Action adventure analysis

SHERLOCK HOLMES A GAME OF SHADOWS

The genre of this film is a crime and action and adventure hybrid.  This can be guessed from the suspense, conflict and from the fact that it is Sherlock Holmes.

In the extract there is not as much conflict and combat as in other film openings.  But there is enough to get the audience engaged and interested in the film.  For example in the very opening of the film Doctor Watson is giving a narrative of what year the film is based and what is happening in the world at the time.  Then the action begins by a street and tent filled with people blowing up.

The suspense in this film is shown straight from the beginning.  The first part of this is who is blowing up all these places the anarchists, the nationalists or the other unknown party.  The second part is a parcel, simply that is it we see the bottom half a man and a parcel in his hand, which he then gives to another passer by.  The suspense in this part who is the new recipient and what is in the parcel.  All of which gets revealed later in the film.

The hero is mentioned early on in the extract but he is not seen until near the end and even then he doesn't look like himself.  The hero of course is Sherlock Holmes.  He might not be described as the typical hero, but he is most definitely a hero.  He is shown to be the typical hero by being described by his friend as kind of different to other people.  There isn't much else to go on in this short extract to show that he is the hero of the film. 

09/10/13 RESEARCH: LOCATION

production log

09/10/13

In the lesson today we were looking at different locations we could possibly film in for the opening.  Since we had discussed the possibility of using an old fashioned train and a train station I was looking in to places that still had old steam trains running for day trips or really just for any reason and I managed to find two places which could be good.  I found them because I had all ready been to them once before.  The places that I found where the bluebell railway and the watercress line both of which are close enough that the whole group can get there to film and they both have old fashioned steam trains that still work.

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/


http://www.watercressline.co.uk/?jssCart=f174cdd2a07d851afcbc5b15a513be82

We also did some other research into places that were in the train stations that we though in filming in such as buildings that where in Paddington station to see if they were suitable to film in the only problem with that is getting permission to film there.  We will work on that when we get to it

09/10/13 RESEARCH: FILM NOIR

I used these books to do some research into film noir and what we were going to do for the film opening and from these books I noticed that the key things with film noir are

• low key black and white visual style
• roots in German expressionist cinematography
• derives from crime fiction of US Great Depression
• central figure often an private eye (THE BIG SLEEP 1946)
• or a plain clothed police man (THE BIG HEAT)
• an ageing boxer (THE SET-UP)
• a hapless grifter (NIGHT AND THE CITY)
• or simply a victim if circumstance (D.O.A)
• film noir nearly always have a strong female character who resist and disturb the male ordered world
• gives us pleasure by making us uncomfortable: anxiety vulnerability and fright are all part of the thrill
• characters faces often partially shadowed to create hidden threatening spaces
• often sleazy, milieu of claustrophobic alley ways or destered spaces alternating with gaudy night clubs and swank apartments
• high contrast lighting

08/10/13 PLANNING: LOCATION

Production Log

08/10/13 single lesson

In the lesson we carried on with writing the treatment which we started in the last lesson.  When we got to the end we looked back over the treatment to see if there were any parts that didn't make sense or could be improved upon.  After we had looked over this we decided to start discussing locations for where we could possibly film the opening and what would be happening in each of the scenes.  We decided to look up old looking train stations to see which one would go best with our time period.  We looked at using Paddington station and also St Pancras.  We decided on having it that we possibly use the outside of St Pancras and the inside of Paddingto.

08/10/2013 PLANNING: TREATMENT

Film Noir Treatment

The film opens with a CU of a hand wrapping a package of a box wrapped in brown paper tied with frayed string.

Cut to the outside of ST PANCRAS STATION of a YOUNG WOMAN.  She wears an iridescent tan trench coat tied at the wait with her hair tightly crimpled into a bun.  Cut to the inside of the station.  A train departs from the station signalling this by the WHISTLE and HORN of the train.  There after the young woman walks along the platform of the station with a small tan leather handbag hanging from her right hand, carrying a package covered in brown paper with white string tied around in her other hand.  The CLIP-CLOP of the young woman's HEELS is heard.  News of a murder is depicted.

A SUSPICIOUS LOOKING YOUNG MAN  walks behind the young woman.  He wears a light tan trench coat with a dark coloured fedora on his head.  The young woman drops the parcel from her left hand and falls on the ground.  THE young man picks up the parcel off the ground of the station.

Cut away shot to THREE MIDDLE AGED MEN wearing dark trench coats and fawn coloured fedoras acting furtiverly.  One of the men throws a cigarette butt onto the ground and stamps his foot on it to put it out.

THE young woman walks out of the stations with the man following behind her.  She approaches a vintage car parked outside the stations;she gets into the car with help of the DRIVER who opens the door for her.  The woman notices that the driver isn't her normal driver and asks where her usual driver is, followed by the CAR DOORS LOCKING.

Next, the THREE MIDDLE AGED MEN are seen discussing a newsworthy, debatable topic.  While discussing, the three men are pushing around a picture of the young woman seen earlier in the opening and portray a reflection of mysteriousness amongst them.  It then pans back to the young woman in the back seat of the car.  Followed by the loud sound of a GUN SHOT.

02/10/13 RESEARCH/PLANNING: TREATMENT

production log

02/10/2013 double lesson

I started the lesson by checking my blog and editing previous posts with print screens and hyperlinks.  After I had done that we got into our groups and started to work on our treatment.  We started by doing our own research into what a treatment was and then collating all the data back to the rest of our group.  We then started to discuss some of the finer details about the treatment before we typed it up.  We discussed things like camera angles, background music, props and filming locations the more of which we will do in the next lesson.  We then went onto one of the macs and started to type out the treatment.  We had to keep going back and changing things because we either thought of something better or we decided that something didn't need to be there.

01/10/13 PLANNING: TIME, PROPS AND STORYBOARD

production log 01/10/2013

Single lesson

In the lesson today we discussed what time period the film opening would be based.  We discussed it for a while and had to decide between it being based in the 1920's or the 1940's in the end we decided that the movie opening would be in the 1940's.  We then started to discuss what props we would need to get for the opening.  All that is needed to be done now is the storyboard, to actually get the props work out were we are going to need to go to film and then I believe we can start filming.