Photographs For Alley Scene

One of the key scenes is the final scene of the trailer because it has to create enough interest for the audience to watch the film, it is the only part which will have diegetic speech and I also want it to portray the relationship between the two main characters, Cattell and Lorcan.

Now that I have draw the storyboard for the scene, I need to find a location that best suits what I want to show in the scene. It needs to be long with walls on either side but also needs to have a good light source that I can use while filming. Synthetic light would be ideal for this and I can darken the parts I need to in post production.

This alleyway looks like a suitable location for the scene, it has much natural light coming through but still has dark corners. The bad points are that it is obviously next to two houses with windows and doors which the residents may object to, I would have to ask their permission before filming. Also it is too arrow to clearly pan enough to see one of the characters at the far end of the alley.

For these reasons I have decided to not use it and to find a better location for the shoot.

This subway would work well for the scene because it is dark but also has lights that come on at night which will create enough light for me to use and darkness at either end of the alley which is the look I was aiming for.

The disadvantages to using an underpass is that most of them are painted which makes the shot too busy and goes against the mood I want.

Also people use them regularly and this could cause problems when trying to film and also when using the gun in the scene, there are laws to having an air softing gun in public, so I would either have to not use the gun which I would rather not do because it is important to the scene, or find a more secluded location. So I am not going to use this location.

This location is the most suited to the trailer scene. It is easy to get to and has much light but doesn't eliminate the dark shadows. It isn't too busy despite the pillars but they add to the look of the scene. It is very atmospheric and I know that no one uses it and walks near it at night.

The only downsides to it is that there is a wall at the end instead of a dark entrance but that is not so important as long as the character can be seen walking into the passageway. It doesn't look as modern as I wanted it to as I wanted it to be clear that this scene is in present day but that can be shown by the clothes the characters are wearing and the gun.

I will film this in the evening when no one is around and will make sure the camera is facing towards the wall so outside cannot be seen.

My Storyboard Final Scene

Catt's 90 Lives- Final Scene

This is the storyboard drawn up for the final scene of the trailer where Catt is walking down an alley and at night and then Lorcán is seen at the end of the corridor and they greet each other though not on friendly terms.

The storyboard is set out in a similar way to The Golden Compass example with the number of each shot and a description of what is happening in the frame and to the camera angle.

Storyboards

Storyboards are a visual mockup of a film or animation. They have various degrees of realism from stick people to life like images.

Storyboards give film makers the advantage of deciding before filming, where the camera is going to go, what the characters are going to be doing and how the overall shot is going to look and how each one will progress to the other and create the continuity needed. It is advantageous when the film needs to be shot correctly the first time and also helps to work out any kinks in the filming. It is most needed in films that contain visual effects that are added after the film is made as it helps the actors and director know where the effect is going to be in the final product.

The disadvantages to having a storyboard is that they can be very expensive depending on how the film makers want them to look. Also it takes away part of the improvised creativity of the direction if a storyboard has to be strictly followed.

In this example of a scene from the Golden Compass that has been storyboarded, there is a description of the shot and arrows on the images to show the movement of the camera. They are also numbered and dated so the directors can keep it in order and easily reference each shot and scene.

In the actual filming of the scene it is a little different to the storyboard but the way the camera moves is the same. The monkey is animated in after the scene is shot and the storyboard helps the actors and the animators know how the scene is suppose to look.

Location Photographs

I need locations that look like they could be from any era because some of the trailer will be of the past. Forests are the obvious place to use as they do not change much over time. Also the outside of old houses or ruins are a good place to film.

For one part of the trailer I need a dark place in modern time where Cattell and Lorcan are going to meet again. An easy place to do this would be an alleyway or subway. It would have to have at least a little bit of light coming into it so the camera picks up the characters and can be darkened a little later if necessary.

These pictures above show the type of location I am looking for to film the trailer and they don't have people walking past often which may cause problems when trying to film.

Movie title and Ideas

The title is appropriate to the movie as it is about a girl who has had as many as 90 live, the main reason for the number is so that the title and consequently the storyline is memorable as it plays on the myth that cats having 9 lives. I simply had to make sure the name of my character fits the idea I was trying to achieve.

General Ideas:

In the trailer I want to focus on Catt, her lives and how remembering everything has had an effect on her.

I plan to have a voice over as the only speaking part except for the end when I will have a small dialogue between Cattell and Lorcán to show their relationship. The voice over will be spoken by the character Catt to set the narrative of the movie.

I want my trailer to be fast paced and emotive but mainly intriguing enough for people to watch it. It would more resemble the Golden Compass teaser trailer because I like the way it makes you want to watch it again to make sure you have seen all the imagery. I think this is a good thing for my trailer to do to get people interested in watching the movie and it reflects the genre and feel of the film.

Trailer Sub Genre

My film synopsis would most likely fall under the fantasy sub genre, Magic realism because it blurs the distinction between realism and fantasy by showing an equal acceptance of the ordinary and the extraordinary. It does this by merging the idea of past lives- that is still debated over their existence- and the real world.

The film may also contain elements of alternative history as one of the ideas in the film will be that the evil character Lorcan was the “evil” people throughouthistory such as Hitler, but the elements of this are not the main feature of the trailer so I will categorize it as Magic Realism.

Definition:

"A chiefly literary style or genre originating in Latin America that combines fantastic or dreamlike elements with realism."

Film Synopsis

Catt’s 90 Lives

Cattell is a girl of seventeen who can remember all her past lives. She is now on her 90^th life of over 4000 years and throughout these years there has been only one other person who has appeared in each one, Lorcán.

He is most definitely evil and most defiantly set to make her life unpleasant. But Catt can not rid herself of him till she finds a way to make it permanent.

However, she is faced with a dilemma, will Cattell use the method to free herself of the pain of remembering all her lost family and friends or will she finally destroy the evil soul that follows her spirit in every life?

Fantasy conventions

“The definition of this fictional genre could be described as something that contains rudiments that are not realistic, such as magical powers, talking animals, etc. Fantasy is often characterized by a departure from the accepted rules by which individuals perceive the world around them; it represents that which is impossible (unexplained) and outside the parameters of our known, reality. Make-believe is what this genre is all about.”

(http://www.findmeanauthor.com/fantasy_fiction_genre.htm)

Fantasy is the least likely genre to be affected by age. An example of this is the Chronicles of Narnia film that is enjoyed by both adults and children. This may be because fantasy stems from mythology and legends that has been widely enjoyed by

generations throughout history.

Fantasy is commonly set in a medieval time period. The main conventions of the genre that people expect are the inclusion of mythical creatures, heroes and villains, castles and magic.

Fantasy can overlap the science fiction genre, as

there is often a very thin line between them. Star Wars is a good example of this, it is widely

known to be in the science fiction genre but has been argued to have elements of a fantasy

genre. This is referring to the part of the story using ‘the for

ce’ which is

not scientifically explained, adding the fantasy convention.

Sub-genres:

· Romance Fantasy

· Fairy Tales


· Alternative History


· Arthurian Fantasy


· Comic Fantasy


· Dark Fantasy


· Epic Fantasy


· Fairy Tales and Mythology

· Magic Realism


· Heroic Fantasy 


· High Fantasy 


· Mystery Fantasy 



· Modern Fantasy


· Sword and Sorcery

Find a magazine cover for one of the 3 films.

Who does it include, what are the tag lines used and does it follow a consistent theme?

The magazine cover includes the three main characters of the movie. The main protagonist is in the centre of the magazine looking directly at the audience of the magazine to draw them in. The other two characters are important because they are also well known actors which are being used for the marketing of the movie.

The tag lines are underneath the title of the movie, which is in in bold white colours so it stands out, they say "Behind the scenes of this year's fantasy smash!" It tells the audience what type of film it is and how good it is.

The image dominates the cover and looks like part of the title of the magazine. It follows a similar theme to the posters in the way of colours and the glow around the main girl holding the compass.

Also it says "On set exclusive" before the title which makes people want to read this magazine to find out what has been happening and why the film is a "smash!"