'Close Shave' rationale and story boards and props and costumes

Close shave:

In our short movie 'close shave' we are to represent the themes of gangster life and death using the classic conventions of a thriller and adding our own part to it.

In the scene it starts with Max (Rattler) walking into a garage to get a haircut, this immediately puts us on high alert because why would someone go to a dodgy garage to get a haircut unless they are up to something dodgy themselves. The scene then shows the phone ringing and Zach (Scar) picking it up to answer, he turns to Max (Rattler) and then turns away to make it look as if Max (Rattler) does not know what is going on, the fact the phone is left on the table and rings causing Max (Rattler) to get suspicious/ worried gives the viewers the sense that something is going on that is out of Maxes (Rattlers) control making the viewers almost worried for max thinking what is going to happen to him? The fact Zach (Scar) turns around and covers the phones speaker to make sure Max (Rattler) cant hear it further intrigues the viewers as to what is going on but also pushes the fact something is going to happen to Max (Rattler) that is not necessarily good. The next part to the scene that takes place is the cut to a black corridor where Hunter (Ice) is standing looking shady/ dodgy wearing blue gangster clothes and lots of jewelry, this makes him look dodgy and make the viewers think he has something to do with what is going to happen also the fact he is in a dark room calling Zach (Scar) and telling him what to do gives us the sense he is the one in charge of the operation and calling all the shots confirming our suspicions that he is not good and is dangerous. Also the fact Luke (Joe) is by his side walking with him further pushes the fact he is very powerful and important and involved with a dodgy and dangerous lifestyle  as he has people running around after him doing what he wants them to do. In the next part of the scene it goes back to Zach (Scar) listening to Hunter (Ice) tell him what to do with Max (Scar) but having a voice over of Hunter (Ice) on the phone, this can add the connotation that Hunter (Ice) is always watching and what he wants done should be done or there will be consequences. After this it shows Zach (Scar) putting Maxes (Rattler) head back ready to shave his face but the fact he puts it on his neck makes us nervous for max thinking is Zach (Scar) actually gonna kill him or just gonna shave his face like he was meant to. After that the scene cuts to black and we do not know what happens causing suspense and making us anxious to know what is going to happen even though it suggests Max (Rattler) was killed.

Max (Rattler) will be wearing red to show a contrast between him and Hunter (Ice) as Hunter (Ice) will be wearing blue as well as Luke (Joe) to show he is a subordinate to Hunter (Ice)  and on his side. We are going to get Zach (Scar) to dress in black to show his conflict between Max (Rattler) his friend and Hunter (Ice) his boss.

Story board:





Props and costumes:

> Gangsta clothing style, research:

331131-how-to-look-Russian-mafia

Dress-Like-a-Gangst



Black, dark navy blue, red, baggy and oversized,  gangsta-styled clothing will be used to reveal how the characters live dangerous lives and are involved in shady business.
- Tattoos (each actor will have a fake tattoo drawn on beforehand).


> Razor:


The razor will be used as the murder weapon, representing death and murder - brutal... murdering someone with a razor!?


> Jug of water:

for the barber's scissors.

> Barbers equipment:

Instantly reveals that he is a barber.

- hairbrushes/combs, scissors (blood on scissors).

> Shank and Gun:

When the barber opens his drawer of appliances for 'cutting hair', a shank and gun will be inside it - ironic - symbols of how the barber is dodgy, strange and not safe character. Reveals how he will most probably murder the man 'having a haircut'.

  gun
 shank

> Character names (gangster):

Link to the website used for a list of gangster names as ideas for our characters.
examples include King, Ice, Cube, Joe, Dagger, Rattler, etc.

https://pairedlife.com/friendship/100-gangster-nicknames

We decided on the names: 'Scar', 'Ice' and 'Rattler' (and 'Joe').

> Fake blood recipe:

- Corn syrup.
- Chocolate sauce.
- Red food coloring.

Props sourcing:

- Hunter Look will source the gun and the shank.
- Chene Harris will source the razor blade through Ethan Scharneck.
- Chene Harris will source the hairdressing equipment such as the bib, towel.
- Grace Watson will source the hair comb, scissors and a gold water flask for the table.
- Each actor will be asked to dress in all black, blue, navy or red clothes, that are baggy.
- Grace Watson will source the permanent marker which will be used to draw the fake tattoos.
- Hunter Look will make fake blood and stain it onto the shank at home.

Ideas from movie/ clip openings /Thriller research:

The Bourne identity:

In the Bourne identity there is a lot of different effects used for different scenes. For serious moments the shots are lengthened/ drawn out quite a lot more than the scenes with action which have quick cuts as well loud music to give that  actiony feel, also the slower scenes have quite slow or eerie music to add a serious and or unknown feel to the scene.

The purge:


In the movie the purge they use a lot of eerie music and fast cuts to add a thriller feel to it. Also the dark lighting added gives another aspect to the feel.

John wick:

In this action thriller there is a great mix of different editing effects. There are alot of quick cuts to add the effect of danger at every corner also the movie is quite fast paced and action packed with strobing light effects to further push the action aspect. The lighting is also quite dark giving a sense of suspicion further pushing the fact danger is lurking at every corner.

Media studies rationale:

The Carnivale`:

In scene 1, shot 1 I show a wide shot of the carnival and all the smiling people there. this is to show the happy vibe and also to create a sense that everything is all good and under control. The shot includes a carnival setting with lots of trees in the background with tents and a ferris wheel.
In shot 2 it starts to zoom in on a particular family of 2 kids and their divorced father, again all happy adding to the normality and the fact that there are no suspisions about what is about to happen. Also though in the background there is a faint image of a man in the trees which also contrasts with the fact that everyone is happy making the viewers suspisious and question what is going on and not have a very good idea about what is about to happen. Shot 3 only includes the man in the bushes adding to our overall suspisions making us think something is up, especially because an extreme close up is used for this shot and the fact that he is wearing a yellowy orange jumpsuit pointing out to us that he is or was in a mental asylum and could have escaped and is ready to attack again.

In Scene 2, shot 1 the setting goes back to normal as if the man in the bushes was a vision or not real because it shoes lots of happy people again with the ferris wheel in the background and a ticket booth with a massive line. In the 2nd shot of this scene the camera starts to pan over the line showing the magnitude of people at this carnival restoring the happy feel, also there is cheerful carnival music playing in the background to add the happiness. As they get to shot 3 of the scene the camera slowly stops its pan and lands on the mother and father as well as the children near the back of the line. This adds an awkward tone to the scene as the mother and father are divorced which could also symbolise the awkwardness for them all for the fact to keep their children safe and happy as well as together with them which can contrast with what is going to happen later. Still in scene 2, in shot 4 the mother and father head into the line losing their children, this completely contrasts with what has just happened in the last shot, the kids are left alone and faint eerie music starts to play in the background. Again still in scene 2 we go into shot 5 where the camera starts to zoom out from the close up and the show the man from the asylum, this shows the kids as being vulnerable and easily kidnappable. In shot 6 of thjis scene the camera starts to zzom again showing thew man creeping closer while the parents are still no where to be seen. In shot 7 the camera continues to get closer as the man alos gets closer, at this point we are really worried for these kids and are thinking what is agonna happen to them.

Finally in scene 3, shot 1 the editing shows the camera going to black and showing the backside of the chilkdren and man showing a vulnerableness and that the kids have nothing to p[rtect them from behinf aand there is only the creepy mann  now. In the last and final shopt the screen goes balck agin and when it goes light again the kidnapper and the kids are gone.

Brainstorm:



Storyboard:

AS Media Studies Homework

Camera:

In the first scene an over the shoulder shot is used to give you a sense of what the man in the car is seeing and that he almost looks a bit worried and is watching out for somebody or something. Also in the same over the shoulder the shot we are showed his paranoya again through the way the camera pans to the gear stick and radio making us believe he is watching and carefully planning every move he makes so he is not spotted or found out for what he is doing. We see the man walk out of the car and the camera follows his figure from the inside of the car, pointing to the fact he is quite mysterious and we don't know much about him pointing to the fact he may be dangerous. Also the fact that the camera shot only shows the mans hips give us the impression that he is a shady character who has done some some shady things and he may be about to do something evil or sinister. During most of the scene the camera follows everything he does giving us the idea that he is trying to be subtle and precise about his actions and he is trying not to mess anything up which would allow him to get caught. Later on in the scene the use of racking focus from, through the camera lense to, the victims parents takes our focus off the camera lense and onto the victims parents giving us the feel even though it hasn't been revealed yet that these people are important to the dead person most probably her parents seeing as they are old. Also the way the over the shoulder shot of the camera shows a woman in the lense gives us almost a hint or a feeling that sh is important to the storyline or the murder some how, also the way this unknown woman turns around when the victims father says "Although he attempted to murder someone else" gives us a sense or hunch she was the one the man originally trie to kill first but was unsuccessful. By the way the 'paparatzii' and parents of the victim are hidden or shown unclearly by the pole suggests to us that the woman does not want to be seen or take to by these people and is hiding from them. At the end of the scene the close up shot of the woman in the backgrounds face and the wide angle shot of her running away gives us a sense she may have been involved in the reason the woman was murdered or feels guilty in some way for the woman's murder that she survived whereas the other woman was killed by this deranged man.

Sound:

In the first scene of the episode there is  non diagetic sounds of the radio in the car, also the diagetic sounds of the car gives us feelings that the car is driving over some sort of gravel road or dirt road. The non diagetic sound of the woman crying in the background makes us believe that the woman is most likely in some sort of peril or danger and most likely due to the man driving the car. As the man opens the boot the woman"s cries become more clear but there are fewer of them making us believe she has probably given up and must just accept her fate that this man is going to kill her. The diagetic sound of the gasp goes hand in hand with the non diagetic sound of the thump of the punch in this part of the scene this causes us to realise that the man has just killed this woman he had in her boot. After the girl is killed the no diagetic sounds of the music and rustling of leaves and trees gives the scene an eerie effect and tone to it which confirms to us that the worst has happened. Nearer the end of the scene the non diagetic sounds of the cameras clicking and going off shows us that people are interested in what these people have to say and what has just happened and reporting on it to tell everyone about. Close to the end of the scene the non diagetic music in the background mixed with the diagetic sounds of the crying by the victims father gives of a sad tone to this crime drama.

Mi-sen-scene:

At the start of the scene the debree in the backdrop outside in front of the car linked with the girl crying gives a sense that they are in the middle of knowhere in a remote isolated place and this girl in this mans boot is in trouble and something terrible is going to happen to her. Also further pointing to the fact they are out in an isolate remote area is that there is bush all around them and the roads are gravel. Later on in the scene when the woman is dead the people all seem to be gathered arounda building that is quite tall looking and has columbs pointing to the fact they are probably outside a police station, city hall, or even court house.

Editing:

In this scene the main editing moments were the effects of the quick cuts of various shots of trees and the ground to add to the overall feel of the sad moment that has just occured. Also the effect of the cut from the scene of the man killing the girl to the camera flashing at the victims parents gives a very fast paced change of mood to the scene.

This episode or scene extract from the series public enemies is a crime drama.

Sherlock Holmes clip homework:

In the clip from the TV series Sherlock Holmes there are a lot of effects used for various reasons which add to the short clip.

The camera is used in many ways to add to the scene like for example one of the ways the camera can show expressions well is by a lot of close ups on the actors faces this can really show and add to the expressions that on the actors faces, for example if Sherlock is worried they may do a close up to really emphasise his worry. Also the close up puts us in the shoes of the character so it would make us worried was well. Also the camera crew can use racking focus to draw attention off one thing and add the attention to something else, like in this short clip they use racking focus to take the focus off of the bad guy and onto Sherlock. An editing effect used in the Sherlock clip was fast cuts between shots at the start of the clip in the recap part which builds suspense for the viewers. Also another way they create suspense in the clip is hiding the camera from view so all you see is a blank screen or a half screen showing partial parts of what is happening so the viewers don't know what is going on.

Music is a very powerful tool in getting across a point or setting the mood in a scene. In the short clip the music starts to build up and get louder as time passes as well as it getting faster as time goes o, these are both diagetic sounds. Another diagetic sound in the clip is when there is the sound of a heart beating in the background this gives the scene a feeling of suspense and build up, causing us to think something scary or frightening is going to happen. In the the video the bad guy is quite loud and erotic with his speaking, this causes us to think he is creepy and frightening adding to the overall frightening feel to the scene. After this massive build up and suspense there is a massive shift in mood with the phone call, the song used for the ring tone is also called staying alive which could point to the fact that the name could be symbolic that Sherlock will be speared and will not die, also the song is an upbeat song adding to the fact that there was a massive build up of suspense and a tense situation which is Brocken with the phone call.

The mise-en-scene in the scene is very important creating the whole tone and setting for what is happening at that point in the show. The establishing shot at the start of the scene establishes the fact that they are meeting at a pool which is contrasting to what is happening at that moment in the scene because Sherlock is being held at gunpoint and yet they are at a pool which should be a place of enjoyment and fun, this is irony which causes the scene to be interesting. Also the colours in the room are dark, dull and grey adding a sketchy feel to the place where they meeting also causing us to think that what is happening is also quite sketchy, the fact that the room is dark and dull also adds to the overall suspense of the scene. The props used in the scene are quite hardcore and serious (Bombs, guns, laser sights) this can create and add fear to the viewers and to the overall scene. The fact that there is lights turned on behind Sherlock in this scene and not the bad guy or antagonist also shows irony, pointing to the fact that Sherlock is on the light side being the good guy and the antagonists being on the dark side being a bad guy. Something else interesting about what the bad guy where's is that the suit he is wearing is expensive looking and Sherlock is in something less expensive and fancy which could be showing us a contrast between the bad guy and Sherlock that the bad guy didn't like/ want to get his hands dirty where as Sherlock would be more comfortable to do so. Also the fact that the bad guy is wearing an expensive suit could be pointing to the fact that he may be very or quite powerful in his line of work/ business. Also the bad guy shows quite a few psychopathic tenderise like randomly shouting causing us to realise and think he is a psychopathic maniac or something along those lines.