Looking at Advertisement (Jodie)

One idea which our group came up with to make our mise en scene quite interesting, is to use advertisement in the background of the shots. The products and services being advertised would not only be related to what is on screen at the time but to the overall storyline too. According to wikipedia.org, this is called Covert Advertising;

when a product, service or brand is embedded in media and entertainment.

To decide what we would be advertising, Kathy and myself (Jodie) started by creating a mind map with the main branches coming off covering the key themes and issues we thought of when analysing our film opening idea. From these we thought of all the possible companies, products or services which could be related to them.

The Mind Map

Then I looked around the internet for possible ideas for posters we could use relating back to the mind map. Here are some I found;

Mind
Mind is a leading mental health charity who helps those who suffer from a mental disorder. I felt advertising them in our opening would be appropriate as our media deals with the concept of psychological disorders. While researching i found it difficult to find an actual poster for this charity but i have contacted them to see if it would be possible for them to send me one. If this can not happen we can use just the logo instead.

The National Blood Service
The National Blood Service is an organisation who encourages those who are eligable, to give blood. As our protagonist is dealing with the issue of blood on his hads I thought advertising this charity would be intersting and clever for our mise en scene. The NBS also does not have any official poster but once again I contacted to see whether they could send me anything. However there are blood donation posters on the interent for other charites so we could maybe use them.

I feel advertising charities in our mise en scene would also be beneficial to the charities themselves because we are helping get their point across. By promoting them our group is doing our own part to help the community :)

Dog Walking Services
We could use a dog walking advertisement in our mise en scene because it is a dog walker who reports the dead body to the police in the first place. Therefore the advertisement has been been placed by the caller which would be interesting for the audience to notice and also this creates the link between the protagonist and this dog walking character. This type of advertisement would be easy to create ourselves using various computer software.

Police Recruitment
Advertising Police recruitment could also be another positive piece of advertisement. It relates to the openng as it suggest that our protagonist is running from the police because they may have commited a murder. This could put the police is a negative light as they are not doing their job of catching him but by advertising them this can couter act this light through promotion. Also if we decide to make the protagonist notice the posters while running this one could scare him as to suggest he can not run from the police.

Missing Persons Poster
Missing persons posters often comes up in films associated with solving a crime about a death or murder and therefore could be consdidered a code and convention of our genre. However the main issue is whether the poster is to be of the person in the previous CSI photos or to be a character we have not met yet. I am still unsure whether to include this type of advertisement in the film opening as if the poster was of the person in the CSI photos it would be too early for missing person posters of them to be up. However if we as a group decide to use one, they can also easily be created through computer software.

Amateur Macbeth Performance
This links to our other intersting idea of incorporating characterists from Shakespeare's play Macbeth. As we noticed the washing of the blood off the hands is similar to Lady Macbeth's actions in the play, having a poster of an amateur performance just enhances the theme throughout. Also the poster may make the audience notice the similarities between the opening and the play if they have not already. However one problem with this is they may expect a modern day remake of the play but this not our film opening idea.

Overall advertisemnt in our mise en scene can be very intersting as it can affect the audience's expectations of the film. Also we could use the advertisement as a prop for our protagonist to work from. However the main result I wish to get from the advertisement is for it to be subtle so that the audience does not notice it the first time round. This is because personally i enjoy films where you notice subtle items in the background which relates to the story line. Our next step is to decide on our final poster ideas and create any which need to be made by ourselves.

The Final Location (Jodie)

After coming together as group and looking at our research on location, as a group we deicded we are going to use the station toilets as our filming location. These will either be the ones at sevenoaks station or the ones on platform 3 at Tonbridge station. Either of these have the all the facilities we are looking for in a location but the main issue is seeking permission to use them in the first place.

Thea spoke to Sevenoaks' station manager who told her to contact the general manager in orpington who over sees all the stations in the area. At this moment in time it seems that we will will need to write letters and make phone calld but if we approach this straight away i feel it can be achievable.

However if worse comes to worse and we are not given permission to use the any station public toilet, we will consider filming in them anyway but at quiet times of hte day so that we are not disturbed or being seen as in the way.

Pictures of the Blood (Kathy)

MOVIE NIGHT (Kathy)

one night after school, we met up and we watched 'The Butterfly Effect' which is a psychological thriller about a man (Evan) who suffered traumas as a child, and frequently blacksout part of his life. He has theorpy and whilst reading parts of his journals he kept as a child, he goes back in time and can redo parts of his life, however by doing this it changes his present. He decides to change everything back to normal however even though it meant his girlfried (Kayleigh) from his childhood was malested by her father and his best friend (her brother) tormented her. It ends with everything back to "normal" eight years in the future with Evan passing Kayleigh on the street, and having to ignore her.

This film had many codes and conventions of a psycological thriller e.g. fast snappy camera angles, dark lighting, and something that makes the audience uncomfortable and never knowing what will happen next. We used this movie night to discuss these codes and conventions with one and other and to make sure we include the msot obvious in our own work

We then went to youtube to look at lots of different psychological thriller film openings which were on the list jakob created after researching. This was was helpful as we could clearly identify the codes and convetions once again as well as researcihng what type of movie production companies created these genre of film.

Some of the companies which came up when researching were New Line cinema, Lionsgate, Darkcastle, Film Engine, Universal, Newsline cinema and Fox. However no company came up twice therefore we will need to research each one to identify which would be idealy suited for our opening.

Focusing on the Genre (Jodie)

Taking a step back from researching the specifics related to our media film opening, I (Jodie) wanted to relook at the the genre of psychological more in depth to see how it works and to make sure the group has the true understnading of it in order to perfect our project. I used to a wide range of websites to obtain a mixture of views and theories.

Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the wide-ranging thriller genre. However, this genre often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre in addition to the typical traits of the thriller genre. Also, occasionally this genre will border into the also wide-ranging Horror genre.

Psychological thrillers are often slightly more challenging than other (relatively) mainstream movies. In part, this may be because they reverse, to some extent, the traditional 'thriller' balance of plot and character. A standard thriller emphasises plot; psychlogical thrillers, understandably, emphasise character equally or more.

Within psychological thrillers, suspense is created through playing with characters minds whether that being the character doing it to themselves or to someone else. While researching the genre, I discovered that there is usaully extreme focus of philosophical theories and issues such as metaphysics and ethics. However one theory which became real interest is the Kübler-Ross model

The Kübler-Ross model
The Kübler-Ross model is sued to describe the 5 stages you may go through when dealing with death or tragedy. In was discovered by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross after carrying out the research on 160 people in the USA. The 5 stages are;

1.Denial — Denial is usually only a temporary defense for the individual. This feeling is generally replaced with heightened awareness of situations and individuals that will be left behind after death.
2.Anger — Once in the second stage, the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue. Because of anger, the person is very difficult to care for due to misplaced feelings of rage and envy. Any individual that symbolizes life or energy is subject to projected resentment and jealousy.
3.Bargaining - The third stage involves the hope that the individual can somehow postpone or delay death. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made with a higher power in exchange for a reformed lifestyle.
4.Depression — the dying person begins to understand the certainty of death. Because of this, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time crying and grieving. This process allows the dying person to disconnect oneself from things of love and affection. It is an important time for grieving that must be processed.
5.Acceptance — This final stage comes with peace and understanding of the death that is approaching. Generally, the person in the fifth stage will want to be left alone.

We can use this theory within our film opening as we portray the main character as just witnessing a tragedy. Although people do not necessarily follow the stages in the above order, our character can be going through the denial stage which can be shown through the washing the blood off the hands as well as the voices in his head. Also typically these stages are experienced over a long period of time, the last shot of the opening cuts just as the main character expresses his anger at the mirror's reflection which can demonstrate stage two of the Kubler- Ross model. By incorporating this theory into our opening, it shows we have really looked at genre.

Locations continued... (by Thea)

Tesco toilets (Private staff toilets)

Looking at the toilets, they met our criteria as they had a white basin sink with a mirror directly above. However, they had push taps not twist which means there may be an interruption in the water flow which could be an issue in the production.
Also, they have a semi-public feel, similar to the ones at school which is what we were trying to avoid, although perhaps with a bit of work we could mess it up to look more public.

Also, the male ones did not have a mirror above the sink and therefore we would have to use the ladies but this make cause a lack in authenticity as there will not be any urinals. Also, permission will need to be obtained but hopefully will not be too difficult as I (thea) work there and will hopefully be able to get permission from the manager easily although it could potientally be an issue.

Have enquired about using the public toilets at sevenoaks train station as they are the ideal ones for our film opening, was told to come back tomorrow between 8:30-6:00 to speek in more detail about what the filming would involve.

Blood!!! (Kathy)

hey, this is my (Kathy) entry about blood.

Firstly i mixed together several types of food colouring mainly red and green which came out an amazing great colour. Then i tried to thicken it up using corn flour, coco powder and hair gel!
Some of these sound weird i know but it was for the colour effect, and i just used whatever was in the house at the time.

The best result was the hair gel with a mixture of red and green food colouring, which was pretty awesome with the thickness and colour, it also doesnt stain the skin as much as the corn flour. It also comes off easily which is good for after filming however we will need to re-apply it during filming so we get a constant flow with the water.
I also added soil to create more of a messy effect and to show that the character had been in some sort of woodland area.

The pros and cons: hair gel- the right consistancy, colour was good, it was easy to get on, doesnt stain the skin that much, however it comes off easily which is an issue when the character washes his hands.
The food colouring on its own was too runny, and it stains the hands a lot therefore doent come off easily. The only pro to this, was the colour.
The food colourng mixed with corn flour was gloopy, looked unrealistic, it stains, and the colour wasnt good.
Although in the pictures i didnt put soil with the hair gel sample, in the filming we would because the body is found in a forest area.

Pschycological Disorders (Jakob)

As part of our film opening, our main character will suffer from hallucinations as a result of a past incident resulting in the death of a woman. Following are the results of my (Jakob's) research into what underlying problem could cause this.


PANIC DISORDER

In Panic Disorder, a person suffers brief attacks of terror and apprehension, often marked by trembling, shaking, confusion, nausea and difficulty breathing. These panic attacks can be triggered by stress, fear, or even exercise, although the specific cause is not always apparent.

This suits our character in some ways: the terror and panicking works perfectly, and the fact that it can be triggered by stress, although vague, fits our character's back story. However, the main problem with using this would be that panic attacks do not induce or include hallucinations.


POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

This is an extreme anxiety disorder which results from a traumatic experience. It can result from an extreme situation, or even a serious accident. Common symptoms include flashbacks, avoidant behaviours, and depression.

Again, this works in that it's caused by a traumatic experience, but does not induce hallucinations. The Fashbacks could be very useful, as flashbacks are part of our storytelling method. If we choose this as our character's ailment the flashbacks could change from being purely for the sake of the viewer, at least on the surface, and become a symptom and expression of the character, which could prove interesting.


PSYCHOSIS

Psychosis is a generic psychriatric term for a mental state often described as a loss of contact with normality. Functional causes of psychosis include the following:

• Brain tumors
• Drug abuse
• Brain Damage
• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar disorder
• Severe Clinical Depression
• Severe psychosocial stress
• Sleep deprivation
• EXPOSURE TO SOME TRAUMATIC EVENT

Two interesting and relevant points here: Firstly, according to chemistrydaily.com, 'people experiencing a psychotic episode in the context of depression may experience persecutory or self-blaming delusions or hallucinations', i.e exactly what we want our character to experience.

Secondly, en.academic.ru states that "A history of psychologically traumatic events, and the recent experience of a stressful event, can both contribute to the development of psychosis", i.e, exactly why we want our character to be hallucinating.

CONCLUSION

Our character is suffering self-blaming hallucinations as part of a psychotic episode triggered by a recent traumatic experience.

On film, we will show the hallucinations by contrasting P.O.V shots from our protagonist in which he has blood on his hands with P.O.V shots by passers-by in which his hands are clean. The traumatic experience will be portrayed with the use of crime scene photographs of a murdered woman at the beginning of our opening, and his guilt implicated by the literal blood on his hands. A sense of panic will be created with sound effects such as heavy breathing and by fast editing.

The Location Cont. (Jodie)

Today i concluded my location research by looking at two final Public Toilets situated in Sevenoaks. This article also contains pictures of the toilets I went to apart from ones of the Angel Centre

Sevenoaks Station
Sevenoaks station toilets had all the facilities we need plus more. It had the old style sinks with twisty taps therefore there will be a constant flow of water. It also had mirrors above the sinks as well as an added bonus of a notice board. This is helpful as an idea we have for our mise en scene is to use subtle advertising related to the story line. However a problem with using this location is seeking permission as the toilets are frequently used by travelers but we will needd to clsoe them off.

Bat and Ball
i feel that because these toilets are rarely used and quite away from busy roads, we would not have to seek permission to use them which would save time. But after looking into them I noticed there it limited filming space as the sink is in its own cubicle therefore it would be hard to achive different camera angles. however it should still be taken into consideration as there it an old style sink with twisty taps with an mirror above it. Although the mirror is unclear and metalic.

In conclusion after conducting this reasearch i feel the two most suitable places to film would be Tesco in Riverhead and The Sevenoaks Train Station. Both these locations have all our requirements it is just the problem of seeking permission to use them.

Also another point to look inot is that I only looked at the female toilets so to expand on this research we will have to look at the male facilities of these two locations as our main character in our opening is male. In order for this to work we must presume the facilities are the same in both genders toilets.

The Location (Jodie)

As our idea for the film opening is partly situated in a public toilet, I (Jodie) went round our local towns researching each of the public toilet facilites evaluating whether they would be ideal for the final location. Below is what I found out about each toilet.

Outside The Angel Centre (Tonbridge)
These public toilets are quite small therefore filming space may be an issue however its quite away from the town so i can imagine not many people will walk in and out. But the main problem with these toilets is that it has the new 3 in 1 sinks instead of the tradition ones iwth taps. This is a problem because we need a continous flow of water as well as an authentic look ot hte toilet. Also the mirror was not above the sink and this is a vital necessity for the final shot.

Toilets By Tonbridge swimming pool
These toilets faults are teh same as the above. It also has one of the 3 in 1 sinks as well asthe mirror being in the wrong place. Also the whole facility itself is quite dark even with lights on so extra lighting will be needed.But the entrance to the toilet leads directly towards the sinks which is helpful when filming the part where the third person walks in.

Toilets by Station/ Lidl (Tonbridge)
the first thing I noticed was hte level of sound created by the traffic.Even with the door closed it will be picked up on camera. Als once again it did not have a classic sink with taps or a clear mirror. A mirror was present but it was very as it wasnt glass but metal. However the whole building itself was quite large and because of the frosetd windows there was lots of natural light.

Sevenoaks bus Station
Out of the ones I looked at today, i found this to bo the worst choice of location. Because it is a bus station there was a lot of noise which was quite echoey however the echoe can make the sound more daunting. But there was no mirror and opening times were quite limited. Finally the 3 in 1 sink was present once again.

Tesco (Riverhead)
in my opinion Tesco had hte best facilties so far because it was the only tolet with the old style sinks as well as having a mirror above them. Also the room is very big therefore enough room for filming. Although it was cleaner than the rest, this can easily be changed. There was also plenty of warm lighting however if this location was chosen we will need to obtain permission from Tesco.


Overall the main issue faced was the advancement in techonolgy when it came to finding the right sink with a mirror. Although these seem small attributes they are vital to our story line. Also whatever location we do end up picking seeking permission to use it will be an issue. Tomorrow i plan to look the 2 remaining locations i didnt look at today and then upload the photos for readers to judge for themselves. Please post any comments or suggestion of public toilets which I could look at