Evaluation Question Four

HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?

In the process of planning, creating and evaluating our film trailer, poster and website, we used many different media technologies. 

CREATION

• Wix - We used Wix, a free website creation site, to make our website homepages. It allowed us to make a dual-homepage system to continue our theme of the two sides of the freedom of speech. When technical problems arose with the site, we considered using Microsoft Publisher instead, but found that the professional quality of the Wix sites were worth the hassle of working around issues. 
• Photoshop - We used Adobe Photoshop to manipulate our photos and create our poster designs.
• iMovie - We used iMovie to edit and arrange our footage for our trailer and the background videos for our website. A prime example of this being combined with other media technologies was when we decided, following audience feedback, to change our montage to give it more of a sci-fi feel, by putting blue filters over the news footage and cropping it in more 'artistic' ways.

• Camera and Tripod - We used both of these to capture our original footage and create exciting and individual shots.
• DVDs and TVs - To give the sense of the political speech being shown nationwide, we burnt it to a DVD and filmed it being played on several different TVs and screens.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

• Facebook - We created a Facebook group for our team to post links, organise meetings and for general discussion of ideas. We also created a fan group for the film which the public can like and follow for up-to-date news. Later, we used Facebook to create a poll on which of our initial poster designs were best, and shared our intial trailer draft there to get feedback from our target audience.
• YouTube - We found all of our news footage on YouTube, as well as our non-diegetic music. We created our own channel, where we posted our trailer drafts and the background videos for our website. 
• Twitter - We set up a Twitter newsfeed, with the tweets being directly shared to our Facebook group and blog.
• Tumblr - We shared our poster designs and initial trailer draft to Tumblr to create interest and promote our blog. 
• Blogger - We used Blogger to organise and collate all of our research into a managable system, using tags for easy access. 

 

OTHER MEDIA

• YouTube Converters - We used several converters to get news footage and music from YouTube, for our trailer.
• DaFont - We downloaded our poster and blog fonts, Dink and SteelTongs from this site.
• SurveyMonkey - We created several surveys on this site to get audience feedback.
• Photobucket and Flickr - We set up several accounts on both sites to create a photostream to our blog, however, technical difficulties prevented them from working.

Production Companies Research

After researching into which production companies we would use at the beginning of our trailer, we decided to use "Focus Features" and "HanWay Films".

We chose HanWay Films due to its involvement in producing other films that fall under the same genre as our film trailer, particularly the film "Franklyn", which we used as part inspiration in our film trailer through our research into other media texts as it included a dystopian narrative.

We chose Focus Features for similar reasons to that of HanWay Films. Focus Features produced the latest version of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", another film that we particularly drew inspiration from.

Our Title

DYSPHORIA  [dis-faw-ree-ah]

According to Wikipedia, dysphoria is:

"Dysphoria (from Greek δύσφορος (dysphoros), from δυσ-, difficult, and φέρειν, to bear) (semantically opposite of euphoria) is medically recognized as a mental and emotional condition in which a person experiences intense feelings of depression and discontent...Mood disorders can induce dysphoria, often with a heightened risk of suicide, especially in persons with bipolar disorder who are in a depressive phase.
As the term refers only to a condition of mood, dysphoria may be experienced in response to ordinary life events, such as great illness or grief."

According to Dictionary.com, it is a state of dissatisfaction, anxiety, restlessness, or fidgeting.

As a medical condition, it has long been debated whether it defines manic or depressive episodes. As a writer on About.com put it - "The truth is, it is actually quite valid as a description for either mania OR depression. Dysphoric mania, as described in the Merck Manual, is "prominent depressive symptoms superimposed on manic psychosis." Symptoms include:

• crying
• curtailed sleep
• racing thoughts
• grandiosity
• psychomotor restlessness
• suicidal ideation
• persecutory delusions
• auditory hallucinations
• indecisiveness
• confusion

In everyday English, the complex terms above for symptoms of mania with dysphoria include - trouble sleeping, racing thoughts, grandiosity, mental and/or physical agitation, thoughts of suicide, feeling persecuted for no reason, hearing things, and having trouble making decisions (along with others)."

The suggestion of dysphoria being linked to bi-polar disorders gives our idea of the protagonist and antagonist being "mirror images" of each other added depth and a greater psychological appeal. With the similarity in build, height and looks of the two actors, the audience could begin to be persuaded (in this case, deliberately misled) that there is the potential for one of the characters to merely be  product of the other's imagination and delusions.

Censorship

We decided to classify our film as a 15.  We looked through the BBFC classification guidelines and we decided that it was the most appropriate classification.

Under the guidelines you are allowed:

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

SOPA and PIPA

As current affairs is an important part of our trailer's narrative, the recent Sopa/Pipa debate has been an interesting development within the news that has links to our trailer.

Sopa and Pipa are United States bills that have been introduced by Lamar Smith (R) and Patrick Leahy (D) to combat online piracy. While proponents of the bills claim that they will protect the intellectual property of its owners, there is a divide in the US, and the world, over whether the bills will achieve anything at all. Some argue that the bills will do quite the opposite and will actually restrict the "free" internet. Examples of the "bigger" opponents to the bills include Wikipedia, which held a 24 hour "blackout" of its website in protest over Sopa and Pipa, and Google, which "censored" its doodle.

"Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge": The sight that greeted visitors to the Wikipedia site during its blackout.

Google's censored doodle in protest over Sopa

The Obama Administration issued a statement that included: "While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet." Essentially, the Obama Administration appears to be taking an opposing stance on the issue of Sopa and Pipa.

The internet community has issued large-scale opposition to the bills, and "hacktivist" groups such as Anonymous have already started cyber-attacks on US sites. On a lighter note, the humour of the internet community is still alive and well over the issue, as seen through the meme of "Conspiracy Keanu".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16628143

Franklyn Trailer Deconstruction

The teaser trailer for “Franklyn” immediately presents itself in the parallel universes of “Meanwhile City” and real-life London. This gives an audience the instant impression that it is a sci-fi/fantasy film and that part of it is not “real”. Indeed, one character remarks; “If you believe in something strongly enough, who's to say if it's real or not?”.

The darkness of Meanwhile City, the disguise of the masked man and the dark clothing of the guards/police give a strong sense of danger and mystery. Adding to the danger, at the beginning of the trailer, one character, heard through a voiceover, says; “Tonight... I'm going to kill a man”. This is played over a visual of the character putting together a sniper rifle, which creates a sense of unease within the audience, as they fear that something violent is going to happen. The dark, uniformed appearance of the guards/police is reminiscent of Orwell's “Thought Police” in “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, and its 1984 film adaptation.

All three characters, in their real-life London forms, are introduced after a shot of a black screen with the words “Three strangers”. This adds to the sense of mystery within the narrative of the film, and the unease as an audience does not know how their lives will connect. The anchorage of the trailer is also futuristic, adding to the sci-fi nature of the film.

The images of Meanwhile City show it to be dark, bleak, “unforgiving” and archaic in appearance, with clear similarities with post-Industrial Revolution London. While there seems to be danger in both “worlds”, Meanwhile City is presented as the threat to both.

The fast-paced straight cuts between shots of the masked character fighting creates a major shift as the rest of the trailer had previously been slow-paced, and adds pace to the trailer, showing the audience that the film also has an action feel to it. The speed of the music, which increases, also adds to the tension of the trailer, especially during these action shots.

The fact that Franklyn was made using a relatively low budget gives the trailer a more gritty feel to it. This, and that Franklyn is a dystopian fantasy film, makes it an ideal film to research as the dystopian nature is relevant to our trailer's narrative.

Spiral Staircases

 

 

As our genre is Soft Sci-Fi/Thriller and one of our locations included a spiralling staircase, we decided to research the use of staircases in films of a similar genre.

Staircases are a convention of thrillers, and are mainly found in those that have a distinct psychological aspect. Recent prominent thrillers that have used them include "Inception" (top left) and Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" (top right). Both of these stressed the psychological side of the plot, as well as involving action, elements that we are trying to emulate in our own film.

The Inception staircase is based on Escher's Klimmen en dalen (bottom left), and that is based on the Penrose Stairs, or the Impossible Stairs. The angle we used for our staircase shot makes it look almost like an optical illusion, as if the stairs could continue descending forever. Having Luke run down them suggests a more complex theme for our film; that there will always be good and bad sides to freedom of speech and that as long as everyone can say what they want, there will always be conflict, going round and round like the staircase.

Death Note

Whilst there is a film adaptation of the Death Note manga series, the manga gives a stronger sense of the gritty, dystopian future that we are trying to capture. The first volume was published in 2003, but the world was set in 2006-11, giving it the Soft Sci-Fi element that we ourselves are using. Death Note is a manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. The main character is Yagami Light, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook, the "Death Note", dropped on Earth by a god of death, or a shinigami, named Ryuk. The Death Note grants its user the ability to kill anyone whose name and face they know, by writing the name in the notebook while picturing their face. The series centers around Light's attempt to create and rule a world "cleansed of evil" as "God" using the notebook, and the efforts of a detective known as L to stop him.

LIGHT YAGAMI
Technically, Light is the protagonist of the Death Note series, but as a result of its highly complex storyline, it depends entirely on the reader’s character interpretation and beliefs as to whether he’s the protagonist, or L, Near and Mello’s antagonist. He is a highly intelligent Japanese student, disillusioned with life, who takes a chance to try and make the world into what he believes will be a better place, by killing off evil-doers as the self-declared god, Kira. The plotline follows him as his personality and morals become corrupted, and he slowly goes insane; he must kill L and L’s heirs before they can unmask him and find proof of his murderous ways.
As Light leads the world-dominating, fear-controlled dystopia, in regards to our own plot, he would be the antagonist. He fits the image of the antagonist from the other films that have deconstructed; he is a highly charismatic, highly intelligent young man who dresses smartly and manipulates and uses everyone around him to create his image of the ideal world.

L
In regards to our narrative, as Light would be considered the antagonist, L would be the protagonist. L is an eccentric recluse and the world's greatest detective. He is called upon when "Kira" starts mass-murdering, and makes it is personal quest to stop him. He spends several years working closely alongside Light in a secret battle of wits; L knows Light is Kira, and Light knows that L knows he is Kira, and so the race begins to discover who can catch other out - and kill them - first. In terms of appearance, he is not a stereotypical resistance-leader, however, one of his heirs, Mello (pictured below) fits the typecasting better. He does have the intelligence, physical capabilities and emotional detachment associated with the role though. 

Mello

As previously stated, Mello fits the "rebel" archetype much more than L; he is conventionally attractive and physically fit, emotionally detached, and with enough intelligence and a strong enough personal vendetta against the antagonist to stage an effective revolution. He also wears dark colours, leather jackets and sunglasses, superficial trademarks of the rebel archetype. 

Misa and Takada

Misa is Light's girlfriend and, later, fiancée, and fits the love interest archetype insofar that she wears tight, dark clothes, is conventionally attractive (she is an actress and a model) and aids Light with his cause. She is very emotional and fiercely loyal, which enables Light to horrifically manipulate her. When compared to the hyper-intelligent men she is surrounded by, she is perceived to be rather stupid and superficial, and more of a burden than helpful; however as she is an incredibly proficient actress, her perky goth "Misa Misa" personality has been widely debated to be merely an act, to avoid suspicion. Takada, the news anchor that Light begins an affair with and eventually murders, fits the archetype better as she is calm and highly intelligent, as well as being dark and conventionally attractive.  

Relevant Articles In the News: 'Considering' Televising English Court Cases

News Article: BBC News UK 6^th September 2011

Out-Law.com (Legal news and guidance Pinsent Masons) 6^th September 2011

[References from 2 different and reliable sources]

Positive/Negative Points:

Relationship to our media-based narrative:

Ø  Media in our society seems to be gaining more power – encroaching and becoming a very powerful institution and although separate from government control/ privately owned it could sway how people think –manipulate the truth –become a ruling/consuming power of its own.

Ø  This idea has the potential to give corporations the power to manipulate society’s trust in the media, due to its influence in shaping our personal opinions on a number of issues –most especially politically – and this may also lead to the corruption of leaders who would work with the corruption to use this bias news for their advantage.

Ø  Even now the Murdock corporations highlight the dangers of biased news businesses. By present commentary and bias as fact Murdock could passively rule a large percentage of the world (4.7 billion) by selectively choosing what they know and what they don’t. Without the News Industry as the epitomy of truth and fact a nation would become a dictatorship.

Ø  We only have to look into ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’  to see that for decades the fear that media is no longer the pinnacle of free speech that it once was is a large concern.

Our narrative is the, seeming, political backlash against the Media Industry’s abuse of power, rivalling that of the government.  We have taken this concept to an extreme to examine the issue of free speech in today’s world whilst suspending the disbelief of the viewer. Our dystopian future is where idealistic values, of removing the lying influence of the media, become corrupt anyway leading to a people’s rebellion.

Recent Sci-Fi/ Thriller Releases

We researched recent Sci-Fi film releases in order to understand the style of films appearing on the market, understand the audience they are marketed at and the main themes being explored at the moment. Beside each title is a small break down of the themes or key points of the film.

Inception (2010) Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi/ technology exists to enter the human mind/ highly skilled thief/last chance for redemption/ inception = plant an idea/ layers of dream worlds/ discussion of reality/ ambiguous ending  

Tron: Legacy (2010)- Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi/ set in a cyber-world – created in the first film due to advances in technology, a sequel to the first Tron (yet their storylines overlap due to the change in protagonist), father and son bond, usurping the role of God leads to a corrupt cyber-society, use of doubles, 3D

Zenith (2010) – Sci-Fi, Thriller/ retro-futuristic steam-punk thriller/ 2 men in different time periods =parallel stories/ search for a conspiracy/ big questions - the meaning of humanity

(Angels and Airwaves) Love (January 2011) – Drama, Sci-Fi/ an astronaut/ stranded in orbit on the International Space Station/ loses contact with Earth/ claustrophobic and lonely existence/ battle to maintain sanity and stay alive/ makes a strange discovery…

Iron Invader (February 2011)- Sci-Fi/ Alien Bacteria infects metal/ giant killing robot/ merging of 2 categories of Sci-fi

I am Number Four (February 2011) Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ 9 Alien children hiding on earth/supernatural powers/ defenders of the planet/hunted- being killed off by another race of aliens seeking to destroy them

The Adjustment Bureau (March 2011) Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ mysterious interfering fate/ worldwide link of portals/ a higher power that collaborates to control the lives of people on earth

Battle: Los Angeles (March 2011) Action, Sci-Fi/ Alien attack on an American city/ military action is taken

Mars Needs Moms (March 2011) Animation, Action, Adventure/ Aliens abduct the mothers from earth/ for children/ moral centre for the story

Limitless (March 2011) – Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ top secret drug/ struggling author/ it improves brain function/ drugs race/ ambiguous ending


Paul (March 2011) - Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi/ 2 British geeks in American take a road trip/ alien encounter/ choose to help the alien evade authority


The Tree of Life (May 2011) - Drama, Sci-Fi/ 1950’s/ exploration of the typical family unit/ psychological evaluation of the human condition/back drop admiration of the universe/ smallness of our lives

Source Code (April 2011)- Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ soldier/ inside the body of a dead man reliving his last minutes/ bomb on a train/ mystery/technological advancement/moral issues raised/ playing with time/value of life

X-Men: First Class (June 2011)- Action, Adventure, Drama/ the evolution of humans/genetic mutation/ prejudice against the new species/ conflict/ questions of good and evil in the possession of power – choosing sides/ prequel/team =protectors of humanity

Super 8 (June 2011) - Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ film within a film/ group of children/ alien attacking small American village/ investigations/ military involvement/secrets

2012: Ice Age (June 2011)- Action, Sci-Fi/ story of a family struggle/ environmental travesty/ desolation of the world as we know it – covered with snow/ global warming/ survival of humanity at risk/ apocalypse

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (June 2011) - Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi/ conspiracy on the moon/ giant robots/good versus evil/alien technology/ lost spacecraft/government cover-ups/world domination

Phase 7 (July 2011)- Sci-Fi, Thriller/ spreading pandemic/ quarantined building/ alliances and conflict/ human desire to live/protect his own/ protagonists aim is to protect his pregnant wife/ altruism verses selfishness –the human condition/ social commentary/global crisis

Alien Armageddon (July 2011) - Sci-Fi/ aliens attack earth

Attack the Block (July 2011) - Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi/ south London/ teen gang/ alien invasion/ unlikely forging of bonds/ human nature to stick together/exploration of subtle invasion not full on war

Cowboys & Aliens (July 2011) - Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ set in 1873/ combining the forces of cowboys and natives against a bigger threat/ aliens/ classic hero =has the power, technology to defeat the aliens/ amnesia =self discovery/ damsel in distress

Rise of Planet of the Apes (August 2011) – Action, Drama, Sci-Fi/ scientific experiments to find the cure for Alzheimer’s/ genetically enhanced chimp = uses intelligence to bring an uprising of his species/rebellion/ prequel/ father and son story

Apollo 18 (September 2011) – Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ old footage style – merging past and present storylines/ 2 American astronauts sent on a secret mission to the Moon (Apollo 18)/ terrifying events

Real Steel (October 2011) - Action, Drama, Sci-Fi/ set in the near future/ robot boxing is a top sport/ an underdog story/ father and son story

Contagion (October 2011) – Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ pandemic- deadly disease/ global crisis/ following an international team of scientists = the focus/ reality of the spread of disease and fear

The Thing (October 2011) – Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi/ remake/ Antarctic research site/ discovery of an alien craft/ deaths and chaos ensue

In Time (October 2011) – Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ people have predetermined length of life/ they spend their ‘time’, the years of their life, as money for food etc./ the top few are young forever and immortal/ controlled genetics/ protagonist wrongly accused of a crime – on the run/ war against the system/ dystopian future

Melancholia (November 2011) – Drama, Sci-Fi / follows the strained relationships of 2 sisters/ new planet threatening to collide with Earth/ the human condition/ point of life

The Darkest Hour (December 2011) – Action, Horror, Sci-Fi/ set in Russia/ group of young adults struggle to survive/ alien attack

The Divide (2011) - Sci-Fi, Thriller/ survivors of a nuclear attack/ human survival / apocalyptic/ claustrophobic – stuck in a basement together/dwindling supply/ exploration of the power of fear

Sol (2011) - Sci-Fi/ distant future/ hostile alien planet/ Sol Invictus competition – Earth’s academics sent to distant planet and must pinpoint out the planet’s main sun ‘Sol’/ marooned on wrong island/ band together/ human survival – Lord of the Flies-esque

Recreator (2011)- Sci-Fi, Thriller/ robots/ trio trigger a deadly experiment of the ‘Recreator’ =a scientist with a gift for cloning/ must run from clones of themselves/ avoid being replaced

The Day (2011) – Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller/ 5 survivors/ lost and on the run/Open war against humanity rages/ global/ survival and family story/ future collapsed society

The Hunger Games (March 2012) – Action, Drama, Sci-Fi/ Post-apocalyptic society/ corrupt powers/national games to the death held in the Capitol/ a boy and a girl selected from each district/ shown on TV - part of a larger method of control/ survival/ rebellion –refusal to conform

Looper (September 2012) – Action, Sci-Fi/A killer who workd for the mob of the future recognises one of his targets as his future self/ potentially like 'Minority Report' 


Gravity (2012) –Sci-Fi, Thriller/lone survivor/ space mission to repair the Hubble telescope/ attempting to return to Earth/ mother-daughter relationship 


Upside Down (2012) – Drama, Romance/ a man searches an alternate universe for a long-lost love from his youth 


World War Z (2012) – Action, Drama, Horror/ great zombie war/ interviews survivors

Prometheus (2012) - Action, Drama, Horror/ team of explorers/ origins of mankind/ travel to the corners of the universe/ battle for humankind/ prequel

Patterns:

More eclectic selection of storylines because Sci-Fi allows for more imagination – less restricted than other genres by convention/ sci-fi often operates outside of convention constantly surprising the audience

One of the main patterns we found in the releases was Space travel or the use of different or second planets – the Sci-Fi market is predominantly linked to the idea of space and space travel. This is represented through the numerous examples of films recently released that explore either the unknown depths of space, for example setting the narrative on an alien planet, or exploring human instinct and psychology through the claustrophobic and frightening atmosphere of space. Space is the perfect location for mysteries and thrillers as these genres rely heavily on the unknown and the unseen, which is provided in abundance. ‘Apollo 18’ is a horror set on the moon which taps into the human fear of the unknown and … In a way some of these films also exhibit elements of a dystopia. Looking at ‘Sol’ for example, set a little way in the future some humans occupy a hostile alien planet. The implication is that they have left Earth for some reason and yet have found themselves in a socially corrupt civilisation. The idea of some of Earth’s population being relocated is explored in ‘Blade Runner’ whose universe includes Earth’s off-world colonies. It projects the issues related to over population, lack of resources and advanced technology into the future.

War on a global or personal scale is something explored in a few of the most recent Sci-Fi’s. We can draw the conclusion that the fascination with the psychological and social effects of war is due to the continued struggles of many countries in the Middle East including Britain. These storylines revolve heavily upon the testing of the human spirit. This convention can be found in most Sci-Fi narratives because its universal appeal and scope to allow character development, for example in 'The Day'.

Another theme is Alien Invasion films where aliens attempt worldwide domination of earth but the storyline follows a small group of individuals. These films are classic alien narratives in use for decades, however in recent year’s comedy has been merged with this genre to create a new image for these films, for example ‘Attack the Block’ and ‘Paul’. ‘Paul’ is exceptionally different from the general storyline as he is the titular role and one of the sympathetic protagonists. The war genre is often found within the traditional narrative which creates tension and pace for the race for survival. Also uncommon is the 2011 film ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ which aims to subvert audience expectation by merging two almost conflicting genres.

Disease epidemics have within recent years been in the headlines. Filmmakers have therefore produced films such as ‘Contagion’ and ‘Phase 7’ to recreate the fear and crisis point that the media reported on during the outbreak of both bird and swine flu. Interestingly ‘Contagion’ follows the group of scientists trying to develop a vaccine as well as the human interest family story. ‘Phase 7’ is about the group of people trapped in quarantine and how desperation and fear can change people.

Technological and Robotic futures were made massively commercial by the return of ‘Transformers’ to the big screen. Films such as ‘Real Steel’ and 'Recreator' play on the idea of dramatically advanced technology and both the positive and negative implications of humaniod robotics. This is very similar in theme to 'Blade Runner' particularly the narrative of 'Recreator'. Advanced technology also feed heavily into dystopian futures.

Apocalyptic and Dystopian Futures or narratives present the highly charged conflict between self preservation and altruism. Apocalyptic narratives involve global catastrophes and the reactions of the characters to them, mostly these films are Action orientated initially. Environmental, War or Zombie are just a few examples of apocalypses that might occur within a narrative. The concept is that the breakdown of a civilised society creates friction and therefore a catalyst for anarchy and humans place within the landscape of a new world order.

Dystopian plots are about societies where life is not lived in the perfect situation presented and rebellion against the system, the way things have come to be, tends to be more low-key. A communist and violent future wracked with poverty is depicted in ‘The Hunger Games’ where the people are suppressed by a game in which a group of children must fight to the death each year. In ‘In Time’ time is no longer an intangible concept it is your value and currency. Each person must live by their time and pay their way with it but it is the poor who suffer and die so that the rich may live forever. Dystopian futures take modern concerns such as genetics, technology and government corruption to create an extreme future which suspends the audience’s disbelief and creates fear.

We have followed this trend, and our narrative will be set in a dystopian future and will explore a protagonists realisation and then rebellion against the corrupt system.