Characters and Casting

For our movie we needed three central characters who would be a little more then average teens, that were involved in events they shouldn't be (robbery, selling drugs etc). We also would need someone who was older and much more involved in the criminal world. This would be the same person that breaks into their house at the beginning and is killed. One last character we would need would be the person who gives the teenagers their assignments and tells them what to do (basically their criminal boss). Before casting these roles we would have to know what we were looking for, in regards to who they are, how they look and how they act.
   First we looked at our central characters. The first, and most dominant, is Michael Bolt, aka Bolty. He is a 18 year old boy who was kicked out of school at the age of 13 for pinning a teacher to the floor with a chair. Ever since then he has been on a downward spiral into the criminal world, getting more and more involved with the nasty people that inhabit it. He is cocky and headstrong but loyal to his two closest friends.
   Next is James Kavangh. In many ways James is the complete opposite of Michael, despite knowing him since he was 3 years old. He is quiet and reserved, but underneath this is a violent, crazed young man, who when provoked will lash out at unsuspecting people. When thinking of this character, we took alot of inspiration from Jason Statham's character in 'Mean Machine'. If we had the chance to film a full length movie we could even include flashbacks to James' past explaining why he was secret maniac that he was.

   The last member of the main four characters is Nathan Rover. Nathan is 'the brains' of the group. He is logical and well spoken  but at the same time extremely sarcastic. The reason they are friends goes back to a science lesson 3 years before when Nathan used his brains to pull a prank on a teacher, which went horribley wrong, severing three of the teachers fingers. Ever since then they have all been best friends.
   The robber who starts the movie off breaking into the boys house had to be a hardened criminal. His name is Robert 'Tubby' Brown. He is the son of the cities biggest crime lord and a seriously mean piece of work. Usually people would stay away from him, meerley because of his name but he has the attitude and weight to back himself up too.
   The last character we had to think about when planning for our movie is the boys boss Alice Bower. Alice is a thirty-something good looking woman who met the boys when they tried to mug her at a cash point. Instead of reporting to the police, she hired them and has used them for her means ever since. She is much like a mother figure to the boys and looks after them, despite ultimately ruining their lives in the long run.
   Now we had to cast who we thought would play these roles well if this movie was made and released in cinemas. The first three characters were the hardest as there aren't that many young British actors that are well known, and we do not have time, or the resources, to have auditions.

   For Michael we decided on Joe Dempsie who played Chris in Skins. After watching this movie, it is clear to see his character is similar to what Michael is supposed to be and would fit very well. Next was James. James was slightly harder to find an appropriate actor, but after searching we decided on using Gerard Kearns. He has recently become a star after playing Ian Gallagher in Channel 4's Shameless. He looks quiet fraile and vulnerable but also has the acting ability to flip these qualities in his favour. I think this is one of our best decisions in casting and would hopefully make James Kavangh's character very believable.

   At first we considered using Nicholas Hoult, who also starred in Skins, for Nathan Rover but changed our minds. Nicholas Hoult, although appearing very intelligent, doesn't look like he'd be involved in the world the other two boys are. We wanted someone who was abit 'rough around the edges'. When looking again we didn't stray far from Channel 4 tv shows and came across Misfits. The character played by Robert Sheehan perfectly fits how we imagined Nathan. He is sarcast and cocky but also very smart. 
      The next two characters were much easier to cast as we could choose from a larger selection of actors, not just ones still in their teens (or appearing to be). Robert Brown would be played by  Tommy Lister, the giant bully from the Friday movies. His scary appearance would go well with how Tubby is supposed to be. Finally was Alice Bower, the boys mentor and boss. Straight away we had a clear idea of who could play this woman. Guy Richie's Rock n Rolla features a very sexy, yet powerful actress called Thandie Newton. It was obvious that she would be the perfect person to play this role if it was made properly.
   When we produce our final piece, obviously we wont have access to all these professional actors, so instead we will use our friends. Michael Bolt will be played by Luke Sansby, James Kavangh and Robert Brown will be played by Aaron Leverton-Ferrar, Alice Bower will be played by Grace Brown and I will play Nathan Rover.

Director for our Movie

When considering who the Director and stars in our movie were going to be we looked at a lot of possible candidates from other similar movies. An obvious choice for a director for this kind of movie would be Guy Richie. However, we thought he would of brought the same old 'London Geezer' feel he has in all the movies of this genre he has made, so we decided to look a bit deeper. 
  We wanted the director to be British so it had an authentic feel and not an American generated stereo-type where every single character talks like a thug and has bad teeth. One of the latest successful British movies made in a similar style was Daniel Barber's 'Harry Brown'. This was a very hard hitting and quiet realistic (if not a little violent) film about a retired man who seeks revenge on a group youths who murdered his friend. 
  However, Barber's style may be a bit too graphic and gritty for what we wanted to produce. Danny Boyle was our next choice. Even though he has made some extremely gorey and dark movies, such as '28 Days Later', he has a lot more experience. We think he would be able to convey the feeling we wanted and hopefully help to produce something with a mood similar to 'Trainspotting'. 

Synopsis for our Movie

Three unsuspecting teens are victim to a burglary at the beginning of the movie which they quickly stop with a baseball bat. When the robber is unconscious and unmasked they soon realise they may have messed with the wrong person.

  The movie then goes back in time to the previous week, where they start a job which sounds fairly simple. However when they arrive things quickly go sour when they find that two other gangs are after the same goods. It then proceeds to rollercoaster out of control as they are flung into a world violence, crime and drugs.

  With the goods at hand, they manage to hide themselves away as the rest of the city is going crazy looking for what they have. Until the son of a high ranking gangster discovers their location and attempts to rob it back, linking back to the beginning of the movie.

How Digital Technology has effected 20th Century Fox

Over recent years, the progress film makers have made in developing and using digital technology has dramatically changed the film industry and the entire cinematic experience. One of the companies that has taken these changes full on and embraced them is 20th Century Fox, who because of these developments have made the most successful movie (money wise) ever made, 'Avatar'. 
One of the most recent things to have been introduced into cinema in the last year or so is strangely also one of the oldest, 3D. Invented in 1838 and first shown to the public in the Luminere brother's 'L’arrivée du train', 3D had an instantly huge effect on the audience. In some cinemas, viewers actually screamed in horror, believing a real train was about to run them over. 
  Despite being invented over 100 years ago, the first real boom in 3D movies didn't come until the 1950's, sparking the beginning of the 'Golden Age' of 3D. At first Fox was wary of this new technology but finally gave into demand and released Darryl F. Zunuck's 'Inferno' in 1953 . I found it quiet shocking that Fox didn't take to 3D technology as quickly as other film companies, especially considering their massive success with 'Avatar' now. 
  The fact that 3D is best viewed at the cinema means that many more people are going out to theatres to see films instead of just waiting for the DVD release or for it to come on TV. This in turn means 20th Century Fox is going to be making much more money from these kinds of films and so will probably produce many more unless the trend dies out (like it did in the 60's). 
  The next development in Digital Technology Fox has embraced, probably with less hesitation than 3D, is the invention of High Definition viewing. Although cinemas have been a much better quality then TV's for many years, HD now allows a pristine picture at home. Fox jumped straight on this new technology releasing FXHD very shortly after the release of the first HD televisions. 
  Because of this Fox would of have to of purchased alot of brand new equipment that could film and process the new HD technology. However, these expenses would be quickly paid for, especially when you consider that in the UK, FXHD is one of only a handful of HD channels available to view at the moment and probably shows some of the most popular TV shows of the time, including 'True Blood' and 'Family Guy'. Unlike 3D I do not believe HD is likely to become less popular and probably will only stopped being used if a newer, better version of it is produced. 
  Advancements in the quality of CGI is another development 20th Century Fox has taken fully on board. Again 'Avatar' is probably the best example of how CGI can be used to create something that is visually beautiful but also convincing and realistic. Before the first full length CGI movie came out (Pixar's 'Toy Story') CGI was mainly used in computer games and was blocky at best. Moving onto the big screen in this way meant it could receive more funding and evolve into what we see today. It is hard now to find a movie that doesn't have atleast a small part of CGI involved. 
  One of 20th Century Fox's newest movies, 'Alvin and the Chipmunks', is largely real life acting, but the main characters are three computer generated chipmunks that interact very convincingly with the actors. The first time this was done was in Universal's 'Casper' but now, due to practise and improvements in the technology Fox has been able to create a very realistic looking movie. I think if CGI is used correctly, you are not even aware it is being done. 
  The last development in technology I am going to look into is how the internet has affected how we view movies and TV. There are possibly hundreds of websites that illegally show pirated movies months before they are released on DVD to be watched at home. Another benefit of 3D technology is that these movies cannot be pirated due to the special projectors and screens required to make it work, however they can still be shown in normal quality. This is a problem I think 20th Century Fox is still yet to tackle, but in a way they have used this idea to make a profit. 
  TV shows produced by Fox can be watched on a website called 'FOX on Demand'. This gives the opportunity for alot more people, who may of previously been too busy to watch TV, to do so at their own convenience. Adverts are still shown on the website itself and during the programme, so the company is not loosing out on money that way. They are in fact probably making more money because only one advert is played during the break, meaning the company advertising will have to pay alot more for that slot. 
  In conclusion, 20th Century Fox have used Digital Technology hugely to their advantage (even if they needed a little convincing to do so). Because of these developments I think they have become one of the biggest companies in the cinema world and would not of had the massive success with movies such as 'Avatar' if the technology was not available or as advanced as it is today.

Snatch Introduction

The introduction for Guy Ritchie's Snatch sets the scene and feel of the movie straight away. You immediatly get an idea what the movie is about (the stolen diamond) and who some of the main characters are.

  The opening scene in it's self is like a mini movie with lots of speaking and also alot of action. It is very good at getting you immediately hooked and intrigued to find out what is going to happen next. Not only is the general idea really good, the way it is filmed is also extremely inventive.
  The robbers, all disguised as Rabbi's, are makeing their way into an office building with unusually high security. They manage to pass through a metal detector without being searched, despite setting the alarm off. This whole sequence, right up until they are in the room with the diamonds, is filmed through the tv on which the CCTV is shown. This gives you a sense of how tight the security is and that where they are going is probably going to have something worth protecting in.
  This scene is also really quiet peaceful. The use of the (non-diagetic) Kosha Nostra theme in the background, along with the robbers banter about the Virgin Mary not being a Virgin, gives them a feel of being genuine rabbi's that aren't doing anything unusual. Then, as soon as they reach their destination the costumes come off, their accents change and the music becomes much faster and heavier. The camera shots also change from being one fluid motion (from one CCTV screen to the next) to alot of sharp, jerky shots that add to the energy being shown in this part. All of this fits perfectly with the high octane, adrenaline fueled action that is being shown on screen. If they had allowed the same music to play, with the same kinds of shots it wouldn't have anywhere near the same kind of feel or dramatic effect.

City of God Introduction

For me, the introduction for Fernando Meirelles' City of God is a perfect example of how the beginning of a film should start. It is intriguing and very fun to watch, but at the same time is using the camera in a very clever way. The shots he uses are short and cut quickly to each other, this means straight away it has an energetic feel that gives you a sense of how the rest of the movie is going to be. Then, at the end it leaves you with a question, how did the boy with the camera get into the situation that he is in?       When makeing our own final piece, I think these are some very important things the remember. We need to make to beginning quiet exciting, but still retain some mystery. Then at the end, leave the viewer with a question that would be answered later on in the film.

Juno Introduction

Although Juno isn't part of the gangster movie genre, it does involve teenagers and has a very interesting introduction. To help us get a feel for filming and develop our own ideas we decided to remake this short sequence, paying close attention to camera, editing, mise en scene and sound.

 This is our version of the introduction for the movie 'Juno'. We all took turns in filming different parts and also took on different roles for other aspects of filming. Our friend, Grace Brown, played to role of Juno. Jack Hyatt provided the props and me and Aaron Leverton picked out the costume together. I think some of the scenes in this are a little bit shaky and make it look less professional, especially in the parts that were hand-held. If I re-filmed it I would focus on keeping a steady hand. I was particularly happy with the last shot, of Grace walking towards me as I panned up. I achieved this by rolling backwards, while crouching on a pair of rollerblades. I did this to make it appear as if I was on tracks. I tried using rollerblades to film other sections of the film but found it difficult because of bad weather. How the weather is going to effect our final piece is something we will have to consider so we can achieve the best results.

Movie Idea Research

After sharing our movie ideas with our class and getting feedback we found that they thought a British Gangster movie could be very unimaginative and boring, but they liked the idea of a Teenage Comedy. Despite these thoughts, we felt confident that we could produce an original and new movie in the British Gangster genre. The way we wanted to do this was by taking some elements from a Teenage Comedy and incorporateing it into our final piece.
  To help us get ideas for the storyline of our own movie we decided to look at other similar movies in the same genres and maybe some other films that involved teenagers (such as 'Kids' and 'Kidulthood'). An obvious starting point for this would be Guy Ritchie's 'Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels' which really pushed this kind of film into mainstream cinema.
  'Lock, Stock' is the story of four cockney lads who find themselves heavily in debt to an East End hard man. By a massive stroke of luck, they over hear the men in the flat next door planning to rob a group of out-of-their-depth marijuana growers and decide to then steal the money off of them afterwards. While all of this is going on, a porn-baron named 'Hatchet' Harry is madly searching for a pair of antique shotguns which were stolen by a pair of Scouse thieves. All of this results in absolute chaos in which the body count continues to rise throughout the movie.
  Something being stolen is useually the main story line in the British Gangster genre and also alot of Guy Ritchie's films. For example the movie 'Snatch' is about some expensive diamonds being stolen and his newest film of this type, 'Rock n Rolla', is about a powerful Russian buisnessman's favourite painting being unlawfully taken. This is something we are going to take into account but not focus on as, taking the advice of our class, may make our film abit typical and cliche.
  Another strong part of these kinds of films is when a relatively simple plan goes horribly wrong in very unexpected ways, usually leaving a long line of bullet riddled bodies. One of the only other films I can think of, that is not about gangsters, is David Green's 'Pineapple Express'. This fits in very nicely with the other kind of film we wanted to mix our ideas with.
  This stoner, teenage comedy (a modern offspring of the classic 'Cheech and Chong' movies) involves a couple of clueless drug addled friends who get themselves involved in something that leaves them completely out of their depth. This again results in high octane, but much funnier, consequences. This involvment of humor is something we would like to use but may find hard to fit into our relatively short time space in which our introduction needs to be filmed.

Movie Ideas

British Gangster Movie - Our first idea is to film the introduction for a Guy Ritchie style British Gangster movie like Snatch, Lock Stock, Rock and Rolla etc. In our movie a group of small time crooks find themselves in a predicament with a high ranking mob boss. They have either losted some of his money, drugs or maybe been forced into a bet they had no chance of winning.
 The movie starts off in a house, introduceing the main characters. Later it is revealed that more than one group is trying to get their hands on the money. Some of these groups could be heroin addicts who want the money for their next fix, gypsys who just want the money to spend and a corrupt polotician who wants the money to invest in a large buisness. It will involve some strong language (used in appropriate places), quiet dark humour and infrequent violence.

Apocalyptic Movie - Set in a post-apocalyptic London, a group of teenage surviors are part of a small p ercentage that have managed to countinue living. However they face finding somewhere safe to live, due to other gangs of crazed survivors, wild animals and maybe the odd mutated monster.

Teenage Comedy - This idea was inspired by movies such as Pineapple Express and other similar 'stoner' influenced movies. It will explore the lives a some drug addled teens as they seem to get themselves in a massively over blown situation, most of which seems to go other their heads.
  For our movies we wanted their to be a mass killer on the loose, who happens to buy marijuana off one of the characters. Slowly the main characters realise this and down to their drug fuelled paranoia, believe he is trying to kill them, even though he is not. However, their constant tip-toeing around him and accidental provocation leads to the murderer actually wanting them dead.
 

Preliminary Excersise

For the Preliminary Excersise we had to make a short film (from 30 seconds to 1 minute long) showing someone enter a room, walk across the room, sit down, have a short conversation and then leave again. While filming this we had to show what we knew about some basic aspects of filming and camera technique.
   One of the rules we had to take into consideration was the 180 degree rule (shown left). When filming, characters should always have the same left/right relationship so that it looks correct. If this rule wasn't used it would look as if the people involved kept moving places inbetween shots and wouldn't look correct. This also plays a part wen using shot, reverse shot. This is when two people are talking and it shows you the scene from both peoples perspective.

 Match-on-Action was also used when filming. For example, when we filmed the hand opening the door and instead of then showing the boy walk in and close it, we showed him sitting down or leaving again it wouldn't make sense. Matching the shots together correctly adds to the continuity of the filming and makes it look like one single event, not a series of events filmed at different times.







Evaluation
 Our Preliminary Excersise came out quiet well and I think we used all of the rules above appropriately. One of my favourite parts is when the hand reaches for the door and you see it open from the other side. This shows our knowledge of match on action. Also, the discussion shows our understading of shot, reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. One of the problems we had was using the microphone to record sound. For half, we forgot to attach it and has made the video sound quiet rough and not as clean as we would want in a final piece. When we film our final piece we will have to take special care in how we use it.

Camera

Distance and Angles


Long Shot (LS) - This shot allows the veiwer to veiw most of, if not all, of a particular subject also revealing the background a scenery.
Extreme Long Shot (ELS) - This shot is mainly intended to establish the suroundings. It's set at a far distance emphasisingh the background.
Establishing Shot (ELS) - Often used at the beggining of feature films. It allows audience to get to grips with the surropundings, allowing them to understand fully where they are.
Mid-Shots (MS) - In this shot there is roughly an equal amount of screening between the subject and the background. Normally shot above waist height, emphasising the top half of their body. This particular shot is often used to create a conversation between two actors on screen, switching beetween the two to create a a sence of actually being part of the conversation.
Close-up/Extreme Close-up (CU)(ECU) - Creates a highly dramatic feel. Most commonly used on a actors facial expression in great detail, fitting whole screen. It focuses the audience's attention on the feeling and reaction of a situation.

Movement

Zoom - While zooming the camera doesn't move. Its used to go from a long shot all the way to a close up whilst still maintaining a continuous picture flow. This is achevied by magnifying the subject. Zooming in and out reveals more or less of a scene bringing focus to to a wider or lesser range of objects.
Following Pan - This term means that the camera is still in a static position, however it swivles on a specific point. Its used to follow a subject with a space left infront.
Surveying Pan - Still in fixed a position, the camera slowly turns left or right to search a scene.
Tilt - Camera tilts up and down
Crab - Camera moves left or right
Tracking - Camera itself is moved gently towards or away from a subject. Draws the veiwer closer or futher away, creating a more or less intence realationship with subject. Tracking further away often creates a distance between veiwer and subject.
Hand Held - Creates a jerky and bouncy image, sugesting a critcal or caotic scene. Can also be used a Pooint-of-Veiw (POV)
Prosess Shot - A shot infront of a rear projection creating a scence of movment when really they are stationary. Used in car scenes to make out like they are driving.

Sound Types

Diagetic Sound - Diagetic sounds are part of the film world we are watching. This could be birds singing in a tree, someone talking or a song playing of the radio in the background.
Non-Diagetic Sound - This kind of sound is not recognised as part of the film world and include backing music that is not coming from a clear source or a voice-over which narrates part of the movie e.g. JD from Scrubs internal commentary on his day to day activities.
Sound Bridges - A sound bridge is when the sound from one scene will carry other to the next making the change seem more seamless and smooth, instead of being disjointed and sudden e.g. the whistle of a boiling kettle brdiges with the horn of a train.
Parallel Sound - Parallel sounds are the kinds of noises we expect to see in a scene. For example, if you are watching children playing happily on a beach, you would expect to hear laughter, kids talking etc.
Contrapuntal Sound - This kind of sound is the opposite of parallel sound. This is when you hear noises which do not fit in with the scene you are watching. A good example of this is the scene from 'Jaws' when people are having a good time on the beach, but instead of hearing the expected sounds of laughter, a sinister and dark music is playing telling you something bad is about to happen.

Unforgiveable Productions

Unforgiveable Productions is made up of myself (Mitchell Brewster) and Aaron Leverton-Ferrar. We have been set a brief to make a short introduction to a movie we have researched, created and developed.