Critical Research

Synopsis

My film is centred around the protagonist, Sapphire and her relationship with the drug dealer, Zi. 

Sapphire is a young woman who is affected by seeing her parents murder. In the present, Sapphire is 20 years old and is out to seek the man who caused her parent's death. Her parents were involved in a drug war and were murdered by the drug dealer Zi, when Sapphire was 16.
We, the audience do not know any of this background information until Zi has been killed, therefore the film does not have a linear structure.
When Sapphire and Zi meet in the diner, Sapphire is in control of their irrelevant conversation, whilst holding a gun to his crotch underneath the table.
Sapphire shoots Zi (switching of stereotypical gender roles). She walks off to the bathroom, where she applies red lipstick.
The flashbacks of Sapphire's parents being murdered is similar to Tarantino's backstories of women, which makes the audience sympathise with these characters.

Throughout the present scenes in the film, Sapphire is portrayed as a strong, dominating woman who definitely has control over Zi in the diner scene. (Relating to Tarantino's representation of macho women and the idea of switching male/female roles) however we see this was not always the case when we are shown her backstory. Sapphire's name also relates to Tarantino's representation of macho women and the switching of male/female roles. (The name Sapphire was a commonly used name for black caricatures during the 1920-1960s. Who's characteristics were stubborn and overbearing. This also relates to the theme of Blaxpoitation)
The symbolism of the red lipstick also relates to Sapphire's name and the symbolism of the colour red.

Treatment/Layout for Key Frames

Frame No.1

The film will begin with a still  medium long shot of Sapphire's apartment living room. The scene is set during the day, therefore there will be natural daylight in this shot. Within the shot, there is a yellow glass coffee table centred opposite to the grey sofa. There are newspaper articles neatly placed on the table, along with a gold metal tin, a red lighter and red lipstick. There is a red cow skin rug that lays across the wooden floor, this is centred off to the right of the shot. The red cow skin rug is the first hint of Sapphire's luxurious lifestyle. Everything on the set has it's own place, portraying Sapphire's control over her life. 

Frame No.2

The second keyframe will be a close up shot of a radio, Sapphire is pushing the ON button with her foot. We only see Sapphire's legs, which are bare. I have also incorporated an aspect that Tarantino uses throughout his films; female's feet, portraying sexuality and incorporating the male gaze. Because, at this point we only see Sapphire's bare legs, the audience may get the idea that she is not clothed, portraying an aspect of the male gaze. 

Frame No.3

The next keyframe will be a low level framing shot of Sapphire's legs, walking across the living room, from the radio to the sofa. I wanted to keep the camera at this level whilst she walks to incorporate the aspect of the male gaze and voyeurism, that I shall look at in my study.

My inspiration came from the opening scene in Death Proof.

Frame No.4

The next keyframe is a low angle shot of Sapphire sitting on the edge of the sofa. She is central of the shot. This portrays her importance. This is the first time we see Sapphire completely. She wears a fitted white t-shirt and blue casual shorts, she wears the red lipstick we can see on the coffee table. In the shot, Sapphire is lighting a joint with the red lighter, we previously saw laying on the table.

Frame No.5

Medium long shot of Sapphire stretched out along the sofa, her legs crossed at the ankles. This shot resembles Jungle Julia in Death Proof. In this shot we see Sapphire relaxed, however she is presented in a strong, sexual manner, similar to how Tarantino portrays his female characters.

The inspiration of this shot came from the opening scene in Death Proof.

Frame No.6

High angle shot taken from Sapphire's feet. Her head is tilted backward, she exhales the smoke upward. 

Frame No.7

The second scene opens with a medium long shot of Sapphire and Zi sitting in a booth in a diner. The placement of this shot is similar to much of Tarantino's work, where he uses a booth in a diner to convey the conversation and relationship between a couple.

There is a menu and condiments placed neatly on the side of the table, by the window. Sapphire is sitting up straight, her arms are crossed loosely and rest on the table; she wears a red dress and a fur coat. She wears the red lipstick that we previously saw in the first scene. Her bag rests next to her side on the booth seat. Her legs are neatly crossed underneath the table. 

Zi sits opposite her, he wears an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and a white vest underneath. A gold metal chain sits around his neck. He has a steady stare. Zi sits further back into the corner of the booth. His elbow rests against the edge of the table as he pinches his bottom lip. The pair begin to converse in irrelevant conversation. 

Frame No.8

Close up shot of Zi's face as he orders a glass of milk. This shot is filmed as a point of view shot through the waitress's eyes, we do not see the waitress at all. Zi directs all of his reactions to the camera. He realises the waitress's reaction (which we do not see). He pauses and stares at her. Smirking and raising an eyebrow, he patronisingly and sarcastically questions the word please. It is at this point that the shot will be taken.
As the waitress walks off, Zi snarls, staring and analysing her as she walks away.  

This links to how Tarantino sympathises with women, giving the waitress a point of view shot, portrays directly how Zi acts towards this woman. When she walks away, he analyses and stares at her, this is an aspect of the male gaze as it sexualises the waitress as a sex object, which therefore links to my thematic study. 

Frame No. 9

FLASHBACK: Close up shot of Zi's hand setting down a glass of cold milk on a counter.

Frame No.10

Medium long shot of Sapphire and Zi. Zi is holding up his glass of milk, gesturing to Sapphire. Zi stares at Sapphire strongly, whilst smiling at her sarcastically, showing his teeth.  

Frame No.11

Close up shot of Sapphire's hand holding up the Budweiser bottle to Zi's glass of milk. The drinks clink as they touch. 

Frame No.12

FLASHBACK: Low angle shot of Zi standing over Sapphire's dead parent's bodies that lie on the floor. The shot is taken as Zi takes a gulp of his milk. 

Frame No.13

Medium long shot of Sapphire and Zi sitting in the diner booth. Sapphire is leaning forward, her forearms are resting on the table, her bottom hovers over the seat. She holds a gun underneath the table to Zi's crotch, symbolising phallic imagery and her control and dominance over males. Zi is completely unaware of what is going on beneath the table. This resembles how Tarantino portrays male characters as the 'butt of the joke', unaware and goofy.
This shot will be similar to Inglorious Basterds,  another film by Tarantino.

Frame No.14

Medium long shot: "Don't you know who I am Zi?" Her foot presses in between Zi's legs, resting on the diner booth seat. Zi looks down at where Sapphire's foot rests, he is uneasy and concerned. Again, portrayed as the 'butt of the joke' due to his emasculation. The inspiration for this shot came from the lap dance scene in Death Proof. I decided to incorporate this aspect into my film as I believe it shows dominance and power of the woman over the man.

Frame No.15

Medium close up shot of Sapphire. She is holding the Budweiser bottle in her left hand, the gun still pointed at Zi's crotch underneath the table. Sapphire's name appears in a bold yellow font across the screen. This is incorporated into the majority of Tarantino's films to reinforce the fact that you are watching a film, rather than immersing the audience completely into the film.

Frame No.16

Close up shot of the gun pointing at Zi's crotch. Emasculating Zi. Once again, similar to the scene in Inglorious Basterds; Tarantino uses this idea many times throughout his work, which greatly emasculates the male character.

Frame No.17

Sapphire stands in front of a crowd of women around the mirror in the diner bathroom. Shallow focus, extreme close up of Sapphire's eyes. The shallow focus portrays the other women in the background being irrelevant to Sapphire. She is central of the shot. She stares strongly into the camera. The camera resembles the mirror at this point in the film. The lighting is dim and poor due to the weak bathroom lighting. This is a similar shot used in one of the texts in which I am studying Pulp Fiction. In the below shot, Mia Wallace is central in the bathroom mirror, therefore the attention of the audience is on her, symbolising her importance and the other character's irrelevance.

Frame No.18

FLASHBACK: four years earlier, Sapphire's parent's apartment. The lighting is weak, however it is day time. There is natural light trying to peep in between the slats of the shutters. Close up shot, very similar to the previous, however this time Sapphire is 16 and her eyes are squeezed tightly shut. She wears her hair is two braids. A foot and a pool of blood lay on the floor, slightly off centre, behind Sapphire. I have decided to incorporate this flashback into my film as I believe that this helps the audience sympathise with the female characters. It is often that Tarantino will only justify a woman's actions with a backstory rather than a man's. This flashback is inspired by O'ren's in Kill Bill.

Frame No.19

Extreme close up shot of Sapphire's eyes open, staring strongly into the camera. Almost the same shot as the bathroom scene. This shot is inspired both by the bathroom scene with Mia Wallace and the flashback scene with the close up of O'ren's face.

Frame No.20

Back at the bathroom diner. The lighting is the same as before, it is a minute later. Medium close up, shallow shot of Sapphire. She lights a joint that she has just pulled out from the gold metal tin. She is slyly smiling in the mirror, and blows smoke onto the mirror. The camera resembles the mirror. 

Screenplay

Casting Considerations

Recce Report

Risk Report

Scene: One
Location: Living room - Day - Dartford
Risks: There are very minimal risks involved with the setting and the shots needed for this scene and location as they are all set within the home. However, one of the shots requires a joint to be lit and a naked flame of a lighter.

What I will do to reduce these risks: To reduce this risk I will edit the smoke and the burnt/lit end of the joint by using photoshop. This therefore reduces the risk to a minimum as the act will not be carried out.
Secondly, with the naked flame of the lighter, I will ensure that no flammable substances are close to the situation to reduce the risk of fire.


Scene: Two
Location: Diner - Day - Northfleet
Risks: There are several risks that could occur when shooting at the diner. For example, the floor could be wet and cause an incident as well as the risk of travel, the diner could also be too full or the booths not available to shoot.

What I will do to reduce these risks: I will reduce these risks by ensuring the floor is not wet by asking a member of staff, ensuring that the travel I have organised for myself and my actors is safe and at a time that is not too consuming or dangerous. I shall also reduce the risk of availability by booking a diner booth before hand and asking when the quietest time is.


Scene: Three and Five
Location: Toilets - Day - Dartford, Leigh Academy
Risks: There are little risks here, however the risk of lighting the joint is again apparent.

What I will do to reduce these risks:  I will once again reduce the risk of fire by editing the smoke and lit end of the joint on photoshop.

20 Key Frames

Keyframe 1

The first key frame includes a medium long shot of the setting for scene one. The frame is taken during the day and natural light pears through the window to portray Sapphire's contentment. The keyframes have been subtly edited with a red tone to link in with Tarantino's style and the background of Sapphire's name. In the texts that I have studied, Tarantino uses a subtle tone on his film to make the content look older. I decided to do this to my keyframes and to use a red tone when Sapphire is the dominant and a blue tone when she is most weak and dominated by Zi. 

For example, we see the red tone in the opening scene of Death Proof. 

Keyframe 2

The second keyframe consists of Sapphire turning the radio on with her foot. This explores many aspects that can be seen within the Tarantino texts I have studied. For example, in the beginning of Death Proof the male gaze is incorporated heavily by voyeuristic angles of the camera resulting in Jungle Julia being sexualised and objectified. I decided to incorporate this into my keyframes to show Sapphire's sexual dominance, similar to Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction. The fact Sapphire is turning the radio on with her foot, and the rest of her cannot be seen is also relative throughout Tarantino films, as he uses the naked female foot as a sexualised fetish. I feel that this is a recognisable aspect used in the texts that I have studied, therefore the incorporation of this factor was important in order to make a creative artefact of the aspects studied in my chosen texts. 

Meanwhile, the radio will play Jeepster, T-rex. 

Keyframe 3

The third keyframe again is heavily influenced by the opening scene in Death Proof.  As I previously mentioned, Jungle Julia is sexualised before the audience are met with her whole appearance and personality. The use of the high angle shot looking down on Sapphire incorporated the male gaze and voyeurism into my film, which I studied throughout the Tarantino texts. As I discovered throughout my critical research, Tarantino's Death Proof breaks from his norms as he portrays the female characters heavily through the voyeuristic male gaze. I wanted to incorporate this into my film whilst still creating Sapphire as a strong, dominant woman. This therefore links back to Stephanie Sutton's point about Tarantino compensating ‘for his masculine representations by creating hyper-sexualized female characters’.[i]

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[i] http://firesunderground.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/the-male-gaze-now-then-false-empowerment-in-tarantinos-films/

Keyframe 4

The fourth key frame links to my critical research. I argue that in Pulp Fiction Mia is completely in control of the situation; she sucks on the straw of her milkshake as well as a red glaze cherry, which seems to be symbolically seductive. Once again, Tarantino has reversed stereotypical gender roles, making Mia the dominant and controlling one. I felt that this was a key aspect that Tarantino uses in the films I have studied; by incorporating the male gaze with the sexualisation of female characters, but praising their strengths through their confidence and control over the male characters. The inspiration from this shot came from the diner scene in Pulp Fiction where we see Mia Wallace seductively suck on the straw of her milkshake. Similarly, this has been re-created in the above key frame, but instead to suit the narrative, Sapphire is holding a joint.  The medium close up portrays Mia and Sapphire with a central importance and confidence, as Tarantino also does with his characters. The low angle shot enhances her power. 

Keyframe 5

In the above shot, Sapphire is portrayed through a medium close up shot. This is similar to aspects explored through my critical research, I argue that Fabienne in Pulp Fiction is conveyed through the male gaze, when we are first met with the character she is lying on the bed with her back to the camera. Throughout the scenes with Fabienne, there is emphasis on her legs. This therefore is an example of how Tarantino has incorporated the male gaze. This is similar to Freud’s idea of scopophilia; he described this as ‘taking pleasure in looking at other people as objects.’[i] I felt that this was relative to my own narrative and significant throughout my research, therefore the emphasis on Sapphire's legs is evident prominently throughout, and especially within frame 5 and 6. 

Due to health and safety reasons, I could not light the joint when taking the shots. I therefore had to edit the image in photoshop to make the situation look realistic. 

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[i] http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/ci/erotic/er3/Vandermassen%20paper.pdf accessed 3 November 2014

Keyframe 6

As I mentioned above, the inspiration came from the portrayal of Fabienne in Pulp Fiction.

Keyframe 7

Key frame 7 begins in the second scene of the screenplay. As I mentioned in my essay; Tarantino has portrayed the relationship in the film with a dominant female. In the shot below, Honey Bunny seems to be portrayed as the dominant in the relationship; not only does she have control of the conversation, but also control over the scene. She is nearest to the camera, sitting upright with good posture. This illustrates that she feels that she has the most power, whereas Pumpkin is slumped in the corner of the booth. One may argue that this shot portrays the dominance and power that the female has over the submissive Pumpkin. I decided to recreate this to portray the change in the dominance of their relationship. When the flashbacks occur, we see a shift in who holds the power in the relationship. 

 

Keyframe 8

I wanted to extend Zi's weakness over women to exaggerate his dominance over Sapphire in the past. The above shot is taken as Zi patronises the waitress when she questions his manner, he replies with a sarcastic "Please." and objectifies her as a sexual object as she walks away. This therefore links to my critical research, I explore how Tarantino objectifies women through the male gaze, but doing so makes the male characters become what Emanuela Betti describes as the "butt of the joke". Also within my essay, I talk about how the male characters are visually portrayed as the "butt of the joke" through costume and camera angles. In the film Pulp Fiction, Vincent and Jules are previously portrayed in black suits, as well as their job as hit men, the characters are portrayed as stereotypically masculine. However, as the film develops we see their masculinity decrease, ultimately reducing their status and making them become the "butt of the joke". We see this throughout the below image, where Vincent and Jules are finally portrayed in 'goofy' clothing.

I decided to dress Zi in a comical Hawaiian shirt, as well as a white vest and gold chain, which makes him become the "butt of the joke".  

The high angle shot is conveyed as the waitresses perspective and subtly portrays Zi as weak and inferior. 

As I previously mentioned, the red colour tone edited over the key frames within the present day scenes portray Sapphire's dominance over Zi; the incorporation of the red decor within the diner further enhances this. 

Keyframe 9

The above key frame is within the first flashback scene of the screenplay and occurs within scene two. We see a blood stained glass of milk being held with Zi's hand. We acknowledge this is Zi as the audience can recognise the tattooed arm in the continuing key frames. The low angle shot portrays the shift of the dominance in relationship; previously, in the key frames set in the present, we see Sapphire portrayed with the power and control, however in the flashbacks we see a difference in power and the low angle shot therefore provides this. 

I also decided to edit a blue tone over the image by photoshop. Using colour psychology, blue tones portray a masculine sense of power once again confirming Zi's dominance. The slight difference in colour tone over the image makes it more obvious to the audience that this is a flashback and not set within the same time as the over key frames. The blue tone was also inspired by the beginning of Kill Bill where we see the two men standing over Beatrix who at the time, hold the power and control but soon become the "butt of the joke". This further inspired me to edit the blue tone over the flashback key frames to convey Zi's power and control and exaggerate his emasculation. 

I decided to use milk as I felt that this would be a recognisable feature within the film that Sapphire can therefore remember in the present day frames. Tarantino is also known for his association with food, linking to situations in his films. I decided to use milk, as we later see in comparison to Sapphire's choice, the drink is typically feminine due to its background and source, which ultimately emasculates Zi in the further key frames. 

Keyframe 10

The continuing key frames are set within the present day, this is portrayed through the dialog within the script and the colour tone manipulated on the frames. The key frame is taken just after Zi and Sapphire discuss Zi's choice of drink: 

Zi: It's milk. Not juice. 

Sapphire: Ok.

Zi: (Relaxes, picks up his glass of cold milk, presses it to his lips and pauses. He looks at Sapphire. He stares at her for a second, maybe a second too long. He holds his glass towards Sapphire's beer and gestures to it.)

The above shot therefore links to the previous flashback as Zi's tattoo and choice of drink trigger a memory for Sapphire and the audience. 

Keyframe 11

The above key frame is taken seconds after the previous. We see Sapphire and Zi toasting with their drinks. The focus within the image stays within the centre of the shot. We see Sapphire holding a bottle of Budweiser, whilst Zi holds his glass of milk. This links to my critical research essay as I explore Tarantino's reversal of male and female roles; women as the macho and emasculating the male characters. As I mentioned earlier, Zi's choice of milk associates him with female traits and emasculates him, which is further exaggerated by Sapphire's choice of beer, and is drunk from the bottle. This therefore confirms the reversal of the stereotypical roles as Tarantino also does throughout the films I have studied. These associated props also convey Sapphire's power and dominance within the present day and Zi's emasculation and weakness. 

The choice of the Budweiser, as well as the effect is also similar to the Tarantino films I have studied as the majority of the texts are not clear when they are set, but include a stereotypical America. 

Keyframe 12

Key frame 12 is another flashback, set within scene 2. Previously, Zi has taken a gulp of his milk and lets out an "AHHHH...." after he has finished. This triggers a memory of Sapphire's which we see through the flashback. 

Once again, we see the blue tone edited over the frame to portray male dominance and a past memory. Zi's hierarchy is further enhanced through a low angle shot. This is the first time it is confirmed that the man in the flashbacks is Zi. This also links to Tarantino's films as he often does not show the villain's face until later on in the film; for example Marcellus Wallace form Pulp Fiction and Bill from Kill Bill.

The key frame is taken as Zi stands over Sapphire's parent's dead bodies and takes a gulp of his milk. 

Keyframe 13

Sapphire: Have you ever thought about where milk comes from?
Zi: (Sarcastically looks to Sapphire, stretching his gum with his hand, the other end clenched between his teeth)
Sapphire: You never thought about what the man... or woman... (takes out gun from her bag and aims it towards Zi's crotch underneath the table, Zi is unaware of this.) was doing to that poor cow?

The fact that Zi is unaware of Sapphire's control over him makes him become the "butt of the joke". The equal posture and camera angle is patronised by Sapphire's holding of the gun subtly underneath the table.
The holding of the gun to the crotch is a key feature within Tarantino films. Although I do not explore this throughout my critical research, it is a nod to Tarantino's other work and is a key aspect to the emasculation of male characters.
Once again, we see more red within the key frame which exaggerates Sapphire's dominance and control.

Keyframe 14

Sapphire: Do you know who I am Zi? (Puts her foot between Zi's legs)

At the point the key frame is taken, Zi realises Sapphire's control and dominance over him. It is at this point that Zi has been emasculated and has become the "butt of the joke". The inspiration from this shot came from the lap dance scene in Death Proof. We see Arlene as being hyper-sexualised and portrayed heavily through the male gaze. During the lap dance, Arlene has dominance over Stuntman Mike and places her foot in between his legs to dominate him sexually, whilst emasculating him. 

Keyframe 15

Key frame 15 is taken as Sapphire states who she is to Zi, whilst still holding the gun to his crotch which we see in the frame below. I decided to edit the frame similar to the description texts that appear in many Tarantino films such as the below in the film Kill Bill. 

Keyframe 16

Key frame 16 is the last frame where we see any sign of Zi and assume physical emasculation. The shot is taken moments before Sapphire pulls the trigger on the gun. 

The gun conveys elements of phallic imagery, making the death ironic. 

Keyframe 17

The above key frame is taken moments after Sapphire has left Zi's dead body in the diner booth. As she walks off Rumble, Link Wray begins to play within the background of the diner. Sapphire walks into the bathroom and stands in front of the bathroom mirror and analyses herself. We see little emotion in Sapphire's expression. 

The image has a more prominent red tone, and Sapphire is portrayed with even more dominance and control with a low angle shot, as she looks down into the camera, which acts as the eyes of the mirror. 

Keyframe 18

The above shot is taken again as a flashback, we see Sapphire, four years younger, portrayed as weak and inferior through a high angle shot and a blue effect that has manipulated the image. The key frame portrays the character's shift to her current power and dominance. This is common in the Tarantino films I have studied, although he sexualises his female characters, whilst presenting them with power and other macho qualities, Tarantino also sympathises with the female characters by portraying their backstory, which forces the spectator to align with the said character and gives reasons for her actions. We see this is Kill Bill with O-ren's backstory, who witnessed her parent's murder. I took inspiration for key frame 18 from the below shot. 

I wanted to use the same actress to play Sapphire's younger self to look more realistic, therefore to make Sapphire look younger, I decided to use pink clothing. This therefore links to the colour psychology and Sapphire's transition; from a weak pink to a strong red. 

Keyframe 19

The above shot contains Sapphire's young self looking angrily into the camera, which triggers her motivation for revenge on Zi. The shot, as I previously mentioned, is inspired by Kill Bill and the below shot. 

From this frame, the audience gain reasoning for Sapphire's actions and therefore her actions are justified, a trait of Tarantino's. 

The key frame also portrays her transition from weak to strong and therefore confirming her as the macho.

Keyframe 20

The final key frame is an image of Sapphire seconds after key frame 17, set in the present day. We see Sapphire smoking a joint in the toilets of the diner. Conveying her lack of care for the situation.
For health and safety reasons I had to edit the smoke and the burnt/lit part of the joint. I did this through photoshop.
I wanted to finally convey Sapphire with a strong image of independence and the accomplishment of revenge, similar to Beatrix in Kill Bill, the three women in Death Proof  and Jackie Brown in Jackie Brown. The shot however, is inspired by Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction. Although I wanted Sapphire to be left with the hierarchy and masculinity that Tarantino gives to his female characters, he also sexualises them, therefore I wanted to incorporate this into the final frame of the script. The bathroom diner scene in Pulp Fiction was the inspiration from this shot, as we see Mia being the dominant, not only with men, but with other women.