Magazine analysis

Magazine Research

ROUGH SHOT LIST

Location Inspiration

Ideal filming locations would be that which clearly demonstrates where it is that the film is being set. Culture is a very important factor in this film, therefore indications towards south London youth culture must be frequently displayed, such as graffiti. Similar areas to these pictures are relatively frequent in South, therefore finding the exact right spots which justifies true South London culture should be relatively straightforward, provided the right spots are used to film.

Ally ways should be used in the trailer for scenes involving violence and theft, as they provide ominous feelings and people generally feel threatened by dark ally ways especially during the night when it is dark in London.

It is likely that the right spots will be in estates, where most of this culture stems, so it is important that an estate is used which justifies a South London estate, most likely a larger one than a smaller one, as a small one would not truly demonstrate how big they can actually be. Shooting on an estate also allows for background characters to be included which follow the plotline, women with prams will not collide with shots involving teenage gangsters as that would make little sense. Many large estates reside near my house, so choosing one will be easy, most likely to be High trees estate, which has enough magnitude to appear as a typical, if not larger than typical South London estate, similar to that in Attack the Block.

It is common that teenagers in London will meet their friends and congregate in parks, therefore in order to successfully depict London teenagers, a park is necessary where the meetings will take place. A park likely to be bleak and deserted, like a neighbourhood park where the local teenagers go to see their friends, potentially driving other users of the park away with their boisterous behaviour and intimidating appearance. A park with multiple benches should be used - similar to that in the picture for the group of boys to congregate. An ideal location for this is Hillside park, which resides next to my house, meaning shooting there will be easy. Large groups of boys are also common in Hillside, meaning the settings in the park will be appropriate to the trailer.

The lighting and sound will be difficult to gauge at this stage of the planning, however I intend to use as much natural lighting as possible when shooting. At night time, street lamps or general lights will be used to give a dim glow effect, I am aware of an alleyway with large amounts of graffiti and dim lighting to give the perfect mood setting.. this is where I am likely to begin the trailer to immediately set the tone as ominous. When natural occurring lighting is not made available, portable battery lights will be used with an orange tint to give the effect of street lighting.

Audience Theory - Tzvetan Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov suggested there were five stages to a narrative:

Equilibrium

A disruption of this equilibrium by an event

A realisation that a disruption has happened

An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption

A restoration of the equilibrium which may be a new or changed one

This broad narrative structure can be twisted to apply to my own text, suggesting the storyline for my production is relatively familiar, which is good, as this way audiences are likely to compare it to other similar texts and reference it. Todorov also suggested 8 storylines in which every text has adopted at least one.

1. The quest

2. Redemption

3. Journey to Another World

4. The Beast transformed by love

5. Solving of Riddles

6. Biter-bit

7. Stranger Saviour

8. Rise and Fall

My text will include that of The Quest, Redemption and Rise and Fall.

Theory - Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes is a narrative theorist who came up with 5 narrative codes which all films follow these are:

Enigma Code – The structure of puzzles and queries in the text and the way in which we are hooked into the narrative by the desire to find the answers.

Action Code – The ways in which we identify familiar situations and actions through conventions of language and the use of certain key phrases or words; we do not need everything spelt out for us, so from words such as “betrayal” and “love” we can decode plot elements

Semantic Code – Refers to any element in the text which has an additional meaning

Symbolic Code – Refers to the way in which themes are developed through the use of recurring symbols usually to convey a message

Cultural Code – Details in the narrative that confirm cultural context, such as it’s location, when it’s taking place and the kinds of moral values, ideas and fashions that are associated with that period

The trailer for my production suggests two of these codes will be encoded within my text, in which the audience will be able to decode and interpret for themselves. The codes my text adopts is the Action and Semantic code, due to the frequent action sequences and the focus on certain characters profile allowing it to develop to the extent of which audiences may have their own opinion on who the good / bad guy in the story is. Allowing our audience to interpret the text openly leaves the production open for discussion, and is therefore more interesting and relatable. Emphasis on the realistic aspect of the production is essential, due to the audience gratification theory of verisimilitude where a production is more likely to be liked if the audience can envision themselves in it.

Audience Research / IMDB research / Audience theory

Character Inspiration - Brother

>The brother of the main character is meant to be seen as a liability. Calling the police puts himself and his brother in a harsh situation and our audience is meant to resent the brother for this, however we are also meant to feel sympathy for him as he appears to be slightly estranged and simple.. trying to do the right thing but only making matters worse by doing so.

1. Fredo Corleone



This clip demonstrates the frustration and anxiety that it is to be in the held in the shadow of a sibling. Fredo is a quite character - obviously there is something wrong with him in terms of mental health as he seems unstable, however he thinks there is more to himself therefore makes decisions such as to sell his brother out which he believes to be a good idea. My character of the brother can relate to this exact scenario, therefore adopting qualities from John Cazale's amazing performance will result in a successful portrayal of this character.
> Awkwardness / Nervousness - Fredo is obviously an unstable character as this performance shows. - this is demonstrated through awkward movements with his hands and his head - constantly changing his body position to demonstrate the fact that he is uncomfortable in his own skin - possibly due to guilt or the fact that his father showed preference to his younger brother over him. Similar awkward characteristics will be adopted in my character in order to demonstrate a similar morale dilemma in which he is in - feeling guilty for informing the police of their affairs - yet thinking it was the just thing to do - resulting in a state where he is unsure of his very existence - generally unaware of the bigger picture.
>Instability - Like our main character - his brother will show signs of anger management and generally will appear on the verge of some sort of breakdown, similarly to the way Fredo responds to his brother in the clip - keeping his tone low until the point where he allows himself to openly express himself.

Character Inspiration - Gang Leader

> Our gang leader involves himself in a life of crime and violence - selling drugs and handling weapons - so how do I convince my audience to empathise with this character - what is it about this character that appeals to my target audience?

1. Tyler Durden

A character such as Tyler Durden should not appeal to audiences - sleeps in an abandoned house - runs an underground boxing club - creates a cult resulting in multiple deaths - what is it about this character that attracts audiences?

> Dialogue - Tyler speaks fluidly - always a calm tone of voice - gives the illusion of invincibility - also makes his theories seem less insane and more relatable - the most insane theory portrayed with the right wording and tone of voice can make sense.

> Body positioning - the clip shows us 2 opposites - one man wearing formal clothing - shirt and tie - a practical person - talks about insurance and other relevant things - hunched over - appearing comfortable yet uncomfortable - then Tyler - fully relaxed seating position - constant smile on his face - expresses his words with his hands - this attracts the audience - Tyler is confident in what he says and does, therefore we listen to what Tyler says and we empathise.

My  Character will be encouraged to adopt many of Tylers characteristics in order to achieve the confidence necessary in order to win over the audience as well as the fluidity of Tylers voice - the dialogue I write will have to be similar to Tylers in the sense that justifying a certain lifestyle has to come off as some sort of Philosophy of Life - rejecting the norm and being different.








2.Frank Lucas

Actions such as shooting a man in the head in the middle of the street should be considered too violent to witness, yet upon witnessing it, admiration for our Character Frank Lucas only builds instead of crumbling - why?

>Fluidity in motion - Our character never hesitates in what he does - leaving the restaurant mid speech and returning to the same restaurant after killing a man to finish his speech demonstrates his confidence and ability to handle a situation - such confidence can only be perceived as admirable to my target audience - my character will have to adopt such confidence in himself in order to make his actions seem admirable instead of questionable.

> Justification - The beginning of the clip shows Franks justification for what he does - family / 

respect ect.. My character must be able to justify his lifestyle in a similar way to Frank in order to make our audiences respect him. - Considers his lifestyle a business - making it seem more professional than a low class gangster.

Scenes like these define a character - what sort of person they are - how they do things. In order for my character to adopt similar characteristics to that of Frank Lucas - he will have to act out in a similar fashion - out of the ordinary - which would shock the average bystander but earn respect from viewers.

Character Inspiration - Main Character

>Main character - our main character is a good person, however caught up in the wrong business / lifestyle.. We are meant to presume his link with the Gang was a result of a series of unfortunate events and relationships, instead of him actually wanting to be part of it. The character will be humble and quite, clearly troubled from family life - possibly due to a death of his mother / father - resulting in him needing extra money - why he connects with the gang. The audience is meant to sympathise with this character especially due to the situation he is in with his brother and the gang - causing dilemmas (does he protect his brother who sold them out or does he support the gang in finding his brother). It is meant to be clear that he is caught up in the lifestyle and cannot escape.

1. Micky Ward

This clip demonstrates a similar morale dilemma in which my character will be placed in - which commitment takes priority ? Family or profession ? - It is obvious Micky is ashamed of the situation he is in from his tone of voice and his attempt to justify himself. He does not realise the world is bigger than he is and his role in what occurs around him is not as big as he would like it to be.

> Body language - my character is unsure of himself like Micky is, he has more to say than he says, so is seen frequently clenching his jaw in order to prevent himself from speaking out more than he would like to do so. Avoiding eye contact by looking at the ground, hunched over and awkward head movements like Micky does in the clip perfectly demonstrates the characteristics in which my character will be adopting in order to portray a frustrated teen, struggling to not snap from the pressure he is under.

> Tone of voice - Micky speaks in a low pitch - generally saying what other people want to hear to avoid confrontation - when speaking with passion - awkward characteristics are dropped and the tone and volume increases causing people to listen to what he is saying. The point of this is to demonstrate how our character doesn't like confrontation, however has strong opinions on certain matters and wants to show this but does not really know how.







2. Tom Stall

Tom Stall character in a History of Violence is a perfect inspiration for our main character. His sombre and humble personality make him appear as though he poses little threat, however his ability to handle a situation demonstrates his real character, buried within himself. My main character needs to appear as though he would rather avoid a fight, like Tom, due to the fact that he is aware that he would win with violent consequences. My character needs seem as though there are 2 sides to him, the humble, unsuspecting side, then when antagonised, another side is witnessed.

>Tone of voice - like Micky, Tom's tone is soft - my Character will speak softly as though raising his voice will encourage a darker side to resurface like in this clip. The words used by Tom's also shows his soft exterior - 'you gentlemen are welcome to all of it'. My character will be shown to want to avoid confrontation like Tom.

>Underlying rage - as shown in 1:56. My main character will be troubled from his past like Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence. This is clear from facial expressions, breathing patterns and general body language. My character will have to adopt similar characteristics to Tom in order to suggest his past troubled him to the point of almost a dual personality, where a single antagonist can cause him to switch.









3.David Dunn

Bruce Willis's role in Unbreakable as David Dunn is an ideal inspiration for our main character. This unsung hero possesses all the essential qualities for a likeable character. Humbled despite his abilities, the audience grows to feel a sense of admiration for this character as he grows to realise what he is capable of. My Character will be similar to this character in terms of characteristics in almost every way.. although being the main character, he speaks infrequently and softly, obviously troubled with his past which has led him to a certain part of his life which he doesn't agree with, hence why he adopts a superhuman role. We also witness a very human side to him where his family life causes him stress, allowing us to relate to him. My character will act similar in the sense that David has these abilities which allow him to do certain things, however doesn't act as though he is above others, so my character will adopt David's humbleness in order to appear more likeable, seeing as we will also witness an aggressive, dominant side, similar to David at the end of the movie.