Location Planning (Alleyway)

One of our main locations is the alleyway, which is near my house in Forest Hill. The alleyway is very atmospheric at night and would be a good location for our film noir/thriller opening sequence. The alleyway is quite long and could be useful to create suspense and adhere to the thriller genre, which is our aim in the opening sequence of the film. The street lamps, which are situated up and down the alleyway are not very bright, which is again good for the opening sequence as it will create an eerie and  isolated atmosphere, which we want to create. 

There are three pathways at the end of the alley, which could all be used to create an eerie atmosphere as you could film someone hiding around the corner, which would certainly create suspense. The alleyway is also covered by trees, which make it very dark at night and is good for creating tension. 

M.T

Character Plan (Antagonist 2)

Costume

- Very smartly dressed, denotes higher status in criminal world.
- Sharp suit, slicked hair, all very smart and well presented.
- Places to draw on for this character's costume are Mads Mikkelsen in 'Hannibal, Andrew Scott in 'Sherlock', Roger Sterling in 'Mad Men', and Rupert Penry-Jones in 'Whitechapel'.

Character

- A cerebral yet brutal character. Very confident in himself, and with good reason. High up on the criminal food chain and known to be very dangerous.
- A sense of humour and a desire to solve any disputes in a verbal fashion make him seem even more dangerous.
- Fancies himself as a high power business man, hence his dress sense. Is endlessly irritated by the illegitimacy of his work and people's insinuations that he is nothing more than a common crook.
- Some inspirations for this character are Badger from 'Firefly', due to his wishes to be a respected, legitimate businessman, Moriarty from 'Sherlock', who is endlessly self confident and very chilling in this respect. Another influence on this character is Jeff Bridges' character in Looper, and many other 'Godfather' or 'Mob Boss' type characters.

Casting

- There ought to be some confidence in this character, along with an air of danger. This is probably one of our more stereotypical characters, and thus potentially easier to play for whomever we cast. This role may require an actor with certain physical features though, although these are not rigid recquirements if we are unable to find someone 'suitable'.
CM

Character Plan (Antagonist 1)

Costume

- Dressed very informally, not high up on the criminal ladder.
- A leather jacket with T shirt and jeans, very inconspicuous, you wouldn't spot him in a crowd.
- Dressed in a similar fashion to Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner in the Bourne films, Christopher Ecclestone in 'Doctor Who' or Daniel Mays in 'Shifty'.



Character

- This is a somewhat arrogant character, and is very pleased with himself and his position as a sort of medium importance criminal. He has delusions of grandeur and fancies himself as untouchable. This is untrue and he knows it, so he is a little on edge and nervous as he walks down the alley.
- Some influences might be Badger from 'Firefly', for his sense of self importance and pride in his criminal position, and Arnold Flass from 'Batman Begins', for his true pathetic nature and cowardice in the face of vigilantism or being brought to justice.

Casting

- For this character the actor will need to be perhaps not particularly intimidating, but be able to play someone who believes them self to be. There is little requirement in terms of physical appearance, provided that the cast actor is decent. In this respect we hope to rely on quality of acting rather than obvious physical power, although the character could perhaps be a bit of a bully to those he sees as lesser than him.

CM

Character Plan (Protagonist)

Costume
- Dressed smartly but slightly shabby - suggestion of previous action that has led to onscreen events
- Long coat
- Dark clothing, ominous but not necessarily indicative of the antagonist
- Potential places to draw on for costume inspiration are Misha Collins in 'Supernatural', Taylor Kitsch in 'X Men Origins: Wolverine', and David Tennant in 'Doctor Who'.

  

This is the Costume mood board that I put together for my pre production proposal, although I still like the look that I had here I feel like it ought to be a little more disheveled in order to preserve the 'everyman' image and suggest some previous hardship:



Character

- The character is an 'everyman' who has been driven to dark things, this means he should appear dangerous and ominous, but not as a 'bad guy'. The voiceover ought to prevent him appearing as a villain or the antagonist of the film.
- Inspiration for the character comes from characters such as John McClane from 'Die Hard', Roger Thornhill from 'North by Northwest', and the Batman character Two-Face, specifically in 'The Dark Knight'.
- The McClane and Thornhill influences give the character the sort of everyday person feel, his ordinary, usually mild mannered appearance that has gone dark.
- This character has an air of serenity and level headedness around them, as though he's accepted his 'fate' or his role in life, thus he moves with deliberate purpose. He has nothing left, and thus nothing to lose. He is solely driven by his quest for revenge. These aspects come mostly from the Two-Face influence
- The character simultaneously abhors and empathises with criminals at every level. His psychological issue is that he has stooped to the level of the very people he is trying to exterminate (or at least exact revenge on). He struggles with this issue in order to find some sort of ironic justice in his murdering action.
- Evidently he has been driven insane, or at least to some deep seated psychological issues, by grief felt at the murder of his family.

Casting

- Ideally, an actor for this character will not necessarily be physically huge, or look particularly dangerous on the face of things, but have a sort of gravitas and aura of darkness/danger that signifies him as a good person gone bad. The phrase 'demons run when a good man goes to war' springs to mind.
- This may require an actor who is more talented than is required for the other two characters, as he is needed to have a darker side that is not necessarily overt.

CM

Character Plan (Antagonists) (Rough Plan)

• Antagonist one:

·      Normally dressed

·      Casual leather jacket

·      With jeans and vans for shoes

·      More nervous and on edge (contrast between both antagonists)

·      Similar to the way Jeremy Renner and Matt Damon are dressed in the Bourne Films. 

• Antagonist two:

·      Dressed in a suit

·      Briefcase

·      Extremely smart

·      Slicked hair

·      Smart shoes

·      Cocky character (You know he is not a nice guy)

·      The way the Main character is dressed in the TV series, Whitechapel is how I picture the second Antagonist to look like. He is far more slick than the first Antagonist as he is meant to be the 'Big Boss' who the Protagonist will kill. 

MT

Film Industry: Part 2

In the UK film market, an increase in the number of screens available to show films has not led to an increase in the number of films being shown. Why?

The increase in the number of cinema screens has meant that, in order to maximise profit, cinemas choose to show major releases on more than one screen, rather than using the extra screens to show smaller budget or less anticipated films.

In your opinion what might account for the fact that cinema attendances have fluctuated between 139 million and 176 million between 1999 and 2008?

Fluctuation in cinema attendance may have been affected by an increase in audience awareness. The availability of opinions or reviews on films is more prevalent than ever, which means that consumers often make a judgement on a film before they go to see it. Another example of increased awareness is the use of large franchises, which mean that those who have read the source material or seen previous films are more likely to go and see the film. This is exemplified by the year 2002, which has the highest attendance numbers of this period and had a number of large franchise releases, such as 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers', 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets', 'Spiderman', 'Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones', and 'Men in Black II'. The reverse of this is 1999, which had low numbers of admissions for the period, and only had two notable franchise releases; 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace' and 'Toy Story 2', one of which was a badly received reboot and the other a children's film.

In 2011, UK film distributors invested £330 million in advertising their new releases and on 35mm film prints. If around 450 new films receive a theatrical release in the UK every year, how much, on average, do distributors spend distributing a film in the UK?

On average, around £730000 is spent distributing films in the UK per year.

This spending stirred up enormous demand - 171.5 million cinema tickets were bought UK in 2011. This is great news for cinemas - what's the downside of all this excitement generated and consumer demand for film producers in the UK?

Many British films are distributed by American companies or subsidiaries of them. This is due to the high price of launching a film, which makes it very hard for independent producers to get by, as the high price still only leaves them with limited outlets, as competitors own many of these. This means that the increase in demand for cinema tickets makes life more difficult for UK independent production companies, which must now pay high prices for distribution, in an American dominated industry.

In 2004 the average cost of releasing a US film domestically was $39 million, in addition to the average production cost of $63.8, making an overall average production/distribution cost per film of $102.8 million. What effect might this have on Hollywood production and distribution if these increases have continued?

The increases in production and distribution costs may result in fewer major releases per year from the large companies. More small budget films may be released by these companies in order to make better use of their money. The increases in cost may damage smaller production and distribution companies, especially independent ones.

Why are more 'middle aged' people going to the cinema in 2011? Who in your opinion, are the current most bankable leading actors in the UK 'youth' market?

2011 was a year in which many successful films that were directed at an older market were released. Examples of this are 'The Artist', 'The Descendants', and 'The Iron Lady', all of which are critically acclaimed films that are aimed at audiences older than the standard 16-25 market. To my mind, the most bankable actors for the 'youth' market are Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jennifer Lawrence, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Robert Downey Jr. There are many other actors that fit the description, but these are the ones that spring to mind.

Jerry Bruckheimer is still producing films today - is he still a 'high concept' producer? Does he deserve his reputation for films that are high on effects and low on narrative?

From looking at Bruckheimer's filmography, it is clear how he got his reputation, as he appears to have been responsible for many big budget high concept films, including many with Nicolas Cage in them. However films such as 'Confessions of a Shopaholic', and even the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies could be argued to have more narrative than a typical high concept film, so perhaps Bruckheimer's reputation is not wholly deserved.

Find some recent 'Indiewood' type films that have been produced by:

Fox Searchlight: Black Swan was aimed at typical film audiences, but maybe also slightly older cinema-goers. This is due to it's often surreal and and disturbing imagery. A perhaps less mainstream example is 'Sound of my Voice' which was aimed more at a middle aged audience.
Paramount Vantage: Films such as 'Like Crazy' and 'Into the Wild' are the sort of film that is aimed at teenage audiences, but may have broader viewing if it does well.
Sony Pictures Classics: More or less the entire filmography of the company fits the 'Indiewood' profile, with examples being 'Amour', 'Searching for Sugar Man', and 'The Skin I Live In'.
Focus Features: Focus Features have been behind more successful films such as 'Moonrise Kingdom' and 'Coraline', but also films like 'Pariah' and 'Sin Nombre' which were less successful but of a similar art house feel.

To what extent does Hollywood dominate the UK film landscape? How has it managed to retain it’s stranglehold?

It is indisputable that Hollywood has a strong presence in the landscape of UK film, and although the use of the term 'dominate' is debatable, it is my opinion that it is here justified. American production and distribution companies or subsidiaries thereof are usually behind any large blockbuster releases in the UK. Large blockbuster American films remain popular in the UK, with films such as 'Avengers Assemble' and 'Hunger Games' bringing in huge cinema audiences. Large blockbusters such as these are extremely bankable, especially when part of a successful franchise, and hence they are always being made, as they pretty much guarantee large cinema audiences. Large American companies also use subsidiaries in order to retain their stranglehold on the industry; films targeted at the Arthouse audience are released by smaller companies such as Sony Pictures Classics and Focus Features. This is but an example of one area in which large film companies have spread themselves into, which has proved an effective way of monopolizing, or at least dominating, the industry, as it allows companies to ensure that they are involved in film making at every possible level, thus retaining their industry stranglehold. The increasing costs of both production and distribution of films has also contributed to the dominance of Hollywood, as it is now far more difficult for smaller or independent companies to release films, so often they need the help of a larger company, which in turn will cost them a large sum of money. Overall, Hollywood has a fairly strong grip on the UK film landscape, as the large companies have a very strong presence, and big budget American films are still very popular in UK cinemas.

Film Industry: General Introduction

Why is convergence both a blessing and a curse for the film industry?

- Convergence is good for the film industry as it means that there are many more ways in which a film can be consumed by an audience. This gives producers and distributors the ability to release films through many media, and tie them in with video games, music releases, or any number of different media. This all means that more money can be made by companies, which makes the film industry more lucrative than ever.

- Convergence could also be seen as a curse for the film industry as it makes copyright infringement and film piracy all the more prevalent. 5% of UK adults have illegally downloaded films and more and more are being downloaded, the average has risen to between 7 and 15 titles per year. This produces a problem for the film industry, especially with the rapid take up of broadband in the UK.

How has the Internet allowed filmmakers to find and attract audiences in different ways?

- Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking websites have allowed audience groups to be broken up, which allows for more specific targeting.

- YouTube has greatly affected the film industry as it provides new ways to promote films, both in advertisements and in the release of trailers, interviews, and other ways in which the audience can engage with the film before they've even gone to see it.

- Increased Internet usage has led to a loss of interest in keeping audiences together on the part of the film industry. Many more films are now aimed at producing a cult audience rather than being huge budget movies.

Summarise how you think sites like YouTube, Spotify and Facebook are good for film audiences. What do they let us do that we couldn't before.

- YouTube allows amateur filmmakers to distribute their content, and influences the industry in this way. This is especially effective due to the site's use of social tagging, which allows the classification of content by users. This means that audiences search for specific things that they are interested in. Social tagging limits the effectiveness of releasing trailers on YouTube, as users will search only for films that they are already interested in, however the use of advertising on the site gives film trailers a larger audience on the Internet.

- Facebook, and other social networking sites, can be used to the film industry's advantage in a few ways. The first of these is advertising, as this gives a whole new outlet for companies to promote their films. Another way is through the 'liking' mechanism, which can be used both for gauging audience reaction to the film, and also for audience targeting, depending on which pages users like. This is especially useful as a large proportion of Facebook's users are directly within the industry's target audience of 16-25.

- Spotify, like YouTube and Facebook, presents advertising opportunities to film companies. It can also be used to release the soundtrack to the film, often before the film's release, which will build up the pre-release hype.