Treatments

Treatments
Title: Epidemic

Audience: We intend on going for the young adult audience. We find that this is because of the blood and gore inside the movie, and the sequence that we're going to create. We feel this is between the age range of 15 to 25 years of age. The certificate for this film will be under a BBFC 15 certificate, as this is the minimal age requirement for this genre of movie we're trying to make.

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Full Film
Duration: 120 Minutes
Summary of Story: 
Based in England at year 2014, a zombie outbreak occurs from an airborne virus, the only ones that survive are the ones that are already immune to this infection. This is spread from some scientific marvel  as a weaponised bacteria which turns people into infected. This is going to be based around 2 people who are close together who are not infected. We’re going to introduce this by opening the plot with a problem raised on the streets, this could be in a car.

These three people are stranded, they’re all they’ve got, nobody else is around them. They go through paths to try and find resources to survive the epidemic, this is going to include killing of people who get in their way, and the affects that this gives on them. Distress is going to be caused by the weaker emotional people, this could be good for one or two characters within the three main characters that are going to be shown. Conflicts are going to begin between stray zombies and the zombies are going to also take a toll on these characters. They meet one more character which gives them an objective. This objective is to get him and the everyone else to a safe Centre, which is like a central for all survival. This is going to be a difficult path. 

After the bloodshed and side-affects on the character, they get to an area which has spray painted objectives on it, telling that the central is a lie and that nobody should go if they want to survive, this might be a sign that they’re doing the wrong thing. As this world has no rules, anyone can do anything and no penalties apply, survival is the objective to this story. The conventions that are going to be used here in a zombie horror is that survival is key, getting bitten is going to end their lives as humans. As they get closer and resources get low, they need to find more food, so they go to extreme circumstances to go to shops where there are undead unable to get out, this creates a risk to the small team that they are.

Suggested Elements: 

• Guns
• Liquid latex for visual damage on people and zombies
• Torn clothing
• Explosions (controlled)
• Car - Induces a car crash that then they have to walk for rest of whatever journey they're on
• Ariel shots of derelict cities

Two Minute Sequence
Duration: 2 Minutes

Summary of Sequence:
We're going to first set of the sequence with the main character being in a hospital bed, waking up. This will be someone getting to grasps as to what has happened with the world in the time that the main character has been asleep. The person will wonder the hospital and notice that it isn't the same, damaged items and props are going to be about, then once the character reaches the outside, it suddenly turns into an attack from zombie, he manages to not get bit, as the other characters come to the rescue. There is are lot of consequences that the team have to go through in order to have a normal or calm life. Unfortunately, one person gets bit. This is a very distorting time for the team and it takes a long while to recuperate, the action begins by trying to get the zombie off the human, the action is really intense in this bit as they know things are going to be more difficult in the future. As this happens, the team aren't sure as to how to react and how to kill the zombie as accuracy isn't at it's best. The person who gets bit suddenly turns infected, this is where they have the ability to throw as many hits as they want as the tense bit is now over. Blood and gore goes into this and it creates a very messy and tense episode for the characters. It takes a while to understand that to kill these zombies, they've go to attack them at full force, as they don't know that damaging the brain will disable them. In the end, they will run from the disfigured zombies, with the melee weapons embedded onto the people.

Suggested Elements:

• Liquid latex
• Torn clothing
• Fake flesh - which can be torn into to show biting from the zombie
• Blunt weapons mainly melee.
• Hospital clothing

Horror: Zombie- Possible Distributors

Possible Distributors

Before we film our sequence, I will be researching possible distributors that could produce our film if it is successful.

Warp Films

Warp Films is one of the UK's most critically acclaimed independent film production companies, and is based in Sheffield & London, UK, with a further office in Melbourne, Australia. Warp Films have been behind an array of critically acclaimed and award winning films, including several BAFTAs.

Warp Films was established by Warp Records' founding partners, Rob Mitchell and Steve Beckett and is run by Mark Herbert & Robin Gutch. The first film, shot in 2002, was Chris Morris' BAFTA winning short My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117. Soon after, Warp Films' debut feature Dead Man's Shoes was released to critical acclaim, awards included the Hitchcock D'or (Dinard Festival) and the Southbank award for Best Film. Warp Films expanded in 2006 with Warp X, the low budget digital 'studio' backed by Film4, UK Film Council, Optimum Releasing, Screen Yorkshire and EM Media. 

This is England, Poster

A number of projects were created under the new label, including A Complete History of My Sexual Failures, Donkey Punch, Hush, Bunny & the Bull, She A Chinese and All Tomorrow's Parties. The company's breakthrough came in 2007 with Shane Meadows' This Is England which won a flurry of awards including Best Film at the British Independent Films Awards, the Special Jury Prize at Rome Film Festival and Best British Film at the BAFTAs. At the same ceremony Paddy Considine's Dog Altogether won the best short film BAFTA. Also released in 2007 was Grow Your Own, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce. This Is England was such a success that in 2010 and 2011, Warp Films broke through into television with the sequels This Is England '86 & '88 for Channel 4.

In the last five years the company has gone from strength to strength, other films to receive awards and critical acclaim include Chris Morris' debut feature Four Lions, which won the 'Outstanding Debut' BAFTA award, Richard Ayoade's debut featureSubmarine (BIFA for Best Screenplay), the 2011 Warp X productions Kill List, written and directed by Ben Wheatley, Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur (BAFTA for Outstanding Debut) and from Warp Films Australia, Justin Kurzel's Snowtown (4 Australian Academy Awards)

In 2012 Warp Films produced three 30-minute television dramas for the Sky Arts Playhouse Presents season; The Minor Character (written by Will Self and starring David Tennant), The Snipist (directed by Matthew Holness) and Care (starring Gina McKee). A new comedy series The Midnight Beast, recently aired on E4 and Peter Strickland's highly acclaimed Berberian Sound Studio has just been released in cinemas in the UK. Warp Films currently have two films in production: Paul Wright's Seaside Stories and Shane Meadow's contemporary documentary about the reformed The Stone Roses.

Productions include:
My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117, Dead Man's Shoes, Rubber Johnny, Donkey Punch, This is England, Arctic Monkeys at the Apollo, All Tomorrow's Parties, Four Lions, Submarine, Kill List, Tyrannosaur, This is England '86 & This is England '88.
Warp Films also distribute the Cinema 16 series, Paradise Lost 1 & 2, Shane Meadows Le Donk & Scor-zay-ze

The reason I have chosen to research this distributor is because it is relatively local to my area, being based in Sheffield and also tending to produce films that are homemade and that have a lower budget than more famous titles. 

Icon Films

Formed in 1999, Icon Film Distribution is one of the UK’s leading independent film distributors generating in excess of £150m at the box office with a library of over 200 titles ranging from mainstream hits such as Paranormal Activity, 30 Days of Night, Transporter 3 and What Woman Want to specialist break-out titles such as Tom Ford’s A Single Man, La Vie En Rose, Man On Wire, and multiple BAFTA and Oscar®nominee Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive.

On 23 September 2013 IFD was re-launched backed by investment company New Sparta founded by Dr Jerome Booth. The acquisition , which includes titles released though IFD’s output deal with Lionsgate and the UK library, will see IFD acquiring and releasing films in all media. IFD will work with existing and new partners to deliver effective campaigns for quality distinctive material.

The IFD team is led by CEO Ian Dawson and Norman Humphrey, Executive Chairman and Chief Operating Officer.

This film company is UK based which is good for ease of use during our films creation, the fact that it is an experienced distributor in the UK is also a good factor, There will be a greater chance of film, success. There are also a lot of horror based films done by this company including films such as The Grudge, This is encouraging for us as it will make it more likely that the film will work.

Arrow films

Arrow Films is an all rights multi-platform distributor of feature films and TV series. We specialise in releasing some of the best content from around the world to UK customers and beyond. Since 1991, through Arrow’s diverse and rich product mix, one of the most energetic and cutting edge labels in British distribution has been forged. Recent accolades include being named Label of the Year by prestigious publications as the Guardian and Home Cinema Choice and over the years having multiple finalists in Sight and Sound’s best DVDs of the year as well as winning the British Video Association’s Marketing Initiative of the Year. Arrow’s global reputation as one of the finest labels in the world has come about through consistent high quality product and a focus on fan-based products always at its core. This includes a major investment on restoring original material through modern techniques as well as pioneering packaging solutions and newly commissioned artwork for each release.

Arrow Films is one of the UK's leading independent distributors of world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. For over 15 years Arrow Films has pioneered the best directors from Europe and around the world, such as Denys Arcand, Tinto Brass, Luis Buñuel, Claude Chabrol, Jules Dassin, Vittorio De Sica, Abel Ferrara, Lasse Hallström, Eric Rohmer, Roberto Rossellini, Giuseppe Tornatore, Andrzej Wajda, and Wim Wenders.

This film company is a distributor of horror, cult and classic films and like the previous distributors it is also based in the UK. This means that the company has knowledge of distributing horror films throughout the UK and therefore will be beneficial for our film as our film is a horror based in the uk. This distributor has also released a zombie film before, known as "Zombie flesh eaters", this means they have experience with re4easing horror films, specifically zombie.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Name:

Age:

Profession:

1. What do you think of the name Epidemic?

2. What genre do you think Epidemic is?

3. What age range do you think Epidemic is aimed at?

4. Do you understand the storyline of Epidemic?

5. Where do you watch films the most?

6. Where would you expect to watch our film?

7. What type of music do you think would be included in our film?

8. What would you personally like to feature in our film?

9. How often do you watch horror films?

10. What other films have you watched of this sub-genre? 

Music Research

Music
Look at the music to most zombie films it’s usually dark music because it is a dark genre. There are many ways to create dark music you can put multiple different instruments together to make a harmonious tune. You can add any type of audio effects, the limits are endless but the average way to create a dark type of music is by using minor chords. Minor chords are a simple way of creating a depressing but sometimes magical, for example the C minor and G minor chords are dark but magical at the same time. It all depends on the person you are to what effect the music has on you but music can do anything to you and is absolutely crucial to any film because it defines the simple meaning of the film. The music on the film completely defines the mood on the screen so it’s crucial we get the music right in order to make or break the film. Here is an example of how music can affect the scene.

Looking at this video you can truly see how music can change a film. So lets take a look at music on our genre. As I stated before, horror music is in a more minor tone and depressing manor. Using a piano we could use different modes to compose the dark music such as Phrygian (the scale from E to E) because that is a minor scale and feels dark. Also I could use an Aeolian scale (A to A) however an Aeolian scale can sometimes give a happy feel in some notes but again that all depends on who you are and how you interpreted the music. Here’s a link to a blog about music that could appear in zombie movies (half way down theres a song named "Dans tune" which I like and I think sounds good for a zombie film).

http://www.wilx.co.uk/blog/how-to-make-the-music-for-a-zombie-film/

Whilst researching music I came across a generic music term of the fact that when inside a building (or something similar) music tends to be smaller where as outside it is often bigger this is because of the acoustics of where you are. This is used to create a more realistic feel to the film so the audience connects with the film. To conclude theres lots we can do with music for our film so we need to get busy and do it!

Conventions: Characters

Conventions: Characters

I am going to talk about the various characters that are inside different zombie horror movies. I am going to evaluate their personalities and I am going to introduce how they could be interpreted and introduced into our production in which we’re going to create.

Shane Walsh - The Walking Dead

This character was introduced at the start when he was looking after the main character’s wife. This man has some emotional problems as he cannot stand the defeat that he cannot have things the way he wants, he has outbreaks of anger and he also goes crazy and tries to kill his best friend. Obviously this character has shame inside him for what has happened and he cannot deal with the outbreak, as it gets too much for him. This character is found to have jealous traits and this overruns his mind, as he doesn’t care for anyone but his trophy child and girl. With small problems being raised, Shane only makes it bigger with his anger, thus he doesn’t have a cool head about anything and in the end of the season he gets eliminated from the group.

Tammy - 28 Weeks Later

s character is introduced properly into the production when she sees her father from surviving the outbreak of the epidemic. She seems to be The Final Girl and it categorised as the person who survives through all the odds that she’s got. People also like to think of this person to be vulnerable, as she has lost all of her parents through the outbreak, making the audience feel more sympathy towards her for going through so much in such a short amount of time. She is also somebody who they need to keep alive as they have the cure to the RAGE virus that takes place inside the film, as she is immune to it.

Jim - 28 Days Later

This character came into the story oblivious to what has happened to the environment around him. He is clueless and his mind is creating questions that aren’t answered. He finds help and he is the dumb one in the new world that has been approached. This is important to consider someone inside the act that is blind to the new world as this creates a slack to the team/group. I feel this character is vulnerable and with his parents over-dosing, makes him think about what his future objectives are. He also gets to grasps with killing people quickly and to do whatever it takes for him to survive, which is not the easiest for some characters in some movies. 

Dr. Robert Neville - I am Legend

This character is made out to be the lonely one. He speaks to manikins to try and keep his social level as high as possible, he is bored, he is trying to find a cure to the disease as he is a scientist. His entire family died and his dog is the only part of the family he has left. This makes the audience feel sympathy for him as he is interpreted to speak to himself, further increasing the confidence in the fact he is alone. This also goes for the zombie horror convention, showing how derelict the place actually is. He creates his own life orientated around fitness, searching the city and looking for survival by being out at a certain time whilst broadcasting a response. He does eventually loose his dog which makes him break-down, which takes his life onto his fragile stage of either he should live or not. I feel this character is very vulnerable and lonely and the relationship he has with his dog is rather like a relationship with a son/daughter. 

Those characters I have researched into above are the types of characters that should be invoked into our production as they all have different aspects to them, from being mischievous to being lonely and fragile. This is a good way to cover all different character traits through researching different characters from different films.

Production Logo

Our Production Logo

In our media group there are two of us who also are passionate about Graphic Design so when we were designing our production logo we wanted it to be not only to tell people what we stand for but also for it to look aesthetically pleasing. In order to do this Callum and Tom set to work on some designs. We wanted our production logo to tell a story about who we are and what we stand for so after a few different tries we came up with a logo that suits our group and looks great also. The name of out group is DTEC Productions which sounds strange at first however includes the first initials of all our names; Darren, Tom, Ellis and Callum so there is a hidden meaning behind the name relating to us. This is the logo the group came up with which we feel tells the story of our group but also looks amazing. Our logo was produced using photoshop and was done step by step, taking extra care with aesthetics.

Looking at the logo you can analyse each part. The clapper icon in the middle represents our view to the film that we are willing to do anything to get that perfect take, we will try and try again until we have what we need. The spotlight represents that we always get the key details and that it has to be precise. Also the spotlight represents that our group is not hidden and that we are not afraid to shine and take risks and enhance them when necessary. The Banner represents that we need to be different and that the orange colour is us standing out from the crowd and taking risks when we need to. So that is our production logo and we feel it sums our group up perfectly and tells the story needed to be told.

Horror: Zombie- Film Certificate

Film Certificate

Most of the information gathered for this post is from the official BBFC website, therefore it is accurate and legitimate.

BBFC

BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification responsible for the classification. It gives a age limit to videos, DVDs and some video games. In order to protect children from unsuitable and even harmful content in films and videos, the BBFC examines and age rates films and videos before they are released.

Ratings

The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for all audiences aged four years and over. Very little or no violence, bad language or sexual content can be displayed in these type of films.
 PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. A PG film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older.

These ratings are immediately out of the question due to the genre of our film, we must break the aspects that would make a film Universal or PG in order to have the genre of film we desire.

12A + 12

Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult, this also goes along with a 12 rating, except not even an accompanying adult can allow access to viewing this film. The BBFC's Guidelines state that strong language (e.g. 'f***') may be passed at 12 or 12A. At this rating, moderate violence is allowed but it should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if they can be justified by their context. Also, Only very mild sexual content is allowed.

There are some horror films are passed at this category. Moderate physical and psychological threat is permitted at 12A or 12A as long as horror sequences are not too frequent or sustained and the overall tone is not disturbing, We cannot take the risk of applying this age rating to our film as we want to make it as scary and as violent as possible for the viewer and therefore a 12 rating would not be appropriate.

15

No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age. This rating offers some leeway and allows strong violence, language and moderate sexual content. with the violent aspects of the film it should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury, however, and the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable, sadistic violence is also unacceptable There could potentially be a great deal of strong language. At 15 there is no upper limit on the number of uses of strong language . There may also be detailed verbal references to sexual violence and any representation of sexual scenes must be discreet.

I believe that this rating will be the most appropriate for our film as the ideas we have had so far do not exceed the boundaries set by the BBFC to be categorized as an 18 and therefore it fits under the guidelines of a 15. The violence and strong language that is used in our film is justified as it is in an apocalyptic environment and it is understandable for these to be common in scenes of desperation and fear.