Disconnected Directors Commentary

Disconnected Opening Sequence

Shooting Schedule

Location	Shot no. details	Props	Character in scene	Further notes
Outside classroom	Shot 2 – Establishing shot		Patrick
Inside Classroom	Shot 3 – Extreme close Up of computer mouse Shot 4 – ECU of glasses lens Shot 9 – ECU of computer screen Shot 12 – ECU of keyboard Shot 14 – ECU of foot tapping to music Shot 15 – ECU of socket (inserting ) Shot 17  - ECU of glasses lens Shot 24 – ECU of tapping his foot again Shot 26 – ECU of him adjusting tie	Comp mouse on desk Glasses Comp screen Keyboard Socket Glasses Tie	Patrick	-
Inside Classroom	Shot 5 – Over the shoulder showing comp screen Shot 27 – OTS  looking at wrist to see time	Comp screen Watch	Patrick	-
Inside classroom	Shot 6 – Low angle shot of him looking up to board Shot 20 – LA of him getting up and about to pin sheet on wall		Patrick	-
Inside classroom	Shot 8 – Long shot of all comp screens Shot 23 – LS behind of him standing looking at work	Computer screens	Patrick	-
Inside classroom	Shot 7 – close up panning on board Shot 10 – CU of radio Shot 11 – CU of bottom half face Shot 18 – CU finishing writing Shot 22 – CU swiping his hand down on sheet on board	Radio, paper	Patrick	-
Inside classroom	Shot 21  - Mid shot  of him pinning sheet on wall Shot 25 – MS of behind putting on blazer	Paper, blazer	Patrick	-
Inside classroom	Shot 19 – P.O.V of the lamp, him walking towards	Lamp	Patrick	-

Evaluation Question 1 - Textual Analysis

Textual Analysis 

Our production company logo was featured at the beginning of our film. We came up with the idea of Scrapbook Pictures by the influence of artists and how they use their innovative skills to start pieces from scratch. Our group including myself refer to ourselves as artists metaphorically speaking, in order to put together this film (piece). The aesthetics of the production company logo looks as if it was hand drawn on paper; hence the white background along with the font, which is what emphasis on the theme of innovation. During the process of the production company logo being shown in the film, we also chose to introduce non-diegetic sound at the introduction also, in order to engage the audience’/viewers immediately. As our choice of music can be described as being ‘fast paced, rapid, prompt or having a vivacious nature towards it.

Further, the music marries well with our opening few shots as we wanted to emphasis on the attention to detail of the character and how the character should be portrayed as by the audience who is viewing the film. We constructed the cuts between the scenes with the music, so that when a shot fades or appears it is accompanied with the beat of the music so it cuts well with the beat rather than seem to be dissimilar For example in one shot we used the point of when the music goes into a high pitch to introduce a title along with establishing the type of shot it is.

In addition, we wanted to stress the theme of our film and the technological nature by the use of titles. Our title show up as if you are turning on your television and that’s how they disappear/fade away also. Using the color white and the font enabled the titles to stand out more clearly than the other fonts and colors which we had experimented with during editing.

The use of camera along with color effects and mise-en-scene enabled us to bring out the personality of the character. For instance, the low angle close up shot of when the character is tapping his foot nervously shows the busy nature of his current project. As mentioned, it is a busy project and we tried to have as many influences in the film to portray this, such as the use of other type of shots, the focus on time which was seen throughout the sequence. The character’s costume defines his personality and what the audience viewing will see the character encounter throughout the film. We chose a formal wear for the character as he is supposed to be a corporate criminal. Whereby, the mystery is lays within this concept, as criminals are not stereotyped to dress in this type of manner but rather less elegant.

We chose to add a special effect at the end of our film along with the fade of the title ‘Disconnected’ to bring a feel of what the film is about. The fade in and away allows the word ‘Disconnected’ to flourish as it is what the word means.

Final Shot List

Final shot list

1.     Production company logo – ScrapBook Pictures

2.     Establishing shot – through windows the credits start

3.     Extreme close up of computer mouse – he moves his hand and shows credit.

4.     Extreme close up of his glasses lens with reflection of the computer screen – credit on the bottom of the glasses

5.     Over the shoulder shot showing the screen

6.     Low angle shot – him looking up to the board

7.     Close up of the board – panning

8.     Long shot of computer screen with him sitting at one

9.     Computer screen – extreme close up, scrolling through (missing girls – Facebook profiles)

10.      Close up of the radio

11.      Close up of bottom half of his face, adjusting himself

12.     Extreme close up of keyboards clicking

13.     Long shot -  moving closer to camera switching computer screens

14.    Extreme close up – foot tapping to music

15.     Extreme close up of socket – him inserting and show the credit on the plug

16.    High angle/ birds eye shot – turning on and starts writing

17.    Extreme close up of glasses again

18.    Close up of him continuing writing

19.    Birds eye of him finishing writing

20.   Low angel shot of him getting up and about to pin on wall

21.    Mid shot of him pinning sheet on the wall

22.    Close up of him softening it/ swiping his hand on the sheet

23.   Long shot from behind of him looking at his work

24.    Extreme close up of tapping his foot again

25.    Mid shot from behind – putting on jacket

26.    Extreme close up of his adjusting tie

27.   Over the shoulder shot of him looking at his wrist to see the time(watch)

28.     Looks slowly to his left towards the lamp

29.    P.O.V of lamp, him walking towards and the screen blacks out.

30.     Title is shown.

Evaluation Question 2

Q2) How does your opening sequence represent particular social groups?

In our clip, we had one main character, which was played by yours truly. The character  had a very formal and smart costume.  The costume fits in with his social class background, he comes from a middle class status. He wears a blazer, shirt and tie. His shoes are shiny clean and he likes to keep up with his appearance. Seeing that he’s the only character in the clip, he seems like a very important person and a dangerous man and with the help of the intense and heavy soundtrack, the audience can realise this. As a group we thought having myself play the main character was best, as we thought a male would make the ‘stalker’ theme more effective because it is a stereotype for a male to be a stalker rather than a female. Also, being be formally dressed so it looks as if ‘he knows what he’s doing’ and seems like a computer genius  and seems like a serious and dangerous man, another reason why we chose for him to be formal was because he comes from a middle class background, where he seems like hes a intelligent man. Feedback whilst playing the role helped to shape the character more and bring out all the elements of the social groups that we needed to emphasis for our film in order to make it seem realistic as possible  ones we saw in a few opening sequences like from famous action thrillers ‘Expatriate’ and ‘Bourne Identity’ and some aspects from the movie ‘Phone Booth’.  We had to make sure the audience would notice he was a stalker so movements and costume had to be set for that type of character, he couldn't be in his tracksuit bottom trying to stalk someone, and had to be well fit for the character.   

Similar shot to our opening scene
(Bourne Identity)

Costume: Shirt and tie
Source: (Bourne Identity)

Influenced our mug shot images
Source: (Bourne Identity)

Use of glasses as prop helped our character fit into the social group
Source: (Bourne Identity)

Evaulation Question 3

Q3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

As Disconnected is a psychological thriller with elements of crime, selective media institutions would be ideal for distributing our product. Distribution companies contribute largely in the film production process. They are the link between the film makers and the public. Their responsibilities include deciding on a release date that would cause mass viewing from their targeted audience, deciding on how many prints to produce and what cinemas to screen them which is an expensive process therefore making the right decisions in cinema screenings is crucial for the film’s success. They also design and create the art work for adverts, flyers and bill boards which are marketed to mass audiences as well as organised appearances and talker screenings to resulting in press attention. For independent filmmakers it is inevitably more difficult as they may not have the backing of a major studio or have well known directors and actors working with their product greatly improving the chances of securing a good distribution deal. In regards to Disconnected, the distribution company would have to have a successful track record for films of our genre in order to be well marketed and ensure a strong link with the audience. 

Research shows that Lionsgate films is the leading independent production and distribution company internationally. It is often referred to as a ‘mini-major’ due to its success. They have distributed several successful independent titles as well as commercial titles such as ‘The Twilight Saga’ (partially), ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘The Divergent Series’, ‘Saw’ and ‘The Expendables’. Lionsgate’s first major box office success was ‘American Psycho’, a psychological thriller. This is a unique selling point for our independent production company as they were able to achieve great success through a film parallel to our genre.  Lionsgate occasionally co-produce films with major studios. For example, they teamed with ‘Miramax Films’ for the 2004 sequel Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and was also a silent partner in 20th Century Fox's 2004 sci-fi film The Day After Tomorrow. Although they focus on foreign and independent films, the indie status of our film appeals to their ethos. Overall, Lionsgate would be an ideal distribution company for Disconnected. 

Another successful independent distribution company is The Weinstein Company. Similar to Lionsgate, The Weinstein Company are often referred to as a mini major. However, it is one of the largest independent distribution companies internationally. There major successes include ‘Storm breaker’, ‘Django unchained’ (co distributed with Columbia Pictures) and ‘The Imitation Game’. The Weinstein’s Company distributed film, The King's Speech, brought to the company their first Academy Award for Best Picture at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. They have also had multiple successes with thrillers such as ‘Derailed’ which was there first major box office hit in 2005. The Weinstein Company are ideal for distribution due to their strong link with their audience and established success.