Vladimir Propp

1. The villain — struggles against the hero.
2. The dispatcher — character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
3. The (magical) helper — helps the hero in their quest.
4. The princess or prize and her father — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
5. The donor — prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
6. The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
7. The false hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess

1. ABSENTATION: A member of a family leaves the security of the home environment. This may be the hero or some other member of the family that the hero will later need to rescue. This division of the cohesive family injects initial tension into the storyline. The hero may also be introduced here, often being shown as an ordinary person.
2. INTERDICTION: An interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go there', 'don't do this'). The hero is warned against some action (given an 'interdiction').
3. VIOLATION of INTERDICTION. The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale). This generally proves to be a bad move and the villain enters the story, although not necessarily confronting the hero. Perhaps they are just a lurking presence or perhaps they attack the family whilst the hero is away.
4. RECONNAISSANCE: The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc.; or intended victim questions the villain). The villain (often in disguise) makes an active attempt at seeking information, for example searching for something valuable or trying to actively capture someone. They may speak with a member of the family who innocently divulges information. They may also seek to meet the hero, perhaps knowing already the hero is special in some way.
5. DELIVERY: The villain gains information about the victim. The villain's seeking now pays off and he or she now acquires some form of information, often about the hero or victim. Other information can be gained, for example about a map or treasure location.
6. TRICKERY: The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim). The villain now presses further, often using the information gained in seeking to deceive the hero or victim in some way, perhaps appearing in disguise. This may include capture of the victim, getting the hero to give the villain something or persuading them that the villain is actually a friend and thereby gaining collaboration.
7. COMPLICITY: Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy. The trickery of the villain now works and the hero or victim naively acts in a way that helps the villain. This may range from providing the villain with something (perhaps a map or magical weapon) to actively working against good people (perhaps the villain has persuaded the hero that these other people are actually bad).
8. VILLAINY or LACK: Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc., commits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc.). There are two options for this function, either or both of which may appear in the story. In the first option, the villain causes some kind of harm, for example carrying away a victim or the desired magical object (which must be then be retrieved). In the second option, a sense of lack is identified, for example in the hero's family or within a community, whereby something is identified as lost or something becomes desirable for some reason, for example a magical object that will save people in some way.
9. MEDIATION: Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc./ alternative is that victimized hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment). The hero now discovers the act of villainy or lack, perhaps finding their family or community devastated or caught up in a state of anguish and woe.
10. BEGINNING COUNTER-ACTION: Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action. The hero now decides to act in a way that will resolve the lack, for example finding a needed magical item, rescuing those who are captured or otherwise defeating the villain. This is a defining moment for the hero as this is the decision that sets the course of future actions and by which a previously ordinary person takes on the mantle of heroism.
11. DEPARTURE: Hero leaves home;
12. FIRST FUNCTION OF THE DONOR: Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc., preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor);
13. HERO'S REACTION: Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against him);
14. RECEIPT OF A MAGICAL AGENT: Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
15. GUIDANCE: Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
16. STRUGGLE: Hero and villain join in direct combat;
17. BRANDING: Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf);
18. VICTORY: Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
19. LIQUIDATION: Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revived, captive freed);
20. RETURN: Hero returns;
21. PURSUIT: Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
22. RESCUE: Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
23. UNRECOGNIZED ARRIVAL: Hero unrecognized, arrives home or in another country;
24. UNFOUNDED CLAIMS: False hero presents unfounded claims;
25. DIFFICULT TASK: Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
26. SOLUTION: Task is resolved;
27. RECOGNITION: Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
28. EXPOSURE: False hero or villain is exposed;
29. TRANSFIGURATION: Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc.);
30. PUNISHMENT: Villain is punished;
31. WEDDING: Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).

Blockbuster presentation

TV OPENINGS

Notes from class
MAD MEN.

Music- mysterious, no lyrics, intense, gets more upbeat at the end

Images- sillhouette falling, fashion? legs-seductive. buildings. man is smoking at the end. wearing a suit 

Colours- timeless, black & white, emphasises other colours

Target audience- women? older. not children

SPOOKS.

Music- mysterious. serious. no lyrics. sirens?

Images- fast changing. close faces. always moving. in england. spies-futuristic. split screens.

Colours- dark colours, black screens/backgrounds

Target audience- children? teenagers

Homework 

FRIENDS

Music- upbeat. well known song. meaningful lyrics. Clips match he music (clapping) 
Images- use of the characters, shows who is in the programme. Shows relationships between characters. Individual clips from show for each character, shows personality. Shows the name of the programme at the very beginning. 
Colours- bright colours, no theme for colours. 
Target audience- teenagers, younger women 


SCRUBS

 
Music- lazlo bane- superman. Was originally made for TV series theme tune, catchy, easy to remember 
Images- can see the setting within the opening, names of characters, characters moving around, in a hospital, in their uniform. Can't tell the relationships between the characters 
Colours- very clean colours, white and blue. No theme of colour 
Target audience- teenage girls, women? Not men. 

IT CROWD

Music- dub step music? Very modern. No lyrics 
Images- animated characters, shows the names of the characters. Characters falling into their world. Character types on computer screen, shows computer screen.  
Colours-green background with orange, yellow and red characters and writing. 
Target audience- teenage boys. Interested in ICT/comedies 

Research- Blockbuster

Pre-production
Not an original idea, taken from the Marvel comics characters.
Matthew Vaughn is the director
20th Century Fox are the studios
140-160 million dollars was its budget
James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon



Production
Locations included Oxford, the Mojave desert and Georgia, with soundstage work done in both Pinewood Studios and the 20th Century Fox stages in Los Angeles.
This was filmed in 2D and added special effects
The film almost didn't have Hugh Jackman in, which would have been their 'Big star' http://news.moviefone.com/2011/09/26/hugh-jackman-x-men-first-class-cameo-interview/



Post production
Yes, this film does rely on special effects, a big part of the film would only be possible from special effects
The "claws" of wolverine. All of the powers of the X-Men, a lot of the fighting scenes
There was no 3D
It did require reshoots said Eli Gathegi said that they didnt have to reshoot a big bulk of the film but little bits needed reshooting. It didn't change the release date though

Marketing
The films premier was in NYC on the 25th of May, 2011

 

http://paulmmartinblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/x-men-first-class-3d-projector-advertisement/




http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=x%20men%20first%20class%20facebook&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDgQFjAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FXMenFirstClass.movie&ei=WVo5UpWCGuyO7QbJ3oGoBQ&usg=AFQjCNH7UEDvdNgAyj21JQxC3nzQZk3j5Q&sig2=wcARmwU9ZzRiZQq-zKnp5g&bvm=bv.52288139,d.ZGU

comicbook.com/blog/category/x-men-first-class/



Script

My film is X Men: First Class. (insert picture of poster)
My film fits into the criteria as it was released in 2011, it is not a comedy and it has a A list star- Kevin Bacon (insert picture of Kevin Bacon). There are many stars in X Men: First Class but I believe that most people will know Kevin Bacon compared to James McAvoy, although, Jennifer Lawrence was cast in the film as Misteque but made her fame after the film was released (insert picture of Jennifer Lawrence). X Men was produced by Matthew Vaughn and was made by the 20th century fox studios(insert picture of both Matthew Vaughn & 20th centure Fox). Its budget was $140-160 million (show figure). The film went on and grossed at $146,000,000in the United States and Canada and $207,000,000 in foreign markets, bringing its worldwide total to $353,000,000 (show figure), which as you can probably tell is quite successful.
X Men was filmed in many different locations, including Oxford in england, the Mojave desert and Georgia in America.
The problems with the X men First Class film was all the speculation that the other two films did not make enough money so everyone was asking why they bothered making a third film.






Pictures

 

Understanding filmmaking

Scene 1- The idea (sources of information)

Remakes- When there has been a previous version of a film and they decide to re-make the film to make the film and story more modern e.g. Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare has been made into 12 different films from 1900 to 2013

Original ideas- The writer of the script has come up with an original idea which much be pitched to the producer to see whether it can be made into a film or not

From books- The idea for the film will be taken from a previous book as well as the story line, but the writers will have to change the story line a bit so that they can make a script for the actors e.g. The Mortal instruments was taken from the series of books written by Cassandra Clare and then made into a major film in 2013

Real life stories- Real life situations are taken and re-enacted to tell their story. The producer will make a basic story line and give it to the writers so that they can ‘enhance’ the story in certain areas to make it a good film e.g. 127 hours was taken from a real life experience

From toys- The film idea will be taken from a toy, which will then be put into a story that the writers will think of. These films are more for children as it makes the toys come to life. E.g. the avengers were made as just toys but Marvel has made two films, using the toy characters

Adaptation- When a screenplay has been taken and adapted to make a film. E.g. John Walters Hairspray has been made into a film, even though originally it was only a screenplay

The producer is in charge of listening to pitches as deciding whether they are a good idea or not, the ideas that are deemed as good will then be moved forward and the producer will be in charge of the entire film, to make sure that everything is done.

The director will receive the script from the writers and then be able to see what the film will look like and give ideas to the cast and direct the making of the entire film.

The writer will receive the idea from the producer and be able to write a script to the film, they will add detail to the film and decide the main characters and what characters need to be in the film. The writer will write a treatment which explains the main story and what characters need to be in the film and what they need to be and look like

Scene 2- Development finance

The pitch will be from the producer to the finance company to try and see if they will give the film company the money to make the film. The producer will use the treatment from the writers to explain the main story of the film and how much money they will need for the actors in the film and the budget.  The producer will then go and see the production company to see if they can get the money from them for a percentage of the money that the film will make. If the sales company decides that the idea of the film is good and will make a lot of money then they will provide money for the right to sell the film to distribution companies, with a percentage of the films making, going to them. This is good for the producer as it tells them that the idea is good enough for a commercial organisation to be interested in it.  If the broadcaster likes the idea of the film, they will ask for the rights to the show, so that they can broadcast it on their TV channels, in return for development money. They hope that this will make them money from advertising and “bringing a brilliant film to the viewing public”. It is important for the producer that the broadcasters are interested and make a deal with them as it shows that the idea will attract an audience. In return for development money and a part in the films financial intake, the distribution company will ask for the rights to give the film to cinemas, retailers, rental companies and broadcasters. This is important for the producer because this shows that the idea is marketable and will make a lot of money.

The producer, if they need to, could go out and pitch the idea to a private investor to see if they will help fund the development of the film. If the individual decides to invest at such an early stage in the film then they may ask for a lot in return for their funds e.g. to take the outcome of the development process. When the producer has got a development deal which includes sales, distribution and broadcasters. The producer has then given away the rights to the project, which means they will have to work very hard to keep all the developers satisfied

Scene 3- Script development

The writer has the produce a synopsis and then see if the producer agrees or not on the key events within the film. They will work very hard and closely together to make sure that they both agree on the key scenes as they both need to have a clear idea of what the film is going to include, not only in terms of genre and target audience but also for the budget, to make sure that their idea is plausible with the budget that they have got. This could take a long while as if the script is bad, the film will not make enough money to pay back all of the investors and there will be no profit made, whereas if the script is good it will, but good scripts can take a while to get perfect. The synopsis is in place to basically write out what the viewer will see on the screen, it will help both the writer and the producer make sure that all the key elements of the film are in the script

A writer will most likely make a step outline of all the key events in the film, with maybe a short description of the key event so that they can make sure that the key events are in the right order. This will eventually make up the script as it will have a lot more detail in it. With the step outline, the writer can tell when the scene breaks are going to be. The writers will more than likely write out the scenes on cards or post-it notes, so that the order of the film is easily changeable so that the writer can try out different orders to see which works best.

Scene 4- Packaging

The producer and director must now take the sales treatment and the final draft of the script and analyse them, coming up with a rough budget for the film. This includes the cost of the director, the stars and the key creating personnel. They will most likely use well known stars in their film if they can afford to as this can make the film more appealing to the audience if they already know some of the stars. They will need to have a meeting with the stars to tell them the main story line of the script and make a deal with them, making sure it is in their budget. The heads of department will then have a meeting with the editor, the production designer and the director of photography and get them on board with the film because if they are not involved, then the film cannot be made. They will work out how much of the profit they will receive from the film. The entire budget of the film is then worked out and turned into a business proposition; this lets the producer know the exact budget of the film. The producer will then go out and see potential investors to tell them how they plan on raising the money and how much profit they will take and how they intend on paying them back. When this is done, the entire film will be packaged into a viable commercial proposition, so that it can be judged by others on whether it is a good idea or not.

Scene 5- Financing

The producer must then travel around to meet different production companies and public bodies with their packaged film idea and draw up contracts with the production companies, the producer will need to go all around the world as financiers can be anywhere. The producer can also raise the money from the distributer, the sales company or the broadcaster, which is called “pre-sales”, which is selling the rights to the film before it has even been made. They can also get the money from the banks that specialise in film finance as they offer loans that the producer would have to pay back with the profit from the film. When all of this is done and the producer can got the full budget paid for, the film then has a ‘green light’ and the film can be made.

Scene 6- Pre-production

The head of departments will have a meeting, this will include the casting director, the editor, the head of sound, the director of photography, the production designer, the 1st AD and the line producer. They will decide the types of cast needed for the film, the sound design needed, the style of film, the clothes design for the cast and make sure that everyone knows what they're doing. They will then hold auditions for the cast of the film, this will be done whilst the writers are planning story boards for the film. The production designer needs to plan all of the outfits whilst the effects shots are being planned and built.


Scene 7- The shoot

The first day of the shoot is important as all of the funding is released and the producer can relax. The camera team will be in charge to make sure that they can get all of the shots that they need to fit in with the story board. The actors then do their thing whilst the lighting and sound crew capture it all,  the visual effects will be carefully monitored by a health and safety expert to make sure that all of the stunts are safe for the actors or stuntmen to partake in. This is all done in a small time space, as they are on a tight schedule, if they do not fit to this schedule, the financiers and insurers may have to step in.

Scene 8- Post production

When the shooting has finished, the processed footage will be given to the editor who will put it into scenes and create a narrative sequence. This is called a rough cut. When this is done, the the sounddepartment will then add all of the sound effects that are needed, this includes the music and the re-recorded dialogue that is needed from the actors. While this is being done, digital effects are being added by a team of special effects compositors. This is when the titles and credits are made, to add onto the end of the film. The picture is now edited if needed to as some of the colour in the clips may not be up to the standard of the Telecine operator (colourist). This is then all looked over and checked by the sound mixer to check whether thesound is up to standard as poor sound can ruin good acting. When all of this is done, this is called the final cut.

Scene 9- Sales
The final cut then needs to be sold to the distributors, this is done by making a short trailer which shows the most marketable moments of the film. This is then shown to the public to attract attention towards the film. The film will then be shown at a 'high-profile' film festival which will then create an even bigger buzz around the film which will grab the attention of distributors all around the world.

Scene 10- Marketing

The producer needs to hire a sales agent to help the film sales, these will make up the marketing team. Knowing the audience is a vital part of making a film, this is why the marketing team will need to run test screenings, so that they can tell how the film will do when released to the general public from the reactions of the tests. When they know the potential audience, they will base the advertising solely on that target group. This will increase the chances of their target audience going to see the film. Television, Radio, Newspapers and magazines will help with this, by giving positive views on the film so that people can hear about it. The internet is a big part in this as it helps the digital media create a buzz around the film but also making niche marketing possible. All this media buzz will then help the distributers sell the film to the cinemas and make a deal so that they will show the film in their cinemas.

Scene 11- Exhibition

Then the time comes for the Premiere of the film, this is will an event that the stars of the film will attend, it is used to launch the film to the general public and it normally covered by a lot of different medias. The film will then be released to up to 3,500 cinema screens around the UK , this is then the distributers job to supply all the prints of the film to all the different cinema screens so that they can be played. They will then send separate prints of the film to all the exhibitors and take their share of the box office receipts. The distributors will then be paid and the financiers can recover their investments, which will be written out in the recoupment schedule.

Scene 12-  Hospitality

When the film is released and has been taken down from the cinema screens, there is still money to be made. The film can be sold as in-flight entertainment, which can possibly bring in millions. The film can also be sold as a DVD or video for people to watch in their homes, this is a great idea as people spend more money on a DVD than a cinema ticket, which could bring even more success to the film. Also, TV is a source of revenue. The rights can be sold separately for pay-tv showings and terrestrial broadcast. Finally, films are sometimes made into video games for consoles for children.

This will create even more profit for the film, which will be split between the producer and all of the creative people, but this is only possible if the film makes a profit.

The final income from a film is, sometimes if the film is very popular on first release, the film company may re-release the film a certain amount of years later, as an anniversary.

Mrs Abrahamson's Camera Shots homework

CLOSE UP

I think that this shot has been taken as a close up to show the expression on 'Georgia's' face as this shot would not be as affective if it was further away as the viewer may misunderstand her 'loved-up' stare as a glare. This would then change the meaning of the scene as it would show the wrong expression. 



EXTREME CLOSE UP

This shot was taken as an extreme close up to make the viewer know that the man is definitely angry. The zoomed-in shot of his eyes show him glaring at his aponent. This shot will definitely emphasise this mans expression and will create tension in the room because of the hardness of his glare. 


MEDIUM SHOT
This scene in 'Friends' was shot using a medium shot. This makes the scene more important as they're talking about Monica's weight, the use of medium shot will show the difference between her weight now and her weight then, therefore making the joke funnier. This shot also allows more than one character be in the shit, which means that less shots need to be used to show a conversation. 




LONG SHOT

A long shot camera angle has been used in this shot to show the vast amount of people. This makes the viewer realise how many people there are there. It gives perspective within the film. If the camera showed the people individually or in groups it would not be as effective. I also allows the viewer to see the setting behind them. 

LOW ANGLE SHOT

This scene in Spider-Man has used a low angle shot. This is to emphasise to the viewers that 'Spiderman' is above them. This is a way of showing that he is on the wall without having to use special effects, but it as effective. 


OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT

As this scene is a conversation between two people, the best way to show this is with an Over the shoulder shot. This will show the back of one person and the front of another. This is mostly used in TV dramas as it also shows a little reaction from the person with the back to the camera, they can show a reaction with their arms of if they move in any way. 

POINT OF VIEW SHOT

Using this as a point of view shot shows the emotion in the girls face. This is very effective as you can see the desperation and pleading from her for the man not to shoot her or the little boy. The viewer would not be able to see this if a long shot or a medium shot was used for this scene and they would see the side of her face and not the emotion she holds. 

Representation:
I don't believe that this man lives on the streets as he shows no sign of dirt or dust on him so I think that he does live in a house, or apartment but without a lot of money. As shown by the original stitching on his trousers, maybe covering a previous hole. As the man is smoking, this makes me believe that he does infact have enough money to buy himself the ciggarettes which would indicate that he has some sort of income. By the look on his face, I can see that although he does not seem to have a lot, he is quite happy with his life as there is a clear sign of happiness on his face.


Representation:
This man looks very serious or concentrated on something. With his clothes and his stature I can assume he is a proffessor or something of that sort. His hair is very clean cut and he is well shaven so this makes me believe that it would be unnacceptable to him to look anything messier than this.


Representation: