Research
Over the next ten weeks, research is crucial. From the moment we begin the project, we need to be thinking of inspiration and sources that could potentially influence our final product. Research can be anything from a movie scene to a pattern out of a certain wall. As long as we can clarify how it is useful to us, we can include any kind of source. This page will feature pieces of inspiration I found, which will then be "broken down" for "parts". This could be the general aesthetics or plot ideas that could fit nicely into my project as a whole.
Initial Research
22/03
After deciding on some initial concepts, I am leaning towards the apocalyptic theme. Realistically, this will mean research can start with some popular media that is based of some kind of disaster similar to an apocalypse. Luckily for me, an example of one came to me immediately.
The Walking Dead
From a young age, I have been following the series all the way from season 1-9. The show has seen a consistent, realistic depiction of what life would be like if the world fell through the years and continues to improve. When watching, a keen-eyed viewer would immediately notice the effort put into each episode. While the makeup and FX are second-to-none, there is an even more important factor that helps the show to keep it's impressive ratings. I will discuss the makeup and FX in my later stages of research.
Over each episode, the outfits of the characters are expertly chosen to compliment whatever setting/background is in shot. The use of aesthetics are what help to connect emotions of characters to the viewer. If the character in frame is in a setting of blue hues, this could signify important backstory or meaning. Take this image for example, from season 7.
Starting with the apparel, we can see the clothes are almost identical in colour scheme. Although the shades differ in shade, both outfits do not leave the spectrum of blue. On the left, we have cloudy blues that are on the verge of grey, while the character on the right has navy blues transcending as far as blacks.
A rousing point to note is the fact that the outfits are completely different in texture/material, yet they share so much in common.The character nearest has a jacket of leather, while the furthest has a coat that appears to be cotton/polyester. This is done by a technique I aim to experiment with...
COLOUR GRADING
Official Definition: The process of improving the appearance of an image for representation in different environments on different devices. Various attributes of an image such as contrast, colour, saturation, detail, black level and white point may be enhanced whether for motion pictures, videos or still images.
How we access these settings: If we are editing the frame on premiere pro, we need to Find the navigation bar at the top of the application.
From here, we select 'Colour' (HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE)
Next, we have multiple options, we have the list of preset LUT's (Look-up Table) or we have the list of customised settings we can alter.
Having these settings means we can alter the warmth or temperature of either selected parts of an image or the whole. This I believe is what has played a part in the brilliant photo above from The Walking Dead. Referring back to this image, however, there is another interesting component in the use of colour. Those who take an interest in the colour wheel will notice immediately. As a contrast with the blue outfits previously mentioned, we see tints of orange and yellow.
This is because blue and yellow are complimentary colours. They are opposite on the wheel and while both represent different meanings, they go well together in this scene. As to why the director has done this, it may not always be for a deeper meaning, but rather to make the scene uniform and go well together as a whole. It can anchor the scene to the plot. Just like the yellow steel rail in the image above.
The image to the side explains the points I previously made, while also giving me inspiration for how I could colour my set. The colours also have some psychology behind them and this is something I have taken inspiration from in past creations.
Blue has connotations of calm and peace, while also holding sadness and loneliness.
Yellow on the other hand makes us think of creativity and positivity. I plan to take full research on the meaning of different colours in order to have everything in my frames meaningful/uniform.
Credit: NoFilmSchool
With the combination of colour grading and colour wheels, it is possible to create scenes that appear easy on the eye to the viewer. When I choose one colour on a piece of an individual scene, I will repeatedly view this area of research to actually observe which colours compliment it to blend and produce a flowing aesthetic for that segment of the film I eventually decide on. Thus, with a closely-observed attention to detial on the frames, the film will potentially capture the 'professional look' that so captures viewers. This is another segment of research I will observe in the neat future as I want to ensure the viewer does not lose interest over time or notice 'errors' on-screen.
The Walking Dead Research- Makeup/FX
In every episode I can recall watching, there has been makeup and special effects layered on. Mainly to the original enemy of the show, 'zombies'. In my short film I could perhaps experiment with the use of makeup to create the 'rotting' effect on some of my subject's faces. To gather an idea of how this show executes these looks, I searched some forums and images with discussion on the topic.
The overall look of the enemy character (the zombie) resembles worn away, stretched leather. With every zombie, the show successfully portrays the process of decomposition and makes the viewer want to look away.
As well as this, the outfits of the characters always have apparel that looks as if they have been placed in a wash and lost its colour. This is smart as the enemies do not rest or find an area of shelter, they walk through the rain and snow.
Makeup: How It is Done
After looking around the internet for information on the process of makeup, I stumbled upon a scarily precise article listing the exact materials and numbers used on production.
https://www.allure.com/story/walking-dead-zombie-makeup
As quoted by the main makeup artist of the show, Greg Nicotero, "30 gallons of fake blood every three episodes" are used. Not only this, but to vary the viscosity and traits of the blood they use "KY Jelly to thicken the blood. We also soak nylon stockings in blood and glue them into wounds to look like torn muscle and flesh".
If I know specific materials, I can get as close as possible to the reallistic leathery approach of the zombies, thus meaning the overall quality of the film will increase. Of course, this is not definitive and oly inspiration. I could in fact takesome of this advice and then take the individual components to mould one of my own creations based on this. This method is in fact explored on my context pages. That way, the film I eventiually create does not seem like a remodelled version of a famous example. I want complete originality with my creations, and from the originality there should follow some positive results from the audience due to the fact it is something they have not seen before.
25/03
Makeup Equipment Research
After researching the makeup ingredients from The Walking Dead, I discovered substances such as KY Jelly and Nylon Stockings. Now, it is time to look at what price range I am looking at and which brands are worthy.
KY JELLY: water-based, water-soluble personal lubricant
At my local store, Tesco, the substance is an attractive price of £3.00. However, I noticed that this is only 50ml bottle. If I were to create blood, I would need a high quantity of the jelly.
Upon further inspection, I realised that the brand also sells the product in the form of an 82g container.
For an 82g container, we are looking at an average of £6 to £9. Reallistically, I would buy two.
£7.50 (Average)
x2
TOTAL: £15
Nylon Stockings: close-fitting hosiery to cover the foot and leg.
If I needed some high-quality stockings to emulate the look of torn muscle or a cut wound, we are looking at a hefty price of 9.50 for just one pair. I could go as low as £2.00 if I desired, but the chances are these would be low- quality and rip.
I would reallistically need around 3 or 4 pairs if I were to go ahead with this area of makeup.
In my opinion, I'm leaning away from the stocking idea, simply due to the cost of high quality types. I would need more than one pair but £30 is slightly steep, when added to the cost of the fake blood process.
Overall, the idea seemed positive at first, but it would be too expensive and difficult to execute with high skill. Therefore, I may explore a different form of effects. This could potentially be computer based.
£9.50 (Average)
x3
TOTAL: £29.50
Prop Research
I will need props for my narrative to work fully. In fact, the first scene features a prop. This prop happens to be a 'body bag'.
To find out some methods, I browsed the internet and eventually I was led onto some forums and youtube videos. Here is the one I used.
By using a video on youtube, I can have advice talking me through the process as well as telling me which materials I would need to use the product. Now, I can make the prop look as realistic as possible, thus meaning the film quality increases.
If the prop seemed low-quality, the audience's focus would be in fact more aimed towards the mistakes or the prop rather than the
plot. This is of course the last thing I want.
27/03
What Makes a Zombie?
There are literal senses of what a conventional zombie is and there are metaphorical. The physical being a brain-hungry corpse that isn't alive, but is at the same time. It travels yet has no final destination on its journey. Where there is meat, there is opportunity for this creature that lacks basic cognitive skill. If we were to go deeper, having zombies included in a film could be more than a fear factor.
On a metaphorical level, zombies could represent anything we desire as long as we have rationale behind it. For example, we could include the characters and state that it represent our modern day society. I explored an article called " The meaning of zombies", and it forced the question: Are zombies among us?
In our modern society, we come across many types of people that are either unhappy or on some form of autopilot throughout their lives. If I create scenes with zombies in, it could all lead to a subtle message reminding us not to fall into autopilot or stroll along in life.
The modern zombie to me would be:
Someone who works a job that leaves them with no free time to have leisure.
- E.G. an 85 hour-a-week stockbroker
Someone that doesn't have a job they are happy with.
-Someone who is talented and passionate with art but is working in banking or construction.
Someone that is so unhappy that they resort to drink and drugs.
- A person that had a negative upbringing and surroundings, so has attempted to distract themselves with drugs rather than hobbies
A person that chases another's lifestyle ( Grass is always greener...) rather than being themselves.
- A boy/girl idolising someone of higher wealth or importance and attempting to emulate them by looks or tendencies.
The argument we are living with zombies is supported by the ongoing events in recent times. Financial uncertainty, political warfare between parties and leaders, problems with mental welbeing and crime rates have affected people in different ways. The main agenda is mental health, however. Societal pressures and raised standards have caused the numbers of peoplediagnosed to skyrocket. Every article on the topic all comes to the same conclusion... Our population is beginning to suffer from different causes each passing day. This is then causing us to become hopeless and brought down by new challenges when they arrive. When we are low, we feel there is no hope in pursuing and there is a lack of confidence/motivation. To sum up, for whatever reasons we may have, the majority of our society fits the stereoptyical description of a zombie. Almost robotic or passing through the stages of life without finding a deeper internal purpose is a huge theme. With such knowledge, I want to potentially tell the viewers about this messageand make them question what they often do in their lives and if it is productive/what they truly desire.
This message, if displayed, will not be so obvious however. It will be quite well-hidden and the viewer will recieve subtle hints. From there I want them to attempt to expand their mind and eventually think about the before mentioned agenda. The true reason I want this to happen however, is because anything I create is intended to be more than just a viewing piece. I want my pieces to be thought-provoking, as well as entertaining. With such a amessage that is so prevelant in our world today, the viewer should come out of my films feeling as if they have added to their knowledge/curriculum.
Interestingly, the attributes of the stereotypical zombie are signs of fatigue, lazy and being lathargic. All of the bulletpoints lead to these symptoms, which is what I would base the symbolism of the film on. Most of the short film would feature a little amount of dialogue, which means the plot would be based on the actor's actions and the camera shots. Having the actors take these symptoms would ensure my message is sent across.
29/03
Actions/ positions from Actor.
If I introduced zombies to the film, I would ask for very specific orders for the actors. As quoted by 'Better Health Channel', the signs of fatigue are as follows:
In terms of all Sci-Fi and zombie based media, these symptoms are the main traits of a zombie. They have a halved reaction time to actions. This is a reallistic list however, and there are symptoms not mentioned here that I may ask of the actors to portray. For example, the inabillity to feel pain.
When my actors enter the frame, I therefore expect them to show physical signs of tiredness such as leaning their head to one side or limping with one leg behind the other. Additonally, adding the leathery makeup effect to my subjects would enforce the idea they are tired. Combining all research and inspirations so far, I have a steady foundation for the rest of the film that I can build upon. Now, I need to consider scenes and location planning in order to piece everything together. The physical traits added to some qualiity acting would then hopefully make the viewer feel as if they are actually in a different world to theirs. Film should be a distraction to me and adding realism is the first step.
01/04
Location Spotting
For my scenes, I plan to choose or manipulate the areas so that they look unkept and abandoned by the world. To keep realism, I should look to find real places that haven't been cared for or have been empty for some time. Actually editing a clean space would be risky as I am not the most skilled in special effects. Thus, I will have to do some location spotting for some abandoned areas that are accessible. To start, I used the internet to search for derelict buildings within a few miles from my location. The results were promising.
(IMAGES FROM https://betweentheland.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/manchesters-abandoned-buildings/)
Brinksway Air Raid Shelter, Stockport
A shelter with a series of tunnels and bunker used in wartime, 1940's. Listed building. Although this would be an unkept building, it would be too difficult to access and too dark to film the scenes I desire.
Barnes Hospital, Cheadle
Derelict medical centre with Victorian Gothic architecture. Grade II listed.
This is a 30 minute drive away from home and is still in terrific shape, even after all these years. There is no security or plans to construct on this site so I could potentially use this.
The architecture style adds an eery atmosphere which is required for my film.
Whittingham Asylum (near Preston)
a psychiatric hospital in the parish of Whittingham, near Preston, Lancashire, England. The hospital opened in 1873 as the Fourth Lancashire County Asylum and grew to be the largest mental hospital in Britain,
Unfortunately, Preston is too far for me. The building has been mostly knocked down now. However, the building seems perfect for filming as the setting I require matches the interior.
Winstanley Hall, Wigan
This was a family-owned manor. Over time, the upkeep was too expensive which meant the family left the property behind.
After doing some research, this is very promising. The interior is unkept and aged, there are signs of errosion eith rusting and I am able to visit upon request. The only issue is that the location is slightly out of my range. If I can find some method of travel then this is a big possibillity.
When the final scenes are planned out in full detail, then I can truly decide on a setting. But looking in my area, there are plenty of promising places to capture some shots and scenes. One thing I didn't mention on my previous research of the Walking Dead was that most of the areas they film in are quiet, lonely places. This way, they can add realism in the fact there are no sounds of traffic or dialogue from random people. It gives a sense of isolation and captures the idea they are the last survivors around. Speaking of survivors, I need to create the actual character that will be depicted in the film. To do so, I should take inspiration from some famous examples and try to mould them slightly.
02/04
The Influence of A Character In Film
Throughout the world of film, a main character is regarded as 'someone who has a large contribution to the plot or interacts with the majority of characters in the show'.
The main character can also be named 'The Protagonist' or 'The Lead'.
A successful main character always has what's known as a 'Story Arc'. The audience usually knows the background of the character, be it what crimes they've committed in the past to family deaths. If they know pieces about the character, the viewer can relate and almost make a mental connection with the lead role.
Once the lead role has harrowed in the viewers with a backstory, he/she usually stays throughout the show longer than the rest of the cast.
Additionally, when the main character anchors their importance, we see the universe of that show through their eyes. A perfect example of this would be Rick and Carl Grimes in The Walking Dead.
Rick Grimes (SOURCE:AMC)
1)
Carl Grimes (SOURCE:AMC)
CHARACTER PROFILE
RICK GRIMES
Inside the Walking Dead Universe,former sheriff's deputy who was shot in the line of duty and fell into a coma, only to awaken and find himself in the midst of the apocalypse. He immediately begins to find his family, whom have travelled to safety with Rick's police partner. When he has found his family, he finds various shelters and possesses the leadership skills to turn each one into a fortress. Each time, he prioritises his families safety. From the beginning of the series, we have seen his visions of building a new world through his own eyes through dreams and hallucinations of the future.
TRAITS
Leader
Passionate
Aggressive
Survivor
Family Man
Ruthless
Confrontational
FAMILY
Carl Grimes (Son)
Lorie Grimes (Wife)
IMPORTANT LINK
Later on in the series, the visions of the original main character (RICK) are handed over to his son (CARL). When this happens, the fans feel as if the character they made the emotional connection with is still the same person. By creating a relationship with the fans by having a small amount of backstory, the audience doesn't lose affection and thus keeps watching the show, even after 8-9 seasons. Characters like Rick and Carl show how important a background is for a character. If I can create a background that is harrowing, the viewers will not want to stop watching.
CHARACTER PROFILE
CARL GRIMES
Carl is the 'son of the future'. All of the visions and characteristics are handed to this character over the time. At the beginning of the show, Carl is seen as a regular character, but not a lead. What was so clever from the directors was that as each season went on, there would be obvious signs of Carl slowly growing to be as influential as his father. Not only physically, but through little cameos in each episodes where he would imitate a trait of Ricks. To the viewers, a father-son bond is beautiful to watch, especially when the events around them in the show are happening.
TRAITS
EQUAL TO RICK
*Although there is a mixture of positive and negative traits, these are the ones that people look up to or desire in a role model. Subsequently, this would encourage a viewer to be more interested in the show just from a type of character.
FAMILY
Rick Grimes (Father)
Lorie Grimes (Mother)
IMPACT OF A PROTAGONIST
With protagonists, there is more than just contributing to the major plot developments. As well as this, the lead actors actually reshape the actors of less importance with their characteristics. Over episodes, other characters start to make decisions different to what they would have done a month ago. I could use this idea and show a gradual change of mood from my protagonist. Perhaps even slowly alter the aesthetic throughout the film's progression? If I do this then the viewers are not just invested in the plot, they are invested into the emotions of any characters of the films. This also includes the characters welbeing or safety. As I keep mentioning, films are a distraction. I want there to be plenty of factors that the audience consumes to the point they forget about reality temporarily.
2)
On the flip side of what I just discussed, the minor characters sometimes are the ones to shape the protagonist. For instance, Zombieland.
Woody Harrelson plays an angry, confrontational man from Texas in the zombie-ridden world. At the beginning of the film, when he first meets the rest of the cast, he shows little emotion or sadness towards anything. In fact, he even hides the death of one of his children until the film is almost complete. When the other characters get to know him, he begins to reveal that he isn't in fact the stone-cold character he was thought out to be. He begins to open up and value his new friends in a better way.
Secondary characters can be as influential as main characters sometimes. If a main character was on his own, there would not be an urgency to the film or a smooth flow. This is why the secondary characters are here. They help to add urgency to the main characters actions and thoughts. I aim to create a scenario where the secondary character is there but no there. The spirit of the character lives on to add urgency through flashbacks or photos of her. The character woody plays could be similar to the role of my main character.
3)
This is different to the other two examples of a main character as this time, I wanted to talk about the main characters that did wrong. One of the popular instances of this is featured in 'Avengers: Infinity War'
In this film, Thanos portrays a powerful leader of armies and assassins across the galaxy. He has a wealthy list of victims though in the plot he has one definite aim: To find all six of 'Infinity Stones'. Collect these and man has the power of the whole universe.
That is on the surface, however. Delving deeper, is it up for debate whether Thanos is as evil as he is made out to be.
Though his aims are seriously damaging and sinister to others, there is logical reason behind it. Thanos basically seeks the stones in order to wipe out half of the population. On first impressions, this seems wrong on any level or basis, however Thanos does not argue against this or try to counter. He knows it is a controversial choice, but he feels as if it is his duty.
To Thanos, cleaning out the population means the universes life is prolonged. He believes sacrifice a number of people should be favoured over the universe dying.
When we hear the phrase 'duty', we immediately think of responsibility or obligation. People don't always feel proud of a duty or like this is in his interests. Thanos may have received order from someone or it might be for what he believes is the greater good. In return, there is confusion on whether the 'Antagonist' is actually evil. Usually, the "bad guys" in famous media are actually liked because the director forces that character to draw sympathy or empathy from the audience. Alternatively, the antagonist usually has a poor quality of life in their past or background that the viewers can relate to. If I were to include an antagonist, I could delve into their past slightly to perhaps give the viewer rationale on why they are like this.
Additionally, adding an antagonist to combat with the protagonist usually helps to add some suspense or obstacle to the plot. In turn, the direction of the main character is not set in stone and has numerous potential twists to the tale. Doing so would keep the viewer hooked and the film would not feel as if it is 'dragging on'
This in itself has been debated outside of the film on numerous occasions. There is little information or clarity on the question: "what makes good and bad?" I aim to explore the question as much as possible in order to showcase a better depiction of my main character whom has also committed crimes that have some reason of good in them. This leads me on to...
Moral Ambiguity
Moral Ambiguity is an ethical dilemma. The official definition states that it is a "lack of clarity in ethical decision-making". Over the years, there have been plenty of instances where someone has made a controversial decisions that are unacceptable to one but understandable to others. A vague example of this idea is the topic of Adolf Hitler and his ruling of Germany in the 1940's. On the internet, I have been researching some articles and the common question asked is: Is the German public bad as bad as Hitler was? I aim to look into this and understand more about the subject in order to portray a character that potentially confuses viewers on whether they are bad or not.
Sources I discovered the following arguments:
https://www.quora.com/Was-Hitler-good-or-bad
https://www.debate.org/opinions/was-hitler-really-that-bad
When I read both of these sources, I discovered a number of facts about the famous leader that both flatter him and paint him in a bad light at the same time. Immediately, I noticed all of the confusion on what makes us good or bad. While Hitler undoubtedly made an inhumane mistake of targeting groups of Jewish people, it is hard to believe he was the only man at fault for this occurrence. It is extremely difficult to believe that one single man was the cause of around 6 million deaths. A comment I read here establishes this point.
When we are taught about the works of Hitler in the 1940's we are not told of the people that willingly agreed and handed power by doing so. There had to have been people in his party or civilians in the society that sparked the pressure to follow beliefs. Hitler stated he wanted to bring the economy and his land back to its rightful place, he felt doing what he did would help the economy begin to repair itself.
If his followers joined in with the mass killing and prejudice, they might have been doing so for another reason.
Overall, yes, Hitler was a bad person. However, the other sides of the story that featured the other people that made the killing continue were not mentioned. In my film, I aim to use Thanos and Hitler as inspiration for how to craft a character that has done bad and good. Only this time, I will try to show two sides of the story so he audience can carve their own opinion on whether they are naturally bad or good. To perhaps gain a more accurate knowledge on the public and what their thoughts are on Moral Ambiguity, I created a survey with a question about characters and Thanos.
Interactive Survey On Characters
The survey I created featured questions based on the factors that would create the stereotypical 'bad guy'. Killing, mental health and more are questioned. Peering at the results allowed some interesting results to arise, so I decided to examine them closely. As a whole, the answers had a mixed opinion on what makes someone bad, which is exactly what I wanted. From a total of 8 people, there were five males and three females. Four of the people whom answered were aged from sixteen to eighteen, whilst the other half were eighteen or above. This is important to mention as it gives us the idea that the theory of moral ambiguity is a complicated matter to people from teenagers and young adults.
The first question that I wanted people to answer was: 'Does killing make someone bad?' From this question, I received the following results:
This is interesting to me as the opinion on if killing makes us bad is divided in half. Though half of the subjects believe that this is a question with an answer of concrete, the rest believe there is circumstance and context to explain one's decision making in this situation. I can probably infer that some of those people in the 'it depends' section are the same people who said yes in the next question: Are we given the right to kill someone is they are about to harm our physical well-being?
Once again, the answers for this question were divided. I am not using all eight answers, but using half would give me and a reader an idea of what kind of opinion the majority possess on this topic. On the side that agreed, 2 people stated that they would do anything in order to save their life. On the hand of people that disagreed, one said we should do everything possible in order to avoid killing in this situation.
After this, people were to answer the next question: What kind of treatment should said person get if they were in the situation that was an act of self-defence. After looking through the survey as a whole, I can confirm this is the question that had a more unique range of answers.
Out of the options, Counselling came through on top and the biggest loser was the method of 'Reform'. the option 'Other' was the middle man in this case and could represent methods such as 'reintegration'
From this, I gather that the majority of people would feel sympathy for the person in a 'kill or be killed' situation.
After heavy breakdown of some of the results, it is safe to say I am happy with the opinions I recieved. I gathered the general consesus that people would not blame someone for taking a life, IF they needed to. This is just like the protagonist from my film. These results mean I can accurately display the character in a way (mixed with some context) that draws sympathy or empathy from the viewer. They can have their own opinion and make a judgement of the protagonist.
Camera Settings
This is not linked to my previous section of research, but I was browsing youtube and came across videos that discussed filmmaking on a budget with DSLR cameras (The camera I own). I found out specific manual settings that the majority of film directors use. This discusses settings such as ISO and white balance.
SOURCES
https://www.quora.com/What-production-settings-do-movies-use
https://fstoppers.com/originals/secrets-cinematic-look-and-feel-286633
In the US, where the majority of high-popularity films are created, the general rule is that the FPS should be 30-60. This is in order to add realism in the actual footage shown to the viewer. When we watch this frame rate, the footage appears to us as an event in real-time would.
For example, a scene with cars passing by. At a frame rate that isn't in this boundary, the car would stutter past the samera. At the average framerate in film, however, the carwould go past the screen in almost a blur.
To change the FPS on the camera, we press MENU, navigate to the second SHOOTING MENU and find the FPS button. There should be a variation of different options once we click on this. As I said, it should be 30-60 fps.
Additionally, the shutter speed should be twice that of the FPS. This helps further establish the natural movement in the film. This is because of the '180 degree rule'. This is a rule which almost resemlbes the angle and what we can see in the human eye.
Day/Night Cycle
At the time of writing, it is the month of may. If I plan to film in darkness, I will need to know specific time in that the moon begins to come out. In order to find some results, I used a website called timeanddate.com to look at specific stats regarding sunset and the length of the average day. To ensure I was fully correct on these results, I came back throughout different days. The results told me that we have an average sunset of around 8pm and as each day in may progressed, we average an additional 3 minutes of daytime as the month passes by.
https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/uk/london
With this, I am able to tell my actors when exactly we should be at the set and ready to film. Looking at results, I am predicting that around 9pm the cameras will be on the subject and ready to roll. Thus, the filming will be more successful due to the knowledge people will possess around the times and dates.
Narrative Structures
After all this time, I cannot believe I have forgotten to include this source. My film follows a narrative, which means it is imperative of me to gain any knowledge I may not have on this matter, to ensure that the film uses all of the correct methods.
As quoted by the CCEA (A learning platform), a narrative structure is a method which is "essential in capturing the interest of the reader" (In my case it is a viewer).
According to this article, a cyclical structure follows two basic principles: A beginning and an end. In between these two, there are different stages. This part is entirely subjective and depends on the length/style of film.
CYCLICAL
Realism is key. The reason I have checked these settings is because I want the view of my film to be from the perspectvive of a person watching the characters in their element. Also, due to the genre, having the perspective of a real-eye view would suggest the idea that it was a 'zombies' view.
MULTIPLE NARRATION
This is a much more complicated form of story. Here, there is of course an end, but this form is far more character-based. As a multiple narration film progresses, you tend to notice the plot from different perspectives of the character, rather than a focus on the plot as a whole. This would be a good plot to follow as it is perspective based; the subliminal messages could be conveyed in a better light.
This can also be known as the 'linear/non-linear' structure.
An example of a NON-linear structure is the famous 'pulp fiction'.
This is indeed the structure I desired to use when I began planning and so far seems pretty concrete for when filming goes ahead.
Epiphany
Here, the idea is that we are given a sample of the character and his personality traits/background at the beginning of the film. As the story progresses, certain obstacles and events shape the character all the way until the end of the film, in which by then we hopefully see some from of transformation.
Due to the nature of my film and the theme, I excluded this idea at the beginning of the project as my genre does not suit that of a theme regarding transformation/rebirth.
In this topic, there are many more structures that are narrative-based. However, I have chosen only a few because these were the main devices that came to me when planing, and they are also the most realistic ones that link to my media. Overall, I will probably decide for a NON-LINEAR approach and experiment with the reverse chronology style (A narrative that does not have events in time order).