Evaluation

Evaluation Questions

Evaluation of your Coursework

Here're the questions you have to answer in your Evaluations:

1. In what ways does your film opening use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

2. How does your film opening represent particular social groups?

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your film opening and why?

4. Who would be the audience for your film opening?

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this film opening?

7. Looking back at your prelim task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the final film opening?

Finished Film

This is our finished film opening. I am so happy we have finished and I am really pleased with how it has turned out.

Shot Angles

High angle shots - 

Camera Shots

Medium Shot (MS) - This is when a human figure is shown from the knees or waist up. This is most commonly used in TV dramas.

Emmerdale- Disability

The way this episode represents Disability varies as in the first clip the Disabled man Jackson sticks up for himself showing he is strong and independent which represents Disability in a positive light showing they are still able and capable of looking after themselves. It also shows how harsh and cruel other members of the public can be as two men in the bar make an insulting joke and call Jackson "special".
However in the hospital Jackson is shown to have extremely low self esteem referring to himself as being "trapped in a broken body" which represents Disability in a negative light as he wants to end his life.

BBFC

We decided to certify our film as PG because it is aimed at a wider target audience as it is suitable for ages (families) and does not contain taboo language so is appropriate for younger audiences as it is not upsetting in any way and does not discuss any sensitive topics.

Group Vlog

This is a Vlog about how we have finished filming and deciding a certificate for our film opening.

Filming

Last Monday we finished the second half of our filming which was quite difficult as we picked the coldest windiest day to film so we will now have to foley in our conversation as the wind was too loud. Also we used animals in our film opening which were very unpredictable and made filming each scene a little bit harder. Thankfully the shots were good quality so we now only have to record our voice over and then we will be completely finished.

This is a Vlog about our media trip to Richmix and revision for Section A.

Group Vlog

This is a Vlog that me and Sanan did about research for Section B and our second half of filming for our film opening.

Section B research - Film 4

Film 4 was launched on November 1st 1998 and is owned by the Channel 4 corporation. Film 4 is only televised in the United Kingdom and its slogan is "Great films for free". Film 4 was originally called "FilmFour"from 1998-2006. It has many sister channels such as Channel 4, E4, More4, 4music etc which already give Film4 a good name before it has even launched. This helped the Channel as many people were eager to tune in and watch before the channel even launched as the other "4" channels have been extremely successful.
FilmFour was Channel 4s second channel and when it launched in 1998 was only available subscription only at £5.99-£6.00 a month and in some cases rising to £7.00 for Sky owners.
This is England was written and directed by Shane Meadows and was released on April 27th 2007 and distributed by Optimum Producing. Its budget was $2,380,000 which is extremely low in comparison to Kill Bills $55 million. This shows how films benefit hugely and are given the upper hand if they are from a well known and successful company such as Miramax. Although Film 4 is very successful in England it is still a small film company and is only known in the UK - not worldwide like other film companies. It earned $8,176,544 in the box office. Because of the success of the movie TV series were made about the characters life after the film called "This Is England 86" and "This is England 88". There is also a third and final series "This Is England 90" due in 2012.
The film won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the 2007 British Academy Awards. It also won Best Film Category at the 2006 British Independent Film Awards. It became the 9th best film of the year in the Los Angeles Times in 2007 showing that it is a popular film worldwide and was particularly successful in America. Also Thomas Turgoose won the most promising newcomer award.

Section B Research - DreamWorks

My chosen film companies are DreamWorks which is founded by Steven Speilberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen in 1994 on October 12th. From 2004 its films have been distibuted worldwide by Paramount/Viacom, but the animation studio remained independent. The two films I will speak about from DreamWorks are Shrek which earned $484.4 million and was nominated for six BAFTAS and won the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Shrek uses many references from Disney films such as Babe, Dumbo and Peter Pan, for example Tinkerbell hits Donkey, then he says "I can fly!" which is a reference to Peter Pan. This is a factor that contributes to the success of Shrek as people who are familiar with Disney will know the phrases and enjoy the movie more as they 'are in with the joke' because they know where 'the characters' got it from. Imax dropped plans to release Shrek in 3D in 2001 due to "creative changes" by DreamWorks and the film was instead released in 2D in May and then 3D in December.
Radio Disney did not allow any ads on their station, however May 7th 2001 Burger King began promotions for the film. they gave out a selection of nine toys based on the Shrek characters which could be found in kids meals. Because of Shreks success there has been five Shrek video games, three comic book issues, three sequels: Shrek 2, Shrek The Third and Shrek Forever After  (as well as festive Shrek films) and a musical.
Shrek was so popular it because DreamWorks Animations official mascot.

Section B research - Miramax

Pulp Fiction is a film distributed by Miramax films and was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It was released in Cannes in May 1994  and America on October 14th.
It earned $212.9 million in the box office and had a budget of $8.4 million which is minor compared to Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2 combined budget of $55 million.
Pulp Fiction has a soundtrack which gets the film well known with music lovers and is extra promotion and profit.
It was named Best Picture by the National Soiciety Of Film Critics. Also Tarantino and Avary were announced as joint winners of the Oscar and BAFTA For Best Original Screen Play.
Pulp Fictuion was named one of the most influential films in 1995 and it was voted as the fourth greatest film of all time in Channel 4s nationwide poll for Britain in 2001, showing that this film is very well known and has a good reputation as it is still being talked about today, 17 years after its release.

Section B research - Miramax

Miramax was founded in 1979 by Harvey and Bob Weinstein who are brothers from Buffalo, New York. It was a leading independent film motion picture distibution and production company before it was taken on by The Walt Disney Company in 2003. Disney's 17 years involvement ended in 2010 when it was sold to Colony Capital.

Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2 were distibuted by Miramax films in 2003-2004 and were written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Kill Bill Vol 1 budget was $55 million and it earned $180,949,045 in the box office. As Miramax is a successful and well known film company Kill Bill was given a generous budget which helped their success by including special effects and locations etc in the film to make it more successful.

Kill Bill has released a soundtrack, and a parody has taken place on the TV series "Robot Chicken" in 2005.

Kill Bill Vol 1 was released in 2004, 1 week before Vol 2 hit cinemas. The timing of this encourages the public to buy the DVD more as they have seen trailers, billboards and poster for Vol 2 so they will be reminded of the films success and want to buy it more.

The picture underneath is the Calvary Baptist Church in Hi Vista, California used for a filming location. (The wedding scenes).

                 

Changeling

Changeling is a 2008 American drama film written by J Michael Straczynski and directed by Clint Eastwood. The movie is set in 1928 and is about a woman who has been reunited with her missing son, only to find out that he is an imposter. This movie covers female dispowerment, political corruption, child endangerment and the repercussions of violence. The writer j Michael Straczynski spent a year researching the historical records of a case at Los Angeles City Hall and he used 95% of this information in the script, showing how true the story actually is. The fact that this is almost the exact true story will encourage and interest the public to go and see the movie and has made it extremely successful.
Changeling premiered at the 61st Cannes Film festival on May 20th 2008, to critical acclaim. It then had further festival appearances and a limited release in America on 24th October. It was released in North America on 31st October, United Kingdom on 26th November and in Australia on 5th February 2009. It earned $113 million in the box office worldwide. $35.7 million was just America and Canada. Changeling was nominated for three academy awards and eight BAFTAS.

Half term Vlog

This is my vlog about the cinema research we did in the half term and also research about directors and films that will be helpful for the Section B part of our exam.

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino is a film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and actor. He has been working 1988 to present and has made many notable films such as Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, Inglorious Basterds and Jackie Brown.

Kill Bill is a two-part movie released in 2003-2004 which Quentin wrote and directed.  Kill Bill is an American action/thriller film which follows the character known as ‘the bride’ and ‘kiddo’ until the end of Vol 2 where it is revealed that her name is ‘Beatrix Kiddo’ She is a former member of a assassination  team and seeks revenge on them  for killing members of her wedding party.

Volume 1 was released in 3,102 theatres and grossed $22 million in its opening weekend.  Kill Bill was nominated for 5 BAFTAS in 2004 and Uma Thurman won Best Actress in a Motion Picture in 2004 and David Carradine received best supporting actor in 2005. Kill Bill was very popular with MTV and was nominated Best Movie at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards.
Before starting media I hadnt heard of Quentin Tarantino or any of his films. I have now watched Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2 and Pulp Fiction. I have really enjoyed all of his films and looking forward to his other successful films such as Inglorious Basterds, Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown.
Quentin has his own style and uses the "trunk shot" in many of his movies such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. This shows his unique style and has made me think about unusual camera angles that we could use in our film such as a snorri cam which would make our film look more interesting.

Miss Fitzjohn Half Term Homework

Eastenders - Syed and Christian

Mise en scene - Both men are dressed like heterosexual men which goes against the stereotype of how homosexual men dress. They are both not feminine in anyway which again goes against the stereotype of homosexual men. Also they are both dressed in jeans and a dark jacket which shows them as being similar which could mean that they would be a good couple. In the background nothing shows that they are homosexual and if they weren't kissing you would just think they were two heterosexual friends.

Camera angles/movement - There is a close up and a pan of Syed and Christian kissing which dominates the scene showing the importance of their relationship. Also there is a close up of Christians face which show him as being distressed and sad which represents that their relationship is complicated and stressful. Also there is an over the shoulder shot of them having an intimate conversation as Christians hands are on his face which represents them being in a relationship.

Sound - There is digetic sound of people in another room having a party. This shows that the couple are hiding from everyone there which shows their relationship is a secret and they are worried what people may think about it. Also the music at the beginning shows that they are at a party.

Editing – There is shot reverse shot of Syed and Christian having a conversation where Christian looks distressed which shows there conversation is serious and something is wrong. There is also an eyeline match which shows that they are keeping there relationship secret from everyone.

Miss Fitzjohn Half Term Homework

Waterloo Road - Transgender

Mise en scene - Martin is wearing his differently to the other pupils to make himself stand out and look different. He has styled his hair and is wearing shiny silver shoes which suggests that he is quite feminine, whilst the others boys are dressed scruffy and have not really taken time in there appearance. Also martin is covered up and has buttoned his shirt right to the top which represents that he is not comfortable with his body

Camera angles/movement - There is a close up shot of Martins shiny shoes as he is opening a door which represents that he is quite feminine and puts attention on the fact that he is different from the other boys. There is also a tilt shot showing Martins body which again represents his difference. This then leads into a pan shot of him walking to the mirror which shows that something important is going to happen and this draws all the attention and focus on him. There are also many close ups of Martin face that represent how distressed and upset he is.

Sound - When Martin walks into the changing rooms there is sad non digetic music playing represent how he is feeling, how lonely and upset he is. Also there digetic sound of boys talking as they walk into the changing room which shows they all get along with each other and are loud and confident, whilst Martin is left out and shy

Editing – There is a focus pull when Martin is by the mirror which has a blurred close up of his face and in the background a clear shot of the group of boys which puts the focus on them and shows that they are dominating the shot. The shot then returns to Martins face and there is a sloe zoom out which There is his sad expression and shows that all the focus is on him

Section B Half Term Work Miss foster

Liverpool


There are 88 separate screenings over the weekend.
In total there are 16 films being shown on Saturday and Sunday.
7 of these films are being screened several times at the same cinema.
There are 3 films that are shown at this cinema and other cinemas at the same time. These films are The woman in black, The vow and The Muppets.
Films in relation to screenings are 2:11
There are 5 unique screenings at this cinema which is shown as a percentage in the pie chart below:

Chelsea

Over the weekend the are 38 separate screenings

In total 9 films are being shown in this cinema

4 of these films are being screened several times at the same cinema

Films in relation to screenings as a ratio is 9:38

There are 4 films shown at this cinema and different cinemas at the same time. These are The vow, The woman in black, The muppets and One day.

There are 3 unique screening which are shown as a percentage in the pie chart below:

Middlesbrough

Over the weekend there are 92 separate screenings

There are 25 films being shown in total

9 of these films are being shown several times at this cinema

There were 3 films shown at this cinema and other cinemas at the same time. These are The woman in black, The vow and The Muppets.

Films in relation to screenings as a ratio is 5:18

The number of unique screenings shown at this cinema is 12. This is shown as a percentage in the pie chart below:

Bolton

Over the weekend there are 144 separate screenings at this cinema

There are 29 films being shown in total

10 of these films are being shown several times at this cinema

There were five films being shown at this cinema and others at the same time. These are The woman in black, The Vow, One Day, Star wars episode 1: phantom of menace and The muppets.

Films in relation to screenings as a ration is 1:14

The number of unique screenings shown at this cinema is 9. This is shown as a percentage in the pie chart below:

Ipswich

There are 112 separate screenings over the weekend

There are 24 films being shown at this cinema

9 of these films are being shown several times

There were only two films being shown at this cinema and others at the same time. These are The woman in black and The muppets.

Films in relation to screenings shown as a ratio is 3:14

Then number of unique screenings at this cinema is 7. This is shown as a percentage in the pie chart below:

Conclusion

In conclusion I have noticed that all the cinemas that I have looked at distribute their films at similar times. Many screenings are at night from 6:30 onwards and they also have early screenings in the mornings for childrens films. Also films from successful companies such as The Woman In Black are the main focus of the cinema and will be shown for much longer than films such as Haywire which has also been released recently, but has been given less screenings and less advertisement on the website and in the cinema.

Films such as Rango have now been out for over a year and is still being shown in some cinemas such Cineworld because of how popular and well advertised it has been with the public.

I have noticed that all cinemas give films from a major company more screenings than films from smaller companies which could be just as successful.

Group vlog

This is our group vlog talking about our e book revision and what we have done so far in our film opening.

Representation of class and status in TV dramas - shameless

Shameless is a very successful british Tv drama written by award winner Paul Abbotts. It feautures the dysfunction family 'the gallaghers' and where they live called the chatsworth estate. The show is mainly about taboo language, sex, drugs and violence etc. In the clip I have watched of Shameless season 6 episode 9 there are many camera angles and good use of editing which help to present the class and status of the characters.
Jump cuts are used a lot in Shameless. This represents how the peoples lives do not run smoothly, instead they are rough and busy and hectic hense the jump cuts. At 2:40 in this clip there is a jump cut of a man in the pub which shows that the scene is dominated by him and that he is of importance.

Also in this clip it shows a pan of a man in a suit in the pub. His clothes show that he is of high status as he is well dressed in a suit whilst everyone around him is wearing a tracksuit or cheap clothing. This pan also shows that this man is of high status because the pan follows him through the pub showing that he is the important dominant person in the scene.
At the beginning of the clip there is a low angle shot of a man on the toilet. Although this image does not show this man as high class, the distorted image that makes this man looks a lot bigger than he actually is shows him of a higher status than the rest of his family.

 Finally at the beginning of this clip it shows a dysfunctional family having a conversation at 0:30 where there are a lot of jump cuts used to show how this family are middle class as they are seen as quite argumentative and rowdy.

Filming

We started filming for our second film opening idea yesterday and things went a lot netter than last time. We were a lot more organised and confident and we have now uploaded our clips onto the mac and looked through them. I think our shots are much better quality an am now looking forward to start editing and filming out other parts.

New Film Opening Idea

We have been struggling to think of a new film idea since our spoof idea went wrong, but we have now found an idea we think is great and cant wait to film. We have decided on the idea of two girls who have stolen an exam paper from school. Our two minutes will consist of a conversation between two girls at a park as well as memories/flashbacks of the girls stealing the exam. Also there will be a voice over of a phone call between the two characters. We have decided to make one of the characters very innocent looking whilst the other looks like the typical rule breaker. We have done this to create controversy and a mystery as the innocent one will turn out to be the 'baddie' whilst the other has been peer pressured into this. I think this is a good idea as we are making use of the resources we have and is it not a cliche or a typical teenage film.

DreamWorks - Antz

Antz is an american computer animation film produce in 1998 by Brad Lewis, Aron WArner and Patty Wooton. It was directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson. It was Tim Johnson story and his idea.
Antz was the first animated movie produced by DreamWorks and was incredibly successful in the box office earning $171,757,863. Others succefuls movies from DreamWorks e.g Shrek earned a whopping $484,409,218. Shrek was also directed by the same people.
Antz is a part of Disney/DreamWorks feud as Pixars; Its a bugs life was released a month later where the public thought that one must have ripped off the other as the plot is very similar with a worker ant falling in love with a princess ant in both movies.
Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney in 1994 the day A bugs life was being pitched by John Lasseter the Pixar head. Altough Katzenberg says that Antz was pitched by Tim Johnson Lasseter and Steve Jobs both said they felt betrayed by Katzenberg. Antz release date was moved from march 1999 to October 1998 to be first before its a Bug life as Pixar would not move the release date for their movie Its a Bugs life which was coming out the same time as DreamWorks other movie The prince of Egypt.
95% of Antz reviews were positive and was said to have wonderful animation backed by humor and the vocal talents of its cast make for an entertaining movie. Movie critic Gene Siskel ranked the movie 7th of best films in 1998.
In Antz opening weekend the box office earned $17,195,160.
From the success of the film the video games Antz, Antz Racing and Antz Extreme Racing were created and the film was also nominated 10th in AFI top ten films, while Shrek came in 8th.

DreamWorks - Shrek

Shrek is an american animated comedy directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jensen. This film was loosely based on William Steigs fairytale picture book Shrek in 1990.
This film was commercially successful on release in 2001 and helped DreamWorks to become equal rivals to animated film company Pixar.
As this film was so successful it has led to three sequels Shrek 2, Shrek The Third and Shrek forever after as well as Shrek The Halls which was a christmas special and a halloween special called Scared Shrekless. In 2008 Shrek recieved eigth place in America Film Institutes Top Ten Films of all time.
It was ranked second in Channel 4 100 greatest family films and recieved third place on Bravos 100 funniest films.
Shrek also won the first academy award for best animated feature and was nominated for the academy award best adapted screenplay. Shrek was one of  DreamWorks movies that achieved the highest grossing at its time and was so successful that Shrek became DreamWorks actual mascot for the companys animated productions.

Section B research

DreamWorks Studios are a film company founded in October 12^th 1994 by Steven Spielberg,

 Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Their headquarters are Universal City in California USA.

The key people in DreamWorks are Steven Spielberg who is the principal partner and Stacy Snider who is the co-chairman CEO.

Steven Spielberg is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, video game designer and studio entrepreneur. Three of Spielberg’s films broke box office records each become the highest grossing film made at the time. These films were Jaws (1975), ET (1982) and Jurassic Park (1993).

DreamWorks began in 1994 and the SKG under the logo stands for the three founders last names. In December 2005 the founders sold their studio to Viacom who own Paramount Pictures. In 2008 DreamWorks ended their partnership and sold to India Reliance ADA group for $1.5 billion. The movie studio owned by Reliance is led by Anil Ambani.

In 2004 DreamWorks animation SKGs films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and really took off.

In 1998 DreamWorks produced their first animated film Antz. The company won here consecutive academy awards for best picture. These were American Beauty, Gladiator and A beautiful mind.

The two films that I have chosen to research from DreamWorks are Shrek and Antz.