Entry 14 - Vacancy and The Departed

Vacancy

Thriller – sub genre – Horror (uses string instruments)

Opening titles associated with dripping blood, red.
Music – increasing, tense, suspension and frantic.
Grunge, Urban titles.
Finally turned into a maze, representing trapped.

Setting – night, dark, they are alone, long shots, night time noises.

Characters – typical couple (as in they argue) can’t see much of them in the shots, could be secretive, male likes to joke.
Starts of with a near crash. (pull into a dodgy gas station) – music turns tenser, high angle shot.

Narrative – no radio – isolation
Recurring image of eye rubbing, tiredness
Apple – kill, knife.

Alternative opening

Setting = bright, opposite, surrounding people noisy.
Police discovering evidence – the car again.

The Departed

Gangster Thriller

Characters – don’t see the gangsters face much. Use of shadow. Dark person, mystery – underground.
The boy opposite. (Naive, innocent, emotional)

Setting – seagulls, sense of place. Boston.
Fighting at the beginning = corruption, racism.

Sound – voice over – typical gangster, stereo typical.

Entry 12 - Comparing Films

British film – “Run Fatboy Fun”

Run Fatboy Run is a 2007 British romantic comedy film directed by David Schwimmer, written by Michael Ian Black and Simon Pegg, and starring Simon Pegg, Dylan Moran, Thandie Newton, Harish Patel, India de Beaufort and Hank Azaria.
It was released in the UK on 7 September 2007, in Canada on 10 September 2007 and in the United States on 28 March 2008.

Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 48% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 142 reviews. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 48 out of 100, based on 27 reviews. Box office performance
The film topped the UK box office in its opening week and remained at the top of the chart for four straight weeks. To date it has earned over £10.5 million. In the United States, the film enjoyed more limited success. On its opening weekend, it grossed about $2.3 million. As of May 1, 2008, the film has grossed $5,946,628 with a foreign gross of $29,039,566 making $34,986,194 as its international gross.


American film – “The Hangover

The Hangover is a 2009 comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, written by Jon Lucas and produced by Todd Phillips and Daniel Goldberg. The movie was made for Warner Bros. Productions and made by Legendary Pictures. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, and Heather Graham.

Box office
The Hangover proved to be very successful financially. On its first day of release, the film drew an estimated $16.5 million on approximately 4,500 screens at 3,269 sites, beating out the big budgeted Land of the Lost — the other major new release of the weekend — for first day take.
Since its release, the film has earned $275.3 million domestically and $182.1 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $457.4 million, making it the highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the United States (second when accounting for inflation), surpassing a record previously held by Beverly Hills Cop for almost 25 years.

Response
The Hangover has received primarily positive reviews. It holds a 78% positive response rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 193 professional reviews, with the consensus that "with a clever script and hilarious interplay among the cast, The Hangover nails just the right tone of raunchy humor, and the non-stop laughs overshadow any flaw." Film critic Roger Ebert gave it three and a half stars out of four, stating "Now this is what I'm talkin' about. The Hangover is a funny movie, flat out, all the way through. Its setup is funny. Every situation is funny. Most of the dialogue is funny almost line by line."

Although widely critically praised, many critics have noted the weak character development, especially in its female characters[22]. Ebert, despite his praise, writes "I won't go so far as to describe it as a character study" but that the film is more than the sum of its parts - parts that may at first seem a little generic or clichéd,[23] since many other films (such as Very Bad Things) have already explored the idea of a weekend in Vegas gone wrong. Critics also complained about racial stereotyping, in particular the Asian gangster.[24]

Entry number 11 - Background Info on TV Drama, "Cutting It"

Cutting It

Cutting It follows the traumatic life of hairdresser Allie Henshall, alongside her lovers, her rivals and her dysfunctional family.
Series 1
Allie Henshall (Sarah Parish) and Gavin Ferraday (Jason Merrells) are partners in love and business. They own Henshall Ferraday hair salon, where Allie's sisters Darcey (Angela Griffin) and Sydney (Sian Reeves) work alongside them.

As Allie and Gavin consider taking over a vacant property across the road, they are rocked by the news that a rival hairdresser has bought it. To make matters worse, Allie discovers that the new salon, Blade Runner, is run by her ex, Finn, and his wife, Mia Bevan (Amanda Holden).
Finn fathered the child Allie claimed to have aborted. He left her when he found out she was pregnant, but he's back in town to try and woo Allie.
Gavin eventually discovers that Henhall Ferraday's trainee stylist Ruby is really Allie and Finn's daughter - Allie didn't have the abortion after all. Gavin wants Allie to have a baby with him, but Finn's mischievous plan pays off and the series ends with Allie leaving Gavin for Finn.

Series 2
Allie returns from a month in Naples, with Finn, only to find she's not welcome at her old salon; renamed Gavin Ferraday. At Allie's dad Tom's (Bill Thomas) 60th birthday party, Allie discovers from that Finn has two other kids from previous marriages that he also ran away from. Finn tells Allie that he wants them to have another baby together.
Gavin tries to take over Blade Runner but Allie becomes its new owner. With Allie gone, Darcey takes the opportunity of replacing her in Gavin's business and bed. Since being dumped by Finn, Mia has been working as an escort, so Gavin offers her a job in the salon. Mia's mum, Zinnia (Cherie Lunghi), turns up to console her heartbroken daughter but really wants to bag Finn for herself.

Meanwhile, Gavin and Ruby fall for each other but Gavin still holds out hope of getting back with Allie. Ruby tells Eugene (Pearce Quigley) that she is pregnant with Gavin's baby. Allie agrees to put whatever feelings she has for Gavin aside and support her daughter. She surprises Finn by revealing she's also pregnant, not realising his vasectomy means he can't be the father.
Mia discovers that throughout her marriage to Finn he was sleeping with her mother. In an act of jealous revenge she sets fire to both salons.

Series 3
After tying the knot with Finn in secret, Allie's running a new salon; Mia hasn't been seen since she torched the old salons; Gavin has left Manchester (after being paid to do so by Finn) and now lives with Ruby in a converted barn in the countryside.
Finn warns Eugene to keep quiet about his vasectomy and the fact that Gavin must be the real father of Allie's baby.

Ahead of his wedding to Ruby, Gavin gets his hair cut by Allie. It's clear that their feelings for each other remain strong. As Ruby walks down the aisle, Tom, Brawdie, Allie's Mum (Annette Badland), Syd, Darcey, Calypso and Shane burst into an acoustic version of Goodbye Ruby Tuesday. Ruby's waters break just as she's about to get married. Ruby and Allie give birth at the same time to Artemis and Ralfie respectively. Finn's with Ruby, while Gavin's with Allie.

Series 4
It's fresh starts all round - Allie and Gavin are happily back together, and Brawdie and Tom are renewing their wedding vows.
Allie's salon is thriving and she wants to expand by opening her own hairdressing academy, bringing on a new generation of hairdressers. Gavin's wavering over marriage, although he's keen to have more children with Allie.

However, trouble arrives in the shape of beautiful Aussie, Melissa Devereux (Christine Stephen-Daly) - Gavin's guilty fling from the past. She gets the job of Academy Styles Director and her feelings for Gavin are soon reawakened. Elsewhere, Darcey's relationship with Eugene continues to blossom.
When Allie discovers she might be pregnant she thinks she can have it all: Gavin, the baby, the academy. Fate, however, has other plans - she discovers her pregnancy is actually ovarian cancer - a secret she shares only with Darcey. Sydney misreads Allie and Darcey's secretiveness and drags Gavin to the hospital where he's confronted with the devastating truth about Allie's condition. The situation leads them to remarry.
But tragically Allie is knocked down and killed, just after learning she was beating the cancer. Gavin's distraught, and seeks solace in the arms of Melissa. But she realises she will always be second best to Allie in Gavin's affections. The series ends with Gavin leaving the salon in Darcey's hands, and departing with only baby Ralfie for company.

Entry Number 10 - Summarising notes

Diegesis

In a film non - diegetic and diegetic material, particularly sound creates a meaning for the audience.

Diegetic material is where the characters in the film are aware of it. For example; two characters are talking and then hear thunder. Whereas non- diegetic is FX sounds or background music which the characters do not hear.

Some types of sound are both - for example; a character’s thoughts in a voice over are diegetic in that the character is aware of it, but non-diegetic in the sense that other characters are not. An example of this could be in the film “Ghosts”. As one of the characters can hear the ghost “Sam” but the other can’t.

Micro and Macro Origination

To shot material that is appropriate you need to adopt the micro - macros strategy (Meaning, pulling apart the detail aspects of the film, frame by frame, or scene by scene e.g. camera angles and movement).
You need the film to follow the conventions of a particular genre etc.
Micro elements, including types of camera shots, music etc.
Spending time storyboarding (setting it out scene by scene) helps the development towards the film.
For example, if you decide to make a romantic comedy, you need o follow a three-stage process.
Study romantic comedy conventions using the micro-macro strategy
Spend time developing a romantic comedy narrative that will be recognisable
Spend time planning to shoot and edit which looks right for the genre.

Camera work and framing

To hold a steady shot you should be using a tripod unless a hand-held effect is required.
Most of shots should be filmed with a camera that isn’t moving
Zooming is rarely used to avoid the appearance of amateur filming
Select widescreen and remember than film uses less close - up, instead use LS, ELS< MS etc. But use mostly LS and MS. This is essential to the language of film.
The “rule of thirds” - The rule of thirds is a concept in video and film production in which the frame is divided into nine imaginary sections, as illustrated on the right. This creates reference points which act as guides for framing the image (http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/rule-of-thirds.html)
You need to consider power and neutrality as high angle suggests power of a character and low angle increases it

Mise en Scène - is an expression used in theatre and film to describe the design aspects of a production. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_sc%C3%A8ne)


Constructing Mise en Scène: It is all about atmosphere and continuity. Mise en Scène is the difficult element of production to get right. - Gives the best rewards.
All about detail: Carefully choosing costumes. Lights, Locations and props.
Simple mistakes are: changing haircut or costume changes mid sequence, poor lighting etc.
Although acting is not part of assessment, poor acting skills will undermine the over all flow of the narrative and the realism of the mise en scene.

Lighting

Five tips for creative lighting…

Use natural light - sunlight, in shadow, in mist, through rain. Being flexible, waiting for the right effect depends on conditions.
Use cheap artificial - candles, firelight, torches, car headlights. Security lights etc. (make sure carry out risk assessments)
Create colour filters - shine light through coloured liquids, vases, ornaments.
Position the light source for effect- lighting the scene from above etc.
Lighting a scene is a scientific process - “Once you have explored what your light sources can provide, experiment with the interaction of light with the objects in your frame” (Michael Massey - 2004, Media Magazine)

Combining sound, image and titles

Chose the most appropriate font, colour and size.
Make creative decisions about where to place the titles - place it black between shots, over the actions, how long it stays on the screen etc.
Understand the contribution each title has towards the audience’s understanding of the narrative.
Sound - think carefully about the semiotic function (Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of sign processes (semiosis), or signification and communication, signs and symbols - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics) of music. Ensure what the music suggests to the audience also test out on an audience before hand.

The Grammar of non- linear editing -

Non-linear editing software package is being used for post-production work and will be assessed on how well you edit the material.
Observing the rules of grammar that apply to editing. Creating continuity and the right rhythm and pace.
Choosing the right kinds of transition is essential as using exciting transitions do not reflect the conventions of the footage.
Most editing is simple - hardcuts. Hardcuts should be using them for at least 90% of your sequence.
Make the editing invisible, so that the viewer believes in the reality of the fiction that is unfolding.
Editing allows you to do things that you cant in real life.

Entry Number 9 - After Viewing

Genre

4. How would you categorise this film in terms of genre? Does it remind you of any other films you have seen?

In my opinion the genre of this film is a comedy. This is because of the humorous boy ‘Tomo’, the way he acts. Also a bit of romance is in there as well. This is because they both have fallen in love with the character Maria. This film doesn’t remind me of anything in particular as I think it is very unique, in the sense of having a very interesting narrative.

5. What do you think is the film’s appeal for audience?

The main appeal to audience is most proberly the comedy. Most audience enjoy comedy and can relate to it. Another appeal is the narrative, how two people who have very different in cultures/background but same as they are lonely, find each other and become such good friends.

6. As well as being in black and white, the film is subtitles during the conversations in Polish between Marek and his father; there are also sections in French. In what ways do these factors affect your response to the film, the situation and the characters?

These factors make me realise that there are so many cultures in London, and Shane Meadows is just high lighting it. I can tell that the majority of the characters are just looking for a better way of living; this contributes to the theme of the Eurostar, which is apparent throughout the film.

7. what similarities and differences can you identify between Somers Town and This is England?

The similarities is of the character Tomo as he is lonely and his dad doesn’t want anything to do with him, as similar with the character in This is England Shaun, but his Dad died. Same kind of setting, flats but the difference is there isn’t a construction site there. There isn’t much diversity as Somers Town, only the character ‘Milky’ and another difference its shot in colour. More characters for the audience to read and understand.

Representation

8. To what extent do you think the audience is expected to comfortable with this portrait of two teenagers?

I think that the audience would be comfortable with it. However some bit the audience may feel sad for Marek when he is left alone and possibly feel a bit uncomfortable when Tomo is beaten up. I don’t think all of it relates to all teenagers of today but a to quite a few of them.


9. A sign on the estate read “children playing on these ground is prohibited”. In what different ways do Tomo and Marek seek to amuse themselves within this environment? Do you think the film encourages us to judge any of their actions?

In the film they go and get drunk on the play park, and nick a wheelchair. I don’t think it encourages us to judge them as it shows there isn’t much to do for teenagers.

10. What messages about childhood and adolescence do you, or could you, take away from the film?

Not everything is easy for some people also to understand other people situations and adapt to them.

11. Do your reactions towards the boys change at different points in the film? Which moment in particular:

Encourage you to sympathise with the boys;
When Maria leaves, Tomo gets beaten up, Marek gets left on his own a lot and when Marek’s father’s friends make fun of him.

Make you unsympathetic towards them?
When Marek’s father yells at them for ruining there flat when they become drunk and when they steal the bag of clothes and get the wrong clothing.

12. Some of the other characters include Marek’s father, Mariusz, Graham the cockney neighbour, and the French waitress, Maria. To what extent would you agree that Meadows is playing with stereotypes in his representation of these characters?

I don’t believe he is playing with stereotypes that much. To me they just seem like normal people trying to live there life as best as they can. However the character Graham has a stereotype of being dodgy when he is trying to flog junk and also Mariusz coming across from Poland to work on a temporary job.