Analysis of our influential films

Van Helsing (scene 2)

·         Universal Pictures are the Distributors of Van Helsing as well as being the company behind the production.





·         The reasoning behind studying Van Helsing was because we wanted many of the features that this film offers when we create ours and by going in depth analysing it, we can copy there effects such as the camerawork, editing, Mise-en scene and sound. Furthermore, this movie and our film both have the same target audience.

·         8 minutes into the film and we are introduced to a new character

Camerawork



Eiffel Tower in the background



·         Firstly the camera pushes out revealing the wanted poster and then continuing to push out until the new character Van Helsing by an over the shoulder shot and    and then panning across to the Eiffel tower being built so the viewer gets an idea where they are and what time period they are in.



The Location shot



·         Secondly, the Camera then gets another location shot so the viewer gets a good understanding where they are.

·         The camera then cuts and tilts down on the character as he walks down the street and then tilts up focusing on Van Helsing’s face making him seem important(Close up)

·         The camera does seem to follow and focus on this character throughout this scene.

Editing

·         The film contains barely any titles so analysing the bare minimum was hard. With the titles I did see in this movie they were in a medieval/gothic font in a plain grey colour on a plain black background. This made the titles simple and easy to read. Furthermore editing is used in this title with the addition of text fading in.

·         Also there is a fade out after the titles that set the next clip up.

·         More editing is shown as Van Helsing looks at the building and after the clip is cut he is seen opening the door of the building which is.

·         Another effect the editing produced was by using colour correction which made the atmosphere in the movie all gloomy and mysterious.

Mise-en-scene



Close up of Van Helsing



·         Furthermore, the way Van Helsing looked with his black and secret clothing which confuse  the viewer of thinking of him as an antagonist and left enigma’s at the start of the film is what we aspire to when we make our film.

·          The Camera angles were shot with many close ups and looking up at Van Helsing to make him seem like a very important character in the film.

·         Also at the begging of the film there is a prop (the wanted poster) which we are also using in our film.



The poster which we want in our video



·          In addition, the way it was filmed with Van Helsing patrolling the streets filming the setting as he travels is what we also need in our film which works well to give understanding to the viewer in where the film is set.

·         The music in scene 2 consists of slow and strange music which is effective and is what I wish to include in our film.

·         The acting performance suggests that the man is looking for something in this unknown territory.

Textual analysis of the films that Influenced us:Harry potter and the Prisioner of Azkaban By Tom Morgan

The wanted poster from Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban specifically on its own influenced us greatly as it gave us the idea of using it in our film, we will use this idea and put posters all around to create the effective of this man being extremely wanted and dangerous. This idea came to mind as in the prisoner of Azkaban they have these wanted posters all over town to create the effect we are going for. It also gives the idea of reality as it’s like everyone’s after him and he’s known all over.

We are using the idea of the escape prisoner and are using the wanted poster (shown on the left) to show that people are after him and to give the impression that he’s dangerous.The Editing used in which the poster is magic which shows a moving image of Serious Black (the murderer) in prison looking aggressive and dangerous. This makes the poster and the character look mysterious and creates suspense as you feel that Serious Black is a mass murderer and will kill again.

The camera angles used are useful as they do a wide shot where you can see several wanted posters. We will use this in our film as we feel that this shows how wanted he is, which will be effective in our film as we want to show the viewer that our escape prisoner is dangerous he is and how you should avoid him so that’s why there are many wanted posters of him.Also other ideas we gained from the film our the sound used we also feel this is effective, they use an eerie music to create suspense and drama, which influenced are film as we will do something along the same lines within the laws of copyright.
The titles are huge and eye catching they are also in a thunderstorm so it gives the viewer the idea of the gloomy atmosphere.

This is a hyperlink (shown below) that shows the moving wanted poster that influenced us greatly so you will be able to see the gloomy effects and how the movement shows his aggressive behaviour and how he is dangerous and should be avoided.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3YS7UkgNaU&feature=related

Textual analyse

Shifty Analysis
Distribution companies first
Setting council flats
Shows funding company names. The national lottery, UK film council, Film London MICROWAVE
BBC films
Show’s producers A between the eyes production and microwave
Music bridges through to the start of the film 50 seconds in Music creates a sad atmosphere
Actor’s names introduced to the characters early on in a small font
Early in the morning sat on the bus
Urban setting
Second character Asian angry, thug, low angle shot giving power and authority
1.18 simple tittles shown
Third character drugs involved over head shot
Location shot 1.41
Suburban
4 characters: all characters distressed
Genre: serious drama

Trainspotting analysis
Start with distributor. Universal
Funding company introduced. Channel four films presents
26 seconds in lower angle shot, running, what’s he running from? Upbeat music
Medium close up show characters emotionStolen something, stolen goods falling, being chased
Voice over music
Shift location, low angle shots, looking at characters
Point of view shot, through characters eyes
Excitement of being run over
Audience positioned as driver, character laughs back at audience, character gets named, freeze frame
Location change, grotty old house
Location change, football pitch, action during game, get introduced to characters, freeze framed
Violent nature of characters, get idea of who the characters are
Multiple falling shots
2minutes voice ends

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels analyse
Start with distributor, Ska films, music 9 seconds in the finishes
Extreme close up, showing emotion, surreal start to film, dark eyes, extreme close up of mouth, shows he’s talking, shot reverse shot camera movement across both eyes, shows injuries.
See full face 1:06, talking to us
Location change, market stall, sales patter, various shots
Cuts to block, the Steve Tisch company, sound over the top
Positioned in the crowd
Ska films introduced again
Skips again to black screen
See beginning person without injuries on face
Mathew Vaughn

What do film distributors do?

My definition: A film distributor is a company or single person responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing. A distributor may do this directly (if the distributor owns the theaters or film distribution networks) or through theatrical exhibitors and other sub-distributors.
Internet definition: Film distribution involves launching and sustaining films in the marketplace. Because the film business is product driven, Film Distributors must connect each film they release with the widest possible audience. As every new title is distinctive and different, Distributors must be strategic and knowledgeable about promotion and publicity in order to entice audiences to see their films, utilising successful film release plans, created in collaboration with film production and/or studio company personnel, marketing teams, publicity departments and exhibitors
What film distributors have to do?
Ideally, a film's distribution plan is taken into consideration during the scripting stage. The more Distributors know about a production, the more informed are their choices when deciding how to publicise the film, and about its marketing campaign, release strategy, promotional tie-ins, etc. However, in the independent sector, Distributors often become involved only after films premiere at film markets or festivals such as Sundance, Cannes or the American Film Market. Film Sales Agents represent such films when they are seeking distribution, and broker deals between filmmakers and Distributors.
In general, the more money Film Distributors spend on a release, the more interest is generated, which should also heighten what every Distributor wants from the public - publicity by word of mouth. Distributors position films, making the decisions when and where to release a new film, this is decided through a combination of market knowledge, experience and judgment to gauge the target audience for each film. Roughly 350 feature films are launched each year in the UK, and most don't make any money during their theatrical runs. P&A represent the largest expenditure items for Distributors, often amounting to the equivalent of between a third and half of the film's original production budget. Risks are high. A film's opening weekend revenue often brings in as much as 25-30% of its entire box office earnings, and is vitally important to its long-term fiscal profitability and sustainability.
The Film Distributor's Association is the trade body that represents UK Theatrical Film Distributors. It seeks to promote cinema going in preference to other leisure activities. It is also involved with such important issues as anti-piracy laws, stopping the production and sale of fake DVDs.

Distributors of our influential films

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban:

The distributors of harry potter are Warner Brothers

Death race (2008):

The distributors of death race are Universal Pictures

Van Helsing (2004):

The distributors of Van Helsing are Universal pictures

Death Race Analysis

This film is an influence to us, as in the start of death race their main character gets framed of killing his wife. And in our film the same thing happens our main character gets framed of killing his wife and goes to jail. Also in death race the character escapes from jail and this happens in our film too, as our character escapes from jail but we won’t be filming our character escape we will just film once he has escaped. The bits that influence us are in the 11th minuet up until the 13th minuet
This is where the character has been framed:

Camera work:
The camera work in this film has lots of close ups, so you can see the emotions on the actors faces. also in this film they use lots of different types of camera work, as they film lots of clips from different angles and vary between close ups and long range shots, in our film we would like to have multiple clips with different camera work like they have used in death race. There are different shots used as well which allows you to see more of the scenery, so you can get more of a feel for the surroundings.
This is one of the close ups that we would like to do:

This is another shot that we like, the over shoulder shot:

Sound:
The sound that we like in this film is fast and loud action music, in our film we are hoping to use this type of music too.

This screen shot is where the action music reaches the highest intensity:

Titles:
Some of the titles in this film are small and discreet the colour of them is white so they don’t look to out of place. They have made the titles look very professional by having a normal font and the size of the text is a small and then they have made the title white. But they do have a variety of titles and they also have effects on titles, one of the effects on the titles is that they have made it so it looks like it is being typed across the screen. Then titles also jolt as they move to the next title, they jolt because of the moving of the engine in the background, there is also another effect where the title mirrors itself and this is to do with the movement of the engine as well. They also have added a word that is in red and capital letter amongst the normal text, they have done this top make it stand out and show the seriousness.

This is the plain title:

This is where the title jolts:

This is where they have added a bit of colour and capital letters to show the seriousness: