Cosplay

As you can see the best option I have for a costume is making it myself, the full outfit looks incredible, however I think it might cost me too much to build the whole thing but luckily my script doesn't need me too, the Tony Stark cosplay looks amazing also and also looks affordable, the only thing I have to avoid is making sure I but the time and effort into making it so it doesn't end up looking like the image below.

Costumes for sale

I have done some research into Iron Man costumes I can buy for my film, however the results are not good. As you can see, everything for sale at a reasonable price is simply horrendous for a serious film, the only thing that looks half decent is the motorcycle outfit but that is way out of my price range, and even still, is not metallic looking. The rest look like children's costumes.

Tony Stark Costumes

Here I have collect some images of costumes worn by Tony Stark in the films, these were just some of my favourites that I thought got across his personality best,  they range from rough work were to his usual smart self, I think in terms of the costume I will use, I'll draw some out and mix and match parts, when i have something i like I'll then add parts of armour until I get a something I think will work, I don't think I'll use a whole Iron Man suit so the costume will be important, and the Iron Man parts I do use will depend on my script and what is necessary.

SWOT

We recently looked at SCAMPER and SWOT  to help us make our projects more manageable, below I have filled in a table to suit my VFX and animation project.

Script 1

1 minute movie – Iron Man vs The Mandarin

Callum Brown

TONY STARK is working an Iron Man glove in his workshop.

J.A.R.V.I.S

May I suggest you rest sir, you may burn yourself out.

STARK

No rest for the wicked Jarvis.

J.A.R.V.I.S

It appears not sir.

Security alarm goes off.

STARK

Jarvis! shut this place down, so much for the most

 intelligent security system on the planet.

J.A.R.V.I.S

It seem my systems are being overwritten sir.

Doors open and two armed men exit with THE MANDARIN, armed guards point guns and Stark, he raises his hands and backs off. The Mandarin lowers his hood.

THE MANDARIN

Tony Stark, Ready for, your final lesson? Weapons,

 technology, Mans greatest creation, through obsession,

 and greed, it will be his inhalation, so how does it 

feel Mr Stark, to be the world’s most famous mass murder? 

I’m here you see, to make you pay for your crimes 

against humanity.

STARK

And this is coming from a terrorist?

THE MANDARIN

A teacher.

The Mandarins rings glow and he clenches his fist as Iron Man suits are destroyed.

STARK

That, was a mistake, you made it personal, next parts on you.

The arm stark was working on flies towards him, it 

attaches itself and he shoots down the guards, 

The Mandarin pulls out his sword which also glows. 

Stark shoots two shots at him which he deflects with the

 sword.

STARK

Time for your final lesson, don’t pick a fight with a superhero.

He shoots at The Mandarin who keeps the block up, as the lazers

 clash Stark lowers to his knee and shoot a uni beam ant the mandarin, 

which knocks The Mandarin off his feet.

Credits – Iron Man 3 style.

Trans-Media

Trans-media is a subject that can be used in several ways, like Superheroes for example e.g Batman, has comics based on the character, Films, Video Games, T.V series and Toys, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy is another good example, a series of books, board games, films and video games. Its a way of story telling that can be told through several different media, hence the tittle. Trans-media is one what more or less, every successful franchisee is part of, its how business' make money from them. In order to sell an idea to a business' they will want to know what all the trans-media versions of it ill be like, websites, games, toys, books, t.v series e.g.

The Mandarin Quotes

Here I have collected some quotes from the Mandarin in the film *Spoilers* before the character was completely ruined and revealed to only be an act, I love the way the character was interpreted until that moment, so I have only chosen to look at him before then. I will bear these quotes in mind when scripting.

•  Mr Stark, Today is the first day of whats left of your life.

• Some people call me a terrorist. I consider myself a teacher. America. Ready for another lesson? In 1864, in Sand Creek, Colorado, the U.S. Military waited until the friendly Cheyenne Braves had all gone hunting. Waited to attack and slaughter the families left behind. And claim their land. Thirty-nine hours ago, the Ali al-Salam Air Base in Kuwait was attacked. I did that. A quaint military church, filled with wives and children, of course. The soldiers were out on manoeuvres. The 'Braves' were away. President Ellis, you continue to resist my attempts to educate you, sir. And now, you've missed me again.You don't know who I am. You don't know where I am. And you'll never see me coming

• A true story about fortune cookies. They look Chinese. They sound... Chinese. But they're actually and american invention. Which is why they're hollow, full of lies, and leave a bad taste in mouth. (smashes fortune cookie with fist)  My disciples just destroyed another cheap American knockoff: the Chinese Theatre. Mr. President, I know this must be getting frustrating, but this season of terror is drawing to a close. And don't worry. The 'Big One' is coming: your graduation.

• Mr. President, only two lessons remain. And I intend to finish this before Christmas morning. Meet Thomas Richards. [we see a man tied up and lying on the floor in front of the Mandarin]
  Good strong name, good strong job. Thomas here is an accountant for the Roxxon Oil Corporation. And I'm sure he's a really good guy. I'm gonna shoot him in the head, live on your television, in thirty seconds. [Richards starts crying, Mandarin points to the telephone placed next to him] The number for this telephone is in your cell phone. Exciting, isn't it? Imagining how it got there. America, if your president calls me in the next half-minute, Tom lives. Go. [Ellis makes the call, everybody watches as the phone next to the Mandarin rings, but he doesn't take the call, instead, he points his gun at Richard and shoots him] There's just one lesson left, President Ellis. So run away, hide, kiss your children goodbye. Because nothing, not your army, not your red, white and blue attack dog can save you! I'll see you soon.

Tony Stark Quotes

Here I have collected some quotes from Tony Stark so anyone who in unfamiliar with the kind of character he is will hopefully have a better idea after reading a few, I will bear these quotes in mind when scripting.

• You can forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you're in. You can't have it. I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can't have it. But I did you a big favour. I've successfully privatized world peace. 

• I'm not saying I'm responsible for this country's longest run of uninterrupted peace in 35 years! I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a Phoenix metaphor been more personified! I'm not saying Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea, because I haven't come across anyone man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day! It's not about me. It's not about you, either. It's about legacy, the legacy left behind for future generations.

• My bond is with the people, and I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself. If there's one thing I've proven it's that you can count on me to pleasure myself. 

• They say that the best weapon is the one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how Dad did it, that's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far.

•  I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions I would've asked him. I would've asked him how he felt about what his company did, if he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch of man we remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero-accountability. I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I had more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries. 

• [to Bruce Banner] You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed? 

• Rogers: Big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you? Stark: Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. 

• An intelligence agency that FEARS intelligence? Historically, not awesome. 

• I'm Tony Stark. I build neat stuff, got a great girl, occasionally save the world. So why can't I sleep?

• You can take away my suits, you can take away my home, but there's one thing you can never take away from me: I am Iron Man. 

• I'm not crazy pepper, I just finally know what i have to do, and I know in my heart thats its right.

Idea Development

                                  I have chosen to base my VFX project on Iron Man 3 because:

•             Its fits well into most of the points on my mind map.
•      There is a lot to explore in terms of Super-hero vs Super-villain, Terrorism, Religion, Belief, Perspective, Choice, Bravery, Determination and Technology.
•        I have a keen interest in the subject and would like the opportunity to portray iconic characters that I feel were disappointingly thrown away in the film and be faithful to the source material. e.g The Mandarin.
•        The subject lends itself perfectly to the module and brief.
• 
  

                                          What to do next.

•       Research and understand the characters to script them better.
•       Take inspiration and reference dialogue from Iron Man material.
•       Use music from the films.
•       Think of narrative that incorporates main points on mind map
•       Think of how I will overcome problems after coming up with an idea but bear in mind what’s possible.

                             Things to bear in mind.

•      Costume and VFX mix.
•          Rework a scene or do Something entirely new?
•       Location.
•      Actors.
•      Help with sound and camera work on set.
•      Incorporate green screen.
•      Props.

Compare and Contrast

Ersatz (Surogat) - Zagreb Film (1961)

The film displays a poor use of animation, The fundamentals are there as we see many overly cartoony events such as standing in thin air before falling down for ‘comedy’ effect. I find the animation ugly in terms of style, the background wash of orange and blue was nice but the characters were literally stick-men with a shape for a body. The narrative shows an overweight man at the beach and he blows up an inflatable woman who comes to life, however he does not approve of the first woman’s appearance and so deflates her and blows up another, whom is thinner, he then enlarges her breasts. At this point I imagine a lot of people may cry ‘sexism’ but the woman rejects this man and goes off with a more muscular man whom biceps are shown as mountains and he bounces her around between them. This is not sexist, or if it is its certainly sexist to both sexes which in fact makes it not sexist as both sexes are insulted equally. The overweight man then deflates the woman and in despair the muscular man deflates himself, with the couple dead the overweight man packs up and goes home, all of this is done with upbeat music and overly comic effect to tone down the brutal narrative. To conclude the film had zero likeable characters, an insulting narrative to every viewer and a poor use of animation, with the ‘comedy’ coming from exaggerated events and characters misery.

Jiri Trnka, The Hand (1965)

This stop motion animation starts with a happy character who is then forced into working and is overworked. After escaping and barricading himself in his house he dies in his sleep presumably form exhaustion from the ‘the Hand’ he is then given a respectful burial. The whole animation is about the over rule of communism in the Czech republic during the 60's, which was when the film was made. The film displays a very good use of stop motion animation and creative miniatures. With a high level of detail gone into creating the sets, and many hours have clearly been spent thinking about design and how to create such an animation. The film has clearly had a lot more time and effort put into it such as the choice to use very faded colour to display the bleak time and emotion of the character. Also this film would have been very revolutionary and defiant at his time, earning a bit more respect in my eyes. This film has a much deeper context and is far more interesting and frankly displays a much better use and quality of animation. To compare the two films in terms of narrative, animation and characters I feel it’s almost unfair as they are both totally different in every way, however if I were asked the question of a personal preference I would go with The Hand every time.