Monday 28 February 2011
Audience research.
The target audience we have decided to go for are teenagers (around 14-17), simply because it is based around a girl of the same age, they may be able to relate towards the film or may be going through the same kind of troubles. Their attitudes and expectations towards such films are intriguing. After seeing a trailer for this type of film, they may want to see it to find out what happens simply because it's someone around their age group, this has inspired us in a way to keep the audience wanting to watch. Parents may also want to watch the film, so they can bond with their children more, also helping the parent see what may go on when their child is out with their friends. Many children hide troubles from their parents and this could help them be more honest if they don't want to be put in a bad position, so our film may help prevent that.
Friday 18 February 2011
Analysis of an opening sequence - Chloe
I chose to analyse the opening sequence of The disappearance of Alice Creed, written and directed by J Blakeson, as it inspired us in some way and is similar to the type of film we are willing to make. The low budget film was shot in the Isle of Man and is based in an apartment, where Vic (Eddie Marsan) and Danny (Martin Compston) keep Alice (Gemma Arterton), for the majority of the film. It is fairly simple and I think we could create something similar to it. As we are hoping to create a drama film it also links to it. The title 'The disappearance of Alice Creed' describes the fact that Alice goes missing, in a way we have used this as an idea for our film to keep the title simple. The film starts in a car park, there's no dialogue, just sounds from outside and of Vic and Danny's ''mission''. It's not very clear as to what is happening and what they are trying to achieve but it becomes clear that they're dodgy and up to no good. The music when they are in the warehouse store seems more upbeat, and as we're taken to the abandoned apartment it changes, showing its more serious than we may of thought. As they put the sound proof walls up and put the bed together, the music has a ticking noise behind it, representing the race against time. For the first five and a half minutes there is no speech, which is finally broken with a simple 'Ok', this creates suspense and tension because the viewer has to create whats going on by themselves before they see what actually happens. This inspired us for our film because we would like the audience to be in suspense to what happens next so they carry on watching.
Thursday 17 February 2011
Research into media institutions
When researching into similar media institutions, we looked at similar films and who made them. A similar film to the one we would like to make is "London to Brighton". This was made by a number of institutions, one being Steel Mill Pictures.
"London to Brighton won a British Independent Film Award for Best Achievement in Production. The director also won several awards at various film festivals. The film had a budget of £500,000 and made an approximate total of $449,681
Steel Mill Pictures were formed in 2006, with their first feature film "London to Brighton". They have 2 more feature films, "The Cottage" and "Cherry Tree Lane". They get most of their funding from the UK Film Councils Premiere/New Film fund. They generally use one company to distribute within the UK, and one company to distribute globally. For example Pathe UK distributed the film "The Cottage" domestically and Pathe International handled worldwide sales. Sony picked up the film for North America and several other territories. The company also make many short films and promos.
Film4 develops and co-finances films and is known for working with the most innovative talent in the UK, whether new or established. Film4 releases in 2010 included Sam Taylor Wood's Nowhere Boy, Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, Chris Morris' Four Lions, Hideo Nakata's Chatroom and Mike Leigh's Another Year.
Mike Leigh's "Another Year" had a budget of an estimated £10,000,000. In its opening weekend the film made $111,869, and in total the film has made $1,645,606, so far.
"London to Brighton won a British Independent Film Award for Best Achievement in Production. The director also won several awards at various film festivals. The film had a budget of £500,000 and made an approximate total of $449,681
Steel Mill Pictures were formed in 2006, with their first feature film "London to Brighton". They have 2 more feature films, "The Cottage" and "Cherry Tree Lane". They get most of their funding from the UK Film Councils Premiere/New Film fund. They generally use one company to distribute within the UK, and one company to distribute globally. For example Pathe UK distributed the film "The Cottage" domestically and Pathe International handled worldwide sales. Sony picked up the film for North America and several other territories. The company also make many short films and promos.
Film4 develops and co-finances films and is known for working with the most innovative talent in the UK, whether new or established. Film4 releases in 2010 included Sam Taylor Wood's Nowhere Boy, Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, Chris Morris' Four Lions, Hideo Nakata's Chatroom and Mike Leigh's Another Year.
Mike Leigh's "Another Year" had a budget of an estimated £10,000,000. In its opening weekend the film made $111,869, and in total the film has made $1,645,606, so far.
Thursday 10 February 2011
Analysis of Opening Sequence. (Robyn)
Cherry Tree Lane, 2010
I chose to analyse the opening sequence of Cherry Tree Lane as it was similar to the type of film that we would be able to make. The low budget film was shot in Muswell Hill in London and only one location is used the entire film. As all of this would be available to us, I thought that it would be interesting to see what we could do. The major themes in the film are the crossing of cultures, middle classes fear of youth, drugs and crime.
The first shot is the only shot taken from outside the house in the whole film. It immediately tells the audience that the people will be middle class. The camera tracks towards the door, getting closer into their lives, representing that we as an audience will be thrown into their lives. The connotations of the door are that people will be disturbing and walking into, and perhaps out of, their lives. An eerie noise is used to accompany this, introducing the thriller and horror genres.
Completely randomly we are put in front of boiling pasta and the noise of this matches that of the eerie noise. The ambiguity of this shot creates tension, as we are aware that something bad is going to disturb this completely normal activity. The time is shown at the side of the shot foreboding the action that will happen. We see a lady in the distance, but she is out of focus as we are still in the same shot. The fact that the camera does not move creates a suspense because we are unaware of what is happening in other areas. We find ourselves wanting to find out more about the lady by the stairs, but we are left by the pasta, keeping us engaged. We are even more intrigued when we can subtly hear a phone conversation. The lady then comes towards us, and her movements are the only thing that changes the type of shot.
The realism that we have been exposed to, makes the audience much more attached to the film as it is largely relatable. The pasta boiling and the phone conversation are everyday happenings and this makes it even more disturbing as we now something will erupt.
There is no music and hardly any dialogue, which adds a spooky sense of silence leaving us waiting for something to happen. We are put in the bedroom and again left in the same position. We hear her talking to someone downstairs and then we move into the kitchen. We now see a man preparing a bottle of wine which again is hugely relatable to an audience. The audience are forced to ask a few questions, who should the lady have talked to ?, and who is Sebastian?. By leaving us asking these, the director has made us want to know the answers so carry on watching.
There is tension between the spouses and the new comes on. This is largely relatable to an English audience because it is about the 7/7 bombings. By doing this it makes the audience feel closer to the film. The camera is placed at a long shot of the couple eating their dinner, and we wait in suspense for something to happen. The an-ambiguity of what is happening, becomes the narrative and we are focused on finding out.
At the end of the opening sequence we hear a doorbell. This disturbs the subtle silence that we have heard so far. This represents that the people at the door will disturb the peace and normality of this couples life. We are now aware that the action we were wondering about will soon begin, and we are hooked on watching it and finding out the answers to the questions that have arisen.
I chose to analyse the opening sequence of Cherry Tree Lane as it was similar to the type of film that we would be able to make. The low budget film was shot in Muswell Hill in London and only one location is used the entire film. As all of this would be available to us, I thought that it would be interesting to see what we could do. The major themes in the film are the crossing of cultures, middle classes fear of youth, drugs and crime.
The first shot is the only shot taken from outside the house in the whole film. It immediately tells the audience that the people will be middle class. The camera tracks towards the door, getting closer into their lives, representing that we as an audience will be thrown into their lives. The connotations of the door are that people will be disturbing and walking into, and perhaps out of, their lives. An eerie noise is used to accompany this, introducing the thriller and horror genres.
Completely randomly we are put in front of boiling pasta and the noise of this matches that of the eerie noise. The ambiguity of this shot creates tension, as we are aware that something bad is going to disturb this completely normal activity. The time is shown at the side of the shot foreboding the action that will happen. We see a lady in the distance, but she is out of focus as we are still in the same shot. The fact that the camera does not move creates a suspense because we are unaware of what is happening in other areas. We find ourselves wanting to find out more about the lady by the stairs, but we are left by the pasta, keeping us engaged. We are even more intrigued when we can subtly hear a phone conversation. The lady then comes towards us, and her movements are the only thing that changes the type of shot.
The realism that we have been exposed to, makes the audience much more attached to the film as it is largely relatable. The pasta boiling and the phone conversation are everyday happenings and this makes it even more disturbing as we now something will erupt.
There is no music and hardly any dialogue, which adds a spooky sense of silence leaving us waiting for something to happen. We are put in the bedroom and again left in the same position. We hear her talking to someone downstairs and then we move into the kitchen. We now see a man preparing a bottle of wine which again is hugely relatable to an audience. The audience are forced to ask a few questions, who should the lady have talked to ?, and who is Sebastian?. By leaving us asking these, the director has made us want to know the answers so carry on watching.
There is tension between the spouses and the new comes on. This is largely relatable to an English audience because it is about the 7/7 bombings. By doing this it makes the audience feel closer to the film. The camera is placed at a long shot of the couple eating their dinner, and we wait in suspense for something to happen. The an-ambiguity of what is happening, becomes the narrative and we are focused on finding out.
At the end of the opening sequence we hear a doorbell. This disturbs the subtle silence that we have heard so far. This represents that the people at the door will disturb the peace and normality of this couples life. We are now aware that the action we were wondering about will soon begin, and we are hooked on watching it and finding out the answers to the questions that have arisen.
Wednesday 9 February 2011
Research - ( Analysis Of Opening Sequence) - Nephthys
Control (2007)
Control is a biolographical film exploring the life of joy divisions lead singer Ian Curtis. The film is filmed in black and white to enhance the fact that it is a film about the past. We are introduced to the scene with a stunning photgraph like close-up of Ian sitting beside his bed. Almost as soon as the scene begins a voice over of Ians inner thoughts play giving the audience an insight into his delicate state of mind. As the camera slightly moves and his facial expressions get clearer we get a feel of his emotions that he is experiencing at the time making us sympathise with him. During the scene hard light is used lighting up the side of Ians face symbolising his dark emotions and thoughts. Slowly he bows his head and the shot cuts to a long shot of the room that Ian is in. Once again only hardlight is used making the room seem dark and mysterious. The position that Ian is sitting in symbolises his character as being lonely and scared. The voice over stops and the scene cuts to the opening credits of the film making the audience wonder if the previous shots were a flashback of somesort. The credits fade into an establishing shot of what seems to be Ians home as he is walking up to it, over the shot written in a white plain font is the location and date where the film is set. As he walks out of the shot it cuts to another shot of a couple of children asking him to pass a ball as they kicked it towards him he ignores them and walks on establishing his character as being an outsider. As he walks away David Bowie "Drive in Saturday" Begins to play showing the era that the film is supposed to be based on. The music still plays as he enters his home, there we get a glimpse of his relationship with him family. The camera then tracks him walking into his room. The lighting of the corridor is dark until he opens his door representing his room as being a place of freedom and joy for Ian. However as he enters his room he shuts his door leaving the audience outside experiencing a feel of not being wanted inside his room. Again symbolising his room as being a somewhat hiding place for him and a comfort zone.
Control is a biolographical film exploring the life of joy divisions lead singer Ian Curtis. The film is filmed in black and white to enhance the fact that it is a film about the past. We are introduced to the scene with a stunning photgraph like close-up of Ian sitting beside his bed. Almost as soon as the scene begins a voice over of Ians inner thoughts play giving the audience an insight into his delicate state of mind. As the camera slightly moves and his facial expressions get clearer we get a feel of his emotions that he is experiencing at the time making us sympathise with him. During the scene hard light is used lighting up the side of Ians face symbolising his dark emotions and thoughts. Slowly he bows his head and the shot cuts to a long shot of the room that Ian is in. Once again only hardlight is used making the room seem dark and mysterious. The position that Ian is sitting in symbolises his character as being lonely and scared. The voice over stops and the scene cuts to the opening credits of the film making the audience wonder if the previous shots were a flashback of somesort. The credits fade into an establishing shot of what seems to be Ians home as he is walking up to it, over the shot written in a white plain font is the location and date where the film is set. As he walks out of the shot it cuts to another shot of a couple of children asking him to pass a ball as they kicked it towards him he ignores them and walks on establishing his character as being an outsider. As he walks away David Bowie "Drive in Saturday" Begins to play showing the era that the film is supposed to be based on. The music still plays as he enters his home, there we get a glimpse of his relationship with him family. The camera then tracks him walking into his room. The lighting of the corridor is dark until he opens his door representing his room as being a place of freedom and joy for Ian. However as he enters his room he shuts his door leaving the audience outside experiencing a feel of not being wanted inside his room. Again symbolising his room as being a somewhat hiding place for him and a comfort zone.
Research - ( Textual Analysis Of Similar Media Text ) - Nephthys
London to Brighton
During our research we looked at various films from the same genre that influenced our own ideas for our opening sequence, one of which was called "London to brighton". London to Brighton was written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams in 2006. The film is said to be a crime thriller but also appends upon the idea of social realism, drama and child prostitution. The film is low budget as they worked off of £500,000. The title "London to Brighton" describes the journey that Kelly and Joanne take as they flee from Kellys' pimp. The opening credits are very moronic and plain representing the film as being mysterious yet serious. The film starts with a bang as Kelly and Joanne burst into a rundown london toilet. It is clear that something has happened as Kellys' face seems to be heavily beaten and Joanne is hysterically crying, As people try to acess the toilet Kelly shuts them showing that they may be hiding from someone inparticular. However Kelly then asks Joanne if she wants some food and then sits her down in one of the cubicals and tells her "not to open the door to anyone". This exhibits motherhood and emotions portraying the film as being a drama. During the film we observe a series of flashbacksof how the pair ended up in the situation that they got into making them run away to brighton, the state of Kelly's face instantly tells us where we are on the timeline .There are five key sequences in the film these are the opening sequence, flashback scenes, the scene in which their location has been found, the scene where Joanne and Kelly are taken to Stuart and the final scene when Joanne returns to her grandmar. These scenes are key because without them the storyline would be difficult to understand. The director of the film uses a cluster of shots where juxtaposition is shown. For example when Joanne and Kelly are on the train to Brighton, We see Joanne looking out of the window we then get a tracking shot of the bright view of the feilds outside representing a new start for Joanne and Kelly, however it then cuts to a chain of rundown shops in the middle of london this juxtapositions the state of mind that they used to be in and the state of mind they are in now. Because there is a lot of tension created in the film they used a lot of quick cuts to make the audience feel the tension. The film ends with the scene where Joanne has returned to her grandmothers house and from a distance Kelly stands and observes. The director left us this disunity for the audience to continue the story in there own mind. It also suggests that behind a person that may seem tough there is also another person inside them that holds strong emotions, As she walks away and returns back into london we feel obliged to have sympathy for her. This film relates to our ideas a lot as our film is also being based around a runaway that gets involved with the wrong crowd. It has also given us the idea of using flashbacks to make the storyline more intresting and gripping, and to changing our genre from just a drama into a crime drama.
Tuesday 1 February 2011
Preliminary Task
Firstly we were given a shooting script by our teacher in which we could adapt, and then we chose a location in which we could film. We chose a local car park as we felt it had the right mysterious feeling that we wanted to give and we knew our way around it. We then began to storyboard, we adapted the shooting script in our own way, using a range of shots, and angles, and thinking about our characters. Whilst story-boarding it was clear that it would have been easier if we were at the location. Therefore, we will story- board our opening sequence at the chosen location.
During filming, we overcame many problems, such as the public, the weather, the lifts (the doors kept opening and closing whilst trying to film!) and forgetting to stop recording after the shot. However, except for this it all went really well and we have learnt a lot of new tips for the future.
Whilst editing we realised that we hadn't recorded some of the clips, and that we could see people who weren't supposed to be in the shot. This was very annoying when it came to editing, and we will take extra care in the future.
During filming, we overcame many problems, such as the public, the weather, the lifts (the doors kept opening and closing whilst trying to film!) and forgetting to stop recording after the shot. However, except for this it all went really well and we have learnt a lot of new tips for the future.
Whilst editing we realised that we hadn't recorded some of the clips, and that we could see people who weren't supposed to be in the shot. This was very annoying when it came to editing, and we will take extra care in the future.
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