Film Trailer Evaluation

Here is my finished evaluation that was made on prezi: http://prezi.com/fu8twnekinvz/chasing-the-dragon-trailer-evaluation/

I hope you enjoy reading it!

Evaluation Questions

Evaluation Questions

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stage?

Poster Ideas

The first poster idea

When planning out my poster I had two main ideas in mind. One of the ideas, my intial one, was fairly obvious with a title at the top and featuring the main character posing as the image. There wasn't going to be a background and the audience's attention was intended to be directly aimed at the main character. I would have quotes and various reviews surrounding the poster as there would be a lot of free space. The character would be wearing his sunglasses and clutching a gun. I was using genre conventions so that people would know it was a crime film.
My second idea was me trying to be a bit different. Instead of focusing on the main character which seemed like the obvious choice, I decided to focus on Hao Zheng. He doesn't appear all that much in the trailer meaning he is somewhat mysterious, but it is made clear that he is the enemy. Without him the gang wouldn't exist and there wouldn't be a plot for the film, so when looked at this way he is the most important character. The title in itself "Chasing the Dragon" is a reference to Hao Zheng and Nathan wanting to kill him. I had some good shots of the Hong Kong skyline that Howard had filmed for his abandoned project and I thought they would make a good background for the poster.


Second poster idea

The Hong Kong skyline



In the end I decided on the second poster as I thought it would be more interesting and less typical. I took elements of the first poster into account and decided to have quotes and reviews around the poster as well.

Extras for Posters

Some things had to be borrow from the internet to make my poster look professional. These are things such as company logos. Here are the ones I used on my poster:

Here is the Weinstein Company logo which I got from http://cherrylane.stage.analogmethod.com/getattachment/599168c9-eb1a-4738-93df-80ba09d83e43/-!06-10-01-The-Weinstein-Company-and-Cherry-Lane-M.aspx via google images.







 This is the Miramax Films logo which I got from http://images.wikia.com/logopedia/images/2/2a/Miramax_1987_Print_Logo.png via google images.









                                                                                                          

And lastly the Trigger Street productions logo which I got from http://www.waterfrontfilm.org/images/films/Trigger_Street_Web.jpg via google images.

Film poster analysis

I decided to analyse a professional film poster to compare it with my own. The poster I chose to look at is for Django Unchained, a spaghetti Western dealing with the problems of the slave trade. The film is by Quentin Tarantino who tends to make violent films which is what we intended to do. The title is at the bottom underneath the characters which is what I have done with my poster. The names of the actors are above the title and there is a tagline at the top which I have done with my film as well.

However, there are some major differences between the two posters. The two main good characters are featured on the poster of Django with the bad character on the left. In my poster only the villain is featured on the poster. In the background of my poster there is a Hong Kong skyline, where as there is no background on the Django poster. Django deals with the problems of the slave trade, whereas my film is largely focused on a single person rather than a problem. This person is Hao Zheng who is featured on the poster, and I think this also explains why there are a few characters featured on the Django poster. Django wouldn't feature a background on the poster as the characters and the problem of slavery and the main features of the film, so the poster focuses on the characters with Leonardo DiCaprio's character representing the problem of slavery.
 

Trailer

Final Trailer

This is the completed trailer for Chasing the Dragon, made by my group consisting of me, Haydn, Abdul and Howard. I think it turned out pretty well.

Magazine Cover

A2 film poster

For the second part of the task, we were required to create the front cover for a magazine featuring our film.

Total Film magazine

Here is the magazine cover. The font is plain and white, with the title "Big Screen" being embellished. Against the dark background I think the font is quite eye catching. I got a few ideas from an issue of Total Film magazine, and used a reel of screenshots from our film at the bottom like they did in their issue. I wasn't allowed to use different films as they weren't made by me, so I just used frames from our trailer.  Along the side I used the titles of films that were coming out soon, and in a bubble I included "Special interview the cast of The Hobbit". I used a picture of Matt posing with his gun as the main picture, and a transparent picture of Abdul in the background. 

AS Music magazine

The house style is similar to that of my AS work in which I made a music magazine. You can similarities in layout of the text and the frequent use of red, but ultimately I feel you can see the progression that has been made from AS to A2. The AS work is more simple, it is just a picture with words edited on the front, but in my A2 work I feel I made better use of photoshop and the tools it offers. The logo for the featured band "The Currawongs" was just a bird that I filled in black on Photoshop, whereas in my A2 work the logo for "Chasing the Dragon" is hand drawn and edited on Photoshop.

The Chasing the Dragon logo

Filming

PROBLEMS WITH LOCATION:
During our filming the most frequent problem we faced was the location of our trailer. Initially we wanted to use Howard's dad's Chinese restaurant  This wasn't a problem and the location seem ideal. We wrote a lot of the script with this location in mind, e.g. we were going to use a panning shot which looked through the fish tank at everyone sitting at the table. The restaurant also had stairs which was vital to the script at the time. Due to the limited days we were allowed to use the restaurant however, we had to change location. A friend said we could use his garage so we got everyone that was going to be in the film and began setting up our cameras. We realised on arrival however, that the room was too dark for us to film in and nothing showed up on the cameras, so we all had to walk home in the rain and wait another day until we could film. We began to try and get the drama room in the school for use as we were running out of time and options. The drama room also had a prop cupboard which could be useful, we knew they had a gun prop which we could use.

The next issue we faced was getting everyone together on the same day. As our main actor didn't attend our sixth form, we had to pick a day when he was able to film. We did a few days of filming, getting different people we needed in on different days. As our use of the drama studio was limited, we realised we wouldn't have enough time in there to make the intro of our film, which started off at the meeting (in the drama studio). To get around this problem we decided to do a trailer instead, meaning we could visit different locations and giving us more freedom. This meant rewriting the script of course, but it wasn't difficult now that we had two new group members. Most of the dialogue used in our finished trailer was already in the original script anyway. Additional locations we used were the car park at the front and the one at the back of school, my house and the surrounding area, and the bowling alley in the town.

Film Poster

The Hong Kong skyline Howard filmed

This is my finished film poster for Chasing the Dragon. The main colours I chose to use are purple and green because I feel it fits in with the Hong Kong skyline in the background and creates a sort of neon effect on the text. Howard did some filming in Hong Kong for his original project, but since he joined our group he used the footage for our project, seeing as the film is about a Chinese triad. He gave me permission to print screen a still of the skyline to use for my movie poster. I shopped Hao Zheng onto it and used the skyline as a background.

The original logo

The original unedited drawing.

For my logo I drew an outline of a dragon on a piece of A4, then uploaded it onto photoshop. I altered it slightly and coloured it, and then I added "CHASING THE DRAGON" over it. I then changed the colours to red and white but later changed it to black and changed the size.

Goodwin's Theory - Music video analysis

Goodwins theory is based around eight different points when analysing a music video. I am going to use When the Sun Goes Down by the Arctic Monkeys (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqkBRVukQmE)

Links between lyrics and visuals
On screen actions which where the lyrics match them.

"And I've seen him with girls of the night.."

 

Links between music and visuals

Complimentary, contradicting or amplifying.

Each time the guitar strums at the start, the video cuts to another shot

 

Multiple close ups

To put emphasis on the main people in the video and emotions.

Voyeurism

Voyeurism is the act of watching people with/without their knowledge. Its usually shown in music videos with intimate behaviour, undressing or sexual activity.

Intimate behaviour

 

Demand of the record label

Representation of the artist. Who the record label wants the video to appeal to.

The band briefly appears in the video. They are seen putting things in a car and could just be normal people, making them easier to relate to.

 

Goodwin's Theory

Goodwins theory is based around eight different points when analysing a music video.

Links between lyrics and visuals

On screen actions which where the lyrics match them.

Links between music and visuals

Complimentary, contradicting or amplifying.

Genre characteristics

Is it typical and conventional of the genre or contradictory.

Intertextuality reference

References to other media texts or forms.

Multiple close ups

To put emphasis on the main people in the video and emotions.

Voyeurism

Voyeurism is the act of watching people with/without their knowledge. Its usually shown in music videos with intimate behaviour, undressing or sexual activity.

Demand of the record label

Representation of the artist. Who the record label wants the video to appeal to.

Performance based, narrative based or concept based music videos

Music for my trailer

(Starts at 00:26) This song fits well with the overall gritty and British feel that we could portray through our trailer, and would make it easier if we were to include this song. I was thinking we could have about 30 seconds of the intro to the trailer with the monologue and Nathan getting ready. The trailer could then cut to a violent scene such as someone being thrown against a fence and music could start playing. The song is also upbeat which is reflective of what we intend to do with our trailer, lots of fast paced cuts and action. The lyrics would also be relevant to what is happening in the trailer and the overall plot of the film "One...Take control of me?/You're messing with the enemy/Said it's two, it's another trick/Messing with my mind I wake up". Nathan is the enemy of Hao Zheng though he doesn't know it, and Hao Zheng is messing with him by making him perform meaningless tasks. We also intended for Nathan to wake up in our film introduction so this is how the lyrics reflect the plot of the film.

This is an upbeat and happy song, as you can see just from looking at the album art, which would juxtapose with our film trailer. I think it could provide an interesting effect, lots of quick cuts and violent scenes with this song playing over it would work well. I think the Grand Theft Auto 5 trailer does a good job of this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB-duhPR0H0)  The lyrics are relevant to the visuals in the trailer, but the song is upbeat and cheerful.

Dirty Harry by The Gorillaz. The song has a modern feel to it which will be reflected from the visuals in the trailer. The lyrics are also relevant to the plot of the film "I need a gun to keep myself from harm" is the first line in the song, which applies to Nathan who feels the need to bring a gun to his meeting because he fears for his life. The following lyrics are also very relevant to Nathan "With lightning fast reflexes on constant alert/From the constant hurt that seems limitless/With no dropping pressure/Seems like everybody's out to test ya/'Til they see you break/They can't conceal the hate that consumes you". Nathan is on constant alert because he feels his boss or any of his rivals/co-workers could betray him at any moment. Nathan feels like everyone is testing him because when he gets outdone and the drugs deal everyone laughs at him and judge him, so he feels like it's a test of sorts. They see him break when he finally snaps and pulls out the gun, and finally they fail to conceal the hate that consumes him when he pulls the trigger on his boss, Hao Zheng.

This song has a British feel to it and the lyrics reference strippers, violence and drugs, which are essentially the ingredients needed for a gangster film. The music could be synced well with the cuts, which would keep the trailer going. Since we have a lot of violent scenes throughout our trailer this song would be a good choice as it represents a violent and carefree attitude. While this isn't entirely true of Nathan, it is true of the majority of the characters in the film. The song isn't too long and we may be able to use all of it throughout the trailer if we decide on it, which could be good as cutting the song may be difficult to do without it looking or sounding bad.

Intro by The XX. This songs makes effective trailer music in my opinion because it is ambient and can be played in the background when there are monologues. Because there are no lyrics to the song the audience aren't distracted from focusing on the monologue and the visuals of the trailer. The beat in the song could also sync well with cuts. I think we should use this song for the start of the trailer, when Nathan's getting ready, because it is heavily focused on monologue and there are no violent scenes so the slow background music is reflective of the visuals. I think the song would juxtapose in a bad manner with the violent scenes and it wouldn't really fit, so I think before the trailer cuts to the violent scenes we should have this song fade out and have one of the songs above start playing.

Film Trailer Analysis - Reservoir Dogs

 To get a better understanding of film trailers, I picked one and decided to analyse what made it different and what made it appeal to an audience. The film trailer I have decided to analyse is the trailer for Quentin Tarantino's movie, Reservoir Dogs. (you can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvoKT481EmU)

The title is revealed near the end of the trailer so it stays in the mind of the viewer.

I chose Reservoir Dogs not only because it is a film I was interested in, but also a film I drew inspiration from in the early stages of my planning, meaning the trailer should give me some good ideas for my own as they are of the same genre. The premise of the film is a diamond robbery goes wrong, the thieves meet up at the rendezvous point and begin to suspect one of them is an undercover cop. Reservoir Dogs was Tarantino's debut film, and as a result the trailer needed to catch attention.

The first frame we see in the trailer. Hints at the title of the movie.

The trailer grabs our attention with the first frame. "EVERY "DOG" HAS ITS DAY". The fact that "Dog" is in quotation marks makes the audience begin to ask themselves questions. Could "dog" stand for something? Is the film literally about dogs? Could the film be about ugly people? The trailer is relatively dialogue dependent, which is typical of both crime films and Tarantino's films. Tarantino often has lots of humorous anecdotes that don't advance the plot in an obvious way, such as in Pulp Fiction when Vincent Vega tells Jules Winnfield about a Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonalds being called a "Royale with Cheese" in Paris. The first words heard in the trailer are just after "EVERY "DOG HAS ITS DAY" fades out. The words "Freeze! Put the gun down!" are shouted out with no indication as to who says this or in what context it is said because all we can see is a black background. This further grabs the attention of the audience and makes them want to carry on watching. 

A lot of focus is on these men throughout the trailer, indicating that they are main characters.

After the first words "Freeze.." are uttered, the music starts. The song they have chosen for the trailer is "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealer's Wheel. The song is lively, upbeat and perhaps slightly comical, which is reflective of the film, slick, fast, with elements of dark humour. When we hear diagetic sounds such as the gun 26 seconds in, the music stops and we hear a bit of dialogue "What happens if the manager won't give me the diamonds?" "Cut off one of his fingers. The little one." It then cuts to a scene of the main characters laughing and the music starts again from where it left off. This is an effective technique that is used throughout the trailer to keep the audience interested.




When we hear the gun, the music stops.

Inspiration behind gun shot

Due to lack of equipment we have struggled with the gun shot scene in which Nathan shoots Hao Zheng. Originally we wanted to just have a shot of Nathan shooting Howard with blood going everywhere in slow motion, with a juxtaposing song playing in the background. However we can't edit blood in because it will look cheap, and we can't use a blood substitute because we can't ruin the location. What we came up with was Nathan holding the gun, the screen going black and a gunshot being fired. The idea is inspired by the [spoiler] scene where Jesse shoots Gale in Breaking Bad. It is filmed from the point of view of Gale, looking at the gun being fired.

Inspiration behind monologue

 

The idea of our main character, Nathan, having a monologue throughout the trailer is somewhat inspired by the opening scene and the business card scene in American Psycho. Patrick Bateman explains what is happening through his monologue, and it allows the audience to understand his emotions while he remains calm and collected on the outside. We need Nathan to remain calm and collected on the outside too, but we also need the audience to understand his emotions and his thought process. We agreed a monologue would be the best way to do this.

Trailer

Due to problems with lots of locations and actors we initially chose, as well as the amount of time put into the script and planning, we haven't been left with much time for filming. The group has agreed it would be better to do a 2/3 minute trailer instead of a 5 minute intro. We are still going to stick to the script and make the direction we want the film to go in (if we were to make it) clear.

Arrival Scenes

Today me and my group planned the arrival of 3 of the main characters to the drug meeting, Eddy Goodwin, Pete Crowley and Hao Zheng. Later on in the day we filmed the shots and I edited them at home using Movie Maker, this is the outcome.

Script for Chasing the Dragon

Here is an example of some of the script. We spent a lot of time working on this and are proud of it. In total the script came to be 8 pages long. A lot of our initial ideas are contained in this script and you'll notice differences and similarities in our end product.

Script for Chasing the Dragon
Dimly lit room.
Fade in, slow panning medium profile shot of main character putting on his tie.4-5 seconds, 1-2 sentences

NATHAN (MONOLOGUE)Today is a significant day concerning my current position. I need to -

Sharp, quick cut, long shot, sitting at his kitchen table slurping coffee, background of his kitchen visible.
2 seconds, character looks vacant.
Small monologue, one sentence
NATHAN (MONOLOGUE)- Stay focused on the task at hand.

Quick cut, medium shot, inside the house, top of the door to mid waist of character closing the door, 3 seconds. NATHAN (MONOLOGUE)Appear calm and collected

Outside the house, door shuts, medium close up, Nathan puts on sunglasses. SFX: wind/metal sound.NATHAN (MONOLOGUE)I only have one priority.

Tracking shot, chest up of Nathan walking down a street. He’s looking straight forward, while camera follows him on a tripod inside a car. Facial expression does not change, 6-7 seconds

NATHAN (MONOLOGUE)The need to deliver has intensified recently and I can’t let anyone see me cracking under pressure.


Establishing shot, from the right, low angle of garage, shot is frozen. 1 second.
Clean cut, straight on, long shot, low angle, about 10-15 metres away, frozen shot, see character enter the shot from the left/right, and enter garage.
Inside the restaurant, straight on, medium shot, walks past camera.
3-4 seconds

From a distance, main character sitting down, looking thoughtful. 8 seconds
NATHAN(MONOLOGUE)But that’s what this is all about. Hiding….your fears. Anxieties. Whether it’s by a fake persona. Getting drunk.

Camera zoomed in on his face, profile shot, focuses on his sunglasses. Pouring himself a glass of wine.
NATHAN (MONOLOGUE)Taking drugs…..or deceiving people into buying them from you…..

First gangster arrives. Enzo Costa. Two female escorts approach him to take his coat and bag.
ENZO COSTA Just the coat. Thank you.

Nathan stands to greet him. Drink still in hand.
ENZO COSTANathan! My man! Early as usual I see

Freeze frame.
Enzo “The Cobra” Costa
RANK: “Vanguard” Operations Officer
Hao Zheng’s Right Hand Man.
(For monologue)
NATHAN (MONO)Enzo Costa is the least incompetent of the group of morons I’m forced to work with.

Camera, profile shot of Nathan, feigning a cheerful smile. Extremely slowly closing in on his face.

Enzo shares similar taste with me. We even share the same taste suit, although mine looks slightly better.
NATHAN (Smiling) You know me Enzo

ENZO
How’s things been going in Enfield? (gesture with hand, seeming curious) Word on the street is you’ve got that place locked down?

NATHANWhile (emphasis on while) maintaining my distance from those intoxicated imbeciles.

ENZOSo you’ve found a new supplier? Who is he?

NATHAN
(places drink on table, turns to face Enzo) New guy. MUCH more reliable than Derek

ENZOMy dead Nana would be more reliable than Derek, God rest her soul
NATHAN
My span of control has increased now that Derek’s gone, distribution has-

Voices heard in background. Pete Crowley arrives. Nathan’s main rival. Nathan hates him the most. Pete is snarky and arrogant. Pete is at the entrance with the 2 escorts and bouncer.
ESCORT
Bag and coat sir?

PETE
Thank you

The other escort goes to reach for Pete’s bag, in which she is harshly rebuffed
PETE
THAT. Will…be enough….thank you.

Pete makes his way to Nathan and Enzo.
PETEGentlemen

NATHAN AND ENZOAfternoon, Pete

PETENice and early I see. Wonderful

FREEZE FRAME
Pete “The Butcher” Crowley
RANK: “Red Pole” Enforcer.
Pete has killed 7 rival dealers within a 9 month period through decapitation. Pete is notoriously known in the south east region.Camera zooms in on Pete’s half snarl
NATHAN (MONO)I have grown to hate Pete more than anyone I have ever known.

Camera shows Nathan’s emotionless face
Pete is a fool, an inbred cretin with a, a blood lust, a-a nincompoop, his idiocy-

PETEDay dreaming again Nathan? Off in your fantasy world again I suppose?

Nathan is taken aback

Eddie Goodman arrives. Small, black and eccentric gangster. Nathan has little opinion of him.
EDDIE
WHAT’S GOOD HOMES? EDDIE G UP IN THIS MOTHER

Freeze frame
Eddie “The Clown” Goodman
RANK: “White Paper Fan” Administrator
Eddie has numerous high profile contacts in and around London.
2 females escorts approach Eddie to take his bag and coat
EDDIEWhy thank you ladies! Look at dat ass, MM! Fellas, good to see ya!

NATHANAfternoon, Goodman

ENZOEddie! Great to see you. You’re looking well

EDDIE“Well” is my great aunt after she’s taken her medication. I’m fantabulous. You seen that new place down in..

Sound fades out. Slowly pans in on Eddie engaging in conversation.
NATHAN (MONO)Eddie Goodman is a liability to our operations. He’s loud, idiotic and despairingly careless.

Camera zooms in on Nathan looking expressionless.

NATHAN (MONO)Eddie is not just stupid. He’s taken the art of stupidity and mastered it. Eddie couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel…

EDDIE
NATHAN!

NATHAN
Yes?

EDDIE
I said how’s things been with you?

NATHAN
Oh. Great. Great.

Talking. Talk dies down. The footsteps slowly grow louder and the door opens. An Asian woman walks in confidently and calmly. She nods at the bouncers and they nod back. She takes a seat at the foot of the table. Everyone stares.

Loud footsteps. The arrival of Hao Zheng. Tracking shot behind Hao Zheng, with everyone at the table in the background. Everyone stands up out of respect. Cuts to everyone standing up from a separate angle. Walks in slowly without talking and sits down. Hao Zheng raises his hand and nods, and everyone sits down. He pulls up a seat next to the Asian woman (translator).
Freeze frame
Hao Zheng
RANK: “Dragon Head” Leader
Hao Zheng is leader of the gang and the most successful drug lord in Europe.
Hao Zheng talks to the translator in Chinese.
TRANSLATORHao Zheng is pleased to see all of you here.

Enthusiastic chatter (“we’re pleased to see you too” “it’s great to be here” etc.)

Hao Zheng mumbles to the translator.
TRANSLATOR
Hao Zheng’s running short on time, so let’s make this quick. You’re due to present a sample of your product.

Gangsters begin to rummage through their bags. Nathan is the first to present his product.
NATHANThis is MY product.

People chattering, gasping. “Ooh very nice” “Look at that!” etc.

NATHANThat’s cooked at 190 degrees. 89% pure, straight from Columbia. What do you think?

Hao Zheng talks to translator.

TRANSLATORVery nice.

Nathan grins widely, smug.
EDDIE GThat’s cute Cole. But it ain’t got nothin’ on mah product, bitch.
BAYUM!
Eddie puts down his product. Slightly bigger than Nathan’s. Everyone looks closer.

EDDIE GDat shi’ cooked at 193 degrees! 94% pure straight from Cuba! Check it.

Excited chatter. Eddie looks very smug and cocky. Hao Zheng picks up the product, raises eyebrow and nods his head.

Camera slowly zooms in on Nathan’s face. Tense music.
NATHAN (MONO)How the hell did the clown find such a high quality product, at such short notice? I wonder how much oral* he had to perform to get that.

*change to favours if this isn’t cool

NATHANV-very nice.
Nathan regains his composure.
Pete begins to clap loudly and slowly, almost sarcastically. Smirking.
PETENice product Eddie. Mine’s from Cuba too, although mine’s slightly different.

Everyone looks at Pete.
Focuses on Nathan and Eddie’s products. Pete puts down a much larger product, which overshadows the others.
PETEThat’s 99.4% pure. Cooked at 200 degrees. This is extracted straight from Andes Mountains in Venezuela. This sells at £120k per kilo.

Profile shot of Nathan slowly taking off his sunglasses, hands shaking.
EDDIEDAYUM BITCH!
Whistles. Excited chatter. Hao Zheng looks serious and grabs the product. Slits it open with large knife and places some cocaine on the knife. Close up of Hao Zheng’s face. Slowly lifts knife with cocaine to his nose. Snorts slowly while moving his nose across the knife. Silence for a few seconds. Hao Zheng opens eyes widely. He grins and mutters something in Chinese.
TRANSLATORHao Zheng says the product is excellent.

PETE
非常感謝。Fēicháng gǎnxiè.

HAO ZHENG (facing Nathan)
Mr Cole (smile) What do you think of your partner’s work?

NATHANIt’s…good

HAO ZHENGGood? These products are of a much superior quality to yours. No further comment?

NATHAN(Bitter smile) No

HAO ZHENGNo? There’s an old Chinese proverb Nathan

NATHANReally?

HAO ZHENGJealousy is thin because it bites but never eats

NATHAN(nods)
NATHAN (MONO)
(shouting) The audacity. Of this. This…overgrown gerbil. To humiliate ME. After I’ve been loyal to him. All this time. ME. I. Almost single handedly revived this whole business. (regaining composure) You know what….

Chasing the Dragon, first scene

The first scene of our intro is now finished, and the entire script is nearing completion. For the first scene we wrote the script, then drew the storyboard, and finally filmed it, as seen below. The first scene can be viewed here:  (although it may be altered and the monologue needs to be dubbed in).

Progress

I am in the process of typing up my script for the opening of my film with the rest of the group. We are unsure of the name of the film and the main character, but have placeholders that we may use. Our current name for the film is Slick Icing (icing meaning cocaine) and Charlie is the current name of the main character. The premise of the film is a gang of drug dealers work for Hao Zheng, a Chinese drug boss. Charlie has been under performing with his amount of drugs that he delivers to the boss (as revealed by his monologues), but thinks that he has got the best quality and amount of drugs by far this time. After confidently placing his stash on the table before Zheng, another dealer places his next to Charlie's. It is much bigger than Charlie's, and the other dealers place theirs down, which are also much bigger than his. Zheng tells Charlie he is going to have to fire him, and all the other dealers begin to laugh at him, the laughter gradually getting louder until Charlie can't take it anymore. He stands up and shoots Hao Zheng in the chest several times and leaves.

UPDATE: We have decided to call the film Chasing the Dragon for the multiple meanings it would have.  According to Wikipedia, Chasing the Dragon "refers to inhaling the vapor from heated morphine, heroin, oxycodone or opium that has been placed on a piece of foil." The title is also a reference to Hao Zheng, who is implied to be the leader of a Chinese criminal organisation, or triad. The leader of a triad is called a "Dragon Head". My group and I were thinking Charlie would not have actually killed him but, at the risk of sounding cliché, instead imagined the whole scenario due to his excessive use of drugs. It is simply revealed that Charlie detests Hao Zheng from the opening scene, and is paranoid about being let go.