TRACKING A FILM STAR

GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM

CASE STUDY ON A FILM CHOICE

RESIDENT EVIL

RESIDENT EVIL on Prezi

SKYFALL

RESEARCH ON THE INBETWEENERS MOVIE

HOW THE FILM INDUSTRY WORKS

HOW THE FILM INDUSTRY OPERATES

WHAT DOES A PRODUCER DO?  They are always looking for great ideas for films that will attract audiences. Once they have seen an idea that will sell, they then make this idea a reality by first developing the project further and getting it released. They don’t just only handle the financial side of filmmaking but they are often the creative and commercial driving force through out the whole project.

WHAT DOES A DIRECTOR DO? They are involved in the creative development of a film and they pitch an idea of a film to the producer and the producer takes the project further. The director then works with the producer to develop this idea into a film.

WHY IS IT IMPROTANT TO HAVE A ‘NAME’DIRECTOR? Because they hold a great esteem in the film industry.

HOW DO AGENTS MAKE THEIR LIVING? They make their living my representing people i.e. directors; they act on behalf of them and get the best deal in return in return for their time and skills and they get a 10% cut.

WHAT ROLE DOES ‘PRODUCTION COMPANY’ PLAY IN GETTING A FILM MADE?  They invest their money into the film and they then ask for right to take the outcome of the development process and involvement in making the film. Their level of involvement could be the full funding of the movie and because of their early involvement they receive a large percentage.

WHAT IS A DISTRIBUTOR?  This helps the film to reach its audience. They ask for the right to distribute the film to exhibitors, retailers, Rental Company and broadcasters. They take a percentage of resulting venues.

WHY IS THE FILM TRAILER SO IMPORTANT?  It sells the key elements of the film to the right audience without giving too much away. It shows the uniqueness of the film and leaves the viewer in doubt about what the film will be like.

WHAT IS A ‘SALES PACKAGING’? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

WHAT IS’ BUZZ’ AND WHY IS IT IMPROTANT FOR ‘BUZZ’ TO BE CREATED?

CAN YOU GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF A RECENT FILM THAT HAS RECEIVED A GOOD ‘BUZZ’ HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS FILM? A resent film that has had a good buzz is sinister. I heard about the film from my mates and I then went to watch the trailer and liked it. The reason I liked the film after I watched it was because the film had a twist at the end. When the family left the house I thought they were safe because they have left the scene of torment but didn’t know that they were still going to die. The jumps were good and the monster (the sinister) was good and it didn’t follow the traditional ‘horror movie’ narrative.

WHAT IS ‘ABOVE THE LINE’ MARKETING?  It is used to get attention from the audience but the message given should effective because if it’s ineffective it could be damaging and it could confuse the audiences which will lead to bad marketing.

WHY ARE ‘NEW MRKETING MODELS’ SO IMPORTANT? It is important because the organisation can make the film easily reach the précised audience. There are so many media distractions nowadays so the film industries use this new marketing model to single out their audiences and make sure the film has the right kind of publicity. An example is advertisement through media texts like television programs presumably watched by the target audience.

WHAT IS ‘PACKAGE SELLING’? HOW MIGHT IT HINDER THE PROGRESS OF INDIE FILM? HOW MIGHT IT HELP INDIE FILMS?

WHY IS FILM OPENING WEEKEND BOX SO IMPORTANT?  It gives an indication to the amount of money it will make. If it’s a good film but won’t make as much money as the cost, not many people will watch it, words of the mouth will not go far and as quickly will flop.

WHY ARE DVD SALES STILL VERY IMPORTANT TO THE FILM INDUSTRY?   This helps increase the audience of a particular film. If a film flops in the cinema it may find a brand new audience with DVD. This increases the audience and publicity of the film.

MICRO ESSAY COURSE WORK

HOW DO MISE-EN-SCENE, SOUND AND PERFORMANCE PROVOKE OR SUGGEST RESPONSE IN THE AUDIENCE FROM THE SEQUENCE IN THE FILM “THE UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS”.

As the sequence begins the audience is introduced to a female character and she narrated a story which helps the audience understand what they are seeing (the visuals). The sound of war and swords clanging is heard and the audiences are shown pictures of supernatural creatures with swords. This suggests to the audience that this is not a story about human s but about something of a different species. She is narrating this story in past tense and this suggest to the audience that she in the present and that the past is very relevant to what is happening in the  in the present.  This foreshadows that the film is about war and that the war is in the happening in the present but it is because of what happened in the past.

The bird’s eye view of the town helps the audience have a quick glance at what the town look like and it gives them an insight of what the characters are like because there is only one guard at the entrance gate, no one is wandering around and the town is not busy. This suggest to the audience that the residents of the town are either very few or under a very strict law. The use of fire light in this scene suggests to the audience that they are not modern and that they are not exposed to the outside world. This scene uses a low key green lighting which suggests to the audience that supernatural creatures reside there. The female character narrating the story also helps the audience because she is telling a story about vampires so this suggests to the audience that the vampires reside there.

The next shot follows a man and a woman carrying a body towards a place that looks like a cell. This shot suggest to the audience that the heroine in this film might be a woman because of the voice over is that of a woman and the prisoner is being dragged by a woman. The prisoners are banded by their legs, hands and necks. This shows how strict their law is and this relates to the bird’s eye view shot that shows only one guard at the entrance gate. The costume of the guards shows how ancient they are and that they are always ready for a battle.

The voice over tells the audience that the Lycans were unable to take human form and they hear the sound of a monster but they also hear the sound of a baby as the voice over says “until he was born”. This creates enigma in the audience because they want to know what makes “him” special and who him is. The voice of the baby and the voice of the monster are heard the same time and are coming from the same place, this creates enigma for the audience as to why these tow voices are heard at the same time. The expression on the face of the guard suggests that something out of the ordinary has happened and the tone of voice in which the voice over said “until he was born” suggests to the audience that the birth of the child could be the cause of disrupt in the present.

The gate flies open and the audience is introduced to another character, Viktor. He is first shown in a low angle shot which makes him look superior and his costume is different from that of the guards. He is wearing a royal cloak with silver edge and in an old pattern. This shows that he is the leader of the vampires because of how superior he is looking and how he is the one that guard called to rectify the situation. This could be related to the way the society is, the high class dress differently from the middle or low class. The expression on Viktor’s face shows seriousness and can easily be portrayed as mean or heartless.

The next shot shows the baby and the Lycan. This provokes fear in the audience and the audience immediately has sympathy for the baby. The Lycan is in the shadow and the light is shining on the baby, this shows the innocence of the baby.  The position of the Lycan and the baby is like that of a mother and child and this creates enigma for the audience as to why the monster is not killing the child and the possibility of the monster being the mother of the baby. The audience is now introduced to another character, Lucian.

Viktor raises his crossbow and fires at the mother and baby but he shots the mother, this creates enigma in the audience as to why he shot the mother and not the baby and what his intentions are. The crossbow Viktor uses is an ancient weapon and this relates to how the film is not set in the modern times and the weapons used in the films are all ancient weapons. The mid shot of Viktor with a crossbow makes him out to be the bad guy in this situation.

The low angle shot of Viktor wanting to shot the baby makes him out as a villain. The voice over tells the audience that Viktor wanted to slay the child but didn't  This creates enigma for the audience as to why he didn't slay the child and what were his intentions for sparing the child’s life. Viktor not killing the child shows his soft side and that he may or may not regret it later.

The shot where Lucian lands on the ground shows how he has changed and there is no light shining on him. This suggests to the audience that he has been stripped of his innocence.

In this scene the voice over tells the audience that the child has grown and he possesses the strength and focus that the ones before him did not.  Lucian is skinny and pale looking boy and he is fighting three physically strong looking men, this shows the strength and focus he possesses as said by the voice over.

Viktor fires an arrow at him and he catches it. This suggests that Lucian is no longer afraid of the arrow and the arrow has lost its ability to kill him. Lucian is seen in a high angle shot which shows that he is still inferior to Viktor and that Viktor still controls him.

Viktor and some members of the council are watching Lucian fight and they are shown in a low angle shot which suggests their superiority over him. Viktor ask Sonja, his daughter if they could make of Lucian. The expression on Sonja’s face shows that she does not support what Viktor is doing but says nothing because of Viktor’s position as ruler.

In the next scene the voice over tells the audience how Viktor is using Lucian to his own benefit and he is making Lucian feed on his slaves. This makes Viktor the villain again and the audience now knows that the reason Viktor did not kill Lucian when he was a baby was so that he could use him to his benefit since he was the first of his kind.

Lucian’s performance in this scene shows how he is in pain and how much he doesn't want to eat the slaves but has no choice. The audience feels pity towards him because they can see that although he is eating humans his performance shows he does not want to and he is being forces by Viktor and cannot control his hunger.

In the next shot the voice over tells the audience how Viktor created more immortals like Lucian to guard them from their enemies during the day because vampires cannot walk in daylight and they are vulnerable during that period.

The voice over saying “or so Viktor taught” suggest to the audience that Viktor’s plan is not going to be successful for a long time and he is going to regret his actions.  This scene suggests to the audience that the repercussion of Viktor’s action in creating more like Lucian will be experienced in the present where the narrator is telling the story from.

The last word said by the voice over “or so Viktor taught” makes the audience reflect back to the first scene when they were shown pictures of war. In the pictures the Lycans were fighting the Vampires. This suggests that the Lycans grew stronger and were no longer Viktor’s slaves and are now the cause of the disrupt in the present.

CITIZEN KANE

Review on citizen Kane 

Citizen Kane? , Nah? Or Yay?

 ‘Citizen Kane’ a film directed by Orson Welles in 1941 voted greatest film of all time because of its innovative cinematography, music, and narrative structure.

The film was greatly appreciated because it came at the right time and America was under depression and the film reflected that, the production and release film gave an ‘awe’ in the film industries and in the eyes of the audience. However the film was not recognised till the 1990’s.The film was made with limited resources but still turned out great.

The film is a biography of wealthy man Charlie Foster Kane. The story was told by other people who new him because they were looking for answers after he was dead. The last word he said before he died was ‘Rosebud’. Nobody knew exactly what that meant so they set out to research his past and question those that knew him so that they will figure it out. Kane was a man that loved a lot and wanted more than anything to be loved as well, he was lonely and had the best interest at heart but executed it wrong.

The narrative structure of the film helps the audiences to understand the film with cinematography. It shows how Charlie foster Kane’s life after he is gone lives on in the memory of the living.

The film reflects the life of Kane through the views and opinion of other people and what they thought about him but the story was never told through Kane’s view and opinion.

The use of cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound in this film is splendid.

The voice over in the news scene helps the audience to interpret the visuals and helped the audience to understand they way their society works the voice over tells the audience what is happening (the death of Kane). It narrates the success of Kane and his impact on the society. It also narrates the life of Kane and how he became successful.

‘In every essence of his social beliefs and by the dangerously manner in which he has attacked the Americans traditions on private property’ this statement at the beginning goes against how some people saw him.

The scene where they where announcing who Charles Foster Kane is was packed with people which shows how important he was and how highly respected he was in the society.

 The camera angles in this film mostly show Kane in a low angle which makes the audience look up to him and make him look superior. It makes it look like the audiences as well as the other characters are looking up to him.

The use of cinematography shows how powerful Kane is and how highly he carries himself and how proud he feels. The lighting in each scene mostly focuses on Kane even if he is not the most important person in the scene.

The scene where Kane was blackmailed by his political opponent and his wife tries to manipulate him into doing what she wants, the camera angle is a high angle which makes it look like Kane was looking down on them and this also emphasises on his superiority.

The editing in this film was used to show passage of time and this is called elliptical editing. This was used in the scene where Susan Alexander was doing a puzzle and also the scene where Kane was talking to his first wife at the dinner table. This kept the audience in check and helped them to understand the emotions of the character and with this editing they could almost feel the tension as if they were there.

The characters that told the story of Kane, in their story when they knew Kane and when they were with him, they look relatively better than how they look now that he is dead. Susan         Alexander looks miserable and depressed as she narrates her own version of Kane’s life to Thompson. Although she was miserable in marriage she wasn’t better dressed and more respected in wealthier than how she was in the ‘present’ telling her story.

The search for the meaning of rosebud was never revealed to the characters but to the audience. It wasn’t a person or a place; it was an emblem of security, hope and innocence of childhood. He spent his entire life seeking to regain this lost innocence but didn’t.

“Maybe rosebud is something that he couldn’t get, or something he lost”, says Thompson.

The twist in the film was remarkable because the characters never got to know the ultimate question that were asked “what or who is rosebud?”

The making, setting, directing and casting of this film makes it indeed the greatest film of all time.