Final Film

A Truncated Parable of Complete Normality - Radio Trailer

A Truncated Parable of Complete Normality - Poster

Evaluation Question 1

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Evaluation Question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and the ancillary texts?

What were you trying to achieve in your main production? Was this also reflected in the two advertising
products?

In our main production, our original idea was to help not only imply clues but also confuse the audience in wondering why David's life was not normal or ordinary. To do this, we decided as a group to help imply some clues such as in the radio trailer where David says that he has no shoelaces and the secretary says his shoelaces are undone suggesting that something dark and malevolent was occurring and, as a result of it, the world that David was living in wasn't normal. To do this, as a group, we all decided to help give some clues but not give everything away in order for our twist to work effectively and for the audience to be able to piece together the clues we had implied through the poster, radio trailer and the film.

The Radio Trailer

A Radio Trailer is a older way of advertisement in which a trailer for a film is played on air for the radio so it can help promote the film and gain a massive audience for its release. However, due to the fact that it is an older way of advertising a film, not many people nowadays now do radio trailers as they are able to mass market an audience.

Researching Radio Trailers

When we researched radio Trailers, we decided to look at radio trailers that were within our genre. Because of this, I decided to look at drama and sci-fi and I found it hard to locate them as not many radio trailers are made nowadays for films as they are a bit old. However, I was able to find some and made a post to help our group understand what radio trailers contain. (To see the post then please use this link) We then consulted one another and started to plan after realising that a radio trailer needed sounds from the film, character voices, miscellaneous voiceover and music We then discussed the ideas we had and then started to create our radio trailer.

Producing our Radio Trailer

For this production, we decided to use a radio trailer in order to help us show a new form of advertisement towards the film and also to help give away some clues such as the type of genre the film was, what the film could be about and what it could contain. We decided to use the voice of David to help the audience understand his confusion as within the film David uses minimal dialogue so we decided that David should speak to not only get the audience introduced to the character but to also understand his personality. We created a script in which Sophie and I recorded our voices on a phone so we could easily transfer it onto a system like GarageBand. Sophie and Beth then transferred the music and sounds onto GarageBand in which the would clip the voices together and would also put Emma's recorded voice from the film into the radio trailer as well as being able to upload our voices. We then uploaded the music from our film and then we uploaded it onto YouTube in
 which we were able to promote our film and show that something wasn't right in David's world without giving away too much of the story.

The Radio Trailer Script

The Poster

A poster is a more well known piece of advertising which is used nowadays in which again it helps promote a film both online and offline. Because they are accessible and easy to make, they can be accessed via the internet and on banners to help get a mass market audience.

Researching about Posters

When I looked at posters, I decided to look at a poster which was similar to our film and decided to look at The Source Code as the story tells about a man who lives a repetitive life and as a result of this, I felt it was something we could use as inspiration for our film and we could use ideas from that film. Whilst this film was a action thriller, I felt because it was similar to psychological drama and we could use ideas from the poster and its advertisement ideas. Again, to help the group understand what my ideas were, I decided to use an analysis of the poster on a blog post so everyone could see it and see what they could use and what was necessary as the poster does not give much away about the plot of the film. (To see the post then please use this link)

Creating the Poster

When we were all working on the poster of our film, we decided as a group to hint that something wasn't quite right and yet it was something the audience wouldn't be able to work out the twist. We decided as a group to create individual posters and I suggested rough ideas with the background looking fuzzy to give the idea of the game glitching but in a subtle way. We all decided to create our own poster which would be both hand drawn and done on Photoshop and after creating it we decided to pick who would create who would be the person to create the final poster. Due to the fact that Sophie had more experience with Photoshop and was able to operate it in a more sophisticated way, we decided that Sophie would create the final poster after taking on suggestions we had given to her to put on the poster such as the slogan to hint that David's life was repetitive and little which inspired us from 'Edge of Tommorrow'. After then reviewing the poster, we felt as a group it suited the film as it was very subtle yet gave clues to what our film could be about and what it could contain.

Edge of Tomorrow Slogan

My Rough Hand Drawn Poster

My Rough Photoshop Poster

The Final Photoshopped Film Poster

Feedback from our ancillary texts

After we had created the texts, we decided to posts and ask people for their views and opinions. One of the big things they were fans of the slogan and that 'It gave a interesting approach to the film as well as giving an exciting concept towards the film.' They also felt the Radio
Trailer made sense after seeing the film as one of the biggest comments our audience said was that they were confused about the plot and by having David's voice then they were in a position where a lot of things made sense about why he had no shoelaces and also why he had concerns about the day. We therefore felt this was somthing which was very good and helpful for us as we had wanted to gain a response that was not just only informative but also very pleasing for us to hear about the feedback and what our film could do.

Conclusion

Overall, I feel that by using our ancillary texts then we have been able to produce a unique and yet project without giving the twist away. I feel this has been because we all have had similar ideas and we have been able to elaborate and create a story about something so simple yet effective and exciting. The audience has also been able to bring a connection with the film as there have been confusion within the film but now our audience has been able to understand the purpose of our story and finding out that the film is more about finding yourself and with the help of this, people have understood what the film is about and why we chose to use these decisions within our ancillary texts.

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 3 from Daniel Fotheringham

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4 from Daniel Fotheringham

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 1

1. In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

As a Physiological Thriller, our film follows a number of conventions to attract the right audience, and achieve the reviews we aim for. 'A Truncated Parable of Complete Normality' mainly follows conventions of thriller, but the use of existential realisation and the idea of living in a virtual reality adds a more physiological theme to the whole film. As short films have a limited time, we obviously followed an almost 'standardised template' when producing the shot list, and by watching other short sketches and films, we settled on the plot and main themes of the film. We used Sci-Fi elements in our film, however chose against making these themes the main genre.

Conventions are also challenged throughout our film in an effort to bring originality. Following conventions to make a film a certain genre is one thing, but making it stand out from the rest is what drove us to include a brain-numbing plot that makes the audience question reality and 'wows' them, catching them by surprise.
In terms of filming, we kept close to generic shots in order to clearly state certain parts of the films plot. As we have a complicated storyline, using simple shot reverse shots and sticking to a 180 Degree rule is essential to keeping our audience interested in the film and up to date with everything that develops through out. In an attempt to keep the true nature of our film a secret, typical shots will ensure our protagonists life looks as normal and regular as possible.

In order to keep the audience familiar with certain places, such as Davids home compared to his office, we used establishing shots whenever the location changed. The first few shots are short and sharp, in order to repeat the scene as many times as needed without wasting screen time. Creating a sense of repetition is key to the plot, so we need to make our audience feel bored, almost, sympathising with Davids uneventful life. The audience will also be given the impression that our protagonist is rushing when the shots are short, and that he is absent minded during the long scenes. For the most part of our film, we used longer shots, varying every scene in order to quicken and slow down the pace of the short. Where simple tasks take place, such as making a cup of tea and ending the alarm clock’s signal, we stuck to quick paced shots, as not much detail was needed, seeing someone simply boil a kettle and pour the water into a mug would tell the audience what David is doing, as does the alarm clock inform them of the time of day. The juxtaposed elements of traditional scenes and short, snappy jump cuts show an experimentation of pace and difference in Davids attitude, avoiding serenity.

Close ups and cut ins show our protagonist in normal, everyday circumstances, again, persuading the audience the film just follows the repetitive life of David. As David opens his office door, the film cuts to a close of of him fiddling with his keys and struggling to get in, giving the audience a relatable subject to focus on, and, yet again, creating a sense of normality. Close ups were also useful in showing characters reactions and facial expressions, relaying these to those watching and possibly making them feel the same. When hearing a strange glitchy noise, David's face is shown looking confused, breaking away from previous normalcy. This is where the film begins to take a turn, so showing certain expressions through the use of close ups tells the audience something isn't right.

The pace of our film needed to keep the audience interested, as well as making Davids life seem dull. By quickening the pace of the film with short shots, we were able break up any longer scenes and have a smooth transition into establishing the location of David, as did long shots keep the plot neutral and uninteresting. This process lengthened the time it took to edit, but as seen in Office Space, our inspiration, and the results we saw in our final film, showed to be effective. Taking this idea from Office space meant the repetitive nature of Davids was show clearly to the audience, along side the acting and attitude of our protagonist.

When writing the shot list, we decided to experiment with high and low angled shots. By showing Tim from Davids eye level looking down on him, it not only indicates their height difference, but subtly suggests David’s power over him. As Tim’s owner, David would obviously have control over what he does, but having Tim manipulate David into feeding him when he may not necessarily be due a meal, and taking him out for a walk when Tim wants, foreshadows Davids lack of control. These angles were mainly used, however, to show a realistic height difference between David and Tim. By having Tim look directly into the lens, as the camera is where David is stood, and then having Davis look directly into the lens as if it is Tim made the whole scenario look both comical and authentic, the point-of-view shots hopefully making the audience forget they were watching a film with camera’s and begin to feel engrossed by the two characters.

Working with animals was expected to be rather difficult, and we had chosen to decide on a back up shot list incase Tim didn’t do as instructed. Unfortunately, we he'd become rather set on involving Tim, so chose to only choose after filming what would take the place of Tim’s scenes, however with the aid of cocktail sausages, and Tim’s trained ears meant we were able to gain shots that were suitable. This did mean rather a lot of editing was needed in order to fins the right shot, but we found one none the less.

The music we used was closed to ignore the irregular shot lengths, keeping the film to a regular pace. The sound recorded in each shot would make the shorter cuts more effective, and the music played over the top made the plot seem regular. Glitches and electronic sounds were integrated to indicate an irregularity to Davids story. These sounds allowed our audience to create their own ideas on what was going to occur in the film they are preparing to watch, or even make them watch this film back and recognise the relevance of the glitch sounds in the opening credits.

When it is revealed that David is being controlled by someone playing his life as a video game, we chose a crane show to start the transition from Davids virtual reality into our teenager’s reality. Switching from David to Louise’s made all of the previous glitches make sense, as well as making everything clear to the audience. I feel that the use of high and low angle shots helped to achieve this sense of surprise, by creating a reality that doesn't seem virtual.

Our film was created, originally, as a source of entertainment, but as filming commenced, we realised that it could lead to a deeper meaning. Seeing David live a mundane and pitiful life may make people watch the film and relate their lives to his. This could lead to audience members learning from his mistakes, and choosing to not change his life for the better. Entertainment seemed to be the main audience pleasure we were aiming to provide, as with David losing control over his life could lead to the belief that we aren’t in control of our own lives either. This concept could work in our favour, however, as this could be seen as a modern interpretation of the Christian belief of an all-seeing God, again relating back to the idea of using the film as a moral lesson. The thrill of finding out that the character whose life you have become so attached to during the majority of the film is in fact not real, and that David is unaware of this fact, makes the audience sympathise even more with him. 

Struggling to fit the plot into one genre, we defined our film’s story line as a mixture of two, naming it as a Psychological Thriller. Constantly challenging Davids existential thoughts also challenged the audience’s, by making the character relatable. Relating to someone who is unknowingly trapped in a virtual fantasy could lead them to question their existence, emphasising the psychology of its characters and their unstable emotional states. The cliffhanger and the intense score, coupled with David being completely oblivious also made it a thrilling film to watch.

Dyers there of representation suggests that two people from different backgrounds, who are into two different things, have different jobs etc. means they are completely different. Stereotypes are usually exaggerated in films to get the producers point across to the audience clearly, for example, to indicate a male character is gay, they may act more flamboyant that the straight characters along side them, when in reality, being flamboyant and gay are two completely different things. Our film includes no strong stereotypes, but does, however, show differences in how characters interact with each other. For example, the two coworkers introduced in Davids building constantly converse as David walks by, and seem to be rather fond of each other’s company, however the way they talk to David insinuates a slight annoyance. Having David not smile and barely acknowledge the women as he walks by may lead the audience to assume they are constantly talking to each other, and rarely include David in their daily topic. This could be seen as a stereotype, as women are notorious for being spitefully critical, however David isolation could counter act this behaviour, indicating he is intact the reason they don't speak.

Over all, I am pleased with our outcome. We were able to develop on common forms and conventions of the genre we chose to identify our film as through thorough research and were inspired by real media products such as Office Space. Many conventions of a Psychological thriller depend on the storyline of the film, and whether it fits the plot, so avoiding some conventions would have been inevitable, however the themes of mental imprisonment and identity were strong influences on how our film was organised.

Evaluation Question 2

[Alternative Link]

Evaluation Question 3

3  What have you learned from your audience feedback? 

In order to get the best out of our story line, we highly relied on audience feedback throughout the whole process of creating our end product. During the production, we were sure to show members of our class rough cuts and ask for advice on certain aspects of our film, and the feed back we gained from our video questionnaire was taken on board as soon as we received it. Having this feedback allowed us to work closely with the audience we were aiming our film towards, and get the best outcome possible.

Using BBFC, we quickly set upon finding a suitable classification to fit out storyline and any initial ideas we had discussed during lesson. Having a basic idea of who our film should be aimed towards meant we could set upon making ideas written on paper come to life, and scrap any inappropriate scenes. After looking at the middle age restrictions, 12, 12A and 15, which were the most suggested in our video questionnaire, we felt our story line would fit most comfortably under a 12A. Here is what we would need to keep in mind during the creation of our film, according to the BBFC official website:

- Moderate violence

- No emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted

- Action sequences and weapons may be present at 12A or 12, and there may be long fight scenes or similar. 

- Weapons which might be easily accessible to 12 year olds (such as knives) should not be glamorised.

- Sexual violence, such as scenes of rape or assault, may only be implied and must also have a strong contextual justification.

- Moderate physical and psychological threat is permitted as long as horror sequences are not too frequent or sustained and the overall tone is not disturbing.

- Dangerous behaviour (for example hanging and suicide) may be present lacking details which could be copied or present those activities in a manner that children are likely to copy.

- Anti-social behaviour should not be endorsed.

- There may be infrequent sight of drugs misuse in a 12A or a 12 but the portrayal should not be glamorised or provide instructional detail.

- Sex may be briefly and discreetly portrayed

- Verbal sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. 

- Comedy may lessen the impact of some moderate sex references or innuendo but frequent crude sex references are unlikely to be accepted at this category. There may be nudity in 12A films but nudity in a sexual context should only be brief and discreet.

- Sex and sex references are treated the same irrespective of sexuality

- Any discriminatory language or behaviour will not be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive discriminatory language (for example homophobic or racist terms) is unlikely to be passed at 12A or - - 12 unless it is clearly condemned.

- The BBFC's Guidelines state that strong language (e.g. 'f***') may be passed at 12 or 12A, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special contextual justification.

Overall our film gained positive feedback. No one found any major faults with our films, and any criticism we gained was given constructively and was easily justified. We were very pleased with how our film was received, and found that our thoughts were conveyed effectively. Many people agreed with out certification being 12A, and although there was a mixture of genre suggestions, we gained many Psychological Thriller/Drama answers, which is the genre we hoped people would identify the film as. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the film, however very few though it would suit a mainstream cinema, only online download and streaming, however we did have one or two local cinema propositions. Our main aim was to entertain our audience, and from the results of our final questionnaire I am confident in saying we achieved that.

Evaluation Question 4

[Alternative Link]

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

1. In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Our film, although containing many key conventions of a psychological drama, pulled away from the usual style and themes. It challenges the idea that for a film to be deemed 'psychological' or 'mentally stimulating' it has to contain an aspect of horror or create a suspenseful atmosphere for the audience. However, our film uses the idea of existential awareness and virtual realities to create an unnerving feel that makes the audience question what is real or not, which is a theme that is explored from a more science-fiction point of view.

On a technical level we made sure not to break any conventions in regards to filming and editing. For example, we were careful not to break the 180 degree line when filming two characters within a scene. It was important to obey this rule as the shots could have made the audience confused as to what was happening. At this point in the film it is essential that the audience believes that everything is normal an nothing is out of the ordinary. Fragmented shots at this stage wouldn't have made sense or could have given the plot of the film away too early.

 180 Degree Rule in our film

180 Degree Rule in Truman Show

We used establishing shots throughout the film to ensure that the settings were clearly established to the audience. In the kitchen scene we used it to explain the quick, snappy shots as it allowed us to show the audience where the scene was taking place and gain an idea of the context.  These shots also meant that we cut into close ups and break up any long, continuous shots that could case audience to lose interest or not see any details that would help to communicate the story.
Along with the establishing shot, shot/reverse shots were also used in the kitchen scene as we wanted to show the characters close relationship from an individual perspective. This allowed us to do close ups and mid shots for David and Tim so the audience could clearly see their thoughts and feelings about this particular interaction. I think that the presentation of the two character's in the living room scene plays on Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites because the overall difference in physical appearance between the characters should be enough to show the audience who has the power as it is David (a human) 'versus' Tim (a pet). Usually in this scenario the human is presented as the dominant figure from whom the animal takes orders. However, it is David who gives into Tim by sharing the biscuit. This tells the audience a lot about David's submissive and naïve personality, which I think is communicated effectively through these shots.

Establishing shot in our film

Establishing shot in Truman Show

We also experimented with high and low angle shots because we had characters that were very different heights; therefore, it would have looked odd from and audience member's perspective if  the shot reverse shots had been filmed straight on for both characters. This was challenging as we wanted the eye lines the be as accurate as possible so it took a long time to get the shots set up. This was made increasingly difficult as we were working with an animal so it was almost impossible to make him sit in the exact same place for each take. We also had to improvise a way to get Tim to look where Dan's character would be standing in the scene. To do this we held a sausage where David would be and continuously filmed until we felt like we had enough material to work with in editing. Dan then had the hard task of looking at where Tim would be sitting in the scene and reacting as though he was there. I feel like the we achieved work very well as the characters really do look like they are looking and interacting with each other. I also feel like these shots flow and match up well with the establishing shot.

Low Angle shot in our film

Low Angle shot in Truman Show

When editing the scenes before the title sequence, we wanted to show the everyday boring nature of David's life. We did this by using shots different lengths. For example, the fast shots of David making a cup of tea showed how this was a repetitive task that he had completed many times before. Whereas, the long shots created a dull feeling of waiting. The juxtaposition of these shots gave the opening an interesting pace as there was a sense of shots being interrupted whilst also flowing in an unusual way. It also created a sense that David was either rushing around or waiting for something without there being a moment of a happy medium. However, this meant that it took us a long time to edit this section because we wanted to achieve such a unique pace that could so easily look odd. I think that it looks good as this sort of pace is quite common in psychological dramas as it doesn't allow the audience to sit back relax while watching the film but doesn't keep them on edge in the same way that a thriller would. This is similar to beginning sequence of the short film Office Space, from which we go inspiration for this section from.

Short shots in Office Space

This sequence was helped by the score. The music we chose had a constant rhythm and underlying moments such as the electronic effects to come in surprisingly at points to foreshadow events to come that might surprise an audience. This fit the film in with the genre of a psychological thriller as hinting and suggesting things to an audience creates ideas in their head that leads them to connotations and creating their own ideas, much like many other psychological thrillers.

We used close ups and mid shots to show reactions to certain events in the film. For example, we decided to include a close up of one of David's co-workers as we felt that her look of exasperation would tell the audience a lot about David's personality and how he is viewed by people who see him everyday. We also used a mid shot of David's complete dismissal after he had seen one of his co-workers glitch before his very eyes. It is implied that he shakes his head because he believes he must be seeing things that aren't really there, which creates a sort of dramatic irony as the audience knows that what he saw was real because they saw it too. This is almost comedic to an audience because they see David's ignorance to his own situation but it also fills them with curiosity as they start to question what is really going on.

Close up and mid shot from our film

Mid shot in Office Space

Close up in Truman show

Our film is a cross over of two genres: psychological thriller and drama. We chose to make a psychological drama as we felt that we could create more original take on the genre than what was already out there. Last year, Sophie and I worked together and our project was science-fiction, which we decided to include elements of in this film as we thought it would be interesting to move away from the usual horror storyline.

We originally struggled to label our film as one particular genre as we thought that contained themes from a few different ones but we felt that because we had chosen to present the virtual reality idea from more of a philosophical and subjective view, which also raised more questions than it answered, it was most suited being a psychological drama.

This was achieved by having David not react to the oddities that were occurring around him and leaving the audience to have their own interpretation of the situation. Are the glitches a sign of David losing his grip on reality? Is he in a coma and beginning to regain consciousness? Is David stuck in a repetitive loop that will only end when he achieves a goal similar to the character of Cage in Edge of Tomorrow? Is this some sort of nightmare or is he dead? Even the two twists at the end leave questions unanswered and make us question our ability to know what is real or not.

Our film also goes against Tordorov's theory narrative as our film lacks the stereotypical antagonist that forces the story to progress. Our plot is based around the idea of free will and whether the choices we make are our own. Therefore a typical 'villain' wouldn't fit the ambiguous nature of the film's story. The film also goes against the idea of an equilibrium that is usually achieved in the ending. That would mean the audience would expected some sort of explanation for the strange things that have happened in the film. At first, an equilibrium is achieved as the we are shown that David was a video game character designed to teach students what to expect when working in a business environment but the game was broken, hence the glitches. This gives the audience a false sense of security as they believe that all of their questions have been answered and the plot has been resolved. However, this equilibrium doesn't last long as the 'reality' that the audience comes to terms with then glitches, which asks the question, "what was real and what wasn't?" I think that it is up to the individual when deciding what the ending means and it is down to the opinion of the audience as to what they believe.  This style of ending can be quite common in psychological dramas as they include twists to further confuse the audience. Our film follows the convention of letting the audience consider the plot even after the film is over.

We used the element of glitches in the same way that a traditional psychological drama would use shadows. Shadows in films create a sense of unknowing, eeriness and an unsettling atmosphere. They act as an indicator that everything isn't as it seems. In our film, the glitches provide evidence to the audience that the world they are seeing isn't normal. They have even more of a unnerving affect on scenes because David either doesn't see them or doesn't believe that they are happening, which leaves the audience to decide for themselves what they mean and what to make of them. I think that glitch at the end has the most powerful presence because it strikes when the audience is most vulnerable as they think that everything is back to normal before it happens.

I think the main aim for this film was to challenge the way you think and actually have a long lasting effect on an audience, which is conventionally done in a psychological drama, and is one of the most effective elements of a film that focuses on the psychological side to the human mind. I think that we did this successfully as our film causes the audience to evaluate their lives  It makes them almost question their existence as they think about how much free will they actually have. It also makes you think about whether routine is good for you. We got a lot of inspiration for this from A Truncated Story of Infinity. So much so that we decided to reference it in our own title.



When talking to people about my film, I have found that most people at one point in their life have questioned whether our reality is real or not; from questioning where we are alone in the universe or whether their is a God to even wondering if they were being controlled by a higher power, like a character in a video game.

Results from the Final Questionnaire

If the presentation doesn't work then please use this link:

Editing Research

Title Text

http://www.macprovideo.com/hub/motion/animating-shape-masks-in-motion

During our

Bus Swiping

Tried it

What we did

Decided it didn't look good because of difference in speed between the bus and the lift doors opening - chose to do alternative.

Glitches