Film Project Genre Research- Memento

When studying the opening scene of Memento, a thriller and suspense film, some aspect of the story is provided to the reader, although it may be somewhat confusing. It seems to show that a man, presumably a significant character, shot and killed a man. However, the time sequence is seen going backwards, from receiving the polaroid photo of the murder scene to the moment he opened fire. This seems to be an extremely crucial event for the plot, but the viewer still does not know what circumstances led him to this point. The scene first contains a long take, which allows viewers to understand the depth of the situation. Later, a slightly quicker pace of next shots add suspense. A point-of-view shot shows the man holding the photo of the murder scene. There are also some close-ups of man's face and the backside of the one he murdered. In addition, there are several inserts of the props including the photo, gun, glasses, and a bullet. The sound expresses somber, sorrowful, and grave incidental music. There are also eerie, quiet sounds and sound effects of holding the gun, taking the photo, the bullet moving on the ground, the victim yelling, and the gun shooting. The location of the scene is set inside, which could possibly be a studio. There is also dark ominous lighting. The job titles include the actors, casting, music, costume designer, editor, production designer, director of photography, co-producer, co- executive producers, executive producer, producer, and finally the director. The estimated budget of the film was $9 million, and its gross revenue was about $39.7 million. The film had 57 nominations and won 56 awards.

Comments

Feedback

Overall, I think that the feedback we received was fairly helpful. We were happy to hear that most of our peers found our film opening to be humorous. One noted that, in particular, the Easter Bunny entering the scene was very funny. Many comments included positive feedback on the camera work, where the dramatic use of zooms, reverse zooms, and zoom-ins created a more comedic effect on the product. They liked the concept of our film and found it to be unique. Others found the dialogue to have a good flow and the transitions to be smooth. Some comments included a good use of mise-en-scene, such as the props and costumes. Although we had a lot of positive feedback, we also had some important negative feedback as well. Most, if not all of our peers mentioned the low sound quality of the film. They stated that some parts of the opening were quiet, however, when it was presented to the class, the volume was already on the low end of the scale. This quiet audio may have lead others to note t...

Final Submission

We decided to revise the film by cutting a take on the elves’ reaction after Santa clause fails to recount that it is the day after Christmas. We aimed to have the take run a little more smoothly and cut down on the pause before the reaction of the elves.

Film Production- Storyboard

The first shot is an insert of Elf #1's feet as he walks down the hallway and approaches the conference room. It attempts to create a feeling of earnestness and curiosity as to where the board member is going and what will ensue. The second shot is a mid-shot of the Board of the North Pole at the end of the conference table, with the President of the Board and Elf #2 waiting for Elf #1 to sit in his empty seat. This tries to create an effect of seriousness and urgency to the situation of Santa Claus being fired. The third shot is an insert of a "Missing Rudolph" poster. This shot signifies the importance of Santa Claus's faults, as seen by losing his most important reindeer. The fourth shot listed is a wide shot of the Easter Bunny entering the conference room and slowly walking out after listening to the commotion. This shot attempts to incorporate humor by providing relief to the tension after addressing Santa Claus's wrongdoings, which could be s...

AICE Media Studies

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