Research into exsisting Storylines from Drama Films

The Clearing, 2004

A husband and father of two is kidnapped in broad daylight by a former employee of his highly successful business company. The kidnapper demands a ransom fee which the victims wife pays in exchange for her husband, however, it is revealed at the end of the film that her husband was killed on the day of the kidnapping. The kidnapper is caught at the end whilst he was tracked spending the ransom money.

Here is a screenshot of the forest which features in this film. The kidnapper takes the victim to this forest where you can clearly see is quite overgrown and desolate. This means that nobody is likely to find them there. In my film, I have decided to also set part of it in the forest, however, I have decided that the forest would be the place where the victim is kidnapped.

The Clearing - Trailer

The storyline for this film is similar to my film in the way that the kidnapper is someone who knows a lot about the victim. It is a planned kidnap like my film, rather than a random kidnap for a ransom fee. The kidnapper in this film wants a ransom fee whilst the kidnapper in my story wants revenge. Also, towards the end of my film, either the kidnapper or the victim is killed but it isn't revealed who. This is similar to this film at the end as the victim is killed as he is of no use to the kidnapper.

Unknown, 2006

A handful of men awake in an abandoned warehouse where they all have amnesia and no recollection of who they are or what they are doing there.



The disused warehouse setting is a similar place to where the victim of the kidnapping in my film is going to be taken. This is because it is like a hideout place where nobody will go and bother them. In this film, as the men in the room all have amnesia, it is unclear who the kidnappers are and who the victims are, however, it hints that the victims are the ones who are tied up to prevent them from escaping.

For the opening credits of my film, I am going to have flashes of parts of a newspaper coming up at certain points. I want this to suggest ideas about the plot to the audience to get them thinking about what may happen and also to show them what has happened already. It begins to reveal ideas about the plot. In this film, they use the newspaper to also reveal ideas about the plot as it is like another bit of evidence which the characters and the audience at the same time are trying to piece together to find out why they are locked in a disused warehouse.

Unknown - Trailer 

The Departed, 2006

In Boston, Irish mob boss, Francis "Frank" Costello plants Collin Sullivan as a mole in the within the Massachusetts State Police. The police assign undercover trooper William "Billy" Costigan  to infiltrate Costello's crew and discover who the mole is. However, when both sides realise the situation, each man attempts to discover the other's true identity before his own is blown.



This film  overall has a similar storyline to my film. This is because the characters trust and loyalty is put to the test when there is a mole planted into the police force by an Irish mob boss. The mole is an American citizen so therefore betrays his own country.

In my film, the two main characters Jay and Ashton's trust and loyalty is put to the test when they think that the other had a part in Lily's suicide. They both feel like they have been betrayed by one another.  



Unknown, 2006 - Film Analysis

Synopsis

Five men wake up in an unknown location with no memory of who they are or how they got there. They are all in a locked-down warehouse which is highly secure so that they are not able to escape in any way. Some are tied up and some aren't. They are left to decide who is good and who is bad if they have any chance of survival.

The introduction titles of this film appear with a black background at first with only the accompaniment playing.

The introduction titles firstly name the film company who created the film. They are then followed by who else that film production company worked with before they finally reveal the film name 'Unknown'.

The titles for the film are quite basic and simple. It is in the style of a negative space which is a black background with white writing. These two shades are bold opposites which create a significant contrast.


The font of the titles is in the same font style throughout which keeps it consistent. The titles also appear the the bottom left hand corner of the screen. This allows the audience to clearly see where the opening titles are placed.

When the main title is presented, the colours and font are still the same. However, the letters are all in capitals. This creates a bold introduction to the film and makes the title stand out from the rest of the credits.

This is the first clip which we see from the film. It is an establishing shot. It is one of many establishing shots which appear during the opening credits of the film. I think that the various hints of the setting makes the introduction to the film really interesting and keeps the audience guessing about the location. It immediately suggests to the audience ideas about the themes and ideas about the film and may make them think about what may be about to happen.

The first opening credits which appear show the names of the actors who star in the film. In this film, it has noted that the names of the actors are appearing in alphabetical order. I don't particularly like this idea of stating that the actors names appear in alphabetical order. This is because I feel that the opening credits to a film look more professional when they just state the actors names.

After the actor names appear on screen, the production names appear on screen with their role. This shows the audience the difference between the actors who act in the film and the production team who make and put the film together.

In the opening credits of the film, all of the objects and settings scene are shown later on in the film at some point or have some sort of significance to the film themes and plot.

The lighting of the set is quite dark with only places of natural light which falls through the windows. The light which falls through the windows is bright which suggests that the time is around mid day. In the rooms without windows, artificial dull light, lights up the room such as the toilets. This shows that besides the fact that the building is barren, it is still in use by most probably the bad people as electricity is available to them.

This close up shot of the man's face is the first character you see in the film. This is when the opening credits have finished along with the accompaniment which allows the audience's focus to fall onto the man. It begins to make them already wonder what is going on in the man's mind.

The next shot shown is a blurred point of view shot from the man. It allows the audience to see that he has just woken up from unconsciousness and his bearings are all over the place. The various shots of the man looking around quickly all over the room suggests that he is confused and doesn't know anything about his location and how he got there.

This shot appears later on in the film. It is the first time the audience actually sees the outside building of where the men who are locked in are being held. It looks as if it is in the middle of the desert. A place where nobody would go or think about going. This way people like the police won't be able to identify where the people are. I think that the setting for this film is perfect to reflect on the themes and ideas of the film. The setting around the locked-down warehouse in itself is in-escapable. This is because the warehouse is in the middle of the desert which is hot and dry. The chance is that even if the men did escape, they may probably die of thirst before they could reach a town or village or some sorts of civilisation. 

Opening Clip

The accompaniment which plays whilst the opening titles/credits are being displayed I think fits with the themes of the film well. The accompaniment is slow and mysterious like the setting of the film. It has a sense of sadness and dispear in it which relates to the unfortunate events which occur in the film.

I think that the sound of the ringing phone which is edited over the top of the main accompaniment is a clever introduction to the phone as later on in the film a phone rings and at the other end, it is the bad characters asking about the hostages in the warehouse. This is the first inkling that the men who have no knowledge of who they are decide that there are some bad people amongst them.

Trailer

I like the editing of the shot which is used whenever one of the men remember something. This clearly differentiates the reality to a sudden memory which kicks into them every now and again. The light blurred colour effect which is used doesn't make the image fully clear but it hints at key pieces of the puzzle which the men try to sum pup to find out their true identities.

I really like the wide range of different camera shots which are used throughout the film. This is because I think it makes the film look interesting and immediately interests the audience and makes them want to watch more. 

This is one of the many point of view shots from the man in the blue shirt when he first wakes up. They are very quick and focus on one thing at a time. In this shot, the man has seen a shovel with blood on the end which makes him wonder whose blood it is. It is one of the many bizarre things which he discovers when he wakes up. 

This is a close up shot of the man after he has looked at the shovel. In this shot, he sees another object/person which catches his eye. This close up shot of the man returns after and before he looks at each object/person. This reminds the audience that it is his vision we are seeing and it also shows how he reacts to each thing he sees.

In this long shot, the man in the blue shirt has got up to investigate his surroundings. I really like this long shot because it shows the desolate and dispear of the barren warehouse which he is imprisoned in.

We can tell that this film is set in modern day America. This is because, firstly, all of the actors who feature in the film are American. 

Secondly, we can tell that this film is set in the modern days because of their modern clothing, the proper, i.e. the hand gun which is in the film. 

There is also a smashed up mobile phone on the floor so we can know that the film is defiantly set in a time where mobile phones were invented, especially with the fact that this mobile phone is fairly modern. 

Another aspect to show that the film is set in modern day America is the fact that all of the verticals are a left hand drive and are all modern for these days.

There is also a use of a tracking device in this film by the F.B.I. These are only recent inventions as they haven't been around for long.

The Shawshank Redemption, 1994 - Film Analysis

Synopsis

Andy Dufrense is a young successful banker. After wrongly convicted of his wife and lovers' murder, he is sent to Shawshank prison to serve a back to back life sentence. In prison Andy experiences the unpleasantness of prison life. However, with his inner hope keeping him going, he eventually gains respect in the prison and becomes close friends with "Red" a fellow inmate.

The characters in this film are all American. This suggests that the film is set in an American prison.

The film opens with the two main actor's names who star in the film. The font is in capital lettering which makes the names appear more bolder. The colours are of a negative space style meaning white lettering and a black background. White and back are both contrasting colours which allows the name to clearly stand out from the black background.

The two main actor's  names appear before the film title does. This allows a slight build up to the title which allows it to stand out at the beginning of the film. 

The font and colours are the same for both the actor's names and the film title. This keeps a consistent and professional look on the film. If all of the fonts were in different styles and colours, the audience would be confused as to why they are different. This would make the film opening look cheap and non-important as it shows that the film company hasn't thought about the opening look of the film. It would look like they didn't care and just applied any random font without any thought.

This long shot of a house is the first thing which the audience sees in the film. The audience can see that the setting is dark so therefore it is night time and there are some front house lights on which allows the audience to see parts of the house.

The opening credits continue as the opening camera shots change. The font is still constant by the way it is in the same colour and the same style. It is still in capital letters. 

The first introduction we get to a character is a close up side shot of one of the two main characters Andy Dufrense. The lighting is quite dim on Andy as you can see that he is sitting in a car at night to. There is a bit of light which falls onto Andy's face. This is the inner car light which he has switched on. With Andy sitting and staring at the house, it makes the audience think about the purpose is of Andy sitting there is. The audience can sum up that Andy is about to do something or thinking about something to do with the house.

There is then a close up shot of Andy unwrapping a gun which was covered up with some cloth. In the cloth are some bullets. This could suggest that Andy is about to do something either kill someone or rob someone for example. The actual reason is currently unknown. This means that the audience is left to make their own assumptions about what the gun may be used for. 

The camera then moves to a close up of Andy from the front drinking alcohol. As he has just looked at the gun and then looks towards the house is another hint that he is about to use the gun for something in or out of the house. He takes a few sips of alcohol, which suggests that Andy may not be sober and may in fact be drunk which could suggest that he's not entirely sure about what he was going to do.

The shots then switch to another day. We know this because Andy looks smarter, he is sober and it is light outside. There isn't any dates to suggest how far away this next scene is from the first clip but it is clear that Andy is in a courtroom. At this point the audience will automatically think that Andy had committed a crime from the first few clips. However, Andy disagrees that he killed his wife and lover, he explains his own version to the story to prove his innocence. As there is no evidence to prove that Andy is innocent, he is sentenced to two life sentences in prison. This is an effective introduction to Andy's character as the audience are left to make judgements on him within the first few minutes of the film opening.

Opening clip

The film opens with a light-hearted soundtrack called 'If I didn't care' by The Ink Spots which is a 1940's tune. This song helps to set the scene and set hints to the audience about the time in which the film is set. The music lyrics "If I didn't care would I feel this way" is relevant to how Andy is feeling as he has just found out that his wife has been having an affair. Andy is clearly upset by this as he looks quite depressed about the matter and is drinking, probably to get rid of the pain he is feeling. Because of his saddened feelings, it shows that he still has feelings and cares for his wife. The light-heartedness of this track contrasts to the unfortunate events which occur throughout the film.

The sound of the opening music is slightly quieter when the camera moves into the car where Andy is. This suggests that Andy has the radio on in his car and this is the song which he can hear. At this point, the music becomes diegetic because Andy can hear the music as well as the audience can.

The diegetic sound of crickets are edited into the film when the first camera shots occur on screen. This is another hint to the audience that it is night time as crickets come out at night. It could also suggest that they are in the countryside or around that sort of area as there are a lot of crickets chirping which you wouldn't get in a big city.

When Andy reaches for the gun wrapped up in cloth, over the top of the opening soundtrack, a haunting, drone is played in a high key. This is non-diegetic. A piano plays a few key notes occasionally. This adds a sad and sorrow atmosphere. This music gradually builds with some violins but in a very subtle way. I really like this extra edited music over the top of the opening track as it highlights the gun which is an important prop in the film, even though it isn't used much. Guns are designed to kill or hurt people or animals. This gun gets lost in the film and because it is, it is not able to help Andy protest his innocence so therefore, he is sent to prison. If the gun had been discovered, then Andy may have been able to avoid a prison sentence. 
This music continues from Andy sitting in the car to Andy standing in the courtroom. This is a good transition to a different scene as it links the two together.

Clip

This clip suggests a great deal about the year in which this film is set which is the 1940s. Firstly, the prison uniform is the old fashioned style which the prisoners used to wear. You can also tell that the material isn't of a good quality which suggests that it was probably quite uncomfortable to wear.

The guard's uniform has an old fashioned style to it. It is a smart black uniform with brass looking buttons and a shiny badge on the left side of his chest. In later times, the guard's uniform has changed in order to provide more protection from the prisoners. The guards were a lot more stricter in the 1940's so therefore the prisoners wouldn't go to attack them. However, as violence from the guards is now not allowed, this means that the prisoners are less scared of the guards and may be more likely to attack them, therefore, they would need uniforms which would give them better protection.

The character Andy decides to play some music on a record player and then turn on the old fashioned speaker which allows all of the prisoners to hear the music. Nowadays, we don't play music on record players. Instead we would use a cd player or an iPod. Back in the 1940's recorded music hadn't been around for long and the record player was one of the first devices which was used to play music. This was still the only device which could play music in the 1940s.

Findings of Research - Film Name

In this video, I have evaluated the findings of my research and have decided on a film name for my five minute film.

Audience Research - Film name video focus group

Film Results

This is my video focus group for my five minute film title. For this focus group, I asked some 17 - 18 year olds on their thoughts and opinions about my film title suggestions.

Audience Research - Film name

For my five minute film, I have come up with three possible titles for my film which were Betrayed, Vengeance and Life For A Life.

Betrayed
This title relates to the plot as Jay betrays his friend Ashton. However, Jay feels betrayed by Ashton as he thinks that he helped his sister, Lily, commit suicide. Lily may have also been betrayed by Jay, as he wasn't there for her when she needed him most. Instead, he took out all of his anger on her.

Vengeance
Vengeance is a synonym for revenge. This relates to the plot as Jay wants vengeance on Ashton for helping his sister to kill herself, which Ashton denies.

Life For A Life
This title relates to the plot as at the end, it is revealed that either Jay or Ashton has been killed, but the audience are left to guess who was killed. As Lily's life was taken, another life will have to pay the price as either Jay or Ashton was part of the cause of her death. The audience just don't know who is telling the truth. I got this idea from the phrase 'An eye for an eye'. I thought that this was significant as in the story, a life is lost because one life was previously taken.


If I did some audience research into my ideas for film titles, buy asking people from different ages so that I could get a range of different thoughts and opinions. For this, I have asked some people to fill out a survey which I have specifically created to target areas which would help me to find out various people's views and opinions on the titles. I have also asked some 17 - 18 year olds the same questions but as a focus group.

From my research findings, I discovered that the film titles Betrayed and Vengeance were the most popular.

Whilst Vengeance proved the most eye catching title out of the three, Betrayed proved to suit the plot of the film more.

When I asked the question, 'Would a film with one of these titles I have come up with, make you want to watch it?'. From this answer, I got 100% response of 'yes'. This has proved to be really effective as it means that the title choices I have come up for my film are interesting and leaves the audience curious to find out more about the film.

I also discovered that a one word film title proved to be the most effective as the majority of the people said that a one word title would be more effective for my film as it would be eye catching and easy to remember.

Survey Results

Here is a sample of some of the survey results I received. For the sample, I picked different age ranges to demonstrate the different views of each age.

Anne Mandy - 72

Victor Mandy - 71

Sharon Dare - 45

Mr Hyde - 35