Friday 9 December 2016

independant film

David Brent: Life on the road.


  • David Brent: life on road made around $5,511,343 or around £4,371,549.
  • It is a sequel to the very popular tv mockumentry 'The Office' very famous from 2001-2003.
  • Ricky Gervais did a method in advertising where he only showed positive feedback and blanked out all negative. I.E. he shared hundreds of positive reviews all over his twitter.
  • Despite it being a success within the Uk markets, as expected, you can consider it to be a flop within the Australian market, making only around $AU379,118 in its first week after being shown in 219 Australian screens.
  • I believe that this film was not as successful in Australia as the amount of advertisement that Life on the road did in Australia was drastically less than the amount the did within the UK.
  • Also David Brent has lost its factor that makes the film relatable to the audience.
  • 61% Approval Rating on rotten tomatoes
  • Idependant film

Wednesday 7 December 2016

US Blockbuster

                                                                      Deadpool

  •  Deadpools budget was around 58 million USD which is relatively low budget for a super hero movie. 
  • Not only did it have Ryan Reynolds starring as deadpan, it also featured Ed Skrein and Morena Baccarin who has featured in Gotham city so fans of these actors will come and see deadpan due to the recognisable names in the superhero scene. 
  • Deadpool featured many different types of genres in it from Romance to comedy, to action to science fiction. 
  • the film made around $760 million which is more than they were originally expecting form a Deadpool film.
  • The production company for the film was the well known 20th century fox 
  • The main audience for this film were young adults and fans of Marvel/X-men comics.This is because the rating for the movie is 15 rating.
  • As Deadpool was a marvel based movie , there was lots of advertisement and hype around the film. The main focus of the advertisements were on the trailer getting on tv.
  • This film was released in Feburary 10th in the UK




  • .The trailer for Deadpool was a huge success on its own getting around 42 million views and got people extremely excited about the film, leading to people speaking about the film an very quickly word spread about the movie.
  • On the website IMDB Deadpool was given a rating of 8.1/10 so people who were initially sceptical about seeing the film will now be enticed to see it.
  • Deadpool had one of the most interesting promotional campaigns of recent times from Ryan Reynolds massaging Conan O'brien with Panda tears to Deadpool having his own Tinder account to engage the public
  • Deadpool was in the 20 films nominated for the special effects oscar meaning that it would attract more people to the film
  • Deadpool got a good reputation for having good special effect team so it made more people watch it after all the reviews came out.
  • on the trailer for deadpool, there is a lot of visual effects that entices people as it seems like an all action film that a lot of people like in the modern world of film.
  • the fact that you cannot tell that cgi is even used in the film and how reading upon it, it seems that a lot of people were surprised to see how much of he fight scenes actually were shows great skill in the cgi creators.
  • The vfx make the scene go from a regular fight scene to a fighting spectacle.

Friday 11 November 2016

short film and analysis



Our group did a short horror/ thriller sequence of a man stalking a woman and eventually bringing her to her doom. The lighting for the casual parts where highly but as the clips sped up and the drums became more vivant the lighting shifts to low-key. As the victim in this sequence becomes more trapped the video becomes more blurry. We decided to do this as it seems as if you are in the same situation as the character and it shows how panicky she is how everything is a blur. We used many different types of hots form long shots to close ups, to high shots to low shots. We used a key hole shot which is intertextuality of the film 'The Devils Backbone' to create more tension within the shot.

Friday 4 November 2016

2 scenes on the shining



This scene starts of with a tracking shot going backwards of Jack walking up the stairs at the same speed as the character. This is done as it makes it seem more eery if you are following him, knowing that he is up to do something bad, creating tension between the viewer and the scene. The colour yellow is most prominent here. Yellow is known for spontaneousness and unstableness so this scene could be relating to what is going on in her mind. The part where Jack is hacking down the door with an axe is where you see him take up the power position, where he decides whether or no his wife lives. The part where he is axing down the door shows the woman screaming for her life showing how deranged jack had become as it is almost as if he enjoyed hearing this. The scene where he pokes his head through the gap of the axe broken door and says "here's Johnny" is a referance to a famous tv show host Johnny Carson. The close-up of Jacks face allows you to see all of his emotions and almost allows you to stare directly into his eyes to see his madness.

The next scene is of jack following Wendy up the stairs very slowly. Although Jack seems to be the more dominant character throughout the movie, in this scene Wendy is higher up the stairs than Jack showing that she has the power in this situation, coupled by her holding the weapon over jack showing her dominance. The shot initially begins with a tracking shot at the same time as the two characters walking up the stairs it is shot using a hand held camera to make to make the scene seem a lot more interactive with the audience and to allow the person watching to feel what it is like to be in the situation. It goes from a point of view from jack to and overhead shoulder shot. The shot could have been changed to make it so that you see how jack is looking up to Wendy and how Wendy is looking down at Jack. When someone looks down it can be because they are intimidated or they simply do not want to look someone in the face. This could symbolise that Wendy feels Jack is being aggressive and assertive which is backed up by the facial expression of grunting teeth. The rule of thirds is prominent as it switches to Wendy being in the middle to Jack being in the middle of the shot indication how Jack has taken over, perhaps a metaphor for the way that Jack took over Wendy's life and sent her to a hotel in the middle of nowhere.

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Essay on Kill Bill shots

Shot 1 is a shot of the bride walking backwards through the church. You could see many different things in the background that are wedding related whether it be the pews of a church or the woman in the bridal dress. This sets the scene to people watching. The woman seems to be smiling whilst walking past everyone showing that she is currently happy. half way through the shot you begin to hear a flute playing in the background as a non-diegetic sound. This shot is filmed by Tracking backwards at the same pace as the woman walking through the church. Shot 2 is a view of a doorway looking outside the church in a central position on the screen. As the doorway is shown the music changes to a more eerie music as if things are not as normal as they had first seemed. This shot is from the point of view of the bride. This is perhaps done to give you a closer relationship to the woman. The door is shot using a long-shot technique. This is done as when you enjoy something it seems to go by fast and if it not fun it goes by slowly. By making it a long-shot it makes it seem further away and shows she is filled with dread.

The next shot is of the woman looking down at the man playing the flute. This is done because through the speech you can tell that he is an intimidating man and by her looking down at him, it shows that today is her day and she is in control. It is a closeup of both faces to show the emotion and to get more personal with the viewer. The shot then transitions to one of the man putting the flute down. He does this very cautiously and to me this shows lots of respect for the woman. It also tells me that he wants to behave and to grant the bride her wish of being nice. This is shot in mid shot this is done because these two characters are just chatting casually making the viewer more relaxed.  
The shots then move to shot reverse shot as the two characters are moving closer and closer together. To me this shows that the two characters are becoming more comfortable with each other the more that they chat. As it shows the panning to right to left for the bride and left to right for the man it goes at the same speed as the two characters and is a low shot. This is a good way to show the tension as they are never in the same shot until this point.

The scene where the two characters are face to face lasts for around 1 min 15 secs. I believe that they have done this as it makes it see like the whole sequence has been shot in one continuous shot making the person watching have a more personal and a lot more concentrated view of each individual character. They may also do this as if they are speaking for a long time it engages the audience into what they are actually saying rather than the different shot types.

Monday 10 October 2016

inglorious basterds


In this opening shot, we see two guards wearing nazi uniforms which sets the time period whilst also giving the guards a bad image. This scene is shot in a mid-long shot allowing the viewer to see the surrounding objects. We also see that the man who walks from the room is also wearing a Nazi uniform however, this is white symbolising importance of the character. It is shot using a eye-level camera angle making the viewer the same level as the male in white. The camera then begins to track backwards at the same speed as the man, allowing us to see more of the surroundings. This enables the audience to notice that the colour red is prominent. This could symbolise Danger, Love, Anger. The lighting used in this scene is spotlights. The man in the white is walking in and out of the spotlights which could show his uncertainty on what he is going to do. This sequence uses non-diegetic sound which helps create tension.


The shot is an extreme close up of a golden bell ringing. This foreshadows that it is time for something to happen. This scene creates tension as the audience questions if it is something good or bad. The music used supports this as it is uses non-diegetic in the build up to the bell ringing. The diegetic sound of the bell then starts the louder non-diegetic sound as music quickens creating the feeling of danger. The lighting used also supports this as it is low-key making the scene more eerie.



This is a close-up shot of the woman's hand. you can tell that she is wearing red. The lighting is   Low-key and shone from the back/left side of the screen. This puts emphasis on the colour red reflecting on the females hand, suggesting that she has blood on her hands as the colour red is a symbol of evil.  It uses both diegetic and non-diegetic however the non-diegetic sounds are more prevalent. The shots are increasing in pace as the music becomes louder. This will quicken the pace of the action in the sequence creating anticipation for the person watching.



The next shot is a straight cut to a mysterious man we know nothing about. He has a very serious persona and is shown smoking a cigarette. This shot is obeying the rule of thirds with his head being directly in the centre of the frame. It is filmed using a mid-wide shot showing him on the other side of the screening, implying how he has been segregated not only in the theatre but also in his everyday life due to the beliefs of nazi Germany. Through the mid-wide shot you can see that he is smoking, whilst stood in front of flammable film reel, showing how he no longer has the desire to care. This shot is using the same type of lighting as the first shot showing similarity with the man in white, however the mise-en-scene shows the vast contrast between the two male characters. The black man is wearing a dirty uniform with no badges whilst the white man is wearing a pristine white uniform with numerous badges. This is ironic as white is meant to show purity, the complete opposite to the morals the man in white holds.



The shot shown is of the man in white walking up the stairs in a frantic manner. It uses a low-key back light to outline the silhouette of 'Frederick' making the shot seem more mysterious. In the shot the colour scheme is white red and black, the same colours of the nazi organisation. The marching sound is then heard as he walks up the stairs. This could advocate that he is going to war with this woman in the film room, in which later we find out he loses his life. The frame is exposed via a low angle showing power within the man. It transitions from a mid-long shot to a long shot as he progresses up the stairs.




This shot is a continuation of the previous shot, but is juxtaposed. I say this because,  in this shot they use high-key lighting and also it is shot from a high angle showing that the closer to the woman he gets the more vulnerable. Shown here is a warning that something may happen in this sequence which shows him being weak.


This next shot is an over shoulder shot looking at the female characters face that is reluctant to looking into the mans eyes. This is a sign that this is a one way relationship. It is shot with a hand held camera which could make the scene more realistic almost as if your there listening to their conversation. It is shot with a mid-close up allowing you to see the vast difference in clothes. The woman is wearing a very low V-neck skin tight dress whilst the man is in his uniform, again another indication of the time this sequence was set as the woman are seemingly more objectified than the man. The lighting is high-key for the man and less high-key for the woman perhaps a sign that this character is about to commit something that is lower than the morale of the average person, perhaps why the lighting is lower than the mans. Shot reverse shot is used to show the difference between the two characters emotion, whereas the man is trying to impress the woman in reality she seems quite uninterested.
This is the shot of where the woman is aiming her weapon at the man whilst his back is turned. The dress is reflecting off of her face making her face bright red. This could have been done as what she is about to do will make her evil. The colour red could also symbolise leadership. She could have been standing up to all the people that the man said he had killed at the beginning of this sequence. The lighting is now low-key so that the red dress and face is more personified and so that you can focus on the woman with the gun rather than some of the mise-en scene. It is shot at eye level to make the scene get more personal with the people watching as this is quite a hard hitting scene.


The next shot is one of the movie based on the man who had just got shot life. The irony in this scene is that the movie is showing a soldier shooting ordinary people but in the previous scene the roles are switched where the normal woman is shooting the soldier. This is shot from the woman's point of view which allows you to see what she is seeing. Her watching this scene at the cinema seems to make her regret what she did, leading to her own downfall. This shows how easily the Nazi organisation could influence people as they have used this film to make a horrible man seem like an innocent one.























This is a shot of the man in the white suit laying on the floor. The camera angle used is a low angle that makes it seem that he is stood over the top of the woman, when in reality he is laying shot on the floor. This makes it seem that he is still somehow getting the 'last laugh'. They have used focus so that the suit and the gun is out of focus but the mans face is in focus showing a rather mean and evil looking face almost as if he had taken off that nice mask that we saw at the beginning of the sequence and we now see the true him. 







The final shot is of the woman staring into the camera after being shot herself. The way that she is starring into the camera and into the viewers eyes it's like you have a deeper connection with this character, despite never seeing her before. low-key lighting is used on one half of her face and high key lighting is used on the other. The side facing towards the heavens is high key and the side facing towards hell is low key. This is a close up of her face showing an emotion that almost shows relief. Notice that we do not then see the mans face showing that maybe he had not emotion as if he was soulless. The camera is eye level to help the viewer grasp the true significance of the scene. 

Tuesday 20 September 2016

500 word horror essay:Hush


Horror film 500 word essay: HUSH
The horror film that I will be writing my essay on is Hush. Hush is about a deaf woman who moves out to live in solidarity when a masked killer appears in the window threatening to brake in and causes mass fear. The film uses lots of worm eye camera angles whenever the masked killer is on screen and doing something. This is used to make the man in the mask seem more intimidating and to show who has power in this situation. It also shows how the woman feels inside that she is helpless from this more powerful being.
The film uses majority low-key lighting as there is lots of darkness in every single shot. This could be used to make the scenes where she is walking round the house seem eerier and almost as if anything can happen at any moment in the film. This is also used as it is a great way to show that this deaf female character is always in danger even if she doesn’t know it yet building up suspension in the film.
In scenes where the man in the mask is toying with the main character by scratching and banging on the wall knowing that she can’t hear him for her to find that is threatening her without her realizing, there is lots of bottom or side lighting used on his face to show that this character is the intimidating one and to show the evil within the characters facial features e.g. his eyes.
The film is edited to make it seem like it is shot in one continues shot where as in fact it wasn’t. This could indicate that she is always in danger and that there is no moment that is safe. I believe that the director used this effect as in a horror film if a character is being chased then it cut scenes the viewer is allowed to shuffle to the back of their seats again. If there is no obvious cut scenes then the viewer is always on the edge of their seat.
Every colour in the film is grey and dark which sets the mood of doom and gloom giving you the impression that nothing good will happen. The director could have done this as when it is dark it makes you have to concentrate harder on the screen so not only are you more involved but you will be scared more by things like jump scares. He also could have done this as most people watch horror films late on at night so if he uses a dark colour scheme it will make the viewer start perhaps seeing things related to the film after watching it.

The film uses a lot of non-diegetic sounds like the music build up in the background. This is used in the film to make it more suspenseful and to create an overall better viewing quality for those at home. Also this will allow the editors to get the exact content that they want from the film.

Favourite summer film

Favourite film of summer 2016
My personal favourite film of the summer was David Brent: Life on the road. This was almost the conclusion to the very popular fictional TV series ‘The Office’ which aired on BBC 2 during 2001 to late 2003. The film followed David Brent on his journey of a 3 week tour with his new band ‘Foregone Conclusion – Mark 2’. The film continued on with the original format of a documentary styled comedy that showed to be so successful with the original TV series. Ricky Gervais starred in the film, playing the character David Brent, probably his most memorable role and my personal favourites!
The film is predominantly about David Brent himself and how he is the most socially awkward man in the Universe. He tries so hard to be liked throughout the film but does so by trying to buy friends rather than make them. He can’t stop paying extortionate prices for pretty much everything in an attempt to impress his fellow band members, such as putting the band up in numerous hotel and getting a tour bus when all of their gigs are only a few miles from where he lives! Additionally in his over the top attempts to prove to everyone around him how anti-discriminatory he is he ends up saying the most offensive things possible, upsetting or embarrassing everyone in the process. For example in one scene he sings about dwarfism and that ‘even though they are small it’s not OK to pick them up’, leaving everyone in the crowd flabbergasted. 
Personally I liked this film as I am a really big fan of ‘The Office’ and whilst watching the movie, it was almost as if I was watching one of the original episodes. There was the same level of awkwardness shown in the TV series and if anything more bone idleness than ever before! Although many say that Ricky Gervais is limited in terms of his acting skills I believe that he has always been adaptable to different characters whether it be an autistic care-home worker in Derek or an everyday bloke trying to make it as a big time movie star in Extras. However in my opinion this film shows Ricky Gervais at his very best and reminded me why I first started to watch him in the first place.  As I was watching this movie in the cinema I believe that I had a constant grin on my face and I was focused purely on the film through enjoyment.  The ending of the film shows almost a sense of normality about David as he seems to leave starting a meaningful relationship with a woman based on her liking him.

In conclusion this is my favourite film of this summer because it leaves you with a feel good factor and the film is full of funny and heart-warming moments all throughout. The film overall is a fantastic conclusion to ‘The Office’ and hopefully this is not the end in the David Brent saga.

Deadpool 500 word essay

How Deadpool became a box office success.
There are numerous reasons as to why Deadpool became a box office success. One of these reasons is that the main actor in the movie, the one who plays Deadpool, is Ryan Reynolds who is well known from his roles in Green lantern, X-men Origins and many more. The two movies mentioned are also superhero movies. The fact that Ryan Reynolds has previously starred in Superhero movies shows how he is well known in this sector of film and people who are big fans of previous titles will want to see the movie.
Another reason why Deadpool was a box office success was that they had a production value of 58million US dollars, a value that many films can only dream of having. This allows the film to have more special effects and a more realistic feel to the movie, creating a better viewing experience. As they also had so much money in production it will allow the title to advertise a lot more and get themselves out there for the public which allows more people to talk about Deadpool and allows the word to get across.
Deadpool was released on February 10th 2016 and whilst this movie was out there were not very many noticeable films on showing at the cinemas. The only other well-known title was Zoolander 2. This means that when people are looking at what to watch in the cinema they will lean towards Deadpool as they may not have seen the first Zoolander or may fancy watching the film that everyone’s talking about. The fact that there was not really another noticeable film out at the time meant that Deadpool had no direct competition meaning that it was doing  a lot better than all the other films at the time as it was the only good one on the cinema.
The quality of this film was outstanding with it winning multiple awards such as MTV award for best fight scene, Kerrang! Award for best film and best comedic performances. This meant that because they were in the limelight for having good quality and winning awards it makes more people want to go and watch it.
As Deadpool is part of Marvel it was always going to be success based on how successful Marvel is as a brand. Everyone who watches the Marvel series or reads the Marvel comics will make Deadpool a must see as it is part of one of the biggest film franchises of all time, including Spiderman, Iron Man and many others. This is the first in the Deadpool franchise and at this rate I can see there being numerous more.

The Soundtrack of Deadpool is majority filled with Rock and Roll music which in my opinion is key as to why the film feels so in your face. The soundtrack was also released around the same time as the movie so that people who enjoyed the movies soundtrack can buy it separately meaning that even more money was generated from the film.