Researching the Film Industry

Researching the Film Industry

Production:

Production companies are in charge of the overall filming process and funding of a film, production companies will go through several stages of production when creating a film. These are:

      Pre-production: these is when the company will hire the cast and crew, scout locations for filming, hire people to design and create sets and acquire permits and licences necessary for filming in certain locations. This is normally done by a small internal crew consisting mainly of the producer, director, and casting director, this is done to avoid any information leaks about the film.
      Principal photography: this is when the main filming begins; most of the filming during this stage is done in secure studios with occasional scene done in public when necessary.

      Post-production: this is the final stage of production handled by the production company and includes editing, the composing of the music and the visual effects are added

After all this is finished the film is then handed over to the marketing and distribution companies.

Examples of production companies include:

      Warner Brothers Pictures

      Universal Pictures

      DNA Films

      Columbia Pictures Corporation
 

 

Matthew Vaughn:

Matthew Vaughn is producer who has worked on a couple of films that fit into the same genre of film that my group is working on. Early in his career he mainly worked on British gangster films working with directors such as Guy Ritchie, some of the films he has worked on include “Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch. Therefore he would be a good person to dierct our film.

Distribution:

After the production company has finished making the film it is then passed on to the distribution company. The primary roles of the distributor involves setting the release date for the film, and choosing if the film will go to theatrical release, straight to DVD or shown as a television movie. They are also in charge of getting the film shown in theatres.

Some examples of distribution companies include:

      Universal Pictures

      20^th Century Fox

      Warner Brothers Pictures

      Touchstone Pictures
 

For our film we would have to look at a distribution company that is experienced with distributing films that fall into the heist film genre. One suitable company would be Universal Pictures because they have worked with films such as “Inside Man” and “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” which were quite successful at release. Another film distribution company that would be suitable would be Warner Brothers Pictures who work with the films “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Ocean’s Twelve”.

 

Marketing:

Posters:

Posters are an effective way of marketing films because they can be placed in a variety of locations such as on the side of a bus or on billboards. A lot of films use posters because they’re cheap to make and can give people an idea of what the film is about in a single image.

 

Magazines:

Magazines are an effective way of marketing a film because it introduces a already large audience to the film. In magazines films are normally shown on the front cover with an article inside with interviews and behind the scenes access with the cast.

 

Television/ Chat shows:

Actors and sometimes the Directors are asked to appear on chat shows for interviews this is very effective because these chat shows tend to have very large audiences.
 

Researching the Film Industry

Researching the Film Industry

Production

A production company is the most important job. They are responsible for the development and filming of a specific production or media broadcast.

They look over the script to see if it’s acceptable. Once a final script has been produced by the screenwriters they go to the 5 phases.

• Development-This is when the script is produced with the director.
• Pre-production- Actors and crew are hand picked by the producer, director, and casting director
• Production-it begins filming/
• Post production-It handles all the editing, musical score, visual effects and re-recording of the dialogue.
• Marketing-It’s also launched with the release of trailers and posters. Once a final film has been approved, the film is taken over by the distributors, who then release the film.

Some examples of production companies are:

-Warner Brothers Entertainment

- Lionsgate Entertainment

-Paramount Pictures

-Universal Pictures

The film industries creates many jobs which includes a director, a unit production manager, the studio executives, the assistant director, the casting director, the location manager, the director of photography, the director of audiography, the production sound mixer, the sound designer, the supervising sound editor, the sound designer/director of audiography, a composer, the production designer, an art director, a costume designer, a storyboard artist and a choreographer.

Jerry Weintraub

Jerry Weintraub is well known because he produced the film Ocean 11. This fits our genre because it has a very similar feel with what we want in our first two minutes. He has also filmed Happy New Year, The Karate Kid, National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation and The Karate Kid (2010 film).

Distribution

Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and Lionsgate Entertainment are examples of film distribution companies. Their role is to release a film to the public and hopefully engages the audience to buy the DVD or see it in cinemas.

 I believe that our film could be distrubuted on the internet and later onto DVD, but mainly into cinemas as that it the most popular option.  An example for a distribution company that we could use would be Paramount pictures which distributed ‘The Italian Job’ which is an American remake of the 1969 British film of a team of thieves who plan to steal gold from a former associate who double-crossed them.

Examples of films and their distribution companies

The Bank Job

Produced by: Roger Donaldson

Distributed By: Lionsgate

Box Office: $64,822,796

Inception

Produced by: Warner Bros

Distributed By: Christopher Nolan

Box Office: $825,532,764

Inside Man

Produced By: Spike Lee

Distributed By: Universal

Box Office: $184,376,254 (Worldwide)

Marketing and Promotion

Magazine Covers- Magazine covers is a nice way to promote a movie by putting the main character up for a feature. This then will attracts the audience to see why they are at the front cover and to hopefully know what movie they’re going to be featured in.

Interviews- Actors appearing on a TV talk show to explain about the movies will encourage the audience to go see the movie itself to boost the ratings.

Animatic

We have turned our storyboard into an animatic in Final Cut Express to get a better idea of how it will look when we film and mostly to see if it is running to around the right time length. At the moment it seems to be running a little short. However, we have discovered from our previous planning that our initial ideas seem to overrun slightly, and we also think adding dialogue might make some shots run slower. We have started experimenting with Livetype to produce credits. What we have here is a rough idea of the placement of some of the credits, but we spent more time trying to find the right font / effect than worrying about placement as we feel we are quite sure of this on our storyboard.

Practice Filming

Here we have tried to film some scenes from the storyboard. We have not used the actual cast or locations, we have approximated these, but we have been trying to get a feel for how the piece will run. We are not happy with the scene of the boss in the office. We need to create a much more mysterious, enigmatic feel and this will probably work better if we move to an extreme close up and try to disguise the boss's identity a little. We have also been concerned about the shot where the camera slowly circles around the players in the poker game. We like the shot in theory, but because you have to move slowly to get a smooth shot there are also awkward gaps where the camera is moving but not showing anything of any significance. Moving it faster creates blurring. So we have planned an alternative shot to take as well just in case.

Researching our Genre - Heist Films

The Heist Genre

Heist films generally consist of a group of people plotting to steal from a bank or significant place of wealth. The place which they have chosen to rob usually is seen as impenetrable as we find out through characters' comments, so the heist is meant to be more interesting and suspense-filled because of this. These films usually involve some sort of prison exit (either released legally or illegally) and they also involve a group of people with specific talents to see the job through. The plot normally consists of the main character bringing the groups together, formulating the plot and acquiring suitable equipment and the actual execution of the heist/robbery. The heist tends to be successful but there will be a few problems upon the way and it will never go exactly to plan.

Typical characters in this genre:

•  The leader of the operation who has had the idea in the first place and who brings the group together. Clever and assertive, usually male.
• There would also be in the group a character who is an expert with technology and can ensure easy access to systems needed when the plan is in action.
• There is also the brawn which is obvious due to their build; they carry out tasks that involve intimidation, body guarding/protection.
• Tends to be a woman who is desirable. Used in the film to either distract or gain information underhandedly.
• There also tends to be someone in the group who has the funds to make sure the plan works.

Mise-en-scene:
 

This genre tends to be very elaborate in where it is set and where they plan the robbery. It is normally inner city, with wealthy residents. The place which they are going rob is places like large banks especially ones which are said to be secure and impenetrable, this would be where the technology genius comes it to play. The clothing that the characters wear tend to be smart or expensive looking showing their taste and also their liking for money, the characters are good looking and well kept especially the woman (if one is used) as looks account for a lot when you want to con someone, and the characters also need to look in keeping with the rich characters that they are trying to rob. 

Camera angles & movements:
 

Close ups are a major part of these films as they show the characters' emotions significant objects that we may need to remember for later on, and they help us establish important characters. There are also important match on action movements from one scene to another, for example someone bursting through a door and then a door opens up and it’s someone else who comes through it. This gives interesting cross cutting between scenes and keeps the audience on their toes. 

In these kind of films there are a lot of POV shots and over the shoulder shots as if you are going through what they are experiencing, this creates atmosphere of anticipation. Transitions between scenes are often smooth sliding onto screen.

Conventional use of sound:
 

There is a lot of use of non-diegetic music over parts of the heist/robbery the music is upbeat but also serious, this music when played represents it going to plan and sometimes it changes or stops when a problem arises. Also noises like keyboard typing or pin typing are exaggerated for effect in the film.  there can also be narration, and the audience can always hear any conversation that the characters have to each other through headsets/earpieces.

Public Enemy

http://youtu.be/Z3mwxKf3pko

- aerial shot to give sense of grandeur to scene
- does not comp[romise on violence
- low angle as jumps desk is almost a 'hero shot'
- diegetic sound suggests chaos we can't see
- stylised look - grand location, dark clothes
- close ups of eg keys

Tower Heist

http://youtu.be/WL5X05sOP-c

- shows how you can mix humour into genre
- lifts are classic heist locations
- audience is in on it - knows what will happen
- importance of casting - the right face

Snatch

http://youtu.be/7vWxU7tclsw

- starting mid action can be really effective
- classic location but unconventional grifters - unexpected choice
- unusual transitions and camera twists take you out of the action - distinctive editing style
- almost montage style editing
- classic close up of diamonds - iconography is traditional
- once in van (another classic location), reveal scene - also a stereotype
- music playing under this is jazz feel as often in heist films

Researching Chosen Genre

Research Powerpoint on slideshare:

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Pictures of where we will possibly film

I think this house would make a great location for a heist film:

 

 

 

 

 

Research on Genre

Researching the genre- Crime/ Heist film 

Ocean's Eleven

Classic narrative

The stereotypical heist film is normally based around people trying to break into a well protected and highly secured place, for example, a casino or a bank. It would be some place that stores a lot of money. It normally begins with the man that comes up with the idea being released from jail due to a failed attempt at a previous crime and he comes out with a plan that he has been devising whist in prison (one last job). He then rounds up con-artists with specific talents, once they are all rounded up they then reveal the plan and sort out what every ones role is and when the procedure will take place. After that is all taken care of it then goes to the heist and usually everything seems to go wrong and not as planned, but they always seem to succeed by the skin of their teeth.

 

The group from Ocean's Eleven

Stock Characters

There are a group of characters that always seem to be in this type of film; there is the man that has the idea, and he always becomes the leader of the whole operation. He is normally either really smart, and capable of getting out of tricky situations or not entirely sure what he is doing and comes up with really bad ideas.

You also have the geek who is able to use computers phenomenally well; he is the one that will be able to hack into the security cameras and deal with all the technical issues.

There is the inside man, allowing them access into the areas that they need to reach and they also know the entire structure of the building they will be breaking into.

Another person in the group that is typical is the provocative woman that is able to seduce normally the police man or someone that works in the place they will rob, to get the security key so they have full access to all areas.

Normally there is one person in the group that is really rich and this is how they are able to afford all the gadgets for the heist.

Finally there is sometimes an opposition that has a suspicion that there is something that the group is up to and they try to sabotage the plan. It is also sometimes the fact that they are one in the gang and has decided that they want the money for themselves.

Casino scene in ocean's 11

 
Mise-en-scene

Settings normally involved in these types of movies are the place where the heist takes place; the classical places involve major banks or fancy casinos. There is also the prisons that someone either breaks out of or is released from. They would usually discuss the plan in detail at the rich man house on a high-tech system and this house is always very modern and full of expesive things.

The actors chosen are commonly strong and good looking men and this is so you favour the people perfoming the heist and you hope that they will succeed with their plan. They would wear smart suits to look professional. The seductive lady would be a beautiful young women most likely in her twenties and will have an ideal figure, and she would wear a dress that will attract the eyes of men. The computer technicion stereotypically would wear a scruffy costume and look geeky with glasses to help with the effect. Props that always appear in this type of movie include; money, guns, gadgets and they normally wear sunglasses. The lighting in casinos and restaurant are a yellow kind of colour and this gives a fun or elegant atmosphere. Jail has a hard lighing and its a white colour making the place look dull and grey.

Arial shot of las vegas

Camera angles and movements

While watching heist movies, I have noticed that there are some angles and movements that keep reouccurring. The camera angles that I have noticed that keep appearing are aerial shots to establish the area they are going to go and perfom the heist. There are also a lot of moving shots, for example; panning shots, tracking shots, handheld and arc shots, this is probably to make the whole operation seem smoother and to add a sense of energy and pace. Smooth transitions ware present, espesially when the montage of the preperation for the heist takes place to give a continuous flow effect. POV shots were used a lot for when the heist takes place, so it makes you feel more involved in the break in, and they always have a shot looking at a television screen of what is happening.

POV shot of screen-Ocean's 11

Second Draft Storyboard

This is our second draft of our storyboard. After the various discussions and tasks we have been carrying out, we realsied we needed to make spme changes to make this more effective. The key changes are in the structure as we felt that we did not have enough structure and the opening might be too disjointed do we have tried to look for some graphic matches e.g. matching the shape of the pizza slice to the time on the clock and so on to make the sequence run with more fluency. We have also slightly reduced the number of characters based on our teacher's concerns about how we would manage the filming.

Researching chosen genre

Genre: Heist films

Classic Narrative:
 

In this genre there are normally two distinct types of heist films. The first type is a more comedy light-hearted approach; this can be seen in films such as “Ocean’s Eleven” and “The Italian job” (1969), heist films of this type normally follow a similar structure with the beginning of these films mainly being about bringing a group together or being put in a situation where they have to perform a heist to resolve the situation. This can be seen in a film like “Ocean’s Twelve” where they are forced to perform a robbery in order to pay back the man they robbed previously. The middle of these types of films will mainly focus on the planning and then the heist itself, during this segment of the film a lot of the details are kept secret from the viewer. The editing style in a film like “Ocean’s Eleven” blur the lines between the planning and actual heist making it appear as one whole sequence. The final section in these types of films are normally the big reveal of how the plan was executed and/or one character betrays the group.

The second type of heist films is more serious and is portrayed in a more gritty manner. Some examples of these films are “Inside Man” and “The Town”. These types of heist films tend to focus on both the police and the criminals and are more character-driven then about the heist itself. The main difference between both types of heist films is that the more light-hearted ones seem to follow a more generic structure whereas the more serious ones tend to be different from one another. When trying to place my group’s film into this genre I found that it fits more into the light-hearted, more upbeat style of heist film.
 

Characters:
 

In most heist films the characters are very generic and stereotypical with each character filling out a specific role. First of there is the leader who is normally the main character who makes the plans , this character is normally one of the oldest in the group and will normally be dressed in smart clothes. The next character is normally the leader’s protégé who tries to be like the leader but is more youthful. There are several archetypes that appear in heist movies that all fit under the category of specialist, each of these characters generally specialise in a specific field. One of these is the computer specialist this character is generally depicted as being a nerdy young character who is a bit socially awkward. Another archetype that fits in this category is the explosive expert who is depict quite often as a wise cracking, hard man, this character normal is quite scruffy in appearance and is very rough personality wise.
 

Camera work and editing:
 

The camera work in most heist films is quite often non-transparent, with characters looking directly at the camera and with many moving shots being used, such as tracking shots and panning shots. The editing used is also very different from standard editing with their generally being lots of montages used throughout these types films mainly during the planning and heist sections of the films. Transitions are often used in heist films; they are often used to create a sense flow between different scene this is often helpful in montages.

Camera Movement Task

TASK

Film a conversation using:

Establishing shot that zooms in

Panning shot to show character 2’s arrival

Shot / reverse shot not equal distance representing one character as less prominent / lower status

Arc shot / 360 shot – character 2’s reactions to dramatic news

Tracking shot as character 2 runs off.

Objective: to practise camera movements and evaluate technical issues around them / pros and cons for their use.

Version 1

 

 

 

Version 2

 

Here we tried to film a short sequence using a lot of camera movemenet. This was because our teacher had noticed that in our storyboard, we had planned a lot of camera movements and was concerned that we would not be able to manage them all effectively. From carrying out this task, we have realised that with limited equipment, tracking shots are difficult to make smooth and effective and we will have to limit the number that we plan into our piece. 

Company production logos and summary

Summary

Company production logos

·         The mean average was 18 seconds, ranging from 9 seconds to 21, from all the production logos I have watched. So it would be useful aiming for a clip that doesn’t last too long but is long enough to establish the name.

·         Most of the production logos have bold fonts and colours that stand out so that they leave a lasting image in the viewer's head - important as the company is selling themselves. I was thinking of having black text on a yellow background for our credits so that the black colour is prominent, though I don’t think that the size of the text will be as big as the ones that are normally used, I was thinking it would be more effective if we had in the style of writing / correct font to go with theme.

·         The company production logos I have viewed mostly have music that builds up to add suspense and excitement.  I was thinking of doing it in the same style as ‘Metro Goldwyn Mayer’ as they have no background music, but they have the sound effects of a lion roaring. In ours I thought it could be a sound of a pencil scratching and then a whooshing sound for when the pin is placed, which should be achievable and could be quite effective and memorable.

·         Another thing I have noticed is that half of the idents were very elaborate and had huge production values and the others were very simple. This often reflected the size and wealth of the production company responsible, also if they are a large global media corporation or a small independent one. It would be a lot more simple if we did one that was not complex as we do not have enough time or money to do so, and so we will need to keep it to a minimum, and this is clearly acceptable for a small company in the industry.

Ideas on title and credits

·         Don’t show up for long but is long enough to read the name of the title.

·         Normally plain text in a colour that stands out from the rest of the screen.

·         Tend to appear throughout the opening and end into the two minute mark.

Logos and Idents

New Line Cinema

     15 second length

     Animation lasts for 10 seconds

     Pauses on logo for 5 seconds

    Music played over the top

    Simple motif

    Simple animation

Paramount Pictures:

    20 second length

     Animation lasts for 15 seconds

    5 second pause

    Orchestral music

    Simple motif

    Very animated with stars flying across a river and a mountain

Touchstone Pictures:

     12 second length

     Very simple animation

     Logo lights up and the name moves in from the bottom of the frame

     Animation lasts for 10 seconds

     2 second pause then fade

      No music

Columbia Pictures:

       20 second length

       Orchestral music (very grand)

     13 second animation

     Camera is moved back away from the torch then the company name fades in at the top of the frame

       7 second pause to fade

       Simple motif

Lionsgate Films:

       22 second length

       Very subtle music

     Noises of cogs

       Heavily animated, moving cogs, opening gate

     15 second animation

      5 second pause to fade

Summary:

      Most logos and indents last for roughly 15-20 seconds

      Animations last roughly 10-15 seconds

      Normally there is a pause after the animation for about 5 seconds

      There is either no music or a simple motif of music

Titles and Credits Research

Titles & Credits




























Shows how much variety there is!

We have decided to look at the opening credits of two Guy Ritchie films and base ours arounbd this style, but from this general research, I am more aware of how the credits need to be relatged to the music, and if we want to make them a dramatic part of the sequence, we need to plan for this.

Logos and indents

·         Legendary Pictures - Has a gold pattern, the pattern is at first filling the screen then the image moves out as the pattern lights up. It has music as the logo is being shown and it ends with the pattern and the name ‘Legendary Pictures’. The background is dark and smoky. It lasts for around 15 seconds. 

·         Warner Brothers – Has the same logo every time, a WB with a band saying ‘Warner Bros. Pictures’ in front of it. Its usual colour is yellow with blue sky and clouds as its background. But for different films for example ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ the logo is silver and the image pulls outwards to reveal the logo the background is dark and stormy and the logo is slightly tilted. Depending on the film the logo tends to fit with its theme. It lasts around 15 seconds.

 

·         Universal Pictures – Starts with a sunrise or gold band across black screen. Then starts to build up the world in colour as it spins and gradually fills the world in, it is illuminated by gold light and ‘Universal’ follows round with one spin of the completed earth. Last for around 22 seconds. 

 

Our Logo

 

- we could animate using Photoshop

- needs to have sharp, tinkling music

- I also see a shiny silvery font with a glow effect

- around 15 seconds?

- more in the LEGENDARY PICTURES style