The British Film Industry
How many multiplex cinemas were there in the UK by 2009?
2735
Look at the top 10 independent cinemas and explain what you think the appeal of such cinemas is compared to the multiplex.
The indipendant cinemas are uncontested in thier service, they offer top of the line seating with comfy padded chairs, your own personal waiter and alcholoic drinks from the bar.
Read the article.
How might this exhibition opportunity it be a helpful thing for the UK film industry?
this will be a helpful thing for the UK film industruy as the films shown will offer a variety of films to suit everyones taste. extra revinew will also be brough in as more people will have access to this technology so people who might live too far from a cinema can still view the new films without going out of their way.
The UK Film Council
Summarise what the UK film council is and how it supports UK film.
The UK Film Council is the Government-backed lead agency for film in the UK
they are here to make sure that the UK has a dynamic film industry fit for the digital age and to help UK audiences enjoy the best of British and world cinema.
Give examples of 4 films that have been supported by the UK film council.
Clash of the Titans
Get Him To The Greek
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2
Inception
What is the Digital Screen network initiative and what does it mean for UK film?
Digital screening cuts the cost of releasing films (a digital copy costs around one tenth of a 35mm print). That's why UK Film Council and the Arts Council England have created the Digital Screen Network – a £12 million investment to equip 240 screens in 210 cinemas across the UK with digital projection technology to give UK audiences much greater choice. clearly this cuts the cost of the films release and help to promote less known films.
What else can be screened at cinemas now due to digital screens?
Independent films, documentaries and foreign films.
How may this aid the cinema industry?
This will aid the cinema industry as they will be able to gain a wider audience and the viewers wil be able to watch a vide variets of films.
Why is the closure of the UK film council regarded as a concern for the film industry?
If the council closes then less films will be produced and less films will be promoted to a wider audeince.
UK Film companies:
http://warp.net/films
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warp_Films
Warp is one of the foremost and most respected creative independent companies
It is based in London, England and Sheffield, with a further office now in Melbourne. Since its inception as a shop and record label in 1989, it has been a platform for innovative and boundary-breaking talent.
Productions
My Wrongs #8245–8249 & 117 (Dir: Chris Morris - 2003) (short film)
Dead Man's Shoes (Dir: Shane Meadows - 2004)
Rubber Johnny (Dir: Chris Cunningham - 2005)
Scummy Man (Dir: Paul Fraser - 2006) (short film/music video)
This Is England (Dir: Shane Meadows - 2006)
Grow Your Own (Dir: Richard Laxton - 2007)
Dog Altogether (Dir: Paddy Considine - 2007) (short film)
Fur TV (Dir: Chris Waitt - 2008)
A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (Dir: Chris Waitt - 2008)
Arctic Monkeys At the Apollo (Dir: Richard Ayoade - 2008)
Donkey Punch (Dir: Oliver Blackburn - 2008)
The Mighty Boosh Live: Future Sailors Tour (Dir: Paul King - 2009)
Curtains (Dir: Julian Barratt - 2009) (short film)
Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (Dir: Shane Meadows - 2009)
Bunny and the Bull (Dir: Paul King - 2009)
Four Lions (Dir: Chris Morris- 2009)
All Tomorrow's Parties (Dir: All Tomorrow's People & Jonathan Caouette - 2009)
This Is England 86 (Dir: Shane Meadows/Tom Harper - 2010)
Submarine (Dir: Richard Ayoade - 2010)
Tyrannosaur (Dir: Paddy Considine - 2011)
Wrap films has a small budget which comes from NESTA
Many wrap films have gone on to win BAFTA awards such as the chris morris film Four lions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Title_Films
http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/
Working Title Films is a British film production company
The company was first co founded by producers tim bevan and sarah radclyffe in 1983 then in 1992 PolyGram became the companys corporative banker.
The company is based within London
Working title films responsible for films such as
Nanny McPhee
Paul
Shaun of the dead
Senna
Funding is recieved from Universal
Cinema admissions
http://www.cinemauk.org.uk/ukcinemasector/admissions/annualukcinemaadmissions1935-2009/
Using the above link what can you say about cinema attendance in the UK?
[Link not working]
TV Film Channels
Film4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Film4_share_of_viewing.png
How has the move from subscription channel to free to air increased potential audiences to independent films?
The Views have skyrocketed because of the audience viewing due to there being no payment restriction.
Search the internet for 2 examples of UK film festivals that take place each year. Give an overview of the 2 festivals covering dates, locations, types of films, examples of what happens.
Tribeca Film Festival
Several UK films will screen at this year's Tribeca Film Festival (21 April - 2 May), including two UK Film Council-funded features in New York.
BFI London Film Festival
Bringing the world's best new films to London.
16 days of Films
In my opinion film festivals are very important. this is because the films shown there get exposure so the public can see it, this allows for good films to be seen by people who might not see that film, who might watch the preview and become perswaded to go and watch it at the cinema when it comes out, this also helps as many people blog about film festivals and they will have a lot of controll over audiences as some people follow what they say closely. this also alows for people to get the opportunity to meet the cast and crew.
Tuesday 26 April 2011
Thursday 10 February 2011
The War Genre research
removed. (August 2010)
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles. Their stories may be fiction, based on history, docudrama, biographical, or even alternate history fiction.
The term anti-war film is sometimes used to describe films which bring to the viewer the pain and horror of war, often from a political or ideological perspective.
One of the most influential silent films from the beginning of the twentieth century is Birth of a Nation (1915), the first half of which established many conventions for War films and Motion Pictures in general. This film has been described as a great movie for a terrible cause. Protests and violence erupted in the wake of its opening and it became one of the first films to raise the issue of cinema's potentially detrimental effect on mass culture.
The effects of the Vietnam War tended to diminish the appetite for fictional war films by the turn of the 1970s. American war films produced during and just after the Vietnam War often reflected the disillusion of the American public towards the war. Most films made after the Vietnam War delved more deeply into the horrors of war than movies made before it (This is not to say that there were no such films before the Vietnam War). Later war films like Catch-22 (set in WWII) and the black comedy MASH (set in Korea), reflected some of these attitudes.
In the decades following the War, the American film industry produced many war films either critical of American involvement in Vietnam, depicting American war crimes or the negative effects of war on combatants. These films included works by the most prominent actors and directors in American film and garnering the highest accolades and commercial success including:
Taxi Driver (1976) — nominated for four Academy Awards, directed by Martin Scorsese.
Coming Home (1978) — winner of three Academy Awards, directed by Hal Ashby.
The Deer Hunter (1978) — winner of five Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture, directed by Michael Cimino.
Apocalypse Now (1979) — winner of two Academy Awards, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Full Metal Jacket (1987) — directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Casualties of War (1989) — directed by Brian De Palma.
The success of Steven Spielberg's realistic Saving Private Ryan in 1998 helped to usher in a revival of interest in World War II films. A number of these, such as Pearl Harbor and Enemy at the Gates were aimed at the blockbuster market, while others, like Enigma, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and Charlotte Gray, were more nostalgic in tone. Others were trying to represent a more gritty side of the reality of the war such as Joseph Vilsmaier's Stalingrad, Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line
Codes and conventions
There are many codes and conventions in war films, however there are some that are used mroe than others.
Beach scenes are seen a lot in some films as it is a vast space that is used to make trenches with vehicles and hundreds of soldiers, such as Red Car beach in Attonement.
Easier things to identify is Equiptment, uniforms and guns. There will always be guns and army uniforms in war films, in MASH the cast are usually wearing army uniforms even thought the film focuses on the casualties of war rather than fighting. Also Jarhead's soldiers always have uniforms and guns with them even thought they encounter no fighting (which is what you would expect in a war film).
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles. Their stories may be fiction, based on history, docudrama, biographical, or even alternate history fiction.
The term anti-war film is sometimes used to describe films which bring to the viewer the pain and horror of war, often from a political or ideological perspective.
One of the most influential silent films from the beginning of the twentieth century is Birth of a Nation (1915), the first half of which established many conventions for War films and Motion Pictures in general. This film has been described as a great movie for a terrible cause. Protests and violence erupted in the wake of its opening and it became one of the first films to raise the issue of cinema's potentially detrimental effect on mass culture.
The effects of the Vietnam War tended to diminish the appetite for fictional war films by the turn of the 1970s. American war films produced during and just after the Vietnam War often reflected the disillusion of the American public towards the war. Most films made after the Vietnam War delved more deeply into the horrors of war than movies made before it (This is not to say that there were no such films before the Vietnam War). Later war films like Catch-22 (set in WWII) and the black comedy MASH (set in Korea), reflected some of these attitudes.
In the decades following the War, the American film industry produced many war films either critical of American involvement in Vietnam, depicting American war crimes or the negative effects of war on combatants. These films included works by the most prominent actors and directors in American film and garnering the highest accolades and commercial success including:
Taxi Driver (1976) — nominated for four Academy Awards, directed by Martin Scorsese.
Coming Home (1978) — winner of three Academy Awards, directed by Hal Ashby.
The Deer Hunter (1978) — winner of five Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture, directed by Michael Cimino.
Apocalypse Now (1979) — winner of two Academy Awards, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Full Metal Jacket (1987) — directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Casualties of War (1989) — directed by Brian De Palma.
The success of Steven Spielberg's realistic Saving Private Ryan in 1998 helped to usher in a revival of interest in World War II films. A number of these, such as Pearl Harbor and Enemy at the Gates were aimed at the blockbuster market, while others, like Enigma, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and Charlotte Gray, were more nostalgic in tone. Others were trying to represent a more gritty side of the reality of the war such as Joseph Vilsmaier's Stalingrad, Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line
Codes and conventions
There are many codes and conventions in war films, however there are some that are used mroe than others.
Beach scenes are seen a lot in some films as it is a vast space that is used to make trenches with vehicles and hundreds of soldiers, such as Red Car beach in Attonement.
Easier things to identify is Equiptment, uniforms and guns. There will always be guns and army uniforms in war films, in MASH the cast are usually wearing army uniforms even thought the film focuses on the casualties of war rather than fighting. Also Jarhead's soldiers always have uniforms and guns with them even thought they encounter no fighting (which is what you would expect in a war film).
They Hays Code/BBFC
I am going to be looking at two recent films that have been certificated by the BBFC and why they recieved the rating they have.
ALL AMERICAN ORGY is a film about six friends who go to a remote farm in order to have sex with each other. The film was classified '18' for very strong language, strong sex and sex references.
The BBFC's Guidelines at '15' state 'The strongest terms (for example, 'cunt') may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable'. There are a number of uses of very strong language in ALL AMERICAN ORGY. One of them is used in an aggressive and threatening manner and was therefore more appropriately classified at '18. The Guidelines at '15' further state 'There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable'. The references in ALL AMERICAN ORGY are often very strong and include joking references to necrophilia. The scenes depicting strong sex include a moment where two characters have sex with each other. The woman withdraws her consent and the man pulls away, but not before he appears to ejaculate onto the face of his partner’s husband. The Guidelines at '15' allow for sexual activity provided it is 'portrayed without strong detail'. Although detail of the mechanics of the sex may be lacking, the simulated ejaculation was strong enough to warrant an '18' classification.
Catagory; 18
Contains very strong language, sex and sex references
Director; Andrew Drazek
__________________
SANCTUM is an action adventure set in underground caves. When a tempest traps cavers beneath the surface, they must find another way to get out. The film was classified '15' for strong language.
The film contains multiple uses of strong language. These exceed the BBFC's Guidelines at '12A'/'12' where there may be only infrequent strong language but are permissible at '15' where the Guidelines state 'There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, 'fuck')'.
There are numerous scenes of moderate violence throughout as various characters meet their end in the attempt to escape the cave.
Catagory; 15
Contains strong language
Director; Alister Grierson
ALL AMERICAN ORGY is a film about six friends who go to a remote farm in order to have sex with each other. The film was classified '18' for very strong language, strong sex and sex references.
The BBFC's Guidelines at '15' state 'The strongest terms (for example, 'cunt') may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable'. There are a number of uses of very strong language in ALL AMERICAN ORGY. One of them is used in an aggressive and threatening manner and was therefore more appropriately classified at '18. The Guidelines at '15' further state 'There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable'. The references in ALL AMERICAN ORGY are often very strong and include joking references to necrophilia. The scenes depicting strong sex include a moment where two characters have sex with each other. The woman withdraws her consent and the man pulls away, but not before he appears to ejaculate onto the face of his partner’s husband. The Guidelines at '15' allow for sexual activity provided it is 'portrayed without strong detail'. Although detail of the mechanics of the sex may be lacking, the simulated ejaculation was strong enough to warrant an '18' classification.
Catagory; 18
Contains very strong language, sex and sex references
Director; Andrew Drazek
__________________
SANCTUM is an action adventure set in underground caves. When a tempest traps cavers beneath the surface, they must find another way to get out. The film was classified '15' for strong language.
The film contains multiple uses of strong language. These exceed the BBFC's Guidelines at '12A'/'12' where there may be only infrequent strong language but are permissible at '15' where the Guidelines state 'There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, 'fuck')'.
There are numerous scenes of moderate violence throughout as various characters meet their end in the attempt to escape the cave.
Catagory; 15
Contains strong language
Director; Alister Grierson
Robert Altman
Question 1;
Who is Robert altman?
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.
His films MASH, Nashville and McCabe and Mrs. Miller have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Altman's ancestry was German, English and Irish, his paternal grandfather, Frank Altman, changed the family name from "Altmann" to "Altman". Although he would not go on to practice Catholicism in later life, Altman had a strong Catholic upbringing.He was educated at Rockhurst High School, a Jesuit school in Kansas City, prior to joining the Army at the age of 18; over the course of World War II, Altman flew over 50 bombing missions in Borneo and the Dutch East Indies. Upon his discharge in 1946, Altman moved to California and worked in publicity for a company that had invented a tattooing machine designed for the identification of dogs. entered filmmaking only as a whim, selling to RKO the script for the 1948 picture Bodyguard, which he co-wrote with George W. George. Altman's immediate success encouraged him to move to New York City, where he attempted to forge a career as a writer; he enjoyed little luck, however, and in 1949 he returned to Kansas City, accepting a job as a director and writer of industrial films for the Calvin Company. Here he had his first experiences working with film technology, as well as with actors.
In 1969 Altman was offered the script for MASH, an adaptation of a little-known Korean War-era novel satirizing life in the armed services, which had already been passed over by over a dozen other filmmakers. Altman agreed to direct the project, and though production was so tumultuous that stars Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland even attempted to have Altman fired over his unorthodox filming methods, MASH was widely hailed as an immediate classic upon its 1970 release. It won the Grand Prix for the Best Film at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival and netted six Academy Award nominations. It was also Altman's highest grossing film. Now recognized as a major talent, Altman's career took firm hold with the success of MASH, and he followed it with other critical breakthroughs such as McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), Thieves Like Us (1974) and Nashville (1975), which made the distinctive, experimental "Altman style" well known.
In 1980, he directed the musical Popeye, based on the comic strip/cartoon of the same name, which starred Robin Williams in his big-screen debut. Though seen as a failure by some critics, the film did make money, and was in fact the second highest grossing film Altman directed to that point
Altman died on November 20, 2006, at age 81 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. According to his production company in New York, Sandcastle 5 Productions, he died of complications from leukemia.
Film director Paul Thomas Anderson dedicated his 2007 film There Will Be Blood to Altman.He was employed as a standby director for A Prairie Home Companion (2006) for insurance purposes, and in the event that ailing 80-year-old Altman was unable to finish shooting.
2, Films he is involved with;
MASH
Brewster McCloud
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Images
The Long Goodbye
Thieves Like Us
A Perfect Couple
And many more
3, What kind of comments can you find to help to describe his style of filmmaking?
Elliot Gould Donald Sutherland "unorthadox filming methods"
4. How did Robert Altman come to direct M*A*S*H?
In 1969 Altman was offered the script for MASH, an adaptation of a little-known Korean War-era novel satirizing life in the armed services, which had already been passed over by over a dozen other filmmakers. Altman agreed to direct the project, and though production was so tumultuous that stars Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland even attempted to have Altman fired over his unorthodox filming methods, MASH was widely hailed as an immediate classic upon its 1970 release. It won the Grand Prix for the Best Film at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival and netted six Academy Award nominations. It was also Altman's highest grossing film. Now recognized as a major talent, Altman's career took firm hold with the success of MASH, and he followed it with other critical breakthroughs such as McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), Thieves Like Us (1974) and Nashville (1975)
5, How old was ALtman while directing M*A*S*H?
Altman was 44 when he directed MASH
6, What did ALtman do prior to M*A*S*H
in the 1950's in his home town Kansas City Altman made industrial and documentary films for the Calvin Comapany
7, Interviews from Donald Sutherland and Elliot Guold explaining what happened during the filming of M*A*S*H in regards to Robert Altman and the crew
Elliott Gould tells a story about how he and Sutherland tried to get Altman fired because they thought he didn't know what he was doing. Gould said they were a couple of prima donnas.We Don't know Sutherland's feelings but he never worked with Altman again.
8, Wich film studio produced M*A*S*H and what was the estimated budget for the film?
The film was produced by 20th Century Fox with a budget of $3,500,000.
Who is Robert altman?
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.
His films MASH, Nashville and McCabe and Mrs. Miller have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Altman's ancestry was German, English and Irish, his paternal grandfather, Frank Altman, changed the family name from "Altmann" to "Altman". Although he would not go on to practice Catholicism in later life, Altman had a strong Catholic upbringing.He was educated at Rockhurst High School, a Jesuit school in Kansas City, prior to joining the Army at the age of 18; over the course of World War II, Altman flew over 50 bombing missions in Borneo and the Dutch East Indies. Upon his discharge in 1946, Altman moved to California and worked in publicity for a company that had invented a tattooing machine designed for the identification of dogs. entered filmmaking only as a whim, selling to RKO the script for the 1948 picture Bodyguard, which he co-wrote with George W. George. Altman's immediate success encouraged him to move to New York City, where he attempted to forge a career as a writer; he enjoyed little luck, however, and in 1949 he returned to Kansas City, accepting a job as a director and writer of industrial films for the Calvin Company. Here he had his first experiences working with film technology, as well as with actors.
In 1969 Altman was offered the script for MASH, an adaptation of a little-known Korean War-era novel satirizing life in the armed services, which had already been passed over by over a dozen other filmmakers. Altman agreed to direct the project, and though production was so tumultuous that stars Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland even attempted to have Altman fired over his unorthodox filming methods, MASH was widely hailed as an immediate classic upon its 1970 release. It won the Grand Prix for the Best Film at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival and netted six Academy Award nominations. It was also Altman's highest grossing film. Now recognized as a major talent, Altman's career took firm hold with the success of MASH, and he followed it with other critical breakthroughs such as McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), Thieves Like Us (1974) and Nashville (1975), which made the distinctive, experimental "Altman style" well known.
In 1980, he directed the musical Popeye, based on the comic strip/cartoon of the same name, which starred Robin Williams in his big-screen debut. Though seen as a failure by some critics, the film did make money, and was in fact the second highest grossing film Altman directed to that point
Altman died on November 20, 2006, at age 81 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. According to his production company in New York, Sandcastle 5 Productions, he died of complications from leukemia.
Film director Paul Thomas Anderson dedicated his 2007 film There Will Be Blood to Altman.He was employed as a standby director for A Prairie Home Companion (2006) for insurance purposes, and in the event that ailing 80-year-old Altman was unable to finish shooting.
2, Films he is involved with;
MASH
Brewster McCloud
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Images
The Long Goodbye
Thieves Like Us
A Perfect Couple
And many more
3, What kind of comments can you find to help to describe his style of filmmaking?
Elliot Gould Donald Sutherland "unorthadox filming methods"
4. How did Robert Altman come to direct M*A*S*H?
In 1969 Altman was offered the script for MASH, an adaptation of a little-known Korean War-era novel satirizing life in the armed services, which had already been passed over by over a dozen other filmmakers. Altman agreed to direct the project, and though production was so tumultuous that stars Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland even attempted to have Altman fired over his unorthodox filming methods, MASH was widely hailed as an immediate classic upon its 1970 release. It won the Grand Prix for the Best Film at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival and netted six Academy Award nominations. It was also Altman's highest grossing film. Now recognized as a major talent, Altman's career took firm hold with the success of MASH, and he followed it with other critical breakthroughs such as McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), Thieves Like Us (1974) and Nashville (1975)
5, How old was ALtman while directing M*A*S*H?
Altman was 44 when he directed MASH
6, What did ALtman do prior to M*A*S*H
in the 1950's in his home town Kansas City Altman made industrial and documentary films for the Calvin Comapany
7, Interviews from Donald Sutherland and Elliot Guold explaining what happened during the filming of M*A*S*H in regards to Robert Altman and the crew
Elliott Gould tells a story about how he and Sutherland tried to get Altman fired because they thought he didn't know what he was doing. Gould said they were a couple of prima donnas.We Don't know Sutherland's feelings but he never worked with Altman again.
8, Wich film studio produced M*A*S*H and what was the estimated budget for the film?
The film was produced by 20th Century Fox with a budget of $3,500,000.
Wednesday 26 January 2011
The Golden Age of Cinema
The collapse of the golden gae in new hollywood was due to the big film industries producing the same old boring films that followed the same structure.
the younger generation of people were more internested in the films that were being produced by new directors.
The 5 major film companies at the time tried to stop their losses by holding noto the cinemas they owned, this meant that they could screen their own films instead of having to show films that were made by smaller companies or new direcotrs. when this was removed from them and people started to go to drive in cinemas new hollywood fell appart becuse the younger generation were more interested in the new films by new directors. the new directors that were most successful were "Baby-boomers" who knew that there was a big market as the new generations were un-catered for in the cinemas. the big companies at the time were unable to keep up and soon they lost their studios and money.
the competition also drove the number of people down that visited the cinemas as TV was invented and people were now watching TV instead of having to go out now.
the new age of hollywood also collapsed as more and more new films came out the boundries for films were being pushed higher and higher. films such as Star Wars and Jaws put trmendus pressure of film directors to do a better job at making the film, but also showed that there was more money than they thought in the film industry.
the younger generation of people were more internested in the films that were being produced by new directors.
The 5 major film companies at the time tried to stop their losses by holding noto the cinemas they owned, this meant that they could screen their own films instead of having to show films that were made by smaller companies or new direcotrs. when this was removed from them and people started to go to drive in cinemas new hollywood fell appart becuse the younger generation were more interested in the new films by new directors. the new directors that were most successful were "Baby-boomers" who knew that there was a big market as the new generations were un-catered for in the cinemas. the big companies at the time were unable to keep up and soon they lost their studios and money.
the competition also drove the number of people down that visited the cinemas as TV was invented and people were now watching TV instead of having to go out now.
the new age of hollywood also collapsed as more and more new films came out the boundries for films were being pushed higher and higher. films such as Star Wars and Jaws put trmendus pressure of film directors to do a better job at making the film, but also showed that there was more money than they thought in the film industry.
Monday 10 January 2011
Todorovs theory of equilibrium
I am going to use Todorov's Twheory of equilibrium on two films to show how his theory cannon be applied to all films.
The Descent (Part 1;
Equilibrium;
the films starts at an equilibrium as we see the group are walking through the woods and talking.
Disruption;
The group become trapped in the cave and one of the gorpu is injured.
Realisation of disruption;
The group encounter the monsters and more become hurt/killed.
Attempt to repair the situation;
the reaiming members of the group start to fight the monsters and try to escape the cave they are trapped in. however they are unsuccessful.
New Equilibriuml;
the m,ain character manages to escape the cave and the new equilibrium is formed as she has been able to escape and return to normal life.
The Blair Witch Project;
Equilibrium;
the film starts with the group driving along the road to go to their destination (the woods) to film a documentary about the Witch.
Disruption;
The group leave the van and are walking around the woods. the group start to head back to go to their van and the path has become blocked off.
Realisation of disruption;
The characters realise that something is wrong when their campsite is terrorised late at night (by what they think is a group of children playing a joke) the group run out of the tent screaming and shouting to scare the children away, opne of the group runs too far ahead and goes missing.
Attempt to repair;
The group search for their fiend and are unable, the attempt to repair is unsuccessful. they manage to get back to the other side of the lake to their van and find that the van has been destroyed.
New Equilibrium;
the characters head shouts coming from a house- the shouts are from their missing friend. the pair run into the house, the femail characters runs downstairs and the male character runs upstairs. the femail charactyers starts screaming for help and the male character rushes down to help, the audience head a thud and the camera is dropped, we know that something has happened behind the camera nad the man is injured/dead. the camera is positioned so we see the femail character facing the wall crying and this is how the film ends.
as we see Todorov's theory does not work on the Blair Witch as the equilibrium at the end is not a return to normality for the characters.
The Descent (Part 1;
Equilibrium;
the films starts at an equilibrium as we see the group are walking through the woods and talking.
Disruption;
The group become trapped in the cave and one of the gorpu is injured.
Realisation of disruption;
The group encounter the monsters and more become hurt/killed.
Attempt to repair the situation;
the reaiming members of the group start to fight the monsters and try to escape the cave they are trapped in. however they are unsuccessful.
New Equilibriuml;
the m,ain character manages to escape the cave and the new equilibrium is formed as she has been able to escape and return to normal life.
The Blair Witch Project;
Equilibrium;
the film starts with the group driving along the road to go to their destination (the woods) to film a documentary about the Witch.
Disruption;
The group leave the van and are walking around the woods. the group start to head back to go to their van and the path has become blocked off.
Realisation of disruption;
The characters realise that something is wrong when their campsite is terrorised late at night (by what they think is a group of children playing a joke) the group run out of the tent screaming and shouting to scare the children away, opne of the group runs too far ahead and goes missing.
Attempt to repair;
The group search for their fiend and are unable, the attempt to repair is unsuccessful. they manage to get back to the other side of the lake to their van and find that the van has been destroyed.
New Equilibrium;
the characters head shouts coming from a house- the shouts are from their missing friend. the pair run into the house, the femail characters runs downstairs and the male character runs upstairs. the femail charactyers starts screaming for help and the male character rushes down to help, the audience head a thud and the camera is dropped, we know that something has happened behind the camera nad the man is injured/dead. the camera is positioned so we see the femail character facing the wall crying and this is how the film ends.
as we see Todorov's theory does not work on the Blair Witch as the equilibrium at the end is not a return to normality for the characters.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Film Studies, Micro Elements
The first film I have decided to analyse for my Film Studies coursework is Jack's entrance in Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans chest. Gore Verbinski directs the film, it was released in 2006 and is an Action/adventure film which is the second instalment of the films. In this Analysis I will be looking at the sound used in the film.
Men are heaving coffins into the water. As they float into the ocean,(which will be a diagetic sound as the characters will hear this sound) a crow lands on top of one and starts pecking with its beak. A gunshot is heard and the coffin lid is blown off in the spot the bird was once stood. A hand holding a pistol emerges and proceeds to “look around” with the gun in case any danger. The hand is pulled back into the coffin and Jack breaks through the coffin top. He checks on his favourite hat and puts it on. With a "Sorry, mate," to the corpse inside the coffin with him, he breaks off one of the skeleton's legs and uses it as an oar to steer the boat. The lighting in the scene is dark with bits of light coming through- to show that it is possibly late night/early morning. This is no music in this scene but there are added effects, such as the gunshot and the bird squawking for added realism. There is also an added sound effect of the skeletons leg being ripped off and flowing through the water.
The second film I am analysing is The Descent by Neil Marshall. It was released in 2005 and is a horror film, I will be analysing the lighting and use of location used and the proxemics in the group near the start of the film.
The scene starts with the characters walking through a lush forest; you can see that the location has been used because of the vibrant green colour that is coming from the background. The character proxemics shows that they are a group of friends but also shows a hierarchy as the person in the front is leading the way and also doing all the talking. Lighting in the first part of this scene is bright, to show they are out walking on a nice sunny day. After this part of the scene it jumps to the group walking down a bank, the colours have changed as there are now lots of leaves on the floor and you can see the contrast as the mud appears to be getting darker the further they travel downwards. One of the group stops to talk pictures and is met with sarcastic comments by another group member, this shows that character relationships may not exactly be perfect. The lighting in this part of the scene is darker than before, there is now a background music accompanying the scene, it is a slow and almost sinister sound to it as the camera pans and shows the dead animal that the group member has been taking the picture of. The area around this is blurred out, this technique is used to make the viewers focus on a certain part of the frame, the camera stays on this until the last group member has the left the shot. I believe that the lighting used in this part of the scene is ambient lighting, we get bits of light coming from the sun through the trees. This gives the film a more natural look, as the lighting used in this sequence would not be possible in a studio.
The last film I am analysing is Lord of the Rings (Bridge scene) in the “Fellowship of the Ring” by Peter Jackson. It was released in 2001 as the first film in a trilogy. The Genre is fantasy. For this analysis I an focusing on camera shots and the use of background sound and sound effects and what effect it provides the audience with.
The scene begins with the group sprinting through a large, dark hall in an underground cave, the director is using an extreme shot, this shows the audience how large the space is that they are in and also shows the audicne the emergency of the situation as they need to get to the other end of the room. The only lights are those of Gandalf's staff and torches held by other members of the group. There is a large blanket of darkness- they can see only a short way ahead of them in all directions, and they know they are being chased, we see this when the came changes shot to a close-up of the two main characters in the films, as the look back we get a point of view shot to what they see; an army chasseing them. The size of the hall is shown to the audience through the use of long establishing shots and high angled shots. They show us that there are hundreds of orcs chasing the group, but they cannot see them. As they run, we can hear the theme tune playing of the “Lord of the rings” films. This piece of music gets played throughout the trilogy of films whenever the Fellowship is about to do something heroic. It tells the audience that something important is about to happen. We can also hear the orcs shouting/cries as they chase the group. We also see the sense of emergency as the camera pans to the running group, it also shows the audience that many of the creatures begin to join the chase, they seem to appear out of no-were and are covered in the darkness, this could be to suggest the evil that they are. When the group is surrounded by the orcs the background music is predominant in the sequence as we cannot much of the sound from the actual scene taking place, we get many point of view shots in this section of the film, we see the orcs point of view and also the heroes point of views, the shot after this is another long shot and we see that the group is surrounded by darkness, we also see how the small group is vastly out numbered as they appear as a small dot in an ocean of creatures.
When the group stop running, the music stops playing. There is almost complete silence, but we can hear the heavy breathing from the members of the group, and the rustling of swords on armour from the hoard of orcs. There's a pause, no one makes the first move. The director gives us close ups of several orcs and of one of the characters of the group, to express their anxiousness and tension.
A non-diegetic roaring sound from deep within the caves breaks the pause. It is loud and echoes through the large empty halls and corridors. A bright red light fills up one of these corridors, as we look at it through the use of a long establishing shot. The light is red to represent danger and possibly death. It is enough to make the orcs panic and run, shrieking as they go. We get another set of close ups, this time showing fear terror on the groups faces. He whispers to his friends, explaining what the sound is, and then they run off again. More music begins to play – this music is darker with a choir humming loudly in it. The music begins to fade and we hear a “swoosh” noise and arrows hitting close to the group. We can see that this is danger before we can even see the evil creatures and once again they are surrounded by darkness and the audience knows they are in danger as we can hear the sound effect of the arrows being fired and the sound of the ricocheting off the broken staircase the group are descending. We see even more danger soon after as the way the group has just come from is being lit up by a bright red light, meaning that whatever was in the tunnels earlier in the scene is chasseing them and suggests immediate danger, we see a close-up of one of the characters faces as they turn to realise the danger they are in.
The first film I have decided to analyse for my Film Studies coursework is Jack's entrance in Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans chest. Gore Verbinski directs the film, it was released in 2006 and is an Action/adventure film which is the second instalment of the films. In this Analysis I will be looking at the sound used in the film.
Men are heaving coffins into the water. As they float into the ocean,(which will be a diagetic sound as the characters will hear this sound) a crow lands on top of one and starts pecking with its beak. A gunshot is heard and the coffin lid is blown off in the spot the bird was once stood. A hand holding a pistol emerges and proceeds to “look around” with the gun in case any danger. The hand is pulled back into the coffin and Jack breaks through the coffin top. He checks on his favourite hat and puts it on. With a "Sorry, mate," to the corpse inside the coffin with him, he breaks off one of the skeleton's legs and uses it as an oar to steer the boat. The lighting in the scene is dark with bits of light coming through- to show that it is possibly late night/early morning. This is no music in this scene but there are added effects, such as the gunshot and the bird squawking for added realism. There is also an added sound effect of the skeletons leg being ripped off and flowing through the water.
The second film I am analysing is The Descent by Neil Marshall. It was released in 2005 and is a horror film, I will be analysing the lighting and use of location used and the proxemics in the group near the start of the film.
The scene starts with the characters walking through a lush forest; you can see that the location has been used because of the vibrant green colour that is coming from the background. The character proxemics shows that they are a group of friends but also shows a hierarchy as the person in the front is leading the way and also doing all the talking. Lighting in the first part of this scene is bright, to show they are out walking on a nice sunny day. After this part of the scene it jumps to the group walking down a bank, the colours have changed as there are now lots of leaves on the floor and you can see the contrast as the mud appears to be getting darker the further they travel downwards. One of the group stops to talk pictures and is met with sarcastic comments by another group member, this shows that character relationships may not exactly be perfect. The lighting in this part of the scene is darker than before, there is now a background music accompanying the scene, it is a slow and almost sinister sound to it as the camera pans and shows the dead animal that the group member has been taking the picture of. The area around this is blurred out, this technique is used to make the viewers focus on a certain part of the frame, the camera stays on this until the last group member has the left the shot. I believe that the lighting used in this part of the scene is ambient lighting, we get bits of light coming from the sun through the trees. This gives the film a more natural look, as the lighting used in this sequence would not be possible in a studio.
The last film I am analysing is Lord of the Rings (Bridge scene) in the “Fellowship of the Ring” by Peter Jackson. It was released in 2001 as the first film in a trilogy. The Genre is fantasy. For this analysis I an focusing on camera shots and the use of background sound and sound effects and what effect it provides the audience with.
The scene begins with the group sprinting through a large, dark hall in an underground cave, the director is using an extreme shot, this shows the audience how large the space is that they are in and also shows the audicne the emergency of the situation as they need to get to the other end of the room. The only lights are those of Gandalf's staff and torches held by other members of the group. There is a large blanket of darkness- they can see only a short way ahead of them in all directions, and they know they are being chased, we see this when the came changes shot to a close-up of the two main characters in the films, as the look back we get a point of view shot to what they see; an army chasseing them. The size of the hall is shown to the audience through the use of long establishing shots and high angled shots. They show us that there are hundreds of orcs chasing the group, but they cannot see them. As they run, we can hear the theme tune playing of the “Lord of the rings” films. This piece of music gets played throughout the trilogy of films whenever the Fellowship is about to do something heroic. It tells the audience that something important is about to happen. We can also hear the orcs shouting/cries as they chase the group. We also see the sense of emergency as the camera pans to the running group, it also shows the audience that many of the creatures begin to join the chase, they seem to appear out of no-were and are covered in the darkness, this could be to suggest the evil that they are. When the group is surrounded by the orcs the background music is predominant in the sequence as we cannot much of the sound from the actual scene taking place, we get many point of view shots in this section of the film, we see the orcs point of view and also the heroes point of views, the shot after this is another long shot and we see that the group is surrounded by darkness, we also see how the small group is vastly out numbered as they appear as a small dot in an ocean of creatures.
When the group stop running, the music stops playing. There is almost complete silence, but we can hear the heavy breathing from the members of the group, and the rustling of swords on armour from the hoard of orcs. There's a pause, no one makes the first move. The director gives us close ups of several orcs and of one of the characters of the group, to express their anxiousness and tension.
A non-diegetic roaring sound from deep within the caves breaks the pause. It is loud and echoes through the large empty halls and corridors. A bright red light fills up one of these corridors, as we look at it through the use of a long establishing shot. The light is red to represent danger and possibly death. It is enough to make the orcs panic and run, shrieking as they go. We get another set of close ups, this time showing fear terror on the groups faces. He whispers to his friends, explaining what the sound is, and then they run off again. More music begins to play – this music is darker with a choir humming loudly in it. The music begins to fade and we hear a “swoosh” noise and arrows hitting close to the group. We can see that this is danger before we can even see the evil creatures and once again they are surrounded by darkness and the audience knows they are in danger as we can hear the sound effect of the arrows being fired and the sound of the ricocheting off the broken staircase the group are descending. We see even more danger soon after as the way the group has just come from is being lit up by a bright red light, meaning that whatever was in the tunnels earlier in the scene is chasseing them and suggests immediate danger, we see a close-up of one of the characters faces as they turn to realise the danger they are in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)