Black Swan

Last weekend, I went to the cinema to see the film Black Swan. I'd seen the trailer so many times and thought it looked fantastic. I was really worried that the film could not possibly live up to all the hype it had gotten, but I was not disappointed! Right from the opening shot, you can tell it's going to be a fantastic film. It opens with Natalie Portman (Or her stunt double, I couldn't be sure) dancing ballet on a dimly lit stage. The routine is so complex and perfectly performed, you cannot take your eyes off the screen. For the majority of the film, a hand-held camera technique is used, adding to the creepy, tense atmosphere as it looks like someone is constantly watching or following the main character. It causes the audience to feel extremely uncertain about what will happen. I had butterflies in my stomach the whole way through it. Also, I didn't realise there would be such a psychological element to it, which only made it better for me as I particularly enjoy films with that kind of edge. There are some really freaky moments in the film, which made me jump out of my seat. It's like nothing I've seen before and it's difficult to compare it to any other film. On top of that, the special effects they used blew me away. The director is Darren Aronofsky who also directed 'Requiem for a Dream', one of my favourite films ever made. Now I have another one of his films to add to my list. Black Swan is brilliant. I'm buying it as soon as it's out on DVD. It's a must-see.
This has made me think that a genre like this would be amazing fun to film, but probably very difficult to succeed with.

Got a needle!

Nada used to work in a pharmacy a while ago, so she was able to ask for a needle for us to use. No need to order one now.

Make-up

I've been on youtube watching make-up tutorial after make-up tutorial to try and find out how you make someone look sick without over doing it. This video is one of the best ones I could find. Obviously we won't over-do it like the girl in this video does, but we need something to show our character is sick.

Filming location

So this is our location for filming! Also known as Lucy's bedroom. It's ideal for what we want, as it's not too complex and hectic and the colour of the walls are perfect for us to pretend to write on:

Our character Olivia will be standing on the bed while she is writing.

I'm really happy with our location. It's ideal for the scene we'll be shooting. Filming will begin shortly...

Fake syringe or real one?

In our opening scene, our character injects herself with medicine. It's our way of letting the audience know she is sick. I don't know if it would be completely ridiculous to use a real syringe, but seeing as we plan to use a close-up shot of her doing it, I don't want it to look fake and silly. I might order a fake one and a real one and then test them both out...

 We also need to order an oxygen mask. I have found a couple on the internet that should be perfect. The mask will only be a prop in our characters room, she won't actually use it.

http://the-therapy-connection.com/Oxygen-Mask-Adult-With-7-Tubing/M/B00091QRT8.htm?traffic_src=GB&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=GB&id=uk

Final Idea!

We have sat down as a group once again and found an idea that we are sticking to. We all agree on every aspect of it, so there should be no further problems.
We have decided to go for a teenage drama genre.

Our story will be about a teenage girl called Olivia who has cancer. There's a possibility that I might be playing Olivia because I 'look sick' as Tasha so kindly pointed out. I am extremely pale though so it might be that I have to act in our project. Can't wait to see how that works out. The opening will show Olivia writing a list of things she would like to achieve before she dies, on her bedroom wall. A bit depressing, but hey ho. We are going to film the opening in Lucy's bedroom and it will be shot in black and white just to represent how badly her life has changed due her illness.

We are currently scripting everything we would like to include in the opening. The idea sounds a bit simple right now, but we have many ideas to incorporate in to it. I will post a script and the storyboard we are in the process of making, when it is done.

New genre idea

My media group have now decided that we are going to focus on the horror genre. As a group, we understand that this is the most commonly used genre and we do know there is a risk of our final project coming out as cheesy and cliche. We do believe that if we have a bit of self control with our ideas, we can make something scary but tasteful. We are running out of time though, so we need to get a move on and start forming something solid.

Catfish

Before we broke up for the christmas holidays, our teacher showed us the trailer for the film 'Catfish'. I read a handful of reviews on the film and all were extremely negative, accusing the trailer of being misleading and building up a story that just didn't hold its own. A lot of people claimed that from the trailer, the genre of the film is shown as a thriller. I watched the film on sky box office over the holidays and I thought it was amazing. Although I understand what people mean when they say the trailer is misleading, if you watch it with an open mind, it's a fantastic film. It's definitely not a horror film, it's more of an indie drama. I loved the way it was shot and I especially liked the editing process as it adds a quirky edge to the film. I highly recommend it.