30 questions

1.What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?

Claim 15.3% global office in 2012.

2. What was this % in 2009?

In 2009 the percentage was 6.8%, therefore we see that the amount has risen in the last 3 years.

 3.What might this change indicate about British films?

It indicates that British films are getting better as they are making more money at the box office when the British companies release their films to the public. This is an almost 10% increase.

 4.What films have been responsible for this change?

 These films were Skyfall being Britain's highest ever grossing film. Skyfall accounts for $1.1bn of the UK's tally, a tenth of which came from its record-breaking takings in the UK. Another film that contributed was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which was aimed at those of an age of 45 and over.

5.What % of the British film industry makes a profit?
Lower budget films make less than £2m and therefore this means they wont make a profit. When the budget increases, 17% of films that cost more than $10m make their money back.

6.What % of Hollywood films make their profit?
17% because they are most likely to have a bigger budget than £10m.Therefore guaranteed to make money on that particular film.

7.How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films?
A £2m budget only has a 4% chance of making a profit because the money situation isn't enough to have good production practices and marketing, whereas a £10m budget has a 17% chance of making a profit.

8.What might we infer from this difference?
When companies have more money to work with on a film they can be sure to provide good marketing skills and top 'A' List stars, also will have more advanced technology and a better overall director.

9.What age group makes up the UK's largest cinema goers?
Most films that are shown in cinema's are aimed at 10-25 year olds.

10.Why do you think this might be?
Because these age groups refer to the four quadrant picture, these are films that are suitable from all ages up to 25. Also film companies know that these age ranges are the people who mostly visit the cinema's.

11.Which film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?
3D films have seen a drop.

12.Within that type which genre has seen the biggest fall?
Big family films have seen a drop because the story starts to become familiar as its all about cartoon characters.

13.What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?
The price of 3D tickets meant that families weren't going to the cinema. This was because they wanted to save as much money as possible due to the economy becoming more difficult.

14.Who is Paul Greengrass?
A British film director who directed: The Bourne Trilogy, Captain Phillips and GreenZone.

15.How did he describe the British film industry?
He described it as being a 'success story' and even said that it will definitely see international growth, especially in China.

16.What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films?
He said they were important because they develop skills and add artistic and cultural experience to the film industry.

17.What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?
It made £4 million at the box office, which was more than twice its budget.

18.What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?
James who was the actor and co-producer in Filth felt that big budget films have the advantage for all the special effects that the audience wants to see.

19.What is VOD?
VOD stands for Video On Demand, it enables the audience to pick their own entertainment through menas of the internet or special TV. For example Netflix.

20.What % increase did VOD see last year?
VOD saw a 50% increase last year, enabling us to see how popular modern technology is becoming as Video On Demand is becoming more used and not as many people are going to see the films in the cinemas.

21.What impact might VOD have on distributors and studios?
Video On Demand will most definitely have a negative impact on distributors and bigger companies (big six) as members of the public will have a choice to make to go and see a new film. No longer do people have to go to the cinema they can simply stay at home and watch new releases at home on Netflix or Sky Demand etc. However for the smaller studios this could be a good advantage as its a way of getting themselves known by selling film rights increasing their chances of making more of a profit out of each film they produce.

22.What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores? 
Rental stores like Blockbuster have seen a drop in sales and profit and even some stores are being shut down because no one ever comes to rent films anymore as it seems much simpler to watch the films through VOD at home. Blockbuster will have to make improvements to make sure their profits don't drop too much, a possibility could be to somehow create their own Video On Demand like Netflix. Giving the audience a selection of what to use when watching a film.

23.What was unique about Ben Wheatley's 'A field in England'?
It was unique because it was released on different formats at the same time. Meaning it was released in cinemas, VOD and on DVD at the same time which has never happened as for a film to be on DVD it is usually in cinemas for a good month before.

24.What does director of The Machine Caradog James think the toughest bit of film making is?
He said something along the line of 'the toughest thing is being able to connect a film to an audience.' Its possible to make a good film but can companies direct it towards a particular audience who are going to enjoy it.

25.Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film British?
Changes made to what makes a film British are things like expanding criteria to include other European Union States. Films have to include 18 out of 35 in criteria to be classed as British.

26.How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged?
They've been encouraged because when used they improve the film in many areas as there are many different types of visual effects that can be used. Unfortunately they are more expensive to include than special effects, which leaves them with a disadvantage depending on the budget of the film.

27.Name 5 of these rules, linking them to The Kings Speech, The World's End and Kill List:
All 3 films were set in the UK.
All had a majority of open dialogue in British.
Based on British subject matter.
The main/lead characters were all British or residents.
All represent or reflect diverse British culture, heritage or creativity.

28.What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British films?
 Announced a tax relief increase from 20% to 25% on the first £20 million of qualifying production expenditure.

29.What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history?
Skyfall was the highest grossing British film as it made £94.5 million on the first day it was released into cinemas.

30.How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?
It was shown on 587 screens worldwide and made £94.5 million.







Essay Question

Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices.

I agree with this statement because the marketing and distribution stage of making a film is actually very important as it depends on whether the finance at the end is worthy and that you have gained a profit. In order for most films to make their money the process of marketing and distribution needs to be a success, also needs to be done to a high standard/quality so the audience will be impressed with what the final product that has been created. Also the production practices are also taken into consideration of film producing as they also have a big part to play on whether a film makes it money in all stages e.g. pre-production. Production practices includes the amount of money spent on 'A' List stars, special effects, different filming locations and even the director. All film productions want big directors for their film because they are more experienced and produce well e.g. people like Michael Bay (Transformer films) and John Favreau (Iron Man 1 and 2). Therefore again money is a big issue when it comes to this stage of film producing because bigger stars and a director means potentially the film will have more experience working on the final product which would persuade more of an audience to come and see the film in cinema's/screens.

Out of marketing and distribution and production practices, having to pick the most important one is most difficult because they both have their separate job to do and if one fails to produce well, then the overall film will fall and wont become a success, which is what the big 6 aim for when making a film. There is a good example in which these two processes work together well as 'The Avengers' was well marketed and distributed onto many screens but also included many special effects, top stars and now a very popular director- Joss Whedon. If either one of the processes had failed to do a reasonable/outstanding job then critics wouldn't have said the same things they did when we first saw this film on our screens. 'The Avengers' was on screens across the world for 6 months, approx. 22 weeks and 154 days this is all down to the marketing as the film was literally shown everywhere e.g. posters, endless trailers and many interviews. The opening weekend was very successful  as the film made $207,438,708 nearly as much as the production budget from the start. However the other side to this is the production practice, the amount of money spent on each actor and other important things. Robert Downey JR. was paid $50 million minimum for his participation in the film whereas his co-workers Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson were only paid a sum of $4-6 million. This was mainly because their characters within the film (Nick Fury and Black Widow) weren't as popular or important as Robert's character, Iron Man. This is because Iron Man was a popular film back in 2008 making $585 million worldwide.  Marvel wanted to see him back to create an even better film and make extra money.

A specific audience which was stated could be any age therefore the marketing has to be suitable for that particular audience otherwise this could conclude in bad reviews and potentially a huge loss of profit.

Walt Disney would be a good example to use also as they have made 158 feature films since being founded in the year 1923 and there marketing and distribution methods are well known and are vast all over the world. They have had some big actors featured in some of their films like Tom Hanks (Toy Story) which has been a successful franchise of family films across the world, and also Johnny Depp who played Captain Jack Sparrow in all of the Pirates of the Carribean films. This particular film would have had a lot of money spent on the special effects as Walt Disney wanted the film to look real when having different creatures of the sea. Disney have become influential to many children's life's and therefore received plenty of money when releasing each of their films. This has enabled them to upgrade their marketing strategies and given them the opportunity to start some unique ways of advertising, for example by owning their own clothing brand, shops, TV channel and not forgetting Disney World they have improved upon the other big 5 companies as they don't have the same ways of advertising. Therefore Disney media products can trust the marketing abilities and also the management on production practices. 

'The Kings Speech' which wasn't expected to do as well as it did, wasn't produced by a global institution, Bedlam Pictures were responsible for the film and were able to blow the audience away, proved by it winning 7 awards and best actor (Colin Firth). The reasoning for the film doing so well could be because of the production practice and how well the money was spent and not on the marketing/distribution. The budget was a very small amount considering on what Tom Hooper and Momentum Pictures created, they had $15 million for the whole film. Although the marketing was good the production practice was thought about well, they didn't use any special effects except for the card cut out people used to imitate a bigger crowd in a scene, therefore they were able to save money for bigger purposes. Also the actors used weren't really A List therefore didn't need to be paid as much as stars like Johnny Depp or Jennifer Aniston. However Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush gave an exceptional performance. The mise-en-scene however was very detailed, costumes and scenery looked immaculate therefore this could have taken a big chunk out of the budget, also the locations they used when filming, some scenes they were inside Buckingham Palace which wouldn't have been allowed for free. Therefore this could show that other smaller companies e.g. UK Film Council or Studio Canal that it is possible to make films amazing with a small amount of money provided.

 The audience of whatever film that is being advertised can engage and help on spreading the word across the country/world. The strategies that they can provide would be things like word of mouth which is the opinion of each individual that have seen the film already and want to get the word across on whether the film was good or bad. This can be done by just telling people face to face or through the social media, blogs and websites etc. this would get the word across more strongly as more people would see your personal opinion and judge on whether to go and pay to see the film. This whole process saves a bit of money for more expensive marketing strategies.

Star Trek into Darkness, directed by JJ. Abrams had many different ways of marketing their film so it would be distributed on to more screens worldwide. A new way was that they created their own app about the film which allowed you to unlock exclusive content and win prices. The description of the app was: Leading up to the film's release, you'll take part in scavenger hunt missions that include trivia, polls and Star Trek content in the real world like photographing outdoor billboards. By successfully completing these missions, you'll gain access to all exclusive materials, videos and content first! Although the app marketed the film before the release date the actual game itself didn't work as it just kept crashing. There were a lot more negatives in people's reviews also. Therefore sticking to the normal strategies or marketing maybe a better idea to use your left over money more wisely. However the film did make a lot of posters that were placed on the side of buses, outdoor billboards and in shops. The character posters showed each character in action during some part of the film with the release date on the bottom, these sort of posters were the ones on billboards and buses as they were horizontal and included more vibrant colours which would have caught people's attention. However the main poster produced showed Khan standing on a pile of rubble looking at the ruined city in the background, this effect added more drama as it was very mysterious and used dark, dull colours to express the feelings of what the poster was showing.

Successful films do rely on marketing and distribution just as much as they rely on production practising side of things, there both equally important and you couldn't have one without the other, however like I mentioned it does depend on the money situation and how you manage it.  The marketing and distribution process needs to be a wide system as it will potentially make the film more accessible to the intended audience and with companies like Walt Disney or another example from a global institutions doing so well you can't argue that the marketing side of things hasn't been influential or a vital component in creating a successful film.

The Kings Speech Research

Following the scandalous abdication of his brother King Edward VIII, Bertie (Colin Firth) who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment since he was a young boy, is suddenly crowned King George VI of the United Kingdom. With his country on the brink of being at war in desperate need of a strong leader , Bertie's wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) seeks out the help of eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush).
Britishness:
The Kings Speech is a British film because it was made in Britain, the film was mainly aimed at the UK and the US audience, this was because the Americans enjoy the British accent and therefore enjoyed watching the film, another reason why was because there was the idea of royals involved. The director, Tom Hooper is also British. You don't expect The Kings Speech to be a good film as the title doesn't sound interesting however as soon as you get the feel of the film, you immediately become attached as you begin to feel sorry for King George VI because of his unfortunate stammer therefore you want to find out if he overcomes his problem at the end. 

Box Office in the UK:

No one was expecting the film to make as much as it did on the opening weekend as Momentum Pictures made an estimate that was exceeded as The Kings Speech made £3.52m on the opening weekend in the UK alone, which was more than how much money it made in the USA however overall it became more popular in America. 

The Films Reception:
This is the overall view of what the audience thought about the film when seeing it, like a review it tells others about what happens and whether it is worth paying to see in cinemas. On IMDB the rating for this film was 8.1.

Awards and BAFTA's: 
The Kings Speech won many awards at the BAFTA's and also 4 time academy award winner. The academy awards it won were best picture, best actor (Colin Firth), best director (Tom Hooper) and best original screenplay. The film won 7 BAFTA's including best film and yet again best actor, Colin Firth wasn't expected to be as good as he was after his performance in a Single Man, the last film he starred in however his performance in The Kings Speech was extraordinary.

There were many good reviews that over powered the criticisms:
 http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_kings_speech/

• The King's Speech features a fantastic, awards courting performance by Firth and is also brilliantly written, resulting in a surprisingly tense and very entertaining watch.
• Tom Hooper delves beneath the pomp and circumstance to root out the essence of his characters.
• It is a wonderful entertainment, a fascinating history lesson and a showcase for several delightful performances.
• A powerful back story does not necessarily improve a movie, but The King's Speech has a pretty irresistible one. It might even end with a dramatic night at the Oscars in February.

Criticism of the film:
Not all of the public feel the same about every film, therefore there will be some people who hate the film and will think that it was a waste of time, these people will be those who don't like the genre and prefer action/adventure.
As this was a successful film, there wouldn't have been much to talk about that was wrong with the film. The criticisms are very harsh as they pick out very small details like errors about the historical accuracy. 

Web 2.0 and Exchange:
The film itself had its own Facebook page created to attract more of an audience to see the film when it eventually came out onto our screens, they added things like posters, trailers and both director and actors comments to what they thought of the film and how it turned out, this was all available for those who are available on social websites. The film also had clips published on YouTube, these were things like reviews from random people and trailers which boosted the advertising. Also on YouTube the actual interviews with the actors have been added, one with Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter shown below:

Watch it from 1:25 onwards

The clip above was also seen on the news therefore shown too thousands of people who enjoy watching the film. This particular video has over 70,000 views on YouTube.

The films origins:
Its based on King George IV who becomes the King of England but suffers from a stammer which enables him to speak in front of people, the film follows the story of how Bertie overcame his stammer with help from Lionel Logue, to finally become our trusted leader who would help us fight in the war with Germany.

The Finance:
The money situation for this film was actually a low amount to begin with however because of the huge success it made a huge profit and was actually very successful. Prescience saw the success before the film was finished and therefore became the key financier to the film. Also Momentum Pictures were large investors who were supporting the film every step of the way. All together they created the budget of just £15 million which wasn't a lot, perhaps this was why it was such a shock when during the opening weekend it made £4 million straight away. 

Production Companies:
The institutions that made the film were See-Saw and Bedlam Productions. I had never heard of these two since now meaning there very small companies but they are British therefore this is why they were helping to create this film because the director wanted it to be 100% British. The film was distributed by Momentum Pictures, this institution also being British, they created the films marketing and plan and also marketed the film to the UK audience.

Distribution and Marketing Issues:
There were too different trailers both for the US and the UK, each trailer was completely different because of what each set of audience wanted to see.
Firstly the UK trailer:

In this one we see Colin Firth's character the most and how he overcomes his stammer, it shows us his journey and the problems he faces with his family throughout. There isnt as much on Geoffry Rush's character as the US one as really people want to see the main character because by showing others it can give away key parts of the film.

The trailer above shows us the International/US trailer, i feel as though it wasn't as good as the UK one because we dont tend to see King George IV (Colin Firth) journey as much. This one is more on how Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) helps him with his speech problems, which gives the story away because we don't want to find out what happens.

There were many different posters that were published to advertise this film. One of the most iconic ones would be where it shows us the two main characters (Bertie and Lionel) standing at a window with a London landmark in the background as it shows us how British the film really is. Also it gives us information on what newspapers thought of this film, showing the star ratings clearly on the front.

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences.

Frank Ocean Pyramids

 

 

This official music video by Frank Ocean is set mostly in a strip club, this is because they will get a wider range of men viewing it as there a loads of half/fully naked women on camera with a few explicit bits in parts.

 

Most of the girls always have their eyes fixed onto the camera doing the super smiler expression, their smiles are big and inviting towards the male audience also there is a lot of drama involved e.g. girls stroking their bodies and throwing their heads back, all filmed in slow motion to give more of the sexual effect and also giving the male audience a longer viewing time to look at the women who are being presented before them on this music video.

 

Their body language is also positive, they are never turned away from the camera lens unless they are showing off their behind. There is also a slight gesture when the coloured woman is standing next to the pole with her hand on it.

Unfortunately the chopped video didnt work, therefore i have had to upload the full video of YouTube- to see the main clip, skip into it to 2:44 and wait till it finishes at 4:10. 

The Four Facial Expressions used in Media

 

Chocolate box:
Its either a half or full smile however the teeth a barely showing, the camera is positioned so that the woman face isn't directly pointing towards the lens, it turned to the side very slightly. Its sort of a sweet smile hence why its called chocolate box it doesn't present the woman as showing off at all. Cheryl Cole on Vogue magazine beneath has her head slightly tilted with her lips slightly parted, giving us a good example of the chocolate box expression.

Invitational:

This expression is all about the eyes, the woman doeskin show any hint of a smile and has there back facing the camera, showing the men that there not interested as there not giving you any body attention suggested as being mysterous and up to mischief. This expression allows the women to hold all the power as they arent giving anything away to the male audience.

Super Smiler:

This expression is used for attention, its able to grab the males vision almost instantly as the look is sexual and demanding. Its also very dramatic as they have their hair blowing in the wind and sometimes even covered in water to make them look sweaty like they have just had sex. To add more drama they sometimes have their head thrusted forward or their chin thrown back showing more of the body. Super smiler shows us that the women have an open face with a wide toothy smile.

The picture below shows Eva Mendes modelling for Calvin Klein underwear, although her smile isnt huge, it definitly shows how dramatic it can be, having her touching her leg is invotational. It could also show that its orgasmic as her eyes are only slightly open and shes also lying down.

 

Romantic or sexual: A fourth and more general classification devised to include both male and female, having both man and woman adds more sexual tension. It can be very dreamy and sensual as they know they can attract even a female audience if they can add a half naked man with big abs into the picture.

They dont tend to look at the camers as they should be more interested in each other, also they dont smile because they want it to look as romantic as possible, its serious.

The Four Quadrant Picture

What is it?
A four quadrant picture is a film that is targeted at all ages, these are mostly popular with families as they involve different age groups, the four quadrant age ratings are: men over and under 25 and women over and under 25.
A good example would be Shrek as it was so popular it managed to keep the story going, overall making four equally as good films, this was because not only are they a good sequel of films but they were also aimed at all the audience quadrants.

The effect of it
Like ive mentioned the audience for these types of film are huge and the film industry want to maximise their target audience for each individual film so they can produce a bigger profit. The films attract men, women and children of all ages because the imagery and language is all appropriate, without huge, gory violence also. They are able to bring in massive amounts of revenue on opening weekends because everyone will be free meaning parents can take their children to go and watch the film. The Four Quadrant term associates with gender and age. Studio's need to make each four quadrant film appropriate meaning they need to address the correct age rating, too high and there would be complaints for it being unsuitable. However if they are able to reduce a PG 13 to just a PG, this can produce huge amounts of money because parents would feel much more comfortable to take their children to the cinema to watch it.

Well known examples
There are a few four quadrant picture blockbuster that have been extremely popular, one of the most famous example would have to be Star Wars, this does contain violence but it is only moderate, there isn't any blood or overly scary scenes throughout each of the 6 films that were made. Another blockbuster example is Back To The Future 1, 2 and 3. The other more recent examples that weren't blockbusters unfortunately are: Pirates of the Caribbean, WallE, Shrek(1, 2, 3, 4) and the Spiderman films.

Dredd research and presentation

Producer

The producer for this film were Carlos Ezquerra and Alex Wagner. The writing of the story began in 2007 and the film came out last year, the green light showing the director that he could start the filming started in 2009, showing us that Dredd took a good 3 years to fully film and edit, this seemed a waste of time as the film didn't appeal to the public eye as it lost money when out in cinemas.

Distributor

The film was distributed by Lionsgate, however owned by Marvel who have been in charge of many great superhero movies over the years e.g. Spiderman, Iron Man, Captain America and so, therefore Dredd should have been a success.

Budget

The total amount of money Pete Travis (director) was given to spend wasnt enough for the type of film he needed to produce and live up to the standards of the other superhero films. The amount of money he had was $35,000,000.

Box Office Gross

The opening weekend the film was on around 400 screens in the UK and made £1,000,000 and in the USA it was shown on 2,500 screens and produced around 6,000,000. Therefore was more popular in America as the film had many American elements in it even though it was British. 

Director and actors

Dredd was directed by Pete Travis, who has also directed Omagh (2004), the actors used weren't huge stars because there simply wasn't enough money to pay them all.

Actors were:

Karl Urban- Dredd

Olivia Thirbly- Anderson

Lina Heady- Ma Ma

Wood Harris- Kay

Marketing

It wasn't marketed well as i had never heard of it until watching it, again this was because of the amount of money they had left after finishing the filming. 

Reasons for lacking success

The reasons why it didn't gain money is because of the audience it was aimed at, the biggest fans of superhero films are children however children couldn't go and see Dredd because the certificate was an 18 as there was lots of violence and gory scenes which would clearly be inappropriate for 12 year old's.

Technology used

They used green screens throughout this film to create the amazing back drops, they also had a camera made specifically for this film called the Red X this was used for the 3D/slow mo effect. 

The video below stars me and Callum Barker-Dean talking about Dredd, it includes everything above and also critical reception, the awards given to the film and also our personal opinions, please watch!!

Dredd Essay

Why did Dredd fail at the box office?

Dredd came out in 2012 and wasn’t very popular as instead of producing a respectful profit it actually ended up losing money, the budget clearly wasn’t enough being only $35,000,000 whereas the other superhero films that came out the same year had budgets of $250,000,000, this is why they became must see films. However Dredd is a cult film meaning it will become very popular in the next couple of years or so, therefore earning its money it should’ve got when it was released.

The distributor for this film was Lionsgate, although it was actually run by Marvel who have had a huge impact on children as they have been responsible for many successful superhero movies over the years, things like Spiderman and all the Avengers characters. The reason why Dredd may be wasn’t such a success could come down to its rating, it was an 18 certificate because of the blood, violence and cursing, however all the other Marvel superhero films are suitable for those who probably enjoy superhero films the most, children. Dredd simply lost money because it wasn’t directed at the correct audience, children weren’t allowed to go and see this film at the cinema because of their age, this therefore excluded most of the fans of Marvel meaning not as many people were paying to go and see this film. However saying this Pete Travis the director had to follow on from the comic book: 2000AD, which involved gory scenes.

 2012 was a huge year for superhero films as it wasn’t just Dredd that was released; there was three more popular contestants, two of the three were also by Marvel and these films were The Amazing Spiderman and the all-time favourite superhero film ever The Avengers Assemble. The other film was also a big hit but wasn’t by Marvel, The Dark Knight Rises (Batman) is sponsored by DC. Therefore this meant that Dredd had some hard competition and it wasn’t going to be easy to win as proved.

Dredd was developed in CGI which is computer work this means it would have been an easy film to produce as they would have added the 3D effect in after filming the whole film. Therefore this could have been another reason why the public didn’t seem to like it as it wasn’t very advanced because in some scenes it actually looked quite fake.

Dredd is a British film and was made to compete against those more developed US films like The Avengers which is the film I have chosen to compare against Dredd as I feel its an amazing film with great amount of action and excitement. However Dredd didn’t compete very well as it was a failure, unfortunately as it just didn’t stand up to the other superhero films of 2012.

Although Karl Urban (Judge Dredd) was an outstanding man for this character there were problems that arose when the film was published, one of these reasons was that the viewers never got to see Dredd’s face which was actually annoying because people wanted to see who he was as he did a brilliant job. Also the producer made Dredd very violent which he was in the comics but maybe not as much as he was in this film, the reason for this being a problem is that it was a big shock and a little unnecessary as Dredd was more focused on just brutally killing people. The film was made in the UK but didn’t feel like it was, it wasn’t British enough as they used US sceneries and developments that we rarely have back in the UK.

The stars that featured in Dredd aren’t well known, they weren’t A listers. I only knew Karl Urban who played Dredd as he has also starred in a few other films that I have seen like RED and Star Trek into Darkness. I think that he was an exceptional Judge Dredd and Pete Travis chose the correct man for the job. The other stars were Lina Heady who played Ma Ma and Olivia Thirbly who had the role of Dredd’s apprentice sidekick, Anderson. The reason why they couldn’t enrol big stars was simply because the budget was too low to be able to pay them and pay for everything else that is also just as important, having said this however each actor/actress was brilliant in playing their individual parts. Pete Travis was the director for this film, his highest rated film was Omagh produced in 2004, therefore being a long time since he was in some line of work, Dredd was his escape to become a well-known director. Helping him along the way was Carlos Ezquerra and Alex garland who were the producers, they had never done a film so supposedly Dredd was again a way to become a tad more famous. The budget has been mentioned earlier, $35,000,000 really wasn’t enough, I think that if they maybe produced more money before starting the film they could have made this film more popular and created a profit therefore enabling there to be a sequel, meaning more films would’ve been made, I wish that this was the case as I enjoyed it.

The film was shot digitally and primarily in 3D using the Red x camera, this camera was made specifically for Dredd, this took a big chunk out of the budget as the technology was very advanced.

I believe that the film wasn’t marketed very well as I never saw an advert on TV or a viewing of it when at the cinema, however Dredd's marketing campaign won a Golden Trailer Award for Best Thriller TV Spot for the trailer "Big Addicted", reports indicate that Lionsgate contributed $25 million to advertising & print costs. The opening weekend in the UK it was showing on 415 screens however in the USA it was showing on 2,506 screens which is a massive improvement from the UK.

My choice of film: The Avengers

The film I have chosen has made a huge impact on superhero films, its said that The Avengers is the greatest ever superhero film and that its going to be difficult to make a better one. This was because unlike Dredd, The Avengers had A list stars like: Robert Downey JR, Samuel. L. Jackson and Chris Evans I could go on, also they had a huge budget of $220,000,000 which is why it was a blockbuster.

Another reason for The Avengers being more successful is because the age range wasn’t aimed so high, it was a respectful 12A which enabled children to watch the film when it was released. This therefore also enabled families to go and see the film together. The word of mouth was great as everyone was talking about how good the film was and that you should definitely go to watch it. Because of this The Avengers was in cinemas for a long time because this way it was able to produce much more money.

The director Joss Whedon hadn’t directed any films before, The Avengers was his first ever film which I think is amazing as it was such a success, this will enable Joss to have a good career if he is able to produce films like The Avengers. The producers were Zak Penn and also Joss Whedon, there were both able to create a fantastic storyline with many exciting scenes throughout.

 The production was obviously from Marvel studios and also from Paramount as they have produced many successful films over the years. In the USA it was showcasing on 5,000 screens just on the opening weekend showing us that it was very popular film because of the special effects used, stars and the storyline. The opening weekend also made profit for the film straight away meaning there may be another one to follow if it has become this popular.

To conclude the reasons why Dredd failed at the box office is because of the audience it was aimed at, not being enough money, not very famous stars, also I think that Dredd isn’t really a superhero as he doesn’t really save people like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America etc.  Overall I also believe that there was too much violence and not enough work done on the actual story meaning they had enough time to improve it.

Dredd Review

This film was based around the classic comic book which was published back in 1977, this was a huge hit and so Pete Travis decided to adapt it into a film, adapting the comic but also starting a sequel, however the film wasn't a success unfortunately.

When watching the trailer I knew that I was going to enjoy watching Dredd as it was my type of film, show casing plenty of action with violence and guns with some gory scenes also. It was exciting to watch and kept me interested throughout the whole film, however I think the story could be improved as it was all based in Palm trees, showing us the same boring and dull scenery. Having said that the story was well thought of and was able to get into it straight away without any delays.

I think that every character played their part well, especially Karl Urban I think he was an exceptional Judge Dredd and was always concentrated and serious. He also had the right face, the picture above shows you how he looked throughout most of the film. I don't think the other Judge characters played their part properly as they didn't sound convincing or scary in any way except for Olivia Thirbly (Anderson, picture below).

The effects were all good and Pete Travis the director didn't cut any corners when using them. I thought the Slow-Mo drug was a great idea and the way they filmed it was magnificent, one inhalation of the drug able the person to experience reality at the fraction of its normal time. However filming this used up a lot of their very little money as they had to make a specific camera just for this film.

I think that it was a shame that Dredd lost money instead of gaining it as I thought it was a very good film and easy to understand, plus I also wanted there to be a sequel to see what would happen in the next film. However due to the age rating being an 18 due to the violence and language they were unable to make more money as children where unable to watch it being at a young age. But without the violence and blood etc. Dredd wouldn't feel the same as its mostly about him killing people, therefore Pete Travis couldn't aim this at the younger generation.

Skins Representation

I'm analyzing  3 different characters in this scene and focusing on the:

• Mise en scene
• Camera angles
• Music

Tony

Straight away when we see Tony we realize that he might be bi sexual as his quilt cover has a man and a woman printed on the cover and Tony was lying in the middle of them. Also at the beginning of this clip we see Tony has a set routine for looking at the older woman across the road when she is getting changed but we then see that they may have a connection, also he is able to look after his younger sister, Effie which brings to mind that he is a nice lad that looks after his family. My first proper impression is that he definitely has some conflict with his dad, he enjoys annoying him which makes Tony seem very confident.

 Tony isn't a normal teenage boy because his room was amazingly tidy and things had their own places in his bedroom. From this we begin to think that he may be OCD meaning he has to have everything clean and in place. His costume is individual, its not what you would expect a teenage boy to wear, as in the parts that we see him his clothes are just general and slightly boring:

• Navy blue jumper
• Red t-shirt
• Chinos
• White canvas shoes

The music that he plays is digetic as its from his own stereo and it reflects him as a person as the song is pretty old but he seems to still enjoy it., meaning it was synchronous. 

The camera angles used for Tony are mostly wide/mid shots because the director wants us to see the scenery like his bedroom which worked as i noticed that Tony doesn't have normal posters like the stereotypical teenage boy, e.g. the normal posters would be from Nuts, having naked women on the walls or having music posters. However Tony has posters from back in the 60's that don't relate to sex or gaming, he also reads intelligent books therefore we begin to understand that Tony is actually very clever.

Effie

Tony's sister Effie however is completely different from him, we first see her walking towards the house from maybe having a nigh out as her costume is messy and her make up is all smudged may be suggesting she has been kissing boys. She has a good relationship with her brother as he looks out for her meaning she knows she can get away with going out at night without her parents finding out. After Effie comes in the house we dont really see much of her as she goes up to bed and puts on her bed clothes before 'dad' walks in. This shows us that she is a sneaky/cheeky girl who likes being out and about and doesnt really care about school. 

The camera angles used on her are high angles, this is where she is looking up into Tony's room waiting for the all clear signal, then when she is in her room we get a mid shot of her room showing the audience that there is a huge contrast between her and her brothers room. Effie has a dark room which reflects her personality also, there are clothes screwed up everywhere suggesting that she is always having late nights out.

Dad-Harry Enfield

The first impressions you get from him is that he is short tempered and that he finds Tony annoying as he is always shouting and swearing, he is made out as being a mug as Tony mugs him off when he locks the bathroom door and climbs out of the window when his dad is waiting outside the bathroom door. The reason for this is that Skins is aimed at teenagers and so they have made the dad a different type of parent, he doesn't act like one. His costume is weird in the first 4 minutes of this episode, you never really see him in a top, showing us he's an even bigger mug.

Camera angles and the effect they create

Close up
This allows the audience to look at something in more detail. However there is also an extreme close up which provides even more detail. The eye below shows a close up/extreme close up, its in the middle.



High angle
 This angle puts emphasis on the face maybe so you can see their emotions etc. It makes everything look small except your face/upper body. This angle could also show if something/someone is looking up at something e.g. a dog at its owner.

 

Low angle
This makes objects or people look bigger associating someone with power by making them look bigger than everyone else. The Eiffel Tower looks more amazing from the low angle as you can see what it would look like if you were actually there.
 

Wide angle
This allows you to see more of the background/scenery, establishing the shot. Maybe because the scenery is important and makes the shot look better with it involved. The mid shot gives the same effect also.
 

Tracking shot
This is mainly used in car chases as the camera needs to be able to keep up to film the whole shot, the tracking shots keeps the camera at a consistent rate meaning its smooth and able to follow fast shots without moving around.



Panning shot
This is where the camera pans round/rotates but stays stationary meaning its fixed to one spot. It keeps the camera steady producing excellent shots.



Over the shoulder shot
This is used when two characters are having a conversation, it gets you involved and also shows you clearly who is speaking so you don't get confused.



Understanding a film

The Idea 

The idea for a film doesn't take an amount of time to think of, it could take a few years or even days its all down to the writer of the script who decides the plot and the descriptions of the characters. After this stage the idea has to be passed over the director and producer to see if the film idea is any good and worth making/producing. They analyse the script and if they think the story is good and that the film will make money they go on with it.

Development finance

This all about the management of money, they need money to start producing the film and paying the actors. The producer decides whether to use investors to gain money or the public/UK film council. Without the money the idea of the film will go bust and wont be made. Some films have a very high budget e.g. $300,000,000 which is a lot just for one film.

Script Development

The writer and the producer come together to start drafting the crucial scenes and events, this then becomes the first draft, the script still has development added to it after this stage. The first draft then gets passed onto the financiers who have their own personal ideas which they are able to use and add to the script. After everyone has finished drafting the script the actual writer gets paid to just write up the whole script.

Packaging
The producer and writer add big A list stars to the script to make it more popular and then they package it off to the financiers as the producer has to know how much his film is going to cost so that the investors get a reasonable understanding of how much money they need to raise.

Finances
This part is all down to the producer as he needs to find the correct financiers around the world to gain money for his/her film, they can also raise money by pre-sales before the film is made meaning people will buy it before it has been produced. Another way to produce the money is getting a normal loan from a bank which specializes in film producing, they will lend you money if you are able to pay it back after. After the correct amount of money is produced then the film gets the green light meaning they can start the actual filming.

Pre-Production
The casting director can start identifying the actors characters due to what she/he thinks would suit each person, as some people look different meaning different characters would be better for them e.g. villains and heroes. Also some films depend on many special effects which may take a  long time to get ready meaning the producer can also start on these too, e.g. may need to build some scenery or need some special equipment for creating a better film.

The Shoot
The camera crew are responsible for this stage, they need to be organised to make sure the capture every part of each scene as missing something may be crucial in the film. However the actors have an even bigger role as they need to play their parts well to create the correct atmosphere which will attract the correct, interested audience.

Post-Production
This is the final stage of actually making the film and its where everything is added to support the actors, the editor adds or removes scenes that weren't necessary and pretty much puts the whole film together. The sound crew have to add the background music for when there is a change of atmosphere in the scenes. Also some of the digital work is done and the final credits are created. The film has a final adjustment by maybe adding colours or some different sounds and then the final cut is made meaning no more improvements can be made.

Sales
This is where the trailer is created which has to be good with main, exciting parts of the film in it because this is what will potentially attract the audience, the director has to go all out because he/she needs to produce the money to gain profit and making the film an overall success.

Marketing
The marketing team need to find out if the film will actually become a big hit and then they can start with the posters, tv adverts, cinema trailers etc. However cinemas have to agree to actually show the film at there cinemas.

Exhibition
A premiere is held for the film and this is where the director can find out whether people like his/her film. The actors are involved and are interviewed by the media, people watching will want to go and see it in cinemas and talk, this is where the investors get their money back.

My Representation

For Trendies Image Means Everything!

Trendies are all about finding something new and interesting that suits them as a person, starting off trends before they become too mainstream. Trendies care about their fashion but next in line is music, i have many different favorite artists like Tyler the creator and Asher Roth which are from two different categorises of music. 



However saying that I also think I am a Townie as I relate to much more than I do in the Trendies section. I'm a Townie because I am slightly mainstream but not totally, I am able to follow my own fashion style. Im always up to date with everything, I go with the flow. I love drinking but would never consider doing drugs like smoking weed.

The stores I shop in:

• River Island
• Topman
• JD
• Footasylum
• Wellgosh

My most popular shop would either be River Island or JD as the styles in these shops suit me e.g. in JD they sell Air Max which I find looks good on me. Townies tend to shop in the big retail names exactly like River Island.

This part of the Townies doesn't agree with me at all, I hate watching reality tv and shows like Geordie Shore and The Valleys, my taste in music isn't mainstream either as I have already suggested who I like at the start of this post.



Representation of 3 people

The Man: Doug Bihlmaier

The man above is Doug Bihlmaier, due to his appearance, what he is wearing and how he looks you would suggest that this man is homeless because of the way his trousers are all patched up and that he has a scruffy, unshaven beard. I thought that he would most definitely be from the lower class as he probably doesn't earn money. 

However when looking at the picture more carefully you begin to realize that this man isn't who you think, yes his trousers are patched but they wouldn't be that neat if he was really living on the streets, his shoes looked scuffed but they are actually a good quality brand, Red wing costing around $300, his clothes are all immaculate. He also has a good posture meaning he is able to hold his body up well without slouching. In actual fact this man isn't homeless at all, he works for Ralph Lauren and is actually a very wealthy man. His appearance fools you as what he is wearing is considered to be fashionable. 

The Man 2: Ted Bundy

The man underneath looks different from the other man, he looks well cut and clean and looks like he looks after himself. I would consider this man to be in a much higher class as well, due to him looking quite intelligent and well presented. Hes serious and seems to be in some form of work meaning he may be hard working. 

Ted Bundy is actually a murderer, he rapes women and then kills them afterwards. Because he was considered to be quite hansom back when he was committing the crimes he was able to lure women into his car with his looks and intelligence. He has now thankfully been executed for what he has done as he had escaped from prison before. His appearance helped him in a way as this was the main feature for picking up random women. One woman escaped from his car and then realized later in life who the man actually was and that she was extremely to get away.

The Woman: Anna Piagi

This woman comes across as being sort of mental and strange as the clothes she is wearing don't match each other. She looks as though she is a bit of an attention seeker as she clearly stands out from the crowd with all the bright colours going on, i believed that she would probably be from the higher class also as she is wearing expensive clothes e.g.a fur coat. Although she looks slightly mental, maybe being a prostitute, she seems though she has a bright personality and that what she is wearing shows she has plenty of confidence.

Anna Piagi is actually a model.

5x5

5X5

5 Favourite artists/bands

• Asher roth- songs are relaxing, relates to my life and also he's quite original as not many people know about him (most popular track is 'I Love College').
• Rizzle Kicks- original pairing of people, different voices, therefore creating good harmonising music.
• 50 Cent- his music is mostly rap but comes across as being calm and also nice to just listen to.
• Tyler the creator- he has the same style as Asher Roth however its more downbeat/more rap.
• Bipolar Sunshine- not a well known artist, hes very original.

All of these artists dont really have the same style as i like many different aspects and types of music, it was difficult to pick just 5 artists.

The video below is one of my favourite songs by 'Asher Roth' called 'Bad Day', the reason for liking it is because it relates to pretty much everyone, as people have bad luck everday of their lives. Plus the lyrics are funny and work well!

5 Favourite Films

• American Pie-funny, teenage life abling to relate.
• The Hangover- also funny but a different sense of humour, more grown up.
• Skyfall-best 007 film by far, great action, strong and impressive scenes.
• Avatar- amazing, shocking scenery, brilliant storyline.
• All Fast and Furious'- exhilirating, keeps you on edge, love cars!

Out of all of these films i would have to say that American Pie will always be my all time favourite as their is so much humour ariund teenagers lives.

5 Comedians

• Lee Evans- immature, swears
• Jack Dee- acts miserable, makes jokes about himself
• Jim oein- Uses facial expressions to make people laugh
• Mark Watson- funny stories about life
• Lee Nelson- insults audience, acts like a chav, funny in many concepts.

5 Social Websites

• Instagram- this involves you adding pictures about your life and things around you.
• Facebook- social and popular, about you.
• YouTube- viewing millions of videos online.
• Skype-allows you to talk to friends like in real life but its over the internet.
• Twitter- generally the same idea as Facebook but better.

5 English TV Shows

• The Inbetweeners- funny comedy about 4 unpopular mates going through their school life.
• Big Brother- a reality tv show, which includes a house and random people trying to win to become famous, however Big Brother has surprizes along the way
• Mr Bean- Rowan Atkinson acts a sort of mental person trying to live through life
• Top Gear- Motoring show, presented by 3 men, talking and testing out new cars on the market today.
• Celebrity Juice- Funny reality game panel show, includes Keith Lemon as the host.