Initial Thoughts On My Genre

For me, in terms of storytelling, particularly in the visual mediums, I am interested at looking into the minds of characters and seeing how they work, particularly in times of anger and violence, looking at the dark side of human nature and what drives it. For this reason I knew I wanted to create a film that looks both into the minds of a character or characters, as well as looking at this darker side of human nature, like murder and seeing why people murder and what haunts them afterwards. Because I particularly wanted to look at this I decided I wanted to create a psycological thrillar, or at least a psycological film of some sort.

Impact of Technological Advances

Filmmaking is an often pursued career and pastime. In the past, movies always had to be shot on film. This was something that was very expensive, and for good quality, often required large bulky equipment. In his biography, Peter Jackson (director of The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit Trilogies) wrote:

"I was always thinking of ideas that were ambitious, technically complex films and all I had was a little Super 8 camera that couldn't shoot sound. So I'd always be disappointed by the results and eventually abandon one project and start work on something else. This pattern of being unable to make something within my means-an most of all original- became something I was conscious of and which started to worry me."

This shows that filmmaking has always been something that, with enough creativity can be achieved. However, not being able to shoot sound is something that highly restricts this creativity. Over time, technology has developed and become a lot cheaper. Colour and sound film became much more accessible. At this time, though, it was still very expensive.

It was only recently that DSLR cameras started to be introduced where films could be shot completely digitally, therefore negating film and its cost. This has made it a lot easier for people to themselves become a producer. Cameras and lenses have become cheaper and more accessible.

The internet has also had a huge impact. Things like YouTube allow people to upload their own work, becoming their own distributor. There is also now access to quality tutorials on filmmaking for free online, which allows people to advance their skills and learn without necessarily loosing lots of money from experimentation and trial and error. It also means they do not necessarily need a formal education on the subject.

Other websites, like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, have also had a big impact of filmmaking. It has meant that people have easier access to their audience and to money that they may not have initially been able to make their films. This allows people to be more creative and explore stories and subjects that big studios and investors may have been cautionary and weary of.

Legal Restraints

For films the main legal restraint that is put upon them is that of age ratings. In the UK there is five main age ratings related to normal, commercial films. These are U, PG, 12/12A, 15 and 18.

These prevent people younger than these ages, in 15 and 18, from seeing them, or unaccompanied in a 12A by an adult, or from buying the DVDs for these age limits if under. These can affect the size of the potential audience, particularly if rated either a 15 or an 18. The main reasoning for such age ratings is linked to the hypodermic needle theory, which says youth, particularly, will be influenced by what they see and so may attempt to copy the actions they see on the film.

When looking to rate films, the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) look at many things within the films. As stated here, they look at:
BBFC's Rating Process

• General context-e.g plot and characters
• Timings of key moments, camera angles, types of shot, on and off screen moments
• Bad language, sex & drug references

To keep the a hypothetical rating a little lower, most of the violence was shown offscreen. This was either Sarah's death, which only the aftermath was seen, or Hugo's death, most of which is cut away shots to the rock and not the impact. The plot, however, would not fit in with a pg or lower rating, being at least a 12. This is because it is a film about murder, which could be argued to glorify it due to no one getting into trouble because of this. However, I would argue against this as this is not its intended interpretation as it is linked with biblical sin and does still suggest that it is the wrong thing to do. This does, however, risk being affected by the hypodermic needle theory, in which people could be influenced by this violence because of the way it is shown. This is much like A Clockwork Orange,which shows violence in a similar way. This is also put to the music of Beethoven, which I also plan to do. This caused the film to be banned for a longtime because of copycat killings, therefore showing a clear representation of the hypodermic needle theory. 

Instituion

For the distribution of films, particularly for a British film it is good to have a British institution to distribute it. One such institution is Channel 4. Channel 4 is, primarily, a tv broadcasting company who are mostly financed through advertising. They create both original television and, at some times, orginal film content such as the Inbetweeners movies and 12 Years a Slave. This films are produced under Film4.

Another instituion who produce and distribute films is Vertigo Films. Vertigo work in film distrubition and production of British films, founded in 2002.They often distribute smaller British films like Monsters, StreetDance and Bronson. These films are not usually big films that do not always do very well at the box office, because they are often these smaller independent British films.


These first two distrubtion companies are British, however, one of the main problems for British films is the distribution, which often require
an American company, such as the Harry Potter films, which were distributed by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. is a large American company who distribute a large range of films, such as Harry Potter, The Hobbit and The Dark Knight films. however Warner Bros. also distribute and produce TV shows as well as video games. This gives a wide range of products that can be made and linked with the films, as well as having a big name company behind my film would give it an advatage.

For my film, I think it would be best to distribute with Channel 4 as they are a trusted producer and distributer of British films and have made some well know and well liked films in the past, making it sutable for my own British film.

History and Background of Film

When films were first being all of them were short due to the restraints to the technology at the time. The first films that were being produced, around 1894, were made through Thomas Eddison's kineticscope, which was designed to only allow a single person to view it through  a viewing window at the top. The first films that were being made and shown often lasted less than a minute, being seen almost as a novelty. These films were, at the begining, simple everday things like trains or sport events. The first films never had a narrative, or any sort of continuity. It was not until the 1900s when simple editing techniques, and other techniques, were introduced to be able to call the footage more of a film as is seen today. In this early times there were many important influences on film. One such influnce was the French filmmaker Georges Mellies, who produced some of the first sci fi and horror films and was a pioneer in the use of special effects.
Film continued to quickly develop, becoming longer and more advanced, soon including the use of recorded sound and then colour. This allowed people tomake bigger and more impressive movies than they had before. Editing and cameras also started to become more sophisticated, also improving the quality of the filmmaking. Throughout the times the american film industry has always preformed better than the industries in all other countries, most often making the bigger films that become blockbusters. However, mulitple times, they have suffered from writers strikes, which have allowed other countries like Britain to become a little more successful than they normally had been.

A2 Advanced Portfolio

I have chosen, for my main task, to create a short film. I will also be creating a poster for this film and a double page spread to go with it. I have chosen to do this as it is a subject that I enjoy, as well as already knowing a little bit about it, and am interested in pursuing further. From this I would like to learn new skills that can be used within filmmaking and improve upon the skills I have already learnt to create my poster and double page spread.

Evaluation