Sunday 28 November 2010
Friday 19 November 2010
Black Comedy
Black Comedy
Black comedies are films that generally use tabooed subjects such as death, suicide and war. However, this is a type of comedy, and the laughter comes from scepticism and cynicism. The purpose of a black comedy is to make fun of a subject that is perhaps serious and not very nice. This can provoke discomfort but amusement at the same time.
Comedians often use black comedy. Examples of these comedians are Frankie Boyle and Jack Dee. Frankie Boyle can often make fun of some very horrid situations, but deliver them in a way which is comical.
Keeping Mum is a good example of a British Black Comedy as it explores the idea of murder and infidelity, but in a way which is comical. Four lions, the film which my film is based on, explores the idea of terrorism which is a tabooed subject. Other Black Comedy films are Dr.Strangelove and Dead Man’s Bluff, a Russian Black Comedy about some really stupid gangsters.
Black comedies are films that generally use tabooed subjects such as death, suicide and war. However, this is a type of comedy, and the laughter comes from scepticism and cynicism. The purpose of a black comedy is to make fun of a subject that is perhaps serious and not very nice. This can provoke discomfort but amusement at the same time.
Comedians often use black comedy. Examples of these comedians are Frankie Boyle and Jack Dee. Frankie Boyle can often make fun of some very horrid situations, but deliver them in a way which is comical.
Keeping Mum is a good example of a British Black Comedy as it explores the idea of murder and infidelity, but in a way which is comical. Four lions, the film which my film is based on, explores the idea of terrorism which is a tabooed subject. Other Black Comedy films are Dr.Strangelove and Dead Man’s Bluff, a Russian Black Comedy about some really stupid gangsters.
Black Comedies usually don't have happy endings, like In Bruges which results in one of the two main characters dying and the second being badly injured. However, the film leaves on a cliffhanger so we never actually see what happens next.
This is where my film will be slightly different, as my ending includes the failure of the terrorists which of course is bad for them, but good for the innocent victims.
Monday 8 November 2010
Synopsis
Three terrorists, Max, Merv and Moon Beam collectively known as Jamhad begin a normal day wearing a jacket made of explosives. A television reporter warns the public of a possible terrorist attack on a food chain known as Finger Lickin’ Chicken. The channel play a terrorism video of the three terrorists which can only be described by the reporter as ‘stupid, amateur and hilarious’.
A squabble breaks out in the household between Merv and Max. Max, a organised ex-animal liberator has trouble getting Merv, a stupid school drop-out, to understand the complexity and seriousness of their mission. Moon Beam, a delusional hippy sides with Merv.
Although Max has warned the others about talking about the mission, the other two loudly converse about it in the back of taxi. Luckily for them, the taxi driver is too stupid to notice the conversation in the back.
When they get out, they all split to independently target a different FLC in the city. Merv arrives first and after a motivational shout of ‘JAMHAD’ down the phone to Max he sets off on his mission, only to be persuaded by a Chicken Deal and sets off to eat in the diner.
Moon Beam arrives second, and again after a motivational shout with Max over the phone she is distracted by the clouds and their unusual shapes and forgets entirely about her mission and lays on the grass.
Max boldly barges into his restaurants kitchen and detonates only to find a puff of smoke leave the jacket.
A squabble breaks out in the household between Merv and Max. Max, a organised ex-animal liberator has trouble getting Merv, a stupid school drop-out, to understand the complexity and seriousness of their mission. Moon Beam, a delusional hippy sides with Merv.
Although Max has warned the others about talking about the mission, the other two loudly converse about it in the back of taxi. Luckily for them, the taxi driver is too stupid to notice the conversation in the back.
When they get out, they all split to independently target a different FLC in the city. Merv arrives first and after a motivational shout of ‘JAMHAD’ down the phone to Max he sets off on his mission, only to be persuaded by a Chicken Deal and sets off to eat in the diner.
Moon Beam arrives second, and again after a motivational shout with Max over the phone she is distracted by the clouds and their unusual shapes and forgets entirely about her mission and lays on the grass.
Max boldly barges into his restaurants kitchen and detonates only to find a puff of smoke leave the jacket.
Friday 5 November 2010
The Comedy Genre
For my film project I have decided to make a comedy film. In some respect it is a black comedy as it contains terrorism (the tabooed subject) which will hopefully appear comical.
The comedy genre often appears as a hybrid with another genre. There are many comedy-hybrids out there, and the truth is, that you can put comedy almost anywhere. Teen comedies are often set in high school and involving adolescent sexual adventure and conflicts with authority like the American Pie franchise. There is the romantic comedy such as Bridget Jones. There are action comedy films (Rush Hour/Brett Ratner/1998), Comedy Horror (Shaun of the Dead/Edgar Wright/2004), Sci-fi comedy (Ghostbusters) and even military comedy (MASH/Robert Altman/1970).
However, comedy is not always a hybrid. Comedy can just be comedy, and this too comes in different ‘modes’. There are satires such as MASH and parodies such as the Scary Movies.
Slapstick is also a ‘mode’ of comedy. The common conventions of slapstick are: Pain with no real consequence and impossible situations. Take Home Alone; the antagonists are constantly being seriously hurt, but only seem to show burn marks or bruises. We never see any blood, which of course is impossible when bricks are thrown from the top of a four-storey building.
As an audience we generally laugh at two things: the gags and the situation. The gags of course being the jokes which have to be appropriately placed to cause us to laugh. The situation, which could be anything from mistaking a real funeral for a crown jewel burial (Johnny English/Peter Howitt/2003) or simply getting on the wrong plane (Home Alone 2/Chris Columbus/1992).
There different things which can make us laugh such as inverted expectations and incongruities. Inverted expectations are obviously things which we do not expect. An example of an inverted expectation is in the film Kick Ass; we do not expect a 12 year old girl to kill a large number of drug lords - and enjoy it to the tune of (Banana Splits) Tra La La Song. For some bizarre reason things we do not expect are funny, with the exception of horror and thriller films perhaps.
Comedies use stereotypes. The stupid blonde (Legally Blonde/Robert Luketic/2001) always does something unintelligent, the redneck (Dukes of Hazzard) appears uneducated and criminal and the Asians (Mean Girls/ Mark Waters/2004) usually appear nerdy and intelligent. The purpose; these stereotypes quickly introduce us to the characters and help us understand them. Plus, the comedy genre mocks them mercilessly.
Comedies usually have happy endings, excluding black comedy . Black Comedies tend to use ‘tabooed’ subjects. A good example of a black comedy is Keeping Mum (Niall Johnson/2005) which is about a nanny who happens to kill anyone who even slightly annoys her - while living under the villages Vicar’s roof. The ending isn’t really happy, but neither is it that bad. Everyone in the family has resolved their problems, but there are many of the locals dead in the pond out back.
My film will have a happy ending if you consider the hundreds of lives saved when the terrorists fail. I will also use stereotypes, because of the film being so short that they are necessary to quickly introduce and there will be plenty of inverted expectations to make the audience laugh.
The comedy genre often appears as a hybrid with another genre. There are many comedy-hybrids out there, and the truth is, that you can put comedy almost anywhere. Teen comedies are often set in high school and involving adolescent sexual adventure and conflicts with authority like the American Pie franchise. There is the romantic comedy such as Bridget Jones. There are action comedy films (Rush Hour/Brett Ratner/1998), Comedy Horror (Shaun of the Dead/Edgar Wright/2004), Sci-fi comedy (Ghostbusters) and even military comedy (MASH/Robert Altman/1970).
However, comedy is not always a hybrid. Comedy can just be comedy, and this too comes in different ‘modes’. There are satires such as MASH and parodies such as the Scary Movies.
Slapstick is also a ‘mode’ of comedy. The common conventions of slapstick are: Pain with no real consequence and impossible situations. Take Home Alone; the antagonists are constantly being seriously hurt, but only seem to show burn marks or bruises. We never see any blood, which of course is impossible when bricks are thrown from the top of a four-storey building.
As an audience we generally laugh at two things: the gags and the situation. The gags of course being the jokes which have to be appropriately placed to cause us to laugh. The situation, which could be anything from mistaking a real funeral for a crown jewel burial (Johnny English/Peter Howitt/2003) or simply getting on the wrong plane (Home Alone 2/Chris Columbus/1992).
There different things which can make us laugh such as inverted expectations and incongruities. Inverted expectations are obviously things which we do not expect. An example of an inverted expectation is in the film Kick Ass; we do not expect a 12 year old girl to kill a large number of drug lords - and enjoy it to the tune of (Banana Splits) Tra La La Song. For some bizarre reason things we do not expect are funny, with the exception of horror and thriller films perhaps.
Comedies use stereotypes. The stupid blonde (Legally Blonde/Robert Luketic/2001) always does something unintelligent, the redneck (Dukes of Hazzard) appears uneducated and criminal and the Asians (Mean Girls/ Mark Waters/2004) usually appear nerdy and intelligent. The purpose; these stereotypes quickly introduce us to the characters and help us understand them. Plus, the comedy genre mocks them mercilessly.
Comedies usually have happy endings, excluding black comedy . Black Comedies tend to use ‘tabooed’ subjects. A good example of a black comedy is Keeping Mum (Niall Johnson/2005) which is about a nanny who happens to kill anyone who even slightly annoys her - while living under the villages Vicar’s roof. The ending isn’t really happy, but neither is it that bad. Everyone in the family has resolved their problems, but there are many of the locals dead in the pond out back.
My film will have a happy ending if you consider the hundreds of lives saved when the terrorists fail. I will also use stereotypes, because of the film being so short that they are necessary to quickly introduce and there will be plenty of inverted expectations to make the audience laugh.
Aims and Context
I will be creating a short imagined film entitled ‘3 backpacks and a trolley pusher’. This film will follow three imbeciles who try to blow up three fast food restaurants in a desperate act to send a message about animal rights.
I will use dialogue as the main way to get across what is happening. The mise-en-scene will be important in establishing the characters, such as the hippy, who will wear bright flower-power. The cinematography will be at odd angles to help emphasise the oddity and weird mission that these three are on. The editing will help establish continuity, so that this appears realistic. The sound will be all diegetic too; again to make the film seem more realistic. The target audience of my film will be the mainstream, mainly because teenagers tend to do more stupid things and enjoy watching them. Blowing up a restaurant is idiotic, and therefore I think those younger would question the logic less and therefore enjoy it more than those who are older or even better educated. I think men and women will equally enjoy this film because comedies have no real gender preference.
I will use dialogue as the main way to get across what is happening. The mise-en-scene will be important in establishing the characters, such as the hippy, who will wear bright flower-power. The cinematography will be at odd angles to help emphasise the oddity and weird mission that these three are on. The editing will help establish continuity, so that this appears realistic. The sound will be all diegetic too; again to make the film seem more realistic. The target audience of my film will be the mainstream, mainly because teenagers tend to do more stupid things and enjoy watching them. Blowing up a restaurant is idiotic, and therefore I think those younger would question the logic less and therefore enjoy it more than those who are older or even better educated. I think men and women will equally enjoy this film because comedies have no real gender preference.
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