The Sequence

      From my film idea I have chosen to do the opening sequence. In this sequence I am planning on having the protagonist be preparing for work, then on the bus, at work and being fired and finally have the character walking through a busy street in a city centre. At this point, what I would like to do is have the characters apparel worsen, in the sense that it becomes less pristine and becomes unkempt. This, I aim to do by having a couple of people walk past the camera so that each time the protagonist comes into view she is wearing a different costume. However this is a preliminary idea, which I will have to thoroughly think through and organise so that I will know whether or not I will be capable of achieving my aims.
      For the first few minutes of the sequence I plan to use the song ‘She’s Losing It’ by Belle and Sebastian as non-diegetic background music, apart from the section when the character is on the bus, as then it will be diegetic as it will be played through headphones the character will be using.

These are the lyrics for She's Losing It:

Lisa knows a girl who's been abused
It changed her philosophy in '82
She's always looking for a fight
She keeps the neighbours up all night

I go to her when I'm feeling slack
The girl's using me as a punching bag
I think that I could help her out
But the girl's got a lot to be mad about

BUT in the first moment of her waking up
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing it
When the first cup of coffee tastes like washing up
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing
Yeah she's losing it

Lisa met Chelsea at the knocking school
Chelsea didn't feel like following the rules
So they left the place for another school
Where the boys go with boys and the girls with girls

Chelsea was the ONE who's been abused
It changed her philosophy in '82
She says, "Inch for inch and pound for pound"
Who needs boys when there's Lisa round?">

BUT in the first moment of her waking up
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing it
When the first cup of coffee tastes like washing up
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing it
She goes to the mirror to put on her stuff
She knows she's losing it, oh yeah she's losing it
When she doesn't speak to anyone till four 0' clock
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing it
Oh yeah she's losing it

I chose this song to use in my opening sequence due to the lyrics, specifically the chorus. This forms a link with my sequence as the main character is 'losing it' in terms of her losing her job and then eventually losing her friends.

Synopsis

My Film is set Britain, in the current economic climate, with high unemployment. My film follows one woman who is in the middle of this situation, and facing the same risks as all who are in the same position as her. The film starts with Xara, the protagonist in the morning as she prepares for work; in a hurry she leaves her flat and catches the bus to work, she is called into her managers office and is made redundant, She spends most of her time wandering around the town centre, in order to fill the spare time she has, but because she has been thrown into unhappiness she begins to stop paying attention to her appearance, this is what will be shown in my sequence. A short while after she loses her job she also loses her friends and partner because she no longer fits their high expectations. They leave her to wallow in her own self-pity, however this kick starts her into changing her life. She starts this by moving out of the city she lives in, into one of the surrounding villages, somewhere she has aspired to live for a long time. Once settled she searches for her desired job, in the Historical research field. Eventually she gets a job as a researcher for a period T.V programme. In her new environment, she meets new people, who she becomes friends with and who help her though her choices. These people are far more supportive than her previous friends, and her life is on a better path.

Genre Conventions

      Genres can be defined by a shared subject matter, for example comedies are mainly defined by a type of story situation. However genre definitions can be flexible and this is shown by the fact that they can mix together or crossbreed. This is something that I am doing with my film sequence as the genres I am using are comedy and drama.

      With Drama there are two main parts to a dramatic narrative structure: the story, so what happens and then to whom it happens, and also how the story unfolds, the discourse. Conflict is often present in dramas, this is in order to emotionally move or touch the audience. In other cases the protagonist has a goal to fulfil and someone or something gets in the way. These struggles can take many forms, for example: Man against man; man against society; man against nature; and man against machine

      Dramas are generally serious stories and they show a real life situation and also in a realistic way. The characters behave at their worst and their best as well as everything in-between. Urban dramas exploit reality, and after the 1980’s, a new genre was defined by guns, drugs, violence and revenge.

       Dramas are serious presentations or real life situations that have characters who are conflicting with themselves, others or nature. Drama films often have of-the-time issues and problems, concerns and injustices. Examples of these would be racism, religion such as anti-Semitism, drugs, poverty, politics, corrupted power, alcohol, class division, sexual inequality, mental illness, corrupt societal institutions, abuse such as sexual, violence, domestic, women and children and so on and so forth and also possibly other issues of the times.

      Dramatic films realistically and frankly deal with social problems, however in the earlier years of Hollywood and censorship there was a tendency to not blame society and institutions but rather to blame problems on an individual, who, it was likely, would be punished for their actions.

      Comedies are designed to specifically make the audience laugh and are often light-hearted dramas primarily for enjoyment. Each situation the characters find themselves in are exaggerated along with the characters, language and action. Generally comedies have happy endings, although the comedy can have a pessimistic side, for example black humour or gallows humour.

      Comedies generally come in to forms: situation comedy and comedian-led, but these can over-lap and the comedy genre is more likely to be paired with another big genre such as musical-comedy. Not only can comedies be part of two genre films but also there are subgenres in which comedy fits, for example rom-com, sports comedy or coming-of-age comedy.

      There are many different forms of comedy for example: Deadpan, which can be defined by the expressionless face of Buster Keaton; Verbal comedy, which is typified by cruel verbal wit, sexual innuendo or thoughtful humour; and Black comedy, which are dark sarcastic but humorous stories around serious subjects such as death.

      Black humour is closely linked with gallows humour. It is often used in dramatic films which means they can keep a serious tone, playing a dark subject for laughs, an example of this is in Dr Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick, about nuclear warfare however the procedure for preventing war the system which will make sure it happens. Gallows humour, an earlier form of black humour, is humour that still manages to be funny even in a hopeless situation, and is often in response to this. It often happens when death is inevitable or is perceived to be that way. An example of this is in the Monty Python’s film Life of Brian when the group of men being crucified sing ‘Always look on the bright side of life’.

      African Americans were often used to make people laugh in mainstream society and on stage. In early comedy films this was also used and often linked with the entire race rather than one single person. The 1970’s saw to crossover comedians hitting the silver screen, and a lot of highly successful films were created.

      Comedy is one of the oldest film genres, and unlike others it puts more emphasis on individual stars. One of the earliest film forms of comedy was slapstick due to its physical nature, perfect for silent films. This could involve being soaked with water or hit over the head with a pan.

Narrative Structure

Protagonist: The Woman (currently unnamed)

Antagonist: Her situation with work and friends etc.

Equilibrium: In a job and has plenty of friends

Disruption: Initially she is fired, which then leads to her losing her friends, this puts her into a bad situation, jobless and without friends, so no income and no support.

Quest: She searches for a new job, one in which she will be happy, she moves away from her previous life, by moving house, which shows her developing into a more independent and changed person.

Resolution: She finds the job she was searching for, which, with it, brings new friends, who have less and lower expectations. She is truly happy and comfortable and she has changed into a new person.

Re-Equilibrium: She is in a new job and also has new friends.

The story type of my film is Rite of Passage.

Brief

My brief for the A2 Film Studies project was to either:

Develop an extended sequence from an imagined feature,
or
develop a complete short film of between 3 and 5 minutes,

Of the two, I have decided to choose to develop an extended sequence.
I need to include the aims and context of the sequence, which need to be clear and detailed, using an issue from the unit FM1.
I must make a creative product, my sequence, which is 45 marks out of the total 60 and then evaluate my work, which is worth 15 marks.
Although the work must be my own, it is advised that I ask for help from other members of my Film Studies class.