Working Title Films Research

Working title film company was founded by Time Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983, however Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are now co-owners of the company  Working title films HQ is now based in London. The company started out by producing low budget films and a few television programs. The company gained mainstream success after an unexpected film gained global box office success, this film was called "Four Weddings and a funeral"

In 1999 Universal Studios agreed a deal with Working Title films which was worth around $600 million dollars. As part of this deal it entitles Universal Studios to 67% of working title films and this deal runs all the way through until 2015. The remaining 33% of the shares belong to the founders of the company, The BBC and private investors. Many of working titles recent films are co-produced by Studio canal.

Conventions of the horror/thriller genre

When a stranger calls

Mise-en-scene

• Body Bags
• Dark Lighting- adds fear for the audience
• Fair Rides
• Red Balloons- Signifys Danger
• Silohette

Sound

• Screams
• Children Laughing
• Phone Ringing
• Sirens- Asynchronus- Signifys Danger
• Eerie Music

Characters

• Stranger- Killer
• Policeman- Dominant- All male- Stereotypical

Editing

• Flashes into each shot
• Fade to black
• Fast paced

Narritive

• Someone being killed
• Stalked by a mysterious person
• Being uncomfortable

Cinematography

• Handheld camera- Emphasises the genre- Not steady adds uncertainty
• Jumpy
• Close up on policeman- Shows his disgust

1408

Mise-en-scene

• Dark night
• Heavy rain
• Haunted hotel- stereptypical of the horror genre

Sound

• Thunder/rain/wind
• Eerie music at night
• Melodic during the day
• Siren in the background when hes in the car

Characters

• White american male- Brave
• Creepy hotel couple

Editing

• Flashback
• Elipses when hes in the hotel room
• Cross fade

Narritive

• Being lost
• Haunted

Cinematography

• Close up on cigerrete- shows its importance
• Establishing shot on hotel- in the middle of the forest- links in with the genre

Film Questionaire

Analysis

From the research that I conducted I was able to find out that the age group that watched films the most were ages 21-30. This is because they have more time to spend watching films than older age groups, the second group which watched films the most were ages 10-20 although it consisted of teenagers more than younger children. Employed people were most likely to visit the cinema as they have the money to be able to pay for it. Teenagers were the next people most likely to visit as they have part time jobs and a way to pay for the cinema. The most preferred genre of films were action/adventure and it was primarily males who chose this option due to the fact that this genre appeals to them more than the other options. People were most likely to view a film at home than in a cinema, the reason why less people chose the cinema is the fact that the pricing is rather expensive and the nearest cinema is long distance away. I found that this is what influenced peoples choices when they were deciding whether to go to the cinema. The most popular days of the week that people would visit the cinema would be a Friday or Saturday as they have more free time as its a weekend and would not normally visit one on a weekday. Finally I asked how often people would visit the cinema and the most popular result was monthly, the reason for this is due to the high pricing and the travel distance.

Film Logos

Paramount

• The stars connote that only well known actors appear in their films.
• "Paramount" means being more important than anything else.
• The mountain suggests that they are at their highest peak.

Dreamworks

• The little boy fishing on the moon can suggest that they are fishing for ideas
• The little boy may also represent that everyone has an inner child
• The company name "Dreamworks" connotes that they primarily focus on fantasy/adventure films for children

20th Century Fox

• The spotlights connote that they are a important company and produce high quality films.
• The statue suggests that they are a big and well know company.

Universal

• The name universal suggests that they are know all the world, it also shows that they produce films all over the world.
• The image of the world can connote that they have distributed films worldwide.

Pixar

• Since Pixars films are aimed at children the logo is very simple.
• The fact that the lamp is facing the viewer connotes that they have the audience in mind when producing films.
• The lamp matches Pixars style of films which is animated

Preliminary Task

The Task

The task we were given was to film and edit a piece of footage of someone approaching and opening a door and then having a small conversation with someone. We had to demonstrate that we understood how to use different shot and editing types. Shots and editing techniques which had to be include in our preliminary task were:

• The 180 degree rule 
• Shot Reverse Shot
• Continuity
• Match on Action

What Went Well

Overall our task was successful as we demonstrated and made use of all the rules which we had to use and shows that we know how to use them.

How to Improve

In order to improve my pieces of filming I do in the future, I need to make sure that i make the editing tighter so that it flows more fluently. I also need to make sure of what we include in the frame as one point of our film shows a fan in the center of the frame and distracts the viewers attention. 

The Number 23 Opening Sequence

The Number 23Title Sequence

0-4 seconds- Black screen then fades into opening

6 seconds- Black writing appears on what seems to be a piece of paper in bottom right corner of the screen, "New line cinema presents"

11-16 seconds- More writing appears in its place "Contrafilms/firms Films Production"

16-19 seconds- Directors name appears "A Joel Schumacher film"

19 seconds - Actors names begin appearing on screen "Jim Carrey"

20-26 seconds- "Jim Carrey" name begins to move up the screen, the numbers 2 and 3 then appear filling half the screen up. This makes the audience know its going to be important.

26-33 seconds- The tittle appears in dark red font and slowly turns into blood drops
33-65 seconds- Facts and equations are displayed on the screen all of which feature the number 23. This signify s how important the number is. Names of actors are also inter-switched between the facts.
65-70 seconds- Blood slowly begins to fill up the screen
70-92 seconds- More facts are displayed and are coloured in red before the blood flows over them.
92-94 seconds- "Casting by Mali Finn, csa"
94-101 seconds- More blood fills up the screen, helps to create tension and suspense for the audience, also creates a dark atmosphere
101-105 seconds- "Music by Harry Gregson Williams"
105-112 seconds- "Associate Producer  Linda Fields Hill"
112-119 seconds- "Costume Desinger Daniel Orlandi"
119-123 seconds- "Editor Mark Stevens"
123-135 seconds- More facts are displayed among the blood stained paper.
145-150 seconds- list of executive producers appears.
150-160 seconds- "Written by Fernly Phillips"
160 seconds- The number 23 appears behind a full blood stained screen.

Se7en Film Opening Notes

Film Opening Notes

Se7en

Information-

·         Music producers

·         Casting directors

·         Produced By

·         Co-produced By

·         “New Line Cinema Presents”

·         Actors names

Image-

·         Close up shots on what he’s doing this shows that he’s devoted to his work and what he’s doing is very detailed.

·         Disturbing images- Scribbled out faces and crossing out of words such as God and intercourse

·         Close up on him turning pages in a book

·         Iconography- Razorblade and a needle.

Sound-

·         Strong, slow beat throughout the opening

·         Low pitched beat

·         More sounds are added as the opening progresses

·         Dark sounds overpower

·         Discordant

·         Beat gets faster as it progresses

Font-  

·         Shaky font emphasizes fear.

·         Font looks handwritten shows that its rushed

·         White font contrasts with the black background. Black connotes fear.

·         Font has a random layout.

Editing-

·         Quick cutting helps speed up pace.

·         Fade to blacks

·         Blurred effects adds tension and communication

·         Subliminal Images

·         Editing does not fit the pace of the sound.