BLK feedback

great film clips chosen and impressive analysis too - well done Tom.

Launching a Film

Release of a Film
Audience - You need to successfully target and market your film.
Budget - How much will it sell and how much should you put into it. Different genres make diferent amounts of money at the box office.
Promotion - Really to be heavily linked with target audience. How will you appeal to them.

Position and Audiences
Know your market - Research your the market, what audiences want what? You need to know the market enough to judge what they want. Use whatever you can to get to know them (questionnaires?)
Genre - Specialise on a genre through your research.

Target Audience
Clarity - The importance is to be 100% clear who your target audience is.
Focus - Use past comparisons, to see what did or did not work.
Research - Get to know your particular target audience.

Competition
Stand out - Your film needs to stand out amoung others, why will they watch your film?
Better - Your film needs to be more exciting and more innovative.
Release Date - Has to be relevant to your audience,when are they on holiday? when can they go to the cinema?

PA and Budget
Advertising
Film Costs

Word of Mouth
Make or Break - Good or bad word of mouth will make or break your release. Word of mouth is the most critical advertising your film can get.
Advance Sreenings - These allow to start up word of mouth advertising before the release of the film.

Marketing Plan
Advertising - Has to be well thought out and executed to attract audience.
Press - Very important in relation to word of mouth advertising.
Interviews - A more personal approach between the actors/director and the audience
Word of mouth - The key to advertising
Viral Campaigns - Internet campaigns, which can really boost films if well launched.

Film Trailers
The key - Make sure you portray what you want to of your film. This is the first exposure to the audience.
The Best - The trailer has to be the the best sequences of the film, a promise to the audience for more.

Link Between
Where will you publish yor film

Digital Marketing
Viral Marketing - Creating word of mouth.
Websites - Games, Quizes, Trailers, Info.

Test Screenings
Expectations - Does your film meet expectations? Get feedback from the target audience. Get them to fill out questionnaires and answer questions. Does your film have to changed? Was the feedback good or bad?

Persuading Cinemas
Licenses - You need to sell your films licence to as many cinemas as possible to get it at as many cinemas as possible for launch day and beyond.
Selling - Why will they buy your license? How will yours entice them?

Opening Weekends
Make or Break
Success - The opening weekend must go well in order for the film to advance well.

Piracy
Large Problem - Costs the film industry huge losses of money. Huge amounts of money go into the avoiding of films being pirated before release. It could cost your film dearly.

BLK feedback

Excellent analysis and reflections on your horror shot, although don't forget to identify the shot distance and say why you framed it like that (although I do understand that the angle was the key thing about the framing).

I'm looking forward to seeing your chosen video clip and shot analysis.

Please can you add a link to my foundation blog, thanks.

Your blog is looking good with all the essentials added otherwise. Now just catch up with any outstanding homework as quickly as possible please Tom.

THR Feedback

No homework again???

Opening Sequence Analysis

Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)

The opening low angle CU immediately puts the viewer in the action, as the fleeing person steps right over the camera. This is short and then the shot switches to a tracking CU now at headheight, which makes it clear the narration is of this man. He is running desperately and the switch back to his feet and then back up to his face shows the speed. The switch from low angle to high angle is repeated three times. This involves the viewer and makes for a very fast paced sequence of shots, some taking up as little as 3 seconds. After a break up shot at 0.12 the original style returns. At 0.16 however the shot switches in front of the man running. This is to make the viewer think about the corner ahead and its importance. A car pulls out and at 0.19 the viewer gets a POV shot from the car driver of the man rolling over the bonet. This sequence leading up to the shot and the POV shot itself makes the viewer watch the ongoings, instead of completely immersing them the director has chosen to put the viewer as a passer by style of view. After this the opening moves towards intoducing the main characters. It does this by putting the viewer right in the middle of a football match they are playing (0.36). Through low angles and CUs of the ball The viewer is immersed. This actaully also switches between the match and Renton (introduced through a subtitle of his name) doing drugs. This is to introduce the viewer to the distinct two sides of Rentons life. The two sequences start to merge at 1.12 to almost symbolise how the drugs take over. The drug sequence uses an arch shot at 1.16 to show Renton.

Taxi (Gerard Pires, 1998)

I wanted to include this opening sequence because I think it uses tracking shots to great affect. The shooting style is steadycam but sometimes jumps about. I think this style of filming is used to portray the speed of this sequence, so the shakes add to that. The camera also moves between distances from the bike, from ECUs to LVSsm, I think the director wanted some parts to be very in your face and to vary distances to keep things exciting. An example of an ECU is at 0.35. I think the director has also chosen to put the camera close to the road to make the viewer closer to the action and more involved. The road lines demonstrate the speed and it gives a lowe angle of the biker. The face is never shown in the sequence, which leaves the viewer wondering if its a chase till the end, where all is revealed. This adds mystery.

Horror Still

My Horror still depicts a young man who is scared by something approaching him, this is shown in the form of a shadow of a hand. This gives the audience a feeling of tension as there is the theme of impending danger. Low key lighting is used to add mystery and to add a darklook to the shot. The posture and expression of the actor shows the terror that he is experiencing. This also makes it more personal with the audience due to the human emotion. The shot can be used by the audience to assume a bit of backstory, and to work out theme of the movie, and this is entrapment.

To achieve the shot my group and I found a secluded dark spot with some stairs for our set. We then used multiple light sources to achieve a powerful shadow and a backlight. This was done by using two lighting angles.

The shot is successful because it gives the right feeling to the audience. I think the composition is outstanding, as the dutch angle disorientates and the framing is tight. Also the shot allows for lots of writing to anchor it, this is because there is lots of space surroundi9ng the subject.

In hindsight I would have wanted more time to toy around with angles and lighting, I would have wanted even more lights just for my group. I think we could have tried other angles. I would also have liked to try using female subjects for the shot. The last thing I would experiment more with would be the shadow cast across the wall.

THR feedback

Where's your homework? - okay so now you've posted it and it appears earlier - next time it needs to be done on time please!

Your notes do discuss the technical codes and offer possible meanings and effects that they could create.

Shot Sequence Analysis

Shot 1: High Angle Mid ShotThis shot shows a man on the floor clutching his ear and a gun, he is sprawled across a wooden walkway which looks old and battered. He looks like he has been hurt by his posture but shows little expression on his face. This makes him seem evil. The shot aims to represent his emotion and the gun in his hand as both are glaring from the light, which is low key. The man is made to look helpless and inferior by the high angle. It would seem there is someone staring back down at him, and the audience can only assume this.

Shot 2: High angle Long Shot The next shot is further out to introduce a second character, and gunman who is aiming straight back at the other character. The downed gunman, now disarmed ( literally) looks in worse shape and is spread more across his back. The longer shot allows the viewer to make out the walkway to be part of a dock. and derelict by the looks of it. The second gunman wears a long detective style coat which shows authority and makes him look like the hero. The light on his arm emphasises where he is aiming.

Shot 3: Long shot Now a third character is introduced which is a little girl, cowered to the side of the dock. The shot shows the continuation of the standoff as well as the confrontation continues. The seting, now clear has surrounding warehouses, reminiscant of illegal smuggler docks. The horizon follows the bottom third of the shot and the detective stands up along the first third, so this shot is very easy on the eyes. The posture of the two men is reminiscant of the iconic resevior dogs shot of the standoff (much like this one). It would seem at this point to the viewer the gunman is the rescuer of the little girl.

Shot 4: Very Long Shot

Now further out we are introduced to a fourth character, another gunman behind the detective, because of his ddetective coat and his position behind the first detective, it would be likely he is infact going to betray the first detective. His darker coat shows him to be more evil than the rescuer. The standoff appears to be drawing to an end as the detective leans over the downed man, who look close to death by now. The girl looks like collateral damage in this standoff and looks physically and symbolically caught in the middle of the gunman and the new character at the back.

Shot 5: Close Up High Angle This shot is put in to show the emotion of the little girl, to get the audience more emotionally charged for the scene. The high angle and tears in her eyes show innocence, as well as the bright light on her. The camera is very close to her face to make her emotion recognisable straight away with the audience and to make it more personal.

Shot 6: Long Shot This shot has the most interesting perspective from the sequence. The shot puts the detective and downed man in the foreground, and the darker detective in the backround now walking in. The fourth man is very much framed by the light around him, which in contrast makes him very dark and evil looking. This shot aims to wrap up the scene so it shows all. By now the downed man looks dead.

Sequence Analysis

I think this sequence from Sin City works very well because it captivates the qudience through mystery and emotion, I think there is enough variation in shots to keep the viewers happy and composition is strong throughout, obviously the low key lighting style is key and really adds to the drama, but everything else is well executed as well. I think this sequence is very good indeed.