Domestic Danger Storyboard

Domestic Danger

Domestic Danger is a short film sequence that I have made. The plot is about a woman who has mental health issues which causes her to kill. I got the idea for my film sequence from the popular TV series Dexter, as in the opening titles there is also links to food and drink being referred to murder and blood. The different reference to blood and murder include the squashing of the strawberries, straining of the raspberry tea and the colour of the raspberry tea. I asked my sister to play the role of the murder victim in the shadow shot. I filmed from an iPhone so I had to find different methods of getting the camera straight. In order to make the film more interesting I used different camera angles and played with different lighting effects.

Video Essay

We Need To Talk About Kevin sequel

LYCHEE SCENE

This scene from We Need To talk About Kevin could be an iconic moment in which I could carry on to my sequel because it shows his disregards for anybody else. This scene is remembered because the structure of We Need To Talk About Kevin isn't structured and is often a mix of the past and present. This scene is shown in detail and doesn't include flashbacks, and isn't confusing, therefore it is quite memorable.

Sequel: I could include Kevin in prison eating porridge/bread in a malicious way infront of a guard which shows that he still has no regards for others.

BOW SCENE

Marking

Out of 100
                 - 40% Textual Analysis (Essay w/ pics)
                 - 10% Planning - Recce (Location Report)
                 - 30% Ideas - Prequel/Sequel Script (9 Key Frames) - Creative Writing
                 - 20% Evaluation

What is a prequel and how do you make one?
A prequel is a literary, dramatic, or filmic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative.
ICONIC MOMENT
An iconic moment is one that is memorable and links to the prequel in order for people to want to watch a sequel.

Examples:

The Thing: This moment shows them uncovering their find as they discover 'the Thing'. This sets up the storyline for the rest of the film.

Prometheus: This scene is iconic because it shows her when she is fighting till the end. We watch to find whether she survives or not.

Batman Begins: This moment is iconic because it is the first time he is introduced to his suit and his suit is iconic to his character.

Why do you need an Iconic Moment?

• To carry on a sequel
• To remember a scene/movie

Identities in Children of Men and V for Vendetta clips

THESIS - What their part in the film is, whether they conform to the stereotypical male identity role or stray from it

NATIONAL IDENTITY - ADVERTISEMENT

The government persuades the dystopian britain of 2027, by using advertisement to distract them from the dangers in their country, such as terrorists attacks and riots. They show a suicide pill to promote the idea that it is better to take the pill rather waiting for a violent death. The adverts seen on this bus here shows futuristic and british traits that make the dystopian genre more realistic.

MALE IDENTITY - V FOR VENDETTA

V - I am the vigilante who breaks the rules in order to help the cause. I conform to the stereotypical male identity role because my duty is to father the generation. However I also wear a cape, and my mask has rosy cheeks which shows feminine traits. My past has shown that after being experimented on it has led me to have a vendetta against anyone involved in the experiments. My need to help society is driven by revenge on the government who tortured me and my dear friend Valerie.

FEMALE IDENTITY - CHILDREN OF MEN

MIRIAM - In Children of Men, Miriam doesn't conform to the stereotypical female because she has masculine traits and isn't seen as the 'Damsel in Distress', in comparison to Kee and Julian, who are both protected by Theo at times in the film. However, she is also seen to show maternal instincts such as caring after Julian when she is wounded and looking after Kee and her baby, which conforms to the traditional stereotypes.

CHILDREN OF MEN
THEO

A clip that conveys Theo’s masculinity is during the war zone. He takes on the role of a protector and tries his best to get Kee to safety. In this sequence Theo has his arm around Kee several times in order to protect her; reinforcing the view of masculinity and role of the hero, being able to protect others weaker than yourself. At the same time it can be argued he is portrayed as being feminine in this sequence. This is on the basis he doesn't use any form of weaponry, and in order to escape, the birth of the child causes the threat to stand down; as opposed to the stereotypical male action, which is to destroy it.

This scene shows Theo as the protagonist who tries to save Julian, who would be the 'Damsel in Distress'. His manly traits come through in this scene because even though he panics he tries to take control of the situation. However, the person that take control even more is Miriam, who takes on a more masculine role in this scene. His desire to protect and shelter Julian shows his emotions more than he had in previous scenes.

JASPER

Jasper is seen as a paternal role for Theo, however he is not a typical father-role as shown in this scene where he is taking a drug, whether its illegal or legal we don't know as the film is set in the future. This scene mirrors a father and son bonding moment which shows how Theo looks up to Jasper and takes advice from him.

V FOR VENDETTA

V

In V for Vendetta the stereotypical traits of masculinity are conveyed through our protagonist V. Throughout, he battles the minions of the totalitarian government and chooses to use knives as his preferred choice of weapon. This is apparent in the sequences when he fights Creedy and his men in the underground. The use of a knives illustrates V’s masculinity and strength against others, as the knife is considered a phallic symbol because knifes are related to penetration. It is used as a show of power and causes his enemies to recognise his male dominance. 

There is also moments in the film when V’s character communicates aspects of the developing post-modern man, displayed in our current society; although some may argue they conform more to the stereotypes of women. An example of this is when V is cooking breakfast for Evey in his lair. In this scene he is also wearing an apron. In terms of being more feminine, V’s mask has rosy cheeks and a shaped mustache. These characteristics communicate the use of makeup and male grooming, which is normally undertaken by women to appear more attractive.

When Evey comes through the archway it could be seen as Yonic imagery for Evey being reborn. Then when she finds out V tortured her he encourages her and tries to strengthen her in order to comfort her. He tries to stop her crying and in this scene and others he is seen as a father figure because even though he says he has his reasons, we can see that he still shows regret for his actions. He asks her whether she would want some fresh air which shows that he cares for her and when she comes outside he offers her his jacket in order to protect her from the rain. This shows his paternal love for her and how he subconsciously doesn't want her to change because from then on she could be in danger and no longer in his care.

DIETRICH

This scene show Dietrich's lighthearted side and how he can make fun of any situation. It also shows that he is prepared to stand up to Chancellor Sutler even though he knows that he would get into trouble because of what he did. In an otherwise dark film, Dietrich gives the public something to enjoy in the dictatored society that they live in. It's clear that he's also trying to cheer Evey up which shows his paternal love for her.

Emotional Subconscious Psychoanalysis

This video that was shown in our Film Studies lesson to show how companies use Psychoanalysis to tap into our Emotional Subconscious in order to convince consumers to buy their products. This video was from Unilever who showed images and messages that would shock and sadden their customers with something close to their heart, but then turned the situation into something positive because of their products, and that because of their company, and other companies, the world is a better place. 

Identities in Children of Men and V for Vendetta

The two films conform and defy the stereotypes of women. In Children of Men the portrayal of women is mainly through Kee and Julian, being two of the few female characters in the film. Julian is portrayed as independent and a strong leader. This is illustrated throughout; a key scene that links to this point in particular is when she is discussing with Theo about the job at hand, while surrounded by several armed members of her cause. They all listen to her orders and do as instructed, conveying strong leadership skills by determining the response to any choices that arise. Kee can be seen as fairly weak in comparison to other characters, on the basis she receives constant guidance from Miriam and Theo. At the same time, her character acts as a symbol of strength once the baby is born. This is in reference to the sequence when Theo and Kee are thrown into the middle of a war zone. When the baby is born, the conflict stops and allows for our protagonists to exit safely. It can represent the idea that without the presence of women in society, life as we know it would descend into chaos. It relays the message that the masculine use of guns and weaponry will not match the power of women. As I see it, both V for Vendetta and Children of Men have a similar representation of women. I believe they both defy stereotypes of women, but V for Vendetta conforms to The Male Gaze Theory, to a greater extent than that of Children of Men.

In V for Vendetta there are two scenes in which Evey is portrayed as a sex object, exploited for her looks by other characters. One scene is when Evey is getting ready and goes on her way to Dietrich’s house, and is about to get raped by the Fingermen just before V intervenes. The second scene that reinforces this point is when Evey is in the company of the Bishop. In both of these scenes, the point of Evey is to convey the objectification of women. In dressing Evey in a cosmetically pleasing outfit, reinforces the idea of The Male Gaze, which encourages the male audience to watch the film. On the other hand, Evey promotes the independence and strength of women. This becomes apparent when V takes away her fear, establishing the Evey we see at the end of the film. Evey is also responsible for the destruction of parliament, when she pulls the lever on the train; this communicates the power she is is capable of, which can represent the power of women. with this scene in mind, we can make reference the The Final Girl concept. Although Evey is not considered pure or a virgin, she survives until the end and extinguishes the threat (the pulling of the train lever). 

Both films conform and defy the stereotypes of men. The idea of masculinity is comprised of traits such as emotionless and physical strength. In Children of Men, the main character that aids us in the representation of men is Theo. He Is considered to bear both feminine and masculine traits. In one scene the audience witnesses Theo cowering and crying behind a tree, for a brief moment. Showing such emotions is considered feminine, as stereotypically it is deemed that women are the gender to deal with emotional matters. However, in this same sequence Theo can be considered quite masculine as he chooses to hide himself while he cries for an extremely brief moment. In hiding himself causes the audience to assume it is in an attempt to preserve his role as leader. By crying for mere seconds, relays the point that Theo recognises the stereotype of crying as a sign of weakness; so in response decides to take Julians death on the chin, and carry on as normal. Another sequence that conveys Theo’s masculinity is during the war zone. He takes on the role of a protecter and tries his best to get Kee to safety. In this sequence Theo has his arm around Kee several times in order to protect her; reinforcing the view of masculinity and role of the hero, being able to protect others weaker than yourself. At the same time it can be argued he is portrayed as being feminine in this sequence. This is on the basis he doesn't use any form of weaponry, and in order to escape, the birth of the child causes the threat to stand down; as opposed to the stereotypical male action, which is to destroy it.

In V for Vendetta the stereotypical traits of masculinity are conveyed through our protagonist V. Throughout, he battles the minions of the totalitarian government and chooses to use knives as his preferred choice of weapon. This is apparent in the sequences when he fights Creedy and his men in the underground. The use of a knives illustrates V’s masculinity and strength against others, as the knife is considered a phallic symbol because knifes are related to penetration. It is used as a show of power and causes his enemies to recognise his male dominance. There is also moments in the film when V’s character communicates aspects of the developing post-modern man, displayed in our current society; although some may argue they conform more to the stereotypes of women. An example of this is when V is cooking breakfast for Evey in his lair. In this scene he is also wearing an apron. In terms of being more feminine, V’s mask has rosy cheeks and a shaped mustache. These characteristics communicate the use of makeup and male grooming, which is normally undertaken by women to appear more attractive.

Representation of parents in We Need To Talk About Kevin and Juno

In We Need to Talk About Kevin, the story isn't told in chronological order as there is a mix of past and present throughout the film. However, as the film goes on, we piece together clues as to why Kevin did what he did and why he's the way he is. The final scene ends with Eva hearing about the high school massacre and the shock on her face when she finds out her sons the killer. What makes her more distraught is that she sees all the young dead bodies and realises that she is partially responsible for their deaths. The film should tell about the horrors of pregnancy, however the real horror is after Eva gives birth to Kevin. The two main characters in this film are Kevin, played by Ezra Miller, and Eva, played by Tilda Swinton. Eva struggles with motherhood and her only strength to keep trying is the need to please her husband and the father of her children, Franklin. However, the only time when her love becomes unconditional is when she sticks by her son even though he has brutally murdered 9 people. She shows that even though she didn't show any love throughout the times when it mattered most. She did try to show a young Kevin love but motherhood didn't come easy to her. Eva also has to struggle with containing her hate towards her son around Franklin who is ignorant to how estranged their son is. This frustrates her and leads her into a state of depression as she feels nothing can make the relationship between her and her son better. She is blamed for the acts that her son did, in which she shares the blame herself. Kevin is the other main character in We Need To Talk About Kevin. Kevin's lack of sympathy for mother makes this story. Ezra Miller plays the satanic child who even though his struggling mother tries to give him the love she could give, but he is not accepting of her love. He channels his hate for his mother to fool his ignorant dad. In the end he easily murders 9 people that he knows for reasons that are hard to understand, for he is a psychological killer. He has no remorse for his victims and he sheds no light as to why he did what he did.The acts that are seen in the film affect the audience by shocking them and leaving them wondering why Kevin has turned out the way he has. We also wonder why Eva lacks so much in motherhood and why she is so deterred to get help. 

In Juno, the story is told over four seasons, starting in autumn when Juno, a 16-year-old high-school junior in Minnesota, discovers she's pregnant after one event in a chair with her best friend, Bleeker. The whole idea plays on the fact that 'it all began with a chair' and it all ended with a chair. The final scene with Juno and bleeker ends in the summer, which could be a message that they have overcome nature to shine once again. The main characters of this film are Juno MacGuff, played by Ellen Page, and Paulie Bleeker, played by Michael Cera. They are two teenagers who along with growing up, have to face the problem of a teenage pregnancy. Juno, who is faced with a teenage pregnancy, makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child. That decision is to have the baby but give it up for adoption. However when her chosen couple faces flaws in their relationship and a divorce is settled, Juno finds that months into her pregnancy her perfect idea isn't going to plan. On top of this she has to face the struggles of a teenagers life.I think that Juno acts like an adult and in fact feels a strong pull toward Mark Loring, the husband in the couple who are set to adopt Juno’s baby. But then she runs around doing childish things like setting up furniture on Paulie’s front lawn, eating Red Vines, and using a hamburger phone. The other main character is Paulie Bleeker, and although he's a quiet and unnoticable character I would say that he is one of the protagonists because of his involved with Juno and how their relationship progresses is shown in the film. He struggles to realise the amount of problems that Juno has to deal with and why she acts mean towards him. By the end of the film Juno realises that her relationship with Paulie Bleeker is strong enough to overcome the heartbreak of giving up their baby. She also realises that a maternal love doesn't have to be with a biological mother. The scene ends with Juno singing a song with Paulie about their unconditional love.

This scene comes after the incident with Kevin's sister. His chilling attitude for his sister makes this one of the most disturbing scenes in this film. What makes this more disturbing is the way Kevin peels a lychee fruit with an almost devilish glee. The scene begins with the camera at a medium long shot so that Kevin is at the head of the table while Eva and Franklin are placed secondary to him, as if to say that Kevin has control over them, that he can do anything he wants. For the main part of this scene is that the actors are placed in the middle of the shot. Ignoring the rule of thirds the director takes risks in whether the audience will find that this scene lacks in something, however the results are quite the opposite as the setup intrigues the viewer. The way that the shot is setup when Kevin eats the lychee is clever because during the whole scene Kevin taunts Eva in a way that isn't obvious to his father, Walter. Then when Kevin eats the lychee we can see the juice that spurts out of the lychee, we can also see a close-up of him chewing it. What makes this part of the scene so sinister is that we can also hear the squirting of the juice coming out from the lychee. There is very little sound when nobody is speaking so that we hear the silence in the room, at best we hear the subtle clinking of glasses and knives and forks. As for the props, kitchen utensils and food is needed as it fits with the set. Without these, the scene would not get the desired effect that it has on the audience. I think the most essential thing in this scene is the sound and that fact that its so minimalistic which makes it so cold.

This scene comes near the end of the film when the plot is reaching its resolution. The scene consists of Juno and her father talking in the kitchen. She discusses with him her love life briefly, "...find a person who loves you for exactly what you are," says Juno's father in which Juno replies, "I sort of already have". This is when she questions "relationships", i.e., between not only her and Bleeker but between a mother and her unborn child, a couple who are facing a major cross road in their marriage, her father and his second marriage, and even her best friend's crush on a high school teacher. The scene was shot in a fairly small set as judging by their intentions I think the idea was to make it intimate as Juno was discussing something personal with her father. With dimmed lighting to create a better ambience it ties the scene together. The camerawork is manly shot over-the-shoulder each time the character speaks to another, this is mainly shot like this because its a conversation between the two. When the scene begins, Juno comes out from behind the kitchen countertop, almost as if to show her pregnant belly so it's almost as if she's saying that she's not covering up anymore and it shows that she's about to open up. The scene has been edited so that we see the over-the shoulder camera angles one after the other. This would have been filmed separately and then collected together for editing. Juno starts the scene by talking quietly but as she opens up more her voice gets louder to represent her finding her voice. The props inside the scene fit with the set because if they don't fit with the set then it distracts the viewer from the acting in the scene.

Psychoanalysis and Phallic Imagery

Film Lesson: See documentary called The Century of the Self

Bernay's that in his view, cigarettes for women were a form of liberation, a sign of the new, free woman. Cigarettes were seen as something for men, and were a phallic symbol, for women then, smoking was a sign of new feminine power as they took on roles which had traditionally been for men elsewhere: the vote they had just achieved, taking on men's jobs, etc.

National Identity In Children of Men and V for Vendetta

Comparing V for Vendetta and Children of Men

The narrative of these two scenes show the two main protagonists watching ove their 'damsels in distress'. In Children of Men he's looking through the broken glass, which represents the broken society, to see Kee, who's hope for the future, so he's looking through the broken society to find that there is hope in the distance. In V for Vendetta, V offered to shelter Evie from the rain.

Theme: Dystopian future, does one conform to the dystopian future more than the other? Relates to style because Children of Men LOOKS more realistic. The style of V for Vendetta has a more supernatural and comic style to it. 

Reason: In children of Men it's a warning and the style makes it more realistic. V for Vendetta doesn't seem as realistic because of the genre.

Genre: (video essay) V for Vendetta has more of a superhero genre or has elements of a superhero genre whereas Children of Men is more of an action/thriller. Although they are both thrillers because they contain mystery and crime. They are also both science-fiction films but the sub-genre is dystopian sci-fi. Does one film conform more to a dystopian sci-fi than another? V for Vendetta has futuristic elements such as how he got his powers, however Children of Men is also quite futuristic as it is set far in the future where women are infertile and no women has conceived for years.

Reason: Both are sci-fi because they are set in the future and they have a message that if you don't do anything about it, this could happen.

Narrative: Neither films conform to the classic hollywood narrative. An example of this would be that the protagonist dies at the end of the movie. In Children of Men, there is no clear resolution as we dont actually see Kee get on the boat. However in v for Vendetta, it ties all the loose ends whereas Children of Men doesn't. V doesn't have the hero's journey as he is not the typical hero as he is a vigilant. As seen in the domino scene, V manipulates everyone because he is knocking down the system and conforming everyone to his rues, his vendetta against the government. However Evie follows the hero journey as she sends V off on the train to blow the government. Also, she is reborn again so she finds herself and finds the hero in herself. V for Vendetta is a thriller film so it has to manipulate you and twist the story so that it grips you. the narrative starts of as a comic book film but then they start adding messages to the film. The narrative of the film are trying to reflect the characters. For example V is not trying to be funny and is more of a symbolism for the people. It subverts our expectations.

Representation: Masculinity, Femininity, National Identity and Social Class.

Conclusion for Thesis

In conclusion, I found out that both films play on the idea of relationship between a mother and child, however, the film Juno plays on the struggles during pregnancy, and the film We Need To Talk About Kevin talks about the struggles after pregnancy. Juno and Evie both show that their bond with their child is unexplainable because it is unique between them and their child.

Thesis - Representation of Parenthood in Juno and We Need To Talk About Kevin

A perfect relationship.

• The film plays on the idea that there can never be a prefect relationship and there  is always struggle.

• Ellen Page, who plays Juno MacGuff in the film Juno, portrays a teenager in the stages of her unplanned pregnancy. 

• The style in Juno is similar to We Need To Talk About Kevin because they have both clever and quick dialogue. 

• Juno is shown as a struggling teenager who forms a bond with her unborn that leads to difficult decisions later. 

• This could relate to We Need To Talk About Kevin because Kevin could be because of the relationship between him and his mother. 

• In Juno, she faces the fact that giving her children up for adoption would result in changing her child's life and breaking the bond between her and her child.

Where does the responsibility lie?

• The main point to question in We Need To Talk About Kevin is whether the result of Kevin is because he was naturally a born sociopath or whether it was result of bad parenthood from the mother Eva, played by Tilda Swinton.

• I think this is what the film is trying to get across in the film as they mainly focus on the relationship between the mother and son, this is because they want to show the struggle that Eva has to go through. 

• The father doesn't seem to get blamed for the outcome of Kevin because throughout his son's childhood he seemed ignorant of Kevin's chilling actions that results in a mutual hate with Eva, the mother.

Apply the concept of genre to V for Vendetta and Children of Men

Key scenes demonstrate the genre

Produce a collage of the key scenes

Compare to what extend the films are dystopian/thriller

Which one is conforming more to the genre

V for Vendetta - Surreal because this is what the future is going to be like, V's ready to die for his country which makes it inspirational and heroic, he's more than a mean he's a symbol. The hero has to sacrifice themselves to prove themselves to be heroic. 

Dystopian Sci-fi

V for Vendetta

  

                                          

Children of Men

Textual Analysis Presentation

Film Clip Comparison

These two scenes from the two films I chose, We Need To Talk About Kevin, and Juno, are similar in the fact that they are discussing issues over the breakfast/dinner table. However, the two scenes have very different environments. For example, in We Need To Talk About Kevin the atmosphere is very cold and tense as it's so quiet that you can hear the clanking of cutlery. The difference in the film Juno is that the environment is made so that Juno and her father are closer together and the lighting shows a homely environment. In We Need To Talk About Kevin, the family are very separate from each other and Eva walks away from the table whereas in Juno, she comes closer to her father.

I chose these two scenes to compare as it shows the motherhood of the two mothers Eva and Juno. The scenes are different to society's outlook on pregnancy because above we can see that after Eva gives birth she's in a state of depression and doesn't want to hold her son, as seen in the picture above. This is the opposite of what she should be feeling after her birth to her son as her joy of seeing her son should counteract the pain of giving birth that is in the sub-conscious part of her brain. However, in Juno, Juno MacGuff feels the happiest during her pregnancy compared to after her birth when she first feels sadness because she has emotional attachments to the baby she has given up for adoption. She does however still share the same bond with Paulie Bleeker (seen above) as she did when she was pregnant with his child. I think the reason why their relationship continue to blossom is that they share the same grief of giving their baby up for adoption. Between the two films, both mothers didn't want to see their child after both. 

These two images show the point at which the main female characters from my films, Juno and Eva, are at either their highest or lowest point. The image above shows Juno in hospital with Paulie some hours after her birth. She said that she didn't want to see the baby as she knew it would be hard to give it away.