MAKING A LOW BUDGET FILM

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Character Analysis - Different Genres

I decided that it would be useful and fun to analyse the representation of characters in three different genres. To make it more interesting, i decided to explore genres that I have done the least work with so far. So Here are the genres that i chose:
Teen Movie Mean Girls
Comedy Meet the Parents

Drama Green Street Hooligans

Character 1: Regina George {Rachel McAdams}:
-Mark Water's Mean Girls (2004)
In Mean Girls, Regina George's character was what one would typically expect of a high school 'queen-bee': Very two-faced, fake, popular yet feared and extremely good looking.
Rachel McAdams was perfect for the part, playing a convincing role and successfully portraying the duality of Regina's personality.
Rachel was made to seem more 'the part' as her character was always looking immaculate with a full face of make-up, an expensive-looking wardrobe, and style sports car. Everything about her was made glamorous, even to the extent of her gym clothes.
The way Regina walks, talks and carries herself throughout the film gives an air of confidence, femininity and lastly but most significantly danger.
'I, like, invented her, you know what I mean?'

Character 2: Jack Byrnes {Robert De Niro}
-Jay Roach (2000)

Jack Byrnes: every man's nightmare. The most fussy, perfectionist of a father-in-law you could ever come across. The father-in-law that wouldn't accept anything less than absolutely perfect for his little girl.
Robert De Niro played the part exceptionally.
This character was constructed and conveyed so brilliantly for a number of reasons. Firstly, Jack lives in the most perfect, peaceful neighbourhood, with a functional and practical family, living in a pretty and neat house. His life is very systematic, his routine very organised. His speech and dress reflect this. Mr. Byrnes always looks very prim and well-dressed with an eloquent manner about him.
With such a structured and ideal family life, Jack Byrnes is evidently the head of the house. He is the one to please, and ironically the most difficult to please. The way he carries himself and strides rather than walks, firmly places him in the mould of the 'Big Man' or someone important.

'I have nipples Gregg. Could you milk me?'

Character 3: Pete Dunham {Charlie Hunnam}
Lexi Alexander (2005)

Pete Dunham is what you might expect of a young East Londoner. Dedicated football fan...possibly too dedicated. He is prepared to risk his life to represent his football firm. This die hard attitude was acted amazingly by Charlie Hunnam.
With his speech and mannerisms, Charlie was able to convey a laid-back character, who is just like another young 'lad' with the exception of his passion to support his football team and firm by 'Standing [his] ground.'
Pete's wardrobe establishes his character further. Throughout the film he is seen in track suits, hoodies and a signature long trench coat. This creates a very 'street' image as well as one of authority within his gang. The way Pete walks also cements his personality: Cocky, strong and confident.
Similarly, his speech contributes to his image. He has a 'cockney' style dialect which confirms the fact that he is definitely a Londoner.
'Yes..cheeky slag!'

Opening Credits

Our final coursework piece is to plan, shoot and edit the beginning two minutes of a film. This will include the opening credits. So, as part of my research i decided to look at the styles of opening credits of two horror films: John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd (2007).
I chose these because even though, stylistically the examples differ hugely, they still both conform to typical horror conventions and convey the genre brilliantly.
First, i looked at the Halloween opening credits.




To begin with, there is just a blank screen with chilling music. The effect of the music at this point, is that it is quiet, eery and gives the impression of something lurking or being in hiding.
The font of the credits is very significant. Traditionally, black and orange are the two colours which signify Halloween. Here, the orange writing on the black background connotes the plot and of course the film's title.
Then, as the credits appear, a carved Pumpkin appears on the left hand side of the screen. It has a smile, but combined with the scary music, the flickering of light from within it and the fact that half of it is in shadow, looks spooky, mysterious and would have the effect of making an audience feel uneasy.
At first, it is not blatent, but as the credits roll, the camera zooms in and the Pumpkin appears to inch closer and closer to the audience. This is a great way to make the audience feel like they are already getting more involved with the film, and being literally drawn in. It also adds to the ambience of fear and would be effective as an unnerving image to be pulled in to. This continues, and at the end of the opening credits, we find ourselves dangerously close to the strange Pumpkin.
Compared to the Sweeney Todd opening credits, this format was fairly straight forward but nevertheless successful in creating ambience for the film about to come, and conveying the genre well.
It must be considered that the films were made 29 years apart, so there was probably a restricted range of effects for John Carpenter to use.
Here is the next set of opening credits: Sweeney Todd.





The music begins before the credits actually start, so as to prepare the audience for what is coming and create the tone for the film. The music itself is similar to the funeral march and has the same 'deadly' feel to it.
I also spotted that the usual Warner Bros. background of a blue sky scattered with shite clouds, has been formatted to a dull, scary looking sky. What a great way to set the tone?
The slow camera movement as it tilts to reveal the sky makes builds up the suspence and the expectation for what is coming. The storm and silhouette of the city are, again, typical of the Horror genre.
Then as the camera pans across the city and reveals the inside of the window, there is a drop of blood where we expect rain. In the same frame we see the chair. This chair is significant to the film's plot and that is why it is introduced during the opening credits. It is in a spotlight while the rest of the room is in darkness, which emphasises its importance.
The rest of the opening credits follow the trail of blood as it flows through the chair's mechanisms and out through the trap door in the floor. Later, it will become apparent that this is a representation of the journey the victims experience on their way to become the contents of meat pies. This almost works as a 'forewarning' to the audience as to the horrors they are about to witness.
Meanwhile, the music builds up as a crescendo to build up the thrill and sense of danger.
Evidently, thought the Sweeney Todd credits were much more detailed and graphic, both films were successful in conveying the genre. However, with Sweeney Todd, the plot was dived into straight away and more was revealed from the start.



What needs to be included in opening credits?
Here is a list of the types of names to mention during opening credits:
- Film studio
-Director presenting the film
-Film title
-Producer/Executive producer
-Main actors
-Featured actors
-Screenplay artists
-Director of photography
-Editors
-Music directors

The Importance of Narrative Image - FINAL DESTINATION

Narrative Image is an important aspect of the commercial success of any film. It is made up of many features which piece together to represent a film before it is released. A successful portrayal through Narrative Image will result in payment at the box office. It will conform to the classic conventions of the genre of the film to ensure the attention of the desired audience.

'It is the promise, and the film is the performance and realisation of that promise.' John Ellis, Visible Fiction.

The Narrative Image of a film is conveyed in many ways. For example through posters, radio advertisments, television trailers and front-of-house posters.
I have chosen to look two aspects of the representation of James Wong's Final Destination (2000).

This was the poster advertisement of the film before its cinema release.
I think this poster works well to convey the genre and allow interpretations for the plot. However, it is still enigmatic and does not give away too much about the film's plot.
The genre (horror) is made apparent because of several factors, like colour choice for example. The poster is primarily dark with a red anchorage which could connote blood or danger.
Lightening bolts are traditionally associated with horror, so this also adds to the construction of the genre through the Narrative Image. The actual image of the characters also comes acorss as quite chilling. They appear to be coming out at the audience, and half their faces are replaced with skulls. This reference through images of death, emphasises the genre further, as does the film's slogan:
'No accidents. No coincidences. No espaces.'
Without being blatently obvious as to what the film is all about, this cluster of three is effective in captivating the audience. The thought of nothing being an accident or a coincident conveys the idea that everything is happening for a reason. Each word is a plural: accidents, coincidences, espaces, telling the audience that there is probably a string of bad events to come. 'No espcapes' is clearly a reference to danger and being trapped, another clue as to the film's genre.
This is the trailer used to advertise the film before its release:

As you can gather, the trailer gives away more of a film's plot than a poster is able to. This is evident here. The montage of images which was used for the construction of this trailer reveal what the audience can expect from the film, by defining the basic plot. The first set of montaged images establishes the main story. The combination of diegetic sounds (screams and explosions) and non-diegetic sound (chilling music) firmly places the film in a Horror category.
There is a message split in to two parts which reads: 'You may get a second chance at life...But you can't cheat death.' As well as keeping a sense of mystery, this line lets the audience in to the film a little bit more, making them feel more involved. All the clips which are used have some significance in portraying the horror theme. For example the use of small rooms (confined spaces), dark places, shots at night, funerals and montages of injuries or deaths.
The significance of the film's slogan is also evident here, as is is quted by a character and shown in the trailer. This slogan would then go on to be a basis of recognition for the audience of this particular film.
Certain lines of dialogue are used to create a sense of fear and captivate the audience. for example:

'He knows which one of us is next.'
'By walking off the plane, you cheated death. YOU have to figure out, when its coming back at you.'
'No body has control over life and death...Unless they are taking lives.'

The way the trailer ends is very clever. You see a train coming speeding towards someone who is stuck in a car. But, the trailer ends before you can see the outcome of this event. This arouses the audience's curiousity. What happens?

MY FAVOURITE SCENE =]

As part of my research, I made it my personal aim to watch as many movies as possible. As well as learning a lot I enjoyed this part of my research the most! Yesterday i watched Robert Luketic's 21 (2008). This is a Drama about a group of students who join their advanced maths teacher to learn the secret art of Card Counting to win huge sums of money.
This scene was taken from Ben's (Jim Sturgess') first Casino experience. I think the way this scene is constructed is incredible. It uses montages, a combination of slow and fast motion, and a range of camera distances to create the perfect effect. Dazzling!
I have analyssed the clip in more detail. Take a look!




The camera starts off as a crane angle at a very long distance. This works as an establishing shot. Then, the camera stays at a crane angle and does a spiral movement, ending up as a medium close up above the table. Straight away this gets the audience's attention and builds up the excitement.
Then there is a close up of the Black Jack cards and the gambling chips, which could work as a second establishing shot, placing us firmly into the scene.
After this, the camera tilts so we can see Ben's face and the intensity and concentration. It is then also visible, that the rest of the casino is moving in fast motion, while Ben is still moving in real time. I think this is a reflection of how he is feeling. The rest of the Casino becomes a blur. Now, it is just him and the table and nothing else matters.
As this is all happening, the camera moves to a long shot of the casino, to give a wider picture of Ben's surroundings. The camera then pans around the table making the whole scene much more interesting to look at.
The scene then jumps in to a montage of compressed time. This is brilliantly done. This images move as; The chips piling up, the Casino (Planet Hollywood), Ben's face, his mentor's face, back to Ben, chips piling up even more, another Vegas Casino, the intensity in Ben's eyes and finally the chips again.
This whole montage adds a sense of pace to the scene and makes it seem so much more thrilling. The whole way through the montage the camera is panning around each image. This adds dimension and makes this scene even more incredible to watch!
Finally the scene ends in a genius way. The master shot is re-visited, but this time the camera spirals outwards into the very long crane shot: Yet another establishing shot to finish off, just before a pan of the 'bigger picture' showing the city of Vegas at night.
I loved this entire clip. It was amazing to watch and cleverly put together!

SOUND
I realised after watching this clip twice, that the sound is also very important to adding ambience and thrill to the scene. I love the combination of diegetic and non-degetic sound.
The Diegetic sound only comes in from time to time: For example at the very beginning, or when cards are being dealt, and especially as the chips pile up.
The Non-Diegetic sound here, is in the form of music. I think this is an example of contrapuntal sound. You wouldn't usually expect this sort of relaxing music to be combined with the hustle and bustle of a Casino.
However, i think the music is an effective way of portraying Ben's emotions. He is releieved and happy to have finally found his release from the captivity of academic stress.

Overall I think this scene is definitely a success and, to me, very inspiring also. Great!

Plots and Casting

To help with our research, my media class and I, constructed plots and attempted to cast an A list actor or actress in each. Here are two of the plots, along with the chosen actors and reasons for my choices.
PLOT 2 - The Rectifier
Basic summary: This plot is a sci-fi about a man suffering from complete amnesia. He is trying desperately to find out who he is. It is eventually revealed that he is in fact a 'future version' of a current government official who has been sent back two decades in time to help maintain the existence of the human race. The movie is a about his struggle to find the answers and prevent the destruction of mankind.
Who i cast and why:

For this plot i chose Bruce Willis. The main basis for my decision was his list of previous work. Bruce Willis has done a number of action films, like the Die Hard Sequel (1988-2007), Armageddon , Sin City and Pulp Fiction. He is also known for his tendency to play 'good guy' roles, for instance in Die Hard, Armageddon and The Sixth Sense, so i felt like this character would be in keeping with his usual roles and be recognised by the audience.
He is also strong, good-looking and has a rugged face, which makes it more plausible to see him as some one who is effectively saving the world.
His star quality and popularity as an actor would aid the construction of an impressive narrative image for the film.

PLOT 9 - Murder in Manhattan
Basic summary:
This plot is a thriller about a homicide detective unit. The head of a the team, Hannah Paterson, is working on a serial killer case who meets all his female victims on the ferry in from Manhattan. She is helped by her colleague Doug , who worries when he feels that the case is taking over her life.
But, everything goes hideously wrong when it is revealed that the murderer is actually her most recent partner. Fortunately, its Doug to the rescue...
Who I cast and Why:
Here, i decided to cast Angelina Jolie as Hannah Paterson and Tom Hanks as Doug. My reasons for doing this, were again based on previous work from both stars. Angelina Jolie has done past 'police-type' work in both Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005). She would probably be successful as this character. I also felt that Hannah Paterson should be played by someone who is fierce and powerful, as well as attractive and feminine. I thought Angelina Jolie matched this perfectly.
Tom Hanks was chosen for this role as he has had a string of successful films in which he was a protagonist. For example, Forrest Gump (1994), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and The Green Mile (1999). Therefore, i thought Tom Hanks would embody this character well.
As a duo, Tom Hanks and Angelina Jolie would work well together, being two talented actors, and prove very popular amongst audiences.

PROBLEMS WE FACED WHEN CASTING:
The biggest issues we encountered lied within the physcial appearence of actors and trying to match them into certain plots. For example, plot 3 required an Asian male. However, there was no asian man on the cast list, and therefore the plot had to be altered. This was also the case with Plot 1. I found that I had to change a character to a male, as we had run out of female actors. A further actor which may effect plots, is the age of an actor.

Continuity Tips 'n' Tricks

As our final coursework piece is to make the first two minutes a film's opening, i decided to do some research that will be useful and is vital for any film maker. I love these tips from Videomaker! See if you can spot the errors:

FOLEY TRACK

While researching the importance of Foley Artists in film making, i found these two videos and thought they were very interesting and useful. So, here they are!
The first video explains the importance of the Foley Track and gives us examples
SUMMARY OF VIDEO 1

-FOLEY : putting sound in sync to pictures IN REAL TIME
- This includes: feet, hands, cloth, hard effects of human touch.
- Movements are re-recorded and replaced.
- A lot of the time, the Foley Track is there to help dialogue.
- There is a trial and error aspect to working out sounds.
-This is followed by more advanced sound editing and mixing of the created sounds.

The second video, which i loved, is about the Foley Track used in Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005.)
This video is so interesting because it shows how each sound is made in relation to the movie. Take a look!

SUMMARY VIDEO 2
- The term 'Foley' came after Jack Foley, who started the whole process.
-EVERY sound is done individually.
-When doing footsteps,a character's mannerisms and weight changes need to be considered.

ICONOGRAPHY!!

This week, i have been looking at INCONOGRAPHY and its uses within the film industry. Iconography is using visual signs which are universally recognised, to establish a context or genre.
So, as part of my resarch, I collected some examples, and thought it would be fun if you guessed what each icon represents :) good luck!

Miss T h/w - Film Distribution

This homework was to watch videos on topics related to Film Distribution and summarise each video. Here's what I learnt... :)

1. Marketability
   The two key factors to keep in mind here are;
   - Who will the film appeal to? (Audience
   -What are the best communication channels.
   You need to develop a campaign that will focus on your target audience. In prepartion for this, it is necessary to think about how much money to spend. Predicting the film's success can help to set an appropriate budget.
   Promotion for the film can come in several formats like Media (radio, TV, newspapers, internet), publicity angles and premiers.
2. Planning a Release
   You must define the audience. Who is your film directed at? Is it people of a particular age group or gender?
   The film's genre must be established to be able to do this.
3. Target Audience
   The target audience are the focus of advertising and publicity. Research needs to be done and data collected to work out;
   -who will watch your film
   -why will they watch it
   -when will they watch it
   - and where will they watch it
   Different audiences have different reactions, so there is an element of risk. Where is the best place to place your advertisments and how will people view the film because of that.
4. Competition
   This is based on the film distribution at your time of release. Your film must stand out, above the rest.
   Things to take into account are holidays, weather and audience pattern.
   For example, July may not be the best time to use television advertisments, as fewer people will be at home watching the TV, as opposed to October half-term.
5. P&A budget
   The budget not only includes the Film Prints, but maily the cost of advertising. Posters, press ads, cinemar trailers all come from within this budget.
   Therefore, it is crucial to think about how best to use the money, thinking about the most effective form of advertising, but also what is cheaper. (eg. Radio advertising is cheaper than television advertising).
6. Word of Mouth
   The word of mouth is crucial. So, when a movie arrives early, you have the chance to do advance screenings. This is a way for people to watch the film for free, before its official release. Then, if they like the film, the idea is that they will go and tell people about it and persuade them to watch it as well.
   Movies that arrive later depend on the opening weekend. Here, the word of mouth depends on the public. Their words can effect the life expectancy of the film.
7. Marketing Plan
   This is all about how best to publicise your film. The more expensive methods are advertisments, press and out-door advertising (bill boards, and bus posters).
   Lower budgets rely on word of mouth. This is especially true to specialist films, where money may be lacking to use other forms of marketing.
8. Film Trailers
   Film trailers are key. This is the public's most close exposure to their experience with the film. They see the trailer on the same size screen and in the same atmosphere that they will be watching the film itself.
   There needs to be excellent portrayal of graphics, sounds, and the film's concept.
9. Persuading Cinemas
   This is the first step. To convice the exhibitors (the cinemas) to take the film. Especially when it comes to independant films.
10. Test Screenings
    Advance research can be done in the form of tests for posters, trailers, concepts, visuals and expectations of the film.
    A test screening is a recruited audience who watch the film and are then asked to fill out a questionnaire about it. Some are even called to a focus group to dicuss what they liked and didn't like about the film.
    According to teh feedback, the film may even change slightly, adusting the ending, for example.
11. Digitial Marketing
    This is the development of elements such as games, vidoes or quizzes, which would hopefully be sent on to more people.
    This is like word of mouth, the best form of communication. A close person's opinion will mean the most to someone.
12. Opening Weekend
    The opening weekend is very important. The film has three days to be as successful as possible; Friday (opening day), Saturday and Sunday. Then, on Monday there is the 'hold-over.'
    Depending on how much money the film has made, it is decided whether or not the film is given another play date. The film has to have made more money than others to stay on.
13. Piracy
    Piracy has escalated over the past five years. In 2006, 20% of all DVD sales were of pirate copies.
    People fail to realise that these are of an inferior quality, and profits made may help criminal organisations.