Research Linking in to my Planning

Thinking About Theory When Writing my Script

I am currently writing the script for my A2 short film, and I am applying the
ideas I have learnt about film theory to the script.

Narrative
I am writing my script with a non-linear narrative in mind. Its a script that has
an on-going and flowing monologue, which lends itself for the sequences to be
non-linear. This non-linear narrative will be clear as my story revolves around
one central character, and so cross-cutting between different scenes, past and
future, will be effective in portraying something post-modern. Because of this
non-linear narrative I am going to have to create the storyboard in a way that the
shots from different scenes jump about, and so to help me when I am filming I
will colour code each storyboard shot. The research of a non-linear narrative
that I conducted back in September/October time has had a clear influence on
my planning in this sense.
As well as Aristotle deciding that 'all drama is conflict' in the 4th century BC,
20th century
Theorist Claude Levi-Strauss suggested that all narratives had to be driven
forward by conflict that was cause by a series of opposing forces. He called this
the theory of Binary Opposition, and it is used to describe how each main force in
a narrative has its equal and opposite. My main character is driven to commit the
crimes he does because of this conflict, and his dramatic monologues, ideas and
actions are driven forward by him being different to everyone else, linking with
the binary oppositions theory. This shows a clear influence from my research in
the planning of my A2 work.

Genre
Tare a number of theories that claim the conventions of a post-modern text, and
my research of post-modern texts will have a big influence on my film. The
conventions of a post-modern text that I found in my research will come through
in my A2 work, with elements of intertextuality, and hyper-reality and I intend
the narrative to be dystopian.
It will fit the zeitgeist of our time in problems with real life school shootings and
what causes them. My film shows the influences of the boy to commit his crime,
including video games and Marilyn Manson. My research found that films tend to
fit the zeitgeist of our time, so it has definitely influenced my planning in this
sense. Genre is the research area that gave most influence to the world I wanted
to create in my short film planning.
Being a short film, it is hard to identify a genre. I think genre is one that I wont
choose my A2 work for because it will be somewhat anti-genre and harder to
identify. Film noir (the genre of my noir) lends itself much more to genre theory.

Representation
My representation research has had the most contribution towards my film
planning in terms of my characters. Im using Hebriges Troublesome Youth
theory in my planning for my A2 film. Hebrige said that a typical representation
of youth in film is that they cause a threat to society. I liked the idea of using this
film theory in my A2 short because Ive always been interested in the fears adults
have of Generation Y or millennials.
My ideology is taking big influence from the look on children in the documentary
Bowling for Columbine which takes a big look at what influenced the shooters.
McDougall discusses topic of desensitisation in A Level Media Studies OCR,
wondering whether the more violence we see as an audience that we are more
used to it in real life (a link with hyper-reality and simulation in post-modern
theories). My ideology covers this and is having a big influence in my planning, as
my film is begging that question itself.

Audience
Im actually unsure at this point of how I want my audience to perceive my film. In
one way I want my audience to be hypodermic in the understanding of my ideology
which I learnt about in my research of McDougall and be injected with this
representation I am painting of our generation, but in the other hand I want the
cultivation theory in an active audience so that my ideology is discussed and talked
about. Typing this now, I think I am going to go ahead with my cultivation research
feeding in to my planning, so that my audience can choose whether to view our
generation the way that I paint it and not be injected with the views of the point of
view character I wouldnt want to be injected with them anyway; he is a
psychopath.