Similar Products and Conventions Research

At the beginning of the development process, our production group established the genre of our opening sequence. At first we felt horror was an appropriate genre referring to our sequence. However, upon reflection we discovered that our sequence correlates further toward a hybrid genre. We concluded that it contained themes adhering more to an action / thriller. Therefore, it became a hybrid genre. 

We then chose four media products that best communicated specific themes of our opening sequence. I will compose extensive research into conventions of each film & their correlation to our sequence thoroughly. Here are the four media products we chose were: 

- Carrie

- Ready or Not

- The Hunger Games

- The Purge: Election Year 

- Squid Game

Carrie -

I will be analysing the 2013 remake of Carrie, directed by Kimberly Peirce and produced by 'Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures' and distributed by 'Sony Pictures Releasing'. 

The concept / themes of Carrie equate to our sequence immensely. As the female protagonist Carrie is essentially hunted by her supposed 'piers' due to complications & major faults within modern-day society. Aspects of Carrie as a character, relate to our female protagonist similarly. When our female protagonist is hunted, she reaches her 'final straw' as they say. Carrie does similarly when she uses her telekinetic powers to essentially murder her fellow classmates. Components of the narrative of Carrie, correspond to our sequence. Such as Carrie's relationship with her mother, exuding themes of 'tough love'. As our female protagonist's relationship with her mother wasn't at all stable. 

This video is behind the scenes footage captured onset during the production of Carrie. If you skip to 3:50 minutes in, you see Carrie covered in blood where the character finally snaps. Chloe Grace Moretz's portrayal of a 'mental breakdown' ultimately due to betrayal, is the exact same interpretation of our female protagonist we're trying to convey.  

The setting / location within Carrie is not familiar to our sequence by any means, as the entirety of Carrie is filmed within the setting of a high school. Whereas, our sequence is filmed all within the woods. The costume within Carrie also has no correlation to our sequence, as within Carrie all characters are predominantly American middle-class high school students. Our female characters are wearing orange jumpsuits, and our male characters are wearing higher-class tweed, hunting attire. The lighting within Carrie is similar in some aspects, such as shots exhibited within nature such as the picture surrounding this text. The props within our sequence are minimal, we acquire rocks, fake rocks and a fake knife, including fake guns. Due to Carrie's supernatural ability, prop weapons weren't something necessary to display her abilities. 

I noticed utilisation of similar camera techniques during the prom scene, where Carrie inevitably snaps. The constant use of hand-held to illustrate the chaotic nature of the scene, is something we'll attempt to implement. 

Unfortunately, due to complications with COVID-19. I was unable to attend the first editing workshop. However, I noticed the short shot duration and it's affect on the audience. This would be something I would try to achieve within the editing process, to further enhance the scene's turbulent nature. 

Ready or Not -

I will now be analysing the 2019 film 'Ready or Not', directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Produced by 'Mythology Entertainment' and distributed by 'Fox Searchlight Pictures'. 

The overall concept of this film equates to our opening sequence greatly. The female protagonist within this film, Grace has married into a higher-status family who essentially hunt her down due to religious purposes. This theme of aristocratic arrogance is portrayed substantially within our sequence as well as in Ready or Not. This sense of class divide is an instrumental piece of displaying juxtapositions within our sequence, as well as in Ready or Not. When in the early stages of development, when thinking of strong female protagonists 'Grace Le Domas' came to mind. She is everything that encompasses our female protagonist, her themes of intelligence is exhibited profoundly within our sequence to assemble that connection between the two. 

This is a clip from the film, where Grace has been caught & is being offered a 'second chance' by a member of the dynasty family. If you skip to 50 seconds in, there's a quote from one of the hunters that states, 'It's true what they say, the rich really are different.' This quote truly embodies the narrative of our sequence. Our narrative includes our female protagonist, falling in love with a member of an upper-class, successful family that frowns upon her. Her boyfriend then decides to kill her, hunting her down until she fights back, subverting the stereotype and overthrowing masculinity's notion of dominance in a modern-day society. Furthermore, both narrative's are similar within all components. 

The setting / location within Ready or Not are similar in certain aspects. Such as when Grace frantically sprints within the woods, the same concept our actresses will follow. The male costuming within Ready or Not is profoundly similar to our opening sequence, as the men in our sequence will be draped tweed / hunting attire with a rich essence that prevails their aristocracy. This is similar to the male characters within Ready or Not. However, the female costuming does not equate to our sequence, as we take an overtly modern approach. 

The lighting within Ready or Not does not equate to our opening sequence's at all. The scenes that we're shooting are outdoors within the woods, however in broad daylight. Whereas Ready or Not's outdoor scenes take place within the darkness. However, in Ready or Not the props are very similar as they're all weaponry. The prop shotguns that the hunters chose to kill Grace with, are exactly the same as the props we're using. 

There are some elements of camera techniques seen within Ready or Not, that we will try to replicate within our sequence. For example, whilst Grace is being chased hand-held is used similarly to Carrie. This illustrates the ongoing themes of chaos and corruption within the scenes, which we will attempt to successfully implement into our scenes. Editing techniques used in Ready or Not include short shot durations whilst Grace is being hunted, to convey her emotion & is representative of her ultimately having to 'think fast'. 

The Hunger Games -

I will be analysing the 2012 film trilogy, directed by Gary Ross. Produced by 'Color Force' and distributed by 'Lionsgate'. 

The entire concept / themes of this film associated with, hunting and brutality equate to our opening sequence substantially. Once again, during early stages of development when looking at inspiring female protagonists within film. 'Katniss Everdeen' was one of them. Her general stance as an iconic subversion of the female stereotype was inspiring to our production group. Furthermore, we based the central attributes of our female protagonist around this character. We drew from her independence, fearlessness & loyalty. 

This clip above displays Everdeen's loyalty to her family, demonstrating themes of leadership that encapsulate the concept behind are narrative. Within our opening sequence, the female protagonist expresses her leadership and independence when grasping that she needs to 'fight back' to save her life. When in early stages of development, we researched into films that inspired our narrative and The Hunger Games was one of them. The film itself elaborates upon themes such as the breaking of trust / relationships, which our sequence establishes with it being the centre of our narrative. The concept following the full outline of our sequence, touches on how our female protagonist's trust was broken, hence why she was left in the woods to be hunted. 

The location within The Hunger Games is profoundly similar to our opening sequence, as the entirety of the survival process is based within nature / the woods. The entire convention surrounding the subversion of female stereotypes within specific thriller films is followed by our production group here. The costume within The Hunger Games is quite minimalistic, whereas ours correlates more to themes of imprisonment / being captured. The overall natural lighting within the film equates nicely to our sequence's, as we will shoot within daylight similarly to The Hunger Games. The props are similar within elements of weaponry, however our sequence utilises guns, whereas The Hunger Games does not. 

As a production group, having concluded reviewing similar products we came to the mutual decision that The Hunger Games used similar camera techniques to what we aim to achieve. The utilisation of hand-held, which is something all these films have in common is excellent in evoking tension / chaos that enthrals audiences. The editing techniques of fast pace and short shot durations to embellish the turbulent nature of the scenes works nicely and is what we would attempt to replicate within our editing process. 

The Purge: Election Year -

I will be analysing the classic 2016 The Purge: Election Year, directed by James DeMonaco. Produced by 'Blumhouse Productions' and 'Platinum Dunes'. 

This film acquires similar themes that equate enormously to our opening sequence. Themes of violence and betrayal as a result of faults within societal constructs equate to our sequence, the idea of 'social constructs' vary as this film demonstrates the government ensuring society's composure collapses for their own benefit. Whereas our sequence showcases the juxtaposition within class divide & the devastation caused by the upper-class' independent decisions. The prospect of a strong female protagonist within this film is illustrated through the character 'Laney Rucker', her character demonstrates leadership skills / the ability to cope and adapt in a crisis. We wanted our female protagonist to convey similar attributes and follow the convention surrounded by the subversion of female stereotypes within the action / thriller genre. 

This clip above displays two young woman shoplifting a store, Laney Rucker uses her dominance / status to persuade the shoplifters to give back what they initially stole. This concept of using status to get what you want, is a reoccurring message displayed throughout our sequence that embodies the narrative. Within our sequence, the two male aristocratic hunters use their status / upper-class privilege to murder young woman in the safety of their own 'estate'. This concept is echoed throughout our narrative, to ensure audiences understand / grasp the message of using your alleged authority to gain your un-required needs. 

The location within The Purge: Election Year does not correlate to our sequence's in any way. This film follows many different stories from multiple characters / perspectives and due to the sheer budget of the film, it is able to demonstrate a variety of locations within one city. Whereas our sequence all takes place within the woods. The costuming within this film also does not equate to our sequence's, as we feature jumpsuits / upper-class hunting attire. This film's costuming is minimalistic but displays the nature of the characters. Displaying the 'nature of the characters' was something we were interested in showing, however we felt the idea of the hunters stripping their identify from them by dressing them in orange jumpsuits, made for a more impactful meaning. The lighting within this film shows a variety of light, from natural to artificial to nightlight. Whereas our sequence only displays natural light. The prop guns within this film however do correlate to our sequence, as the concept of dominating weaponry is displayed throughout. 

The utilisation of hand-held and close-ups within this film help intensity emotion / elude to the chaos & destruction within the films overall concept. The fast pace 'ping pong' cuts / editing and the short shot durations help adhere to the genre of the film, whilst amplifying tension is something we will try and replicate within our opening sequence. 
 

Squid Game - 

I will be analysing the recently released series Squid Game,  distributed in 2021 and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. Produced by 'Siren Pictures' and distributed by 'Netflix'. 

The overall themes within this film equate to our sequence deeply, this concept of betrayal and corruption / violence is something our sequence also acquires. The prospect of the upper-class majority treating the lower-class minority as prey, making them a part of a game that essentially hunts & kills them is something echoed throughout our sequence. Overall, this film and our sequence has a lot in common in terms of themes. The character Kang Sae-byeok, is a symbol of strong female independence that we want to display within our sequence. Her character is another exemplary strong female protagonist who is prepared to fight to essentially save her life. Within early stages of development, she is another character we used as inspiration / a framework to base our female protagonist around. She demonstrates key attributes that we intend to portray within our character. 

This clip above demonstrates the Squid Game players attempting their first of many games to win the ultimate prize, as an audience you discover that the game isn't as 'light-hearted' as initially assumed and the players react in terror as they try desperately to escape. The concept of the upper-class stripping the identity from the lower-class players and witnessing the fiasco play out is a central element of our narrative. Within our sequence, the upper-class aristocratic hunters use their essential 'dynasty' to take advantage of the lower-class females, who eventually decide to fight back. Overall, Squid Game and our sequence's narratives both display the class divide in a modern-day society well. 

The location within Squid Game does not correlate to our opening sequence in any way. Due to Squid Game's immense budget of £3.5M, it could afford many intricate set designs that displayed a modern / futuristic setting. Whereas our opening sequence follows the journey of combat / chaos within the depths of the woods. The costuming within Squid Game equates profoundly to our opening sequence's. The players within the film are forced to wear coral jumpsuits, similarly to our sequence's orange jumpsuits. This idea of 'stripping identity' from the lower-class really makes that impactful statement of upper-class privilege seen within Squid Game and our opening sequence. The lighting within Squid Game is almost all artificial, therefore it does not correlate to our sequence's. The props within Squid Game is all very modern / robotic & futuristic. Whereas our sequence's displays an old-fashioned interpretation of weaponry. 

The camera techniques are similar to all the other films previously mentioned. The utilisation of of a variety of shots (close-ups, mid-shots etc) & hand-held communicates the chaos and the sheer magnitude of the given circumstance. The editing techniques consisting of long shot durations to evoke substantial tension helps convey / follow conventions of a thriller. We will try and implicate the same shooting methodology, as we enjoy what Squid Game has done thoroughly. 

CONCLUSION 

These following films have many similarities, wether it be conventions, location, costuming / props. However, the one component of each film that stands amongst the others is they all acquire a 'strong female protagonist'. When deciphering films to analyse & research, we wanted films that acquired the concept of a loyal, independent, fearless female protagonist that had profound leadership skills. 

These conventions surrounding a subversion of female stereotypes are seen within the thriller / action genre because unfortunately the concept will appeal more to men, who watch action as well as thrillers, ultimately appealing to Mulvey's male gaze theory. Men like the stereotypical 'badass' female within movies / TV, almost more than the 'damsel in distress' as it's enticing seeing a commanding / fearless woman to men. This convention impacts the films massively, as it attracts a wider array of audiences male and female. It adds an element of juxtaposition into the film, the contrast / subversion enthrals audiences rather than detours them. This convention appeals to our target audience as all audience's enjoy seeing a powerful woman onscreen, wether it's based off attraction or admiration. The conventions surrounding the class divide are also something prominent we noticed within the films of action / thriller. This juxtaposition of lower-class / upper-class creates a profound impact on audiences as they gain knowledge of taking advantage of less fortunate individuals, due to upper-class's unnecessary needs to feel validated financially. It adds an element of realism into the genre, creating controversy. This convention doesn't necessarily appeal to our target audience, but it raises a genuine concern to be discussed. 

There are some elements of these films that are different to our sequence, such as many locations besides The Hunger Games are not similar to our sequence's in any way. The costuming in most films previously mentioned, also do not equate to our opening sequence's, as well as props. 

The conventions from the other films inspire our production group to thrive with the conceptual message of class divides and the idea of a strong / empowering female protagonist within our sequence. We are thrilled to continue the development process until our shoot day begins!