Techno Terror

CCR for Foundation Portfolio

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Techno by James Murray

Q4:

Concept for Techno Terror

While Jackson Veale is in charge of the main Concept here I have included the aspects of the film that I made that make up a part of the concept.


The title of our film:

The title of this film is "Techno Terror" and is called this due to the main plot line that the story follows. We will also introduce the title in a powerful way that also reflects the story line of the film. When it is first introduce the title will be shown as "Techno error" referring to the incident with the robot. it will then have a glitch effect used that will reveal the "T" in front of the word "error". This will transform it into saying "Techno Terror" which is what the film unfolds to be.

Our target audience:

Due to the violence and the thrill side of the film, this narrows our audience down to those that are between 16-50. People between these age groups will be able to enjoy the movie without being overwhelmed or bored from the plot line. It will also appeal to those who are into movies that are tension building without falling into the horror and gruesome side of it.

Conventions we are using:

Setting:

Garage- This film is based on two people creating a robot that ends up going out of control. Due to this the setting makes the most sense for multiple reasons. The first is that it provides with a realistic backdrop as to where someone would most likely build something like a robot. It also means that we can control the light the whole time as it will all be artificial lighting, something that makes filming a lot easier as we discovered with the trouble we had in the last film.

Props/Costumes:

Denim Clothes- Originally we were going to have Jim and Kodi wear lab coats. This was in order to show  how they are scientific and are attempting to blaze a new frontier in terms of technology. The downside of this was that it seemed to cliche as they would be in a dirty area with nice pristine clothes. While we had planned to make them look grimy  to fit, we were also unable to locate any which posed a big problem. We then decided to replace them with overalls as it made use of the mechanical like area and fitted in with theme of being inventive. They however seemed to limit the realism of the film as we aimed to set the film in the future, and these clothes would be recognised as a mechanics clothes now, rather then a future scientific one. We also had the same problem of being unable to acquire them, which lead us onto the final choice of them wearing denim clothes. In modern society they are a widely liked clothing style and have existed for a long time serving all sorts of purposes. This flexibility in its use and purpose allowed us to have the realistic sense of it being set in the future and that

Name Meaning:

Here I have included the meanings of the individual names of the characters and the character traits associated with them. This allows for us to give a sense of what we wanted the characters to be even if viewers didn't know what there names meant.

Herod:

Latin form of Greek Herodes, meaning "sprung from a hero". In the bible, this is the name of the king who ordered the slaughter of all male children 'two years old and under".

Jim:

People with this name have a desire to help people in every possible way. They are adventurous, creative and posses artistic ability.

Kodi:

Kodi means helpful and beneficial.

Props and Costumes List for Techno Terror

Props and Costume list:

Young Jim:

Description: Jim is meant to be a kid that was super smart when he was young though struggled with social interaction due to it. From this we wanted to openly express this and our school uniform presented as a strong way to do so. As we had students in the background also wearing identical clothes it showed how he did not interact with the other students due to his focus on the robot. It also gave him a semi-sharp look that was nicely carried on in his older version's costume as he wore denim as well.

White Top: Nice clean look that synthesizes with the denim pants.

Denim pants: A clean look is created through them and they tie in well with the formal setting of the classroom. They are also realistic as something that he would wear at the age and as well as that they are continued to be worn by his older version which helps viewers to identify the two as one person.

Black Shoes: Though they are barely visible in the shoot it is for this reason that we choose them as they do not detract attention from Jim but still matches his clothes.

Glasses: Though we hadn't thought about this to just prior to the filming we realized that both of the Jims will be wearing glasses that greatly added to the technological look of the film, while also further tying the two characters together as being one.

Older Jim:

Description: As one of the main characters that feature in the film we wanted the costume to express his character and fit in with the techno thriller genre. After the two previous costumes list as to what he would wear, included in this link, we ended up on having him wear denim clothes. This suited the style of the film while still showing his creative side.We also wanted Kodi to be wearing a similar style of clothing that simply had a slight variant in order to show how he is following Jim in making the robot but is not equal to him.

Denim Jacket: As mentioned before this allowed him to have the appropriate look for the location as well as it having a stylish idea for the identity focus of our film for teenage audience.

Jeans: This again linked him with his younger self as well as working in with the matching in with his jacket. As we also was working in a dirty environment the actors were going to bring their own clothes. Due to this I took into account what wouldn't be ruined  by the workshop while still working in with the theme and genre of the film

Black Shoes:These shoes were also barely noticeable though this was intentional again and we also needed to make sure everyone was safe due to us being in a workshop.

Glasses:This was again unintentional but fitted in well with the character as well as giving the audience another visual link between the two characters.

Kodi:

Description: As the assistant of Jim we wanted him to look similar to Jim so that he was viewed as being similar to Jim. We also wanted him to be different though so that he was viewed as being similar but not identical to Jim, his Jacket was a key feature in creating this.

Maroon Denim Jacket: Due to the color difference he was separated from Jim while being in a similar style. The coloring effect also gives the audience the idea of blood and death, which foreshadows his death in the film.

Jeans:This again was mainly to tie in with the jacket and Jim.

Black Shoes:This was mainly to be inconspicuous and safe.

Glasses:The main reason for having him wear glasses was to again show

Herod(Robot):

Description:We wanted to make sure that the robot wasn't over complicated as it would appear unrealistic. Due to this we originally decided to have him solely wear the sports pants but due to safety reasons we had him wear sports shoes as well, which still kept him in a simplistic style.

Sports Pants:This allowed us to not over complicate him and have a more robotic feel instead of the human look that would have occurred with more clothes. It also showed how Jim was focused on the technological side of him instead of the look of the robot.

Shoes:We decided to make the running shoes solely so they would match with the pants. As stated above we initially didn't plan on him wearing any but due to safety we decided to have him wear these which still went with the simplistic style we gave him.

Props:

Laptop:We included this as a frame for the hologram effect which allowed us to give the film a futuristic style. It also gave Jim something to work on away from the robot and allowed us to visually show the virus when it affects the robot.

Wires:By having these and the multiple other technological and mechanical equipment in the background it gave an ideal backdrop for the film and add to the atmosphere of the film.

Light:We decided to add the light as  being visible in the background as we believed that it would go with the workshop theme. This meant that the lighting would remain the same the whole way through and we wouldn't have to move the light. Though it dos stand out once you notice it in the film it is generally unnoticeable and slips in well at the back of the scene

Chair:We had the chair for two reasons. The first was so that Kodi could work around Herod(robot) easier without being stuck by the table we had originally planned to use. The second was it would be more comfortable for the actor playing Herod and we wanted to make sure that we looked after our actors and weren't troubling them in any way

Blood:Though it isn't to visible in the final edit we had put fake blood on Herod's hand to make it realistic after he attacks Kodi and Jim. We didn't want to make the scene graphic though which is why we used a limited amount of it so that the scene didn't come across as gory.

Gun:Due to its association with violence and its easy to use function it seemed as an ideal alternative to the axe and sledgehammer we had originally planned to use as they were both unsafe and were going to be hard to obtain

Here I have included the first Props and Costumes list we came up with for the film in order to highlight the changes we made in the list.

Props and Costumes List-Draft

Jim:

Lab Coat:

Lab coats are mainly associated with science, and are shown in movies on characters that are creative and inventive. As these are character traits that fit with the character Jim it seemed like an ideal clothing choice for him to wear. With it being white it will also make a stark difference with the fake blood which will be a dark red.

Black Top:

A plain black collared top seems to go best with the lab coat as it gives Jim a more professional look while still keeping him in a casual look. It also allows however is playing this character to stay cool as it the lab coat may make the person hot when we film.

Black Pants:

This choice was more or less for the same reason as the top as it still gives him a professional look while still staying casual and keeping cool.

Black shoes:

Again it is for the same reason as the top and shorts though they are also normal for people working in labs to wear for their own safety.

Additional notes:

-Will have fake blood poured onto the coat

-Hair will be messed up to show that he is focused on his work

-The black colour is the absence of colour. Black is a mysterious colour that is typically associated with the unknown or the negative. The colour black represents strength, seriousness, power, and authority. Black is a formal, elegant, and prestigious colour. Authoritative and powerful, the colour black can evoke strong emotions and too much black can be overwhelming.

-The colour white can represent a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity. As the opposite of black, movies, books, print media, and television typically depict the good guy in white and the bad guy in black.

- As Herod is going to be wearing only black it makes him the stereotype of being the bad guy, making Jim the good guy by wearing white over top of his black clothes. This also doubles as a reflection of how the evil caused by Herod, ultimately, came from within Jim and came out of the,"successful beginning", of Jim.





Kodi:

Will be wearing similar clothes to Jim but will have other objects (e.g clipboard) to make him look the assistant. More detail further down the track.

Blue top: To make a difference from Jim.



The colour blue has positive affects on the mind and the body. As the colour of the spirit, it invokes rest and can cause the body to produce chemicals that are calming and exude feelings of tranquillity. Blue helps to slow human metabolism, is cooling in nature, and helps with balance and self-expression. Blue is also an appetite suppressant.

Herod:

Black pants:

As this is the robot he would be wearing very simple clothes as these pants are a good example of these types of clothes.

Credit Sequence for Techno Terror (FP)

Credit Sequence:

For the opening credits we wanted to have them be symbolic and fit with the theme. We came up with this idea as we believed we could incorporate it and have Jim "design" them during the flashback. We intended for it to be done on white paper and have a clean look that fits in with Jim's character.

After consideration we decided to go with the block font as it gave a nice edge and have the details coming off of the drawings be done in normal text. After a talk with our teacher though we realised that the credits weren't symbolic enough and wouldn't fit in with the scene as much as we had hoped it would.

Due to this we realised that him drawing on blueprint paper would fit in better as it goes with his creative side and shows that he is serious about them. It also give the drawings a crisper and cleaner edge making them look more appealing and fit in with our desired theme. We also realised that doing the text in this style fits in better and gives the shots a more sophisticated edge to them and the realistic side that we wanted to follow.

Here I have included some robot blueprints that show the type of ones we would create to display ours.

As we continued with the pre-production I discovered that the original way that I intended making them with blue paper and twink for the lines turned out to look unrealistic. I then started to look online for a better way of making blueprints and in doing so I discovered that blueprints are created in order to make multiple copies of the same design by copying  the original paper. As there would have been no way for Jim to make these in the classroom we decided that it would be best if we had him just draw on paper.

The camera movement for this sequence is also key as we want it to go at the perfect speed to show the blueprints without losing the audiences attention. We also need to make it look natural as if you are simply looking at them in real life. Due to this I believe that the sequence will be about ten seconds long with the paper in a quickly placed done way that is long enough though to be legible. To make it easy to read we will include block letters over top to highlight the words.

Here are the picture details of the final copy of credits which we all agree fitted really well with the film and didn't look like it was simply attached on afterwards.

Sole Survivor Final Export

CCR for PT2: Sole Survivor

CCR for PT2: Sole Survivor

Q1: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues.

In our film sole survivor we have made a scenario in which Eric believes that he is the last man on Earth but is then confronted by Samael who ends up trying to kill him.

To achieve this we followed basic conventions that are expected in a thriller and that raise suspense. The most obvious examples of these are our weapon choices that Samael uses. He first uses a gun in an attempt to shoot Eric, this distances him from the killing and gives the sense that it is less personal to him. As he misses and has no other bullets he is forced to use a knife an attempts to stab Eric and succeeds at doing so. By doing so he positions himself closer to the pain and makes it seem more personal giving the idea that this is a major thing in his life. while both are acceptable weapons in creating suspense a knife seems more realistic in this scenario and might have made the film better if it was the only weapon.

We also broke the 180 Degree rule during the scene were Eric drags Samael outside. By doing this we were able to add a sense of confusion and panic to the scene which reflects the emotion of both characters at this point of time. It also gave better angles for the scene and allowed the audience to be positioned as a spectator and be distanced from the death while still being present.

They final strong convention we used was the voice over done by Eric both at the start and end of the film. We did this in order to fill in the details that were missing otherwise to the audience and to give the history as to why he is the,"sole survivor". it also made Eric seem more open to the audience as they are hearing his thoughts and gives the impression that he isn't hiding anything from them unlike Samael who is.

The main social issue that we explore is,"brotherhood and betrayal", as a divergent off of the representational group of,"love". This is shown in are film by Samael who at fist seems like a fine guy up until the twist were we discover that he is a psychopath who wants to kill Eric. Though this is a very dramatic way of showing it, it is a problem in modern society that is common family's apart as everyone seems suspicious of someone else planning to do something. Though this is often just a sibling planning a prank it is something that causes hate and mistrust when taken to far.

Q2: How does your product engage with the audience and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Q3: How did your production skills develop throughout the project?

Q4: How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project?

The Final Delivery Final Export

CCR for Preliminary Task 1

The Final Delivery

CCR

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 3 by James Murray

Question 4

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

There was a problem with the audio as there was a buzzing sound that could be heard  in the background of some shots. One shot that had this problem was the one were the boss was tapping. I missed the buzzing on the day and I had to use the tool Denoiser to fix this while editing. This tool allowed me to cut out the background noises while still keeping the tapping.

I wanted to make it more obvious that a gun had been fired and that it wasn't just a balloon popping. I found the tool "flash" which allowed me to cover the whole screen in one colour. By doing this sudden colour people naturally blink, achieving the sudden effect that I had been desiring.

To help with the gunfire I also added a real gun shooting over top of the recorded audio to give a jump fright and to create sudden tension within the viewer. It also aided the "flash" tool as it matched this choice and furthered the suspense being created.

I also overlapped text on the screen to use as credits to the filming crew. I didn't want plain text on all the actors so I tried to give each actor there own unique text that matched the role they were playing. This is why Walters text was very plain in comparison to the fancy text given to the boss. I also wanted to have formal credits at the end to honour the hard work of my classmates which is why I use the formal text at the end

There was also the problem with the lighting at the start in which the colour of it is warm instead of the blue light which is the intended colour of light for Walter. To fix this I used the tool "tint" which allowed me to mask the whole screen in a blue haze to get the desired colour choice on Walter.

As it was my first time being the audio mixer I had made some silly mistakes with the volume levels of the machine and made some areas really loud and others to quiet. I luckily found the solution to this problem by using the "audio lever adjuster" to raise and lower the volume when necessary. This allowed me to cut out some background noises when no one was talking and raise noises like the boss tapping so that the audio seemed natural.

I had also added music into the film in order to try and raise the suspense being created by the plot. On reflection, however I see that this might not have been the wisest choice as a backing track as it turns the film into an action thriller instead of the crime thriller we had intended to make.

Work for Preliminary Task 1

Props and Costumes - James, Jackson Doudney, Jackson Veal

The Boss' Costume

Pocket Watch - Jaeden

We included the use of the pocket watch as to add a superior attitude to the boss and the theme of time. As it is in one of the starting and the closing scenes we wanted it to be a symbol that would be related to the boss,  because of this we decided to use a black pocket watch with gold insides. This makes us feel as if he is wealthy as he is shrouded by darkness like the watch so he must have this gold that is present in the watch to. The ending is also symbolic as the closing of the watch symbolises the other characters time ending.

Sun Glasses - James

we decided to include this character wearing glasses as it makes him seem colder an harsh. This is done from the lack of eye contact which people use to see how other people feel. the fact that they are mirrored also help this as we get the feeling that we are constricted to that small space and are helpless to do anything.

Woollen Jacket - Teacher Marcus

We decided to use a coat on the boss to continue the feeling of darkness and mystery around him giving him foreboding atmosphere. It also strengthens the ideal of him being wealthy as it continues to give him the feeling the pocket watch gave. A sense of coldness and roughness is also created from the jacket as it is associated with these in common movies and books.

Fedora - Teacher Marcus

While the multicoloured side of it wasn't originally intended to provide an effect it does give the character a more elegant and sophisticated side to him. This was the reason a fedora was chosen to be worn as it not only hid him but it matched the idea of the pocket watch. This kept him in theme and added to his character.

Black Jeans and Shoes - Teacher Marcus

We chose these coloured jeans and shoes as they are going to be semi hidden by the table. As we didn't want to take away the attention of viewers by having exuberant jeans and shoes this colour choice worked best. It won't grab attention and will blend into the background adding this sense of mystery.

Extras

The only other notice in relation to this character is his black top ( though briefcase is talked about later). In order to give our actor more comfort as he is wearing hot clothes in a hot room we wanted them to wear undergarments that would help keep them cool.

Walter's Costume

La Kings Jacket - James

While the team had nothing to do with the choice of it, the main reason it was used was for its colour scheme. As it is almost fully black with only a little grey on it it gives the character a sense of simpleness with a slight edge of sophistication. It also gives him a sense of fear as he seems to hide in it and let it conceal him. This is symbolic of how he tries to hide yet can't and he ultimately pays the price for it.

Black Boots - Joseph

As the boots are part of the first shot we wanted to have ones that stood out yet also fitted in with the theme. These army like boots were perfect as they seemed to give him a sense of toughness and danger, yet they didn't match the movement he made which showed fear. This gave the quality of his character as well as the look he was supposed to have.

School Pants - Joseph

These pants were chosen to continue the theme of the jacket. It is basically used for the same reason as the jeans and the shoes in the bosses costume

Extras

Same as before, undergarments to help keep the actor comfortable.

Props

Briefcase - Jacko

It is symbolic of mystery and importance as it is constantly shown and is highlighted by the shots used on it. A black one was chosen to continue the hidden wealth idea from the pocket watch and to give it that professional, crisp look which matches the bosses feel.

Gun - Jacko

We decided a black gun would allow it to realistically be hidden and unnoticed by Walter when he walked in and is symbolic of death. (Spray painted black by Jackson Doudney ).

Swivel Chair and chair - teacher Caroline

Walter was given a swivel chair as it allows him to act afraid easier and symbolises Walter as he is shaky and unfaithful. A sturdy chair was given to the boss to symbolise his sting and hard side which contrasts strongly to Walters.

Table - library

A simple table was decided to be used as it wouldn't draw attention away from the basic plot and story.

Storyboard - James, Jackson Doudney, Jackson Veal

Jackson Doudney was the main contributor to the storyboard though I did help with some of the drawings and both me and Jackson Veal did help come up with ideas .