Research Dossier

The Commissioning Process & The Role of the Writer

Narrative Structures - Battle Royale and The Crazies

Film Analysis


Battle Royale


Q1. Produce a 150-250 word synopsis summarising the narrative of Battle Royale and then produce a logline for the film


Abducted from a school bus, 40 students are gassed, and the bus re-directed to a deserted island. Kitano, the leader of this government act, briefs them on why they were taken from their ordinary lives with a video recording. No sooner had they been informed of this; they were given bags of weapons to defend themselves. One-by-one, students are killed by those who were once their friends or in some cases, by their enemies. Those who remained loyal to their friends/ loved ones created packs to help one another and figure a way to escape the chaos. Unfortunately, the last three, a couple, and a previous contestant were left, and the rest dead. But as the game states, only one can live to tell the tale, so the previous contestant tries to trick the leader into believing he is all that’s left, before revealing that the truth and attempting to kill him before any more damage is done. Both men involved are wounded, but eventually the leader dies whilst eating an Asian dessert treat.


Q2. Who are the main characters (up to 5) and what is their a. name, gender and age, b. role and c. dramatic motivation?



Mitsuko Souma (male)


One of the most dangerous players in the game



Hiroki Sugimura (male)


searches for his best friend Takako Chigusa and his love interest Kayoko Kotohiki



Shuya Nanahara (male)


Shuya becomes the leader of a terrorist organization known as Wild Seven which is named after is nickname from baseball, formed by survivors of previous Battle Royales.



Noriko Nakagawa


schoolmate is the only student attending class



Kitano (female)


explains that the class has been chosen to participate in this year's Battle Royale as a result of the BR Act, which was passed after 800,000 students walked out of school. The orientation video cheerfully instructs the class to kill each other for three days until only one student remains.





Q3. What genre is the film? What themes does the film exemplify?


SCI-FI/THRILLER


Themes:


Sci-fi elements:



Alternative world (deserted island/ jungle)


Dehumanization (students who were once friends/civil, are turning against each other in a life or death situation)


Journey (the end goal is to be the last ‘man’ standing)


Thriller elements:



Heightened feelings (from both the on-screen characters and the audience) of suspense, excitement, anxiety and



Main antagonist/vastly superior to the rest (leader of the operation/ kidnapping of the students)


Group of protagonists (wanting to escape/ end the game once-and-for-all)


Plot twists throughout the film


School drama (lessens the fearsome quality by adding a more child-like twist)


Q4. What happens in each of the three acts? Can you apply the realist / Classical Hollywood Narrative to this film?


Exposition



Abduction of students/ game begins


The leader kidnaps a bus full of students and takes them to an island, in which they are all given a bag of weapons and an explosive collar around their necks. Unfortunately, the man-in-charge can trigger if they choose to not follow the rules of the game. Once all has been elaborated to the new faces of the game, each student is expected to defend for themselves, until only one payer is left.


Development



Killing one another for survival


The bulk of the actions takes place during this stage, whereby the history of the characters is revealed in a sequence of flashbacks and conversational exchanges. Alongside that, the numbers of students rapidly decrease with each day that goes by (3 days to be exact as mentioned in the brief)


Resolution



Three remain, the rest are no more// the leader is killed, and the trio sail away// one dies along the way to ‘victory’ due to a wound that occurred when trying to kill the leader.





Q5. How does this film differ, regarding narrative, to 'typical' western films and TV shows? Think about characters, dialogue and narrative structures.


DIFFERENCES:



SPOKEN DIALOGUE


Language: mandarin (subtitles are available, but no English is spoken throughout the entirety of the film)



CHARACTERS


Opposition/ signs of dehumanization: it is not uncommon for characters to change their behaviour due to the circumstances they are in, however in this case, the human-side is stripped away from almost everyone, even when they are on their last breath.



NARRATIVE STRUCTURES


Protagonist/ first person narration: as well as being shown clips of each students past, audiences can also pass judgements simply by listening to/reading the narratorial descriptions of these events and what is happening within the game from the main characters. This is particularly useful in helping solidify the audience's understanding of the films story.


Flashbacks: rather than showcasing what was happening in the lives of the characters before the game had even begun, it was instead, intertwined in with their screen time on the island to highlight characteristics, motives and any other information that may be relevant to what they are doing at the time of the flashback.





Narrative Structures and The Crazies (Eisner, 2010)



Give two examples of events that cause later events in the film, but which occur before the film ‘starts’






List two event from the 92-minute film that happen in a different time and space to the one we are shown



Identify key plot points in the film that you would associate with the three-act structure








Act 1 set up/ normality


The Crazies doesn’t follow Todorov’s Classical Hollywood Narrative Structure. First thing we see is a burning town and we don’t see any people. This draws the audience in and gets the hooked as they will want to know what happened. This is an unusual setting and not the normal equilibrium. The audience sees what is going to happen in the future. We then go to ‘2 days before’ in which we now have the equilibrium of the people of town playing a baseball game. The disruption is when Rory comes onto the baseball pitch with a gun the sheriff (David Dutten) assumes he is drunk as Rory is a recovered alcoholic and the sheriff shoots him and kills him. At the time they do not know that Rory has the virus which is the overall disruption.


Act 2 confrontation/disruption


Act 3 resolution/ restroation of normality

Script Proposal

Script Proposal

Nature and Purpose of Research

Documentary (paperwork)

Inroduction to the News

Documentary Mini Task

Final TV Advert Evaluation

Marmite Pre-Production Paperwork

Research: 3 Minute Wonder

1. Go to the Channel 4 website and conduct research into 3 Minute Wonder, e.g.,

•what is a 3 Minute Wonder?

A short documentary lasting an approximate time of 3 minutes.

•what is the aim / purpose of a 3 Minute Wonder?

Primarily, the aim is to create content that informs and/or entertains audiences on any topic area, just as long as it follows the general structure of a documentary.

•what sort of topic would you expect to see on a 3 Minute Wonder?

I would expect to see storylines that are condensed down/ focused on the message the producers are trying to get across (e.g real-life accounts). However, if there appears to be no underlying message, then I would be inclined to reserve all judgements of the possibilities that can come of a 3-minute wonder. I would imagine a comedy sketch could be a possibility as it allows the creative freedom to film anything that may be deemed entertaining.

2. Watch at least five 3 Minute Wonder episodes.

3. Select your three favorite 3 Minute Wonder episodes and briefly explain:

• The purpose is to share critics opinions on the famous ornamental “Fountain” by Duchamp’s. For years there has been controversy over whether it is “actual” art or not.

Fountain is one of Duchamp’s most famous works and is widely seen as an icon of twentieth-century art. The original, which is lost, consisted of a standard urinal, usually presented on its back for exhibition purposes rather than upright, and was signed and dated ‘R. Mutt 1917’. Tate’s work is a 1964 replica and is made from glazed earthenware painted to resemble the original porcelain. The signature is reproduced in black paint. Fountain has been seen as a quintessential example, along with Duchamp’s Bottle Rack 1914, of what he called a ‘readymade’, an ordinary manufactured object designated by the artist as a work of art (and, in Duchamp’s case, interpreted in some way).

• https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-fountain-t07573

Another critically challenge piece of artwork known as the 144 Magnesium Square, earning itself a somewhat “rightful”place in the Tate museum.


144 Magnesium Square 1969 is composed of 144 thin magnesium plates, each measuring 12 by 12 inches, arranged into a square on the gallery floor. It is one of six works composed in an identical arrangement but in different metals by the American sculptor Carl Andre. The first three works in the series, made of aluminium, steel and zinc, were initially shown at the Dwan Gallery, New York, in 1967, while the other three, composed of magnesium, copper and lead, were produced for his 1969 exhibition at the same gallery. The materials used in the series are presented in their raw state, without physical alteration by the artist. Visitors are allowed to walk over this and the other sculptures in this series

•  https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/andre-144-magnesium-square-t01767

This is one of a series of tanks Koons made in 1985 for his first solo exhibition, entitled Equilibrium, at the New York gallery, International With Monuments. The tanks, glass vitrines supported on black steel stands, were made in three sizes, holding one, two or three professional basketballs. The Total Equilibrium Tanks are completely filled with distilled water and a small amount of sodium chloride reagent, to assist the hollow balls in remaining suspended in the centre of the liquid. In a second version, the 50/50 Tanks, only half the tank is filled with distilled water, with the result that the balls float half in and half out of the water. A group of objects cast in bronze, including a lifeboat and an aqualung (see Vest with Aqualung, Tate L02184), were exhibited at the same time. To complement the tanks, Koons framed a series of advertising posters created by the sportswear company Nike and hung them on the walls. These depict American basketball heroes wearing Nike trainers and other sportswear, holding and surrounded by basketballs.

• https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/koons-three-ball-total-equilibrium-tank-two-dr-j-silver-series-spalding-nba-tip-off-t06991

•why you like them

As someone who is heavily influenced by art, these 3-minute wonders exploring controversial art pieces, took my immediate interest. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the critics explain what they believe qualifies someone’s work to be art as the subject itself is open to hundreds of interpretations.

•what you have learned from watching them

I have learnt how people view things differently to each other, however, despite all the controversy, they’re critical input does not diminish the value of the artist’s work in an art museum. If anything, it is that exact thing, the constant debate, that makes it more fitting to be in a museum in the first place. I believe history to go hand-in-hand with art work as it adds another level of meaning to the overall product.

In addition, I have been given insight into the possibilities a 3-minute wonder can have as a lot can still be spoken/shown in such a short time frame it seems.

4. Market research into the documentary format and its current viability:
There are six types of documentary formats, which are as follows:


1) Poetic Documentaries-
They focus on experiences, images and showing the audience the world through a different set of eyes. Abstract and loose with narrative, the poetic sub-genre can be very unconventional and experimental in form and content. The ultimate goal is to create a feeling rather than a truth.


2) Expository Documentaries-
probably closest to what most people consider “documentaries.” A sharp contrast to poetic, expository documentaries aim to inform and/or persuade — often through omnipresent “Voice of God” narration over footage devoid of ambiguous or poetic rhetoric.



3) Observational Documentaries-
they aim to simply observe the world around them. Originating in the 1960s with the advances in portable film equipment, the cinéma vérité style is much less pointed than the Expository. The style attempts to give voice to all sides of an issue by giving audiences first hand access to some of the subject’s most important (and often private) moments.




4) Participatory Documentaries-
While having elements of Observational and Expository, include the filmmaker within the narrative. This could be as minor as the filmmaker’s voice being heard behind the camera, prodding subjects with questions or cues — all the way to the filmmaker directly influencing the major actions of the narrative.


5) Reflexive Documentaries-
Similar to Participatory in that they often include the filmmaker within the film — however, unlike Participatory, they make no attempts to explore an outside subject. Rather, they focus solely on themselves and the act of them making the film.


6) Performative Documentaries- 

An experimental combination of styles used to stress subject experience and share an emotional response to the world. They often connect personal accounts or experience juxtaposed with larger political or historical issues. This has sometimes been called the “Michael Moore” style, as he often uses his own personal stories as a way to construct social truths (without having to argue the validity of their experiences).

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/6-types-of-documentary-film/

 

•Look at the TV listings for two channels (one should be C4) over the course of a period of time (a day to a week - the more you do the more reliable your primary research findings!). What percentage of television output on your chosen channels is documentary?  How many are shown at peak time?

•Go to the BARB website and find the viewing figures for factual programmes in general and then some specific documentaries.