in what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

the real media products i am actually concerned with are examples of the sci-fi genre. by its very nature, anything under the sci-fi tag has to take place in an alternate reality, be it past, parallel universe or future, thus my film meets this criteria, as it is set in the future. also, what distinguishes between a science-fiction and a science-fantasy is that a sci-fi is actually centred on the technology and hardware in the film itself, whereas a science fantasy is more about the films events and pays little attention to very different technology. in this way, my film is largely science fiction, as much of it is taken up with futuristic cyborgs, how they are programmed, invisibility devices and the like, however, i would say a lot of the scenes also place great importance on the drama of the unfolding events, such as the almost over indulgent scene in which a heavy machine gun is fired in ultra slow motion. it is this balance of over-stylisation and great interest in the technology itself which makes me question which form of science film my film actually fits.

my finished 2 minute opening of a sci-fi/thriller

storyboards

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locations

in the first scene i have in mind, i am planning to use a space in my school, a maintenance area above the assembly hall. i wish to use this location as i feel the orange filtered light which seeps into the dark room gives an exotic and fiery atmosphere. also, the metal and wooden struts which span much of the space in here will only add to the oriental feel, which is vital as this scene is supposedly set in hong kong. another thing to note is that the panel which filters the light coming into the room, stretches for a long way, which will set me up very well for an epic panoramic panning shot.

for the following scene which needs to be set in a sort of futuristic communications hub, i need to find a location which looks modern and artificial, perhaps with whitewashed walls, much like the room in 'alien' (Ridley Scott 1979) in which the characters can interact with the ships artificial intelligence. i believe the cellar of my house to be an ideal location for this scene as the walls are white, there is plenty of artificial light, and the technology that is already there (i.e. an apple mac computer) looks futuristic, and i will add to this by actively placing more pieces of technology in this room to fill out the shot.

in the next scene, a short one which merely shows a robot/cyborg being activated the criteria for the location is that the lighting is low enough that a flashing light can be seen clearly on the body of the robot, and it must look like a hidden space in which the robot has been stored. for this, a wardrobe springs to mind but i will consider other locations in this time, as well. 

for the final scene, in which a character fires a machine gun at the rapidly approaching, and dodging, robot, i need the robot to emerge from some trees, and the surrounding area to fit the idea of a different future. there are areas in saffron walden with a backdrop of trees, but i need to choose one which looks too odd to be in the present day.

Actors

a line up of the characters i want to present in my film, and who i could enlist to play them.

ming

in my proposed scene where a man sits alone, on a chair, in front of an orange backlight, i want this character to have a handlebar moustache and small triangular goatee, something like the image of a stereotypical asian farmer, perhaps with a pointed hat to fit with the image, as i think this rural looking character will fit well with the fiery wooden backdrop. i will have this character sipping green tea and i need an actor who has an oriental, exotic look about them, as well as being able to portray a jumpy, nervous air. this person will be hunted and has locked themselves away, but in my scene, the hunter will catch up with the hunted.

although the name of this character will not be mentioned in my piece, they may well be called ming, as a homage to someone that they will resemble quite closely: ming the merciless from flash gordon

a picture of the kind of asian rice farmer that i have in mind:

when it comes to actors for this part, i originally thought i would have to compromise and enlist a friend of mine who is of distant malaysian descent, but when this subject came up today in conversation, a classmate of mine overheard and agreed to play the part; he is from china, however, the entire scene concerned will be extremely dark in terms of lighting, so the actual appearance of the actor is not too important. this scene will deal mainly with silhouettes.

robots/cyborgs

robots and half-human cyborgs will appear extremely frequently in the film, as they highlight the technological advances that have been achieved by this date in the future, and make up the security firm that has been hired to asassinate the main characters. the main objective when constructing these robot characters is to hide their human features, such as any skin and their faces, and to give them a modern, futuristic look, with wires and helmets and such. so i can have any actors to play these robots, as their actual appearance will be hidden, but taller actors will command more presence, and the movement of the robots needs to be noticeably different to that of humans, yet they are ultimately more agile. some cyborgs/robots will be assassins, some information/communications. some robots' appearances will reference biblical images. some cyborgs will have a visible human face

i will craft the appearances of the robots so that they somewhat resemble traditional representations of robots such as:

and

rambo-like character:

for the last scene i have in mind, i need a character that can mimic the characteristics of Rambo in the very scene depicted here, as my scene is similar in its use of the mounted heavy machine gun, the rural setting and the vibrations the character will be subjected to due to the shaking of the gun. i will dress this actor in an orange bandana as a headband, camouflage trousers, boots and a corduroy shirt manufactured by the arms company 'smith and wesson'.

the gun i am building as a prop will look good enough from afar to be realistic, but is not detailed enough to look real close up.

in terms of actors i could enlist to play this part, it is likely that i will have to play it myself, despite not being the right build, as this is the kind of scene that might require multiple takes and a far away location, so other people might not be happy to put in this time and effort.

potential target audience

taking my cues from previous sci-fi thrillers, my film will also be targeted at a largely male audience, due to it including a plot based around violence, which appeals to the male mind. the first two minutes will not include any romantic love interest, to attract women, but most films wouldn't establish this factor until later in the film anyway. the age range will be generally young-ish, about 15-25, because of the futuristic twist, which will appeal to people who have grown up with new technology. 'boy's toys' feature heavily in the film, such as guns and knives, which will, obviously, appeal to men.

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