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Inspirations

As reviewed in my reviews section. There are three main feature films that have influenced the storyline of this film. 

In bruges has the most direct influence on the film. The scene in which music consumes the shots is something I am actually copying rather than taking ideas from. There are other ideas and themes taken from the film, such as the misconception of a character, believing one thing and that in turn leading to another important event. This happens in the Case of Harry played by Ralph Fiennes who mistakes a dwarf for a young boy. Harry is also an important character in the development of Nathan. I liked the idea that a character who is ultimately the bad guy is actually quite likeable. I've alway believed that someone who is not older than anyone he commands must have some sort of charm or wit to get to where they are with in their profession. 

Crash has had an effect on my film through the time and the stories that it tells. The idea that film can run through a non-linear narrative is a commonly used technique, however, in crash it is unbeknownst to the viewer that these different stories are actually running at different times, as far as the viewed is concerned the characters may meet up some how but it will be in the future. For a character to be killed off and to realise that, that was the beginning of the film is a powerful tool that will hits the audience unexpectedly. I wanted to incorporate this sort of idea into my film. I like that two separate stories can merge into one, but it can be too obvious they are going to merge so to change the timeframes in which the stories are being told is actually a really unique way of keeping the audience guessing about the relationship between the main characters. 

Dead man shoes is a film about a man taking revenge on those who killed his brother. Of course this is quite obviously a direct relation to events with in my film. The emotions felt by the character pave the way for the powerful question of is murder justified? can it be justified in certain circumstances? This is something I really want to address in my film. The idea that the this character that is committing atrocities is actually the good guy is an important part of the film and an idea I like in that of challenging stereotypes with in the films. I want to put my own spin of this which involves a similar plot to Seven (David Fincher 2004) in which the main character of Brad Pitt is coerced into doing something the audience knows he shouldn't do. 

Style

A shot used in both In bruges and Crash is that of the camera remaining it's focus on the gun as the character walks with it in his hand. This enhances the danger that the gun signifies. This is a shot that I think will work really well in my film and one I am hoping to use. It is also used in a four part drama called top boy. I can take huge amounts of inspiration from this as the last 20 minutes of the drama is effectively my film. 

I want to use slow still shots to get across the mundanity of life in the city and to link the rich and the poor in the film. Much like dead mans shoes, the slow long drawn out shots give the idea of desolation in a place that is surrounded and I want to explore the characters loneliness that they all feel, something that may have led them to do drugs in the first place. This shot below is also an iconic shot I have drawn inspiration from when James walks into the house and is standing in the doorway with a gun by his side, his sillhouette is all that is needed to make the statement of power that he holds at that moment.

Music

 Theories

It is important that I link my film concept and idea to theories that there have been in the past. These theories will guide me on certain ways to make my film. Of course, they are all still just theories and as a result I am free to make up my own mind on how to make the film and what style to follow. However, it is important to have an understanding of theories and how my film relates to them, to show that I am a practitioner that grasps the conventions of film making and cinema. These are some theories I researched and related to my project.

Tarkovsky's theory of time (time-pressure):

Tarkovsky believed the film image not to be a composite of different shots arranged in a structure within a specific sequence progressing in time. He reasoned that if the film image is not a composite then the dominant factor of the film must be its rhythm. Rhythm is at the core of the “poetic film.” But Tarkovsky’s idea of rhythm is not that of Eisenstein, instead he envisioned cinematic rhythm as some kind of movement within the frame, and not as a sequence of shots in time. Hence, the main characteristic of poetic film is the process of sculpting in time as opposed to Eisenstein montage of attractions. While Eisenstein’s process of editing is guided by intellectual and conceptual juxtaposition of images, Tarkovsky’s time sculpting involves editing techniques which allow spontaneous unification of the shot as a self-organizing structure. Instead of the interplay of concepts (Eisensteinian montage), Tarkovsky creates the film image as an expression of the matter world, or simply the world. For Eisenstein, the concept dictated the cut; but for Tarkovsky, it is time that rules, dictating the editing techniques. Therefore, time within the frame expresses something significant and truthful that goes beyond the events on the screen and those in the frame; and so, the direct perception of time is like a pointer to infinity (this approach is quite different to the montage of attraction between shots where elements in the shot juxtapose concepts, making the viewer produce some intellectual link). While the montage of attraction produces a burst of meaning, arousing the viewer with the purpose to suggest specific ideas and concepts, Tarkovskian time rhythms illustrate a way of seeing life in its essence, life’s movements. Moreover, this poetic expression of the material world may go beyond the artist’s intention and be received differently by each viewer. In the TarkovskianSchool of film poetics, the filmmaker expresses his philosophy of life as opposed to creating a new perception of a social reality. http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/new_offscreen/deleuzian_pressure.html

Relation to An echo in the Dark - The final scene in An Echo in the Dark juxtaposes two different timeframes. Dan and Emma's world are running along aside James' but at different speeds. Everything Dan and Emma do is in real time although not presented in real time. As they kiss and hug there is longer amount of times away from camera than what it would seem when the shot returns to them. AS it cuts to James time has slowed down. James actions may not even really coincide with Emma and Dan's actions and it is unclear as to when James has entered and what Dan and Emma were doing at this time.

Vladimir Propps theory of fairy tales.

An example of the theories, codes and conventions that have changed and shape film such as An echo in the Dark are evident in cinemas more and more these days. Propps theory of narrative is subject to one of the oldest forms of storytelling. The fairytale. He believes there is always a set group of characters and set selection of events. The reason I am including this is becasue of the way in which I am breaking this theory. I believe it is interesting the way in which film makers increasingly try to break the boundaries of what is considered the original premise for a story. In many way I think an echo in the dark is a truely rebellious storyline when it comes to stand film narrative conventions. For example the narrative and characters are listed below of what is to be expected from a fairytale narrative.