Character profiles - News reporter

 

Character Profile

Name;Unknown,uses title 'news reporter'

Age;28

Occupation; News reporter

Aesthetics;The news reporter is a female who stands at 5.5ft tall.She has mid length hair and green eyes.Her makeup is minimal yet perfect.She dresses in the generic formal white shirt with a suit like jacket and is very well presented.

Personality;The news reporter is a confident, empathetic speaker who really reinforces the urgency of her message about 'zebola'.She is incredibly professional whilst working and remains composed.

What role does the character play in our film?

This character allows us to introduce the story in a creative and efficient way.This also shows the view of the virus from the perspective of the media.More over, in real life a virus epidemic would be reported about on the news,this reflection of reality helps us create verisimilitude in the film.

Character profiles - Zombie

Character Profile

Name;Unknown,uses title 'Zombie'

Age;20

Occupation; Unknown

Aesthetics;The zombie character is a male who stands at 6 ft tall.With a bloodied face any facial features are recognizable,his blonde hair is matted with blood and dirt.His clothes are torn.

 Personality;The zombie is vacant of all expression and conforms to the generic conventions of           zombie like behavior;Grunting,walking slowly,dragging there legs behind him ect.

 What role does the character play in our film?

 This will help portray the idea and effects of the virus,which intern helps the audience understand      the plot further.

Character profiles - Danny

 

Character Profile

Name; Danny

Age;17

Occupation; Studying (second year of college)

Aesthetics ;Danny stands at 6 ft tall,with dark brown hair and brown eyes.As a result of working out twice a day he has a muscular body.He stays on trend regarding fashion and always has the newest must have item of clothing.

Personality;Danny is the boyfriend of Melissa.He is childishly nonchalant about all aspects of life;work,money and responsibility.Despite this careless attitude to important elements of life,he is consumed by the way that he looks and how he is thought off,he is insistent in looking and being masculine.

What role does the character play in our film?

Danny's masculine nature is one of the contributing factors of why Melissa Jane relies on him so much.This character allows us to demonstrate how the virus grows as a result he plays an integral part of this film.He is the first character to die in the film,allowing us to set an atmosphere of panic and terror.

Character Profiles - Melissa Jane

Character Profile
Name; Melissa Jane

Age;17

Occupation; Studying (second year of college)

Aesthetics ; Melissa is a white female,who stands at 5.7 ft tall.She has blue eyes and long brown hair.She stays on trend when choosing her clothes,and always has immaculate makeup and hair.

Personality;Our female character is a hopeless romantic at heart.As a result she idolises her boyfriend Danny and is totally dependent on him.Melissa has very little confidence in herself,and is portrayed as vulnerable.This overly paranoid woman is very gullible and trusting in what people tell her.

What role does the character play in our film?

Melissa represents the typical insecure and nervous character that helps the film conform to the genre conventions of a zombie horror.In order to include this type  of character in our plot,we have made her the girlfriend.Throughout the course of the film Melissa Jane is killed,this again conforms to the genre conventions of this type of film.

Potential production company logo

Research into title sequences

Research into title sequences

28 Days Later
In this title sequence we see the outbreak start and how it evolves into a full blown disease that quickly takes down the country, it shows patient zero been infected and how the infection spreads through London and other places, turning them into factories that are constantly pumping out hordes of re-animated corpses filled with the deadly rage virus. It then shows the protagonist in a hospital gown, he's carrying a plastic bag with food in and he looks dazed and confused, he wanders the streets of post apocalyptic London while images are played parallel to what he is doing.

The title also starts of by showing us parts of the first scene which is when the animal activists break into the research facility and one of the activists gets bitten although we do not see her infect the rest of the activists with the rage virus we do see how the virus actually spreads.

The music that is playing is both correct for the theme of the zombie film and it creates a foreboding and hostile atmosphere for the viewer. it has also been used to create the same effect in many other films such as one of the scenes in Kickass big daddy and kickass are about to be publicly executed.
The name of the this particular piece of music is In A Heartbeat by John Murphy.

Research into title sequences.

 Title sequences.


For my analysis into similar intro sequence/film I have chosen to look at Dawn of the Dead, which is a story about a rag tag group of apocalypse survivors that take refuge in a huge shopping mall in America.

Intro

Dawn of the dead utilises a montage of seeming random news clips from around the world with what appears a government figure answering questions directly related to the film. The shots feature reduced quality and fuzziness to add to the apocalyptic feel the film is aiming to give off. The music is Johnny Cash who is renown for covering grim aspects of life which also adds to the dire situation the world seems to be in. During the intro there is a use of red text which has connotations of blood and danger which foreshadows the film.

Script:

Script

Click here for script.

Location Research

Location Research

we have chosen to film in three different location for our film, these will each take up the three key parts of the film; the news broadcast, the zombie fight scene and the dialogue between the male and female characters.
we have chosen these three locations because they are local, practically risk free and we already have permission for both of the sites.

Location 1 
For our first location we are going to film at April's house, this is where we will film most of the 3 minutes. we will film the dialogue between the two characters, the infected pulling the man into the garden and the woman watching the news broadcast. We have taken photos of the location and they are displayed below.

Location 2 
For our second location we will again be using April's house but we will be filming in the back garden, the segment we are filming will be the fight scene between the male character and the zombie. we have also shown the places where the two characters will scrap and the props that will be fatted within the scene.

Location 3
For our third location we are going to film in the green screen room at barnsley college, this will allow us to film the news segment that the female character will watch. we will place the character in the middle of the room and then film the fake news report, we chose college to do this because its local and easy to get the permission to do it. we have amen photos below and have also included the news setup we will be using.

Prop/ Costume list.

Props:
Fake leg
Fake blood














Liquid latex
News glasses

News paraphernalia:
Desk
Paper
Green screen
Chair
News mug







Costume:

News suit
Typical teenage boy, hoodie jeans.

Typical girly lounge wear.
Ripped shirt, tatty jeans vans novelty hat (zombie).

Similar film analysis

Analysis into the first 10 minutes of a similar film

ZombieLand:

In the first 15 minutes of this film we have a couple of key things, the first of which is an introduction into the post apocalyptic world that is now america. In this introduction we don't see any of the main characters but we do get a narration by jesse eisenberg to help us figure out what's going on, he tells us some key rules to survive in zombieland.
The key rules are;
Dont be stingy with bullets. This is followed by a shot of a woman who has just killed a zombie as it ran at her, she then tries to walk away but the walker is not dead and grabs at her ankle biting at her ankle. Then this is quickly followed up by the rather comedic line of "one more bullet and she could have avoided becoming a human happy meal".
Cardio. This is followed by a short take of a fat guy running across a football pitch while being chased by a zombie, the man then trips and is torn apart by the zombie.
Beware of bathrooms. this is quickly followed by a character in a toilet stall reading a newspaper, as he calls out to whoever is in the toilets for some privacy a zombie crawls under the stall and bites his legs. it then cuts to a mid shot of the blood from said character being spread across the floor of the toilets.
wear your seatbelt, this is in silver writing and edited into the movie post filming. After a woman escapes a horde of dress wearing little zombies, she tries to set off down the road only to be stopped when she slams into the side of a large truck sending her through the windscreen and onto the road.
We then see the main protagonist at the gas station, he gets out of his car after filling it with gas and walks over to the toilets at the side of the gas station

ZombieLand Acting:
the acting in the first ten minutes is really quite good as we see a world that has slowly gone from bad to so much worse, people can be seen running away while jesse eisenberg narrates the catastrophic events that has brought america to its knees. The actors are really good as they show what looks to be genuine fear, the fat man is especially good at this as as he looks terrified while the zombie chases him across the pitch. Jesse eisenberg is also quite good at acting when he unlocks his door for his neighbour, his conversation seems quite real and not really wooden, this is also the case when he meets tallahassee.

ZombieLand Editing
ZombieLand has a specific style of post production editing that works really well and although most of it is writing, it doesn't feel like a chore to read headlines or small comedic lines that are in the scene. They are also particularly useful as they help the audience get more involved in the storyline of the film, like when jesse tells us his rules for survival we can analyse the character is a scared survivalist.

Research into title sequences

In order to achieve a successful title sequence with lures the audience into watching more we must research other title sequences and discover what makes them so great.

Staying within the genre of horror I looked at two title sequences, one from a film and one a game.

Se7en:

Se7en's title sequence contained several unnerving images artfully packed into a 2 minute sequence which certainly left me on edge. Each image hints to parts of the film so the audience knows what to look forward to and the images also indicate the genre of the film. The sequence uses mostly neutral colours other than the common appearance of red. Red holds many connotations such as danger and is also the colour of blood. This indicates to the audience that something thrilling and dangerous occurs during the film.

This inspires me for my own title sequence as I think it would be a good idea to have a completely 

black and white theme other than the colour red. This is because it will build tension within the sequence and signify to the audience that during the film blood will be shed.

The Last of Us:

Although The Last of Us title sequence is used to introduce viewers to a game its simplicity of introducing a Zombie sub genre is rather inspiring. Although it is only a minute long it is extremely successful in creating mystery and allowing the viewer to wonder more about the story line.

I especially liked the use of voice over within the clip and would like to involve this within my own title sequence. The voice over involved clips from news reports and announcements which I think would introduce my audience nicely to what the film is about and what has happened since the 'Z-bola' outbreak, therefore setting the scene rather nicely.

Script for the 'News Report' scene:

The scene takes place during the day in a 'news room', this includes a desk and desk chair with a green screen background, a news room setting will be placed within the scene during post production. The news reporter will be wearing a costume of a smart blouse to give the appearance of a professional reporter. The report is live and its intentions are to warn the public of the new 'Z-bola' outbreak.

Reporter:

Rumours can now be confirmed that a new virus titled 'Z-bola' by specialists is rapidly spreading through the country. It is currently unknown how the disease is spreading however specialists can confirm that in order to prevent spreading you the public must stay indoors. Do not go outside, lock your doors and windows. The unfortunate victims of the 'Z-bola' virus have been described as violent, crazy and non human. The victims are murderous and we are informing you to not sympathise, they will kill you. 

Individual analysis of a title sequence, 'The Conjuring'.

Whilst researching into what makes a good horror title sequence I came across 'The Conjuring' title sequence created by Aaron Becker. In order to represent the genre of the film and introduce the characters a good horror title sequence must have a sinister feel and hint at key elements of the film as well as keeping some parts a mystery to ensure the audience are interested in what will happen.

The conjuring title sequence, which can be viewed here, does this successfully.

Throughout the sequence old photographs are shown such as above. These old, rustic looking photographs imply that the film is set in the past and that something monumental had occurred. This therefore interests the audience as they question what happened in the past and who the characters shown in the images are.

In addition to this iconography is used. The example shown above shows an isolated old house. This holds connotations of fear and horror as many peoples primal fears are being alone. In addition to this the image is of a house which normally holds the connotations of being safe, however the dark overlay on the image displays a sinister feel to the audience, that something dark and  haunting is attached to this house. The trees and bushes surrounding the house also signifies a feeling of entrapment involved with the house therefore implying to the audience that something terrible will occur here during the film.

The title sequence also involves several worn newspaper clippings. These allow the audience to question whether the films story is associated with real life events therefore making them feel scared and intrigued. The titles of the articles and images featured also indicate future parts of the film, making the audience want answers and continue watching past the title sequence. For example here 'Ritualistic Sacrifices Plague Small Town' is shown in bold here, this directs the audiences eyes to the title and the words shown creates a sinister feel and puts the audience on edge.

 

As previously mentioned iconography is used within the clip, here a graveyard is shown. Grave stones obviously symbolise death which implies to the audience that death will be a key theme throughout the film. 

We are now shown the image of a creepy, sinister looking doll. It is shown on its own in focus with no words on the screen. This implies to the audience that the doll is a key part of the film. Its worn and beaten appearance connotes a sinister feeling and implies that this doll is not a regular doll, it is 'evil'. 

The title sequence finishes on this image. The image shows a house which is isolated. This is a common theme in horror films as it holds the connotation of being alone and unsafe no matter where you are, even in the comfort of your own home. In addition to this dead spindly trees surround the house and as previously mentioned this implies a feeling of entrapment which is also a common fear for many people, therefore implying to the audience that something terrible occurs within the house which cannot be escaped. Finally the establishing shot of the house also shows a noose hanging from a tree. The noose has a further meaning and conveys to the audience that a suicide had occurred at the house therefore implying that the film is a paranormal horror. 

Throughout the clip non-diegetic sound is used. Dramatic music with low tones and screeches are used to  build tension within the title sequence. The music used can also be described as very unnerving therefore putting the audience on edge.

The main title sequence involved the filming of a Eiki Still Picture Projecter, as shown above, often used within classrooms in the 70's. This therefore conveyed the era of the film to the audience. The pacing of the shots on the projector were rather slow, this allowed the viewer to absorb the information but also created tension throughout the sequence, perfectly matching the non-diegetic music. 

From researching into this title sequence and discovering what micro-elements make a title sequence I have decided that the title sequence of our film should also feature the dramatic, screeching music to create tension and a sense of danger. In addition to this I would also like to feature newspaper clippings to give off the sense that something like the Z-bola virus could occur within real life therefore scaring the audience and creating a verisimilitude effect. The news articles featuring within our title sequence will also link nicely with the first few minutes of the film which features a news report. 

Production Company Logo

Production Company Logo

The name of our production company is JAMM Productions, we chose this as our company name because its all our initials put together to make a good name, it not only sounds good but its quite memorable because its short and punchy.

The idea behind the logo was to provide a logo that people could recognise easily, it obviously wouldn't have the notoriety of a massive conglomerate but it would be noticeable.

i created three possible logos for the production company and then we decided as a team to go for number 2 as we thought it looked the best and would be easier for people to recognise, this is because the font is quite bold, the image has a bright background and just looks aesthetically pleasing.


we also asked people what they thought of our three logos, we didn't tell them which one we had chosen just that we had one already. although the vote was not unanimous it was quite revealing and people liked our logo quite a bit

Storyboarding

Storyboarding 

I have drawn up the storyboard for the Zebola idea, i have included 10 key shots that show what we are going to be doing in those shots such as acting and what we will be wearing, where we are shooting from and what we might edit into the film later on.

The first image shows the worried female character, watching television. specifically a news channel, she has a mortified look on her face.

the second image shows just what she is so mortified about, it tells us the symptoms of a new virus called ZEBOLA thats incurable and rapidly heading for the united kingdom with force.

The next shot shows us just what the symptoms of the new virus are; erratic behaviour, paranoia, hunger and last but not least coughing blood before keeling over and dieing. the broadcast warns people to stay inside and to refrain from contacting anyone who you might think has the disease.

the fourth shot shows us the male character returning home from work, he comes through the front door and sets his work items down besides the stairs leaving the door open a bit. he walks over to his wife while taking his suit jacket and his tie off.

In the next shot the man trys to start a conversation with the woman but she cuts him off before he can say anything, she goes on insisting that the virus is heading for them and that she is worried about their safety. he dismisses it by laughing and saying "there is nothing to be afraid of", he walks back over to the door to pick up his things.

The sixth shot shows a zombie appearing at the door, the man gasps before been yanked outside into the front yard. the woman notices the struggle and screams running over to see if he is alright.

In the next shot the male character finishes off the zombie with a killing blow, he opts for the plant pot seen as there is nothing else close enough to beat him with. the zombie stops moving save for a few muscle spasms.

In the next shot his partner asks if he is ok, he just nods simply and says he didn't do much but bite him. it is then that he starts feeling drowsy and starts to sway from side to side. The woman starts to back away realising that the man she loved is no longer there, she tell him to stay back.

The next shot is an extreme close up of the mans eyes slowly glassing over or his pupils dilating, we now see that he has made the change from man to zombie. the gruesome realisation sets in that the couple could not save themselves and are going to die

The final shot is a pan up to the sky where the title ZEBOLA is displayed in blood red letters, as it slowly fades from the title to black we hear the screams of the woman as she meets a bloody end.

Inspiration for the 'Z-bola' virus, April Carr:

The news is currently reporting about the 'Ebola' outbreak.

"Ebola virus disease is a serious illness that originated in Africa, where there is currently an outbreak. But for people living in countries outside Africa, it continues to be a very low threat."

We took inspiration from current affairs to produce a cause for the zombie infestation. Within our film a disease named 'Z-bola' spreads throughout the country however, those who die from the disease come back to life. Our main inspiration came from a conspiracy image which was spread rapidly on social media.

(The image spread on social media)

The audience will be informed of the virus through a faux TV news report. For example the scene will be shot on a green screen and a news area will be displayed afterwards. In addition to this a banner will be placed at the bottom of the screen in post production to give the effect of a real news report, as shown below. The news logo will also be shown so it appears professional and realistic to the audience.

(A BBC news report we are using for inspiration within our film)

Possible film distributor

Possible film distributor

There are numerous film distributors working within the UK;

• 20th Century Fox
• Icon film 
• Universal Pictures UK
• Dogwoof 
• Artificial eye 
• Lionsgate

Some are recognized world wide while others are only know within the UK.The widely recognized distributors tend to work with various genre's of films,where as the UK based distributors tend to specialize in one type of film.

A key part of creating a good film is getting a good,reputable distributor.Without this, all the hard work done before hand is irrelevant; because without the right marketing and promotion it will not reach your audience, which are in fact the people who determine your films success.

As a result we must find a suitable distributor for our film.After researching into various different film distributors,i came to the conclusion that Hammer film productions (British) could be the ideal choice.Founded in 1934 the company has years of experience and longevity which helps us trust the distributor with our film.Having specialized in films within the genre's of horror,science fiction and thrillers,they would be knowledgeable in how to handle and promote our genre of film.When researching further i found that 'Hammer film productions' has even released one of the pioneering British zombie films of that era ; 'The plague of the zombies'.

Moreover the companies success is not only proven in there history,it is also proven in the present,with successful recent releases.For example;

• The Woman in black (2012)
• The Quiet ones (2014)

Again showing that this distributor is reputable and can evolve in order to stay current.

Audience Profile, April Carr:

When creating a film you must decide on a target audience to ensure you fulfil the goal of entertaining viewers successfully. For example Rom-Coms normally have a target audience of teenage girls aged 13-18 who enjoy funny romance stories.
With this in mind we took our own decision of a Zombie story as a signal that those interested will be in a similar age group to us, roughly 15-25 year olds who enjoy the idea of surprise, this is also fitting with the age certificate of the film meaning the film is viewable for the whole audience.

In addition to this we also decided to investigate other possible audiences for our film. We discovered that men with a wide range of age keep interest in the horror genre as they find it thrilling and exciting. However women tend to enjoy lighter entertainment such  as comedy. In addition to this fans of comics and games which also involve Zombies or horror like features will also take interest in our film therefore making them an ideal target audience. This can be proven through The Walking Dead franchise which began as a comic book series, fans of the comic then gained interest in the television show which is now successful with a very wide, diverse target audience.

   

Finally, we have noted that in recent years there has been a rise in the amount of Zombie films release, all of which have been very successful such as:

• Life After Beth
• Warm Bodies
• World War Z

World War Z was exceptionally successful earning $66,411,834 in its opening week. This is thanks to it's wide target audience. We aim to create a successful film like this which is why we are following a popular trend and creating a Zombie film.

Research into similar films

Research into a similar film

seen as we are doing a zombie film it would be a good assumption that we can research into the small details in our film such as how the outbreak would spread or how the outbreak was started. films such as zombie land, I am legend, Resident evil and 28 Days Later. The storyline to these films all contain a different theory on how the protagonist survives, who the antagonists are (humans fighting humans or humans surviving against an unstoppable horde of zombies) and how the infection spreads through the populace.
ZombieLand:
the protagonist is Jessie Eisenberg (columbus), he was a student at a college that was far away from the comforts of his family and hometown(columbus). he try's to make his way back to the town and finds himself in the company of Woody Harrelson (tallahassee) a professional redneck who has had his fair share of heartache (the loss of his son) and only wants one thing ... Redemption ... oh and a Twinkie. During a conversation in the car we are informed that the outbreak spread due to patient zero eating an infected sandwich that contained a mutated strand of mad cow disease in a gas station, he then started to infect the rest of america slowly turning the place into a zombie ridden wasteland. They then encounter the two sisters Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin (wichita and Little rock), they then endeavour to survive as they all end up in pacific play-land fighting off a horde of zombies.

Resident Evil Extinction:
As alice (Milla Jovovich) regroups with old friends after hiding from umbrella corp in a vegas nevada safe house, she endeavours to make umbrella corp pay for their crimes against humanity whilst battling against the zombie hordes unleashed by the villainous corporation. In this story the outbreak spread by a disease called the T-virus, it affects not only any humans that come into contact with it but animals and plants too. this essentially means alice and her team have to race across the mojave to escape the ensuing terror and destruction.



28 Days Later:

When a group of activists break into a research lab in cambridge to free chimpanzees from animal testing, little do they know that the chimpanzees are host to a brand new biological weapon known as rage that could completely wipe out the human race. The activists are warned about the consequences of their actions but they still proceed to set the chimpanzees free, the chimpanzees then bite one of the activists before fleeing the facility. The activist becomes infected and turns into a zombie, infecting the other activists and staff at the testing site. 28 days later the main character jim (cillian murphy) a bicycle courier, awakens in St.Thomas hospital in london. only to find that his country and most of the rest of the world is a desolate wasteland with close to no survivors, he then struggles to survive as he gets rescued and pursued by hordes of rage infested corpses. Jim and his friends are then captured he is to be executed and his friends are to be sold into sexual slavery, during a quarrel over who gets to kill him jim escapes the guards and formulates a plan to come back and kill them all. this is a good example of a zombie film where the zombies aren't the only things trying to kills the protagonist.


I Am Legend:

In this movie adaptation of the book the pandemic was caused by scientists reverse engineering the measles on a genetic level so that it would be good instead of bad whereas in the book it was caused by war which lead to high mosquito population to carry the virus and dust storms to take them to foreign places. The main character (will smith) plays a seemingly lone survivor of a pandemic that has swept through america and left a barren wasteland devoid of lie in its wake, he then tries not go mad by creating scenarios with manikins to give him something to do during the day. he is isolated save for his dog, and is trying to reverse engineer a cure for the virus that has turned the human populace into vampiric like zombies that are burned by sunlight and thus leave him be during the day. He returns to his safe place which is boarded up mansion with steel shutters to keep the infected out, this works quite well until one day one of the traps he set for himself knocks him out. he then awakes several hours later with the sun setting and nowhere to go, his dog gets bitten and he has to take him home and put him out of his misery (saddest scene in the whole film, works well because as soon as he kills his dog he finds a woman and her son.) they are then chased back to the house by the infected and he chooses to make the ultimate sacrifice allowing those he loves to escape, he also gives them the cure for the virus while he stays back to fend them off. this involves him setting off a grenade that wipes out quite a few of the infected. The mother and son then make it to a settlement filled with survivors

Audience Profile.

Our target audience is mostly teenagers and people in their early to mid 20's .
They will have a strong interest in horror films, especially the zombie sub genre.
They will be able to relate to our chosen characters in many ways such as; school life, social life and home life.

Similar Films, April Carr:

Zombie films are currently very popular in todays movie industry, gaining a wide audience from teenagers to adults. The current craze dominates our cinema screens with many movies, similar to our idea such as:

World War Z (2013): United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself.

(World War Z trailer)

One review featured on IMDb by a viewer of the film stated:

"They're not scary, no creative and the lack of gore shouldn't be bashed because you don't need gore to be scary but at the same time when you have the violence off-screen it just makes the film seem rather childish." To avoid disappointment we will feature the violence and fight scenes on-screen as this will make the film more tense and interesting for our viewers. Warm Bodies (2013): After a highly unusual zombie saves a still-living girl from an attack, the two form a relationship that sets in motion events that might transform the entire lifeless world.

(Warm Bodies trailer)

Shaun of the Dead (2004): A man decides to turn his life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

(Shaun Of The Dead trailer)

We have taken inspiration from the Shaun Of The Dead film by including a 'News Scene' into the first few minutes of our film.

(Shaun Of The Dead TV scene)

However, due to the fact our film is a horror it will not hold the same ironic, comedic effect. Instead our film will feature a simple news report. As the clip will feature in the first 2 minutes of the film it will act as a great introduction, explaining the virus which has spread and demonstrating the key theme to the audience.