2. JJ Abrams
Who they are:
JJ Abrams is a director screenwriter and producer for film and TV. His most famous work includes Star
Trek, Star Wars episode VII and Super 8. His first film which he directed was Mission impossible III in 2006.
He has is own beliefs with making films through the multiple quotes that he has said in the past. He
believes that the interesting main characters are the ones without flaws. This means that the character
needs to have a weakness or an imperfection about them in order to make the audience engage with
them. If a character doesn't have a weakness, then the audience will assume that they will win at the end.
When a character has flaws, it does tease whether they will have a happy ending or not. He likes to
combine people with something insane with films. He believes that its exciting to cross something real and
extraordinary together. His point is s element of the supernatural or fantasy will grab the audience’s
attention.
What he believes
He has a mystery box theory. He has kept a box after purchasing it decades ago. The mystery box theory is
where there is something that appears in the film, but nobody in the audience knows what or why it is
there. The film goes around that to develop the plot for the mystery item at the beginning. For the
audience to be intrigued with the plot, there needs to be something within the film that as no
introduction at the beginning of the film. The mysterious object will keep the audience guessing and
questioning for what it is, until the end of the film explains it to them.
The mystery box expands within the story of a film. The film would have the main plot that the audience
are watching in the film and a sub plot, which is also what the film is about. So the film may have the plot
of the characters journey and the characters personal issue. They would link together to show what the
character is trying to gain from his adventure.
With the film Mission impossible III he includes a visual effect which is formed within a simple way. The
scene includes someone pointing a gun in Tom Cruise’s nose, but that would hurt him. So JJ would make
Tom do the action himself, as he wouldn’t hurt himself when doing it. They would paint Toms hand to look
like the bad guys and do a short shot so the arm of he hand is visible. This simple technique is inspired
from when jj would record films when he was younger. The idea is that simple effects can work with films.
3. Quotes from JJ
This quote is saying that a character needs to have a weakness in order for
it to be interesting. This quote works, as a story with a strong character
would be boring, as the audience wont relate for them as much as they
would for a weakened character.
This quote is referencing to the film super 8 which is set
in 1979. He is suggesting that films set in older times or
using old equipment appear more powerful in the final
take. The old style effect makes a film more influential
towards the audience, which will make the film appear
attractive and eye catching.
Abram’s likes mixing reality with something that isn’t real.
This is seen in films like Super 8 (people and the aliens) and
lost (the people vs the island). He believes that it can make
the plot of the film exciting.
4. Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh is a producer, director and screenwriter. He is famous for
the Oceans film series (not Oceans 8) and ‘Unsaine’. One of his noticeable
technique was during the film ‘Unsaine’, where he filmed it with only an I
phone.
In an interview about His film Unsaine, he said that the use of an Iphone was a
creative decision that he made. The I phone reveals a realistic and familiar
style look to the movie. He talked about the issues with using an I phone.
Soderbergh said that he did have to use a DSLR for zooming out shots. This
does show how the director doesn’t have to stick with his intention of only
using an I phone.
Soderbergh has even given out advice on how to record a movie with a
phone. He has said to “stick to what you know and push it to its limits”. This
means that you need to film with a phone that you are familiar with and use
its camera to make a shot like non other before. He has also said to
experiment with the phone. Before making the film, its best to test it out or
compare it with other cameras to see if it is effective or not. Also, he has said
to not be scared to take risks. In his case, it was finding the correct lighting for
the film to which he decided to use the natural light in the shot. It worked for
him as it provided a strange atmosphere
6. Dan Harmon
Dan Harmon is an American writer and performer. His best work includes the
comedy show Community and the adult swim cartoon series, Rick and Morty.
His theory is based of the heroes journey which is inspired by Joseph
Campbell's 12 step cycle. Harmon believed that there was a pattern to a lot of
movies and sitcoms storylines which he wanted to show. Harmon's idea was
simply called the story circle, which is the structure of the story of a film/tv
show within 8 steps. This is shown on the right hand side of the image. The top
half represents the start and finish of the story, whist the bottom half
represents the journey. it can also be a split of the normal right side represents
the stasis and the left side represents the change in the film. This theory will
structure and help with thinking about how a story should end, as it shows a
well thought out arrangement of a plot of a film.
The theory is used in his TV shows. One example would be Rick and Morty. One
episode example would be the Jerry Daycare episode. It starts off with Jerry
being sent to day care, in which he wishes he was loved more. He adapts to
being there, until he finds out he may be there forever. He tries to leave but he
cant survive in that universe, so he walks back to the day care. As he is changed
from being there, he wont be angry at rick for putting him there. This is one
example of his story structure used in his show. The characters attitude
changes from their experience
A quote that Harmon said that represents his idea of the story circle. It shows
how the audience will pleasure from viewing the film that has this hidden
effect within it. They will come out of seeing it with a upbeat mood, as they
have toured through the unconscious world in a story and saw how the
character developed there.
9. Bibliography
1. TED. (14/01/2008). The mystery box | JJ Abrams. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpjVgF5JDq8. Last accessed 21/01/2019.
2. N/A. (N/A). J.J. Abrams Biography. Available: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009190/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm. Last accessed
21/01/2019.
3. Tarnadi. (27/01/2018). Rick and Morty | Dan Harmon and The Story Circle. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWcmMc9jS8s. Last accessed 27/01/2019.
4. Scott Myers. (10/05/2018). Dan Harmon, The Hero’s Journey, and the Circle Theory of Story. Available:
https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/dan-harmon-the-heros-journey-and-the-circle-theory-of-story-b64bb77d6976. Last accessed 25/01/2019.
5. Daisy Woodward. (12/03/2018). How to a shoot a movie on your phone, according to Steven Soderbergh. Available: http://www..com/film-
tv/article/39355/1/how-to-shoot-a-movie-on-an-iphone-steven-soderbergh-unsane. Last accessed 21/01/2019.
6. HeyUGuys. (20/03/2018). Steven Soderbergh on using an iPhone to shoot Unsane & the Future of Movie Making. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2TzkL1UjrM. Last accessed 27/01/2019.
