Here is the link to Red's profile

What is binary opposition?

A binary opposition (also binary system) is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. Binary opposition is the system by which, in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another.

So what did Strauss do? 

He looked at many myths and other stories from across different cultures and broke them down. He attempted to find out how they were all similar and that they were all manifestations of the same language. What he found was that all the stories have binary opposites.

Here is a slide show with more info: 

How is this useful to me?

In my short film we are portraying the character of Goldilocks as the opposite of her 'typical' character. Here we are uses a psychopathic killer instead of the innocent girl. This itself is a type of opposition but more obvious than that are the two main characters.

The DCI is portraying the side of justice/good/old and Goldilocks is on the lawless/evil/young side. These character tropes are binary opposites of each other. Strauss' theory can be used because he said that without the opposites then the media would be unbalanced. To avoid this we need to make sure that the DCI acts as the counter weight.



Click on picture to see the original post. Not made by me.

Here is the post I made about Todorov

I looked at the short film Prosopagnosia as this film had a police and crime genre. The short's plot was told mainly my dialogue and this is how we are basing out film off so it was good to look at how a short film has done so successfully. 

The main setting for this short film is in an interrogation room. This is identical to my short film. Here low key lighting is used to create a dark background with the character's faces illuminated. This creates a serious connotation. It also helps the audience to focus on the character's faces and helps to define the emotions.

The other main character in this short film is the DCI. This is characterised by the officers costume and near by props. He is wearing a suit and has a file open which suggests that he has information has displays a typical modern inspector theme. 

Another point is that the two characters have very different postures. Here the witness is sitting forward and has a very tense body language where as the DCI is leaning backwards and is more relaxed.

The use of the low key lighting helps to emphasise the character's facial expressions. Having the contrast puts the audiences attention straight onto the face. This is useful in this film because there is a lot of dialogue so seeing the character's expressions helps to understand how the character feels about what is being said. This can also help the audience to decide themselves if he is guilty or not.


Replace with Gifs https://vimeo.com/35014952

Characters: Usually male characters are used as the protagonist or even a mainly male cast. This is to do with stereotypes. Males are usually portrayed because society stereotypes the job of a police officer or detective as male. Examples of a mainly Male cast are Hot Fuzz and Reservoir Dogs.

A typical character is the male detective protagonist:

• Usually divorced
• Seen as tough and independent
• Has underworld connections
• often bends or breaks law to get job done
• Social pragmatism of the modern police investigator. 

Plot: Often follows a 'who did it' plot where we chase after a killer of a crime. Usually the victim is known and portrayed as innocent. Red herrings and plot twist are commonly used to keep the show entertaining as we unravel the plot. The audience will be involved as they use the clues to help solve the crime or by routing for a side/character.

Sub-genres: A crime series or film will usually have two types of sub genre. either taking a violent and action route, or a detective and mystery genre.

Setting:

• Urban inner city
• Police offices
• Open streets
• Warehouses

We have decided on the girls to use for the roles. A description of each actor will be posted later. During the callback we used a camera to film the girls to see what they will be like when filmed.

Here is the footage:

After the callbacks we have decided that we are going to cast Maggie. She is in Year 9 and not only is the best actress for the role but she is also the most prepared. After speaking to teachers we also agree she will be a good person to work with. We are figuring out our filming schedule with her now and will post later.