On the 5th of April we had the privillege of visiting the Working Titles studios. We have the chance to meet Tim Bevan (co-chair of Working Title Films), Debra Hayward (Executive Producer), Sarah Jane Wright (Production Executive), Harriet Spencer (Assistant to Debra Hayward) and Dan Manson (Writer of films such as Borat and Bruno). Each person presented us with a talk which they believe would enhance our knowledge in the film industry and help us with our A level exam.
Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner the owners of Working Title are said to be "two of the most important figures in the British movie industry". It said by an arcticle produced by the BBC entertainment sections that, "Their films have grossed more than $1.8 billion (£1.12 billion) in the last 12 years, and that is a conservative estimate" posted on the16th February 2004.Tim Bevan explain when speaking to us how Working Title Films are funded by Universal in the producing films and the paying of the staff at Working Title. This is highlighted how they are linked to Hollywood in the article above it states how they have always had strong links with Hollywood. This quote shows how they are valued and have links with Universal, "I think anyone in Hollywood would want to do business with these guys," said the former Universal Studios boss Edgar Bronfman Jr, now a chief executive with USA Interactive".
Another factor which was asked when talking to Tim Bevan was piracy and how this affects the film industry? He stated how he believes that the cinema will appeal still to the audience due to the collective enjoyment the cinema experience brings. He also said how piracy generally affects dvd sales rather than box office sales. He said how he believed that online downloading was the way forward and that he thought people would be happy to pay some money towards a film due to the costing to produce it. Shooting can cost from $100'000 to 300'000 per day and therefore, as said by Sarah Jane Wright they are always working against time. Looking at Anotment the film we watched before visiting she stated how it was filmed in 62 days in numberous of locations all in the UK. She said how there was usaully 130 people on a film set. The total cost of the film was 17 million this is consider a reasonly cheap to produce in the film industry. She also highlighted how in the last 2-3 years film drama box office sales have dropped this has lead to Unviersal studios not tending to invest into drama films such as Anotoment.
The 'cut' in the Uk film council was another factor questioned and the impact it would have on working titles. Sarah Jane Wright stated how due to the film council funding small independate companies its has little impact on working titles. However the message the goverment are sending due to this is how they are not reconisging the importance of the film industry.
7 April 2011
30 March 2011
Midsommer Murders
In this piece I am going to state how representation of Englishness has been achieved in the TV series Midsommer Murders. I am going to mainly look into the setting, props and sound.
Throughout the sequences which I watch the setting was one of the main factors were the landscapes showing the traditional English image they were trying to portray. The old thatch cottages which fill the village help to portray a quant and typical English village. The Post Office, Village Hall and Pub also enhanced the English appearance, due to them being very traditional it also helps to give a sense of community to the village. There seem to be a repeat in each series showing several shots of fields and country roads again by doing this it reminds the viewer this typical English image they are trying to achieve.
Props are another key factor which helps to portray this image which the series are trying to create. The picnic baskets, lemonade stalls, flat caps, land drovers, bicycles and horses all show pieces of the ‘English picture’. The old men dressed in checked shirts and driving land drovers present the stereotypical English farmers. By making all the police male this enhanced the old fashion image as it is showing a male dominated society. Also almost all the characters seemed to have a ‘posh’ English accent despite English people knowing how in rural villages people have accents from other films English people are often portray as having ‘posh’ and ‘upper-class’ therefore this is again enhancing this stereotypical idea of England.
Some non deigetic sound commonly used is Classical Music throughout the series this suggests a peaceful setting which a small English village is meant to have. Deigetic sound used are birds and leaf rustling these help to enhance this countryside image which again reflects to typical England.
Overall through looking at the key factors of representation it uses peoples expectation of ‘Englishness’ rather than focusing on making the series realistic to England. Despite this the show still has a sense of Englishness even though it’s a stereotypical old fashion one.
2 February 2011
Narrative Theories
There are many different theories to the story which a series or a film consists of. Below i am going to state some of the main theories which i am aware of.
Claude Levi-Straus
He looked at the narrative structure in the terms of binary oppositions, this is where two opposite values reveal the structure of a media text. An example of this would be good and evil, known or unknown and dark and light. Though he mainly looked at his binary oppositions theory he was also interested in the order of events happened within the plot.
Vladimir Propp
His theory consists of the idea that the narrative and characters are of a similar structure. He thought the characters within a narrative consists of
The Hero – a character that seeks something
The Villain – who opposes or actively blocks the hero’s quest
The Donor – who provides an object with magical properties
The Dispatcher – who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message
The False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s success by making false claims
The Helper – who aids the hero
The Princess – acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villain’s plots
The Father – who acts to reward the hero for his effort
Tzvetan Todorov
His theory was the simplest. He believed that at the beginning of the narrative the story begins as it should be this is known as the state of equilibrium. Then the narrative is distributed in someway this is known as disequilibrium. Then a solution is created to end the narrative therefore creating a new equilibrium.
Roland Barthes
His theory states that a narrative can be broken down into 5 sections. This consists of
Claude Levi-Straus
He looked at the narrative structure in the terms of binary oppositions, this is where two opposite values reveal the structure of a media text. An example of this would be good and evil, known or unknown and dark and light. Though he mainly looked at his binary oppositions theory he was also interested in the order of events happened within the plot.
Vladimir Propp
His theory consists of the idea that the narrative and characters are of a similar structure. He thought the characters within a narrative consists of
Tzvetan Todorov
His theory was the simplest. He believed that at the beginning of the narrative the story begins as it should be this is known as the state of equilibrium. Then the narrative is distributed in someway this is known as disequilibrium. Then a solution is created to end the narrative therefore creating a new equilibrium.
Roland Barthes
His theory states that a narrative can be broken down into 5 sections. This consists of
- Action code
- Enigma code
- Semantic code
- Referential code
- Symbolic code
13 January 2011
Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze
Laura Mulvey was a British feminist she is well know for creating the theory called 'Male Gaze'. Her theory was highly influenced by Freud and is key to the feminist film movement. She states that in films women are merely used to provide visual pleasure to men. In casting this would be highlighted as they often selected women who were seen as beautiful or sexy making them seem as an object to be looked at rather than being appreciated for there acting skills.
5 January 2011
What is TV drama?
There are many different types of TV drama. Below i have listed some of them.
- The Bill
- Doctor Who
- Born and Bred
- Neighbours
- Hollyoaks
- Eastenders
- The Interbetweeners
- Misfits
- One Tree Hill
- Doctors
- Hotel Babylon
- Misfits - this is an example of a comedy and sci fi drama
- Ugly Betty - this is an example of a romance and comedy drama
- CSI and The Bill - are examples of a crime drama
- Hollyoaks - this is an example of a soap drama
- Doctor Who - this is an example of a sci fi drama
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)