Themes and influences

Seeing as we came up with a narrative idea of sexual assault/rape, I decided to look into the subject matter further. I was so shocked by many of the statistics I found regarding sexual assault. However, the statistics helped give us a broader understanding of how frequent sexual assault cases are and how they are covered up and portrayed differently by a variety of media platforms.

Sexual violence statistics (United States of America):

1 in 5 women and 1 in 75 men will be raped at one point in their life.

46.4% lesbians, 74.9% bisexual women and 43.3% heterosexual women reported sexual violence
other than rape during their lifetimes. (40.2% gay, 47.4% bisexual men and 20.8% heterosexual).

Nearly 1 in 10 women and 1 in 45 men have been raped by an intimate partner.

91% of women and 9% of men are victims of rape/ sexual assault.

In 8 out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the person who assaulted them.

Each rape costs around $151, 423 and costs the US more than any other crime ($127 billion annually; second- assault, third- murder).

81% of women and 35% of men report impacts such as post traumatic stress disorder.

Rape is the most under-reported crime; 63% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police.

The prevalence of false reporting is between 2% and 10%. For example, a study of eight US communities, which included 2,059 cases of sexual assault, found a 7.1% rate of false reports.

A study of 136 sexual assault cases in Boston found a 5.9% rate of false reports. Researches studied 812 reports of sexual assault from 2000 to 2003 and found a 2.1% rate of false reports.

Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight)

During her final year of her visual arts degree at Columbia University, New York City (2014- 15), Emma Sulkowicz conducted a work of endurance performance art as a senior thesis called 'Carry that weight'.

Starting in September 2014, she carried a 50-lb mattress (one used in Columbia dorm rooms) wherever she went on campus. She argues that she would end her thesis when the student that allegedly raped her in her dorm room in 2012 was expelled from/ left the university. Sulkowicz carried the mattress until the end of the Spring semester as well as to her graduating ceremony in May 2015.

The student accused was found 'not responsible' by a university inquiry into the allegations, where he called the accusation "untrue and unfounded". He also called the performance an act of bullying.

Sulkowicz filed a police complaint in May 2014 but criminal charges were not pursued due to a lack of reasonable suspicion. In April 2015, the accused student filed a lawsuit against Columbia University, its trustees, president Lee Bollinger and art professor Jon Kessler and Sulkowicz's thesis supervisor, alleging that they exposed him to gender-based harassment by allowing the mattress performance to take place on campus (for course credit). Nevertheless, the lawsuit was dismissed in March 2016.

Sulkowicz alleges that on the first day of her second year, at Columbia University in August 2012, she was slapped, choked and anally raped in her dorm room by another student during what began as a consensual sexual encounter. The accused denied the allegations claiming that it was all consensual. Sulkowicz filed a complaint after she came across two fellow female students who claimed they had been victimized by the same individual, they later filed individual complaints themselves. However, Columbia university cleared him of responsibility in all three cases.

The case attracted widespread media attention after the three female students gave interviews to the New York Post, which was published December 11, 2013; the article didn't provide any names however. In April 2014, Sulkowicz appeared with Senator Kristen Gillibrand at a press conference about campus sexual assault.

Emma Sulkowicz created Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight) in the summer of 2014 for her senior thesis at the Yale University summer school of art and music, she was supervised by Jon Kessler.

Her first attempted movement was a video of herself moving a bed out of a room along with the audio of her filing the police report as her accompaniment.; this is how the mattress became a key focus of the thesis.

She carried the mattress around campus and created some 'rules of engagement' in which she had to follow. This included the rule that she had to carry it when on university property, it had to remain on campus when she was absent, and she wasn't allowed to ask for help in carrying it, although if someone offered she could accept. Sulkowicz kept a diary throughout, amounting to around 59,000 words recording her experiences.

 "I do think that nowadays art pieces can include whatever the artist desires and in this performance art piece it utilizes the elements of protest ..."

"To me, the piece has very much represented [the fact that] a guy did a horrible thing to me and I tried to make something beautiful out of it."

Codes and conventions of film genres

Horror

• The setting for horror teasers are unique. However, it's very common for the characters to be isolated from the rest of society. Having the villain and victim alone in the middle of a woods is a popular example used to create tension and suspense.
• The colours of the text used is normally red or white on a black background, the red representing blood, danger or passion and the white representing purity or coldness.
• Sound effects are often used; wind, storms, screams, breathing clocks ticking etc
• Lighting within the trailers is expressive and non-nauralistic, where low-key lighting is used to create dark shadows.

Action

• The setting is normally presented within an action trailer through an establishing shot, the setting is normally a big city such as New York or London.
• The actor's voice is sometimes used as a voice over for the trailer, making it more theatrical.
• Not a lot of the narrative or plot is shown but a brief outline of characters and setting is presented.

Comedy

• The characters are nearly always shown in comedy trailers, along with dialogue, which is uncommon for trailers of other genres.
• A brief idea of the plot/narrative is presented but with missing slots to draw the audience to go and watch the film.
• Comedy trailers frequently consist of 'best bits', where the trailer is a montage of various scenes with the 'funniest' dialogue- sometimes shots with one word-dialogue are shown.
• A musical soundtrack is normally played in the background.
• The camera work within the trailers tends to be very naturalistic, medium shots are used generally throughout to present dialogue and facial expressions.
• The typical setting is presented in the trailer; bright, well populated towns and cities.

Social realism

• Text is used often within social realism films, either a sentence regarding the narrative or a film review and rating.
• Music is often played at a low volume whilst various shots of the film are shown at a fairly fast pace speed.
• Dialogue is often presented overlapping different shots, hinting the narrative/plot.

Codes and conventions of social realism

British social realism 
Social realism is a film genre that focuses on representing  the problems issues faced in today's society. It generally means a realistic circumstance that has or could easily happen captured on to a film, picture or even portrait. Popular themes and plots revolve around money, drugs, alcohol, class, religion and politics.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, social realism in film reflected Britain's transforming wartime society. At the time, pre-assigned gender roles were challenged, and this was clearly portrayed through film. Examples of social realist films of this era include 'Target for tonight', 'Millions like us' and This happy breed'.

During the 1960s, there was a relaxation of censorship which enable films to focus on issues such as prostitution, abortion, homosexuality and alienation.

Codes and conventions:

• Location

Films of this genre are normally filmed in real life locations, unlike Hollywood films, where they are shot in studios. Another trend in terms of location is the use of run down areas and council estates, to produce a gritty and run-down effect. Locations such as these are used so that the film seems more realistic and lifelike, therefore much more relatable. 

• Non-professional actors

Non-professional and unknown actors are normally used for social realism films, unlike Hollywood films, British social realism films simply cannot afford famous Hollywood actors on their low budgets. However, in most cases using unknown and non-professional actors helps to conform to the social realism aspect making it as realistic as possible. 

• Social class 

This is a very important convention, in most British social realism the plot features the working class. Films such as 'Billy Elliot' rely on the working class aspect to support the narrative.

• Age of characters

In most British social realism films, young teenagers and young adults are the main focus with the general age range being between 13 and 25. Examples of films evidently conforming to this convention are 'This is England' and 'Sweet sixteen'.

• Relatable plot

The narrative is often simple and basic so that the audience can relate to it, where crime, drugs and alcohol are the prominent problems faced by lower to working class people, in run-down areas.

• Shots

The same kind of shots are used within modern day films of the social realism genre. Handheld shots in particular, they are used frequently to give the film a documentary feel and to show the characters in a relatable and realistic view. Establishing shots are also very common within this genre

• Semi-improvised scripts

The use of semi-improvised scripts is a well-known convention of films of the social realism genre. They are sometimes used in social realism films in order to achieve a sense of reality through lifelike dialogue/ conversations.

Inspiration - The Hunting Ground

After we came up with the idea that our teaser trailer narrative will revolve around sexual assault/ rape, I decided to do some research into The Hunting Ground for inspiration.

The Hunting Ground (2015) is a documentary film, directed by Kirby Dick, about the incidence of sexual assault on college campuses in the United States and what its creators say is a failure of college administrations to deal with it adequately.

The Hunting Ground also gave us some music inspiration with its use of the song 'Til it happens to you' by Lady Gaga. The song lyrics are very significant and appropriate for the documentary film. From seeing how well the music accompanied the narrative of the film, we were inspired and thus wanted to use music along the same line.

The documentary film focuses on Annie Clark and Andrea Pino, two former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students who filed a Title IX complaint against UNC in response to their rapes while enrolled.



The accuracy and objectivity of the film has been questioned by Harvard Law professors and writer Emily Yoffe:

The film implies that many college officials were more concerned with minimising rape statistics for their universities than with the welfare of the students, and contains interviews with college administrators who state they were pressured into suppressing rape cases. 

Throughout the film, statistics were displayed across the screen very clearly to attract attention and evoke emotion to the audience. Here are some statistics that stood out to me:

• In 2012, 45% of colleges reported zero sexual assaults. (Washington Post 2014)

• Less than 8% of men in college commit more than 90% of sexual assaults. (David Lisak Ph.D. and Paul M.Miller 2002)

• Repeat offenders commit an average of 6+ acts of sexual assault. (David Lisak Ph.D. and Paul M.Miller 2002)

• 26% of rapes reported to police that lead to arrest. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2010)

• 20% of rapes reported to police that are prosecuted. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2010)

Trailers vs Teasers

Teaser vs trailers: What's the difference?

Trailer - A trailer is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be released in the future at a cinema, the result of creative and technical work.

Teaser - A teaser is usually released long in advance of the release of the film, a while before the trailer is released, to tease the audience.

Both teasers and trailers are very effective at gathering an audience and promoting an upcoming film still in the production process. Especially with the world today being very technology based and online. They aim to entice the audience's curiosity and build anticipation in the hope of a successful turnout in regards to ticket sales in cinemas.

They are also very useful when it comes to gaining knowledge on how consumers are responding to aspects of the film whilst still in the production process, and therefore make changes if necessary.

The aim of a teaser/trailer is to make people aware of an upcoming movie, not to give away the story's plot and narrative; in the hope a 'buzz' will be created.

• A teaser is much shorter in length, less than one minute.
• Whereas, a trailer runs for around three minutes, revealing more of the film.
• A teaser is released much earlier than a trailer and doesn't reveal much of the film, instead it aims to excite the audience.
• A trailer can provide us with much more detail regarding the film, with it being longer, much more is revealed.
• Most of the time, teasers are made during the early stages of a film's production process.
• On the other hand, trailers are normally made after the entire film is shot, the film may still be in the editing process however.

It is sometimes the case that teasers or trailers include scenes and shots of the film that are no longer included. Some companies such as Pixar have completely exclusive footage for the teaser/trailer with no means of it appearing in the film as well. Examples of films in which include footage in their trailers that don't appear in the final film:

- Godzilla
- Purple Rain
- Superbad
- Varsity Blues

• Very often, teasers do not provide the audience with many credits such as cast members or the production team.
• With trailers, credits are shown and in some cases reviews are displayed from leading media outlets such as popular websites or newspapers.
• It is highly unlikely that a teaser trailer would include dialogue at all.
• Still unlikely, but trailers sometimes include a small amount of dialogue which can help the audience to identify characters.
• Teasers are often made up of montage shots at a fast pace, so they don't reveal too much. Cliff-hanger endings are also included.
• Trailers always seem to have some sort of mystery attached to them, instead of teasing the audience, they attract them so they want to see more.

OUR PITCH

Moodboards

DECONSTRUCTION OF CINEMATOGRAPHY IN TEASER TRAILER - YOUTH

We open to a long establishing shot, at eye level to reveal a large mansion like building, this is framed to perfectly fit the length and height of the building to heighten its grandeur, however the ordered and structured appearance of the building greatly contrasts to the lack of structure and disorder of the scattered chairs on the front lawn.

 The next two eye level close ups use straight cuts where the two older gentleman are framed in the same position on screen both wearing glasses and a similar structure of clothing, however the contrast occurs not only in the transformation from low key to high key lighting, but the second frame uses a female to the left to decrease the wasted space. Further, the close up reveals the former gentlemen lacking eye contact to the camera, whereas the latter does, demonstrating a paradox in their temperament and confidence.

 The next extreme closeup is of an older gentleman hand fidgeting with a small red wrapper, the emphasis especially being on the wrapper since the red contrasts to the grey tweed suit (emphasis again on the exaggerated diegetic rattling of the wrapper).

 The eye level long shot of the orchestra followed by the swimming pool, create a distance from the viewer to the group of people, with the viewer first being spectated by them, to the spectator themselves. By having so little wasted space in the first shot creates a state of claustrophobia, which then is softened when there is wasted space in the second shot to imitate the relaxed state the characters are experiencing in the pool.

 Yet, this contrasts from the sudden close up low angle shot of the larger male with an asthma pump, here there is minimal waste of space most likely to increase the size of the overweight male.

 However, this contradicts to the back lit close up eye level shot of the youthful female who appears as a shadow, surrounded by wasted space likely to demonstrate her slim physique associated with her young age.

 The long shot through the door frame highlights the haggard and stooped figure of the older females, is exaggerated in the low angle mid shot of the female looking up to the ceiling under a key light to highlight her in the shadows: the use of quadrants can also be identified with the males face being in the lower left quadrant whilst the female is positioned in the upper right quadrant, likely a comment on gender.

 The POV eye level shots through the window frames positions us as one of the nurses you can examine, as the close up over the shoulder shot, expands to a long shot from the same position, then further from the opposing viewpoint to examine the front of the girl to identify her youth in the close up where it reveals the inspecting females framed behind her.

 Another eye level mid shot reveals a youthful female surrounded by white decor, a demonstration perhaps of the purity and innocence connoted with that age.

 The sequence of cuts and shots for the haircut, uses the upper two quadrants to reveal a close up of the males eyes creating an ominous ambiguous shot, that then straight cuts to an extreme close up of the scissors cutting this hair where the audience suddenly understand what is occurring, an innocent haircut. Yet, it further uses a close up of the male once again as he stares off screen still creating a greater sense of ambiguity.

 Once again we return to the establishing shot of the location, however it is at night. Further, the front of the frame lacks the disordered scattered chairs, and replaced with a graceful side angle of a female "artist" acting as a fountain piece.

 This then is a straight cut to a closer view of her side profile, this eye level long shot is highlighted by the key light within the staging.

 Yet, this below key light is similar here where the high angle mid shot reveals a naked female lounging in a pool of water, her physique holding the same frame as the stage.

 The mid shot frames the lower half of a silhouetted male within a cocoon like furniture piece, the wooden frame similar to the wooden stick (that examines the age of the character).

 The long eye level shot of the older member laying in a side profile directly horizontally across the screen demonstrates a split or divide within them, as the straight cut to the high angle close up of a younger individual in the same position perhaps to highlight even more the change that comes with age.

The eye level close up pan across the hostile sterile room to the older gentleman, which then zooms closer to his face to emphasise his haggard features to reveal his age even more so (likely a message within the plot hence its called "YOUTH"), this then straight cuts to a long shot which frames him the furthest away from the camera in the centre of the door frame, a means to represent his isolation or even distance from himself.