Treatment Final

After handing in my draft of my synopsis, I was given the feedback to make my trailer less linear and chronological, and more non-linear so it is less of a film, and more of a trailer. I have tried to do this but I have had some difficulty writing my synopsis in a non-chronological way. I am not completely satisfied with the trailer idea yet, and I think that once I start to film, I will change stuff around and add stuff in to make it better. Also, when editing, I might change the order of the shots around to make it less linear, etc. I am also going to add in voiceovers which will make the trailer more non-linear. After this is handed in, I'm going to start creating my shot list.

Storyboards and Synopsis - DRAFT

I have created the storyboards for my trailer and this shows the main points of my film. I have also started my treatment, and completed my synopsis. I have a lot of work to do to improve my synopsis because I don't think it's really written the way it's supposed to be written. I also need to make my story less linear and chronological so it is more like a trailer and less like an actual film.

SYNOPSIS:

Lily is shown being escorted to the detention room by her least favourite teacher, [name]. She is left alone in the room for a few minutes while the teacher went to bring back her iPad and she was warned “no items allowed”. Lily is shown looking around the room in boredom, and catches a glimpse of an envelope appearing in between two books on the bookshelf. She stands up and walks over towards the bookshelf, and pulls the envelope from between the two books. She looks down at it and it reads, “Open Me”. She turns over the envelope, opens it up and discovers a note written with the message, “Look under the bookshelf”. Lily places the envelope and note on the desk beside her and kneels down to take a look under the shelf to find out what is there. A book hidden underneath is revealed and she extends her arm to pull it out and read what’s inside. The book is filled with all of the future’s dates, all with a sentence written beside each one warning the reader of a particular event to look out for. She scans the page and finds today’s date, the warning “Hide this, or you will be caught at [time in 2 minutes] and it will be taken” written next to it. A close up of the clock is shown as the second hand changes to that exact time and the teacher returns to the detention room to remind her that she is not permitted any items in the room or they will be confiscated. As this is all happening, there is another teacher watching the girl though the glass door of the room, taking notice of what she is looking at. This character is the school counsellor. The following day, the book guides her to meet with the counsellor and she helps guide Lily to use the book to its full potential and directs her in what she should and shouldn't do. After contemplating whether or not this task is for her, she decides that she would prefer to go back to her regular life and not use the book. That night, her best friend is seriously injured after an event and Lily checks the book’s warning for that day and learns that this accident could have easily been prevented. She decides to continue to use the book and the next day she finds herself saving a stranger from being hit by a car, with the warning from the book. Later that day, there is another meeting with the counsellor and Lily is advised that the original owner of the bps is after it and wants to destroy it. There is a voice over of "She is coming for you" ... "You need to keep it away from her” as shots play of Lily being stalked by the original owner of the book. She overcomes this, however, as there is a warning in the book to "turn around right now” and the girl is standing right behind her. The trailer ends with a close up of Lily’s face, looking shocked and scared.

Trailer Idea

Over the weekend and during lesson time, I have been brainstorming ideas for my trailer and I have come up with a concept. I started by figuring out some details about the hero as I found this the easiest staring point to come up with the storyline. The hero is a 16 year old girl who is just a regular school student. She often gets into trouble at school and she is quite bored with her ordinary life. This led me to set the location as school and for the hero to find her call to adventure while at detention. Here's the story (so far):

- Waits alone in the detention room, looks around and finds an envelope in between two books with "open me" written on the front

- Opens it up and finds a note inside saying to look under the bookshelf

- Underneath the bookshelf there is a book hidden

- Inside the book, it is full of the future's dates and has written next to each of them, a sentence saying what to look out for on that particular day

- She finds today's date and reads something like to hide the book or she will be caught at [time in 2 minutes] and it will be taken from her

- She hides it and two minutes later, the teacher walks in and reminds her that she is not permitted any items in the room or they will be confiscated

- The mentor character is the school counsellor

- They meet after she is instructed by the book the next day to go to a particular spot at a particular time

- She helps her to use the book to its full potential and guides her in what she should and shouldn't do

- Later, she contemplates whether or not she should continue to use the book or to just go back to her regular life

- She doesn't use the book one day and something bad happens to her best friend (who is the goddess character) and she is left injured

- She checks the book after she is left injured and it had a warning  that could have easily helped the hero to prevent it from happening

- She then decides to continue using the book

- Another day, she reads the warning in the book and it warns her of a car hitting a stranger at a particular time

- At that particular time of the day, she pulls the stranger off the road right before the car speeds past

- Next, there is another meeting with the school counsellor

- The hero is warned of the original owner coming after the book and wanting to destroy

- There is a voice over of "She is coming for you" ... "You need to keep it away from her"

- Shots of the girl following the hero, wearing all black, face covered

- Tries to steal the book back

- Goes to the book when the hero isn't watching and writes over the page "WATCH OUT", "MY PROPERTY", etc.

- The hero overcomes this challenge as there is a warning in the book to "turn around right now", the girl is standing right behind her and the hero punches the girl but the shot cuts half way through

- The ultimate boon is changing a small part of the world for the greater good, defeating the girl who was trying to destroy the book and the fact that her bet friend is not fully recovered. Throughout the film, the best friend slowly heals from her injury as the hero does more to protect everyone.

Here is the table which shows the elements of the hero's journey more clearly:

Ordinary World	Regular school student who gets detention in class. She is sitting by herself in the detention room and the teacher has just left the room to go get something.
Call to Adventure	She is looking around the room as she is alone, and she finds an envelope with the words “open me” written on it. She opens it up and is instructed to look under the bookshelf. Under the bookshelf, there is a book hidden and inside the book it is full of the future’s dates and has written next to each of them, a sentence saying what to look out for on that particular day.
Refusal of the Call	After contemplating whether or not she should continue to use the book, she decides she won’t use the book and goes back to her ordinary life, however something bad happens to her best friend. She checks the book after she is left seriously injured and it had a warning that could have easily helped the hero to prevent it from happening.
Supernatural Aid	The mentor character is the school counsellor. She helps her to use the book to its full potential and guides her in what she should or shouldn’t do. For example,
Crossing the First Threshold	She uses the book to be able to stop a stranger from being hit by a car, as the book warned her about it. She pulls her off the road the moment before it would have hit her.
The Road of Trials	The hero is being stalked by the original owner of the book, after being warned about it by the school counsellor. There are multiple attempts for the girl to get the book back and destroy it but the hero avoids every attempt and saves the book.
Meeting with the Goddess	The goddess character is the hero’s best friend (the one that was injured). This is the character that the hero fights for and continues the journey for.
Atonement with the Father	The hero overcomes the original owner of the book and all of her attempts to destroy the book. She finds a warning in the book telling her to “turn around right now” and finds the girl standing directly behind her. Punches her and the shot cuts half way through.
The Ultimate Boon	The ultimate boon is changing a small part of the world for the greater good, defeating the girl who was trying to destroy the book and the fact that her best friend is now fully recovered. Throughout the film, the best friend slowly heals from her injury as the hero does more to protect everyone.

The Matrix - The Hero's Journey

Over the last three lessons, we have been watching The Matrix. I really enjoyed this film; it's very different to the films that I usually watch and I would not have watched it if we hadn't in class because I didn't think I would have liked it. However, it was very exciting and interesting, and was a great example of The Hero's Journey.

Identifying aspects of The Hero's Journey:

1. Call to adventure

The call to adventure in The Matrix was when Neo was woken up by his computer and received the message to follow the white rabbit. He follows the girl with the tattoo of the white rabbit and this leads to him meeting with Trinity which is the beginning of his adventure.

2. Refusal of Call

The refusal of call was when Neo was being followed by the agents and refused to follow the instructions of escaping the building through the window.

3. Supernatural Aid

The supernatural aid was when Morpheus helped Neo use the fake world to his advantage and trained him.

4. Crossing the First Threshold

The crossing of the first threshold was when Neo was offered to take either the red or blue pill, and he chose to take the red pill.

5. Belly of the Whale

This is when Neo wakes up in the 'pod' and has cables connected to him.

6. Road of Trials

This is when Morpheus teaches Neo more about the matrix and completes simulations, including jumping from building to building.

7. Meeting with the Goddess

This is when Neo meets with The Oracle and she tells him his fate.

8. Temptation

The temptation is when Cypher betrays everyone and tells Neo that he's not the one and shouldn't have chosen the red pill.

9. Atonement with Father

This is when Neo saves Morpheus after he was taken by the agents.

10. Apostasias

This is when Neo died after being shot multiple times by Agent Smith, but came back to life.

11. The Ultimate Boon

This is when Neo destroys Agent Smith and is able to see the matrix. He realises that he is the one and that he can control the fake world around him.

12. Refusal of Return

There isn't a clear refusal of return in The Matrix.

13. Magic Flight

This is when Neo takes the call to leave the matrix and go back to the real world.

14. Rescue from Without

This is when Trinity confesses her love for Neo and kisses him.

15. Crossing the Return Threshold

This is after Neo is resurrected and he has full control over everything, and defeats Agent Smith

16. Master of Two Worlds

Neo is now the master of both worlds, the real world and the fake world.

17. Freedom to Live

Neo now has the freedom to live after defeating Agent Smith, realising that he is the one and being able to see the matrix

Old and New Trailers

In class, we watched two Ghostbusters trailers, one from 1984 and the other from 2016. We compared the two to see the similarities and differences, and this is what we came up with:

- More dialogue in the old trailer

- Longer shots in the old trailer

- New trailer is more dramatic

- There are words on the screen in the new trailer to set the scene

- Old trailer reveals more of the storyline

- There is more narration in the old trailer, whereas there is only dialogue in the new one

For me, I am more drawn to the new Ghostbusters trailer, rather than the old one as there is more action and it is more exciting. This is due to the quick shots, little dialogue and dramatic music/sound effects.

I also watched the Cinderella trailers from 1950 and 2015, and compared them:
- The new trailer is longer than the old one
- The music is more dramatic in the old trailer
- The new trailer only has dialogue, whereas the old trailer has a mixture of dialogue and a voice-over (narration)
- They both have longer shots and don't use very many quick shots
- The old trailer shows more of the storyline and reveals the ending

I find the new trailer more effective and am more drawn to it as it reveals only the important parts of the storyline, rather than the whole story. 

The Hero's Journey / Monomyths

Research Activity

- Find three examples of films which use the Monomyth Structure

- Describe the call to adventure in each film

- List the Mentor Characters from these films

- Outline the Goddess Characters (or metaphors) in each film

- Describe the reward/ultimate boon in each film

The Hunger Games

Call to adventure: The call to adventure is after Prim is chosen during the Reaping as her sister, Katniss, volunteers to take her place.

Mentor Characters: The Mentor Character is Haymitch who helps Katniss and Peeta survive the Hunger Games.

Goddess Characters: The Goddess Character is Rue. She is Katniss' only ally and saves her life in one scene where she warns her about the wasp nest. She also gives Katniss a reason to fight to win, which is the fact that she reminds her of Prim.

Reward/Ultimate Boon: The reward of winning the Hunger Games was life and being able to return home to their families.

The Matrix

Call to adventure: New receives a message to follow the white rabbit

Mentor Characters: Morpheus is the Mentor Character as he helps Neo use the fact that the world is fake to his advantage

Goddess Characters: The Goddess Character is Oracle as she gives Neo knowledge and wisdom to help him with his quest.

Reward/Ultimate Boon: Neo destroys Agent Smith and is able to see The Matrix. He also realises that the world around him is fake.

The Lord of the Rings

Call to adventure: When Frodo inherited the ring, and it is therefore his quest to take the ring out of the Shire and protect the Shire

Mentor Characters: Gandalf is the Mentor Character

Goddess Characters: The Goddess Character is Galadriel as she helps Frodo by showing him what life would be like if the ring was not destroyed

Reward/Ultimate Boon: The reward is destroying the ring.

Self-Reflection and Evaluation Task 11.1

1. Discuss your feelings about the production task: Please justify your responses:

Are you satisfied with your trailer? (i.e. did it turn out as well as you hoped?)

I am not completely satisfied with my trailer, mostly because I believe I could have done a lot better. It didn’t come out exactly the way that I hoped it had, and I could have improved my film if I had created a better and more detailed storyline. However, I felt a lot happier with the final draft, compared to the rough edit as I improved quite a bit.

Did the project require more/less time than you originally thought?

The project required a bit more time than I originally thought, particularly with the re-filming and editing. I thought that I would have to reshoot less and that it would take less time, however, I was still filming the day before it was due as I didn't have enough time. Also, I thought the editing would take less time, however, it took a lot longer than my previous tasks as I put a lot more effort into it and spent lots of time doing colour correction, etc.

Would you like to change or improve any aspects of your final film (storyline, shots, editing, etc.)?

I’d like to improve on my storyline as it was very basic and I feel that I could have made it more exciting and interesting. Also, I think that my film would have been a lot better if the storyline was more detailed and clear. I also could have improved on the music of the film, especially because it ends really badly and doesn’t fit at some parts. For my next assignment, I will look at creating my own background music so that it suits my film better.

If you could start the project again, what would you do differently?

If I could start the project again, I would have improved on my storyline and made it more interesting as this is one aspect that could have really improved the quality of my trailer. I would have also made sure all of my filming was done earlier so that I could get feedback on my rough edit earlier and therefore had more time to re-shoot the things that I needed to. Additionally, I would have made my own background music so that it was better suited to my film.

2. As this task focused on an individual character and genre, describe:

The specific narrative conventions, character type you included in the trailer?

The specific narrative conventions and character type that I used include the fact that it is very mysterious and full of suspense, with tension building throughout the trailer. 

How you used specific shot types to convey your story?

I used specific shot types to convey my story, such as high angles to show the weakness of the boy (and the girl at the start), then used lower angles in the ending to show the power of the girl. Also, the shots of the boy were taken from a greater distance so that he is in less of the frame, meaning that he is a weaker character, and the shots of the girl were mostly taken from a closer distance to show that she is more powerful. 

Whether the intended genre is depicted clearly or if this could be improved?

I believe that the intended genre of thriller was depicted quite clearly as it is pretty obvious that it is a thriller film. If I were to change anything to improve this, I would have used lighting more in order to create more shadows with hard-defined edges and to make it more suspenseful.

3. Reflecting upon your completed task, respond to the following points:

How did other people respond to your rough edit? Did you use their feedback to make changes to the film?

Most people understood the storyline, aside from the fact that they didn’t understand that the boy she murdered was another patient of the hospital. Therefore, I needed to make it more clear that he was another patient and I improved on this by including shots of them together in the cafeteria of the hospital before the shots of his murder are shown.

Did you use the planning and analysis tools effectively (ingredients list, storyboards, shot lists)?

I believe that I did use the planning tools effectively, especially the shot list. I made sure to finish all planning in detail before filming as this makes me a lot more organised when I am filming. In particular, I created the shot list with detail in every shot so that I knew exactly what I had to do when filming. This was very helpful and saved a lot of time, as well as the fact that I was able to get the rid amount of shots for the time limit.

Were there any problems or difficulties during filming and how did this affect your project? Difficulties may include; shooting, technical, time-management, teamwork, absences or editing, etc.

The first and only major problem that I had when filming was when I borrowed out a camera and tripod for my first filming session, but the quick release was missing from the tripod. I attempted to film the shots that I needed, however, they were all too shaky. This wasted a lot of time so it meant that I was a bit behind on filming, but I was able to catch up quickly. Aside from that, the only other major problem that I encountered was when I was unable to film/edit the day before the project was due. I needed a couple of shots of the boy and the girl in the hospital together. However, I was luckily able to receive an extension for this. From this, I have learnt to film everything a couple of days in advance and receive feedback as early as possible so I do not have to do much on the day before the project is due.

4. Identify one key design aspect and one key production aspect that you will choose to focus on for your next task and how you plan to make improvements? (For Design this could be narrative, characters, storyboarding, shot list, etc. For production this could be camera techniques, lighting, time-management, editing, etc.).

The key design aspect I will be focusing on for the next task is the storyline. I plan to improve this as it is a major part of the film, and it is what needs the most work in my films. I will improve this by coming up with a story earlier on, rather than later, and this will allow me to develop a more interesting film. I will also be putting a lot more thought into it and making it more complex, which will improve my entire film a lot. The key production aspect that I will be focusing on is lighting. In this task, I didn’t use lighting as much as I could, but I will be using it a lot more in the next task as it is a very important factor of film. I will be using it to reveal different things, etc. and I plan to make it a focus of my film.