Sam's character design (Elliot)

This is the rough illustration for the costume of one of the two main protagonists in our movie. The main style for his character is steam-punk (an amalgamation of vintage mechanical parts used to make clothes that look futuristic). Since we are limited with both time to acquire a lot of steam punk clothes and money to buy them, we are creating a mashup of almost formal attire (waistcoat, collared shirt) and steam punk accessories, such as the goggles and the pocket-watch illustrated below.

Character bio:

Elliot Grainger.

Born: 2995 Age: 18

Born into the side of the oppressors, he broke away at the age of 17 to join the rebellion army, because of his hatred for the oppression and the fact that they stopped him from using his superhuman intelligence.

After leaving he found a small rebellion group and found a friend in 'Leaf', a mutant. After joining this group he began his training to aid in the rebellion. He is used to create new machinery and technology to surpass the oppressors and using his knowledge of the oppressors’ technology.

Elliot and 'Leaf' where drafted into the main rebellion army at the age of 18.

Possible film location shots

These are pictures of the possible location that we want to film our movie. It is a derelict mill that is no longer in use so would be an interesting set for our movie as it is visually very industrial which adds to the post-apocalyptic, steam punk theme that we wish to apply to our film.

The interior of the factory. Because our movie is set in a post-apocalyptic future, we wanted to include as little nature or signs of life as possible, so the industrial, desolate look of the factory is perfect.

Another shot of the interior. Because the building in itself is genuinely abandoned and dilapidated it mor ethan likely provides a much more effective natural backdrop than what we could produce manually.

The outside is also very visually appealing when it comes to the affect we are trying to achieve, so we may also include an establishing shot of the outside of the factory as well.

Horror genre photos

Originally, before the idea that I wanted to do a post-apocalyptic almost science-fiction film, I wanted to create a horror film. I was given the task of capturing and editing photos which reflect a certain genre of film, for example: comedy, romance or sci-fi. I chose horror, mainly because it is the genre that I am most familiar with since I watch a lot of horror-genre films, and also because, with the right editing or camera angles, a seemingly non-threatening landscape can become frightening or disturbing. Even simply distorting an image can transform it from a mundane photo to something unnerving.

The above photo is a long-shot of a staircase with what can only be described as a dark shape at the top of it. The camera was placed at the bottom of the stairs looking up the top of the staircase, in such an angle that it is unclear at first whether you are looking at the top of the staircase or the bottom at first glance. It is edited to look darker and contrast more than it originally did, which really shows the different shapes of the photo and adds some gritty realism to the photo. The fact that you are not aware what the shape at the top of the stairs is adds to the horror element, because I feel that when a person is left to imagine what something is, it becomes much more terrifying than a literal photo of something disturbing.

The above photo is a greyscale image of a door, with one occurance of colour - the red right in the middle of the door, around the handles. Once again, this image is somewhat vague as even though the suggestion is that the red splatter is blood, it could really be anything so the element of mystery remains. The image is obviously edited to become greyscale and to add the red, but it has also been changed to a higher contrast to make the image look darker and make shadows stand out more.

The above photo is a more literal, unsubtle kind of horror than the previous photos. The original image was simply of a hand reaching through the metal bars, but it has been edited to make the metal look more gritty and real and to make the hand look slightly unnatural in it's colouring which implies that the hand could belong to someone sick or maybe even not human. The part that makes the viewer think about this photo is the fact that it is obviously a horror photo yet they do not know whom the hand belongs to - is it reaching towards someone in a desperate attempt to grab them or is is trying to claw it's way out of the bars in an effort to get away, for example.

Opening Scene Analysis - Judge Dredd

Judge Dredd is another example of a post-apocalyptic movie that focuses on those left alive being controlled by a large corporation or group of people, though my film opening will primarily focus on the other side of the story, those being oppressed by these corporations.

The opening shot of this movie is shot of text rolling up the screen explaining a vague plot of the movie (the fact that it appears in a post-apocalyptic future) which is narrated as it appears on the screen. Visually, the text is white and has a rather unremarkable font, and the background is a light orange-brown. As the last sentence of this text is read by the narrator, the non-diegetic music fades in which is slightly eerie and unnerving, but slowly builds into an epic sounding score as the scene progresses.

                The narrative text scene transitions into a shot of a sunset, which in retrospect may be the reason the background was orange, to make the transition between text and film more natural. As the camera pans out from the sunset the audience can see a silhouette of a figure towards the bottom left. The non-diegetic soundtrack appears almost more patriotic as drums are played. It gives the audience the impression that even though the figure is anonymous, they are not threatening.

                The next shot is a close-up shot of the figure’s face, concealed by a futuristic mask, which reinforces the point that the narrative at the beginning made, that the movie took place far into the future. The non-diegetic music fades out as the diegetic whirring sound of a flying vehicle becomes more present in the scene.

                This cuts to a medium-shot of the back of the person silhouetted against the sunset once again, as what appears to be a spaceship rises up in front of him. The colour scheme appears almost sepia toned, probably to show the barren-ness of the post-apocalyptic wasteland that the person is standing on.

The next shot is a long-shot of the spaceship rising up and entering the building directly behind the man in uniform. The non-diegetic sound becomes increasingly louder as this happens, as well as the diegetic sound of the spaceship engine still being present.

The next shot is a medium shot of the spaceship entering the building. The most notable thing about this scene is the fact that the colours become monochrome and dull, a reflection of the futuristic city inside the building and a stark contrast to the orange-y post-apocalypse desert terrain outside. The diegetic music once again fades away as the ship lands, but the sound of the ship moving is still present throughout the scene.

The next shot is a medium shot that pans upwards, of some men exiting the ship. These men are all wearing unremarkable green outfits as they exit the building and in comparison to the extravagence of theother man's outfit at the beginning, the audience gets the impression that these people are to be seen as less important or having less power than the other man. The music becomes entirely diegetic at this point except for an obviously robotic voice saying "Aspen Prison Shuttle Docked". The voice is slightly electronic sounding and adds to the feeling that this world is very modern and futuristic. This also reveals that the men exiting this spacecraft are more than likely prisoners or ex-prisoners, which is why their clothing is less than extravagent.

Opening Scene Analysis - The Matrix

As my movie will be post-apocalyptic, I feel that this movie opening appropriately illustrates the kind of post-apocalyptic environment that I want to reflect in my movie, as it contains an overruling corporation and a rebellious group.

The first shot is a close-up shot of a blinding white light which transitions into a close-up shot the beam of a torch and pans across to the face of a man holding a gun, with another man standing behind him. The colours at this point are monotonous and neutral, mostly grey and blue tones, probably to show that the current location is somewhere dark, both literally and metaphorically. The soundtrack begins with a loud burst of music but becomes sombre and mellow as the scene establishes. The only diegetic sound at this point is the small shuffling movements of both of the men in this scene as they survey the location.

This cuts to a medium-pan shot of the men running forwards towards a door. You can see at this point that they are in uniform which, added to the fact they have guns, makes the audience assume that they are in a position of authority, probably a police officer. The music is slowly becoming less mellow and more threatening and unnerving, building up tension as to what is behind the door. The diegetic sounds are still the men running, but you can hear faint breathing as well to show that they have possibly been searching this location for a while and are tired.

The next shot is an over-the-shoulder pan shot of the door they were running towards. One of the men is pointing a torch towards the door, pausing to establish that there is meant to be something significant behind it. The music, as the scene pauses on the door, becomes subtly quieter than before and the diegetic sounds of the men moving and breathing fade to almost nothing, which somehow adds even more tension to the scene.

The next shot is a medium shot of one of the men kicking down the door in an aggressive manner, which makes the audience think that there is an urgent reason to get in the door. The music becomes almost entirely diegetic during this shot, probably to draw attention to the exertion of strength from the man kicking down the door.

The next shot is the men shining their torches into the room that was previously sealed, and as they do they reveal the silhouette of a person sitting in a chair with their back to them. There is almost no non-diegetic sound, and the diegetic sound is the first occurrence of speech in the movie – the men yelling “Freeze! Police! Hands on your head!” at the person in the chair which suggests that the person in the chair has done something wrong or is a wanted criminal, though the reason why is unknown. This cuts to a medium panning shot of the person in the chair – revealed to be a woman - raising her hands in surrender. The non-diegetic soundtrack in this scene has become the dominant music, and no diegetic sound is present at all. It’s almost a complete reversal from the last shot, which is appropriate as the audience is now viewing the woman instead of the police officers.

Continuity Test (Tea)

Continuity Test

During the continuity test we showed the juxtaposition of one character running urgently whilst the other makes a drink of tea. This juxtaposition is emphasised by the stark contrast between scenes in both atmosphere and music; the character running has a fast-paced, exciting soundtrack and more jittery camera angles, whilst the second character's narrative consists of a quiet, relaxing soundtrack and slow, panning camera movements. We also follow the 180 degree rule as the camera doesn't pan over 180 degrees. Another technique used is over-the-shoulder shots to show the characters conversing. 

Opening Scene Analysis - Gladiator

Cinematography

During the first scene there is a black screen with text fade-transitioning in to explain the basic plotline of the movie. This scene quickly cuts to a close up-shot of a man’s hand running his fingers through a field of corn, and the man’s hand is in focus though the field is not.

                This scene cuts directly to an establishing shot of a group of soldiers, some on horses, travelling, which diverges from the almost gentle way the scenes were shot before. There all of a sudden is a lot more cutting, and much shorter camera shots than before, probably to show that there is more action than before in this scene.

Mise En Scene

The opening logos are tinted yellow/gold. Gold is usually signified as a luxurious/grand colour as well as an uplifting and mystical colour.

                The opening scene is mostly black with gold writing, which ties into the gold colour used in the logos. There is little else happening in this scene except for the occasional wisp of brown/yellow smoke across the screen, which could be so that the audience is fixed on what the text across the screen says as it explains part of the plot of the movie.

                The next scene is of a man running his hand through a yellow/gold cornfield, continuing the gold theme. The man is also wearing a gold wedding band to signify that he is married. The colours appear very warm and sensual.

                The following scene is a stark contrast to the preceding ones, as the colour has de-saturated and the scene has taken on a blue tone.

Sound

The first music you hear, during the logos and the opening scene, is non-diegetic, which is very sensual and subtle, with an array of unusual instruments such as the flute. The music is reminiscent of ancient times in the way that the instruments are played almost mystically. Intermingled with these instruments are female vocals which sound almost numinous with the rest of the soundtrack.

                The scene afterwards introduces diegetic sound – horses neighing, hooves against the floor, people shouting indistinctly, the sound of wheels running across the ground and the jangling of metal reins. This is a direct contrast to the subtle, sensual music of the aforementioned scenes, which is an effective tool to make the audience jump to attention.