Who's making what?

How did you do that?

How did you do that?

“Movies took you right up to the edge but kept you safe” - John Updike

“Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes” - Robert Altman 

“Film can immerse you, put you there” - Kathryn Bigelow 

The ‘cycle’ is an order of what happens in a films ‘life’ from when it is made to when it is consumed. It starts with the production which is split into three different parts; 1- Preproduction, when the planning is done, 2- Production- when the filming takes place, and 3- Post- where the editing is done. Marketing exchange is next in the cycle it is the posters and advertisements to advertise and promote the film coming out; to generate more interest in the film itself. Distribution is the film being shown in cinemas and audience consumption is when the audience watches, tweets, reviews, facebooks and ‘consumes’ the film this is when tickets, popcorn and drinks are paid for and sent to the producers.

Studio films are more likely to be known as a ‘Hollywood blockbuster’ or a feature film. They are often made by well known producing companies and are filled with the most popular and well known actors at the moment while independent or ‘Indie’ films are more likely to be shown at film festivals or put up online.

Independent films often rely on the back end money that comes from the feature films- if the feature film exceeds it’s expected sale goals the producers use the money to fund a smaller ‘indie’ film. Studio films are often more marketed more to the general public; they spend thousands of pounds on advertisements, endorsement and promotion. Posters, TV adverts, cinema adverts, magazine articles, computer adverts and leaflets are just a small fraction of feature film promotion, indie however is rarely- if at all- marketed towards general public they focus on promoting it when other independent films are shown so at film festivals and in certain film magazines in a small section.

Independent and feature films often have a dramatic difference in their audience feature are often watched by the general audience of all demographics while independent films are often watched by an audience who specifically seek out the independent films in order to watch them.

Rarely a independent film can become so popular that they become a studio or mainstream viewed film.

Simon Ellis

Simon Elllis began his career as a black and white photographer at aged 16 studying still photography, he then began to pursue a career in film after graduating. Ellis had helped on fellow students projects as a camera operator and became interested in the making of films.

Ellis began to write his own short scripts and started working as a volunteer at the now-defunct Intermedia Film and Video in Nottingham, providing access to camera and editing facilities. He also freelanced story boards and graphic design.

 Ellis received numerous international film festival awards for his film work- from music videos (The petebox) to full length feature films.

His most famous works are Telling Lies (2000) and Soft (2007) both have been featured on the Cinema 16 DVD collections.

Wasp vs. Fish Tank

Wasp and Fish tank

Andrea Arnold was the director and writer for both Wasp and Fish Tank. She grew up on an estate much like both our protagonists so she has a very deep understanding of how tough that life was bringing a realistic level of emotion to the film.

Both Wasp and Fish tank have the same theme of social realism as a focus point. Wasp looks at the social realism of a mother struggling with money and feeding her children while Fish tanks’ looks at the story of a teenager called Mia’s view trying to break out of her miserable life in her social placement.

Both films have the theme of helplessness and desperation in them. Wasp the mother-our protagonist- Cannot look after her children properly and is struggling to get money while being threatened with child protection from another mother whom she got into a fight with. Our protagonist is often displayed as powerless in these situations- she cannot win in a physical fight and she cannot win when having an argument.

Both films are part of the social realism genre provoking empathy in the audience when they see how others have it much worse than them.

Audience consumption

Sony Corporation

Telling Lies vs. Soft

Hannah Gowdy

Telling lies vs. Soft

Simon Ellis

Telling lies and Soft are both short films directed by Simon Ellis, Telling lies was filmed in 2000 and Soft 2006 both were film in England.

Although both Telling lies and Soft have a theme of relationships- telling lies being more obvious- Telling lies is looking at the relationships of the protagonist (Phillip) has with his Mum, Ex-Girlfriend, Friend and an older woman he has had a short affair with. On the screen as the characters talk is what they really mean behind their lies so we find out that Phillip’s friend has slept with his ex and is planning to do so again and we find out that Phillip has been cheating on an older and richer woman who wants nothing more than a one off. The use of the words on screen gives a dynamic to each person’s relationship to each other with the size of their writing, how it is typed and so forth.

Soft looks at the fragile relationship of the father and son in the story but it also looks at the theme of fear and confrontation as the father encounters a group of youths that terrorise both him and his son as the audience watches the film it is obvious that the father has problems with confrontation. Soft is set in a middle class street giving the film an edgy and raw feel as what people do in fear.

Both short films have a tense atmosphere and feel about them as they play on the audiences emotions and senses- having very little non diegetic music so the audience is on an edge.

Terminator Review

The Terminator (1984)

4/5 stars

Directed by James Cameron, Terminator is probably one of the most well known Sci-fi films ever made that continues to influence directors today compared to most films in that time.

In years to come a vicious network called Skynet has killed nearly all of humanity and attempts to enslave the remaining humans to work. Skynet then sends a cyborg ‘The Terminator’, also known as T-101, (Played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) into the past to kill the mother of John Connor, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who rises up against the machines to end the robo-apocalypse but unknown to the terminator John Connor himself sends back one of the soldiers from his time (Michael Biehn) to protect her.

 The film lasts about 107 minuets and had an estimated budget of $6, 400, 000 but it’s gross incomes is around $78, 371, 200 becoming a critical success- topping the box office for two weeks.

Visually ‘The Terminator’ is stunning set in a dreary and bleak Los Angeles where Sarah Connor is leading a dull and uneventful life. The makeup used on Schwarzenegger is also a delight to watch as his flesh slowly decomposes- become more robotic until he is just a metal skeleton.

Terminator is very similar to the film Hardware (1990) both films involve a robot/Cyborg out for blood that is near impossible to kill however Terminator involves the T-800 created by Skynet to specifically kill Sarah Connor while Hardware's robot goes on a murderous rampage accidently because of it's creator.

Cameron has successfully managed to join a strong story line with plenty of thrilling action in this masterpiece defiantly a one to watch if you like great stories and plenty of action.