Film Case Studies - British Production

Diana

This British biopic is based upon the relationships of Princess Diana during the two years before her death after her marriage ended to Prince Charles. This film seemed to be a failure at the box office, both within the UK and abroad and was panned by critics. The film was the product of German director Oliver Hirschbeigel, who also directed Acadamy-Award nominated Downfall. Diana however was not met with such acclaim by UK critics, being brandished as car crash cinema.

Box Office
UK box office: $3 million
US box office: $335 000
Total box office: $7.5 million

One reason for it's unfortunate failure is bottled down to the casting of Diana herself, the character is a British icon yet it was not a British actress who was cast to play her, but an Australian/British actress Naomi Watts. There was much controversy with this casting, which would have easily been forgiven by critics and audiences had there been an underlying good performance. However, critics were instead much harsher on this acadamy award winning actress after her performace was described as dreadful. This controversy could have had a high impact on the failure of this film at box office.
Critics have given this film an 8% approval rating on Rotton Tomatoes along with an average 3.5/10 rating.
This screenplay was based upon a 2001 book, Diana: Her Last Love

Film Case Studies - Independent films

Mud

Starring Matthew Mcconaughey this independent film thrived at box office for Roadside Attractions being the highest grossing film in the companies seven year history. The film opened with limited release on April 26th 2013 extending coverage from 10th May after a successful release.

Budget: $10 million
Box Office total gross: $22 million

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherpoon

Director: Jeff Nicols also the director of two other independent films, wrote as well as directed this film, he decided on this concept relating to a modern day "Tom Sawyer" in the 90s. Filmed in his home state the production lasted 8 weeks.

Film Case Studies - American Blockbusters

After Earth - Failure

Budget: $130.
Box Office:

US box office $60m.

Foreign box office: $183m.

Total box office: $243m.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan was highly acclaimed for the success of his 1999 film The Sixth Sense, however this success has not followed him much since, with other flops such as Lady in The Water and The Happening the failure of blockbuster After Earth lead to it being his least grossing film since his debut in 98.

Stars: Will Smith and Jayden Smith

Although it was once said by Jonothan Ross during his stint on “Film 2010” Will Smith was the most reliable and bankable star in Hollywood, times have since changed with the failure of After Earth showcasing this. He was co producer and idea generator for this film along with his son Jayden, who was also expected to go onto much bigger things since his success in the remake of the The Karate Kid. Smith’s decision to follow 2008′s Seven Pounds with a prolonged absence from movie-making — returning to movies with last summer’s Men in Black 3 may have resulted in this.

Release Date: 31^st may 2013

Released during the blockbuster period in preparation for the summer this film also had to compete with both The Fast and Furious sequel (#6) and the third in the Hangover franchise.

Reviews:

After Earth resulted in poor reviews across the board from both critics and audiences, with critics on rotten tomatoes giving it an average rating of just 3.8/10 and only 38% of audiences “liking” it.

The Hunger Games - Catching Fire (success)

Released just over a month ago the sequel to last years infamous The Hunger Games, Catching Fire is already the second highest grossing film of the year, closely behind Iron Man 3.

Director: Francis Lawrence (famous for I Am Legend)
A different director to the origianl Hunger Games, however this did not seem to have much of an effect of the box office figures.

Box Office
US Box office: $380 million
Foreign Box office: $394 million
Total: $771 million

The success of this film could be due to a multiple number of reasons.

Franchise: thriving off the success of the first film, this new release already has a fan base willing to watch no matter on other factors. Although this fan base would probably visit the cinema to see this film no matter on the reviews, the critics seemed to enjoy this just as much as the audience.

Reviews: with even the critics praising this blockbuster there is no surprise of the success of this film, especailly in comparison to After Earth and its reviews.

Famous Books: Due to the films concept and basis being from the also famous book franchise of the same names there was an even further extended fan base for these films.

Star: Starring Jennifer Lawrence the trilogy of The Hunger Games, this new oscar award winner has become one of the most famous female stars in the world since the release of the first film. She is now become a household name and ever popular with the age bracket associated with this film which can only have encouraged the success of this film further.

Film case studies - Resit

Biggest bombs - US Blockbuster

Films typically need to earn at least twice their production costs, sometimes much more, to break even. Four blockbusters in particular have struggled this summer, led by The Lone Ranger, then the poorly reviewed Ryan Reynolds vehicle RIPD, Will Smith's equally derided After Earth, and White House Down, directed by blockbuster veteran Roland Emmerich.

The Lone Ranger (Disney): budget $215m (£139m). US box office $89m. Foreign box office $143m. Total box office $231m.

RIPD (Universal): budget $130m. US box office $33m. Foreign box office: $29m. Total box office: $62m.

After Earth (Sony/Columbia): budget $130. US box office $60m. Foreign box office: $183m. Total box office: $243m.

White House Down (Sony/Columbia): Budget $150m. US box office $72m. Foreign box office: $62m. Total box office: $134m.

Finished Presentation Script (Draft One)

How is the issue of race dealt with in contemporary American cinema

Speaker:

“Cinema tends to be dismissed as mere entertainment, yet it has profound effects shaping our thinking and our behavior.” (Item Fifteen) “Although it would be nice to think that we have complete control over the shaping of our identity, this cannot be the case when we live in such a media saturated world” (Item thirteen) And so, it should be the case that the messages and issues arising in film are that which will reflect upon cultural opinions of the time. Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer argued this, stating that film merely extends the ideology of society. Therefore, what better thing to focus on, than the controversial issue of race and how it is depicted within Hollywood cinema and therefore how society reflects this issue today.

Hollywood mainstream films are those which can have the highest level of impact within the society, due to the extent of their range across the world; and therefore it is not necessarily incorrect to assume that Hollywood cinema uses this advantage to explore such disputed issues in order to reflect societies opinions and even question them. There is no doubt, that race has been a controversial topic within society throughout the medias existence and even previous, since the introduction of cinema in the late 19^th century there have been hundreds of films produced to deal with race as a topic. A more dominant cultural issue within the 1960’s, and the civil rights era, racial based narratives have become much more prominent within contemporary cinema for reasons which I will discuss further. 
 

Although it would be comforting to think that the world is progressing in terms of accepting multiculturalism; with further analysis into certain aspects of African American based cinema, it can easily be argued that Hollywood (and therefore society) is unable to showcase this in the open and diverse way which would be hoped for. In order to understand the discussions which I will arise there must be an understanding into the history behind civil rights.


Play : Civil Rights Speeches Video

Speaker:
Throughout American history the ideals of racial acceptance have always been prominent, yet it wasn’t until the civil rights era of the 60's that this became a much more dominant feature within American society. “the civil rights movement grew in strength and impetus throughout the 1950’s and 60’s” (rejected item) this was the time which brought to light all of the racial issues within American culture.

One of the most highly acclaimed films of this era, also said to be “the first Hollywood film to deal honestly with racial issues” (item 4) is To Kill A Mockingbird. A film which delves into the issue of racial inequality through the underlying narrative of Gregory Pecks character Atticus Finch defending black male Tom Robinson against an unjust accusation of rape. The focus throughout this film is on the selfless actions on Atticus Finch and the problems they caused on him and his family; rather than the tribulations faced by Robinson through this time. “So we have a white film about racial injustice that winds up dealing with only white characters in depth” (item 4) which is also the case for the more contemporary films I intend to discuss further. Atticus Finch is a character portrayed as an heroic prejudice free white man, even with the problems he faces with the racists in the town he seems to be respected by all, including the black community.

Play TKAM clip:

Speaker:
This clip shows the reaction of the black community to the support Finch gave to Tom Robinson during his trial. The standing ovation given by the black observers of the trial to Finch even after Tom Robinson was convicted highlights the way in which the "white lawyer" is represented throughout this film. Each of the black characters within TKAM respect Atticus Finch for what he is dealing with for Tom Robinson, they understand the hardships that he must be facing to be defending him during this time. The fact that the segregated black community all stands up for Atticus before he leaves, and one man tells Scout to stand while "her fathers passing" shows the respect that they held for this man. Or more so, the respect in which director Robert Mulligan felt the black community should have for a white man. The idea of black inferiority comes into play here (Item eighteen) as not only is Tom Robinson convicted for the crime he did not commit due to the unequal American justice system , this scene straight after proves just how "superior" the white man supposedly is to the black community.
 

Race is pushed aside within this film, “so intent of depicting human dignity, seems to overlook the indignities of is very subject, racial prejudice.” (item four) And so, can it actually be discussed as a film which shows any clear representation of race at all? “A good way to evaluate the ideology of mainstream film is to analyze the characters with whom the film asks the audience to identify.” (item fifteen) and so an the answer to that lies within the depiction of the “anti-racist white lawyer,” (item nineteen) such as Atticus Finch, in comparison to the depiction of the less dominant black characters. This is also a clear starting point for the discussion of race within the other contemporary films I intend to explore. If there was a film released in the post civil rights era which showcased the racial views that To Kill A Mockingbird does, even if it was as well made, I do not feel it would receive close to the recognition which TKAM did. Although this could easily be said to show an advance in the racial equality within American culture, it's not to say that just because a contemporary film doesn't show a prominent racist theme towards it characters, that there isn't one.  
 

Each of my chosen films are courtroom dramas concerning either a black man on trial (TKAM and ATTK) or in the case of Ghosts of Mississippi, a white man on a reopened trial due to his murder of a civil rights activist. Throughout all of these films, there is the prominent protagonist of the white male lawyer. A character type and viewpoint that is not altered along with the change in outcome or the 30 year gap between the release of the films. Each of these films focus on the heroic actions of these white male leads, with much of the screen time dedicated to the trials they faced from the community instead of the black characters. “The white savior’s viewpoint becomes the narrative focus, while the perspectives of African American characters and their broader community are peripheral at best, if not entirely absent.” (item eight) “Although neither film was as widely acclaimed as TKAM they served as important forms of cultural memory in highlighting the ways the anti-racist white hero genre continued in the 1990s” (item nineteen)
 

1996 was the year set for the battle of racial prejudice Hollywood films, both A Time to Kill and Ghost of Mississippi were released in this year, which happened to also be the same year the California proposition 209 was enforced “to prohibit public institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity” (item twenty) making this time period, (very similar to that of TKAM in relation to the civil rights era) a important feature in the reception and spectatorship of the films and representations. “What these films shared with this particular moment in the golden state was an understanding that racial progress had been made” (item nineteen) not only had the new law been passed in the centre of all things cinema, but now Hollywood was open to developing the stereotypes of African Americans previously created. Or so it was thought. 

Let’s take a look into my focus film of A Time to Kill, and its representation of both the white and black characters. Showcasing the trial of Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L Jackson) after he violently gunned down the two white males responsible for the rape and assault of his young daughter Tonya, in ATTK “some characters have been compressed” (item 5) inlcuidng that of the man black character Hailey, with the film focusing on his attorney Mr Jack Briggance. Played by Matthew McConaughey, Briggance is portrayed to us as the heroic attorney who faces relentless attacks by the racists from the town of Canton; yet is not fazed by it. Unlike, lawyer Delaughter in Ghosts of Mississippi, Briggance never questions his decision to take on the controversial case even when forced to cope with the revival of the Canton KKK. This decision is only questioned by Hailey himself when offered the opportunity to gain a free attorney from the NAACP; but of course, he sticks with his decision to have a white attorney even at the cost. The fact Hailey turns down this offer, seems to encourage the connotation of black skin on screen used to highlight white superiority, and self regarded as black inferiority (item eighteen) which is also the case for GOM when Ever’s wife (Whoopi Goldburg) decides to stick with Delaughter even when she has the opportunity for other lawyers.

Initially there seems to be a similar link with ATTK and TKAM In terms of the way both lawyers are highly respected by the black community. This is shown in ATTK when Hailey originally decides to use Briggance as his attorney because he managed to acquit his brother the previous year; if Hailey did not respect the work Briggance had done on this case, or the way he had treated his brother due to his race he would not be the person Hailey would choose to defend him.

Play ATTK clip:

Speaker:
Towards the end of the film, when Hailey's trial is close in sight, this clip actually tells us the reasoning behind Hailey’s choice of Briggance as his attorney throughout everything. Briggance perceives in the way which the rest of the jury do, he has the mind of a southern white man and is therefore "one of the bad guys" even though he "doesn't mean to be" Hailey's view on keeping him as his lawyer was that if this man is unable to convince a jury of his peers that he is innocent, then no one would be able too. Although that throughout the rest of the film it is believed by the viewer that Hailey has chosen Briggance as his attorney because he respects the work he does and his ability (as an intellectual white man) this twist in the plot begins to highlight a certain friction between these characters which neither one seems to have been willing to address previously. In ATTK the black community is represented solely by Hailey's character though even his does not go into much depth, the knowledge he gives us here emphasizes how at this time in society there is much more resentment between the races than shown in TKAM.
 

When analysing different elements of this film there seems to be different opinions represented in terms of race throughout. Unlike TKAM the final verdict is in favour of Hailey, which is supposedly supposed to showcase the change in the equality of the American justice system over the thirty year gap between these films. Adding this to the change in how much respect the white community gain from the black public one would assume that this film has began to change alongside society and portray Hollywood as more accepting of race. Yet  with knowledge of the common use of the "white male lawyer" within films such as this, and the extent to which ATTK focuses on McConaughey's character. It can also be argued that on the surface of this film there seems to be a more positive representation of race, however there is also the underlying theme of the prominent male character who the narrative should realistically not focus on which begs the question, is Hollywood ready to delve into a character such as Tom Robinson or Carl Lee Hailey, or are they still held up on the racial aspect revolved around this?
 

In comparison to ATTK in fact showing resentment between the black and white characters presumably due to the time it was made, Ghosts of Mississippi, released at the same time shows the opposite. Although Myrlie Evers does not initially hold faith with the Lawyer Delaughter (played by Alec Baldwin) but as the film progresses she seems to respect him in a much similar way to how Atticus Finch is respected in TKAM. Again, in order to undeniably show the “change” in Hollywood’s representation of race, this trial again ends with the conviction of Byron De La Beckwith for the murder of Myrlie’s civil rights activist husband 25 years previous. However in an incredibly similar way to ATTK, rather than focusing on Myrlie Evers and her struggle to reopen the trial, GOM is focused on DeLaugther’s struggle to gain any substantial evidence and keep his family together. This is therefore just another “white film about racial injustice that winds up dealing with only white characters in depth.” The representation of the black community comes mainly from the way in which Myrlie is portrayed throughout the film, although she is seen as a strong independent woman after the loss of her husband, director Reiner, “limits Whoopi Goldberg's role as the widowed Myrlie Evers to a glorified cameo appearance, and reduces the rest of Evers family to mere extras.” (Item fourteen)
 

It is therefore difficult to argue any particular point as to how race is represented within contemporary American cinema, because I’m not even sure if Hollywood even knows the answer to that. This confusion between the representations could be said to come from the directors. These films are all shot through the eyes of white directors, this gives us the impression that although there are examples of changes in the representation of race in relation to the time periods; the underlying character of the white male lawyer who is represented throughout these genre of films as “the black man’s saviour” could be argued as an obstacle in the way of an entirely positive view of race within a film. Untill this character type is questioned and defeated, and Hollywood can get to grips with the idea of a heroic black character I find it difficult to believe there will be any films produced with a positive portrayal of blacks in the same way that is expected of the white characters. But for now Hollywood strives with the view that “White people must occupy the centre, leaving black people with only one choice – to exist in relation to whiteness” (item seventeen)

Section B - Exam Quesiton

'Experimental Film requires a different kind of spectatorship.' Has this been your experience? [35]

Experimental films are full of strange mixtures of images, situations, words and expressions that may not tell a cohesive story but, in the end, don't have to in order to achieve an emotional goal. This type of film therefore requires the spectator to shift their conventional cinematic expectations to accommodate more radical narrative techniques, themes and meaning construction. 

Un Chien Andalou, the infamous 1929 surrealist short film from Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, attests to this. The surrealist movement as a concept can be very difficult to understand and explain. It's main aim is to act out of the ordinary, and for such reason makes it the perfect era to start when disucussing experimental film and it's spectartorship. Un Chien Andalou is one of the most well known of surrealist films, yet my experience whilst watching it made me question why. Although I like the idea of surrealism and being able to question what is usually the normal, the method this film chooses to showcase this did confuse me; shots were regularlly changed to that of something completly different, resulting in me to become disorientated as to what I was actually watching. This was the first experimental film that I explored for this topic, which could have made a difference as my confusion of what was happening in the film was encouraged by my limited knowledge of the themes it was trying to portray; once I began to delve deeper into the idea of surrealism, although the concepts made more sense in terms of why it was all being used by Brunel and Dali, I still struggle (as i'm sure many people do) to appreciate this film to the extent that I would like to. Similarly to the reactions of others, I found parts of this film humorous; even at times, "laugh out loud" funny pardon the expression. This was due to the unusual and imaginative shots, they made me laugh because of the extent of how unordinary they were as things like a man pulling a piano containing a donkey and two priests are not something I come to expect in a film during a scene which the female character seems to be getting sexually harassed. My spectartorship of this film was constantly being changed throughout the viewing of this film, even though it is only 21 minutes in length. Unlike Hollywood and mainstream cinema, this film creates an alternate viewpoint of how films should change the opinions of it's viewers and not just spoonfeed them a simple narrative. 

Chris Marker became known internationally for the short film La Jetée (1962). It tells of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel by using a series of filmed photographs developed as a photomontage of varying pace, with limited narration and sound effects. I think for certain people this film could be very difficult to watch and keep track of, due to the technique it uses and therefore not following the regular 24 frames per second. However, the technique was what captivated me about this film, not only it's usage but the clear reasoning behind it in relation to the narrative and it's themes. In order to showcase the idea of questioning art forms along with the ways of questioning conventional structures like other experimental films, this films uses a mixutre of photography, litterature, film and music in order to convey its messages; and I found this idea fasinating and therefore did not struggle when it came to watching or discussing the film. The intriguing ideology that was explored through the use of newly found techniques for this era is the main experimental feature surrounding this film, and this could be a reason behind why I found it much easier to watch than certain other experimental films. La Jetée is the only experimental film that I have watched which begins to tell a story through the use of what is the closest to a mainstream narrative structure. It's use of a circular plot, narration and science fiction genre conventions, make it much more similar to those which I usually watch which is probably the reason behind my closer connection with this film in comparison to others in the experimental genre. 

Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) is a work that maintains all of the mystery, tranquility, unpredictability, and personal attachment that is ever present within the world of dreams. Dream Logic is a common theme within many experimental films, this is probably due to the surrealist factor that dreams actually have, they are an alternate reality of the human mind. The more mystery which Meshes of the Afternoon is described with, the easier it will be to put across the mystery which it still holds with me. I simply could not be held attentive to this film for a convienient amount of time to give it a worthy description. The use of repretivtive music and a mirrored face were the things that stuck with me most about this film, the mirrored face was an intersting concept that through me solely watching this film I would not have been able to pinpoint. Yet after grasping it's use was to show how the lead female character was acting in a way that was expected of her of the men at this time, and therefore she was just a reflection of their views;  I began to appreciate ideas which Deren wanted to portray due to the "surprising" nature of her being a female director within this time period.

Throughout my experience with experimental film I have found it a much more complex area of cinema to understand and develop opinions on than the average Hollywood film, and therefore I stick to the clear opinion that there is no doubt when watching experimental films, viewpoints can be tested and therefore a much more open form of spectatorship is needed to appreciate the ideas which experimental films stood for.

La Ellis

In the last week, in a group of three, we produced a short clip of an "Urban Story" within a three hour time period. Here is the final outcome after the post production stages.



When planning for the production of our short urban story our group decided to take influence from a multiple number of different urban stories. We decided to use a French themed style conjoined with using themes from Cheunking Express and its Hong Kong style.  The disagreements we faced as a group came mostly during the post production stages as we all seemed to have different opinions on the editing style used. However, as a whole, I think we worked well as a team and managed to produce a true representative of an urban story in the time frame given.

When we were out filming, due to the conventions and themes of an urban story, we decided on using a Coca-Cola can in order to show a westernised culture; alongside a narrative consisting of our subject, Ellis, not actually doing anything productive. We attempted to produce a “reverse dolly” shot, as shown in La Haine, in order to give an extra reference point and show some technical skill. In order to do this correctly, you must either, zoom in whilst simultaneously moving the camera backwards or zoom out and simultaneously move the camera forwards. When we actually attempted this, as we used a handheld camera style to again reflect La Haine, either way we did this it wouldn’t work as well as we hoped due to the unstedyness of the camera when walking; so we ended up using only a small extract from these shots when the cameraperson was not walking with the camera, just moving their arm. Although there is still the essence of a reverse dolly shot here, it is not as prominent as we would have liked.

This was the main problem we faced during our shoot but yet we still were capable to use part of this in our final feature, which is something as a group I think we are pleased with. We decided to change our film in post production to black and white, again to resemble La Haine (which in fact, using the black and white technique for no apparent reason) yet, I also think that it adds to the context of our narrative which is very basic where not much happens; just like the narrative of classic urban stories.

Finished Annotated Catologue

My annotated catalogue is all nicely finished in the tab above!

Urban Stories - La Haine question

How far does the impact of the films you have studied depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

The film La Haine is set in the aftermath of the 90s Paris riots over the space of a 24 hour period, and creates a distinctive urban feel through the use of black and white as well as many of its other film techniques and there changes. There are certain elements in scenes which rely of the film techniques chosen by Mathieu Kassovitz to highlight many of its underlying themes which are not clearly stated to the audience; and so the more these are discussed in depth the more that we can discover about how much these techniques really affect the overall impact of the film.

In many sequences different uses of depth of field are used to show different things, whilst the characters are in their home surroundings most of the shots are in wide depth of field in order to show that they are at one with their surroundings and feel comfortable. However as soon as they reach Paris there are many more shots using shallow focus to show that they are out of place and don’t belong there. This is enforced by the use of a zoom reverse dolly shot in the first shot of the three main characters in Paris, it shows a clear divide between the cultures of Paris between the city and the surrounding districts as it is a very obvious effect which is used to disorientate the audience and make them aware of the changes in surroundings.  I originally found it difficult to imagine that there could be a clear separation between Parisians from the city to those from the urban areas around, however due to the use of these film techniques it became clear that it was more than just a small problem in this society. The wide depth of field used in the characters home area could be said to be used to show the power that they hold over their own surroundings and that their future will always be set out there contrasting to in the city where they obviously don’t belong and so can not see further into the future in the city.

There are a multiple number of instances where handheld camera work is used throughout the film, not only in the urban area but in the city of Paris. For instance, it is used to track the three main characters as they walk out of the police station along with the “Notre Dame” officer. The use of the handheld tracking shot here gives us a sense of realism due to its technique as well as offering the opportunity for the audience to experience the shot as if they are there with them, this is reinforced by the use of tracking of the characters.

Although the framing of shots is important under any film production, it seems to be of key importance to Matheiu Kassovltz when directing La Haine due to the significance of this in terms of highlighting the underlying themes of the film. For instance throughout the film whenever there is a gun in the scene, it is shown in the centre of the frame surrounded by other characters this show just how important the gun is to the characters and how their life surrounds it and its uses; showing the conflict held by the characters. Conflict is also shown by the constant use of “face off” shots between characters, these are used between Vinz and Hubert as well as between these charcters and the police, although it shows the conflict between these characters it also shows how even though they disagree with the government they aren’t fighting the right people because they do not have the right knowledge and skill set, so they are fighting each other.

Another theme which is highlighted by the use of framing is power, the sense of power each of the characters holds shifts as the film and its narrative (as little as it may be) develops. This is due to how each of the characters are framed and shown in the centre of the frame between the the other two at particular points,: at the beginning of the film Vinz is in the centre of the two other characters showing how he holds the power over the group mainly due to his confidence and ego, however this shifts soon after when Siads brother steps up and confronts the police, from this point onwards it is Siad out of the three characters who are in the middle. This could be due to Vinz’s ego having been belittled by Siads brother, however it also shows another key theme within La Haine “Fraternity.” One of the words from the French motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” Siad is shown as the symbol of fraternity (meaning brotherhood) between the characters. He is the only one of the three main characters who has a older male influence in his life, and although he seems so resent that in the film the use of Siad being shown in the middle of the frame, and constantly being the one bringing the two others back together shows that he has learnt something.

I found the constant use of the framing of the characters very interesting to behold through the film, with the knowledge that everything in the host is there for a reason, when watching the film I became astonished by the amount of little things to pick up on , and how they influenced the story in a very subtle way.

As a whole, the varied use of film techniques has a huge impact on how certain people see the film and its themes however I am uncertain as to whether, someone not studying the film or with little knowledge of filmatic techniques would be able to decipher those in question. From that it could be said that the film techniques used creates little impact to a wide audience with a certain few there to appreciate them. Although if I hold the impression that the majority of the audience understands the use of these techniques, even if only in these circumstances, then I do believe that the use of these particular film techniques, as well as others I have not discussed (including editing and close up shots) add to the impact that the film has on an audience as well as myself. The themes used in this film are very meaning and in some cases even severe it could be said that the impact that the film has solely comes from the use of such important themes within the society. 

Small Scale Research Project

May be useful information somewhere in this article, although contains unimportant information on representation of race in video games:
http://www.raindance.org/comparing-representation-of-race-in-american-cinema-and-video-games/

Small Scale Research Project

Are African Americans Capable Of Tolerating Cinema That Questions Our POV Of Ourselves As A Race? article

Reference to writers book which may be useful : SLAVE CINEMA: The Crisis of the African-American in Film

http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/are_african_americans_capable_of_tolerating_cinema_that_questions_our_pov_o

Small Scale Research Project

Incomplete Annotated Catalogue
How is the issue of race dealt with in contemporary American cinema?

Item One: A Time To Kill (1996)
Currently this film is my chosen focus film, unlike similar films this film is set during the time it was made and so intends to represent its themes with the cultural opinion of the mid 1990's. It can be liked very closely with another one of my film choices, To Kill A Mockingbird, as well as showing differences which should lead to interesting discussion. It clearly portrays racism throughout a community through the uprising of the KKK which, due to its controversy is not seen often in more modern day cinema.

Item Two: To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
I have chosen to use this film for my research in hope that it will bring about interesting comparisons and discussions from the differences in social opinions of the different eras. The comparisons will come about through the fact that this film was 40 years apart from my focus film however it was also set 30 years before that; during The Great Depression. Similarly to my focus film this is about a court case which will help me to discuss the question in detail in terms of how race is dealt with in terms of American communities and the law.

Item Three: Still Pending....

Samuel L Jackson Interview

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/samuel-l-jackson-tarantino-racism-and-the-nword-8452821.html

http://listverse.com/2012/02/01/10-outstanding-neo-noirs-of-the-2000s/

Les Misérables

Use Les Misérables to discuss:

• Famous Director

Tom Hooper won best director Acadamy Award in 2010 for The Kings Speech, but missed out on awards and nominations in this catagory for Les Miserables. Before 2009 Hooper mainly focused on TV movies and shows up untill he directed The Damned United.

• Accolaids

Anne Hathaway sweeped up awards season with the Golden Globe, Oscar and Bafta for best supporting actress accumulating huge amounts of advertising for the film, other awards include:

Nominated for 8 Oscars (Won 3)

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes (Won 3)

nominated for 9 baftas (Won 4)

• British Talent

Famous britsh director as well as known british star Helena Bonham Carter, also more upcoming performances from Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks.

• Release Date

Released Christmas day in USA, January 11 for UK. Faced competition at UK box office of other accolaided films including, Zero Dark Thirty as well as quartet and Ganster Squad.In the US it faced Tom Cruises, Jack Reacher released Days before and Django Unchained released on the same day. In the US the film took a Christmas Day record of $18.2 million

• Soundtrack

Achieved high sucess and has made it to the second best selling album of 2013 so far.

• Famous before release

Started out as a highly accliamed book by Victor Hugo in the 1860's. Was adapted for the west end stage and overcame bad reviews by word of mouth turning into one of the best selling stage musicals ever. The film already had it's market avaliable and audience who would be willing to go and see the film when it was released.

• Marketing

Released UK promos and trailers around early november time in order to create a "hype" around the film. Character posters were released of about 6 of the major stars within the film, appealing to a vast audience. Posters shown on buses throughout its release, as well as up to the time of DVD release. "The Making Of" DVD was given out freely along with the daily mail on the day of the films release, creates an extra "hype" and acts as a tie in.

Past Paper Question - Section C

How much has contextual studies helped to understand similarities and differences within the films that you have studied for this topic?

The two American films which I studied for this topic were Badlands written and directed by Terrence Malleck and Natural Born Killers directed by Oliver Stone. These films were made with 20 years apart, with Badlands made in 1973 and NBK in 1994, however both based on the real life killing spree of Charles Starkwheather and Carol Anne Fugate. This is the main contextual reference needed for the understanding of these films as although they both portray these murders they are shown in very different ways  due to the time difference as well as the issues within society during the making of these films. 

Lets start off with Badlands, the story of Starkweather and Fugate within this film is portrayed in a very clear way, and anyone with understanding of this real life event will easily see the representations that it shows. Throughout Badlands, there is reference to Martin Sheen who plays male lead, Kit, looking like James Dean: Starkweather himself styled his hair on this screen icon because of the rebellious characters he tended to play in his films. There is a contrast between the two films in this case, as in Badlands Kit idolises the rebellious screen star whereas the male lead Mickey in NBK has an idolisation of more violent serial killers. Although both of these men look up to and begin to base their life around the aspects of these people, Mickey’s is much more violent and disturbing. 

The change in who the male character idolises begins to show a key theme within these films, the media, as well as showing the society context of the times in which they were made. Kit looks up to a film star, this show that within the 1970’s (or 1950’s in which it was based) film stars were very prominent elements within the media and who had much influence within that time in society; this is also shown through Kit and Holly reading through a gossip magazine together whilst in the car in the film and discussing film stars. However, as the time frame of the same story basis chages so does the society, Mickey is influenced by serial killers and so shows that within the 1990’s because the media tends to focus on the acts of such people this begins to influence society in a much more disasterous way than in previous years. Overall, the changes in the people the male leads idolises shows how, in the 1970’s the media had a much smaller an unimportant impact on society than it did in the 1990’s.

Both of these films show contrasts in the female character, Holly in Badlands is a much more reserved character who does not get involved with any of the killing that takes place whereas NBK shows Mallory as just as involved in the violence as her husband Mickey, if not more. They both contain differences to what was believed to have happened in the real life story. When  Badlands was released, the influence of the real story was still very much in the air of the society at the time; and so I think that they portrayed Holly as a much less violent person than Fugate because of the people within society at that time not being able to face the fact that a 15 year old girl could commit such crimes (whereas in real life she was 13) this age difference also shows this. Society was not ready to accept such crimes from a young woman and so she was shown to be more of a victim lead astray by an older man. However, NBK, Mallory Is so much so involved in the killings you could even say that it begins to compensate for how little Holly was: this is because of the time which it was released. In the 90’s girl power was very much a global phenomenon and strong women playing a huge part on society, this is why I think NBK was able to get away with showing the female character as more violent as it wasn’t such of a controversy as it would have been in the 70’s. This girl power phenomenon is backed up by the use of the L7 girl grunge band’s music being played in the opening sequence of NBK.

Clearly, a deep understanding of the context behind which these films were made helps to explore the similarities and differences which these films have and with such a time difference between the two films and the controversial story which they are both based on: these contrasts could not be seen without this knowledge.

Past Paper Question - Section A

State reasons for the popularity of US films to a UK audience

The main target audiences for many films within the UK is people between the ages of 15-25, due to these being the people who have the most disposable income willing to spend on going to the cinema. People within this age groups tend to be more interested in Hollywood blockbuster films, rather than foreign or independent films because Hollywood films are portrayed as more “popcorn movies” and don’t contain many deep set issues or controversy, these types of films are watched more by more middle class society and cultured people. And this who each of these films tends to be targeted towards during the post-production stages of the film e.g. Marketing.

The marketing is a huge factor in the popularity for any film, in the case of Hollywood films, many of them contain huge budgets with the marketing for them in some cases being half of these multimillion dollar budgets. Marketing can consist of teaser trailers and posters, tie-ins and social networking, with huge amounts being spent on things like these with American films it helps to create a “buzz” around the film and its release building the films popularity. Without a strong advertising campaign from an US film then the production company is already setting itself up for a fall, as with such large amount of money at stake, without a large audience to watch the profits will not come rolling in. This can be shown from Disney’s 2011 release of John Carter, this film had difficulty raising an audience as the marketing companies changed half way through resulting in uncertainty with any audience that may have already been there. However, as a result of this, and obviously other factors, the film lost over $160 million. Whereas the 2012 release of A Good Day To Die Hard which opened up in the UK on Valentines day managed to take $16 million, due to a highly anticipated release of the newest instalment of the franchise. This shows that much of the popularity surrounding US films within the UK is due to a high marketing budgets and more successful campaigns compared to foreign language films which do not have the budget for large advertising UK campaigns and so there is no knowledge of there release.

This also brings out the point that the popularity for US films may in fact not come from necessarily good US films, but because of the little awareness that people have of other options, (such as British independent films or foreign language films,) demographic inertia or even inability to go to see other forms of movies.  Nowadays it is not part of the working class culture to visit an arts centre to watch a foreign language film, with most of the UK population being working class has a huge impact on the audiences for US films and foreign films. The working class are not necessarily open to the change of going to visit an arts centre, which is more than likely a much larger journey for them than the average multiplex cinema, and so tend to stick with what they know and settle for US films shown in mainstream cinemas. Personally, I think this is a huge factor on the popularity for US films, as they are mainly all that are shown in the average cinema, and so, for families, or 15-25 year olds for instance wanting to go spend an evening out watching a new film, they are limited for choices between anything but American films and so they go to see them anyway: increasing the demand for US film. This is an endless cycle which, without changes to what does actually get shown in mainstream cinemas, will we actually be able to see whether this is in fact the case.

Although, this is actually just personal opinion, and there are also many other reasons which contribute to the high popularity of US films within the UK. Including the roles of stars: the use of famous American stars such as Tom Hanks or even Bruce Willis (usually in type cast roles) usually leads to a US films being even more successful than usual due to audiences who will go and see that film just to watch the star. US stars are the most well known across the world, so with the use of them in US films automatically create popularity for the films that cannot be achieved without them. Take for instance, comparing John Carter and Die Hard 5, both American films, one with a massive global star (Die Hard with Bruce Willis) and John Carter, with... Non. The difference as stated before, meant a loss of $160 million for John Carter but $16 million for Die Hard 5 in the UK box office alone.

And so, it can be concluded that there are factors within the production and post production stages of a US film which entice UK audiences and create the large popularity that they have, but there are also more issues with society that could in fact be behind this dominance of the UK cinema market that the US blockbusters currently have.

Lovers on the Lam - critic review

http://thecriticjohnsimon.com/reverse-angle/lovers-on-the-lam/

Producers and Audiences - Past Paper Question

Compare the different factors that contribute to the box office success or failure of a film. [40] (May 2009)

There are many different factors that can affect the success or failure of a film at box office, including, marketing, accolades/reviews, release date etc. Each of these things, if done incorrectly by the production company of the film in terms of their target audience will most likely result in a poor box office figure and therefore the film will be a flop. However, if only one of these are done brilliantly there can be a huge impact on the amount of people willing to see the film, making it a much larger success.

One major element which will most defiantly alter the box office figures is the marketing of a film. Without a clear and dominant marketing strategy a film’s box office figures are bound to be low due to the fact that, if people are not made aware of the film, then no one will go and see it. A clear marketing strategy consists of well thought out trailers and posters, appealing to the target audiences of the film: shown at convenient times at the right places. The marketing strategy initially revolves around the target audience, if there is not a set view on who they wish to appeal the film to the marketing of the film will end up being uncoheirant and take much more time due to having to appeal to a much wider range of people. It can be shown that marketing plays a part in the success of a film at box office by looking into Disney’s “John Carter” a massive flop for the company that cost then $160 million, and ultimately earned the title of one of the greatest failures in film history. This film, although containing many conjoining factors causing it to fail, had its marketing company switched half way through the post production period. Overall, this resulted in the name being changed from JC to John Carter, posters which confused audiences and lack of knowledge of this films release within the public. I am the first to admit, that before its huge failure I had not heard of this film being released, which surprises me due to it being produced by Disney in 2012. Comapring this to a film with a clear marketing strategy, consisting of sponsorships, interactive previews and a huge soundtrack, such as Skyfall, the latest instalment in the Bond franchise. This was the most successful Bond film of all time, and smashed box office records making it the largest selling film within the UK. The release of this film was surrounded by a so called “hype” between, not only Bond fans but curious others. This hype began through the release of the films song of the same name weeks before, sung by one of the largest selling artists in the world at the time, Adele. The release of this song broadcasted the knowledge of this film out to all of her fans, as well as general fans of music as it was such an acclaimed song. This use of marketing, combined with links with Coca-Cola the worlds largest selling drinks brand, if not the largest brand in the world meant that everybody who was anybody was aware that this film was being released: with this knowledge, audiences began to get curious... and the rest they say is history.

Other factor combined with marketing which will almost defiantly have a link to the box office figures, is its release date. The release date is highly important as the availability of the target market to watch the film is the key to high box office figures, if the audience you have spent millions of pounds trying to create a hype around are not satisfied by the release date then on opening weekend, the film will not take amount at box office that it wanted. For instance, the idea of releasing A Good Day To Die Hard on valentines day had both it’s ups and its down’s: In America this date was in fact presidents week and so a bank holiday, meaning that people are willing to go out and spend their leisure money on things such as the cinema. This holiday in America applied to everyone and so A Good Day To Die Hard was able to use this to appeal to a vast audience. However over in the UK this date was unimportant for an action film, although many couples do head out to the cinema on Valentines Day, the fact that this film isn’t typical and so wasn’t aimed at couples meant that other films released around that time such as romance film, Safe Haven, took more at box office than AGDTDH.

Stars can play a huge part in the success or failure of a film, as they are able to in fact make or break the figures at box office. For films with huge stars, type cast in many of their roles, (Bruce Willis in Die Hard) the target audience for that film begins to clearly be aimed at those who are fans of the star as the people who go and see the film will want to see plenty of that star within the film. However, other films such as John Carter, that did not have a very famous male lead created no anticipation around its release because no one was aware of who was playing the main character and what to expect. Ultimately contributing the to the failure of John Carter previously explained. Although it can be stated that this is not always the case as there has been films with very little known about the stars which have done exceedingly well, such as Hugo.

The last key element which I am going to discuss which can highly effect the appeal of a film at box office, and so making it a success or failure, is the word of mouth. With opinions being something which many people go off before watching a film it is important for any reviews or news that is spread about the film to be positive. This can come through the winning of accolades, critics reviews, press as well as general reviews from the public on websites such as Rotten Tomatoes. With a positive word of mouth comes with it the hype that marketing companies spend millions of pounds to create. This shows that even without any fancy marketing strategies, or spending multimillion pounds hiring a star, a film can be successful through purely creating a good piece of cinema that can be easily enjoyed.

Skyfall's Success

Skyfall - British Production

Skyfall was incredibly successful at box office, it took more than £100 million in the UK, succeeding not only the rest of the Bond franchise but also every other film in British box office history. There are many considerable reasons behind this, including:

• Director Sam Mendes is a British oscar winner for American Beauty, attracting a newer, more accolade driven audience.
• Singer of song of the same name Adele, a famous British star across the globe, won Bonds first Oscar in 47 years for Best Original Song.
• Spin off film - Happy and Glorious - was featured in the opening ceremony for the London Olympics 2012,  showing the Queen in her first on screen role.
• Uses and Gratification theory highly shown in all Bond films, including this one, in terms of Escapism.
• Successful advertising campaign including tie-ins with both Heineken and Coca-Cola Zero even if there was disgust from certain Bond fans insisting he would not be seen dead with such drinks.
• Oscar winning screenwriter for Hugo, John Logan.
• Shown in Imax theaters, adding to the experience for certain cinema goers.
• Use of social networking sites as a form of advertising.

Here is a screenshot of the films website, showing many of the reasons behind its success.

Case Study- Die Hard 5

What i can use A Good Day To Die Hard to discuss:

• Stars
• Release Dates
• Age Ratings
• Titles
• Budget

A good day to die hard case study from 12ahone12

Past Paper Question - Lovers on the Lam

In the American films you have studies for this topic, how far do the representations of women and men reflect the time they were made? (40)

The two American films that I have studies for this topic are Badlands, directed by Terrance Mallick, and Natural Born Killers, directed by Oliver Stone. These films have a 20 year gap between them, with Badlands being released in 1973 and NBK in 1994, this time difference can be shown through the mise-en-scene, setting as well as the representations of gender. Both of these films are each loosely based around the same event, the Starkwhether and Fugegate killing spree which occurred in the late 1950s.

With Badlands being set at the time of this event and released in the 70’s, within American society at these times women were seen as much more vulnerable and niave compared to the more empowered women in society now. This is reflected within Badlands as the lead female character, Holly, who Is around the age of 14 is shown as very niave and in the need of being rescued. It is hard to argue that the representation of Holly is a reflection on women in society at the time as Holly is only a young teenager not necessarily a woman: however due to the nature and maturity of what she gets herself into it has to be considered that her representation of women is the right one. Throughout Badlands Holly seems to be unaware that her boyfriend, Kit, is killing anyone who stands in his way, even though she is with him when it happens. This shows that she does not want to have to admit to herself what he is doing, and begins to condone it up until the last few scenes of the film when she sees sense. Her niavity and acceptance begins to show how men were much more dominant in society at this time.

Comparing this to the representation given to women in NBK there is a very clear contrast, the lead female in NBK, Valarie is represented in just as much of an evil and manipulative way as her boyfriend Mickey as she joins in with the killings and at times sparks it. Unlike Holly who never joins in with the killing and just takes a back seat. This shows a clear contrast between the women in society in the 70’s and women in the 1990’s because Valery is much more of a dominant character with control over situations unlike Holly who lets Kit do everything. Within NBK Valarie is a very sexually aware, provocative woman, however in Badlands Holly is a young girl who is experiencing love and sex for the first time (this is mainly due to her age) yet this shows that as Valery is still quite young but is so aware of the effect she can have on men: that this was much more accepted within the 90’s. At the start of NBK Valarie is wearing skimpy clothes and dancing around a diner provocatively attracting the attention of all of the men. This is something which was much more common in the 90’s as women gained empowerment by understanding their body and men’s reactions to it, rather than in the 70’s which was much more restricted as more women were being taken control of.

The representations of women in both of these films clearly show the societies views at the time, as within the 70’s the working world was very much male dominated and so the fact that it would have been mostly males who worked on Badlands shows how men thought that the women should be represented through Holly, frail and weak. Whereas more women began to be accepted within the workplace in the 90’s which is shown through Valarie’s empowerment as that idea was likely to have come from a women who no longer wanted women to be seen an vulnerable.

Within Badlands the representation of Kit as a male character is a poor one, although he is not shown physically in a stereotypically masculine way as he isn’t incredibly strong or powerful, his other traits begin to enable us to depict the way men acted in the 1970’s. Kit was a very independent person, even though he spent the film with Holly he did not seem to confide in her about anything: he was very self confined. This could just be the representation of Charles Satrkwhether being shown, or it could be due to the fact that men in the 70’s did not respect women enough to trust them with anything important, whether it be their own feelings or something like killing. Kit was also the instigater and sole actor on the murders, this shows again, that men were much more dominant and felt the need to hold the power within the 1970’s compared to the 90’s where they took more of a backseat in some cases.

The representation of Mickey in NBK shows a stereotypical male character physically, unlike Kit in Badlands, as he is a very physically dominant male. This begins to show the fact that men took more of a care with their appearance within the 90’s mainly due to the fact that women were becoming much pickier with the men they wanted to attract so the men had to step up their game, so to speak.

It is clear that the representations of both genders within Badlands and Natural Born Killers reflect the time in which they were made as there are clear differences between these two films and the time gap can be visibly seen. The two films show similarities in event in which they are both loosely based on, yet the way in which they have been approached by the directors is very different and in both cases works well to show its intent and society at the times.

My new film review blog links

Film Review Blogs:

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A Good Day To Die Hard - Promotion

20th Century Fox unveiled a huge mural of Bruce Willis along the side of their company building in Los Angeles in anticipation of the release of A Good Day To Die Hard released 14th February within UK cinemas. The mural contains an image of Willis from the famous air duct scene from the first film within the franchise. The unveiling of this mural shows just how much of a success this franchise was for the production company as well as the stars who are featured in it.