Main task-Updated character info

After plotting out my storyline, I have decided to make Lily's occupation ambiguous, however it will be implied she works with a spy or knows a female assassin very well. This is how she will get captured (for simply knowing too much) She will still be relatable and wear ordinary clothes.
In this case I would compare her to female assassins with in real media texts as opposed to ordinary female characters who find themself captured.

A good example is Evelyyn Salt from the 2010 film 'Salt'.

This is because her real identity and occupation is ambiguous throughout.. we are unsure whether she is a 'good guy' or not. I also would like my actor to have dark hair to imply elements of a dark personality, although it seems an innocent woman has been captured at the beginning..she can become ruthless, just as Salt does in the film.

blog task 7- Linking character to a theory

Here is an outline of some of the media theories.

TODOROV’S THEORY – Todorov proposed a basic structure for all narratives. He stated that films and programmes begin with an equilibrium, a calm period. Then agents of disruption cause disequilibrium, a period of unsettlement and disquiet. This is then followed by a renewed state of peace and harmony for the protagonists and a new equilibrium brings the chaos to an end. The simplest form of narrative (sometimes referred to as ‘Classic’ or ‘Hollywood’ narrative).
PROPP’S THEORY –Vladimir Propp’s theory was formed in the early twentieth Century. He studies Russian fairytales and discovered that in stories there were always 8 types of characters evident. These are: the hero, the villain, the donor, the dispatcher, the false hero, the helper, the princess and her father. He did not state these characters were all separate people e.g. the provider could also be the helper. There are only 8 different character types and only 31 things they ever do. Once you have identified the character type (e.g., the hero) it’s easy to guess what they will do (save the maiden, defeat the villain, marry the maiden or whatever) because each character has a SPHERE OF ACTION. This is easily relatable to films and programmes today.
BARTHES’ ENIGMA CODE – The narrative will establish enigmas or mysteries as it goes along. Essentially, the narrative functions to establish and then solve these mysteries.
LEVI-STRAUSS’ BINARY OPPOSITION – Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. This can be as simple as two characters fighting, but more often functions at an ideological level – e.g., in Westerns, what do the cowboys and Indians each represent? What ideologies are embodied by the opposed sides in LOTR or Star Wars?

http://www.esfmedia.com/page/Narrative+theory


My character Lily who's occupation is slightly ambiguous although it is implied that she is a friend of or works with another spy. So I think Barthe's enigma code theory links with my character Lily Turner as we are unsure of her occupation which adds to the suspense, however I plan to reveal it at the end. I think my character also links with Propp's as Lily is a mix of the 8 typical characters. For example she is viewed as the 'damsel in distress'  type, however because she knows about the assassin business and is essentially stopping the 'bad guy' some would view her as the 'hero.'

Main task- similar products task 11

Originally my character was going to be a female spy, however to make the film more relatable and realistic, I chose for her to be an ordinary character who finds herself in a situation that a spy might. This means she could be compared to a number of different female characters in thrillers.

A less contemporary example of comparison would be the character Miranda in Wyler's 1965 'The collector'. Similarly, she is kidnapped and held hostage, but for his own pleasure. The character also comes across as vulnerable, but mostly as they can be compared in terms of looks.

Perhaps a more contemporary and better known film where a female is captured and is looking for ways to escape is Fincher's 2002 film 'The panic room'. My characters situation and reaction will be extremely similar to this, as she tries to think rationally and sensibly to protect her child from the men. The men in the film will also be similar to the antagonists I will be using, for example there dark clothes and unknown identities, along with threatening weaponary and persistance..

Linking theories
My film at the beginning relies on Barthes enigma code, as questions are posed about why she is captured. Some other questions that could arise are;
Who is the other women she is mistaken for?
Who are the men who have captured her?
All of these will excite the audience which is my main task as it is an action thriller, whilst keeping them intrigued about the following events.
My main character Lily could also fit in to Propp's seven character theory as there is a clear villain and hero here. Also Lily could be compared to the princess who is captured and saved, however not by a man but by a woman.

main task- updated plot

After talking to my teacher and doing the pitch, I have decided to change my story line slightly.
Here are some of the changes..
- She will go on  a run at 9.00am
- There will be only one man who stabs her with a syringe instead of suffocating her with a cloth.
- The person who he is demanding to know about is the person that will save her not a mysterious man.
- The man doesn't pull out a knife, the woman comes on a motorbike and shoots him from afar.
- The two women ride away on a motorbike together, so it is clear they know eachother and it was the plan all along to kill him..

Pitch for main task

How I decide on genre/plot/character type..

After mapping out ideas of what I wanted to include in the film, I transferred them on to this mind map electronically. My narrative plot has three stages, a beginning, a disruption and then a return to the equilibrium. It begins with a woman going unusually early for a run at five in the morning. As she is running a car pulls up alongside her with two men in, they ask for directions and as she leans in the window to tell them, one of the men, after looking in the boot while she is distracted, comes up behind her with a cloth with cloroform on a cloth. She passes out and is put in the back of the car where she is taken to an isolated run down old wooden house in the middle of no where. She is tied to a chair and has tape over her mouth, the man who asked for directions begins to interogate her. He demands questions about who she is and shows pictures of the woman she looks like and has the same name as who they are supposedly trying to find. As the suspense builds and she struggles, the man pulls out a knife and goes towards her with it. A gun shot is heard in the distance and the man falls down bleeding from his stomach. A mysterious man is seen running away in the distance. The woman kicks the knife nearer to her reach and cuts the rope. She escapes.

Working title: Captured
Tag line: Carry on running
               Keep running?

A bit about my character...

The preliminary- Evaluation

How effective is the combination of your main product and your film poster?

I believe my main product is successful in portraying a lot about a character in such a short space of time, I also believe that the poster, despite it's simplicity, reflects much of my created character too. As a combination, they compliment eachother, the poster doesn't give too much of the narrative plot away and the actual film consists of a suprising twist which isn't ruined by a telling poster. My preliminary was purposefully simple, as the main task of it was too evoke emotion from an audience and the purpose was to make the audience sad.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From my audience feed back I learnt that while the majority understood the ending (which was that he was getting on a train to London on the day of the bombings on the tubes and buses) some didn't understand the concept. I felt I made it as obvious as possible, by using props such as a phone with the date on it and a tube map, however in future if I were to connote an ending without using verbal communication during the film, I would try and make it even more obvious so it was completely clear. However in some aspects this may have ruined it by giving too much away. I also learnt that whilst my script was generally good and detailed that some people got lost, as I was trying to convey too much in a short space of time. I have learnt that 'less is more' and that my script should have been more concise in representing my character.

What have you learned during the course of this project and what targets for improvement do you need to set for the main task?

During this task I believe I have learnt more than in previous tasks. Perhaps my biggest achievement was learning to use the new Mac computers, this is a great advantage as I find them faster, more convinient and easy to convert files. I learnt how to do things independantly. I did this by filming it myself on my own camera, which was also useful in helping me learn to use my camera better. I also did the sound myself, recording it on one of the school cameras and converting it. I didn't use lighting but learnt through the process that I much prefered naturual lighting which made me want to use it for my thiller, although it isn't neccessarily conventional. I learnt how to write a script in monologue form so that it's meaningful and conveys a character well. I have learnt to shoot a range of shots in a more artistic way than I had before, taking the lighting and point of focus in to consideration a lot more than I previously had. I even tried to develop some of the shots so that they had meaning behind them such as using low and high angles to convey different feelings.
For the main task I have abstract ideas, shot ideas and shoot locations, however I am still thinking about my basic plot. I think I will try again to do something simple and effective like in my preliminary, however I want to focus on a female character as I haven't so far and perhaps have a definite, happy ending as mine have predominantly been ambiguous so far.