Film Company

My film company is called 'The Royal Film Production Company.' My film logo is a film strip and inbetween the pieces of film are the British flag to represent that it is a uk based company. To create my logo I have used Adobe Illustrator.

Here is my logo








Other information

-London based, independent film company 

-Main funding from BBC Films

-Main studio is called 'Royal Film House' in Islington, London 

-Latest films include 'The Christmas Holiday' and 'The Escape' 

-Films shown in Arthouse Cinema's across the UK 

Examples of British Independent Film Companies 

-Vertigo Films http://www.vertigofilms.com/

-Scenario Films http://www.scenariofilms.com/

-Patchwork Productions oductions/Welcome.htm

http://www.patchwork-productions.co.uk/patchwork_prloductions/Welcome.htm

Film influences

Examples 

Inglorious Basterds 

On the top right hand corner is an image from the opening credits of 'Inglourious Basterds.' This gave me the idea to have chapter divisions in my film as well as having Curior New be the main font for my opening title. This is to firstly reflect on the fact the story is told from a diary and secondly having an old font, curior being used since the days of the type writer also implies that use of a diary is now considered an old fashioned thing to do.

London to Brighton 

In the top middle is a picture of Joanne, the main character from the film. Joanne was the basis of my character Emily. This is because in London to Brighton there is a lot of emphasise in her age, Kelly constantly saying to Derek, 'She's just a kid.' Whilst Emily is not nearly as young as Joanne, Emily's young age is important as it implies that she is innocence and living in tough conditions with spiteful people highlights that. Her age is what makes the audience sympathise her. 

Fish Tank 

In my next example I have been inspired by the mise-en-scene, firstly by the setting and secondly by the costume and make up. Fish Tank is set mostly in a dreary East London estate. From the very beginning it is clearly a lower class area with fights and drug addicts everywhere you turn. In my film there would be a contrast in the setting. The beginning shows Emily living in a very sheltered middle class estate in London. Then she gets chucked out and into a dangerous world where she has to fight her own battles. The iconography of the setting will be tower blocks and graffiti walls. Mia's costume will mainly be the basis for other characters costumes, particularly those Emily meets whilst on the streets. They will where the iconic hoody and baggy pants. 

Lilya 4-ever 

Here I was also inspired by the costume. Lilya generally where's the same black puff coat throughout the entire film, it is the clothing she where's at the beginning/end as well. I think the fact that she wears a coat throughout the film is a memory of her old life. This is why I want Emily to be wearing a fancy coat to remind the audience of where she comes from. 

Eden Lake 

In the bottom middle there is an example where the main character Jenny has been faced with some bloody violence and is now covered with blood. It has a very realistic look to it firstly because the blood is not overly done and secondly by the colour, it is a paler red mixed with dark blood often associated with vampires and other horror movie creatures. I want to achieve this look, particularly in the last shot where Emily is staring directly at the camera because the blood is the main subject. This is simply because in order to be a social realist film everything most look as realistic as possible. 

Shifty 

My last example is from Shifty. Whilst Shifty actually lives in a middle class environment his drug dealing often requires him to go into much rougher places. Again, like Fish tank, it is the iconography of these rough London estates that I want to include in my film. 

Musical influences

The style of music will change depending on the scene. If it is a tender moment then I will use more classical influences but if it is a scene where she is out with a group of people taking drugs and alcohol which essentially means that she is having a good time, then I would place some urban and dance music. I have included examples I have taken inspiration from. A mixture of these sounds would be used for the rest of the film.

Classical  

This is a video of the song Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell which features in the emotionally overwhelming film 'Requiem for a Dream' directed by Darren Aronofsky. This epic film track inspired my second piece by using big, dramatic string instruments and the use of a choir which use their vocals to create a similar melody.

This is a video for the classical piece known as 'Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, Act 1: Dance of the Knights.' This is a very famous piece most commonly known for serving as the theme tune on the BBC 1 show 'The Apprentice' as well as a musical accompanier for a ballet show. Again here, it is the big orchestral and string sound I have taken note of.

Dance 

This is a track called 'The Ride by Double N and features in the soundtrack for Lilya 4-ever, a film I have spoken about in earlier posts. It has a very europhic sound to it and I thought I could use this sound to reflect on the main setting London, which is of course a European city. Also, this is the kind of dance music I am most attracted too so I wanted to find any excuse to use it in my film. 

Uk Garage/Hip Hop

As a child, I was raised in Enfield which is a very Urban environment  This was also the time that UK Garage was at an all time high and this song is one of those I remember the most, so I thought it would be a very appropriate sound to include in my film as it reflects on my own experiment of living in that kind of area thus making it more personal and more approachable to me.

Development

Before I decided on my idea I started to consider film genres I knew I could achieve with a low budget making notes on archetypes and other films that have used these clichéd ideas. 

Once I had chosen to look at the social realist genre I thought about the key components in more detail.  

Lastly I made notes on the film itself such as the characters and the structure. I took pictures of my notes with a camera.

Film Treatment

Emily's diary 

Opening scene

The opening scene of my film is also the build up to what would be the last scene, meaning that the film has a non linear structure. There will be however, a flashback at the beginning before the titles revealing vague information about why Emily has left home. This flashback shows Emily being kicked out by her mother and walking out completely distort. Then the titles appear and after the titles we see Emily writing what is potentially her last diary entry reflecting on the past year which she has been homeless. The last few moments of this scene show her walking to her death, however. It cuts off just before to leave a sense of curiosity for the viewer. 

Film Opening analysis

Eden Lake

Eden Lake is a 2008 British horror film written and directed by James Watkins. The stars of this film are Kelly Riley and Michael Fassbender. 
 

The opening scene is called The State of Our Nation and combines both the opening titles as well as introducing the main characters, Jenny and Steve. The film starts at their departure to Eden Lake for a romantic weekend. It also establishes tension between them and the teenagers. Once they finally get to the lake at first it is lovely, but their weekend is soon spoilt by a group of teenagers who also hang out on the beach. Steve tries to make peace with them and share the beach to both of their liking but the teenagers are less than understanding and once Steve accidentely kills  Brett's dog, Brett wants revenge on Steve and Jenny. He is out to kill them. 
 

What I like about the title sequence is that it foreshadows the events that are going to happen later in the film. It also gives us a sense of place and what genre the film is. 

1) 

This is the first shot in the sequence which tells us the name of the film company "Roller Coaster Films." But for me the main thing to notice here is the colour of the lettering which is bright red. This is really significant as right from the beginning you are warned that there will be blood. Red also symbolises danger so it could also  reflects the main characters fate. 

2)

This can be treated as an establishing shot. Right away, we are aware of the main location. Also, although usually we would find this kind of scenery rather relaxing, the music in the background is very unsettling and you just know that this place is going to be where the main violence takes place. 

3)

The way the lighting moves on the font is like waves. This again, emphasises that the setting is by a lake.

4)

This is the second time we see the main character Jenny. Although the first shot is very quick and if it weren't for the scream that emphasised her presence, most would probably miss it. This shot lasts a little bit longer, but not that longer. Here, there is a close up on her face focussing on the blood. It could also be classified as a reaction shot as their is a very powerful expression on her face. 

5)

This is the last shot of the title sequence and finally tells us the name of the film "Eden Lake." This again is a very dark shot with blood red font but there is soon a contrast of colour which changes the mood in the next shot. I think the contrast is a form of light relief before things start to get really gritty. 

6)

As you can see there is a major contrast of colour with both the children and Jenny wearing pinks, blues, yellows ect. This is also where we start to get to know Jenny. Here we are told what her job is (nursery/primary school teacher)

7)

This is the first time we see Steve (Jenny's boyfriend). The shot tells us many things about his character. His car, designer sun classes and the expensive looking engagement ring tells us that he is well off. The way he is dressed suggests that he has a classy job. Also the fact that he has an engagement ring tells us that he is in a serious, romantic relationship with Jenny. 

8)

As they are driving the radio is playing in the background and there is a discussion about parents failing to look after their children thus leading them to have bad behaviour. This foreshadows the conflict between Jenny and Steve and the teenagers. 

9)

After a group of teenagers rudely cycled past Steve just as he was about to go, he was put in a bad mood and the shot establishes the tension that will soon be risen later. This is where the opening scene ends. 

Preliminary Exercise Final Cut

Overall I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

For this exercise we did not focus on the story but on what we needed to get done for example, there were certain techniques we were told to include such as match on action and eyeline matching. We focussed more on the technical side of this like getting the camera angles right and the continuity of the video perfect.

I would say on a personal level that I made an average contribution to my group. This is because I did not take part in the filming, however. I did watch as they filmed the exercise and expressed my opinion eg. if I think they needed to do another take or if they needed to move the camera. My main input came from the editing. Although I did have a lot of help from more experienced students they let me take over a lot of the time and also their help made me learn how to do things which otherwise I would not know.

At the moment I think that I am more skilled in editing. I would like to have more practice on the camera though but in my group people did argue over who should be working with the camera and I personally did not mind at the time what I did.