BFI trip notes:

Audience's cinema views:

Prestige - Very educational, films that have purpose of more than just for recreational viewing

Arthouse - Usually low budget, and focuses more on the art of filming, including cinematography, narrative, plot, etc

Multiplex - Very mainstream films, total opposite of prestige, but quite similar to arthouse, not including the low-budget build

Prestige and arthouse films work very well with sub-genres such as social realism - people can really relate, and as a result it appeals to them, rather than appealing from the film arts aspect and so.

Filming companies as of now:

Two companies, Warp Films & Vertigo have sort of pioneered the British film industry.

Warp films - Company based in Sheffield, UK, and also has a franchise in Melbourne, Australia

Vertigo films - Company formed in June, 2002 and has notable movies produced by them

Photoshop tutorials I am going to apply:

Hunting Season - it's that time of the year, again...

It's that time of the year, again. You could say its an animal documentary being replayed over and over again, but the deeper roots of the violent nature that British, teenager gangs hold is much more surreal. Gang life is not a choice, it is a lifestyle to survive. Survive the hunting season, where predator and prey meet. 

Immerse into the London gang life. Drugs, guns, drama, violence is what haunts those in the hunting pack. These tortured souls will end life without hesitation, it is their duty to keep themselves on top of the food chain. They will smoke on their cancer sticks, shoot if even irritated, and serve as a catalyst in the sadistic game. They are ruthless dogs that have no feeling or emotion.  

Hunting Season - the cast

Meet Hunting Season's Malik - a former gang member that has been in redemption, however his killer instinct still doesn't keep him away. He's left the gang, but the gang hasn't left him one bit. Malik who walks with his friend, Lucas - a former drug trafficker is traumatized from his reminders in the very tunnel they walk on. The ultra-violence once happened in the tunnel, and the dead souls still wander and haunt him. 

The don, Donald Price "Don". The godfather of the gang. Respected by all. He's notorious for endless crimes, and he's just the bigger image behind the happenings. He had once sent mercenaries to kill Malik in the way tunnel him and Lucas walk on...

Hunting Season - the crew 

The film production crew offers all realistic conventions of the British gang life. The editing has been shown to draw people in more for the sinister life that gangs offer. Each perfectly placed shot, each perfect detail, and each perfect motion offers the experience. It explores the deeper things that go on, rather than the surface of things. It truly tries to appeal from a cinematic perspective in order to make the true face of gang life as interesting as it already is. Explicit material is also shown, in order to emphasize the unknown agriculture. 

12D: MEST2 Progress report:

Work completed since January, 6th:

All pre-production work, including script, storyboard, shot-list and mis-en-scene are up to date. Plus, we have finished filming the intro scene, refined each version of each shots, and picked each out.

Any incomplete pre-production tasks:

Some of the storyboard's descriptions and shot-list may not comply with each other, however the differences are very little or change that doesn't essentially change the scene, at all. As a result, some changes were not made.

Next steps/Action plan:

Plan to finish shooting the actual scene of the movie, not just the intro which we have done so far. In addition, move shooting locations. Also, if there are problems with the storyboard and shot list, we can also take action on those two. 

Date filming will be complete:

At the very latest, at the end of half term.

Tsotsi - review:

'Tsotsi' is about a teenage, gangster criminal known as Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae). His violent gang nature and associations come into play when he gets into a fight with Boston, a fellow gang member (Mothusi Magano). His intentions are clear and fights with Boston, then runs off into the night. when seizing the chance to steal a automobile and shooting the driver. He realizes the driver's baby is within the back. He takes the baby back to his house in an isolated territorial division, where he is safe to keep the baby in safe hands, simply outside city. The baby sort of has made things worse as the story progresses, as he is values the child more, so being more protective, hence more violent in respect of rough areas that they live in.

Music used in the film helped really suture the audience, especially during fight scenes, or after or before. Storyline wise, realism of the plot was something that some of the audience could really relate to, and the director (Gavin Hood) definitely has reached out to people emotionally, and that is what makes the film so significant and remarkable. Each character showed struggles and what they have and don't have, examples such as scenes with homeless children in front of a background of skyscrapers and Time Square-like lights with BMWs and Mercedes cars bring to attention the cruelty and the unfairness of everyday life for the poor. It really shows how the roots of gang life can occur in a person, showing that it is not a choice, but a reason to survive. 

Cinematography wise, locations have been chosen to be very authentic, ultimately adding to the realism of the film and supports its connection with the audience. The color corrections used also help emphasize the emotions created, colors are very yellowish, but they look genuine, just like in real life.

MEST 2, Print Brief:

Photoshoot:

1. The main characters are Malik, Lucas and Donald - they are of course going to appear in the front cover of the programme as the whole premise of the film revolves around those characters, specifically. 
2. Images needed on the contents page would be such as themes and conventions that link to the film's plot, so something like Malik, Lucas and Donald standing side to side of each other, or someone grabbing hold of the protagonist from behind, drawing a gun or knife.
3. The double-paged spread will include images such as low-key lighting for a chiaroscuro effect, as well as the light facing back to where the protagonist, creating a silhouette effect, and ultimately raising lots of enigma for the reader.

1. Shotlist:

• Medium-shot: Protagonist and antagonist beside each other, folding their arms
• Close up: Protagonist getting gripped from behind, shot type is to emphasize facial expression
• Medium-long shot: Protagonist getting chased by a gangster, showing full body of both
• Extreme close-up: Eyes of the protagonist with the iris/pupils displaying images of the situation
• Long shot: Showing silhouette effect, full body shot

Costume, props or make-up:

Costumes are going to be very straight forward for our film. We will be wearing things that follow young, gangster, British life, and conventionally speaking, this would mean things such as tracksuits, preferably from a sports brand. Caps may be used too, for enigma codes.

And props are:

• Handbag
• Toy gun
• Torch
• Cigarette 
• Baseball bat
• Anything that substitutes a knife

Preparation for the Wednesday, 20th January, photo shoot:

Preparation obviously includes all those things mentioned above are agreed with the group, a final decision. Props wise, some of the things listed are still yet to be in our hands.

Research:

1.)

This BFI Film Festival programme front cover definitely includes:

• Title of publication - written in big, bold letters to state the programme. Made more appealing through the use of font colours, too.
• Colour scheme - as mentioned before, fonts have bright, vibrant colours that possibly look like fireworks, and this is very well fitting as we associate this with a "festival"
• Language -  as mentioned on the convention notes, it is 'economical' because it states "in partnership with" "American Express". Very snappy too as it states it's business and it's business, only 
• Date - states the film festival's date, and is clearly written

2.)  5 arts centre or cinema programmes/brochures:

This BFI brochure of 2015 definitely has experimented with the use of different colours a lot, and the color scheme is what they're usually known to use. However this brochure in particular from them has instead used models that has the colourful scheme applied, different to the usual text.

  

Another BFI brochure, but instead this is for horror movies. Obvious conventions such as the sinister, pitch black image background support it's genre. However the main thing I will be taking from this brochure is the sort of distorted, "drugged" vision (the gate), in order to emphasize it's unsettling and perhaps violent nature.



This film brochure has unusual conventions and an unusual colour scheme. It portrays a picture of a toy bear, wearing a bucket hat, and race-cars and race-bikes - there seems to be no connection between the two images, however it may just mean that there is a lot of variation in the festival. Perhaps I will take into account of this, and use collages of images from objects to places that have some sort of relevance or a motif to the film.




Straight from looking at this brochure, it has a very simple layout. It has a very straight forward message and purpose with the necessary details and nothing else. This means there is more space for images, and is also the perfect opportunity to have a meaningful, enigmatic, image on board. I will definitely take into consideration of this.


  

This brochure has a landscape layout, possibly making more room to the left or right, depending on the central image subject's position. This allows an organised set of information to be displayed, for example on this, the details, dates, programme name etc is all on the left.

3.) 5 contents pages from arts programmes or magazines:
 

This contents page is very well organised. The headlines/titles are all on the top, while all information is at the bottom. Font color schemes are also very fancy; it has a 3D rgb effect which holds very nice aesthetics and is ultimately attractive. The color schemes are also significant. Each the title, information and additional lines are coloured, according to what they present.



This brochure's content page is very well informative, as well as easy to navigate. Each film has its own image above all the information. It is an overall plain and simple contents page, just like the previous one. The brochure's simpleness of color schemes - white and black also emphasize on it's simplicity.

 

This contents page is very clear and concise, labeling each specific page number to each content and so forth. The font in particular has also been significantly made different to the others. It is very bold, red and big in size compared to the others. Colours of red also catch the attention of readers, so this is another reason why it's as concise.



This contents page looks very professional. It has lots of images, meaning lots of news and information, too. Images of different conventions (bands, movies,talk shows, films) are all in one page. Images are a short way of putting messages all into a short amount of space.



This contents page has a unique layout. As you can see, the image overlaps onto the other page, yet still not ending. Information is also all into one page, where the majority of the space is taken by the image. This just makes the page seem more appealing and attracts attention. Color schemes are also very organised - there is a mix of black and white, specifically for the text in order to make it more visible. Other things to note is also the date - the date is written in bold letters, along with a contrasting background colour to emphasize and bring it out more.

Planning and Sketching:

Fade In:
Park Royal - Dusk



Malik and his friend, Lucas enter a narrow tunnel way, exchanging jokes and laughing.
Malik, Londoner, from Hackney and ex-gang member, formerly ranked Capo laughs, telling Lucas jokes about his night out in a club.

                 Malik
                 [Laughing hysterically]
                  A... and then I slapped that slut away from me,                     she tried groping me! 

Lucas, Londoner, from Hackney  ex-drug trafficker, walking lifelessly with noticeable enlarged pupils.

                                         Lucas
                 Malik, bro, you gotta rock this joint, mannnn... -
                 Focused on Lucas, Malik suddenly stops

                 Lucas
                 Was' up with you? Les go man, boss is gonna get                      pissed! 

  Malik stares into space as he looks back, completely ignoring 
  Lucas.

                 Malik
                 I been here holmes.

  Lucas squints his eye, laying his right hand out.

                 Lucas
                 The fuck you talking about, Mali? 

  Malik, looking around almost as if he's exploring a ruin.

                 Malik
                 This is where Life 1 ended for me, bro.

  Lucas, looking at his marijuana cigarette confusingly, carelessly     throws it on the floor.

                 Lucas
                 Mali, tell me I'm not on a bad trip...

  Malik again staring straight ahead of the tunnel, lifelessly.

  Transition pan in from iris. 

Dissolve in:
Park Royal - Midnight
  
Gloomy surroundings, muffled, eerie voices.
                  
  BENJAMIN, hired mafia mercenary, associated with rival gang
                Benjamin
                KEEP running, Malik. It only makes me more                       excited.
                
                Malik
                FUCK AWAY FROM ME, MAN!!!

  Benjamin, slowly lifting his magnum caliber... Shoots

  Loud flash bang is heard, sending Malik back to his normal       state
  
  Malik, on his chest on the floor and arms spread

  Lucas, looking completely alien 

               Lucas
               BRO, are you okay?! 
               
               Malik
               Yea-... Yeah... lets go.
    
               Lucas
               You got problems, man... or is it me that's just been                blazing one too many...

 Malik smiles and pats Lucas once on the back, and continues  walking through the tunnel

               Malik
               Sorry, bro.

 Slow fade out.


Scene 3, fade in:

Malik constantly looking back...

Malik, overflowing with paranoid thoughts of him being chased, so he turns around

               Malik
               AHHHH!!!
A gang of mercenaries - 3 men each with weapons held in their hand starts following Malik from behind, slightly increasing their pace over time.

Malik looks back once more and the gangsters are only a few metres away, then the Scene blacks-out...

Scene 4, fade in - interrogation room

DONALD PRICE, or "Don" for short - the Godfather.

Donald with a picture of Malik on his hand, gripping furiously smashes the picture on the table.

              Donald
              I want him dead or alive, he needs to understand that               he shouldn't mess around with a millionaire's money.

Donald, slowly getting up from his chair proceeds to grab a black gym bag and slowly unzips it...

              Donald
              This is yours if you complete the job...

The two mercenaries nod their head and slowly walk away.
              
              

  



  

   

                

                 

     

audience focus group

Audience research focus groups:

What the focus group involved:

Our group had discussed our film, "Viva La Miscreant"and it's constituents such as the:

• Title and tagline
• Genre
• Log line
• Other successful films that are similar
• Narrative structure
• Main protagonist, their desires, the conflicts they encounter
• Target audience

Each or more of these things were discussed and more conveniently by the members of our group that came up with some of the ideas, knowing that they have a more in-depth explanation to their choices. Our whole purpose of this presentation of the film was to fish for any ideas, whether it'd be constructive criticism or compliments, assuring what we're doing wrong and what we're hopefully doing right. 

Key-quotes from the pitch (not exactly quoted to exact words)

• "Don't try to be too ambitious with the mafia gang conventions" 
• "What is the connection between the Spanish title and the Italian mafia gangs?"
• "In your tagline, try not to mention the protagonist's name"
• "Structure of the story definitely sounds interesting and I look forward to it"
•  "Ideas and connections of modern UK gang life could definitely relate to this film"

As a result of the discussion I definitely felt that it was far from the group's benefit (in a good way) and helped us pick out blatant, basic flaws that we had made in the film's pitch such as unrealistic ideas of mafia gangs. An example of this would of course have to be the matching mis-en-scene - the costume, and where we're actually going to get each one us a tie and suit, knowing that we were initially going to have a very conventional mafia gang story, but this has obviously been scrapped.

Other confusing things such as Spanish film title, yet an Italian mafia gang are also going to be straightened out as there is no sense in having the two languages together, maybe just because they're associated with gang life and violence, but for the most part it wouldn't make sense. So apart from that, discussion wise it was very beneficial as positive feedback were given on more of the important and big things in the film structure, rather than little, silly mistakes which can be easily taken care of which was a good sign that our film structure was not all lost and was at least heading in the right direction.

Also the target audience would most likely and maybe obviously be teenagers of the male gender, preferably around the ages of 14-18, and I chose this range just not under speculation, but according to various studies shown being that their appeal goes towards violence and any nature that we would normally associate with young, reckless and free-spirited males. I would also then say according to psychographics, maybe a borderline between low-class and middle-class as gang violence is of course an uncivilized act, so it wouldn't relate to high-classed people, ever, however they may be interested by it.

As a result, the new film name is 'The Hunting Season', instead working with young, British conventions.