ESSAY PLAN 2 + GENERAL NOTES

BACKROADS AND INROADS: ESSAY PLAN *2

BACKROADS AND INROADS:

THE LOW-BUDGET SHOCKER AS INDUSTRY CALLING CARD

ESSAY PLAN *2

INTRO

Themes + ideas

How social and economic context shapes films

Prior productions inform + shape reactions to them:

2001 – Star Wars – Star Crash + Buck Rogers

Metropolis – Blade Runner

I Walked With A Zombie – Night Of The Living Dead / Dawn Of The Dead – 28 Days Later / Dawn Of The Dead remake

Reactions to/Influences of: TEXT

Reactions to/Influences of: THEME

Effects of constraints: budget and facilities

1^st time film makers tailor product to their means; cut their cloth accordingly.

Most people don’t – can’t afford to – make Star Wars or ID4 as their first project – they make a more practical, cost effective feature

KEY TEXTS

THE EVIL DEAD (1982):

Textual Influences:

Night Of The Living Dead , Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Last House On The Left, Dawn Of The Dead, Lovecraft / Necronomicon

Thematic Influences:

Consumerism (Dawn), Rise of the yuppie & corporate culture, old vs new, ancient vs modern, language and literacy, youthful abandon – tape + ouija board

Budget & Facilities:

Within The Woods: super 8 32min, 16mm, 3yrs, $150,000 budget, local/private investors, 6 principals, 1 location, fx, moving cameras, decent equipment, stop motion, AMBITIOUS!

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999):

Textual Influences:

NOLD, Evil Dead, Last Broadcast, Don’t Look Back, European/Arthouse movies

Thematic Influences:

Ecology, man + technology vs nature, modernity vs tradition (old + new worlds clash), youthful abandon + repercussions

Budget & Facilities:

3 principals, open woodlands, found locations, wood/wicker/stone sculptures, video/16mm, no fx, little production design/props work

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2007-9):

Textual Influences:

NOLD, The Haunting, Poltergeist, Blair Witch, The Exorcist

Thematic Influences:

Reality TV, prevalence of CCTV/monitoring, youthful abandon (Micah is derisive and incorrectly assumes his ability to tackle the problem and his invulnerability, whereas the professional they call in fears the demon and leaves)

Budget & Facilities:

HD DV, director’s own home, 2 principals, limited digital fx, static camera/occasional handheld