Eden Lake - Textual analysis; Monday 30th May

What's on today?
Two key questions that we will answer:
a) What does the opening of Eden Lake establish in terms of plot, character and theme?
b) How does the film establish these elements?

In order to answer the how, we will need to draw on our technical knowledge of film (use of camera, sound, and EDITING)

Also, we will look at a specific type of editing - the use of the JUMP CUT, which we will see in Eden Lake.

Jump Cut


Task - watch the clip of A Bout de Souffle (Godard, 1960). What is unusual about this clip in terms of how the shots are put together? Discuss and write a post on it.

How is this unusual edit created? Simply, part of a continuous shot of film is taken away, leaving a jump from one part of the shot to the other (temporal jump cut) Or, a new shot can be taken from a slightly different angle to the last shot, adjusting the camera position slightly (spatial jump cut).

So why use jump cuts? Surely they end up looking quite amateurish, and remind the audience that they are watching something artificial, something "made".

Take a look at this scene from Trainspotting (Boyle, 1996), as Renton is going "cold turkey" to get over his heroin addiction. He is also dealing with the death of a friend's baby. Look for the jump cut at around 29 seconds, and another example afterwards.

Now why has the editor used a temporal jump cut here?

• helps show that this isn't real - Renton is imagining it
• helps convey his sense of confusion, disorientation and paranoia

Now watch the clip of Eden Lake. Can you identify the jump  cuts? Are they spatial or temporal? What effects are created by including them? Post your answers on your blog.


Watch the clip again, make notes on what we learn of the story, the main characters, and the key themes or ideas the film will deal with.


Feedback with class.

Eden Lake (James Watkins, 2008)

What's on?
We're going to explore Eden Lake in more detail - its themes and imagery in particular.

What to do?
Look at the picture above. Note down all the connections you find between this and what we have seen so far in Eden Lake. These can be both literal (eg. set in a wood/forest) or more figurative.

Questions to consider as we watch:
Are films cultural artefacts? In other words, products of the societies that make them, influenced by the society that makes them, revealing concerns and attitudes of that society and culture?

Do films exist outside of the society and culture from which they come? Do they deal with timeless, universal ideas that could apply any time, anywhere?

Horror film scripting and storyboarding - Wednesday, 18th May

Firstly, regarding your storyboards and scripts for screen - some really professional and careful work, especially artwork from Sabrina and use of film terms from all of you.

Secondly - some interesting and original ideas discussed on Monday, which shows you are really taking on board the importance of location. Keep up the good work.

What's on?
The next two lessons give you a chance to work on your own horror film scripts and storyboards. The deadline is Friday 20th May.

What do you need to do to create an effective opening?

• Have a clear idea of the type of horror film you are making, and use elements appropriate for it (ie. vulnerable and isolated characters, POV shots - slasher films a la Halloween or Scream; industrial settings, fast paced editing, gore - zombie films a la 28 Days Later...ok, they're not - strictly speaking - zombies but lets not split hairs; atmospheric music, high angle shots, locations that symbolise feelings and conflicts - psychological horror a la The Shining)
• Have a clear idea of the texture and mood you wish to create (see above)
• Have a clear idea how you will build suspense in your opening using camera, sound, editing, lighting

Let's have a look at Dog Soldiers as an example:

• Present your work appropriately in the formats given for scripts and storyboarding
• Use you growing film vocabulary to communicate your ideas
• Come up with an appropriate name (you can do this last!)
• Be creative and have fun

How will you be assessed?

• 10 marks for creativity and orginality - demonstrated by the ideas you transmit through your work, your ability to fit or even subvert the genre
• 10 marks for professional and technical skill -using the format correctly, making sure you tinclude all information needed to communicate your vision for the fil , linking storyboard to script, a professional "look" to your work
• 10 marks for effective use of film language

Note: If you go on to film your horror opening outside of school time, you will be rewarded with an "Woscar". Please see me at the end of class to discuss this in more detail if you are considering doing this.

To remind ourselves of some of the conventions of horror, already discussed in class, let's go back to Wes Craven's Scream:

Scripting an opening - Wednesday 11th May

What's on today?
Exactly what it says on the tin, you're going to try your hand at writing a FILM SCRIPT for the opening of a horror film.


Why?
So you get an idea of how to layout the script, how to structure it, what info is needed, what film terms you need to use, etc.

How?

• Reread the REAL working script from John Carpenter's Halloween. Discuss the layout and what information is included for the director, cinematographer, editor and sound designer.
• Find a copy of the script in the download section of the school intranet: college\english\IB Film Studies\Halloween
• Watch the opening of Scream (up until 1 min 35 seconds: "oh, just some scary movie")
• Write your script on a new blog post.
• You can use the following breakdown of shots to help you get started with your script
• You should finish your post by lesson end today. 

 

Feedback

•  What are the strong points of the opening to this horror film? How does it compare to Halloween?
• What information seemed important to include in your script? Was there anything that you felt was not important to include?

Storyboarding A Scene - Monday 9th May

What's on for today?
In preparation for scripting and storyboarding your own opening scene to a horror film,  you will practice how to so this by working backwards from finished films first. Today, we'll look at the opening to Halloween, read the script, and make a storyboard so we can practice the skills needed.

Task 1

Watch the opening of Halloween.

Then read the script provided (this is a copy of the manuscript the director originally used). You will find the script on the school intranet in the downloads section by entering  the folder:
college\IB Film Studies\Halloween (word document).

Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the opening - in what ways does it follow the conventions (or rules) of horror films?

Task 2
Making your storyboard. You will have the rest of the lesson to do this.

•  Use the storyboard template to compose your storyboards for the opening to Halloween
• For decent examples of storyboards click on this. Notice you will need to include brief descriptions of sound, action, etc for each section
• Most of the opening is made with one continuous POV shot. You will need to split this up into relevant parts in your storyboard (eg. 1 - blackscreen with writing, 2 -  est. shot of house, 3 - medium shot of door, etc.)
• Use the handouts to help you with how to show camera/character movement within a shot
• Ask me when you need more storyboard sheets

Feedback

At the end of the session, be prepared to discuss why filmmakers use storyboards in the PRE-PRODUCTION stage of the film. In what ways can they aid us before we enter production?