Film Inspirations

I was heavily inspired by different films when it came to this project. The different films I watched in preparation for this project were:

·        The Alien Franchise: These films are arguably the most famous and successful films about extraterrestrials. The films have been going since the 70s and are still incredibly popular today, with sequels and prequels still being made in present day. These were helpful to watch to see the physical aspects of an alien, although they are mainly CGI.

·        Prometheus (a prequel to the Alien franchise: This film was helpful to see the story behind the famous films and to see more examples of aliens being represented.

·        Area 51: This found footage horror film was a good look into the alien conspiracies surrounding Area 51 in Roswell. We see the characters own perspective as they break into Area 51. This gave me more inspiration for my idea, as it explores the mysteriousness of the whole site.

·        District 9: This film is set after there has already been an alien invasion, however the aliens are treated badly by humans and are made to live in a separate area. This again gave another insight into alien features.

·        Interstellar: This film explores different ideas about outer space including different dimensions, time travel and focused heavily on the physical appearance of other planets.

·        Life: Another look at the depiction of aliens, this example was not a humanoid type but the creature was able to mimic cells it has come into contact with, so can partly take on forms that are human.

·        Dark Skies: Tells the story of an American family who are being watched by aliens getting ready for abduction. The aliens in the film are very typical of the stereotype with tall, grey aliens with big black eyes. Based on aliens known as ‘The Greys’.

·        The Box: This film begins as a thriller, giving a couple the chance to win $1 million if they press a button in a box knowing it will kill another person. This escalates into a story about aliens testing human kind.

·        All Star Wars: These werethe best series to watch in terms of getting inspired for an alien look as there are so many featured. This helps by showing the way different features can be used to make them seem alien.

·        Arrival: This film was one of my personal favourites. It follows a language professor who is brought by the government to work with translating and communicating with the aliens inside one of the UFOs that have appeared in eleven different areas across the world. This gave a real insight into how aliens would actually react and communicate if they were to come into contact with humans. It also plays with the idea of time, and how we only perceive it a certain was because that is the only way humans understand it. The aliens in this film are huge, with tentacles that they used to communicate.

·        Cloverfield: Another found footage film, we see an attack by aliens on the city shot through a camera belonging to a party guest. The aliens in this film are depicted as massive, much more powerful than human and only seem interested in destroying the earth.

·        Men in Black: The famous action/comedy series starring will Smith that follows two ‘men in black’ agents working to defend from aliens. This is an interesting example due it being a comedy when most accounts of the ‘real Men in Black’ are often quite disturbing stories.

·        E.T.: This well-known film involves an alien stuck on earth and his bond with a child.

·        Attack the Block: This film is a different take on the sci-fi genre, being a British comedy rather than a Hollywood thriller. The watch another comedy example, this film depicts a more humanoid look.

·        Bright: Another Will Smith film, this one looks at human being integrated with mutants. Obviously this is different to aliens but I wanted to include it as I was heavily inspired by the make-up when it came to creating my face piece.

These films were some of the highest rated and most popular when it came to the alien, space and sci-if genres. Not all of them include aliens but do give a good representation of space, which is why I also included them, for example Interstellar.