Film Four-distribution

2002 big changes

• Tessa Ross became controller of Film Four
• They needed to boost annual investment through third party partnerships
• Film Four will no longer distribute its own films.

Today

• Tessa Ross has an increased budget from £8-10 million a year to £15 million.
• They make between 6-8 films a year.
• They set up a low budget film studio with the Film Council and distributors Optimum, Warp X
• Working across TV and film drama also allows for economies of scale and cross fertilisation.
• Film Four increase income by advertising things with the films e.g cars.

Partnerships

• Tessa Ross sees Film Four as part of a wider creative community with, for example "Working Title", The BBC and BBC films.
• Partnership with distribution companies

Warp X and Film Four hub

• Warp X-A Film Four/UK film council joint project with the Sheffield-based indie Warp-That can finance three low budget films a year.

Additional distribution notes

• US dominated. They will often pay more than £5,000,000 on British prints and advertising costs.
• Small British distributors have to get away with £25,000 which covers 3 prints. They must rely on word of mouth and and critics. Negative views can destroy small scale British films.

Incredible Hulk-Thousands of prints
The edge of love-50prints

• Distribution companies in Britain have to work very differently than in Hollywood.
• UK film council are helping British film makers to reduce the impact of Hollywood by funding more non-stream films.
• Studio canal has emerged as a significant force in the UK film making industry
• "Optimum releasing" which is part of Studio canal has distributed many British films.
• Studio canal is planning to back project On chesil beach now that Hollywood's Focus Features has dropped out.

The future

• Should the British film industry side with Hollywood to create only Harry Potter like films? David Cameron thinks so.

Avatar casestudy

Information

• James Cameron-famed for big productions e.g Titanic
• Budget=$237,000,000
• Worldwide box office=$2.6 billion
• Won awards
• Cameron is really into technology He had the idea 20 years ago but didn't have the technology to create it.
• He could edit the image whilst it was being filmed
• Playing a film in 3D earns more than playing one in 2D
• Stereoscopic cinema is pirate proof.
• 70% of the film is CGI, including the female lead.
• The cast donned motion capture suits, suits with motion sensors on which copy human movement onto computers.
• It was acted on a "performance capture" stage. The stage was six times bigger than anything used in Hollywood before.
• They captured the realistic facial expressions using skull caps similar to the suits
• Motion capture makes 3D much easier , not just because it allows film makers to add special effects later, it lets the position the camera in the virtual world. Similar to how high end computer games are made.

New 3D

• The new 3D is called "the illusion of depth"
• It is filmed like our eyes see things. So the cameras film side by side and our eyes put the images together.
• Cameron developed a innovative film rig which filmed in this fashion.

Marketing innovations

• On Friday 21st 2009 all over the world there was a 15 minute teaser played showing footage from the film. This was a global marketing campaign.
• In London 21st April 2010m Twentieth century Fox home entertainment announced that it would launch the industries first rich media interactive trailer, in support of the DVD release on the 22nd .
• It was done to ensure people it can be viewed on T.V not just at the cinema.
• There was a digital marketing campaign which as global.

Exhibition

• Cinemas need to be especially equipped for 3D showings. The screen needs to be silver coated for the correct brightness and glasses distributed.
• Tickets for 3D are more expensive because of the glasses being lossed etc
• Most cinemas are not digitally equipped in the UK, 320 out of 3,600 are.

Working Title Films-Distribution

Love Actually

• Released at the time the film was set, 3rd of November
• Directed by Richard Curtis, Working Titles favourite for "Rom Coms"
• Produced by Working Title and Universal Pictures
• Budget was £45,000,000
• Grossed £247,472,278 worldwide. Massive profit
• In the UK it grossed £62,671,632
• The advertising used the stars from the film
• November 16th 2003-Premier London
• November 6th 2003-Premier New York
• Stars made appearances at both premiers
• "Below the line" marketing included interviews by cast members
• "Above the line" marketing included the film being released in different languages
• The film won several BAFTA's. Target audiences included couples and females.

Wild Child

• Released August 15th 2008
• Directed by Nick Moore-New Directer. Working Title try and introduce new and up coming talents
• Production companies include Working Title, Relativity Media and Studio Media
• "Above the line" marketing included the poster being released in May 2008, early before actual release of film
• Film opened in 359 screens after 3 months of advertising.
• Used pink carpet and nail and beauty bars for premiering audience.
• This also targets the target audience
• Budget for the film £20,000,000
• Grossed £2,196,366 in the UK for 359 cinemas
• Grossed £19,786,125 worldwide  
• "Below the line" marketing included a competition for a goody bag.

Hot Fuzz

• Released 19th February 2007
• Directed by Edgar Wright
• Stars-Simon Pegg and Nick Frost
• Production companies-Big Talk Productions, Ingenious Film Partners, Studio Canal, Universal Pictures and Working Title
• Universal Pictures-Distribution
• Exhibited at london MCM EXPO
• "Above the line" marketing included posters that used intertextuality from Bad Boys to draw action fans etc
•  "Below the line" marketing included Simon Pegg and Nick Frost posting blog, Facebook page and a competition to meet the actors
• Target audience-Young males/Comedy and action fans/Shaun of the dead fans.
• Grossed £80,573,774 in America
• DVD was released 11th of June 2007.

Film Four films-Distribution

The Lovely Bones

• Girl murdered
• Budget: £65,000,000 
• Distribution company-Paramount
• Production companies-Dreamworks,Wingnut,Film Four
• It had a limited release-3 theatres
• It grossed $44,000,000 in the US
• DVD release was April 2010-Very soon after theatrical release. Trying to make money.
• It cost £85,000,000 to market
• "Below the line" marketing included a 4 minute interview with Peter Jackson the director and featured videos
• There was a competition to win a trip to NZ ("Below the line")
• Wasn't much film competition in January
• Did fairly well due to people's general interest.
• Target audience- Females 13-20
• In the US it opened in Theaters in towns near schools and Uni's.
• Nominated for BAFTA and an Oscar

Releases:

• 24th November 2009 (royal cinema)
• 26th December 2009 (NZ)
• 15th January 2010 (US)
• 19th February 2010 (UK)

Slumdog Millionaire

• Directed by Danny Boyle
• Starred-Dev Patel and Freida Pinto
• Released-9th January 2009 in UK and 23rd January 2009 in the US
• Distribution companies-Foxlight search pictures, Warner Bro's, Pathe Pictures and Icon Entertainment International
• It had so many distribution companies because it had previously been a show and companies wanted in.
• Target audience-Adults and people who like love stories. Age rating 15
• Budget was £15,000,000
• It grossed £243,000,000, it was a massive success.

"Above the line" marketing:

• Poster released October 2008
• Second poster was released on buses etc
• Translated film into Hindi
• Used search engine tug to advertise.

"Below the line" marketing:

• Film Four released Banners on google advertising it, these were a cost a click method.
• Premiered whewre it was set-India.
• Slumdog website offered free downloads of posters etc
• Premiers in london took place in a Odeon cinema so it was open to the public as well.

This is England

• Release:2006
• Directed by: Shane meadows
• Budget of £1,500,000
• Grossed £1,539,372 good result for an independant British film.
• Sequel "This is England 86"
• Distribution-Film Four, Warp Films and Optimum releasing
• It was first premiered in Denmark at film festivals
• It got good reviews before being distributed
• "Below the line" marketing-It released the soundtrack
• It was only agreed to be distributed to a very small number of cinemas
• It was released in 62 cinemas out of 3,600. This doubled in four weeks due to word of mouth.
• Its competition was Spiderman 3

Distribution

What is distribution?
What is a distributor?
Marketing and distribution.

Tony Angellotti believes:

• The audience influence how the film is made
• Audience decided who is used e.g stars etc

Toby Miller believes:

• Power isn't with the audience but with Hollywood.

My opinion:
I think that Tony Angellotti is correct, a film would be a flop if it didn't include things the audience wanted to see in it.

What is distribution?

• Film distribution describes everything that happens in between the making of the film and the screening of it.
• Distribution involves all the deals done to get films shown
• "Above the line" advertising is funded by the distribution company and involves billboards, trailers and various spin offs
• "Below the line" is free advertising e.g fan site and interviews with stars.

Is it all fair?

• Do distributors treat all films equally and ensure fair play in getting films to the public attention?
• The big companies who control much of the industry control the distribution of their own products and others. E.g 20th Century Fox and Avatar.
• Films are released to cinema's for a finite period of time. Release deals are done to get access to a certain number of screens.

Five major distributors dominate the UK film industry, they are:

1. United International Pictures
2. Warner Brothers
3. Buena Vista
4. Twentieth Fox
5. Sony

Key points

• Roughly 9/10 films seen in the UK are Viewed as a result of the five major distributors.
• In most cases these distributors have direct links to Hollywood production companies, who make films AND exhibitors who prioritise Hollywood films over others for profit.
• Usually Blockbuster films are released by "blanket release." So even if a small UK company releases a film they have to compete with Blockbusters.
• One of the outcomes of the above distribution arrangement is that half of the films released go to half the country.

Problems smaller companies face

• Every film shown in a cinema is a print on a reel. Every cinema it is being showed at needs separate reels for each screen, this costs a lot.
• Major companies can afford far more prints than smaller companies
• This is improving due to the use of digital.

The dominance of Hollywood marketing
Does marketing a film really matter?
Pirates of the Caribbean had awful reviews yet still made of over £50 Million in the UK box office. 1.5million DVDs were brought after 10 days of release. Marketing made the film a success.

The Dark Night compared to This is England
The Dark Night was the first big blockbuster in viral advertising.
It cost £185million to make
It was shown on 4336 screens

This is England was made by Film Four
In comparison to The Dark Night it was only shown on 62 screens.

Piracy problem and the film industry

• Piracy is a major concern of all distributors. Hollywood investigators claim a 10% increase each year in revenue lost due to illegal distribution.
• Major problem in the UK. The UK film council recommendations include a strategy for responding to Internet distribution and reminding the public that it hurts the UK film industry-effectively using the guilt trip

Digital distribution advantages

• Promises to reform the film industry more than any technological change since the advent of sound.
• Once it becomes the norm to digitally download legally via broadband a new type of "blanket distribution" is obvious-not only o you no longer need multiple prints but you can also bypass the cinema.
• Digital films offer identical versions. Meaning no wear or tear copies and better qualities.
• Control and security and the eradication of the pirate cinema-goer with a hidden camera. Normal cameras cannot film in 3D.
• Simultaneous global distribution via the Internet will put an end to the "time gap" of releases in different places and thus its exploitation by pirates.

Release of a film
Marketability-Identifying target audience and devising a strategy to approach them.
Media-You have to decide who best to link up with Web/TV/Radio

Planning a release
Are the audience you're releasing to consumers? E.g know the director from previous films. Are they a Niche audience?

Target audience
If the film being released is a small title then it really has to advertise to the target audience.
It has to advertise to certain age groups in certain places e.g 15-16 year olds will turn up to the cinema for something to do whereas elderly people will plan for up to a week what they want to watch before going to the cinema. Younger audiences are more spontaneous.

Marketing plan
A company will need to find places to advertise E.g Newspaper.

There are a number of different ways to advertise:

• Free form advertising-Press interviews. "Below the line" advertising
• Outdoor advertising-Buses/shelters/billboards
• Word of mouth

Word of mouth is important because it can make or break a film, it is very important for small films when they cannot advertise as much as larger ones and when they appeal for niche audiences.

• Screening programme-Show public a showing free to try and impress and spread news via word of mouth.

Competition
October half term is important because teenagers and children are off school and the weather is bad so they are looking for something to do.
TV advertising is a winter form of advertising because more people are inside
Outdoor advertising is a Summer form of advertising because more people are outside.
Companies still have to be careful about what films they are releasing against.

Word of mouth
Advanced screenings can promote word of mouth.
If 100 people go to an advanced screening and then this 100 people talk about the movie in a positive way, word will spread quickly. It makes and breaks a film and therefore builds the life expectancy of it.

Budget

• Television advertising is very expensive
• Radio is cheaper

Viral marketing
This is the use of the Internet to pass on information. Such as entering a competition or doing a quiz and then sending it on.

Piracy
Piracy is commonly poor quality and a rip off.
20% of DVD sales are pirate DVDs.

What is British Film?

• A setting in the UK?
• A focus on British people abroad?
• A predominantly British cast?
• A storyline about some aspect of British life?
• Based on the work of a British actor?

The importnace of the British film industry;

• Significant returns for the Uk economy through film making , inward investment, film exhibition , DVD rentals and sales and film exports.
• The UK film council estmates that a succesful British film will make up to 70% of its revenue outside the UK.

British cinema and Hollywood

• British film production companies have co-production and distribution will Hollywood studios.
• "British" films can be funded and distrubuted by US companies.
• Decisions on which British films to produce and to market them.

Hollywood overview:

• Hollywood is bult around studios.

Green Zone

"Bourne goes epic!" Daily Telegraph

"Blistering thriller" Guardian

Stars:

• Matt Damon
• Brendan Gleeson
• Greg Kinnear

Green Zone is directed by Paul Greengrass, who has also directed Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. His work on Bloody Sunday earned him his shared first prize at the Berlin film Festival.

He earned the BAFTA Best Writer for his work on United 93. He also received immense critical acclaim for the film; he was nominated for an Oscar.

Plot:

Roy Miller, played by Matt Damon is head of a special unit in search of WMD's (Weapons of Mass Destruction) in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion. Realising soon that something is wrong, Miller takes matters into his own hands and confronts the problem.

Releases:

• Green Zone was released March 12th 2010
• It is now out on DVD. Released June 20th 2010

Working title

The company

• Co chair persons are Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner
• Bevan founded Working title in 1984

"They have been listed as the most powerful figures in the British industry" BBC News story 2004

• There are only 42 members of staff
• These are split between the main Working Title production arm, and the low budget Working Title two.

The secret of their success
"The working title philosophy has always been to make films for an audience-by that I mean play in a multiplex. We totally believe in this because we know it is the only hope we have of sustaining the UK film industry"-Lucy Guard + Natasha Wharton

By this they mean they look for mass audiences not Niche audiences.

Key facts:

• Founded 1984
• More than 85 films have grossed over £4billion.
• Lots of awards e.g Six academy, 26 BAFTAs and 4 Oscars.
• Impressive catalogue of films, they have a wide range of genres.

Flop films include: Wimbledon, Thunderbirds and Captain Carellis Mandalin.

Working title are best known for blockbusters with Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson.

They produce:

• Literary adaptions
• urgent political dramas
• cult low budget projects

They have a formidable record for launching fresh talent such as directors:

• Joe Wright
• Shekkar Kapur

In addition to this, it has launched Working Title Two, a subsidary for low budget films with an "independant" appeal.

Why link with Universal?
"We were now part of a big structure, so we spent much less time finding money and much more on developing scripts" - Bevan (more freedom)

Universal pictures owns a 67% stake in the company and many of its recent films are co productions with Studio Canal.

The remaining shares are owned by the companies founders, BBC films and private investors.

Universal involvement
Working Title take smaller projects such as Pride and Prejudice which had a budget of £20million, whereas Universal take hold of much bigger projects such as, The Interpreteur which had a budget of £80million. Universal get heavily involved in the larger budget and bigger production films.

They are tactical about film projects. For example in 2004 Bridget Jones was coming out and they knew that it would be fine whereas they were worried about Shaun of the dead. However it turned out to be a massive hit. Unlike Thunderbirds which was a massive flop.

Working title 2:

• Smaller lower budget
• Films it has produced include, Billy Elliot, Shaun of the Dead and Ali G inda House.
• Working title have to produce 4 films a year. If they do not have time left they give Working Title 2 the films they'd have liked to produce themselves.

Target audiences:

• "local" (British)
• "Global" (US, international)

Anglo-American link:

• American actors play elading roles in British Working Title films.

Important release info:

1. The trailer must match the market audience.
2. Is it's got a christmas theme, release at christmas.
3. E.G never release at the time of a American blockbuster unless you can be sure you have a target audience. Working Title released About a boy against Star Wars II

When Working Title import English DVDs to America they often find there are language barriers. So they include things like a glossary.

Famous directors Working Title use:

• Richard Curtis
• Coen Brothers
• Edgar Wright.

Film Four the channel

Film Four themes:

• 50 films to see before you die.
• Film Four's Fright Fest was a week of horror films.

Film Four is available on Sky under the movies , channel 315. There is also a Film Four +1 channel, channel 316 on sky. Film Four is also available on Freeview channel 15 but Film Four +1 has been replaced by Channel 4 +1. Film Four is available on Virgin media (Channel number 428, Film Four +1 channel number 430. Virgin also has a Film Four HD channel, number 429) and Freesat (Film Four channel 300, Film Four +1 channel number 301)

Freesat is a digital TV service, similar to Freeview. t offers 140+ channels. It is a small company, only 24 employees and it is jointly owned by BBC and ITV. Packages include Freesat+ to record, pause and rewind and also Freesat HD.

Film Four Successes

Slumdog millionaire

A Mumbai teen is on an Indian version of "who wants to be a millionaire" He knows every answer and is arrested on suspicion of cheating. During his interrogation the reasons for his knowing every answer is revealed.

Directedby Danny Boyle

Stars: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto.

Release date was 9th Janaury 2009

Runtime: 120 minutes

Budget: £15,000,000

Gross: £141, 319,195 (USA)

           £31,283,374    (UK)

Reviews

The Times-James Christopher: 4/5 stars. "Exotic, edgy thrier"

The Guardian-Peter Bradshaw:3/5 stars.It's got punch and narrative pizzazz"

One flew over the cuckoo's nest

Budget: £4,400,00

Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher and Danny DeVito

Jack Nicholson arrices at a mental institute, bargaining his way in to avoid a spell in prison. On arrival he discovers Ratched, a nurse come dictator. He rallies the patients to together to rebel agaisnt her.

Recieved 8.9/10 by IMDB

Grossed £112,000,000 in the USA.

Jaws

Budget: £8,000,000

Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss.

Martin Brody has just become the new cheif of police of Amity Island. The island becomes pestered by a very large shark hungry for people. It comes down to Martin Brody and Martin Shaw to kill the giant shark nicknamed Jaws.

The film recieved four out of five stars from IMDB.

Grossed £69,725,376 in the USA
Grossed £470,653,000 worldwide.

Jaws was the first film to use extensive telvision advertising campaigns. It was advertised every night on prime time telly up to its release.

Film four

Film four was established in 1998

Film four has a budget of £15,000,000 a year

Film four is controlled by Tessa Ross

New releases from Film four include: End of the year, let me in and Slumdog Millionaire.

Film four tend to focus on films on Social Realism.

Film four has recently created Film Four OD. Channel Four partnered with Filmflex to create the new online viewing service.

As it is a British production company it finances British films.

Part of Channel Fours remit was to experiment and innovate and cater for audiences not addressed by other channels (niche audiences)

Film Four fund around 20 films per year.

They look for distinctive films which will make there mark in a competive cinema market.

Films are premiered two years after theatrical releases, they are only premiered on Film Four, Channel four or a sister company.

David Rose, commissioning editor "a preference for contemporary and social political topics"
Examples including My Beautiful Laundrette, Which portrayed a homosexual relationship between a white facist and Omar.

Film Four is in association with the Uk's museum of moving image (MOMI) and often has various film related weeks and weekends. E.g Horror week or sci fi weekend.

Film Four has a subsidary group named the Film Four lab which supports the "newest amd most striking creative voices and visions of tommorrow's cinema in Britain"

Tessa Ross described Film Four:
"The remit is to make adventorous contemporary films outside the studio system"

Slumdog Millionaire was not a usual Film Four film.

"Film Four looks for "contemporary stories which are British talent led"

In the UK, the UK film council, Film Four and BBC films remain the three main financers.

Regional Identity: The Rotters club

Analyse how regional identity is presented in the clip

The clip starts with the camera panning across a table of food and drink, then it moves onto a frame filled with one characters head. It isn't until he starts talking that we realise that the food is stereotypical. The people in the clip are "Northern" and the food they eat is "hearty" northern food. Chips and beer, most likely bitter. We see individual shots of each character, effectively introducing them into the scene. We see that the bosses are sitting next to each other. The individual shots let us study their faces and it would seem that the bosses look wary and the workers angry. Stereotypical again of northern people. the camera then moves to a shot which shows all of them centered on the table. Giving us an insight into where they are eating. It would seem to be in a pub, implying that the north doesn't have restaurants.

This would seem to be the time to comment on the sound in clip. There is not soundtrack making the music coming from the "pub" and the clink of knives and forks diegetic and natural within the scene. This has been used because it is highly effective in creating social realism inside a scene. The knives and forks are also action codes that imply the action of eating is being undertaken.

However most of the clip focuses on the characters within and it is interesting to see how they are portrayed. The two workers are sat opposite their bosses, becoming an obvious example of binary opposites, evidence being, the workers drink beer whilst their bosses sip on wine. There is tension in the scene with clear mistrust between the two sides. Playing on the northern trade unions. The only time the group comes together is within one stereotypically sexist minute when they all watch the waitress stroll away, with the character we learn to be Roy, jesting with a rather "raunchy" comment, key in presenting beliefs about the north which aren't correct but stereotypically believed. The scene is edited to clearly express the mistrust between the worker Roy, a man who looks most out of place in his suit and the seemingly rambly grey old man, his boss. The tension between the two is made obvious by the how stubborn Roy is, his character being presented in this manor lets us understand the friction between the workers and the bosses, therefore increasing our understanding of the scene.

We learn of the wider northern social unrest when the camera is filled by a shot of an angry Roy confronting, his co-worker, about his son's education. Using the charming terms "poncy toffs academy" we are informed of how the workers are sitting below the bosses. The junior manager's son happens to go to the same school but the worker gets a free grant. Suggesting that without it, it would be impossible for his son to attend. Before this we are again reminded of the clear differences by each characters vocabulary. The older boss uses "son" while Roy uses "kid."

We are introduced to the stereotypical rife fear of homosexuality apparently present in northern society. This is demonstrated in a joke made by the unnamed worker at Collin, the junior managers expense. This issue is brought up once more at the end of the clip when we learn that Collin's boy Ben Trotter has been nicknamed, Bent Trotter. This is when a close up is used to film the almost panic stricken face of Collin.

Regional identity is presented in the clip through the use of stereotypes, this being the easiest way to present a society as stereotypical and infamous as the "North." Obviously these stereotypes are highly unfair but they increase regional awareness in the clip, and therefore making viewing easier.

Regional Identity

The North stereotypes

• Flat cap wearing
• Pigeon racers
• Friendly but "bloody-minded"
• stubborn and argumentative
• whippet owning
• Menail manual (hard) labour
• Little eductation
• Sexist
• thick accent
• Bitter drinkers
• Hot pot eaters
• Miserable weather
• cobbled streets

Country stereotypes

• West country-scrumpy addled yokels
• Incest
• Stupid
• Happy
• Livestock bothering
• Farm hand yokel

Or

• Lord of the manor
• Hunting toff
• Slow pace of life
• Have animals

Editing: Memento

Explain how editing is used in Memento

Editing in Memento is vital to our understanding of how the film works and what themes and stories are being presented within it. In the opening clip the credits role over the sequence being played and we watch only a hand and a  close up of the picture. We can see in the picture there is a gruesome image on display and this brings me to my first point, how editing can change the viewers opinion. At first I believed that the character who was holding the picture was guilty of a condemnable crime and from the gruesomeness of the picture, was a serial killer. But editing can change this and I'll come to this later when I comment on the use of monochrome scenes.

The first noticeable bit of editing is the picture and how it fades out and disappears. The scene is in fact reverting back in time be we notice how the picture is being shaken back. Everything is pulled back into its starting position, gun returning to killer, glasses returning to victim and even the piteous cry of the man returning to his throat. This is done to help us understand what has happened and establishes a path for us to be able to see how this murdered man was finished.

The next scene is one I have already mentioned previously, it is a monochrome sequence of shots. I have called it a sequence of shots because the whole scene is edited. It starts with a close up of the characters eye and then jumps to a close up of the keys. This is a sequence of shots in that instead of panning down from eyes to keys the decision has been made to edit and jump the shot down. This happens again and a shot of The characters face is parallel and squarely sat in the middle of the camera. This is done with with a commentary from who we assume to be the man the scene is focused on. He talks of his "amnesia" and the editing is done to mirror his mind. Editing is used in this film to help us understand the complex base to it.

The next scene starts with a close up of a different picture on the same type of Polaroid film as before, the shots are then edited to help us understand the conservation that arises between our character and a new one who has just walked in. A close up of a pair of glasses in the first scene help us understand that the new character was the dead one beforehand. Throughout the following scene we learn our original character seems to be a detective of some variety with the lines "I've found a lead." I am focusing on the important aspects within the scenes and commenting on them. Mainly close ups, yet there is a number of shots I haven't yet commented on. These are wide angle shots, firstly of a city scape and  then of a house individually placed in the scene to give us an idea about the environment our characters are operating in. One very important aspect to this scene is the close up of the mans pistol. This gives away murderous intent. As well as a close up of a picture with "Kill him" written on it. Throughout the next few sequential shots a "scuffle" arises and I can reference editing called "invisible cuts" in that each edited moment runs so smoothly it appears that it hasn't changed. This is done so as not to distract the audience so they don't think "Oh I'm watching a movie." We see replayed to us the sequence we saw at the beginning, but this time not in a  confusing backwards time lapse. It seems I have just kept talking about close ups but they're are vitally important in a film, especially one as mentally taxing as Memento. They are significant bits of editing because without individual close ups, audiences could easily miss snippets of information of vital importance to the understanding of the scene and therefore to the film. An example is when our character is talking to a man behind a counter, who we assume to be the hotel owner, we see a close up of the picture. If this sequence of shots had been filmed differently and we had both characters center screen as well as the picture being referred to it would be easy for the information to be lost in translation, so to speak. By this I mean it might be easy for us to miss what is being said and the relevant references being made to the picture, therefore leading to us misunderstanding. Edited shots are put into films to let us understand them. We learn in this scene, through editing that our character from the start is guilty of the murder we saw at the beginning. 

Each new monochrome scene links on from the last monochrome scene. Whereas the colours ones don't connect with each other until points overlap. The black and white scenes move forward throughout the film and the colour scenes move backwards until they meet somewhere in the middle of the plot. Editing in Memento is used to let people understand what is happening and is continued to be used like that throughout the rest of the film. Memento is a mentally taxing film in that it seems endlessly confusing so therefore editing is vital to enjoyment of an audience.

Skins

How is sexuality presented in the clip?

The sound in the clip I watched was completely diegetic until the last few seconds. It starts with church bells tolling and this straight away links to Sunday, church services and the sabbath. We know Sunday to be a holy day. This is an important cultural code in the scene as people in England know that Sunday is a holy day. This is key in the presentation of sexuality, which I'll come to shortly.

The next sound we here is his alarm clock, which when starts to play is answered immediately, why is he awake? This is an action code, spurring some movement of the character. In this clip it is him jumping out of bed which is the action.

The clip opens with a close up of the character lying in bed. We can see the character is lying in bed, where most people sleep but we can see that he is awake. Immediately we pose the question why is he awake? It is not usual, in typical circumstances, for a teenager to be awake on a Sunday morning. In his face we can see he looks pale and his bed is completely straight, suggesting it hasn't been slept in or the character just hasn't moved because he is awake. The camera angle tracks out slowly from the characters face and this gives us chance to analyse the boys room. The first thing I notice is his duvet, which is very brash. On it is a picture of a naked man and a naked woman. However our character is centered in the middle of both. This suggest that he might be unsure, or that he likes both genders. Making him bisexual. The duvet is a useful prop in that it poses more than one question. Most boys wouldn't have a duvet like he has because it is to brash, or their parents wouldn't let them have it. This duvet is a component in the scene which creates something called an enigma code, basically something which poses a question. We wonder why his parents haven't made any intervention in to the duvet. is he rebelling or have they fallen out due to his sexuality?

Sound in the clip links well into the camera shots. When the camera tracks slowly away from the character the diegetic church bells are tolling away in the background. The camera moves slowly because of the symbolic nature of the bells and a Sunday morning. Sunday mornings are famed for being easy, so like this, the camera shot is slow and easy. This is proven to be when the character towards the last seconds of the scene plays his own non-deigetic music and the camera flashes quickly from moment to moment. Sexuality does link to this also in that Sunday mornings, in biblical terms are the sabbath. Like I mentioned they are holy and religion frowns upon any sexuality other than being heterosexual. this character would seem to be confirmed in his contemplation by the church bells and how neatly they tie in.

When the camera angle is through its track and we have a full view of the room we can see just how tidy it is. Stereotypically speaking, neatness is often associated with being camp and "gay." This would link well to the characters sexuality and presents it well in the scene.

However there are different ways in which sexuality is presented within this clip. If I use the duvet as a prop again I can show that someone who sleeps under something so brash as this must be fairly comfortable with themselves and their sexuality. He may not have had a row about his sexuality with his parents which has caused him to be rebellious and put this duvet on show, he may be simply just more independent than other typical teenagers and may have chosen his own duvet, and not have his mother choose it for him.

Either way you look at his sexuality it is still presented in many different ways throughout the clip.

Sound

Diegetic-Natural sounds within a scene.

Non diegetic-Sound added to a scene -soundtrack. A potential problem is it might be less realistic. a potential benefit is it could be more dramatic.

Sound bridge-Sound which carries on over two scenes, literally creating a "bridge" between events.

Incidental music-short sequence of sound to create an emotion/feeling

Asynchronous sound-a "natural"sound out of place and without a source.

contrapunctual- sound which creates an opposite emotion to the one on screen

Skins Notes
Camera angle-Tracks up and away from the boy in the bed. It starts with a close up.
                       It starts as a close up then tracks out revealing information slowly, letting us analyse everything. Making us notice everything. The camera shots link to the sound being heard. Church bells=slow camera also because it is a Sunday morning and Sunday mornings are slow. His music=fast camera.

Sound-Church bells and alarm clock are both diegetic sounds within the scene. Each sound links to a code as well.
Alarm clock=Action code as he jumps out of bed.
Church bells are a cultural code as we in this country know it symbolises Sunday mornings.

Props-His duvet shows naked man and naked woman. He lies in the middle. Bisexual?
          Suggest he is very comfortable with himself as the duvet is fairly brash.
          In the corner of his room is a stolen trolley. Why is it there? why haven't his parents inquired? 
         
His duvet and trolley form questions-Could he be a rebel?
                                                            Do his parents care?           Each of these is an enigma code
                                                            Is he very open with them?  

His room is very neat. He is very organised-Symbolic code.

He is awake before his alarm. Why is he awake? enigma code.
His curtains aren't drawn suggesting he hasn't slept in the slightest. Been out/not slept.
The light from windows fall across his face, splitting two shadows meaning two personalities.

Hotel Babylon

Explain how Ethnicity is represented in the clip. Mention:
Mise en scene/Editing/sound

The clip starts with a man in a suit. He is filmed using a tracking shot from the other side of the pool and the lighting is low, almost mysterious in a sort of night club style. Stereotypically presenting black men in suits to reside in night clubs. Over this scene a soft hip hop sort of music is played. Benjamin meets an old friend who greets him, his friend is again presented as being a stereotypical young, black man who is covered in tattoos and has dreadlocks. He looks like the type of person who would enjoy partying. These two acquaintances are binary opposites of each other. One has found himself a strong, important job, the other seems to have partying on his mind and the idea of "Pootytang."
Benjamin and his friend exchange small talk whilst being filmed by a shot over shot. Firstly over his friends shoulder, then over Benjamen's. His friend brings up the idea of a party and he is shown as being a young man and therefore breaking rules and laws. "Ganja and pootytang." Benjamin seems a bit put out by the the idea of a party, again showing the clear binary opposite between them, he used to party but now he works hard and seems to be grown up. However the conversation puts the idea of them liking to party over there ethnicity and implies that this is what young black males like to do.

The scenes flow well into each other and the next one shows two European maids who are cleaning rooms. The two maids are tracked by the camera as they come round the corner. Each pushes or pulls a cleaning cart. These two maids seem to have a stereotypical job of people who would most likely be labelled in today's society as "immigrants." The first maid, who we deem French explains to the second that the man who's room they are going to clean "pays double for double" showing a stereotypical way of trying to earn more money. A close up of the cleaning card is shown to reiterate this fact. We have a shot over a lengthy period of time, showing the younger cleaner looking anxious and nervous suggesting she doesn't want to do this and is being forced into something she doesn't want to do. Like we picture in eastern Europe.
Once inside the room we have he a close up of the man, who turns out to be Japanese, a race of people who is often stereotyped as being "dirty" or "unclean", buying whatever they want. We then see the maids striping with a shot over the Japanese mans shoulder, frequently reverting back to close ups, showing him looking sweaty, wide eyed and excited. The sound track to the scene is a buoyant beat to which stripping is usually associated. This scene shows two different ethnicity's coming together and again the stereotypical faults of each are shown.

The next scene, which is again edited so it jumps straight into it, shows a woman racing into the room armed with toilet roll. Inside the toiled is an angry English man who has a stereotypical posh accent and is angry. She hands him the toilet roll and comment son how this keeps happening, linking the stripping for the Japanese man to the poor room service. Or even digging at how "immigrants" don't perform properly at their jobs. Not so much attacking the ethnicity of either of the characters in the scene but again presenting a poor side to another characters ethnicity.

The scene after this is of two, what seem to be hotel managers, walking down the corridor. They are filmed by a camera that paces away from them the whole time. This scene leads onto the next well containing both the man and the woman and two new characters. One being the head chef, an Italian named Gianni and the other a co-chef who is English. The scene containing only the man and the woman is important because the dialogue between them reveals that Gianni has been sleeping all over London, with married women. A stereotypically Italian thing to do. We progress to the scene containing all the characters. Giana is in Black and his English Co-chef is in white. Classing foreigners in an evil colour, suggesting it is in their nature to be underhand. Giana is everything that Italians are stereotypically classed as. He looks greasy and is shown to do stereotypical Italian hand gestures, like the kiss on the head. We have a mid shot of him kissing his co-chef on the head. At the end of the scene he is shown kissing his fingers in appreciation to what the business woman says. He is condescending and hurtful about English food. Most people are aware of how Italians are proud of their food and are often portrayed as being snobbish about "English slop." Lastly we have Gianni using underhand fighting techniques, such as the meat cleaver. A close up shot is used to enforce this idea.
I'm going to move onto the English co-chef. He is everything English people are stereotypically categorised as; angry, pathetic, fat and useless at insults. "piggy little eyes" as an example. The camera shows close ups of both their angry faces to enhance and heighten the mood of the scene. The English man is stereotypically shown as being aggressive and Gianni is shown as being sly, greasy and underhand.

Ethnicity in this clip is represented in a poor and disparaging manner, Hotel Babylon makes the ethnicity's of each character fill a common stereotype that is easily related to the culture and background of that person. This simply shows the worst in every ethnicity that is shown in the clip and creates a sinister aspect to everybody present.

Calvin Klein essay

How does Calvin Klein represent females in the above advert? Are they objectified or sexually empowered?

Firstly one could argue that Eva is shown as being empowered by Calvin Klein and there are a number of reasons which support this.

Firstly, if we focus on her legs you can see that she is standing in a powerful stance; legs apart and her hands on her hips this is often adopted by people who are angry or in charge of a situation, she would seem to be giving it “attitude” as the colloquial kids say, this still certainly empowers her. Next I’m going to draw attention to the camera angle used to photograph her. It can be seen that it is a low angle photograph, giving her more height and a greater sense of power. She looks taller than she would and this is aided by the fact she is wearing high heels shoes. This gives us the impression that she is a strong, powerful person. Lastly I’m going to say that the use of her eyes is clever. The way Calvin Klein has made her close her eyes, emphasizes her underwear thus giving her control because everybody else is stuck staring at her.

However, you could argue that Calvin Klein were certainly trying to objectify her, there is enough evidence to suggest this is correct.

Starting with her face, always a good place to start, you can see that she has damp hair. This suggests that she has just come out the shower and the head flick with the clenched teeth suggest a certain sexual nature to the photograph such as her sex face or orgasm face. Moving down I can comment on the slyness of Calvin Klein. By giving her a more “masculine” bra the viewers attention is drawn to her legs and groin area, which has more being revealed than her top half. I’ve already mentioned how her manly stance is empowering but the fact that she isn’t wearing a wedding ring isn’t. This doesn’t give people the impression “I’m in” it gives the idea that she is going to be dating and that she isn’t married. Most people think that those who are dating have more sex than those who are married. Whether this is true or not I don’t know but the impression is important. Obviously what she is wearing is important in objectifying her. Her suspenders are very important in this, they add a kinky element to the photograph and they are generally associated with “sexiness.” Even her feet are objectified by the use of high heels; they make her legs look more attractive and make her look taller. This aspect works both ways, for empowering and also on the side of objectifying. Lastly, I’m going to refer back to the idea of her having just got out of the shower. This suggests she has been getting washed to go out and the fact she dresses like that suggests she is going out “pulling” bringing back the idea of sex. Also, Calvin Klein seems to have oiled her to make her more attractive to the opposite sex.

When all these points are put together I think that it can be seen that there is overwhelming evidence of this being made for the males in society and that Calvin Klein are objectifying her.

British T.V drama Cast Off's

Select one character from a British T.V drama and explain how they are a "stereotypical" representation of your area of study.

My area of study was disability. I studied how disabled people in the media are portrayed and presented to those who are without disability. In doing this I studied five main areas and how the disabled character I was studying was presented in these areas. I was looking at the character Dan from the British T.V drama Cast Offs.

Firstly I am going to start with the clothing he is wearing. Previously when I studied disability I noted that often disabled people in T.V shows are shown to be wearing what I called "house wear" this is comfortable clothing that is easy to wear. By this I mean they were never really shown to be wearing smart outfits like say, businessmen do. Dan is wears similar items to what I would describe as a casual look. He wears clothes such as jeans with hole in them and a hooded top. This is what I wear when I am at home "chilling." (Accept less of the holed jeans because frankly, not so cool.) Dan's disability is that he is in a wheelchair after damage done to his back. Now he may choose these items of clothing because they are more comfortable to sit in.

I move onto then the setting of the show. This however doesn't have much to do with the fact he is disabled and doesn't "stereotypically" present anything which people would relate to being disabled. Thinking back to what I found when I researched this there isn't anything in the show that would suggest that they live in rundown houses or squalid living places like disabled people are presented to live in in the media.

Moving on, when Dan is on camera he is often filmed from a far of distance and he in nearly every shot some aspect of him being disabled is shown.
In one shot he is shown looking into the mirror and a whole scene is shot from the reflections in the mirror. This seems to me to indicate him reflecting on his disability and even to reiterate that Dan is disabled by showing mainly wheelchair.

His personality trait shows many different angles of him. Both stereotypical and not stereotypical. Understandably he seems to be struggling with his new found disability, however this isn't focusing on stereotypes.
One stereotype that I did notice however is that his parents still treat him like a child. Especially when his dad says "Bed time son" and Dan replies "you don't tell me my bed time anymore" This is more understandable if I hadn't failed to mention he is in fact 19.
Next he seems to be shown as being lonely. He is part of a basketball team and is constantly trying to earn their respect but is lacking the self confidence to work as part of the team, this lacking of self confidence is stereotypical because often disabled people have more charisma than many able bodied people.

Finally the plot is a Big Brother style plot, with six disabled people having to cooperate and show the outside that they can function properly. They are stranded on a island together. When Dan is stranded he is shown struggling to make his way up the beach. This the last stereotype I'm going to pick up on. Yes it would be hard for a person in a wheel chair to wheel over sand and up sand dunes but it isn't this fact I'm picking up on, it is the fact that he was shown struggling, suggesting disabled people struggle.

Trevor Millum

Seductive:

A milder smile with the eyes lesss wide.

Carefree:

Active and healthy look, likes the outdoors and is often smiling.

Practical:

Concentrating, engaged in business. They look like they're working.

Comic:

Over the top smile, which often looks exaggerated.

Catalogue:

The person is looking vacant, like a dummy. Eyes will be open wide with a smile.

Majorie Fergusen

Majorie Fergusen identified four types of facial expression used in British media.



Chocolate box



 Chocolate box:

• Smile is half/full
• Teeth barely visible
• Looks sweet, hence the name



Invitational



Invitational

• Emphasis on the eyes
• Seducing someone or "inviting them"

Super smiler

Super Smiler:

• Shows all the face
• Big happy smile
• Hair often wind blown

Romantic/sexual

Romantic or sexual:

• Often includes two people. Can be of the same sex
• Dreamy/heavy lidded
• Sensual

The male gaze-Laura Mulvay

Feminists see the gaze in three ways:

• How men look at women
• How women look at themselves
• How women look at women

film audiences have to "view" characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male.

Features of the male gaze
The camera lingers on the curves of the female body and events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of a mans reaction to these events.
This relegates women to the status of objects. The female viewer must experience the narrative secondarily by identification with the male.

Sexualizing of the female body even in situations where female sexiness has nothing to do with the object being sold is common to help promote the object to men. E.g cars.

Leon Festinger

Stereotypes shape public opinion. They are narrative shortcuts which orientate the audiences expectations. Some people argue that stereotypes are fixed and unchanging

• Mass audience-all people share the same views
• Hypodermic theory-Injects an idea into people

Festinger believes that we resist changing our opinions unless faced with overwhelming evidence against what we believe. Cognitive distance is when our "brain" encounters new ideas and rejects them because they don't match our expectations. This is know as reflective or a two way believe.

Questionnaire

What genre of film do you prefer?
Action	2
Horror	1
Animated	1
Comedy	3
Romance	1
Other	2
How many times do you see a movie at the cinema a month?
1	1
2	3
3	2
4	0
other	4
Which do you prefer 3D or normal?
3D	5
Normal	5
Do you by Blu-ray Dvd's?
Dvd's	9
Blu-ray	1
None	0
Do you think your next T.v will be 3D?
yes	1
no	9
What do you prefer, American or British?
American	7
British	3
Do you download films illegally or legally?
Legally	0
Illegally	2
neither	8
Have you got a blu-ray player?
yes	3
no	7
Have you ever been to an Imax theater?
yes	5
no	5
Do you follow movies online?
yes	4
no	6
Do you prefer American or British Actors?
American	7
British	3
Do you prefer sweet or salted popcorn?
sweet	8
salted	2
Do you like prequels or sequels?
prequels	2
sequels	6
neither	2
Do you prefer Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars	5
Star Trek	2
neither	3
Are you signed up to Love film?
yes	2
no	8