Ultimatum - Costume & Makeup

Ultimatum - Costume & Makeup

 

Below is the Costume & Makeup post for our Ultimatum Production, which was written and completed by Daniel Bruce, the Director of our group.

When designing the costume and makeup for a thriller film you have to consider the structure and context of the opening title sequence. The portrayal of certain characters through how they dress and the make up they have on can completely change their position in the film, in many cases the miss-en-scene element of the film can make or break the reputation of a film.
 

The first scene will picture the father played by Jack Stockman and the son played by Connor's younger brother. The first shot has to establish a father son relationship the son could be dressed in his school clothes or something that connotes youth. Whereas the father needs to be dressed in more formal clothing maybe his shirt and tie after a long and tireless day at work. The picture on the right hand side is the actors from the first Harry Potter film, you can clearly notify their young age through the way they are dressed and the make up added to make them look younger, for example Harry's glasses show youth and that fact that he may like to read, his hair style is also simple connoting that youngsters aren't bothered by how they appear.
The next scenario is the father in an everyday environment like an office or cafe, in this case the father will have to be in a suit showing the audience that perhaps he is on his break, and has a well payed profession such as a salesman. The picture to the right hand side of this paragraph is a screenshot from the blockbusting thriller 'Shutter Island'. 
Both characters are portrayed as police officers from the 1950's, a good profession which should be connoted as professional and well presented showing their authority to the audience, i myself would like this to be the representation of the adult in the scene. Also the character which i play should also represented in this way as myself and Jack have similar professions in the current scene.
A character that is often hard to show in the thriller genre is the villain, and in our opening sequence we effectively have two. The first so called villain who is played by James is a target assigned to Jack by a mysterious caller, we felt that the target should wear dark shades adding a sense of mystery in the thriller film creating a question in the audiences mind, in our preliminary task where we replicated reservoir dogs, sunglasses aesthetically improved the look of our production adding a sense of professionalism. In terms of the overall costume James could also be wearing a suit, with a black tie and jacket or coat, the colour often represents evil and a sense of death which is about to follow.
 

The final characters that have to be represented are the assassins which are myself and Jack. A change has to be made from everyday office workers to highly trained assassins who are in search of a big pay off. Assassins have to be shown to the audience as serious, dark characters, perhaps dressed in all black suits with added extras such as dirty faces or balaclavas or even hoods covering the face. It is extremely vital that the two assassins are portrayed correctly, matching the thriller genre perfectly.

All of the following things must be considered in the making of our opening title sequence, and i feel that if the costumes are effective then our overall sequence will be aesthetically pleasing and appear professional to the audience. A big issue when making a Thriller film  brought up by Jake Hume and Simon Frame is how the film effects the audience, and so if they are focused on the plot rather than choice of clothing this means we chose the correct miss-en-scene elements in the pre-production stage.

Ultimatum - Risk Assessment

Ultimatum - Risk Assessment

Below is the Risk Assessment which was written and completed by James Ellis, a member of our group.

For our production task we will be out of the traditional school location, as a result there will be some safety procedures that we will have to address in order to be certain that the production is conducted in a safe and sustainable way.

The locations for our production will include: Langley hill, Kings Langley common, Jack Stockman (actor) house and Daniel Bruce (actor) house.

Risks that we need to look out for whilst on production include:

Langley hill, as addressed in the name, is positioned on a large hill as a result suitable footwear would be needed at all time to reduce the chance of any slips or injuries occurring whilst on set which could potentially harm our chances of creating a production which is to our full capability.

Kings Langley Common includes a woods which is a vital part to our production. There are many risks which can occur whilst in a woods, most notably, the large amount of tree debris situated around the environment so carefulness is vital to the production. To reduce the chance or any injuries we will produce a clear path, which will be easily used by the actors without the risk of injury.

For our production we will be using props in enhance the professionalism of the production. Some of these include knifes which can be a highly dangerous positioned in the wrong hands. We believe that we are highly trustworthy to be with these props but as a safety procedure we will be using fake knifes which are made out of plastic to completely avoid the risk of any injuries.

In our production we will be using an actor of younger age of us who shall be positioned on a swing at one of the local parks near Kings Langley common, as a result there are some risks that come with being positioned in a park. To reduce the risk of falling off this piece of equipment, we shall be using crash mats to insure that if the worse happens, the actor will be safe and unharmed.

Another risk is another use of props. We shall be using a cap gun which fires out a smoke after fire, much like that of a real gun, for the professional effect. These can be dangerous, as a result we shall be using the gun as a safe distance away from the eyes and face which could be effected if not used appropriately.

One risk that we will be encountering is that of pedestrians and others in the local community. To ensue that everyone involve stays safe and can conduct the production successfully, we shall be filming when there are no pedestrians present. There may be others in the background that may appear to be people in the local community, but we can ensure that these are highly trained actors which are positioned for nothing but effect in the production.

Another prop used is that of a glass mug. Glass can be a very hazardous material if broken or chipped. To prevent any injures, we shall take extra care in case of breakage. If broken we shall have a trained first adder on hand to eliminate any threats that could become apparent in case of breakage or chips. 

Ultimatum - Storyboard

Ultimatum - Storyboard

Below are pictures of our Storyboards created for our Final Opening Sequence called Ultimatum. James Ellis illustrated the storyboards while Daniel Bruce described each scene. Through creating a storyboard our group was able to visualise each individual scene we were planning to film, and it gave us an actual description of what was wanted in each scene.

Independent Work Towards Targets

Independent Work Towards Targets

Since writing and setting up my targets I have conducted a lot of research into Opening Title Sequences. In a previous post I made, I gave my point of view on a video of Kyle Cooper giving very important, useful and helpful tops on Opening Title Sequences, and after I spoke about the videos I have an evaluation. You can follow this link to go to the specific blog post, or simply look at the picture I included below.

One of the 5 targets I set myself to improve on, and make a prominent part in our Opening Title Sequence, was Sound. And referring back to that post, I wanted to focus particularly on Foley. Foley is simply when you add a piece of sound into your footage post production so that certain clips sounds better. This happens in all form of media such as movies and television. The sound used could be actual speech, gun shots, car door opening and closing, and even birds or background noise. Below are a couple YouTube clips which really go into detail on Foley and the effectiveness of if within a production. Although we will not be able to achieve the complexity of these professionals when it comes to Foley we can still include the technique in our Final Opening Title Sequence, and as shown in the clips below it will greatly enhance the quality of our work.

Targets

Targets

Following your detailed evaluation of skills learnt set yourself at least 5 SMART targets by following the guidance below...

Mise-En-Scene

As explained in one or two of my previous blogs, Mise-En-Scene was a factor myself and my group really had to work on when it came to our other productions. This is because for the the majority of the time we planned our filming and editing on the day rather than a few days in advance. Because of this it means we were very limited when it came to props, because we could only use the props which the school had to offer. However, when it eventually becomes time for us to start filming our Final Opening Sequence we can bring props in from home and even other stuff like clothing and any other necessary things which might be needed to make the production look realistic as possible. Personally, I really think Mise-En-Scene is a needed target our group need to improve on.

Planning

The second target in which me and my group should set for ourselves is planning. I think that we must continue to stay at the level of work we have been previously producing perhaps even exceeding it, this however cannot be done by just saying we're going to exceed it, therefore me and my group have to come together regularly so that we can share and incorporate new and improved ideas so we can possibly add something to our Opening Sequence which we think would be beneficial for us.

Research

Like the others, this target is simple but can benefit me and my group in the long run - it will help make sure we exceed our predicted grades. Recently my group has begun to start Opening Sequences from old and new Thriller films afterwards we have discussed them, e.g. What's good about them? What can be improved on? What aspects of it can we use However, it may be beneficial to do other things other than just discussing these Opening Sequences; using things like mind maps, creating posters and actually writing notes down could be taken so that we can combine points we have talked about and form together what we think are the key parts to have in the Opening Sequence. If this target is met than we will be even clearer on what we need to incorporate in to our opening title sequence.

Action

When it comes to brainstorming ideas, filming and things like that people tend to choose the easiest route, rather than attempting to make a complex good quality Opening Sequence, simple because it suits them. However, I feel that if myself and my group all researched how to incorporate certain aspects into our Final Cut of our Opening Sequence then it would make it look very good and definitely more aesthetically pleasing if the camerawork and editing is done well and it all flows. As well as all this, we could also explore new camera angles and shots and editing techniques which we perhaps haven't encountered before. Through doing this it mean that when it comes to filming and editing our Final Opening Sequence we will be more than prepared to produce it in the highest possible quality we can.

Sound

One last target in which we could all aim to improve on is Sound, especially Foley. Adding a Foley would be very useful and highly beneficial for myself and my groups success when it eventually comes to the time where we start making our Opening Sequences. Being in a school environment means that the camera can pick up and hear things from nearby classrooms which isn't particularly ideal, especially if we're aiming for it to be professional. Foley can be very easy, an example being used in our Preliminary Task where Daniel's voice is played to make it sound like it was coming through a radio. Foley would add a massive amount of professionalism to our Opening Sequence, not only this, but I think it will also aid us in achieving a high grade.

Advertising and Marketing Campaign - Endless Love

Advertising and Marketing Campaign - Endless Love

In a recent homework we were asked to form a Case Study of a recent film we were given in class, in my case it was Endless Love. The case study was meant to explain how our particular film advertised and marketed their film. Below I have attached a PowerPoint which encapsulates all the marketing and advertising information I was able to gather on Endless Love.

 

Representation of Women in the Genre of Thriller

Representation of Women in the Genre of Thriller

Women in thriller films do not often portray specific roles, they usually vary. Younger females in Thrillers tend to have a sense of 'innocence' and 'purity', while on the other hand older women are portrayed as being mothers and often have some form of sexual appeal. These are not the only portrayals either, women can be portrayed as almost anything in thriller films and there can be more than one portrayal of how women are represented within a film.

In the 1953 thriller film "Niagra", Marilyn Monroe portrays an adulteress who plots to kill her husband. This character is seen as seductive and sly, and not a great contributor to the society, and is someone who is not in a role to restore the equilibrium at the end.

Women in thriller films are usually portrayed as being passive and dependent upon men. Women usually are not the protagonist and do not feature any particular characteristics or skills that would help to solve the issue at hand, the most stereotypical one perhaps being intelligence. Meaning that Marilyn Monroe's character in Niagra is subversive of typical representations of women in thriller films. If the film is a thriller/horror where people are getting killed off, then the final girl is usually “virginal” and does possess some masculine traits, such as independence or even a unisex name.

The blind female Protagonist in The Village is Ivy Walker, portrayed by the actress Bryce Dallas Howard. She is portrayed in the film as being young and comes across very tomboyish. Throughout the film we see that she possesses the male characteristic of being strong-willed and brave, unlike some of the male characters in the film. The plot essentially revolves around mysterious creatures being sighted in the forests that surround their village and after her boyfriend is stabbed repeatedly, it is her job to venture into the woods in search of medicines. She encounters one of the creatures and manages to trick it into falling into a pit, she ends up finding the medicines, returning to the village and this helps to restore the equilibrium. Both men and women are greatly stereotyped, however it they are usually stereotyped in very different ways. Men are usually portrayed as being very masculine and the heroes, whereas women are seen as being very passive and not independent. Again, much like the film Niagra the female is represented in a non-stereotypical way, which proves that it is acceptable for women to break stereotypes within Thriller films.



Lastly, below this text is a very improvised voice over I did on the film Taken, of the scene where Liam Neeson's daughter is taken from her apartment along with her friend while they are on holiday. Again, this was very improvised and I had no script, so I was making judgements and observations as I saw them on screen in real time.