2. Narrative/ linear:
• The plot follows a girl named Echo. Echo starts off with her friends, having a game of
dares, everything is normal until she is dared to enter one of the technician’s labs in
school. She enters what she thinks is a lift however it’s a time machine and when she
steps out of the machine she is in the year 4000- a society ruled by the evil robot
empire. She tries to get back into the machine but she doesn’t know how to work it.
Echo is taken back not only by the shock of being stuck in another time period but by
the fact she is slowly turning invisible. She is turning invisible because that is one of
the side effects of the time machine- you become non visible to the people in the
time period you are travelling to. She thinks fast and decides to get help before she's
completely invisible. A boy named Human165 meets her and promises to help her as
she explains what has happened. Human165 realizes that with the power of
invisibility Echo could easily shut down the empire without getting noticed. Echo and
Human165 come up with a secret route for her to shut the empire down and when
she does Human165 helps work the machine. However when it’s time to leave Echo
isn’t ready to go, she wants to stay with Human165.
3. Meaning behind names: Echo Newton
-The Greek name echo means sound and according to greek mythology
there was a nymph who faded until only her voice was left.
-Similarly my character slowly turns invisible as a side effect of her time
travel and the only way she can contact people is through her voice.
-Newton means new town; she travels to a new time period. (4000)
-Newton was also a very well known scientist who discovered gravity
changing the perspective of the world.
-Similarly my character aborts Captain Zero changing the perspective of
the humans.
4. Meaning behind the names: Captain Zero/
Human 165
• Human165 is the boy who hears Echo. He was named Human165 by
Captain Zero, who dictates society. Everyone is called ‘Human’
followed by a number as humans are just slaves.
• Captain Zero the dictator named himself zero to show that he is the
first, the creator. Its as though he’s calling himself God.
5. Why this narrative would be successful?/
Ideology
• My ideology is intended to question the power of
technology as I believe teenagers are really into their
technology and would like to see how far it could go. Seeing
as teenagers are my target audience this ideology would
allow personal identity and communication. My film
highlights the risk of technology and how its development
may not be all good; this is quite controversial as the
beloved technology is suggested to be a moral threat;
communication/word of mouth about the film.
• The love twist in my film opens the audience to another
genre; romance. This would intrigue teens as it’s the typical
‘will they find a way to be together’.
• My narrative is similar to Ex Machina in the sense that the
robots become powerful with emotions and the idea of a
love twist.
6. Five stages of Todorov:
• State of equilibrium: Echo in 2016, with her friends at school; living in
normality.
• Disruption of order: Accidently enters a time machine in the crazy school
technicians lab- mistakes it for a lift.
• Recognition: When she realises she's in the year 4000 and turning invisible.
(wouldn’t actually exist)
• Attempt to repair: Finding Human165 - shutting down the empire so she
can escape.
• The new state of equilibrium: There isn’t one, my film is left on a cliff
hanger. (Will Echo and Human165 stay together without them both being
invisible?)
7. Propps theory
• The Hero- It could be Human165 but technically its Echo as she saved the world
from technology overrun.
• The Helper- Human165 was the one to help Echo destroy the empire and fix the
machine.
• The Donor- The technician as he made the machine.
• The Princess- The society; it needs saving from technology. Echo could be classed
as the princess as well as the hero as really she is a victim, she was vulnerable.
• The Villain- The robot empire as it is keeping humans as slaves; main robot:
Captain Zero
• The Dispatcher- The time machine.
• The False Hero- Human165 as he was initially the one reassuring Echo but by the
end Echo was the one to ‘save the day’.
8. Who is the hero and who is the villain?
• You could argue for both Echo and Human165 to be classed as the heroes as Echo
essentially saves Echo, without him she wouldn’t have committed any of her good
deeds. However without Kate, Human165 would not have even thought about planning
to destroy the empire. As both of them wouldn’t really work without each other it
becomes challenging to choose a hero. But if I was to pick one, Echo is really the hero.
She was the one to actually ‘save the day’ and shut down the empire in which Captain
Zero controls.
• You could even argue the technician to be the hero- without the machine Echo and
Human165 would have never met. But then again would that have been a good thing?
None of the crazy things would have happened to Echo therefore the technician could
be the villain.
• Considering all of this; my film has a list of so many possibilities which is why I think it
would be so successful amoungst its target audience as teenagers are all about
debating, interpreting and communicating.
• Captain Zero is a very clear villain as he is the one to start the whole empire: Dystopia.
9. Counter/Stereo types
• My film is a mixture of both counter and stereo types as it has a both
the typical views yet also a modern take.
• Stereotype: Human165 - a strong boy who shows heroic traits. Crazy
science technician- the creator of the time machine.
• Countertype: Echo is essentially the hero yet she is a vulnerable girl to
start with. She also has a ‘superpower’ of invisibility. It isn’t as though
she was born with the power however she does turn the downfall of
invisibility into a great advantage.
10. Binary opposites
• Human > Robots
• 2000 > 4000 (Normality and dystopia)
• Technology as a hobby > Technology destructor
• These binary opposites are essential in every film; not just science
fiction . Binary opposites show two contrasts and make them out to
be much more extreme as they are shown next to each other. Binary
opposites are usually the origin of the disruption of order.
11. Conventions of science fiction:
• Time travel
• Robots
• Technology over run
• Invisibility
• Mad scientists
• Dystopian future
12. Sub genre:
• Romance: Human165 and Echo who start of as friends helping one
another, go through dystopia together and fall in love.
• This allows the target audience to increase as more people with
different genre interests to also enjoy the film- therefore the film will
be a lot more successful in the box office.
• Action: Nearly all science fiction films are mixed with action as the
two genres go so well with one another. A science fiction film isn’t a
true science fiction film without some crazy moments of destruction.
13. Enigma codes:
• Why has this technician made the machine?
• What is the plot of the robot empire?
• How did these robots get so much control?
• Will Kate and Alfie stay together?
14. Setting:
• The film has two main locations which are consistent. The original
location during the equilibrium is just Echo’s hometown- a small quiet
village, with a school and a few shops. Its very rural and green; no
sign of dystopia. (year 2016)
• The location during the disruption is a megacity run by a empire
controlled by Captain Zero. The city is heavily polluted, it’s a mess, the
humans are practically slaves for the robots and it is very
industrialised. (year 4000)
• My film is similar to Wall-e in the sense that it suggests if human
continue to fuel technology it will overtake us and the world will be
left in pure dystopia.
15. Target audience:
• 12-19 year olds (teenagers)
• Mainstreamers- genre mix
• Main characters of a similar age
• Technology- huge part of lifestyle
