Preliminary task questions

What planning did you do? How was this useful, and how did you change from your plans?

To plan for the preliminary task we first did a recce. This is when there is a pre visit to the location which we chose to shoot in. This was useful because we could decide on the location, making sure that it is appropriate for filming. We did a floor plan This meant we knew exactly where the actors were walking and it allowed us to decide whether we had enough room to film. We also did a rehearsal to double check this. We then drew a story board which allowed us to film quicker because we knew the order of shots and what shot type we needed for the particular scene. This made it easier when we were filming because we all knew what we doing. The rehearsal allowed us to make sure we knew exactly what we were saying and could practise. It meant that we didn't waste time whilst filming the final shots, it also allowed us to know where we were walking. After the rehearsal we changed the route we were going to take in the canteen because the tables and chairs made it awkward to get to the location the actors were going to sit at for the conversation.


What camera skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the cameras, and has this confidence changed during the project? Give details of specific camera skills/ techniques you have developed/ improved, and include areas where you lack confidence/ need to improve?

Through filming the preliminary task I have developed many new skills. I now know the basics of filming and how to use a camera, during the task I became more confident with using a camera. Although I didn't film any of the task because I was in it, I still used the camera before we filmed for the final scene. I think I could become even more confident if I had more experience using the camera to film. I now know techniques such as the 180 degree rule, through the preliminary task I know that when shooting a conversation the 180 degree rule happens so that the audience knows what character is speaking and when. Whilst filming we used tripods and dollies, before the preliminary task I didn't know what a dollie was, and I had never used a tripod before. I know what they are now and can set up the equipment safely so that filming was quick.


What editing skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the editing program? Give details of specific editing skills/ techniques you have developed/ improved, and include areas where you lack confidence/ need to improve?

Before the preliminary task I didn't know how to edit or how to use the editing program. I am now confident at most things on the editing programme. With a little more experiance I think I could gain more confidence with the editing program and be able to use it on my own to edit my thriller once I have filmed it.

Preliminary Task

Mood Board

Cinema City - State of independence

The best time of the year for cinemas overall is July/August (the school holidays). This is when the big Hollywood blockbusters are released. But this is not the best time of year for Cinema City. When does Cinema City get it's highest audiences and what factors effect this?

Cinema City gets its highest audience when they hold live events, broadcast via satellite including music, comedy, filmmaker Q&A's, red-carpet premieres and productions transmitted in high definition from the New York Metropolitan Opera and Royal Opera House. These events often get sold out screens and audiences quickly embrace the new concept of 'cinecasts'. 

What technological and cultural factors have affected cinema takings? Consider the 1950's, 1980's and late 2000's. What have cinemas done to respond to these technological and cultural factors?

In the 1950's there was the advent of the TV, people started to get televisions in their home. This meant that less people went out and watched things at cinemas, there takings decreased and they lost money. In the 1980's the multiple cinema was introduced and because a lot more money was going into these and they were showing new films from America they became more popular than the independent cinemas. Also, this was the time when video was introduced so people could buy tapes of films instead of going out and paying money to go and watch them once at the cinemas. In late 2000's Internet was introduced into homes which meant that more people downloaded films instead of buying them on video or going to see them at the cinemas. This saved people money, but meant that the takings of cinemas reduced. To respond to these technological and cultural factors cinemas have started showing films in 3D, at home we cannot get this which means it would make cinema more popular again and the takings increase. 

In 1945 the top 20 films accounted for 25% of the market.
In 2000 the top 20 films accounted for 50% of the market.
U.S films took a 20% share of the market in early 1970's.
In 1998 U.S films took a 63.3% share of the market.
What can we learn from these statistics?

From these statistics we learn that there is an increase of shares and that more U.S films are flooding the market. When the multiplex cinemas were built the rule that for every American film shown a British film is shown was dropped. This meant that American companies took over and they are now dominating our film industry.

Exhibition related leisure pursuits now = 14% of household spend.
Home - based ancillary (TV/video etc.) markets = 43% of household spend.
What can we learn from these statistics?

From these statistics we learn that most films are now viewed at home meaning that there is a decrease in cinema takings.

A cinema such as Cinema City used to get around 80% income from subsidies and 20% from ticket sales. How has this changed? Compare this to Vue/Odeon. How are cinemas funding new revenue streams?

These cinemas used to get the majority of their money from the government. This has now changed because the government is no longer giving subsidies therefore they have a lack of money, they only have the 20% they used to make from ticket sales. They are no longer making the amount of money that they need to make to buy new films to show etc. Unlike Cinema City, Vue cinemas are funded by the Bank Of Scotland meaning that along with the ticket sales they have another source of funding. Cinema City is now making extra money by putting on live events.

Cinema City underwent a significant refurbishment programme in and reopened in 2007. Why would Cinema City be unable to carry out these refurbishments if it was trying to do so today?

They wouldn't be able to carry out these refurbishments today if it was trying to do so because they are no longer getting subsidies therefore they would not be able to afford it. Also because it is a listed building so they would have to appeal for it to be refurbished.

Why did Cinema City install a 3D projector in 2010?

Cinema City installed a 3D projector because it will broaden the audience that they appeal to, it means that they can show a wider variety of films that are only available in 3D. More people are likely to go to Cinema City to watch a film in 3D than a Multiplex cinema because it is cheaper and not as busy than a multiplex.

What is a 'sleeper' film? How is Cinema City better positioned to adjust schedules for 'sleepers'?

A 'sleeper' film is a film that has a slow start with not a very big audience that gradually becomes more popular and eventually turns into a big film that is popular. Cinema City is better positioned to adjust schedules for sleepers because they can bring old films that have suddenly become more popular back unlike the multiplex cinemas.

Why wouldn't Cinema City show 'The Expendables' but they would show a Tarantino film?

'The Expendables' wouldn't attract the audience that Cinema City appeals to. A Tarantino films appeals to a different audience that 'The Expendables'. 

Why do Cinema City show Sex and the City/Mamma Mia? 

Cinema City show these films because the actors and actresses that play on these films are older and would appeal to the audience that Cinema City attracts. It appeals to a large group of women, aged 40+ and the films appeal to these women because of the people in them. 

How do Cinema City cater for minority/ niche audiences such as parents with children under one; students; local history enthusiasts; older audiences; parents with autistic children? 

Cinema City run clubs such as: Kid's club, parents and babies' screenings and senior citizens matinees. Also they run a Slackers Club which is set up by E4 for students. They also do screenings for parents with autistic children. 

What does Cinema City use its screens for other than showing films?

Cinema City also uses its screens for numerous live events, broadcast via satellite, including music, comedy, filmmaker Q&A's, red-carpet premieres and productions transmitted in high definition from the New York Metropolitan Opera and Royal Opera House.

Describe the audience of Cinema City.

Cinema City's audience is mainly women and men that are 40+. They cater for them because they bring back old films that these people will remember when they first came out. Also they do specific groups for them and they are comfy cinemas that their audience can enjoy.

Treatment

In the opening sequence of our thriller there is a girl sat in a dark dingy room with light coming from a laptop and a TV. There is a video camera plugged into the television and a video is playing. It is of a girl that the person who filmed it is stalking. There will be a variety of shots which will indicate to the audience what the girl sat in the dark room is doing and will create tension immediately portraying this girl as the evil character. To start with there will be a panning shot of the room gradually zooming in on a mid shot of the girls back and then an over the shoulder shot of the laptop. We will use a lot of close ups on the equipment that is around the room, including the camera and the laptop screen which will have the facebook of an innocent girl that the evil character is looking at. She is jealous and is finding out all that she can about her. The stalker girl is looking through the pictures and to start with there is eerie music playing in the background which suddenly stops and all you can hear is a mouse clicking. The camera then changes to a close up of the TV which has a camera plugged into it and on the screen is a girl in her garden picking up her rabbit; this is filmed from a bush. There is a flashback to when this was filmed. We see the girl picking the rabbit up and then hear a rustle in the bush. She suddenly turns around and there is a close up on her face, it then cuts to a close up of the bush. It then cuts back to the dark dingy room. To end our sequence the stalker will shut the laptop, walk over to the video camera, pick it up and turn and face the camera. The shot then switches to a close up of her face and she smiles.

In the room we are filming in there will only be light from the TV, laptop and maybe a small lamp. The room won't have anything in other than a laptop, TV, video camera, lamp and a seat that the girl is sitting on. There will be two characters in our sequence, the stalker and the girl being stalked. The first character that we see is the 'evil' one, we will show this by lots of weird behaviour, close ups of her and close ups of what she is doing. Our villain is a young woman who was abused by her parents and left on her own when she was young. Three years ago, when she was 15 she killed her parents because of what they did to her - she never got caught. She has grown to be a woman of no feelings and she is left mentally scarred by her past. She is ambiguous and seems that she would never harm a fly, but that is her external personality. Internally she is very childlike and doesn’t realize the extent of her actions when she harms or kills people. She doesn’t let anyone get close to her and all the people that once loved her are dead. She is a quiet person who doesn't socialize with the rest of the world; she sits in her dingy, dirty flat preying on her next victim. She wants to take someone else’s personality because she is tired of being her, lonely and disliked. We will represent her as isolated by showing the room being empty, this will connote how empty and lonely she is. Our other character is a girl who is also 18, her dad died in a car accident when she was 16 leaving her vulnerable as she has only her mother to protect her. Although her life is far from perfect she is a happy and pretty girl with a lot of friends. She is naive and childlike and doesn't realise that some people can be cruel. She is exactly what the stalker wants to be. We will represent her as childlike by dressing her in childlike clothes, barely any makeup and playing with her rabbit and talking to it. To represent her happiness, she will always be smiling and there will be lots of close ups of this. The narrative behind our opening sequence is to show that there is a girl who is lonely and sad who is stalking a girl who has completely the opposite personality. We see that she has been stalking her by the pictures she is saving onto her computer and the video she has of her following the girl.

The scene I have described links to the film Red Road in a way because at the start the women is clicking on all the different screens, watching everyone else in the city. Instead of watching everyone, our stalker is only watching one girl, but she is still clicking on the different screens, watching what she is doing. The film we are going to make will be an independent film because it is not the typical thriller including blood and gore and it is also not going to have any money being spent on it. We are showing the crime that can actually happen and how girls using websites to talk to people can actually get them in a lot of trouble and can get them in all sorts of problems and puts their lives at risk. Our thriller will include many conventions that a thriller film contains such as, ambiguous characters, strong key lighting from the laptop and lamp, shadows of the stalker on the wall and close ups and panning shots of the room. The opening scene will appeal to our audience because it will have young people in so that they can relate to our audience. Also the storyline will appeal to young people because they are using facebook everyday and some people may be in the same situation as these girls.

Thriller Openings

Film	Average shot length	Number of shots	Use of titles
Taxi Driver dir. Martin Scorsese (1976)	4-20 seconds	9	Blood red on a black background.
Nikita dir. Luc Besson (1990)	5 Seconds	20	Blood red on a black background
Leon dir. Luc Besson (1994)	2 – 14 seconds	28	White on a black background.
Momento dir. Christopher Nolan	1-2 seconds	17
London To Brighton dir. Paul Andrew Williams (2006)	2-3 seconds	31	White on a black background. Shows the time.
Red Road dir. Andrea Arnold (2006)	1-10 seconds	32	Blue and white on a black background

Comparing Warp and Working Titles

Warp Films
Warp Films, a sister company of Warp Records, was set up in 1999 with funding of £150 K from NESTA. It is based in Sheffield, England with a further office in London and has 14 full-time staff. This shows the true size of Warp Films, an extremely small film producing compamy. Warp films show the true society how it really is without making it seem all lovely and like nothing bad in society happens, they think it is important to raise the profile of British film making worldwide.  Their aims are to be cutting edge, innovative, interesting and independant. They don't want to have carbon copy, Hollywood blockbuster films. They create pioneering British cinema, short films and music videos. In April 2008, Australian film distributor Madman Entertainment announced a collaboration with Warp Films. Warp and Madman plan to make at least 2 films together over the next 3 years. Warp films budget to spend on a film is £1,000,000 unlike the major film companys who spend much much more on a film. This means that they are lacking in special effects etc, yet with the little budget, Warp films still make good films with the materials they do have. Warp Films are funded by British companies such as the national lottery, film 4 and the UK film council.

Some films made by Warp Films are as followed:  
This is England 86'
Four Lions
Bunny and the bull
All Tomorrows parties
Hush
Exhibit A

Working Title
Working Title films is a British film production company based in London UK.The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. It produces feature films and several television productions. Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan are now the co-owners of the company. Although it is British, it is partly funded by Universal films, an American film production company. Working Title films are allowed to produce any film with a budget of up to £25 million. This means that they can make films with much more special effects, the films they make are more action based and their demographic is teenage boys who like action and little dialogue.

Some films made by Working Title Films include:     
Atonement
Nanny Mcphee
Nanny Mcphee and the big bang
Burn after reading
Hot Fuzz
Johnny English
etc.

There are alot more films made by Working Titles as it is a main stream where as Warp Films is independant therefore it hasn't got the funding to make lots of films.


Comparing films from each producing companies
Working titles made the film Atonement, it cost about £30 million to make and has well known actors, Keira Knightly and James McAvoy in. In comparison to Working titles, Warp made the film This is England 86', it cost around £1.5 million to make and has unkown actors in. Atonement made $130 million worldwide, and in USA alone it made $50 million. Even though it is a UK film, it only made half of what it made in USA in England. This is because Working Titles is funded by American film companies. Unlike Atonement, This is England 86' made $8 million worldwide and in USA alone it only made $0.3 million, where as in the UK it made $3.1 million. Atonement was shown in 1335 cinemas in the UK and even though it was made by a British film producing company, it was only showed in 424 cinemas in the UK which is a big difference to how many it was shown in in the USA. Unlike Atonement, This is England 86' was shown in only 14 cinemas in USA which is a big difference to the 151 cinemas it was shown in in the UK. The genre of films made by the two film producing companies are very different. Whilst Working titles make films that are literary adaptions about love and romance, Warp films make dramas about the British society, racism and single parent families which are true events that happens worldwide.