Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Distribution Companies - Vertigo Films


Vertigo Films is the distribution company my group and I have chosen. It was Founded by Allen Niblo and James Richardson in 2002 and produced over 28 films and distributed a further 35 since 2010. Vertigo also owns a successful post production company in Berlin called The Post Republic and is also a partner in the sales company Protagonist Pictures along with Film 4 and Ingenious.

Vertigo Films mission is to 'commercially drive independent cinema' which is why we chose them as our distribution company since our film is low budget and independent meaning the two will fit together. Vertigo Films is also a British company which appealed due to our group wanting our opening to feature British locations and actors.

Other Vertigo Films productions have included;
- Walking on Sunshine
- A night in the woods
- Point Blank
- The Firm
- Street Dance 2






Audience Feedback


The audience feedback from our film pitch highlighted some important areas that we as a group had to address and work on in order to develop our film further. 

The main questions raised were regarding
- The details within the plot
- The main character
- The films ending

Looking at these we came to an agreement that the following changes should be made within our film;
- We are not going to show the protagonist's death as due to the lack of equipment it would be extremely hard to show at a high level

- We also changed our plot making the story more realistic with the victims body being discovered after 3 years forcing the case to be re-opened [meaning our protagonist had a reason to solve it]

- We also came to the conclusion that the protagonist needed a change of name and his identity/characteristics clearly thought through to make him as real and interesting as possible

The audience feed back also gave some interesting and helpful opening sequences and films that would benefit our own, helping to give us ideas and some influences, such as Tinker Tailor Soldier  Spy.


Pitch, Synopsis and Characterisation


Within our lessons we have been discussing and developing our ideas regarding our film opening. In our group we came up with a thrilling synopsis for an opening that we summed up with our 25 word pitch. We also research other openings such as 'Seven' that we felt we could develop into our own opening. Lastly, to progress our reaserch further we looked into creating interesting characters that would reflect the thriller genre we are trying to create.


25 Word Pitch

A detective searches for the missing link to an unsolved case of 3 years, little does he know the evidence is right in front of him.

100 Word Synopsis




Character Development




 
Detective Hugh Green
  Long brown overcoat
  Rough shaven (stubble)
 Formal shirt, open collar, white
 Smartly dressed
  Quite muscular
  Intelligent, very aware and alert about his surroundings
  Passionate about his job and the case he is working on
  Quite serious
Bit older than the other detectives, (showing his experience in the force)

 




Jack Matthews (Dead colleague)
 White shirt, sleeves rolled up
  Tie
 Stubble
  Quite
  Bit of a joker, very playful about his job and cases
  Still quite passionate about his job even if he makes jokes
  Receives a lot of positive attention for his completion of cases
Makes a lot of others jealous from what he has Persistent and will take any case called for him



 

Murderer: 
Formal suit,
long overcoat, mystery
clean shaven face
Relaxed about everything
cunning
sly
Trickster ( Very deceiving can trick others into doing things     for him
Intelligent
envy
quite young


Wallander - Opening sequence analysis


The opening sequence for Wallander creates strong emotions against the antagonists through the use of mise-en-scene, camera work, sound and editing which keeps the audience engaged and wanting justice. The clip draws the audience in through an early development of character and audience relationship leaving questions such as 'Did the girls really murder him?' and 'If not - who did?'.
 



Mise -En - Scene
The opening shows the audience a clear contrast in the characters by using costume. For example, the girls who are identified as the murders are seen wearing gothic style clothes of blacks and covered in piercings. This represents the girls as cold and unloving due to their lack of colour enhanced by the blunt expressions on their faces. The piercings also make them seem unapproachable and off putting meaning that the audience are less likely to feel sympathy for them as the potential murders as instead they are repelled by their image. This contrast to the detectives costume of a suit as he seems more approachable and respectful influencing how the audience see and feel towards him as the protagonist. Props are also used such as the blood dripping knife shown through a close up. The knife signifies how a violent crime has been committed and makes the audience feel tension and resentful towards the murders making it easier for the clip to play on the audiences emotions as they have a lot of detail.




Camera Work
An establishing shot is first used and features the countryside allowing the audience to see the location and set the scene. The camera then uses a zoom to focus on the vehicle where the murder took place. By using these techniques the audience can see how isolated the victim is from everyone and everything making the audience feel helpless as they know that nobody can save them. An extreme close up using shallow focus shows all of the victims possessions inside of the car allowing the audience focus to only be on what the director wants them to see such as the photo of the victims family. This makes the audience empathise and feel remorse for the character as they have been shown some of the victims life meaning they have formed an attachment to them.  Shallow focus in again used when the police car arrives drawing all the attention towards them showing its importance and authority.








Sound
Sound is used within the opening sequence for Wallander such as the productions title. The musical score used in the titles is slow in pace and builds emotion that relates to the scene the audience just witnessed by including lyrics like 'Knuckles bleed' helping to place the audience on edge and feel sympathy towards the victim. The end of the score also featured hyperbolic sound of the scores last word having an echo that stays with the audience and leaves a cold and unnerving feeling with them. A strong use of ambient sound is also used throughout the clip such as the girls walking and their death breathing. This all adds to the tension and atmosphere of the scene unfolding due to the silence making it all seem more real. Lastly, a sting is also used once a close up of the murder weapon is shown increasing in a high and uncomfortable pitch making the audience wince.





Monday, 15 December 2014

Genre analysis of The Usual Suspects

                               




The production ident for the Usual Suspects is Metro Goldwyn Mayer. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The opening titles are all in capital letter of a light blue/white. The titles fade in and out creating tension and a suspicious atmosphere for the audience. They also appear of the left hand side of the screen again meaning they are out of the audiences main eye line and focus placing the audience on edge.







The first shot is a close up of a character lighting a cigarette immediately having the audience take a dislike as we associate the character as 'bad' due to this habit as the 'good' never have these floors.



We are then introduced to the another character who again we feel wearily of due tot he fact that we don't see his face throughout the scene. The character is also dressed in a costume of a long black coat making him seem suspicious and unnerving which all adds to the tension of the thriller genre.






A medium shot of the character is then shown to the audience with the prop of a gun immediately signifying danger and violence strong themes within the genre of thriller. Without begin able to see the character's face, the audience also have no connection to him unlike the previous character meaning they will have more sympathy for the character begin shot.




The use of deep focus here forces the audience to look at the flames that are spreading making them panic
 and feel the tension as they know someone is going to get hurt. The musical score also enhances this feeling as the pitch heightens while the tempo picks up dramatically heading for a climax.



Seeing the other 'villain' ,as the audience would now associate them with, fleeing from the murder scene makes the audience dislike the antagonist even more. As they cant see who it is they feel suspicious and want to know more helping the film become more thrilling for them. The use of low key lighting also adds to the mysterious elements of the opening.



 


Tuesday, 9 December 2014

Mood Board

On Photoshop i created a collage of things that I thought looked visually nice and pleasing to look at. Adding effects and condensing them all together formed a picture that helped to define my tastes and likes that would be useful when coming to determine my opining genre and placing forward ideas.


Monday, 8 December 2014

The Sixth Sense - Analysis of an opening sequence



Mise-en-scene, editing, sound and camera work are used in The Sixth Sense in order to portray to the audience information that every opening sequence should answer such as 'Who are the main characters' and 'What is the main plot'.




Mise-En-Scene
The opening to The Sixth Sense contains mise-en-scene. For example in the scene when Dr Crow finds one of his former patients in the bathroom, no costume is used to show the characters unstable mental healthy placing the audience on edge as his movements are shaky as he is trying to  cover himself making us feel on edge and nervous to. The mental character also has make-up to represent scares and bruises again portraying his ill health as he is harmful to himself suggesting that he may also be harmful to Dr
Crow making the audience empathise with Crow who is the protagonist. Mise-en-scene is also used in the form of lighting such as when Dr Crow enters the bedroom lighting in the bedroom is low key creating gloom and suspense although the bathroom light is on foreshadowing what is about to happen. This is unusual in a thriller/mystery film as the director is hinting at the plot however it is extremely effective as it misleads the audience.

Sound
Sound is important within the opening sequence to The Sixth Sense as it creates the mood and atmosphere through out the scenes communicating to the audience how they should feel. For instance, the low tone and use of strings in the musical score create intense tension that magnifies as the score increase in tempo and pitch until it reaches a climax when Dr Crow finds the patient. This is complimented by the use of ambient sound within the clip such as the disconnected phone lying on the ground beeping continuously which gives the audience their first clue that something is not right and builds tension onwards. Ambient sound is again then used when the mental patient slams his hand against the bathroom door sending shocks of hyperbolic sound signifying that the character is violent and dangerous making us empathise with Dr Crow. Finally, silence also plays a part in the sequence creating tension with it misleading the audience into a false sense of security then shocking them suddenly
.






Camera Work  
Camera work in the sequence is used in order for the audience to feel nervous from an outsiders point of view rather then as the character themselves. For example, in the first scene Crow's wife is in the wine cellar where a longshot is used, followed by a camera movement of tracking, from behind suggesting that she is being watched and then followed. The long shot also shows her empty
surroundings communicating that she is alone and vulnerable causing the audience to feel on edge.
Another camera movement used is panning such as in the one of the opening shots when an array of thank you cards are shown. This establishes to the audience that Dr Crow is good at his job and also sets the location as we see his house and possessions leading us to understand his wealth through his success.

  
Editing   
Finally, editing is used in the opening sequence in order to set the scene and show the passing of time for the audience. 'South Philadelphia' is written central on the screen in bold black letters displaying how the plot has moved on answering our previous question of "Did Dr Crow survive?"






The ending of The Sixth Sense opening sequence has helped to identify the main characters, plot and location of the film which has captured the audiences attention and pulled them in to continue watching through us wanting to know questions like "Is Dr Crow getting a second chance at life?"

Tuesday, 2 December 2014

Preliminary Project

Introduction



My name is Bethany Smiles and i am 17 years old. I am currently taking an AS Media Studies course at Glenthorne High School. I chose to take media as i have developed a great passion for the subject through the creative aspects beileveing that media holds a great importance within society that i would thoroghly enjoy to potentially embark on in the future as a career.