Song Choices

Lust for Life – Iggy Pop

“Here comes Johnny Yen again - With the liquor and drugs - And a flesh machine - He's gonna do another strip tease”

The lyric describe a teenager out of control on drugs and alcohol and as the song is titled a lust for life. This song would’ve been particularly effective because my two main character’s main ambition is to obtain a better life-style. The reason this song appealed to me was because it is the opening sequence song to one of my influences Trainspotting and it fits very well to that sequence.

 

The Clash – Straight To Hell

“You want to play mind-crazed banjo - On the druggy-drag ragtime U.S.A.? - In Parkland International - Hah! Junkiedom U.S.A. - Where procaine proves the purest rock man groove - And rat poison - The volatile molatov says”

 

These lyrics describe the power of addiction to drugs and how deadly drugs can be, like “rat poison”, this is appropriate as one of my characters is addicted to heroin, and this causes a lot of problems in the narrative. This song is in none of my influences but I like it due to the rhythm of the song and the fact that the artists are British, and my film is a British crime thriller.

 

 

Paper Planes – M-I-A

“Pirate skulls and bones Sticks and stones and weed and bombs Running when we hit 'em Lethal poison through their system”

These lyrics are particularly appropriate as they interpret the violence and the weapons that accompany drug dealing, drug dealing being a key them within my film. Once again the song features in none of my influences, but the beat of the songs is upbeat, and the gunshots which feature in the song would be key signifiers of the violence in my film.

 

 

Gimme Shelter – Rolling Stones

“Yeah, a storm is threatening My very life today If I don't get some shelter Lord, I'm gonna fade away”

This is the song I have chosen for my opening sequence, mainly because it is the song off the opening sequence to The Departed, a film which has influenced me in my creative project heavily. The song fits perfectly as it is a very identifiable song and is immensely popular song. The lyrics are perfect for my opening sequence as they describe how a sudden event can dramatically change a person, which is the key theme in my film.

 

Prop List

Trainspotting poster - This poster is a reference to one of the films which inspired me, and suggests to the audience what to expect from this film. This is why it is in the beginning of the film, and not later on when the film plot would already be established.

Shoebox Lid - A key part of the opening sequence, allows us to see Max's untidy life and portrays his addiction in a bad light, showing it to be messy and rough, the focus of more than one shot.

Spoon - A key part of my mise - en -scene this further suggests that Max's addiction is very untidy and dirty, this with the other props will be key in creating audience emotion.

Lighter - apart from being one of the key components in cooking heroin, lighters and cigarettes in film have always been a sign of evil or of bad fortune in characters, especially the femme fatales found in the crime thriller/film noir genres.

 Heroin - This prop (after experimenting with brown chalk and chocolate dust) was made by finely grinding up granulated coffee. Heroin is probably the most notorious drug out there, and is hated by many, however depending on your character, sympathy may actually be generated, for example Vincent Vega (Pulp Fiction) and Mark Renton (Trainspotting)

Shot List

Shot List                                                                               (D) = Dialogue

1.       Establishing tilt shot of flat blocks which then pans downs and zooms out to a close up of beer cans on a wooden edge(15)

2.       Close up of beer can and them zooms out to a medium shot show the room that Max is sat in(10)

3.       Close up on spoon being heated by lighter, and brown liquid boiling within(4)

4.       Close up of shoebox and various drug paraphernalia (4)

5.       Panning medium shot of room showing posters on wall and furniture (10)        

6.       Close up of radio (4)

7.       Medium shot of door (3) (D)

8.       Medium shot of Max sitting up spilling his items, in the same shot he kicks the radio. (5)

9.       Close up of Shoebox lid being hidden under the sheets (2)

10.   Medium shot of Max looking towards the door from the POV of the door (3)    1-10 = 60s

11.   Long POV shot of the door bursting open and Sam bursting in (D) (5)

12.   Medium shot of Sam as the camera tracks his movement into the room (D) (5)

13.   Close up POV of posters (4)

14.   Close up of Sam’s face (5)

15.   Medium shot of max trying to stand up (5)

16.   Bird’s eye view shot of max falling back down (5)

17.   Over the shoulder shot of Sam watching Max (D)  (6)

18.   Over the shoulder  shot of Sam, pans away towards window (5)

19.   POV long shot of Max’s view out of the window (D)  (7)

20.   Tilted close up of the beanbag as Sam falls into it, stays while he speaks(D  (10) 10-20 =  57 s

21.   Close up on Max’s face through the glass (3)

22.   POV long shot out of the window(D)   (8)

23.   Close up on Sam’s face as he speaks (D)  (10)

24.   Another close up through the glass shot of Max (4)

25.   Medium shot of Max turning and standing, the shot then tracks him to the wardrobe (6)

26.   A close up shot out of the wardrobe at max as he picks through the clothes (D)  (6)

27.   Over the shoulder medium shot of Sam standing up and stretching  (4)

28.   Tracking shot of Sam walking away (4)

29.   Front over the shoulder of Sam stood in door, max hiding stuff can be shown(D)   (6)

30.   Over shoulder shot of Sam walking out (3)

31.   Close up of lid sticking out from under bed, tracks max feet to door. (7)

32.   Long shot out of window of Max and Sam getting on bikes and riding away, tracks them to the gate (14) 21-32 75s +57s+60s = 192s =3:12 minutes.

I will begin filming on Wednesday the 19^th of December at 12am to make use of the day light.

The reason I have my shots in a list like this is so I can tick them off once at a time and thus avoid continuity errors and such. The annotations help it to be used in concordance with my script and helps remind me of the shots on the day of filming.

 

 

 

 

How Will The Audience Know That This is The Opening?

The extract will begin with music and an establishing shot of the estate where the story takes place, it will have a long shot of a block of flats which will then tilt down onto a shot of a can which will the cut away to a shot of the same can in the main characters bathroom. At this point the music will stop. This is such a conventional start to a film and features in so many films that hopefully the audience will immediately associate these conventions with an introduction and realize this is the beginning of the film. Another way I hope the audience will know it is the start is by the fact in this extract I will mention the actions and circumstances which lead to this starting point and will have the characters explain what they plan to do at the conflict stage of the film.

Story Type

The Debt That Must Be Repaid
The character wants something or someone and becomes aware that something or someone is available which will possibly give them what they want - at a price.

Purpose

The purpose of my extract is to create audience emotion and attachment to my two main characters, one of which is the protagonist. I will achieve this through the use of the stylisitcs editing, sound, mise - en -scene and cinematography. The main stylistic I will use to achieve my purpose is the use of sound, and character performance.

Featured Characters

Featured Characters                                                            Kieran Drury

Sam

My inspiration for Sam is the character Eddy from the British crime thriller “Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels”. Eddy is overall a good guy who is willing to help himself and his friends make a reasonable amount of money by playing a high risk poker match. He isn’t seen committing any crime until later in the film, a quality I admire in him. The reason I have chosen to mirror the character of Eddy in Sam is due to the fact sympathy for characters from the audience is key to achieve my aims and purposes. The only character Sam will be able to relate to within the diegesis will be his best friend Max, which will make Max’s death all the more harrowing to Sam and the audience. Sam is intelligent and hardworking but lacks motivation and is thus easily held back by his friend Max. Sam usually dresses in casual costume and in my extract he will be wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a jacket. Sam will be played by Callum Normington.

Max

My inspiration for Max is the character “Mark Renton (more often known as rent-boy) from the British dark comedy film “Trainspotting”. Mark is overall a god guy who has some disturbing vices such as an addiction to heroin. In a direct opposition to the inspiration for my character of Sam Mark is seen at the start of “Trainspotting” committing crime with a large smile on his face. Although Mark has a serious addiction to a dangerous drug he still manages to be charming, witty and does in fact gain sympathy and attachment from the audience, an ability I wish to replicate in my own character. As I stated in the character description for Max the characters of Max and Sam will only be able to relate to each other in the diegesis and will be alienated from the rest of the characters, which I also hope will help gain audience sympathy/attachment. Max is earnest and honest, but is perfectly fine with the idea of being a nobody his whole life; he is in a word – lackadaisical. Max will usually dresses in casual wear and in the extract will be wearing chinos, a t-shirt and a jacket. Max will be played by Lee Cook