We had to choose the size of the cards and this is important because we don’t want the cards to be too big or too small when we start filming it.
So we did some test shots with three different sizes; the original card from the test run with Year 10 and Year 11, medium size, and large size.
We decided on the medium size because the original is too small and the large is too large, so we thought the medium size would be perfect. And so we told Jay.
Since we decided to go with Idea #2, we decided to design our own cards for the them to suit what we want/need rather than adapting to already made cards. This means we can customize the size, design and colour of it.
We have chosen a set of characters, and decided on a total of fourteen cards:
Madman (1)
Werewolves (2)
Villagers (6)
Angel (1)
Cursed One (1)Druid (1)
Lovers (2)
After some research, my partner and I decided that it would be the best if the cards were simple and not too complicated as it would be more effective.
A villager that is smiling slyly, and looks shady, this is because the character wins if the werewolves win in the game
A simple portrait of a werewolf
Ordinary villagers/people
The angel will be just a pair of wings, as we did not want to set a gendered card, the Angel is also known as the Seer but we decided calling the character the Angel as it gave a better opportunity to contrast the werewolf and the angel
A scratch, just to signify that this is the cursed one, this character turns into a werewolf the night after being ‘killed’ or ‘scratched’ by the werewolf
A balance, to symbolize the idea that the druid takes away a life in order to give a life
Two cards, each of half a heart, to emphasize how much they rely on each other
A set of frames that we have chosen because we like it, we may choose to combine some elements of the frames to the one that we like the best.
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While I was researching information for common fantasy genre themes and typical story lines/narratives, I stumbled upon a site that gives advice for those that are writing about fantasy books, however there was a part of it that can be applied to our short film as it fits perfectly for what we are aiming for our short film.”You use the fantasy to highlight the reality” is the core of what we are trying to achieve with our short film.
“This is the nature of write what you know, and the fantasy writer’s version of that is, write what’s real. Which sounds like very bad advice, because last time I checked, none of us were plagued by dragons or sentient fungal cities or old gods come back to haunt us. But that’s not the point — the point is, you use the fantasy to highlight the reality. The dragon is the callow bully. The lease on your fungal apartment is up and your financial woes puts you in tithe to the old gods who in turn make for very bad neighbors. You grab the core essence of a true problem and swaddle it in the mad glittery ribbons of fantasy — and therein you find glorious new permutations of conflict. Reality expressed in mind-boggling ways. Reach for fantasy. Find the reality.“
It had a lot more that I thought would be useful when thinking about our short film and should take into consideration.
“fantasy has to be about characters above ideas, above culture, above all the fiddly fantasy bits. Great characters are our vehicle through the fantasy.“
“Put differently: find the little story in the big story because the little story needs to actually be the big story.“
“Though the stage is essential, theater is not about the stage. All the pieces on it contribute to the action, the blocking. But theater is not about the stage. Theater is about the stories of people, and so too is fantasy.“
“We need to find our story in your story. If we can find no recognizable landmarks, if we can find no familiar paths — even murky ones — we won’t connect with your story. The weirder you go the harder you must strive to connect with us.“
“The Seven Basic Plots” is a book written by Christopher Booker in which it gives a good understanding of the seven basic plots, a summarized version of the seven plots can help me understand more about the common plots.
“The first half of one of the oldest known stories, “The Epic of Gilgamesh“, is set in this form. So is the first “James Bond” movie “Dr. No“, and of course a wealth of stories in between. Also the base for many video games, e.g. any “Super Mario jump’n’run“. Here’s the gist of how the stages run:
And they all lived Happily Ever After.”
Colour is an important feature of fantasy films, this is because it can help the audience distinguish the good and the evil. It can also indicate whether this is a realistic setting or supernatural. Fantasy films tend to have very bright and very gloomy colours to help with the setting.
Pleasantville is a great example for the significance of colour in fantasy films. The movie cleverly uses colour to signify changes that is happening in the narrative. Going with an IMDb brief explanation of the film: “two 1990s teenagers find themselves in a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world.” Their world in 1990’s is full of colour compared to the 1950’s world, which is completely in black and white, this symbolizes the ‘perfect’ American family life.
But as the film progresses, and the teenagers start to act as they were in reality, colour starts to gradually appear, this is effective because it is very subtly done. With red appearing on the car, pink bubblegum appearing and a symbolic red rose appearing after the sister seduces the captain of the basketball team, when he drives home he sees the red rose, which is a first sign of Pleasantville changing.
The differences between the White queen and the Red queen is clear and important to the story. The colour of the queen’s wardrobe and castle is significant as it can clearly tell to the audience who is good and who is evil.
The White Queen’s Castle
The Red Queen’s Castle
The white queen’s castle and colour of costume is very light and mostly white, with some pale pink. This is a clear indicator that this is a ‘good’ character. Whereas the red queen’s castle and costume is mostly red and black, with some gold, this clearly indicates to the audience that she is ‘evil’ or ‘bad’ in this scenario but that she is also royalty, and can be stronger than the white queen.
The differences are clear to the audience and is very effective. Colour is significant in this film.
The Wizard of Oz (1939) started off in black and white then when Dorothy had reached Oz, the film became colour. Colour was used as a storytelling device in the film to show the contrast between the two worlds. Kansas is shown as grey and lifeless, boring, whilst Oz was colourful, full of life, and definitely not boring.
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The typical settings for Fantasy films tend to be in a make-believe realms, or worlds. They tend to have some elements of real world incorporated with the magical world, though there are distinct differences between the two.
In the case of Narnia, the kids have a portal (the wardrobe) that allows them to enter the mystical magical world. However the world isn’t actually real (unfortunately), but it does look quite realistic to some extent. It is set in a mixture of the ‘real world’ and the ‘magical world’.
In this film, there are multiple universes (multiverse) “that together comprised all of reality“. It is set in those multiple universes.
This film is set mostly in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, and in the main protagonist’s home. The differences are huge and are amplified in the movie.
Into the Woods is a great example for setting, as it presents the generic fairy tale castle and mysterious forest. The woods is the key setting as majority of the film takes place there. These two settings are common in fairy tales because the castle is generally where the king and queen are (the good ones) and deep in the woods is normally where the villain or witch is at (the evil one). Keeping with the good versus evil theme.
All of the settings for these movies look either mystical or beautiful in the way that would encourage audiences to want to go there. This is effective as it allows the audience to believe that anything could happen there and that they would be interested in the film.
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Props is a very important feature for fantasy films, as it can often be iconic for the film. For example, the wands used in ‘Harry Potter’ or the ring from ‘Lord of the Rings’, the props were used frequently or in some cases, the film may be based on the prop.
The film is based on the prop, the ring. This makes the prop very important to the narrative, and the film. The ring itself, is magical which is fairly common to see in fantasy films, as a lot of props are magical or mystical in some way.
The wands in Harry Potter is crucial for the narrative because the characters are wizards, and this is how they carry out the spells, using the wands. Though, it is very iconic now and with different designs for the characters.
Lightsabers are very significant to the story. This is because depending on the colour of the lightsabers, it can indicate a Jedi’s chosen class. “Blue indicated a Jedi Guardian, a Jedi who used the Force on a more physical level. Green indicated a Jedi Consular, a Jedi who preferred to reflect on the mysteries of the Force and fight the dark side at its heart.“
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Costume is a key part for the fantasy genre because it can help set a time period or indicate that this is not realistic. It can also help the audience distinguish who is the villain and who is the hero, following the ‘Good VS Bad’ theme.
Alice in Wonderland is a good example for costume for fantasy films. If we compare what Alice wears to the Queen of Hearts:
We can see that Alice is wearing a light blue dress, which connotes innocence, safety and kindness. Whereas the Queen of Hearts is dressed in darker colours such as red, black, and gold. Red can connote danger in this case, but also hearts and love, as she is the queen of hearts, which is why she is also dressed in gold, so signify that she is royalty or wealthy. She is also dressed in black, which connotes evil and danger. It is clear to the audience that Alice is the heroin, and the Queen of Hearts is the villain in this case.
Another great example of the good versus bad theme in Fantasy films is Harry Potter. As the main protagonist, Harry, is the ‘good’ and the villain is Voldemort who is ‘evil’.
We can see that Harry is wearing a school uniform that can indicate to the audience that he is young, innocent and attending a school. In comparison to Voldemort, who is wearing dark clothing that looks mystical and unusual. This allows the audience to understand that he is the villain and that it is set in a world that is supernatural.
Edward Scissorhands is another great example for costume as it uses colour and costume to show and emphasize the differences between Edward and the other people in the town. Edward is wearing black leather and latex, as well as that he has messy hair, compared to other characters who are wearing colourful cheerful clothing that looks more ‘normal’. Even when Edward wears ‘normal clothing’ he still wears untidy shirts and still has very messy hair compared to the others.
Before changing to ‘normal clothing’, Edward is wearing dark clothing, compared to other characters wearing bright colours, such as pink or white and red.
After changing clothing, he goes from wearing black clothing to white clothing, this could suggest that he is not as ‘evil’ or ‘strange’ as he was portrayed to be now that he has socialized with more people and isn’t treated as a strange man.
Sources:
Mastering Film – The Role of Costume
We have chosen to use the Werewolf game as the base of our narrative! And with that, we have chosen the fantasy genre for the short film. So, it’ll be helpful to research more about the fantasy genre, and about its codes and conventions!
“Fantasy is a genre of fiction that uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common.”
Sources:
Nass's A2 Media Blog 