2. A family tries to run away to find safety, but where they
seem to think safety is, ends up being more dangerous
than ever.
Safety
Runaway
Confusion
Freedom
Feared
3. Philosophy behind the story
The message that I’m trying to bring across with my movie, is that
sometimes people search too far for something that is usually closer
than they think it is. JJ and his family are running away to find
safety, but where they seem to think safety is, there is more trouble.
This supports the message I’m trying to bring across as it suggests that
they did not have to go too far to find safety, and by going too far they
created more trouble than they had to.
With my story I also want to make people realise that everyone has a
story, and that even a villain has a heart and in this situation the
kidnappers may be doing something ‘bad’ but they are driven by evil
things rather than being evil themselves.
4. Concept/storyline
A recent scandal took place where numerous children have and are still going missing.
The English government has no idea and has not made much effort to find out where
the children have disappeared to. When one of their own legends, the
famous, teenage, British pianist Jayson J. got targeted which then created chaos, the
family tried to handle it themselves however this may not end the way they hoped it
would. As its not only the children that are targeted but the whole family has been
brought in danger now as well.
My reasons
My reason for this plot would definitely be that I was watching Taken just before
this, and I was inspired by the story line and also fascinated by it taking place abroad
rather than locally where everything always seems safe and known.
5. Characters
Jayson J (JJ): JJ is the main character, he is a male aged 13 and won 2012’s Britain’s got
talent which got him to the top 10 youngest pianists in the whole world. He is a young
and driven artist that has the dream to go on tour and follow his dad’s (who also used
to be a famous pianist) footsteps.
Joyce: Mother of the family, who encourages the secret keeping. We may not see
visuals of her but are more likely to hear audios.
Mysterious guy(s): They are the men that have been sent to do the kidnapping, they
are mysterious as we wont be seeing enough of them to be able to identify them.
6. Setting time and place
The setting of my movie started in England, then another part was filmed on the plane
and the film was finalized in Ghana. I did this as I believe that it suited my plot, as
these countries are known commonly for kidnapping.
I filmed at different times of the day depending on which scene or mood I was trying
to create. For example filming at night time for a more mysterious setting.
7. Editing and planning
When deciding on how to layout my trailer, I wanted to convey certain set rules by
making it stand out more and making people remember it even if they do not decide
to watch the actual movie straight away.
I filmed my footages with an IPhone 5 as I preferred the quality over the one a digital
camera (for instance) would give me. I also wanted to be modern and use new
technology, which shows that technology is moving forward and that new experiments
have led to new and better opportunities.
8. Ideas
Unsafe- This title relates to the way the characters are feeling and basically sums up
the reasons they had to look for safety and run away from where they lived.
Expect the unexpected- The title is put in such a way that the audience is warned
due to the use of the imperative form, telling them what to do, It creates an enigma
code as it does not give away too much but does engage the audience
Age:
My target audience is 16+ as the plot may be too complicated for anyone younger to
understand, however there will be no violence therefore it would not be harmful for
under 16’s. (the ratings are purely because of the possible dificulties that might
arrise when it comes to the understanding of the story).
9. Inspiration
As I previously mentioned Taken by Oliver Megaton was initially
my main inspiration when deciding on both plot and scenery.
They have a story line that is similar to mine and I agreed with
the setting as I believe that by making it take place abroad adds
fear to it all, as humanbeings seem to find what is unknown or
unfamiliar to them a threat which helps make the viewers feel
fear, tension and in some cases excitement.
I was also further inspired by the American TV series ‘Kidnapped’ and
just like in my story it is about a son of someone who is quite wealthy.
The family agrees to keep it a secret when he gets kidnapped and this
is also what happens in my movie, as the mother tries to protect her
son. I came up with my story before I found out about the series but
discovered that they were quite inspirational, allowing me to improve
my initial story adding further background details into my plot.
10. Presented
Two shot in screen
I really like the way in which the movie trailer Taken uses different ways of
filming, such as horizontal and landscaped, and puts them in one frame to
create certain effects.
It for instance allows the viewer to see two things that are happening at
the same time but at different locations, without having to use a different
frame and therefore creating a direct link between the two sequences
11. Todorov Narrative theory
Todorov’s narrative theory suggests that narratives exist
out of an equilibrium, followed by a disequilibrium and
then finally it is supposed to end with a resolution.
Applying this theory to my own work, when describing my
narrative, made me recognise this structure.
At the start of my trailer, when JJ is getting ready to go on
his holiday with his family, nobody suspects that this
holiday will be anything BUT normal. They all seem to be
happy, this suggests that this part of my narrative would
fall under Todorov’s equilibrium sector. In contrast to the
joy felt at the start, the story slowly leads to more of a
disequilibrium, where the kidnap slowly takes place, and
fear quickly arises. I did this to build up a story allowing
people to understand the emotions that are involved
throughout the movie.
12. S. Hall –Reception Theory
Hall’s theory suggest that the producers of the media texts
encode them- they are full of hidden messages and values that
the producer may want to share through his e.g. trailer, text etc.
The audience then have different ways of interpreting the
messages and values, and this is called decoding.
According to his theory the audience adopts one of the following three positions when
decoding the text (interpreting):
• Dominant, or preferred, reading - Intended way ( producer’s intended message
• Oppositional Reading - When the preferred reading is rejected by the audience (own
meaning created)
• Negotiated reading - audience accepts intended but also has their own view
Like mentioned earlier I have an intended message (people should expect the
unexpected, not underestimate but neither should they judge someone they do not
know, as nobody knows the story behind their deeds).
13. L. Straus - Binary Opposition
Straus believes that producers use binary opposites (conflict
between two opposing forces) to create conflict to entertain
their audience.
In my movie trailer I have two main binary opposites, the
‘bad’ people (kidnappers) and the innocent people
My reason for using these binary opposites, is to emphasise on my main message behind
the story. I decided to prove the point of people being misunderstood because of their
actions, and that people do not consider their reasons behind them.
