew getting hurt by broken (not set up properly) equipment
Cast/Crew
Cameras/ tripods/lighting
Crew are able to set up film equipment correctly
Medium
All equipment will be checked
whilst sorting safely before and after filming
3.
Ineffecient time on creating trailer
Crew
Time limits on each section
Low
Planning by time requested
4.Bad weather
Crew/cast
(most of the filming filmed indoors or within shelter)
Medium
Safety clothes
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Representation of Gender (Research Investigation)
Research investigation
Representation of Gender within the Horror Genre
For this investigation I shall be focusing on the representation of gender in film productions because I enjoy studying the different stereotypes on gender and how the directors interpret them into their productions to build up the film in any genre. I will be focusing on the zombie rom-com of 2013, "Warm Bodies" and 2007 "I am Legend" as they both spark ideas of the typical and newest beliefs on gender roles within zombie/horror hybrids.
(O'Sullivan et al, 1998) "a stereotype is a label that involves a process of categorisation and evaluation. We can call stereotypes shorthand to narratives because there representations define our understanding of media texts" for example we know who is evil by their menacing looks as evil laughs.
Women are portrayed in the media usually involved in relationships where as men in the context of their carers. "By 2006 prime time television season, women continued to 'inhabit interpersonal' relationships and roles involved in romance, family and friends." (M.E.Sharpe, Media Messages book, 2014) Females tend to be portrayed as weak, innocent and fragile that have absolutely no strength to fend for themselves. Women in horror films are also portrayed with no initiative – they always have to follow some kind of male dominant leader – and don’t have much personal perspective or opinions. "The majority of female characters fall victim to violent or emotional tradegies...studies of gender stereotypes in popular media, such as television and film, have confirmed this." (Tuchman, US Media and the Middle East- Image and Perception book, 1997)
Throughout the years since the Woman’s movement occurred in the mid-1960’s, the representation of women in the media slowly began to come through. These days, patriarch dominance is still present in some films as female characters are still presented as somewhat weak and fragile due to the fact that in some point of a horror film; females may either be saved by a strong and powerful male character or just get killed and die due to their inability to fight back.
The typical helpless appeal on women is used within media productions today as much as the sexual view of females. This is because of the "male gaze" which means that the woman in the advertisement becomes what’s being bought and sold: “The message though was always the same: buy the product, get the girl; or buy the product to get to be like the girl so you can get your man” in other words, “‘Buy’ the image, ‘get’ the woman” (Wykes, The Media and Body Image, 2005).
The sexual objectification of women in advertising is frequently achieved by exploiting their sexuality, "the body becomes depersonalized, objectified and reduced to its parts." (Sara Mills and Jane Cambell, Women and the Media: Diverse Perspectives Book, 2005)
"In a male-dominated culture, where power, money, law, and social institutions are controlled by past, present, and future patriarchs, women as the other assumes particular significance. The dominant images of women in our culture are entirely male created and male controlled. Women’s autonomy and independence are denied; on to women men project their own innate, repressed femininity in order to disown it as inferior.’ (Wood 1986)
Warm bodies is a supernatural romance that shows the consumers that not every supernatural romance film is following the Twilight saga. In the film Warm Bodies it represents a much more modern view on Zombies and gender roles, both of the films are from different times, with Warm Bodies being more modern and representing the newest interpretation on the roles; showing a twist to the stereotypical views.
The film portrays Julie as being able to stick up for herself and a survivor, which isn’t what the typical princess or prize conventions usually show. Each character type comes with already made expectations thanks to the fairy tales they were collected from. The princess or prize is usually shown as the "damsel in distress." Meaning that she is rejecting the label Vladimir Propp had given females in films. Which could be a reason why it appeals to all teens because not only does it have romance and supernatural aspects but also showing that not all girls wait for a hero to help them; that they can actually help themselves and it doesn't fully divert from the genre.
This change in the roles can be related to other modern horror movies as there is a sufficient amount of role reversal. We are often presented with a "final girl" a girl who is seen as quite masculine. For example: their names can be unisex and the way they dress can be quite masculine; compared to the more glamorous female characters who stereotypically get injured or killed and are presented to be weak and their minds elsewhere. In horror films there appears to be an imbalance with the presentation of women as they are usually either extremely weak or strong- varied female protagonists do not tend to occur within horror films. This also stops the audience from assuming any stereotypical horror expectations of the film, allowing them to take on the newer form of girl role and maybe even like it.
The "final girl" theory is a concept within thriller and horror films, it refers to the last surviving woman who must confront the killer and tell the story. From the 1990's this was a common plot line, leaving one last person in the group to survive and either confront the killer or get killed as well. In modern films, although this idea has been used a lot more frequently the women still find themselves to be sexualised in a way to appeal more to men. For example Syndey Prescott in the 1997 "Scream".
"If you want to understand what’s going on with contemporary masculinities, you have to look at what’s going on in the media... while image of women have been thinner and more waifish, images of men have gotten bigger, stronger, more muscular, and more violent." (Jason Katz, Men Masculinities and Media Commentary, 1999)
Men are usually the heroes in typical media forms, as they tend to take on the active roles where as women tend to take on the passive roles as seen in many other films, and there is a definite lack of female role models compared to the amount of male role models. We know little of what types of relationships men have with the characters, as their roles are made out to be a lot more active, we focus on their actions a lot more. This is evident in the film I am Legend, because when Robert finds the other survivor (a woman) their relationship doesn't show exactly how it has grown only that they're trying to protect eachother from being the prey and doing what they can to survive. Similar to most horror style movies. (Merrin, film critic, 2005) "media does not reflect and represent the reality of the public but instead produce it, employing this simulation to justify their own continuing existence."
I am Legend was directed by Francis Lawrence and starred Will Smith as the main character. The film is based from Matheson's novel of I am Legend. The film shows one survivor Robert Neville (Will Smith) and his journey with Sam (his dog) after a plague of zombies wipes clear almost the entire human race transforming survivors into monsters within minutes. This follows the typical conventions of the zombie genre we would expect. The scenery, props and costume in this are used so effectively and precisely that they help to create a lot of suspense- leaving the audience anticipating what comes next, and showing that Robert truly is alone with Sam. This feeling of lonliness gives the protagonist a reason to keep living on, a reason for the audience to want his tale to continue, once again Will Smith is made to be a strong male and weapon ready, something not a lot of films show females to use. Male characters are often represented as isolated, not needing to rely on others which gives them the "lone hero" role. If they are apart of a family, it is often part of the resolution of a narrative, rather than the full equilibrium.
Warm bodies protagonist R however shows the new male as he isn't shown to be masculine and strong but an ordinary guy who was turned into a zombie and now survives purely by eating other humans. Even though he does try helping to save Julie from the other zombies or "bonies" he isnt relied on to save her constanly because she defends herself a lot of the time. It is this new type of masculinity in R that adds to romance aspect to the film, Robert Neville from I am Legend makes the film feel like an action more because of his action in the film and use of weapons. I am legend is focused around Robert and the action, Warm Bodies is focused more around Julie and R's developing relationship whilst not being eaten by other zombies.
Representation of Gender within the Horror Genre
For this investigation I shall be focusing on the representation of gender in film productions because I enjoy studying the different stereotypes on gender and how the directors interpret them into their productions to build up the film in any genre. I will be focusing on the zombie rom-com of 2013, "Warm Bodies" and 2007 "I am Legend" as they both spark ideas of the typical and newest beliefs on gender roles within zombie/horror hybrids.
(O'Sullivan et al, 1998) "a stereotype is a label that involves a process of categorisation and evaluation. We can call stereotypes shorthand to narratives because there representations define our understanding of media texts" for example we know who is evil by their menacing looks as evil laughs.
Women are portrayed in the media usually involved in relationships where as men in the context of their carers. "By 2006 prime time television season, women continued to 'inhabit interpersonal' relationships and roles involved in romance, family and friends." (M.E.Sharpe, Media Messages book, 2014) Females tend to be portrayed as weak, innocent and fragile that have absolutely no strength to fend for themselves. Women in horror films are also portrayed with no initiative – they always have to follow some kind of male dominant leader – and don’t have much personal perspective or opinions. "The majority of female characters fall victim to violent or emotional tradegies...studies of gender stereotypes in popular media, such as television and film, have confirmed this." (Tuchman, US Media and the Middle East- Image and Perception book, 1997)
Throughout the years since the Woman’s movement occurred in the mid-1960’s, the representation of women in the media slowly began to come through. These days, patriarch dominance is still present in some films as female characters are still presented as somewhat weak and fragile due to the fact that in some point of a horror film; females may either be saved by a strong and powerful male character or just get killed and die due to their inability to fight back.
The typical helpless appeal on women is used within media productions today as much as the sexual view of females. This is because of the "male gaze" which means that the woman in the advertisement becomes what’s being bought and sold: “The message though was always the same: buy the product, get the girl; or buy the product to get to be like the girl so you can get your man” in other words, “‘Buy’ the image, ‘get’ the woman” (Wykes, The Media and Body Image, 2005).
The sexual objectification of women in advertising is frequently achieved by exploiting their sexuality, "the body becomes depersonalized, objectified and reduced to its parts." (Sara Mills and Jane Cambell, Women and the Media: Diverse Perspectives Book, 2005)
"In a male-dominated culture, where power, money, law, and social institutions are controlled by past, present, and future patriarchs, women as the other assumes particular significance. The dominant images of women in our culture are entirely male created and male controlled. Women’s autonomy and independence are denied; on to women men project their own innate, repressed femininity in order to disown it as inferior.’ (Wood 1986)
Warm bodies is a supernatural romance that shows the consumers that not every supernatural romance film is following the Twilight saga. In the film Warm Bodies it represents a much more modern view on Zombies and gender roles, both of the films are from different times, with Warm Bodies being more modern and representing the newest interpretation on the roles; showing a twist to the stereotypical views.
The film portrays Julie as being able to stick up for herself and a survivor, which isn’t what the typical princess or prize conventions usually show. Each character type comes with already made expectations thanks to the fairy tales they were collected from. The princess or prize is usually shown as the "damsel in distress." Meaning that she is rejecting the label Vladimir Propp had given females in films. Which could be a reason why it appeals to all teens because not only does it have romance and supernatural aspects but also showing that not all girls wait for a hero to help them; that they can actually help themselves and it doesn't fully divert from the genre.
This change in the roles can be related to other modern horror movies as there is a sufficient amount of role reversal. We are often presented with a "final girl" a girl who is seen as quite masculine. For example: their names can be unisex and the way they dress can be quite masculine; compared to the more glamorous female characters who stereotypically get injured or killed and are presented to be weak and their minds elsewhere. In horror films there appears to be an imbalance with the presentation of women as they are usually either extremely weak or strong- varied female protagonists do not tend to occur within horror films. This also stops the audience from assuming any stereotypical horror expectations of the film, allowing them to take on the newer form of girl role and maybe even like it.
The "final girl" theory is a concept within thriller and horror films, it refers to the last surviving woman who must confront the killer and tell the story. From the 1990's this was a common plot line, leaving one last person in the group to survive and either confront the killer or get killed as well. In modern films, although this idea has been used a lot more frequently the women still find themselves to be sexualised in a way to appeal more to men. For example Syndey Prescott in the 1997 "Scream".
"If you want to understand what’s going on with contemporary masculinities, you have to look at what’s going on in the media... while image of women have been thinner and more waifish, images of men have gotten bigger, stronger, more muscular, and more violent." (Jason Katz, Men Masculinities and Media Commentary, 1999)
Men are usually the heroes in typical media forms, as they tend to take on the active roles where as women tend to take on the passive roles as seen in many other films, and there is a definite lack of female role models compared to the amount of male role models. We know little of what types of relationships men have with the characters, as their roles are made out to be a lot more active, we focus on their actions a lot more. This is evident in the film I am Legend, because when Robert finds the other survivor (a woman) their relationship doesn't show exactly how it has grown only that they're trying to protect eachother from being the prey and doing what they can to survive. Similar to most horror style movies. (Merrin, film critic, 2005) "media does not reflect and represent the reality of the public but instead produce it, employing this simulation to justify their own continuing existence."
I am Legend was directed by Francis Lawrence and starred Will Smith as the main character. The film is based from Matheson's novel of I am Legend. The film shows one survivor Robert Neville (Will Smith) and his journey with Sam (his dog) after a plague of zombies wipes clear almost the entire human race transforming survivors into monsters within minutes. This follows the typical conventions of the zombie genre we would expect. The scenery, props and costume in this are used so effectively and precisely that they help to create a lot of suspense- leaving the audience anticipating what comes next, and showing that Robert truly is alone with Sam. This feeling of lonliness gives the protagonist a reason to keep living on, a reason for the audience to want his tale to continue, once again Will Smith is made to be a strong male and weapon ready, something not a lot of films show females to use. Male characters are often represented as isolated, not needing to rely on others which gives them the "lone hero" role. If they are apart of a family, it is often part of the resolution of a narrative, rather than the full equilibrium.
Warm bodies protagonist R however shows the new male as he isn't shown to be masculine and strong but an ordinary guy who was turned into a zombie and now survives purely by eating other humans. Even though he does try helping to save Julie from the other zombies or "bonies" he isnt relied on to save her constanly because she defends herself a lot of the time. It is this new type of masculinity in R that adds to romance aspect to the film, Robert Neville from I am Legend makes the film feel like an action more because of his action in the film and use of weapons. I am legend is focused around Robert and the action, Warm Bodies is focused more around Julie and R's developing relationship whilst not being eaten by other zombies.
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Contingency Plan
Contingency plan
Whilst our trailer production of our film is in process we need to consider any problems that are likely to come up, it is important that we think and solve these in advance to create this back up plan so that the production carries on.
Unreliable actors:
A few of the actors we've taken on are working on their own media productions and so may not always be available for filming. So if they cannot join in we have a few back up actors just in case who are not apart of any film productions. We are also using a classroom of children for the opening sequence, considering we are filming in a school being able to film a classroom of students is not going to be too hard - we have permission slips ready also.
Crew being late/cannot attend:
The only major problem with this would be myself not being there for the making of the trailer on a particular day because of my illnesses or being taking into hospital, therefore I am doing sound editing instead. Sound editing does not require me to be present at filming constantly (though I will be) which means then that I can still carry on the production without having to let the team fall behind.
As for anyone else not being able to attend, we have organised a time schedule for when the cast are able to meet us and preform. This time was arranged by them and us, as well as working after school hours we will also be working during school hours meaning that no time will be wasted.
Problems with location/Too noisy/Having too much background noise:
Through our decision to keep both locations simple, there is no need for us to get authorisation to be able to film there, after all we will be in Pontypool Park or filming in St Albans school itself. By being in the school we will have the standard school background noise, this is what we hoped for as our production is based in a school where this is expected. However we will be able to control the classroom of children noise wise. If we cannot film in the park due to bad weather than we have chosen another location site that we can use instead.
Battery running out on equipment:
We will make sure that the battery of the camera is fully charged before we leave to film. If the camera battery does run out when we are in the middle of our task, we will simply return to the location a day later with the camera charged, but also a spare battery to carry on.
Bad weather problems on makeup:
When we film outside it is possible to have bad weather affect our casts makeup, there fore we are using locations with a little shelter and waterproof makeup so that the makeup of our zombies are not completely ruined.
Monday, 30 December 2013
Narrative structure of I am Legend
I Am Legend.The drama/sci-fi thriller hybrid of 2007!
Following the story of a Robert Neville’s journey with his dog Sam after a plague of zombies wipes clear almost the entire human race transforming survivors into other monsters within minutes.
The scenery, props and costume in this are used so effectively and precisely they help to create a lot of suspense to leaving the audience anticipating what comes next, showing that Robert truly is alone with Sam.
As for the sounds used, there wasn’t a lot of dialogue involved but tense music hinting oncoming actions or jump scares. The dialogue is deep in terms of thought and speech apart from the occasional Bob Marley reference., allowing us to understand the character and almost be able to share his pain.
The plot structure isn’t the strongest; apart from the occasional zombie scare and battle conflict is kept to a minimum, apart from the emotional parts where are little to keep the audience on track. When it comes to the narrative structure it’s mostly shown through the use of flashbacks. This allows the audience to keep up with the story, and follow along with the main protagonist – Will Smith. However, the pathos suffers when the character acts out unreasonably like when he meets the woman and her child. Which is different to how we have seen him react to his dog and the shop mannequins – treating them like a living human being?
Notes to narrate:
The beginning of I am Legend was told in first person narration, coming from Neville himself, whereas then it changes in the end to third person because it changes to Anna.
The flashbacks in the film are used to signify past memories and the chaos caused by the virus, allowing the audience to keep up to date with what's happened.
Although the events throughout the whole movie were uncoventional, the possibility of a cure going wrong, like Dr Alice's cure for cancer which is what started it all off is conventional.
In the first few moments of he film it introduces an official looking news report about the cure for the virus with a 100% pass rate so far,The first narrative code is then brought in allowing the audience to come up with their own ideas of what the stories going to be about and why there was such an urgency for this cancer cure.
Many questions are brought in within the first few minutes of the film, especially when we see the main character holding a gun. Questions like, what could he be planning doing with that gun if he is truly abandoned like the film so far has portrayed. The opening sequence to I Am Legend uses different narrative codes well to make the audience think and ask themselves questions that they anticipate throughout the film for these questions to be answered.
Storyline:
Outbreak and ensuring families safety by sending them away
set up a safe zone for himself
find the cure
hunt for food (deer)
retrieve Sam from building filled with infected
escape a trap set by the infected
kill his dog
Kill himself
defend his safe zone and protect Anna and Ethan
Extract blood from the cured infected
stop the infected from getting to the family by detonating a grenade,
killing himself in the process To create a cure for the infected.
The Quest To restore humanity and "light up the darkness".
Refusal of the Call
He decides to stay in New York to try and find a cure, instead of escaping with his family.
After losing his only companion, Neville attempts to kill himself.
A woman and her son intervene and save him at the last minute.
She fixes his leg, helps clear his mind and gives him someone to converse with.
The End
Enemies:
"Darkseekers" -vampiric like zombies that kill any living being.
Main enemies shown Alpha male and Female.
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Sound Editing
S O U N D E D I T I N G
Introduction:
Recording and editing back in the older days were never a simple task mainly because not everyone had access to the erquired equipment and because of prices being so high of this new equipment it was harder to get your hands on. Now-a-days, a simple PC's microphone can be used to record sound and most have a basic system on it that can allow you to edit, if not then clicking on the microphone settings will allow you to alter the sounds anyway.
Of course, using PC's wont produce pro-task material but the majority use this to just record simple vlogs (video blogs) and quick messages. It is also probably the cheapest bit of recording material available. As well as recording on your phones - before they had apps available on them.
If you need some serious work with your recordings and editing investing in better audio equipment will come in handy either that or extending the capabilities of your hardware on your PC. Presuming you already have a PC with a built in microphone, you just need an audio editing software to make changes to the sound you want to manipulate.
The basic idea that you need to remember when editing software is how good you can make
something out of it, was it really useful or could something better cover it?
SOFTWARES
Audacity
This software is better for single track editing, there is very little that cannot be achieved with Audacity, and achieved easily. Track editing however isn't it's own function. it's also able to apply effects and modify existing audio tracks. That's cool!
With this software you can record tracks in either mono or stereo using a sample rate up to 96kHz depending on your hardware. The process of recording a track is really simple too with simple controls. It is capable of mult-track recording but this can also depend on your hardware as the more memory on your hardware the better this works.
It's not the best choice but it does the job!
Kristal Audio Enguine.
iThis is one powerful mutli-recording audio device, combining recording, audio sequencing and audio mixer. This is a better software for beginner film editors!According to their website, "It is designed as a modular system. The main application provides a mixing console, while the audio sequencer, live audio input and so on are loaded as separate Plug-Ins".
It can only handle a maximum of 16 audio tracks, but the website has promised a newer faster and better one with more plugins. Kristal requires a modern, fast PC. Don't even think about using it with a sub-1Ghz machine!
WavosaurIt can hold up to 708KB and is the only program so far on here that requires no installation so doesn't take up any space on your PC. Even though it is a small programme, it contains a lot of advanced features including pitch shift, vocal removal, DC offset removal, silence remover, crossfade loop
Zombie films must have
1.)
STUDY STUDY STUDY!!!
You should watch at least 5 Zombie films. Play plenty of games like Left for Dead 2. Consume as much zombified media as possible before planning!
2.)
REASONS
Make a reason to why you have zombies. E.G- Apocalypse, Disease, Virus.
3.)
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!
The location is especially important in productions it can really help the audience follow the story better, for example in horror films you wouldn't have some happier place like heaven unless you're doing a psychological horror. Better locations would be cemeteries or abandoned streets.
4.)
SCRIPT!
Scripts are obviously important in productions, and are good to start as early as possible.
5.)
ACTORS!
Granted you most likely wont get the next Angelina Jolie or Will Smith, but gathering some friends and have them volunteer or audition for their parts is always a good idea. You need to have at least 15 actors to play as the zombie to show the zombie horde scenes. The audience are clever to know if the same actor is just wearing different makeup each time.
6.)
DETAIL
Details for movie making are always important, like characters, time not just of the day but what year? Sometimes these details can help to pick out a title. For example, 2012 was supposed to be set in 2012 and showing what could happen, and so came it's title.
7.)
CAMERA, ACTION!
After all these steps have been followed, then you can start filming the scenes. It's always best to do a scene at a time because of how much memory it'll take up on the camera.
8.)
EDITING
One the scenes have been filmed to how they were imagined, then its time to upload to an editing software to start working on music, credits, and edits in general. This will make a film more entertaining to watch.
9.)
FINISHED
Once you've finished editing, you can then pat your self on the back. You are done!
STUDY STUDY STUDY!!!
You should watch at least 5 Zombie films. Play plenty of games like Left for Dead 2. Consume as much zombified media as possible before planning!
2.)
REASONS
Make a reason to why you have zombies. E.G- Apocalypse, Disease, Virus.
3.)
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!
The location is especially important in productions it can really help the audience follow the story better, for example in horror films you wouldn't have some happier place like heaven unless you're doing a psychological horror. Better locations would be cemeteries or abandoned streets.
4.)
SCRIPT!
Scripts are obviously important in productions, and are good to start as early as possible.
5.)
ACTORS!
Granted you most likely wont get the next Angelina Jolie or Will Smith, but gathering some friends and have them volunteer or audition for their parts is always a good idea. You need to have at least 15 actors to play as the zombie to show the zombie horde scenes. The audience are clever to know if the same actor is just wearing different makeup each time.
6.)
DETAIL
Details for movie making are always important, like characters, time not just of the day but what year? Sometimes these details can help to pick out a title. For example, 2012 was supposed to be set in 2012 and showing what could happen, and so came it's title.
7.)
CAMERA, ACTION!
After all these steps have been followed, then you can start filming the scenes. It's always best to do a scene at a time because of how much memory it'll take up on the camera.
8.)
EDITING
One the scenes have been filmed to how they were imagined, then its time to upload to an editing software to start working on music, credits, and edits in general. This will make a film more entertaining to watch.
9.)
FINISHED
Once you've finished editing, you can then pat your self on the back. You are done!
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Zombie Films so far...
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