Report on Contexts
For the past few weeks alongside planning the short films we are going to produce In I have been doing contextual research into what makes a good interactive film. This has been very beneficial towards the creation of my own film because it means that I have become more aware of what aspects work well in this specific type of film. The first piece of research that we did into this was on genre codes and conventions. Establishing genre is a very important part of creating a film. This is because you need to have a clear idea of what type of film you want to make before anything else. Also because it categorizes the film. As my group was given the title of 'The Game' my group and I decided that our interactive film should be dark and twisted. It is about a group of friends that are blackmailed into doing various tasks for an anonymous person over text. Therefore I thought that the genre that would best fit would be a thriller. The codes and conventions of a thriller, in my opinion, are quick cuts, tense music, low lighting, obstructive editing, plot twists and a range of different camera angles. For example in the film Get Out which is of the same genre all of these are used time and time again. Without the portrayal of these in the film then the genre will not be as clear and the film would be a lot less interesting. Audiences use the genre to help them decide if the film is a type of movie they would like to go and see. For example, some people may see that a film is horror and not want to see it as they get scared and so on. Our film (The Game) is set to feature a lot of these codes and conventions. I would love to play with the use of tense music to emphasize dramatic moments in the film and also I would like to do quick cuts to create a fast pace. These would work very well in the final scene of the film, as it is the most dramatic scene when the protagonists are faced with the person that has been blackmailing them.
Another aspect that I researched was interactive narratives. This was probably the most important thing that I researched as I got to think about why they would be sometimes chosen over creating a normally structured film. My findings were that they are appealing to audiences because they are different to the norm and therefore intriguing. The fact that you can choose the outcome of the narrative makes the consumer feel more involved. Also, I have found that the most effective choices to give to the consumer would be ones that have implications, either good or bad, with whatever choice they decide on. For example, in my short film, there are choices to decide whether the characters either do a task that you are told to do or not. If you choose the option to do the task there are no further punishments for the characters but if you do not do the task then there will be consequences that the characters have to face. You can make the viewer care about the choices that they make by creating options that are moral and immoral. For example, if your option was to take a drug or not to take a drug. Although often the immoral option is more intriguing for the consumer as they are curious as to what would happen. If the viewer is given too many choices then the narrative that you may have wanted to put across will get lost. There will be a. story but this will be all down to the choices they pick rather than the direction you wanted the story to go in. An example of an interactive narrative would be RNLI's 'what would you do?'. This particular film is designed for educational purposes. The choices can stop you from being at risk around water and can also show you what is best do in a situation. For my short film, I decided that the choices would be after every test deciding whether the protagonists should do or not do a task because it fit's in nicely with the plot.
As well as this, I looked into the conventions of screenwriting. The screenwriters write the screenplay for the actors to learn their lines. They have a standard format. This is because it needs to be clear what is happening and when and where this is taking place. I found out that in a script some parts are in uppercase and others are lowercase. The names of the characters and the scene headings are all in capital letters. This is because they need to be clear to the actor/person reading it. Directions for the actors and dialogue are included in the script. The thing that is generally excluded is camera directions. These will be written separately. The script for our film is made up of three separate scripts as there are three different stories that can be told. Each of us started from a different option and carried on our segment as we wanted. We will film and use all three of these. For my own script, I thought a lot about what would make it intriguing and about what certain characters would say and do.
The final thing we looked at in lessons in the past half term was planning a film production. When planning a production you have to make sure you have the correct cast and crew members to make the film possible. There are many crucial job roles. During filming you will need a director, producer, actors, camera operators, lighting technicians, set designers, costume designers, makeup artists and set builders. You may not think about them much but makeup artists play a massive role in film and production. Makeup artists use makeup to help show the characters personality visually. They can also help by creating special fx makeup. Things like broken bones, stab wounds and alien character makeup are very beneficial to film. Another role is a camera operator. This role is to shoot the footage that is needed for the production. During the production stages of our film, I will be taking on multiple roles. This is because there is only three of us in our group. I am going to direct, operate the camera, act and manage costumes at different times. Our group has agreed that we will all have a turn at different roles. This will make it easier to film our production and will further or skills in a lot of different roles rather than just one.
Another aspect that I researched was interactive narratives. This was probably the most important thing that I researched as I got to think about why they would be sometimes chosen over creating a normally structured film. My findings were that they are appealing to audiences because they are different to the norm and therefore intriguing. The fact that you can choose the outcome of the narrative makes the consumer feel more involved. Also, I have found that the most effective choices to give to the consumer would be ones that have implications, either good or bad, with whatever choice they decide on. For example, in my short film, there are choices to decide whether the characters either do a task that you are told to do or not. If you choose the option to do the task there are no further punishments for the characters but if you do not do the task then there will be consequences that the characters have to face. You can make the viewer care about the choices that they make by creating options that are moral and immoral. For example, if your option was to take a drug or not to take a drug. Although often the immoral option is more intriguing for the consumer as they are curious as to what would happen. If the viewer is given too many choices then the narrative that you may have wanted to put across will get lost. There will be a. story but this will be all down to the choices they pick rather than the direction you wanted the story to go in. An example of an interactive narrative would be RNLI's 'what would you do?'. This particular film is designed for educational purposes. The choices can stop you from being at risk around water and can also show you what is best do in a situation. For my short film, I decided that the choices would be after every test deciding whether the protagonists should do or not do a task because it fit's in nicely with the plot.
As well as this, I looked into the conventions of screenwriting. The screenwriters write the screenplay for the actors to learn their lines. They have a standard format. This is because it needs to be clear what is happening and when and where this is taking place. I found out that in a script some parts are in uppercase and others are lowercase. The names of the characters and the scene headings are all in capital letters. This is because they need to be clear to the actor/person reading it. Directions for the actors and dialogue are included in the script. The thing that is generally excluded is camera directions. These will be written separately. The script for our film is made up of three separate scripts as there are three different stories that can be told. Each of us started from a different option and carried on our segment as we wanted. We will film and use all three of these. For my own script, I thought a lot about what would make it intriguing and about what certain characters would say and do.
The final thing we looked at in lessons in the past half term was planning a film production. When planning a production you have to make sure you have the correct cast and crew members to make the film possible. There are many crucial job roles. During filming you will need a director, producer, actors, camera operators, lighting technicians, set designers, costume designers, makeup artists and set builders. You may not think about them much but makeup artists play a massive role in film and production. Makeup artists use makeup to help show the characters personality visually. They can also help by creating special fx makeup. Things like broken bones, stab wounds and alien character makeup are very beneficial to film. Another role is a camera operator. This role is to shoot the footage that is needed for the production. During the production stages of our film, I will be taking on multiple roles. This is because there is only three of us in our group. I am going to direct, operate the camera, act and manage costumes at different times. Our group has agreed that we will all have a turn at different roles. This will make it easier to film our production and will further or skills in a lot of different roles rather than just one.
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