Ewan Wild is researching existing films, TV shows, and other media to inspire his short film project. He analyzes several dark comedy films and TV shows including The End of the F***ing World, Dr. Strangelove, Four Lions, Shaun of the Dead, and American Psycho. He looks at how they use comedy to make serious or dark moments more impactful. Wild also considers music inspirations from Life is Strange and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. He wants to incorporate thought voiceovers, tension building scenes, and a serious ending to his film while maintaining elements of comedy.

1. FMP: RESEARCH
Ewan Wild

2. EXISTING
PRODUCTS – FILM
ANDTV
Secondary Research

3. The End OfThe F***ingWorld
- Film
My short film is going to have a style very similar to this.This
TV series is an inspiration to me due to the different style
and dynamic, creating amazing dramatic moments, and
some dark comedy when it’s needed.The main way I’ve been
inspired by this show is how they portray the thoughts of the
main characters.The idea is that people don’t always say
what they really mean, and so voicing the character’s
thoughts so the person who is watching knows what they
truly mean. I want to use a similar technique in my film by
adding their thoughts in post during editing. Not only this,
but it uses the non-diegetic speech in the comedic
moments, which is something I want to do.The only
problem is that mine may be too similar, but I’m hoping the
different stories will make them different enough. If not,
mine is still in it’s early stages so making more changes
would not be a problem.

4. The End OfThe F***ingWorld
- Film
One specific scene that shows this very well is when they
kill someone. The tension in the scene, and the fear they
show lasts a little while. It allows people to reach a
heightened sense of tension before suddenly coming out
with some comic relief. Notice in the top frame the light
is darkened, this is during the end of the tense part.
James then starts telling a fact (dead people are heavier
than alive people), this starts easing the mood. Alyssa
then responds with “Alright then”. It’s something blunt to
the point where the mood feels a lot lighter. Behind her
as well you can see the lights are brighter, possibly
indicating how people should now feel. The fact that
these brighter lights are opposing the blood makes it
stand out more, highlighting the seriousness of the
scene, while still maintaining a lighter mood. It’s really
what’s making the comedy dark, without the blood, it’s
just a regular boring scene.

5. The End OfThe F***ingWorld
-Trailer
This trailer concentrates more on the comedy
aspect of things rather than the darker areas
with murder. It still skims along all of that,
however there’s a much larger emphasis on it in
the actual series. In my opinion, they want to
keep the trailer more light hearted to first draw
people in.The voiceover tells it how it is,
explaining the two main characters leaving,
stealing a car, and getting into trouble, however
the music creates a different kind of tone for the
trailer, giving it a much more upbeat feeling
then there actually is.This is quite unique to this
genre as dark comedies have a tendency to
mask serious issues with more upbeat music,
which gives them a very distinct feeling when
you watch them.

6. The End OfThe F***ingWorld
– Audience Profile
This is a difficult start for me as there isn’t a lot of data to do with the audience
classification of this show. I believe that its audience is mostly teenagers and young
adults, however I need sources to back it up. Luckily, I came across some reviews of it.
There’s a review of it by the online newspaper ‘The Michigan daily’ where the writer
says
“While my parents argued that they “didn’t quite get” the show, I think that there is
something in these angsty teens that most, if not all, young people today can identify
with.The relatable, underlying theme of the us-against-the-world mentality has the
audience rooting for the success of these misanthropes.”
This statement sums up the show well, parents don’t really get it. She has backed up
my point that young people can identify with parts of the show, telling us that’s it’s
more tailored towards them.
Another review, this time from Dan’s Media Digest, is more straightforward about the
audience of the film, saying “It’s a bold and memorable setup for an angsty teen
drama”. He’s not wrong really, that’s exactly what it is.
Both of these reviews back up what I believe the audience is. It’s difficult as there isn’t a
lot of data on a lot of these shows, so I have to make do with what I can get, but I think
that I’ve got enough here to back up my points.

7. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to
StopWorrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove is seen as one of the original dark
comedies. It portrayed to cold war in a completely
different light, making a classic satirical film. Originally,
it was supposed to be a drama, however Kubrick just
couldn’t make the writing seem serious enough, so it
was changed to a comedy.When you have a film about
a U.S general who’s frustrated by his sexual impotence
planning to launch a nuke against the soviet union, it’s
just easier to make it a comedy.This adaption of the
book ‘Red Alert’ by Peter George isn’t going to be too
similar to my film, as the story is just too different.
However, I do take inspiration from the way that
Kubrick could create a satirical comedy out of such a
serious subject, especially at the time when the war
was still going on.

8. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to
StopWorrying and Love the Bomb
In Dr. Strangelove, arguable the most famous scene is of
Kong riding a bomb.The reason I mention this scene, is
because although it seems funny on the surface, you must
think about what it is.They have made a man dying and
exploding to little bits seem iconic and hilarious.The way he
rides on it, waving his hat around, there doesn’t appear to be
anything wrong with him and he’s just acting like everything
is normal. Towards the end of the scene when it blows up, it
stays on the picture of the explosion.This appears like it’s
done to allow the viewers to absorb what they’ve just seen.
In the moment it’s funny, however when they realise what’s
just happened, it’s almost shocking.

9. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to
StopWorrying and Love the Bomb –
Audience Profile
Although I couldn’t find a profile specifically for this film, I do have a profile for
Stanley Kubrick, the director.
According toYouGov, Kubrick is most popular with males from generation X.These are
people aged between 1965 – 1979, making them aged between 41-55.This is possibly
due to the fact that a lot of these films were made when they were kids, such asThe
Shining in 1980 and Full Metal Jacket in 1987.This is a very different age to the one I’m
going for; however I think the base genre has stayed the same.

10. Four Lions - Film
Four Lions is one of the more political dark comedies that
I’m researching. It’s definitely one of the most offensive.
Following four terrorists in England who really don’t know
what they’re doing.The film has a psychological role in
giving a voice to a very taboo subject, revealing socially-
repressed fears. But instead of playing on those fears, it
makes a mockery out of them and makes them seem
ridiculous. Especially these days where such a subject like
terrorism is so ingrained in media, this comedic film could
make people stop living in fear. Pair this with an intense
ending that isn’t funny in the slightest (and isn’t intended to
be), and you have a dark comedy that can make your fears
seem ridiculous, and then remind you that what’s going on
could be very real.
My short film is not nearly going to be as intense as this,
however I like the idea of serious undertones. Ending on
something serious in something quite comedic can have
quite an effect on an audience if done right, so that might
be a good way to end it.

11. Four Lions - Film
The one scene I take away from Four Lions is the one I’m
calling “Volatile Explosives”.This one’s a bit different as
throughout the scene, there’s the underlying feeling of
tension with bits of comedy put on top.This builds up more
and more over the course of around five minutes before it’s
released when something happens that people were waiting
for; someone trips causing the explosive to go off.This
causes the release of the tension as that’s what the build up
was leaving up to. Instead it’s replaced with shock, as well as
an aspect of comedy.The way he died was silly, so people’s
initial reactions would be shock, then that would be replaced
with laughter.This is extremely dark given the situation
they’re in where they’re trying to bring home the ingredients
for a bomb, and so this works with my type of comedy. I
think the situation is lighter in this though given that we
know they’re terrorists.The fact that they’re the villains
makes a comedic death seem funnier, rather than upsets
people.

12. Four Lions -Trailer
The four lions trailer has both similarities and
differences to the trailer for ‘End of the F***ing
World’.They both concentrate on the comedy
aspect of the film, showing joke after joke to try
and get people to watch, however Four Lions
does it slightly differently. It’s less clear in this
trailer what the plot is.As EOTFW walks you
through what’s happening in the first season,
this leaves almost an aura of mystery.We don’t
know anything about the characters and why
they do what they do, however the audience
wants to find out, and they want to know if they
will succeed at their task, so the trailer draws in
the audience not just through comedy, but also a
bit of mystery as well.

13. Four Lions – Audience Profile
Chris Morris’ Audience Profile is a little harder to read. Not only is he well known for
Four Lions in 2010, but he did a lot of popularTV in the 90s, such asThe DayToday
and Brass Eye.This has split his audience profile.
Both millennials and generation X have the same positive opinion, so there isn’t a
clear audience. The only thing I do know is that his audience has more men.This
would be due to his dark humour, which men tend to prefer. I personally edge
more towards millennials (born between 1980-94) due to the fact that the older
shows from the 90s could appeal more to generation X, whereas millennials may
prefer his more recent work, like Four Lions.

14. American Psycho
Patrick Bateman, as argued by the author of the original novel, is
not a character, he’s a cypher.This character is established right
away, however he keeps adding items to what he is, making the
audience constantly think about who, or what, he actually is. At
the beginning of both the film and novel, Bateman describes
himself in a way that both answers and makes questions
“There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction. But there
is no real me, only an entity, something illusory. Although I can hide my cold
gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe
you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable--I simply am not
there.”
That comment instantly establishes his character. Who is this
psychopath?The audience doesn’t know him well, but they want
to.This way a character is established intrigues me, as they’ve
created someone who keeps adding more to his character.This is
the type of development I want for my short film. I don’t want to
give away everything straight away, I would much rather slowly
build the character, as this film does.

15. American Psycho
The way American Psycho mixes comedy with dark, horror-
like aspects is really unique, in my opinion. He gets himself
in situations that seem like nothing, however his attitude
towards all of this makes it both humorous and a little scary.
My personal favourite example of this is the scene where all
the businessmen compare business cards. It’s a strange
situation in itself, however Patrick Bateman’s reaction to
finding out all the other business cards are better than this
makes the scene. It almost makes him lose control and
unleash his true self. Although he doesn’t say or think
anything as explicit as wanting to kill them, it’s heavily
implied with his actions. Sweating and uncontrollable
shaking because people have better cards than he does is
funny to the audience as the situation is ridiculous. Surely
people can’t actually think like that? However there’s also
something unnerving about someone losing control at
something that seems so simple, almost to the point of
murder.

16. Shaun OfThe Dead - Film
Shaun of the dead is a lot more concentrated on the
comedy aspect rather than the darker, thriller-like
genre.The way the characters were written creates a
natural friendship feeling which stops them from
being perceived as irritating by the audience.This
concept should be ridiculous, a zombie breakout in
the suburbs of England just doesn’t seem like it
should work. But the comedy feeds into this feeling
of ridiculousness and makes it work. As well as this,
the film is so pumped full of jokes and classic British
humour, that when something serious does happen,
it can really hit you. Ed’s death scene in this film is the
best example of how both a serious scene can make a
film, and character development.

17. Shaun OfThe Dead -Trailer
This trailer is very different to the others. It
involves a voiceover that isn’t in the main film, they
actually recorded it especially for the trailer, rather
than just editing down the final piece. But the way
they cut it as well makes it seem much more
aggressive and violent than it actually is. In my
opinion, I think they did this because they’re
aiming for a completely different demographic to
the other films. By the looks of it, the trailer is
directed much more to an older male audience,
which why they make it look so much more violent.
This was the first of the cornetto trilogy and Edgar
Wright’s first movie to direct, so it was important
that they make it appeal to an audience as, other
than fans of his tv show ‘spaced’, he was fairly
unknown at the time.

18. ResearchAnalysis
Looking at all of the scenes I have researched, they all have one
main thing in common I want to concentrate on.The comedy is
widely used to give the more serious parts more impact. Ed’s death
in Shaun of the Dead, the attacks in Four Lions, James first killing
the man in End of the F***ingWorld, although all these serious
scenes aren’t meant to give the audience a different emotion, the
emotion in all of them is really strong, and that could be due to the
comedy that’s so common in them before.This is something I want
for my ending. Although my ending wont be conclusive and still
create questions, I think I can get this same emotion with it. Pair
that with some basic comedy and I think it will bring out the
emotion I want. I don’t want too much comedy in mine though,
just enough to lighten the mood. It would be more like End of the
F***ingWorld than Shaun of the Dead.

19. The Office
The Office may sound like a weird choice as an
inspiration, but there’s a couple of specific scenes
that I want to take inspiration from.There’s
moments in the show where they don’t have
microphones on so we can’t hear what they’re
saying. Instead, we’re told what’s going on
through their use of emotion and body language
alone, no sound, no music, just pure emotion.
These scenes really stand out inThe Office for
how different it is to the rest of the show. If you’re
watching something with constant sound, the
sudden lack of sound and sudden hit of emotion
makes these scenes much very memorable, and
that’s what I want mine to be.This is done with a
few pieces of media, such as in ‘FightingWith My
Family’ (2019).

20. EXISTING
PRODUCTS - OTHER
Secondary Research

21. Music
My main inspiration for music will be from the
game ‘Life is Strange’.They use a lot of indie music
which heavily features acoustic guitar. For
example, a perfect song to use for my short film
would be Something Good by Alt-J. It features
relaxing music with acoustic guitars, pianos, and
vocals. Everything about the song would be a good
fit for the more montage-like scenes in my short
film.Another choice would be something more
exciting featuring a few different styles of music
rather than just indie, like in the movie ‘Baby
Driver’. Music features more heavily there than I
would have in my movie, but the soundtrack is
amazing and definitely something to look up to.

22. Music – Scott PilgrimVs.The
World
This movie’s soundtrack is very different to Life Is
Strange. It’s a lot more indie rock, which creates a
completely different mood. Although not in my
original plan, this music can help me set the mood
for certain scenes. If I want to pick up the pace a
bit at any point, this music style is a good way to
do it. Although it isn’t just indie rock.There is a
variety of music such as Beachwood Sparks, which
slows down the pace after the rock has finished.
It’s a good example of how music can make you
move with the film, as having one set pace
throughout doesn’t work. It can make you bored
and lose interest, so by changing the pace, you
get a break from the same old thing.

23. Posters
Most of my project is moving image, however I
also want to make a poster for my short film,
adding some still image into there too. I want
to create something simple as I’m not
specializing in still image but still want to
create something that really adds to my film. I
will create something similar to the poster on
the left, from the movie ‘Us’. It is simple yet
brings an uneasy feeling, a similar emotion to
what you’d feel if you watched the film. From
this you can also easily tell the genre. Looking
at the poster you can see that it’s a horror film,
even though it doesn’t say that anywhere.

24. Posters
As for film posters in closer to my genre, most seem to
follow a similar theme which is shown by these two
posters quite well. It’s the just the main characters
standing there with something slightly relevant to the
film, such as the arm cast or dog shown in those two
posters.
However I also got some some inspiration when I was
browsing reddit. Someone made some fairly creepy art
and posted it online, which gave me an idea. I could do an
poster as a gif. It looks normal and then something
changes bringing out a secret that’s a bit more creepy
than the rest of the poster. It can be found here.

25. FilmT-Shirt Designs
The main similarity I’ve found when looking at
different film-based shirts is that they all seem to be
pretty simple, sometimes even minimalistic.When I
make my own design and put it on a shirt, I’ll want to
do something similar. It’s not the biggest part of my
project so I don’t want to spend too much time with it,
but if I can make a design that is clearly related to my
film and a simple design, I can actually make it look
really good. I threw on a screenshot from earlier into
Spreadshirt to see what I was looking at, and it would
only be around £13 to actually physically make a shirt
with my own design on, which would be a very good
bonus bit for my production.

26. AUDIENCE
RESEARCH
Secondary Research

27. End of the F***ingWorld
In this section I will be looking at the existing products that are more like my short
film, and analyse a good and bad review. I started with this as it is probably the most
similar to what I want to do, with the same target audience and a similar style.The
main thing I take away from this positive review is that it doesn’t have the typical
areas that a teen tv show usually does, as they describe it “sex, drugs or cliché
drama”.They seem to like the fact that the teenagers are treated as actual teens
that can cut you deep through emotions.The bad review is also helpful to me.The
main area I take away from that is that this show is missing the element of surprise.
If I want to combat this, I have to make an ending that people don’t expect. I’m not
sure how I will do this just yet, but I’m determined to find a way.

28. Four Lions
This positive review tells me what I should be doing well. It mentions how Four Lions creates
characters that have their own personalities that adds to the comedy, something that seems
easy to do but really, getting characters right can be difficult. It also describes the dialogue as
“explosively dynamic”, which is a brilliant compliment. In my opinion, dialogue is the hardest
part to do well. At this stage I’m just not very good at writing, and don’t have access to actors
that can do it very well.To combat this I have very little dialogue, and most of what I do have is
added in post.This negative post tells a different story.This person was not into the dark
comedy at all as it was about a very sensitive subject.This tells me that if I deal with something
that could be considered offensive to people (not that I’m planning on it, unless people find
certain crimes offensive), then I have to be careful when I’m doing it and make it tasteful.
Personally, I thought Four Lions was tasteful, it didn’t mock the religion in any way, just
terrorists, but obviously this person thought differently.

29. Shaun of the Dead
This positive review is useful as it reminds me not to stick to stereotypes.
The fact that they say “I was expecting another spoof… but was pleasantly
surprised” suggests that it avoids the typical cliches of dark comedy. It
follows certain stereotypes of course, as any spoof does, but it does it in
such a way that makes it different to any other ones.The negative review on
the other hand, suggests it fails at this as well as everything else. “It’s not
funny, it’s not scary, and above all it’s really not entertaining or amusing”
suggests that they believe a big problem is with the script.This is a common
theme with this genre and so that’s what I really need to concentrate on
when I move into production.

30. After Life
Next, I chose something that I haven’t already done research on, After Life. It’s a satirical
comedy about a man who loses his wife to cancer, and wants to die because of it.The series
plays with your emotions making you want to both laugh and cry and certain times. This is also
what the positive review says. I want to make something that can play with people’s emotions as
well as this does, it might not be to the same degree, but I could do it a bit.The negative review
however, thinks the opposite about this. His main problem with the show is that they think the
writing is poor. It doesn’t play with this person’s emotions at all and instead just comes off as
smug.This may not be as useful to me as the negative reviews on the other parts of my research
as all of the negative ones just slate Ricky Gervais rather than saying something constructive,
however it does remind me that I can’t please everyone. No matter what I make, there will
always be people who tell me it isn’t good enough, and that’s normal, especially in an industry
like film andTV.

31. S. Audience ResearchAnalysis
The main takeaway from this area of research is about the script.
On multiple different reviews, it mentions how they think the
writing is bad.This means it’s something that I will really need to
concentrate on making as good as possible as it’s clearly an
extremely important part in making my short film.The script is
nearly everything and is an outline of what will eventually become
my short film.There’s also a big thing about avoiding clichés.This is
something people in my position could into easily.Clichés such as
’and then he woke up’ and the camera in the fridge are both
examples of student film stereotypes that I want to avoid. It may
not be the type of clichés that the people making the reviews were
talking about, but my point still stands as these helped me realise
that I need to avoid them.

32. AUDIENCE
RESEARCH
Primary Research

33. Survey Planning
I know I want to do a public survey as it will give me a good idea of what I need to
add from the perspective of strangers. I’ll ask questions that are relevant and then
find the common results to see what random people want.This way I wont get a
bias opinion. I am making a list of questions I could possibly ask, not all may make
it, but I will narrow it down to the best one.
■ Age range (e.g 16-24) –This is done to narrow it down to my target audience. I
can get answers from people who my short film is for, so I can get an idea of
what they like
■ What do you like in a dark comedy? – Look for common themes in the answers.
■ What’s something you wouldn’t want to see in a dark comedy? –Things to
avoid according to other people
■ Can you name a stereotype commonly seen in this genre? – I want to avoid
stereotypes
■ What is your favourite dark comedy? – Gives me more research
■ Have you had any run ins with someone you considered ‘creepy?’ – If yes ask
them what happened, it could give me inspiration.

34. Where has the survey gone?
■ I sent it out to some people over email, as well as made it
available to people on Reddit and other social medias
(Subreddit dedicated to surveys)
(very active subreddit so I posted it on there)
(Posted on my social media)

35. Survey Results
In the end I got 26 results for my survey. It isn’t as many as I was hoping for, however
it’s enough responses to find common patterns when analysing them.
Starting with question 1, I asked their age.This is a
good start for my survey, it means in the later questions
I’ll be able to narrow it down to just my target audience,
leaving plenty of answers remaining for me to analyse
that are more useful.
For question 2, I asked what people wanted to see in a dark comedy. I think these two
answers shown below sum up the common themes of the answer.They want to see
dark humour that doesn’t come off as offensive, as that’s cheap. Some want my film to
almost make fun of itself, which I can do to a certain degree. The things said in this
question narrow down my ideas for what I want in my script as it gives me an idea of
the type of content people would want in this genre.

36. For question 3, I asked what clichés they commonly see in this genre.This question was
to give me areas to avoid for my short film so I don’t add anything that would make
people roll their eyes or groan.The main answer to this was adding violence for the sake
of violence. People think gore can be taken way too far, and that can really ruin the
immersion of a film, and so I shouldn’t add too much. Secondly, a common theme was
taking jokes too far. I’m interpreting it as jokes going so far they become offensive, and
then eventually that causes them to stop being funny.This seems like a warning for
when I’m writing my script to write carefully, as going too far with one thing could not
end well.
Next, I asked about people’s favourite dark comedies. This
question may not be seen to be as useful as the others,
however it gives me a good idea of the type of dark
comedies people in my target audience like, so I can
concentrate on making something more like them. As well
as this, it gives me more items to research if I have the time,
so question 4 was still useful.

37. Finally, I asked people if they had any creepy experiences that they would be happy
to share. My goal with this question was to possibly give me some ideas for what I
could add to my short film. Fear is often created by real life experiences, so if I could
do something similar to what several people have really experienced before, then
maybe I could play with their emotions.
Again, this question is followed by answers with a common theme. Plenty of
people have shared their experiences with being followed by people they’d
consider to be creepy.This is a simple thing to mimic in my short film, and
although I already have an idea of what I want to do, I think I may be able to work
this in somewhere.

38. In-Person Interview 1
Oliver Nicholson, 17.
What do you look for in a dark comedy?
It would really depend on what you’re going for, there’s different styles of the genre
depending on how much comedy you’d actually want to add. If it’s more comedy
based you’d want to lean into horror clichés whereas if you’re leaning into more
drama based, I’d want to see more of an original story.
What are some clichés you think I should avoid?
I think you’d want to more keep away from student film clichés that are seen often.
Like putting a camera in a fridge, or Edgar Wright style editing with fast cuts.
There’s loads of them really. Making cups of tea and being filmed watching tv for
way too long as well. That’s the most important thing to avoid.
What is your favourite dark comedy (and why)?
Snatch, it’s the best example of over the top comedy that works well. Sometimes
too many jokes doesn’t work but this film makes it work

39. In-Person Interview 2
WillAnderson, 19.
What do you look for in a dark comedy?
Good jokes.You see a lot of jokes now that are just offensive without even
attempting to be funny, so it would be good to see humour that’s good without
having to resort to being offensive for the sake of being offensive.
What are some clichés you think I should avoid?
Zombies are really overdone in this genre now. Shaun ofThe Dead did it well but
there’s been too many since then so it’s really not worth it, and with the zombie
look it’s really hard to make the film look decent.
What is your favourite dark comedy (and why)?
Shaun ofThe Dead because one minute you could be laughing and then the next
almost crying. It plays with your emotions really well and seems like more than just
a comedy film

40. In-Person Interviews analysis
These interviews were conducted differently. I did these so I could
get some more detail in answers from people in my target
audience.The answers I got were actually very useful, I used more
trustworthy people who I know and they were very articulate with
their answers, so arguably these interviews are more trustworthy
than the survey. Some of the answers weren’t too useful still
though. In interview two, it was suggested that I stay away from
zombies, this was never part of my plan anyway, so it wasn’t too
much use to me. However some areas were more useful to me, like
talking about how films can play with your emotion.This was also
talked about on my survey and is definitely something I want to
add into mine as too much comedy wouldn’t be funny.

41. SUBJECT
RESEARCH
Secondary Research

42. Cinematography
Cinematography includes all on screen
elements such as the angles, zoom, mise-en-
scene and depth of field (to name a few).
Cinematography strongly influences how the
viewers respond to the finished film. It helps
convey the subject matter, and it shapes the
viewer’s emotional responses and the
meanings of films.Areas such as lighting are
very important in films as they show so much
meaning. In this shot fromTop Gun on the left,
the warn yellow glow signifies the warmth the
two characters feel for each other. It could also
show how they’re the main ‘good guys’ as the
gold they’re shot in usually signifies wealth
and good fortunes.

43. Mise-en-scene
This is the practise of the framing of shots.
It uses the setting, costume and lighting as
well as the movement in the frame. It was
popularised by directors who had no control
over the script, so they chose to stage their
shots, each creating their own discernible
style. It’s seen as an expressive tool used by
the filmmaker which is read by a critic to
determine the specificity of the
cinematographic work. It tells a story in it’s
own way, for example, bars on a window in
the background could signify how a
character on screen feels trapped and
locked away.

44. Editing
Editing is important as it puts all the bits of a film
together to make the final product. It’s the editor’s
job to make everyone else look good by choosing the
best shots that but the director and actors in a good
light.
A match cut is an important part of editing as it
maintains continuity between two shots by matching
similar shapes and similar movements.
A jump cut works as a discontinuous transition
between shots. For example, someone running
towards water, then a shot of them running away
from it.
A fade-out shot fades out to darkness or something
else.
The reason I mention these three techniques is
because these are three shots I want to try, as I
haven’t really used much of them. I may try to
experiment with them a bit however as I don’t want
to go into production having never tried any of them
before.

45. Audio
Audio is a very important part for me as it’s a heavy mix of
diegetic and non-diegetic.
The dialogue made during filmmaking may also include
some ambient sound if done on location.This is the
background noise made on location, such as wind or birds
chirping, anything people don’t concentrate much on in
everyday life. In some cases where this proves too much,
some dialogue may need to be redone throughADR
(automated dialogue replacement). The actors rerecord
the dialogue in post and fit it in perfectly to the film.This
was done a lot onThe Hunt For Red October (1990) as the
film equipment picked up a lot of strange sounds.
Sound can also be used for transitions. Using one
continuous sound from one scene to the next.This can be
used to promote continuity, or use a dissolve to blend
different scenes together.
Finally, films use music to portray a mood. For example,
happy scenes use upbeat music to show they’re happy
(See Despicable Me 2 using ‘Happy’ by PharrelWilliams as
the most obvious example) and horror may use no sound
at all to create tension and a feeling of intense fear.

46. Dark Comedy History
The usage of the work comedy dates back to Andre
Breton, a French surrealist who published the book
‘Anthologie de l’humour noir’ which means “Anthology
of Black Humour”.The term was not commonly used
until the 60’s, where it was then applied to a lot of
novels, such as ‘Catch-22’ and ‘Slaughterhouse Five’.
One of the first popular films to adopt this genre was
‘Dr. Strangelove’ which I have talked about at length
earlier. However this style of writing has always been
around, going as far back as 5th century BC with the
comedy works of Aristphanes, or ‘Pantagruel’ By
Francois Rabelais in 1532. More recently it has become
a very common genre, often using stereotypes from
other genres and working them into a comedy film.
For example, ‘Scary Movie’. It puts a comedic twist on
horror clichés that had been seen over and over again,
creating a popular comedy film.

47. Directing Styles
■ The dictator
– In this style, the director has a strongly assertive role and is very
dominant in the process of creating the film in his image.
Rehearsals are more or less fully controlled and predictable, with
the actors having little to no say.
■ The negotiator
– This is a style in which the director focuses on a more improvised
and mediated form of rehearsal and creation, using the ideas of
the production team and actors to shape the film in which
everyone has a say, creating what they all believe to be the best
final product.
■ The creative artist
– The director sees themselves as a creative artist working with
dramatic creativity with the actors, designers and production
team.They want input from the actors but, as the artist, they
have final say over what is included and how ideas are
incorporated.
■ The confrontationalist
– In this style of directing, the director is in constant debate and
conversation with the cast and the production team about
creative decisions and interpretations.The director seeks out and
actively engages in such exchanges, which can sometimes be
heated or risky however, a final product will be made, just not
everyone may agree on it.

48. Suburban Killers
The most high-profile suburban killer is by far John Wayne Gacy. I
don’t want to go into too much detail of his crimes, but he was
responsible for the death of at least 33 young males. He would
sometimes dress as a clown, giving him the nickname “Killer Clown”
and was eventually arrested for the murders after being convicted of
sexual assault. He worked as a fast-food restaurant manager as well as
performing as a clown at kid’s parties.
Anatoly Onoprienko, also known as “The Beast of Ukraine” was
convicted of killing 52 people between 1989 and 1996.When he was
arrested, he claimed inner voices urged him to do it. He avoided the
death penalty as Ukraine had just entered the Council of Europe,
which prohibits the death penalty, and he got life in prison.
Chris Watts is a more modern killer. In 2018 he murdered his wife and
daughters in his own home. When it was reported that his family had
disappeared, the police searched his home but found no signs of foul
play. He was only caught out over the course of the next few days
when he failed a polygraph test after his phone records revealed he
was having an affair with his co-worker. On August 15th, he confessed
and was charged on the 21st of that month.

49. Concepts of Hell
In most religious traditions, hell is usually beneath the earth, filled
with the spirits of the damned. It is seen as a place of punishment
as a penalty to the crimes of sinners. However I want to focus on
less traditional ideas of hell.
Mesopotamian civilizations produced a lot of literature dealing
with hell. In this tradition, hell is seen as a distant land of no return,
a house of dust where the dead dwell, like a sealed fortress. This
view is reminiscent on a prison far away.
Ancient Egypt’s views were a lot different. In the Book of the Dead,
the Book of Amduat, and the Book of Gates, the underworld is
described as a perilous journey through 12 zones of the
underworld (12 to correspond to the 12 hours of the night).To be
forgiven, the dead need both magical and moral power when
coming face to face with Osiris, which is the reason for being
mummified, and placing items in tombs. Those who failed the
judgement of Osiris were devoured by a crocodile-headed
monster, however there is next to no suggestion of eternal
damnation.

50. Subject ResearchAnalysis
I think the main thing to take away from subject research is that
my chosen genre doesn’t have one set style. Every director has a
way of making their films look like their own, so that’s what I have
to do, make my film look like mine rather than copying other
people’s styles. As long as I’m happy with the outcome, it doesn’t
matter what style of cinematography I use.
Another thing I’m taking away from my subject research is the
usage of mise-en-scene. I think it’s a very important area in film,
and so I want to use plenty of it. Although I’m not certain how I’m
going to use it yet, I’m sure that I want to.

51. Summery and how it links
■ I made a short video summarising my work and talking about
how it will link with my production. It can be found here:
https://youtu.be/2YVJVbR526k

52. Bibliography
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Anon. (2017). JohnWayneGacy Biography. Available: https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/john-wayne-
gacy. Last accessed 2ndApr 2020.
Anon. (2017). The End of the F***ingWorld. Available:
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54. Bibliography – Films,TV and Games
The End ofThe F***ing World (Covell, 2017)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love the Bomb (Kubrick, 1964)
The Office (Schur, 2005)
Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019)
Four Lions (Morris, 2010)
American Psycho (Harron, 2000)
Shaun OfThe Dead (Wright, 2004)
Life Is Strange (Square Enix, 2014)
Scott PilgrimVsThe World (Wright, 2010)
Us (Peele, 2019)
Seven Psychopaths (McDonagh, 2012)
The Nice Guys (Black, 2016)
After Life (Gervais, 2018)
1917 (Mendes, 2019)
Top Gun (Scott, 1986)
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Hunger Games (Ross, 2012)
2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)
Fargo (Coen, 1996)
Scary Movie (Wayans, 2000)
In Bruges (McDonagh, 2008)