Assignment 2: The departed remake

The Departed:

Why was it remade?: The departed is a remake of the film Infernal affairs, the original was directed by the director Andrew Lau. It was remade because the language of the original was in Chinese, so to make it appeal to the American audience more they remade it, changing the language to English.

What genre is it?: Departed was made as a crime drama film but the original 'Infernal affairs' was made as a crime thriller film.

Interesting facts:
While filming the

http://quickmoviefacts.com/drama-movies/the-departed-fact/

Assignment 2: Film Remakes

Romeo & Juliet

Assignment 2: Terminology research task

Vertical and Horizontal integration
Vertical integration is when the production company has ownership of the means of the production so the distribution and the exhibition of the film is by the same company, because of this they will receive all the profit.

Horizontal integration is when the production company looks into other areas of one industry, this allows the company to develop in a certain area of production or they can buy out another company that deals with the same areas


Synergy
Synergy is when two companies join together for promotional purposes, for example; a bands music being in a new film. Both companies will gain a bigger audience if both fan bases join together.

BBFC
BBFC stands for 'The British Board Of Film Classification.' It is a trusted guide to media content. Their aims are to protect the public especially children from content which might raise harm risks, provide and effective service to enforcement agencies and provide a cost effective efficient classification service within our statutory remit.


MPAA
MPPA stands for Motion Picture Association Of America. This company decide on the age certifications given to films released in the US.

Assignment 2: Old films for new

Production, distribution & exhibition 

The American romantic comedy film 'The Proposal' was released in 2009 set it Sitka, Alaska. It was directed by Anne Fletcher and was produced by Todd Lieberman. The company that was involved with this film was Mandeville Films. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures were the company that distributed the film. Because this film isn't a new film that's just got out it can be bought on blue ray and DVD, watched on Netflix and streamed online.

Genre: 
What genre was the film
The genre of the film was a romantic comedy

How was the genre identifiable? 
You could tell that this was a romantic comedy by the title and the picture they decided to use for the film

Who is the audience for this genre? 
I think that the age for the this would have to be 15+ since there are some scenes in this film that are inappropriate for the younger audience to watch. I think this film is mainly watched by girls but the film is okay for a guy to watch as well, I don't think there was a specific gender target.


Stars:
Who were the main actors/actresses in the film?
The main actors/actresses in this film were Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds

Are they popular? 
Both actor/actresses are well known since they have starred in a lot of the big popular films

Do you think they would help sell the film and why?
I think that because both celebrities have a big fan base their fans are more likely to watch the film because they are in it than watch the film because they







have they ever been in similar films? which ones


Social
Does the film have any social significance
do you think the director has something to say
is there an underlying message in the film?

Assignment 1: Talking heads video and evaluation

In my talking heads interview I discussed how Auteur theory makes it easier for audience to identify who the director is and it makes it easier to see the common themes throughout the film. It also makes the film more interesting since the audience will be able to guess who the director is. In a classic Tim Burton film the most common themes he uses in his films are isolation, someone being an outsider and death. With the common themes running through the film it makes the guessing game for the audience to guess what auteur it is a lot easier. The audience benefits from all of these things because if they are fans of the auteur they will be able to identify it and know they are watching a film directed by their favourite director.

For example in the above images from Sleepy Hollow an audience can easily identify this as the work of Tim Burton as they reflect his stylistic approach as an Auteur. The themes in these images clearly show the theme of isolation, the outsider and death. The image of the long shot of the town has a spooky mysterious look to it and it also makes you automatically think something bad is going to happen which makes the audience excited and keeps them on edge. The first picture of Johnny Depp (Crane) is when he is alone in the quiet town of Sleepy Hollow and the characters in the house would shut the windows as he walked past which indicates they have something to hide and that gets the audience asking questions as to why this is happening, and who’s guilty and who’s innocent. The questions the audience asks themselves to help them solve the mysteries within this film keep them engaged and alert, this makes it more interesting for them since they will feel like they are playing the detective role themselves. 

Assignment 1: Key Questions- Analysis of Tim Burton through the Auteur Theory

 1. What is Auteur theory?

An auteur can be identified through their body of work. It is somebody who creates art that reflects their personality and is less likely to be influenced by the prospect of making money. Auteurs are recognised through themes they use, the visual style and the narrative construction of their films. 

the theory first came from a french magazine called Cahiers du Cinema, and has influenced the film criticism since 1954. 

Alfred Hitchcock, Stanly Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Ingmar burgman and Charlie Chaplin are all examples of famous auteurs. 

 2. Are there any contemporary auteurs that appeal to a young audience?


Tim Burton is an American film director, producer, writer, poet and stop motion artist. He is known for his dark, gothic themes and quirky horror and fantasy films such as Edward scissor hands, sleepy hollow and Sweeney Todd the demon barber of fleet street. 

Burtons films appeal to a young audience because the narratives that Tim uses are something that the young people can relate to.  


3.  What are the themes Tim Burton deals with?

Tim Burton uses a lot of themes in his work but the main themes are rejection, isolation and death. 

These three themes can be found in both 'Sleepy Hollow' and 'Edwardscissor Hands' 

In sleepy hollow as constable crane was walking through the sleepy hollow town people would be looking out the window and shutting them as he walked past, the same thing happened in Edwardscissor hands when Edward would walk past a neighbours house windows and curtains would shut. 

The theme of death appeared at the very beginning of the film 'Sleepy Hollow' in the cornfield, heads were chopped of bodies of two people. Before this happened there was dripping red wax which appeared like blood on the floor, this could be a foreshadow of what was about to happen. 





 4.  Does the visual style of Tim Burton's work stay similar or do they often change?

Tim Burtons films haven't changed a lot from before, the visual themes and narratives are all the typical Tim Burton styled film. Tim Burton started off with working for Disney but ended up leaving  because his work was too dark for the younger audience to view back then, now he is with Disney once again but is still is doing his style of film but it is now okay for children to view because the younger audience can now relate to his work more making it more appealing for them. 

Alice in Wonderland and Frakenweenie are two examples of the more recent Disney films he has created. Frakenweenie is a remake of one of his old films which he turned into a animation and Alice in Wonderland was a sequel to the first one made 

5. Do you think Tim Burton's narratives reflect upon his personality?

Because Tim Burtons films involve such strong emotions that many people from the younger audience has most probably experienced it makes the film better to watch when you understand the emotion. The three themes Burton uses the most are: isolation, death and rejection. Many of the audience can relate to these themes since they happen in daily life. 

Burton is well known for his dark and unique films he started of with Disney but ended up working for himself. 

Tim Burton uses the emotions he felt during his childhood and uses it to make films. He also uses his preferences in a few films too. Tim Burton enjoys science fiction so he created 2 films that are different from the rest of his films called 'Planet of The Apes' & 'Mars Attacks' 

 6. Are there any examples to suggest that Tim Burton's not an auteur?

Tim Burton has made two films that are different in style to the rest of his work but they received some negative responses from critics and the public, Planet of the Apes and Mars Attacks. Arguably, since he created these two films which were still a work of passion even if the audience didn't enjoy as much as his other films makes him more of an auteur since he made the film because he wanted to rather than making it because he wanted the publics attention and money. 

 7. As a young fan of cinema, what do you find interesting about the Auteur Theory and the work of Tim Burton?

What I find interesting about the Auteur Theory is how the Auteur has a different vision of success, they judge their success on whether the film is exactly how they pictured it in their mind rather than how much money the film makes. Tim Burton is one of my favourite auteurs because the themes in his work stays consistent so its easy to identify him. 

Assignment 1: Relationship between director, film and theory

As a child Tim Burtons favourite activities were painting, watching movies and drawing. His first job was for Disney, he had to draw the characters for all the disney films but he didn't enjoy this job because he couldn't express himself through this art because the things on disney had to be suitable for children but he wanted to draw more dark characters that wasn't suitable for children. Shortly after the studio realised that Burton's talent wasn't being made use of so they made him a conceptual artist. This is when you design characters that appear in films. He did early work on The Black Cauldron, which was a fantasy series. Burtons artwork did not match up with this since Disney was not made to be dark.  Because it didn't go too well it wasn't used.


When Tim Burton left The Walt Disney Company, after recieveing positive reviews from the film studios, Tim burton was looking for a full length film to direct. When Reubens and the producers of Pee-Wees Big Adventure saw Tim Burtons work on Vincent and Frankenweenie, They decided to let Burton direct for their film.


When Burton created the film, Edward Scissorhands, it was the first time Burton had full creative control over a feature film, he also wrote the story and produced the movie. The film was hit with moviegoers and critics and that marked the beginning of Burton being taken seriously as an artist.

Assignment 1: Analyzing through narrative - Tim Burton

The types of characters that usually appear in Tim Burton's films usually have a dark, mysterious side to them. The protagonist always appears to be an outsider while the rest of the characters tend to be the complete opposite; perky, happy and full of life. The happy characters tend to end up turning against the outsider but there is always one person that falls hopelessly in love with the one everyone else rejected. An example of this would be the film Edward ScissorHands  or Sleepy Hollow. The characters personality or looks don't always match up to their location, there are times when the dark characters are in the places where all the shallow, self centered people live which usually shows the different contrast in locations that Tim Burton decided to use. Burtons films usually only have two different locations that contrast with each other which is the Gothic, isolated location and the bright and happy location, having two very different obvious locations which helps the audience identify what the characters in that location are like.  The locations are not the only thing that help the audience get to know the character a bit more, The events that happen in the film also are big clues to what will happen in the end.

Assignment 1: Visual style of James Wan

James Wan is the writer and director of both films 'Insidious' and 'The Conjuring'. was born on February 26, 1977 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia but grew up in Australia. Ever since James was 11 years old he knew he wanted to be a film director so to achieve his dream he went on to receive his bachelor of arts degree from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, then began making shorts and music videos. Wan met an aspiring filmmaker Leigh Whannell at school, and together they came up with an idea for a horror movie. Whannell wrote the screenplay, and Wan directed an eight-minute sample short on DVD for them to shop around for financing.




Insidious- 

What I enjoyed:

For me I enjoyed the plot behind insidious, how the boy got so lost in his nightmare that he ended up in a coma. The best thing about the film for me was the twist at the end where the dad tried to go into the boys mind and tries to save him and get him out but while saving the boy he gets possessed by something in the dark side, nobody finds out apart from the old lady who gets killed by the man. 

Assignment 1: Auteur Theory

Auteur director  is one who brings to a film signs of their individuality perhaps in the way the narrative is constructed, the way a certain themes are explored or in the visual style

Patrick Phillips suggests that we can identify am auteur director through three key areas

Narrative construction
themes that are explored
visual style


Auteur theory has influenced film criticism since 1954

Auteur gets more money and success because they are individual and influenced by nobody

This method was associated with the French new wave













A directors visual  can be analysed through mise en scene CLAMPS

Costume - The costume this character is wearing is quite dark and looks quite scientific. Judging by what the characters are wearing seems like the film or this scene is set in the past.

Lighting- The lighting has been put on low key which gives the dark and gloomy effect which makes the audience know they're in a abandoned place.

Actors- Famous actor Johnny Dept stars in a lot of Tim Burton films.
The character at front seems to be shocked, its almost like he has spotted something through the magnifying glass and the others can't see which makes them look more confused.

Make up- All the characters in this picture look really pale and ghostlike, the make up is usually done like this in Tim Burton films. Because the skin is pale it makes everything like the hair and clothes look darker.

Props - The magnifying glasses on actors Johnny depts face suggests they are all looking for something. The hats, wigs and coats of the characters in the background.

Settings- The setting is what makes the scene look even more dark and gloomy, its set in the forest. The place looks deserted, its almost like nobody has been there in a long while.

Assignment 1: Notes on key films

Assignment 1: Micro Elements

Discussion of micro elements of film:

Cinematography (Camera work)

This means how the camera is moved.

Movement:

Tilt (Pivot up and down)

Crane (Moves up and down or left and right quite fluently)

Pan (Pivot left and right)

Track (Move forward and back and left or right)

Angles:

High angle (Birds eye view, aerial shots)

Looking down (Making someone look vulnerable)

Low angle (Worms eye view)

Looking up (Making someone appear powerful)

Example of angles being used:

When Peg first spots Edward coming out the dark in his house a low angle was used to make him appear powerful and fearful.

Sound:

Diegetic- Sound in the world of the film

-Birds

- Car

- Dialog

Non diegetic- Only the audience can here

- Music

- Narration