Kevin Foughty’s Blog for this God Forsaken Project

On February 15th, 2020, my group met at the local McDonald’s however I wasn’t able to be there in person because I had my wisdom teeth excavated (although we did FaceTime so I was able to give my ideas whilst recovering from ten shots and a power drill in mouth). But, we answered the questions for stage 3 on our group Google doc so; here they are.

In what locations will your film be shot? Why?

Jiffy @ san ann – its very gritty and run down place, where they would catch a hacker trying to be incognito

Circle K gas station – investigation location 

Kafe Kokopelli – maybe start, the detective talking to himself, interrupted by hacker. 

Downtown dade city – mostly where this will be shot 

Dade City Transmission – my dad owns this place so this will most likely be are backup

Who will act in your film, if anyone? Why? What considerations do you need to make for scheduling and preparing your actors for production?

Me and Fares will act in our movie. This is because we “are funny dudes who know how to have a comedic dynamic Considerations: I just had his wisdom teeth removed and kinda swollen but I should be fine by the time we start filming. Fares arrive late all the time. 

What will your film look, feel, and sound like? Why? How will you achieve it? Consider all the aspects of mise-en-scene.

We want to make a film that shows the opposing sides of the two main characters. Since we may be filming in a restaurant, we will need to focus more on the mise-en-scene surrounding the characters than in the setting. We will have the detective wear more muddled colors and the hacker wear brighter, more saturated colors. The colors will show this difference in their tone and how they perceive things.

It’s going to look like a noir with the detective in costume and hacker normal clothing working alongside him. It will have science fiction features with the use of technology.  Chiaroscuro will be emphasized. Likely to be shot at night or in the afternoon in an urban location.

Will you record any sounds during production (dialogue, ambient sound, etc.)? If so, how? Will you record sounds in-camera or using a separate audio recording system?

We will definitely record sounds using a separate audio recording system. We will obviously record the monologue using a microphone. Since we are most likely shooting at nighttime, ambient sounds like cars passing by, car horns or a sign flickering off and on. We may have to have non diegetic soundtrack in the background. 

What do your preliminary storyboards look like for the film? You should include at least a few storyboarded shots.

“Guess I still have to make those” – Nick

I made some revisions to the draft (by some a mean I added some more detail to the voice over) but I didn’t change the dialogue or added settings, stage directions, etc. because we still don’t exactly know where we are going to shoot. However, Nick did find a good program to use to make a movie script look like a more traditional movie script instead of the “thrown together at the last minute” style of scripts called Studiobinder that can add shots, locations, and even storyboards. Anywho, here is the second draft of the script.

Cut to a man (Detective played by Fares) filling a car with gas at a gas station. Chiaroscuro is used)

Inner Monologue from Detective: “Precision simulation hired me to investigate who hacked into their simulation and bring them to justice. Ever since the first attack, it has been glitching – time will move erratically, you will be in a place you don’t remember going to. On the bright side, after this job, I’ll quit: I may be young but I’ve put in too many hours to keep working this dead-end job. My partner for this job is a felon and a hacker and once we’re done with this job, Precision promised to wipe his slate clean. He seems like the kind of guy that is too ‘goody two shoes’ to even commit tax fraud, but I was shocked when I heard that he …” (Cut off by Hacker speaking)

Hacker (played by Kevin) walks into frame

H: “Can I put some color back in this world; all this black and white is making me depressed?”

D: “Sure, whatever.”

H: “And then I said, let there be color!”

Chiaroscuro gone in next cut; color present

H: “There, much better. Now, did you find any information on our culprit?”

D: “Well, we know that they’re good at altering this simulation, so they must be good with computers.”

H: “Way to go, Sherlock, I mean do we have a witness or, better yet, a name?”

D: “We do have a name: Bostrom. That’s all we have though: no face, no age, and no location.”

Cut to another establishing shot; D and H are in the same position, but at different gas station

D (as he is getting in the car): “They may be on to us, let’s get out of here.”

Title card appears with sound of the car door shutting.

 The movie Inception was directed by Christopher Nolan and released in 2010. The film is a simulation theory sci-fi movie about a thief who steals secrets using dream sharing technology and is given the task of planting an idea in someone’s head.

History/Target Audience

The target audience for this film is people who liked Christopher Nolan’s other films such as Memento and The Dark Knight as well as people who enjoy sci-fi movies similar in style to The Matrix. Nolan is also credited for writing this movie whereas the executive producer is Thomas Tull.

Production

With a budget of roughly $160 million (which is considered a medium budget despite the fact that money can buy the most expensive house in New York City twice listed on Zillow and still have money left over), this film took 3 weeks to produce. Inception was shot on both film and on digital which meant that the cinematographer had to decide whether to shoot on film or digitally which gave them more responsibility but also more creativity. The most difficult scene to produce was the gravity fight scene in which a special contraption had to be built which most likely took up a lot of their time.

Distribution

This movie was disturbed by one of the big 5 – Warren Brothers – and (as being a studio film) was distributed in a wide release fashion.

Marketing

Inception was marketed in a similar manner to most studio films: extensively. It had a myriad of trailers and posters to advertise the movie.

Cross-Platforming/Synergy

This film had no cross-platforming to speak of.

The costuming of simulation theory movies (such as The Matrix and Inception) is usually everyday clothes because the people are either in a simulation and don’t know it – these people wear normal clothes because the simulation demands it – or because people are infiltrating the simulation and they need to blend in to the environment. In noir films, the standard costuming (especially in the older noir films) is nice, formal clothing: suit and tie, trench coat, etc. However, in modern “neo-noir” films, the costuming is seemingly normal clothes (see Taxi Driver).

• 

• 

Despite the “seemingly normal” clothes, we can still use the costuming to show the audience important aspects about the characters. I plan on highlighting the strong contrast of the two characters in a way like one of my favorite video games: Devil May Cry 3.

For some background, Devi May Cry 3 (abbreviated as DMC3) follows two twin brothers: Dante (who wears a red trench coat and wields a broadsword and two pistols), and Vergil (who wears a blue trench coat and uses a katana like the weeby edge-lord he is). Vergil summons a demon tower in the middle of the city Dante is opening a demon-hunting business in and demons start coming out and then they get in a fight and then all hell breaks loose.

The costuming of Dante and Vergil speaks volumes to the kind of people they are: Dante’s big ass sword shows he is bold, brash, and (as the director of DMC3  puts it) “chuni” – which is a Japanese word that pretty much means “cool to a 12 year old” – while Vergil’s katana shows he is precise and calculated and less “chuni.” This is further evidenced by the way they fight with Dante’s wide swings and Vergil’s quick and lethal cuts. The fact that Dante and Vergil’s coat colors are opposite show that they have opposite personalities and goals. Furthermore, their hairstyle also conveys this because, while they both have long hair, Vergil slicks his back in a more professional style compared to Dante who lets his luscious locks free.

• 

• 

So, for the costuming I will try to do something similar to this; the detective will wear muddle colors to show his bleak outlook on life whereas the hacker will wear brighter, more vibrant colors to show he is the opposite and either has a more positive outlook on life or just doesn’t care.

My group and I met again, this time at the local McDonald’s, to discuss the questions for this subunit of our blogs. We are doing our own separate case studies (mine will be in the next blog post). Here are questions and our answers to them:

What does the script look like for your film? You should have at least a basic summary of the film in order to pitch it.

The script we currently have is a sample, it has room for development.  The main summary for our film is that a detective and a hacker are forced to team up to find who hacked a popular simulation. However, the owners of the simulation are mysterious, and there seems to be more to the hack than what is initially let on. The two characters, the detective and the hacker, have directly contrasting personalities. The detective is dry and constantly serious, and is constantly monologuing to himself about his life. In contrast, the hacker is sarcastic and socially-oblivious, constantly breaking the detective’s train of thought. Everything that he says is either sarcastic, a joke, or not extremely helpful. He expresses his unhappiness about being paired up with the detective a lot more openly, and is a bit of a jerk to the detective. 

What is your “brand” or “mission statement” for your film? What are you striving towards? What are you trying to achieve with your story?

One Detective. One Hacker. Join forces to bring justice. 

We are going to have a slightly comedic image, as our two main characters are strongly contrasting in character. We are striving to have the detective be extremely serious and gritty in this world, but that this noir image is constantly subverted with the hacker’s ridiculous antics. It’ll be a contrast in tones for comedic effect. We want to have some action in the movie, which will probably be split with physical action done by the detective and ‘hacking’ done by the hacker (shocker). 

What are some production companies that specialize in films similar to yours? Which of them would be ideal choices for producing your film?

Warner Brothers and A24, these would be ideal companies because they have produced Inception, The Matrix, The Dark Knight, and Detective Pikachu. With Warner Bros., they have a lot of history making darker science fiction films, or make deals with independent affiliates that fund these types of films. However, a lot of independent film companies have created the most famous tech-noir films, and with A24 being a major independent film company, they could also be another opportunity.

Nick personally believes that Warner Bros. would be the best option. They have a lot movie (especially compared to me – I get most of my money for watching dogs), are known to produce action-y science fiction films, and have made a lot of deals with independent production companies to fund some major science fiction films. 

Do you plan to produce with a large studio or a smaller, independent production company? Why?

Large production company. Warner Bros. would allow us to have a lot more funds to have good special effects, and the prestige with having a large studio would likely increase our profit margin. If we produced with a large studio, we could actually buy professional software, and we could actually model things to put into the world.

How will your choice of production company affect the way audiences engage with your film?

Would bring our film to a bigger audience. We could probably do a wide release if we wanted. However, it could turn off some of the pickier members of our target audience, as large studio films are known for being more about action and less about the plot and lore. 

It would also likely hurt our digital sales. As a large studio, they are likely going to want ALL the distribution rights. That may make streaming distribution difficult. It would likely be best to make a deal about theatre release, but then have our own path on digital distribution. That’s probably unlikely though.

How will you convince the production company that your film is worth financing?

We are likely going to have to have more action in the movie than what it would be if it was independent. Audiences are drawn to action movies in this current market. Sure, critics are harsh about it, but if it’s a fun movie to watch, it’ll make $$$. We would likely have to promote our film as a gritty action detective story, kind of like the Matrix. We would need to present it as though the world the film is set in isn’t too far away from the modern audience’s fears (like the Matrix). While the film would be about investigating whoever hacked the simulation, the duo will need to fight off other threats to discover the truth.

What are some distribution companies that specialize in your type of film? Which distribution companies would be a good match for your film?

Probably Warner Bros. again. As part of the Big 5, they not only are a major production company, but they are also a major distribution company as well.

How will your film be exhibited? Consider theatrical and nontheatrical modes of exhibition.

Wide release. We want to work with a Big 5 distribution company, so we will likely have the funds to do a wide release distribution. For digital release, we should probably stream it on Netflix or Amazon Video. Amazon Video would likely get us more profits (people have to but the films), but Netflix will get us a bigger audience.

This is a continuation of my last post as there were too many types to cover so this one will cover the ones more commonly found in film.

Offensive Humor

Offensive humor is a bit controversial because it’s, uh, offensive. However, that isn’t to say that it can’t be useful; for example, if I wanted to make the hacker or the detective crass, then using this kind of humor is ideal. Since that is not a character trait I want, this is not the kind of humor I was going for.

A good example of someone who does offensive humor well is a stand up comedian named Jimmy Carr. He shows how to make offensive: you have to be more funny than offensive. How you are funny isn’t so important but instead its how funny you are; if you make a joke that can’t get a chuckle, don’t even think about attempting an offensive joke.

In film, an example of this would in the film Predator when the army men are in the helicopter. While the jokes weren’t nearly as offensive then, modern day audiences can still see that these are soldiers that are hyper-masculine and ‘roided out.

“Hahaha I Do That”

This is done by relating to the audience; that’s really it. Because it is very simple, most people who try their hand at humor – both the successful (Jerry Seinfeld) and those that are not (my dumbass) – use this kind of humor as it can be applied to most people in your audience. I did tried to show this in the script because people can have that one person in their life who only tells you what you know when you ask them a question.

Banter

Either way you look at it, the best way to achieve humor in any form of media is through banter. This is because the audience can be exposed to multiple different kinds of humor at once, but it also builds the characters in the banter through the reactions and the jokes made. The scene from Predator shows this as well.

Additional things

This is a video that goes through how to make jokes so. Yeah. Thought it’ll be cool.

Whilst reading the script, you may have seen some attempts at humor (or not because I am not that funny). Either way, how the humor was achieved – or not achieved – was a very difficult task as there are different ways to achieve it; each way has their own target audiences which didn’t make this any easier. Without further ado, here are the types of humor I though about using:

Loud = Funy

This is what makes me laugh the most so we are starting with that. As what I decided to call it may suggest, this kind of humor can be easily compared with a jump scare; the main difference between the two being a jump scare is meant to scare the audience whereas the “Loud = Funy” is meant to make the audience laugh. Both, however, only work on idiots who can barely pass an IQ test (exhibit A: Me).

Jokes/memes that use this are usually very loud and sometimes over saturated; taking that away, however, the joke usually falls because they lack in everything a joke should have. Since films are not edited like a Loud = funy meme, it will not be good for the film opening, or any movie for that matter.

What??

This type of humor is identified by the confusion it gives the audience. A good example of this is The Eric Andre Show, where he will … well … just watch the video.

As you can see, the gimmick with this kind of humor is being weird; it is best suited when you a person who doesn’t know what is happening and can react to it – such as in The Eric Andre Show. However, this doesn’t suit most people – because some people of are a “higher class” than degenerates such as myself – so it wasn’t a great choice for the script.

As the man in charged of the script, I have the most power in the characters and their traits. This is good because it makes the mise-en-scene a hell of a lot easier for me as I can manipulate the characters to make aspects for the mise-en-scene more apparent. I decided to make the two characters foils of each other to highlight the aspects of their respective genre (detective represents noir, hacker represents sci-fi). For example: the attempt at humor with the hacker is meant to be a foil to the Detective’s depressing outlook on life to highlight the Detective’s bleak view of the world. Since they will mostly be foils of each other (the genres have some overlap such as the use of mystery), things such as costuming will be much easier (I’ll talk about this more in depth in a later post.) I’ve decided to leave out most of the camera work, editing, etc. out for now because those rely on the dialogue/story we are trying to present to our audience; I also may change some things such as the setting depending on the circumstances we come across.

Now, without further ado, here is the roughest draft of something you have ever seen.

The Script (Draft 1)

Summary: A hacker and a detective are sent into a simulation because it has been hacked by an outside party and the people who own it are not happy about it. 

Establishing shot of gas station

Cut to a man (Detective played by Fares) filling a car with gas at a gas station. Chiaroscuro is used)

     Inner Monologue from Detective: “The company that owns this simulation hired me to investigate who hacked into this simulation and bring them to justice. I don’t understand why he did it; he never does anything major: change how long a second is to give him more time to do his taxes on time  After this job, I can retire: I may be young but I’ve put in too many hours to keep working this dead-end job. My partner for this job is a hacker; once we’re done with this job, the company promised to wipe his slate clean. He doesn’t seem like much; I was shocked when I heard that he …” (Cut off by Hacker speaking)

Hacker (played by Kevin) walks into frame

H: “Can I put some color back in this world; all this black and white is making me depressed?”

D: “Sure, whatever.”

H: “And then I said, let there be color!”

Chiaroscuro gone in next cut; color present

H: “There, much better. Now, did you find any information on our culprit?”

D: “Well, we know that they’re good at altering this simulation, so they must be good with computers.”

H: “Way to go, Sherlock, I mean do we have a witness or, better yet, a name?”

D: “We do have a name: Bostrom. That’s all we have though: no face, no age, and no location.”

Cut to another establishing shot; D and H are in the same position, but at different gas station

D (as he is getting in the car): “They may be on to us, let’s get out of here.”

Title card appears with sound of the car door shutting.

Ghost in the Shell (1995) is one of my favorite films of all time; despite the fact I am not a crazy huge fan of the other films in its sub genre (i.e. Blade Runner). However, I do not feel comfortable talking about the opening sequence of the original anime because of how much nudity is in it – seriously, it’s a lot. In comparison to the newer American live action adaptation which released in 2017, the openings are very similar; with the main differences between the two being the style (as in animation vs live action) and how much nudity is shown. That being said, while I highly recommend the 1995 original, I’ll analyze the recent American live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell solely because it is less weird for me to have on my blog and discuss at moderate length.

For starters, let’s talk about the editing – as it is the easiest to talk about in this opening. The shots are about an average length, giving the audience a chance to see what is happening without compromising their sanity. A large portion of it is done in CG so that’s also something.

The sound in the opening is very ominous. The score gives a sense of unknown territory (but the original does it better) and does not allow for any other sound to be mixed with it.

The cinematography shows every aspect of what’s happening with a myriad of mid shots, long shots, and close ups. This is show the audience sees a lot of what is going on, but since they don’t understand it they are intrigued.

The mise-en-scene (ya know, my shit) is what I am most interested it. We see The Major (that is what the robot lady who is being built is called) being build in a very ominous location. The white, viscous, fluid that coats her body as she rising to the surface symbolizes a rebirth of sorts and the purity associated with it; which is then removed almost immediately to show her skin – showing that she is not innocent. The character design with the seems on her face and body show that she is artificial. This shows that shit is scientific, but the audience does not understand why she is being created or what each part does.

These four aspects make a opening that shows the mysteries of technology and were it will lead us (without the context of the rest of the movie which if you haven’t seen the original watch it you nematode, it is deadass free on Youtube.)

Sin City is another noir film that shows key aspects of the noir genre while also reinforcing the importance of confusion in the genre. In the opening, we see a man walk up to a woman on a balcony. They talk for a bit and then the man shoots the woman. Again, (I’m thinking I’m starting to sound like a broken record here) this makes the audience confused and makes them invested in the film because people don’t like to be confused. The audience is asking questions like: Who is that man? Who is that woman? Why did the man kill that woman?

However, the element of confusion isn’t the only Noteworthy Noir Note™ in the opening scene – the use of inner monologue is the other Noteworthy Noir Note™. The man thinks to himself before and after he kills the woman and we, the audience, can hear is thoughts; almost as he’s thinking to us (if this doesn’t make sense, it’s the only way I can explain how that he thinks so I’m sorry). The use of an inner monologue is common place in older noir movies and can still be found in “neo-noir” movies such as Taxi Driver (in Taxi Driver, we hear Travis – the main character – think out what he is writing in his diary.

Inner monologue not only tells the audience what the protagonist is thinking but also provides exposition, character traits, and can show character development/growth. If done correctly, what is seemingly “inner monologue” can be how characters communicate in the right setting (say a simulation eh). What I’m getting at is, in the right scenario, the inner monologue Noteworthy Noir Note™ can be much more.

The use of (mostly) black and white with high saturation is mainly a stylistic choice in Sin City to make it appear more like the comics, however it still should be mentioned as a Noteworthy Noir Note™ because earlier noir films had such a style to add to the grittiness of film.