Task Allocation Week 7

 

Task	Responsibilities
Script Planning Document	Marcel
Proposal PPT	Group
First Page of script Doc	Tommy
Location Recee Blog	Marcel
Sound effects board Blog	Tommy
Justifying Content,Distribution and Marketing	Dawud

Synopsis

 Section 1 

The story takes place within a School where a group of students as well as a teacher are trapped inside after one of the teachers had been murdered by one of them in cold blood. They are forced to find out who amongst them are the killer in order to try and stop any more violence and prevent more death and in doing so learn more about one another as the plot goes on but being proved difficult as they are turning on one another as they are trying to find out. In the end the killer start taking out the characters until only they, the protagonist and the autistic kid remain leading to conflict between them resulting in the death of the autistic kid. The police then arrive and are forced to slay the antagonist leaving the protagonist to safety as she is rescued from the school that she was trapped in. The main characters consist of: The protagonist that is trying to solve the murder and keep everyone else alive at the beginning mainly for the purpose of gaining popularity amongst others but then it turns into pure and noble reasons. The teacher that brings them all together and the same person that is murdered leaving them into chaos from the lack of knowledge. The learning support assistant teacher who helps the autistic child with their learning being overly protective of them and is also the killer but does not reveal this until later in the narrative. The autistic child who is having difficulty learning and has the teacher support to help them is finding the situation very difficult to cope with and merely wishes to return home. The goth character who was put in detention for their rebellious nature and is proving the most beneficial to the protagonist as they are trying to figure out the murder mystery. Finally their is the jock character who is very enthusiastic about sport and wishes to be at the game with his team but is forced to be in detention because of the grades that he is getting in lesson greatly effecting his teams performance.

Section 2 

The first act is the murder that has occurred and shows as the characters try and make sense of the situation whilst attempting to escape their current predicament. The second act is the characters trying to find out who the murderer is discovering the characters motives and personalities. The last act is the confrontation with the killer with only the main protagonist surviving the narrative. The equilibrium of the narrative is the kids being at detention with everything being normal, then there is the problem in the form of the murder of the teacher leaving to the people in detention in chaos, the attempt to resolve the issue will be with the protagonist as they are trying to solve the mystery of the murder and trying to keep everyone safe. The new equilibrium is after all the character death within the narrative we have the protagonist sitting with their friend speaking of the events that have occurred. The narrative for the media product will be non linear as there will be explanations from characters that are explaining events that have occurred in the past that are leading to this point. The narrative devices that are used within the films narrative plot are: the plot twist, flashback and first person narration. The first person narration will have the protagonist during the narrative explaining the events that they are going through as it will show they were explaining the events that have happened to there friend. Flashback will occur with each of the characters as they are explaining why they were in detention within the first place and providing each of the with reason as to why they could possible be the killer of the teacher. And plot twist will come in when the killer is revealed to be the assistant teacher as they had slain their most recent victim in front of the protagonist and then providing reasons why as it was them.

Section 3 

The three thriller conventions that will be used within the narrative within the media product will be :serious Crime ,Mystery and Suspense.  Serious Crime will be in the form of the murders that take place within the school creating the whole point of the narrative being that which is common amongst thriller films. With the convention of mystery the plot of the film will be about the murderer who they are what they planning(are they going to kill anyone else). However there is going to be the subtle messages that there is mystery within the plot with little hints here and there throughout the narrative of the film. With the final convention suspense that is created through the lack of information that the characters have within the plot about who the murder is what their intentions are and with the confrontations that take place near the end of the film. With the sub genre of the film there are a few different options on what it could be action or drama. Action from the conflicts that the characters have between one another and eventually the antagonist within the film. Drama through the characters discovery about themselves and one another as they are trying to solve the mystery and find who among them is the murder. Overall the better sub genre for the film will be drama as the characters that are within the setting are developing as they are going through this experience weather they become better or worse from it will show if they have developed or not. The three thriller themes that will be used within the narrative are violence mystery and discovery. Violence will be shown when the murder is taking out their victims and during the action sequences between this. Mystery is created from the lack of information that the characters have about what is going on and from how they are trying to piece it together from what is going on. Discovery is from how the characters are developing as they try to uncover the mystery of who the murder is as well as how they are understanding one another from the detention to the end of the film. 

Section 4

Camera conventions that are going to be used within the media product are: high angle shots showing the characters reactions within certain situations and used to try and add a sense of mystery to the plot through the camera not providing a large amount of explanation to the mystery. Another convention that is going to be used is with close ups showing the facial features of the characters as they are reacting to what they experiencing within the narrative providing the audience with more to try and understand with the media product. Editing Conventions that are going to be used within the media product are: Jump cuts will primarily used as a means to move the plot along and to ensure that the media product does not become stationary. Another convention is the starting with the narrative being slow paced editing but speeding up whilst the narrative develops and the action starts to increase within the narrative in the media product. Sound conventions that are going to be used within the media product are: diegetic sound of the characters as they are speaking to one another as they are trying to figure out who among us are the killer locked in there with them. Another sound convention is non diegetic sound of the background music that is going to be added in order to provide a sense of mystery within the plot of the narrative and make the scenes have more tension and suspense. Mise-en-scene conventions that are going to be used within the media product are: the setting within the narrative will be a school and will mainly be based in the classroom in which the murder has taken place and around the school for the entirety of the media product. Another convention will be the costumes for each of the characters will be reflect-ant of each of the characters personality and their roles within the media product in order to have a good narrative within the film.

Section 5 

Three quotes from the brief that will be meet are: "Target audience of 16-24 years old" this is from the setting of the film. As the film is set in a high school it will be a familiar environment for those that are within the age group allowing them to have interest in the film. This will interest them as they can then put themselves in the characters shoes and relate to that they are going through with the difficulty that is high school. Another quote for use is "All content produced must be original" will be something that we will meet for the brief. This is because the idea for the plot is unique and can easily be used for the thriller chiller as well as the score of the film being able to be completely original with one of our members having knowledge in the area of music. Hence how with this quote we will be able to meet the requirements of the brief. A third quote to use is "Many of the techniques used in the thriller genre" as we will be able to use the necessary techniques for the thriller. This is because of our study of thrillers we will have an idea of what necessary techniques can be used within the film in order to properly convey that the film is a thriller with the different techniques.

Focus Group analyse

 Protagonist characteristics 

The focus group had desired for the protagonist to be: brave, courage's and relatable allowing them to be more familiar with the audience who could possibly put themselves in the characters shoes. However they also wanted them to be morally grey making her motives not be as pure as that of the standard protagonist with a few dark puns here and there to be there way of coping. hence the way the focus group wants the main protagonist within the narrative to posses the normal attributes of one but having a morally grey reason for doing so.  This is essential as the main protagonist is the one who will be there throughout the entire film and it needs to be able to interest the audience throughout the entirety of the film.

Ideal Names 

The focus group had thought of many names that could be used for the characters within the narrative: Protagonist: Sarah, Elizabeth, Jane, Judy, Amy, Magritte. Teacher names: Mrs. Troll, Mr Chapman, Mr Philip. For the Jock: Chad Brads-worth. For the goth Carry. The autistic child did not receive any names. This is beneficial though as with the character names the profile of these characters can be created for use within the media product.   

Ideal thriller

The focus group had wanted the thriller to have suspense which is easily created from a lack of  information for the audience only revealing certain parts of it along the way. They also wanted it portray the protagonist as morally grey as doing the right thing but having the wrong reasons for doing so which in this case is trying to become popular and be able to fit in with the other kids that are there in the school rather than trying to avenge the teacher or see the antagonist brought to justice.  This is important as without the necessary information about what the project should be like then it will not be able to interest people that are within the target audience for the thriller.

Ideal locations for use within the school

With the locations for the setting within the media product there were a variety of answers for the murder mystery to occur such as the music rooms, the PE rooms and in some cases the business rooms. The majority of the agreements for the location within the media product was the school music rooms as it is on of the most frequently used rooms within the school and it would be an ideal setting for the main narrative of the media product. This is a major part of the film as without the right location for the media product it will not be able to accurately be able to capture the right environment for the film meaning that the audience may not be interested with the thriller.

 Motives of the characters 

Collectively the group had agreed upon the motive of all the characters to be their own survival however this can be explored to posses deeper meaning within the narrative. The term survival can be used in different contexts for: the jock survival could be staying apart of the team to be recognized, the goth staying out of going into adoption or child protection services, the autistic staying with the school and not going to a different school, the teaching assistant keeping the autistic kid with her. This could be the means for survival that each of the characters have which is vital for the media product as the information here is able to help build the characters in the narrative and what the possible reasons could be.

Main focus of the media product

The group had collectively decided that the plot should focus primarily on the murder and the event that are occurring right now rather than the events that have occurred previously leading to this point that they are in now.  This is to rather show what have previously happened between the characters and the now dead teacher which could have lead any one of them to being the one that murdered the teacher but rather show how the main character is deciphering the information from each of the characters there and is venturing round the school premises in order to figure out what is going on with the events that are occurring within the narrative.

The murder weapon to be used 

With the murder weapon the group could not decide upon the main weapon that the antagonist would use within the situation. Some believed it should be the kind of scissors that are used within the art department or that the equipment in their could prove an effective means for the antagonist. The others had believed that a pencil will be an effective means for the antagonist to use to slay the teacher that is within the narrative. An overall conclusion was not made however due to the budget of nothing the weapon would be something simple such as a knife in the back with little blood effects or the pencil though this is important due to the fact that this weapon is the key item that will set the events in motion within the movie meaning it is important to have something good for the narrative.

Characters that Survive

The focus group had collectively agreed that none of the characters that are innocent within the narrative should survive except for the protagonist. The group believes that the morally grey protagonist should be the only survivor amongst the characters within the narrative of the plot as they will for survival is greater than that of their moral against the antagonist within the narrative. This is important as the necessary plan are needed to be made within the plot in order to allow the characters within the narrative to meet their ends that are not done in a way that is poorly as this would not help with interesting the audience.

Focus Group Questionnaire

1.What do you think an ideal protagonist would be in this situation?

2.Do you think mystery would be a good way in order to create suspense within a thriller?

3.What do you think would be ideal names for these characters within the thriller?

4.Which classroom do you think would be suitable for use in thriller? i.e. 26 ,64,16

5.What do you think the motive for all the characters could be?

6.What do you look for in a murder mystery?

7. What should the murder weapon of the antagonist be?

8. What gender do you think the characters should be?

9. What should the focus of the media product be on?

10. Do you think the characters should survive in the narrative?

With characters there shall be 7 within the opening of the film as well as the festival these shall consist of:

1. The Protagonist who is trying to solve the murder and keep everyone else there alive by stopping the murder and themselves from going crazy and turning on one another. Who is also dealing with the issue of trying to fit in with everyone at this school since she is very different from all of them.
2. The antagonist who's identity is unknown who has murdered the teacher within the classroom causing havoc amongst the people that are trapped there and who's motives are unknown or whether they will strike again.
3. The teacher that had brought them all together in the detention and ends up being murdered by the antagonist for doing something to lead them down the path of vengeance and cause the situation in the first place.
4. The support teacher who is there to help a young student that is struggling in school she is very close to him and she would be willing to do anything for him. They are not under suspicion as they come across as not able to kill and to caring to even harm a fly.
5. The young student who is struggling with a mental problem that he is starting to learn how to cope with and his mental state is not made any better when he is trapped in a school where one of the people there could be a murderer.
6. A student who is into sporting and was denied going to his teams big game as he was put in detention for not doing well in his class out of all the people there it is suspected that he hates the teacher the most leaving hime under the impression that he himself is the killer.
7. A student who is in their rebellious teenager phase decided that she does not want to follow the rules that are set out for her by others and is deciding that she will do what she wants which lead her to detention in the first place and why she is suspected of being the murderer in the first place.

The narrative of the story is after school one day seven people are in detention with the teacher who set the detention was murdered and no one knows who had committed the crime. The group descends into chaos as they all blame one another for the death of the teacher and are without trust for one another. They try to escape their predicament only to find that the school has been locked caused by the killer when they had caused the blackout  to strike against their target and leave the students in chaos. Can the protagonist be able to find who the murderer is and discover their motis before they possible strike again.

Choose any word in which you would associate with the film and then provide an explanation as to why you have chosen this word.

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Video

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Dawud

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Tommy

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Marcel

Swot analyses of initial ideas