Trip to York Warp films and working title

we went to york on a school trip to the film festival. We went to 2 master classes 1st one we saw the producer for warp films and we saw the cinematographer for working title.
first we saw warps films producer .

warp.net/films

we took notes this is what i learnt from the master class

they have had 18 feature films , 5TV series and won 6 barters. They also have one world record for most zombies in one place at a time they used this for the anniversary of the 'big chill'. some of the films they have made by warp films are 

Productions

Film	Year	Director	Notes
My Wrongs #8245–8249 & 117	2002	Chris Morris	Short film
Dead Man's Shoes	2004	Shane Meadows
Rubber Johnny	2005	Chris Cunningham	Short film
Scummy Man	2006	Paul Fraser	Short film/Music video
This Is England	2006	Shane Meadows
Grow Your Own	2007	Richard Laxton
Dog Altogether	2007	Paddy Considine	Short film
Fur TV	2008	Chris Waitt
A Complete History of My Sexual Failures	2008	Chris Waitt
Arctic Monkeys At the Apollo	2008	Richard Ayoade
Donkey Punch	2008	Oliver Blackburn
The Mighty Boosh Live: Future Sailors Tour	2009	Paul King
Curtains	2009	Julian Barratt	Short film
Hush	2009	Mark Tonderai
Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee	2009	Shane Meadows
Bunny and the Bull	2009	Paul King
All Tomorrow's Parties	2009	All Tomorrow's People & Jonathan Caouette
Four Lions	2010	Chris Morris
This Is England 86	2010	Shane Meadows & Tom Harper	TV
Submarine	2010	Richard Ayoade
Tyrannosaur	2011	Paddy Considine
Kill List	2011	Ben Wheatley
This is England '88	2011	Shane Meadows	TV
The Organ Grinders Monkey	2011	Jake & Dinos Chapman	Short film
Snowtown	2011	Justin Kurzel	Warp Films Australia
The Minor Character	2012	Richard Curson Smith	TV
The Snipist	2012	Matthew Holness	TV
Care	2012	Amanda Boyle	TV
Swimmer	2012	Lynne Ramsay	Short film
The Midnight Beast	2012	Ben Gregor	TV series
Berberian Sound Studio	2012	Peter Strickland

next year the films they have coming up are 

• stone rose documentry
• southcliffe which will be on channel 4
• small tv things
• 71 the film which is a thriller

we also learnt about why it is important to watch films at cinema and viewings and how it effects the company. we learnt that today a lot of people take videos off line and tv as a 'home cinema' this affects all film but especially the low budget indy films such as warp films.over all we also learnt after all of this how much the company consume after the downloads and the power of the supermarkets being the biggest main driver of dvds. 

warp music created this part of company warp films. The principal is then set by warp music.

the company is also different to other bigger companies such as working title or piscar as they have long term relationships and connections with the artists actors such as shane meadows.

we also learnt it is not just about the film it is about who is the director, advertising and how everything plays an important part in the process. the producer also said that there was alot more interest in the 'shane meadows films'. he also talked about how it is important to be aware of your audience such as in deadmans shoes the poster was not appealing to young children as it looked like a horror.as this film was so low budget they used a crew of 15 so they had to feature things such as cars and props several times in different scenes.

there biggest success what 4 lions and this is england.

He also told us an example of how the trade works and how they get the money they need to make a film he talked about the film kill list as being what the distributors would not put in to early so they had to buy it for alot more as it was such a success.

he gave us  rough guide on how long it takes to make there indy films.

30 days prep

30 days shoot

150 days post

210 days

10 hours a day

2100  week

18 times 2100 is 37500 hours of film making !

we also learnt about the economics of film making 

• 1 million at box office
• exhibitors take 50%
• distributors take their p and a (200k) to promote 
• distributor splits whats left 5050
• the film company then has to pay back all equity finance
• the producers get 50% of total profit still only making half of profit after all these steps.

the producer all said that even the bad films they have done are something to be proud of although there not the best it doesnt matter as they have learnt what went wrong and why the popular ones worked. he also said to not let any film go to waste and use it to improve your own techniques or to pick out what you like to use in your next. This is good as we cam use this in our work.

Working title-Danny Cohen

he started off working with warp productions he was the cinematographer for films such as 'this is England' .In this is England he uses techniques such as the main character being in small focus within big shots to show what little power he is also placed on camera as being small compared to scenes showing the setting this is to show how big the world is and how small he is.The 1980s period film so much has changed since then. He talked about how it was hard to rebuilt the scenes on such a little budget.

          In the film this is England non professional actors changes the cinematography completely as it strips everything down as the budget was low and all they really had for this set was the actor a camera and a track.

          Dive was there latest tv show done 3 years ago it was there first hd film. The film was about a relationship of 2 people in the film there is a use of space used compared to a school where is is a safe place and inclosed .Danny Cohen talked about use of space a lot and how affective it is to put actors in a place they can relate to more (scene).

        A more famous film he shot was the Kings Speech .He talked about how difficult it was to shoot as the lighting was very difficult to keep the same . He said that 'natural lights is a cinematographers best friend'. Ot was hard to get the lighting right as they had to shot at different times of the day and as it was shot in England in the middle of winter this was very difficult. So they had to use techniques such as blocking out the windows and making sure they were not in the shots.It was also hard as it was filmed over a 2 month periods in several locations. In this film the question was asked 'why is colin firth in focus and background blurred used he said ' it gives the actor context in 1 shot rather than the whole thing being in focus , we did technical aspects to test the best option for taking.

Final Cut ProX 1st impressions

i thought this was much easier to work than final cut express it was easy to follow and to find things the layout was also set out well and clear for making and editing film.i also found it easy as you could watch several things at once when editing.it was also simple cutting and uploading onto this software.i also found it easy to find tools and change transitions it was also good and easy to add sound and audio seperatly.

Assessment Criteria

G321 - Simplified Marking Criteria as 1 Sheet

Film Opening Deception

the strongest feature of this opening is the music and setting work well together they build tension and make it jumpy.the weakest feature is the camera is very shaky and angle shots are abit confusing there is also a shadow of camera person.in the criteria we would rate it as excellent in use of sound with images and editing.they would rate minimal in holding camera steady.The most effective shots where
1. 2 shot shows relationship.
2.panning shot left to right which is also a point of view shot
3.moving point of view shot when he is running
the most effective editing was the transitions from scenes and the sound used as an audio bridge.

About a Boy

About a Boy ( Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz , 2002 )

Opening 3mins.10sec

Box Office

Budget:

 $27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

 £3,747,966 (UK) (28 April 2002) (446 Screens)

Produced by: Universal pictures,studio canal

Distributors: universal pictures ,studio canal,united international pictures.

Gross:

$84,600,000 (Worldwide) (17 November 2002) (except USA)
Ratings : Rotten tomatoes 93%
                  Imdb: 7.2
                  My rating: 8

Wiki , Official Site

Twelve year old Marcus Brewer lives with his chronically depressed single mother, Fiona Brewer. Both Fiona and Marcus beat to their own respective drummers. Marcus will do whatever he can to make his depressed mother happy, even if it causes himself grief. As such, he realizes that he is perceived as different than most kids, as even the self-professed weird kids don't want to hang out with him as he is the target of bullying. Part of the taunts against him are the fact that he sings and speaks to himself without even realizing that he is doing it. Meanwhile, thirty-eight year old Will Freeman is a slacker who has lived comfortably off the royalties of a song written by his deceased father, and as such has never had to work a day in his life. He is a solitary man who places himself as the first and only priority in life. He comes across the idea that dating single moms meets his selfish carnal needs...

The directors are presented together in the opening credits 'A Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz film' They have used this to make there names more well known so its almost like there film regardless of everyone else who took part in the film making and who are perhaps more important than them. At the end of the credits they also have another credit 'directed by Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz'

Hugh Grant is then introduced In bold First as he is more than likely going to be the most well known out of actors to follow in credits.The following credits then follow with main characters in different positions on the screen.The title then follows 'about a boy' the 2 words about and boy are in bold which high lights these words and makes the a not relevant  The other credits then follow with editors etc in groups. At the end of all this it says 'and introducing Nicholas Hault as Marces' this shows he is a new actor.

This is the first shot it is a high angle shot which follows him round the room it is a birds eye view.however this makes the character look smaller but does not make him look weaker it makes Here the sound is Diegetic as we hear the TV as the background.The camera is also on a tilt and is a match on action shot.

this is a mid shot but it is unusual as it is showing him walking. Rather than from head to waist like normal mid shots.He has now started to narrate as he talks about his life.This is also Moving subject it is framed with space to walk into.

This is a medium long shot as it shows the legs but we still have not seen his face yet which gives a sense of mystery. The sound is still diegetic as he plays his voice mails on his answerphone machine.The editing changes in transitions as we are shown his house and the setting.

this is a longshot which creates mood and location.

We have still not been shown his face after 2 mins but we see his body and his mannerisms.The first 2 mins is also just about him. We then have a high angle shot which is an establishing shot introducing the next character.it is a high angle shot which makes the character look vulnerable as soon as the audience meets him.This character then narrates his life.

This is a extreme close up and a point of view shot. It emphasis's emotion.the sound is non diegetic as the character is the voice over / narrator

this shot is a at a high angle and is from a birds eye view. It shows the character is vulnerable and is a repeat of a previous shot.The sound has changes to non diegetic as a sound track is added to the background.

the titles are also still going throughout opening intro.This shot is a closeup it emphasis emotion.The sound is the theme tune to film which is now playing in background it is non digetic and is used as an audio bridge to link scenes together between the 2 characters.

This is a close up .This scene is continuity editing which shows time moving forward as it switches between the 2 characters.It also features some cross cutting between the 2 characters to compare the 2 different ways of life.

This is a long shot as the scene finishes.it is also a mid angle.The titles finish with directors as they started with directors.This scene finishes with the editing transition where we watch the car drive away but then it switches from the car driving away to the closing of the scene where the scene jumps to the next and the credits have stopped

We can tell this is set in England by the actors accents and how the scenes compare the characters 2 different ways of life.We can also tell it is England from the setting such as the weather and the type of housing and the fashion.WE can tell the film  is a modern film from the cars and props used.We can also tell it is a modern from the way of life and by the opening TV playing in the background playing who wants to be a millionaire which we know is recent.

     We can tell the film is going to be sad by the dull colours and how they are already comparing the 2 different ways of life.we can also tell its going to be a serious film with a meaning as it stars Hugh grant as the main character who is typically known for being in films like this but also making it a bit comical.

Completed Swede and reflection

we planned our swede by using a story board we chose shaun of the dead after each person pitched there idea to the class . we all pitched our idea and we chose to do poppys idea shaun of the dead we first decided which scenes are most appropriate as we had little time to so it in we decided on the most well known and funny ones however it was hard as to understand the jokes made in it you have had to of watched previous films such as hot fuzz this is stuart halls theory. we planned 4 scenes but it took longer than we thought to film to make all the props and create characters.




Reflection
i found our swede funny and fun to make. However i do think we could of made it longer the opening credits are longer than the scences we chose.I do think the scenes we chose to swede where good scenes to as they reflected the film well and are the most well known. If we did this again i think we need to think more about the camera angles as we used a variety of shots but not angles our whole video is a mid angle which does not particully reflect the film well.

Pitch

Titanic ( 1997 , James Cameron )

Budget:

 $200,000,000 (estimated)
Production companies:
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , Paramount Pictures , Lightstorm Entertainment 
Release date - 23 January 1998 (UK)
It was featured all over the world.

I think titanic would be a good film to swede as it is so well known and very popular all over the world. It is also a true story and part of British history.It is a very serious film and cost alot to make and is a classic Hollywood film so it would also be good to swede for these reasons. it stars 2 very well known actors / actress who are well known all over the world Leonardo DiCaprio playing jack, Kate Winslet playing rose.The film is about a 101-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukater who tells the story 84 years later to her granddaughter Lizzy Calvert, Brock Lovett, Lewis Bodine, Bobby Buell and Anatoly Mikailavich on the Keldysh about her life set in April 10th 1912, on the famous called Titanic when young Rose boards the departing ship with the upper-class passengers and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and her fiancé, Caledon Hockley. Meanwhile, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets to the ship in a game. And she explains the whole story from departure until the death of Titanic on its first and last voyage April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 in the morning.
To swede these films i would choose the following scenes:
First i would choose the opening song and theme tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQoFHnkgDgo&feature=related
I then would choose the scenes where they uncover the safe and  'women in the picture'and where rose tells her family that is her. For this section i would need props such as a box , a man and 2 women.
i then would so the scene where the boat sets off for this i would need cardboard as a fake boat.
i then would choose the scene where rose is about to jump off the edge 'you jump , i jump' where jack saves her for this i would need 2 people and a rail to symbolise the edge of the boat.
i then would choose where jack and rose go to the party on the lower class part of the ship.

Next i would choose the scene ' flying ' where jack and rose stand on edge of boat for this i would need to people and a rail to act as ship.

I then would choose the scene where jack draws rose for this i would need  paper , pen and 2 people and a sofa.
I then would do the scene where they hit the ice berg for this i would you the cardboard ship and i would need a fake ice berg.
i then would do the scene where people are trying to leave and are getting locked in.for this i would need a door with or window with people banging on it trying to get out. I would need several people for this.Next i would do the scene where the band carry on playing when the ship starts to go down for this i will need instruments or fake instruments and several people to play this part. 

Next i would do the scene where the ship splits in half for this i could use the same cardboard boat again.
and then continue and do the ending where rose and jack are in the sea ' ill never let you go '.
for this i will need to people to do the dialogue.
For the ending i will use the theme tune as rose throws her necklace in the see for this i will need a necklace and water .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saalGKY7ifU
for this swede i will need characters for rose and jack and extras for when the titanic sinks.We can also recreate this anywhere as it all can be filmed inside. As it is so well known the audience will know whats going on.