GENRE EG6 Journeyman (Film4, 2018)

(SAM'S WORK) - input by me in green font

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Budget: N/A
Box Office: $182k (Worldwide) 
Ratings: 80% (RottenTomatoes) / 7.2/10 (IMDb) / 72% (Metacritic)
Production Companies: Film4, Inflammable Films
Director: Paddy Considine

IDENTS:

• audio bridge between the Idents 
• overlaps with first shot
• a soft violin background music 
• numbers of idents: 3
• duration of idents: 00:00:00 - 00:01:05

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TITLES:

• serif font
• white font on black background connotes seriousness and drama
• similar to the other social realist films we have looked at
• different sizing between the titles/names to distinguish the different roles
• the names are largest, and bold, other words are smaller and not bold
• animated titles, fade in and out
• different positioning of titles
• for aesthetic purposes
• duration of title sequence: 00:01:09 - 00:02:18
• numbers of titles 11
• The production companies and writer have titles against a black screen before the cast names appear
• Only the 2 lead cast members are credited, then the film name is given a credit before other actors are
• The opening scene is cross-cut between the protagonist running, and home video recordings of him with his wife
• the music continues to play over both

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Journeyman credits from harriet Barlow

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SOUND:

• soft violin has an impact on our feelings
• makes us more calm
• get the serious feel
• ambient sound of nature to add verisimilitude

1st SHOT:

• establishing shot
• starts with an extreme long shot
• tilting shot from the blue sky to the protagonist
• narrative enigma, showing the back of the protagonist

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CENTRAL PROTAGONIST + NARRATIVE:

• male character is in every shot 
• tracking shot when he is jogging in the forest
• shot variety of him 
• he is always in focus
• anchors he is the central protagonist
• his house is quite big and modern which signifies that he has a lot of money/successful
• he is someone from the upper class

MISE-EN-SCENE FOR EXPOSITION:

• the belt signifies he is a professional fighter
• the modern house connotes he is coming from the upper class
• the friends/family drinking champagne and taking a lot of pictures anchor they are celebrating

TRANSITION TO MAIN FILM:

• the equilibrium is disrupted when the central protagonist got a brain damage and forgot his previous life
• he is trying to fight for the future and tries to remember his past life

From my research, I noticed that Journeymen didn't make much money since it only got theatrical screenings in just 3 territories (it didn't get distributed in the US)

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Like a lot of other social realists films such as '71 or Submarine, Journeyman wouldn't exist if they didn't get financial help from companies like BFI, Screen Yorkshire, Film Agency for Wales or Wales Creative IP Fund but they would only get financial help if they shoot in their territories (also gives them the advantage to get a theatrical distribution) or if they represent their culture or their people.

Although the film got decent reviews it didn't win any prices but nominated. However, Paddy Considine also directed Tyrannosaur and won the award of Best Writer/Director which then would help generate interest. One factor why it didn't perform that well is because people were hesitating if this could be a good British boxing movie. Variety (review magazine) doesn't consider the movie as a boxing movie but actually "a man on a journey". 
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Music update

A review of the second attempt at the packing scene showed us that we needed different music - the music we were using was very repetitive, but got the tone right.
Using the same chords, but a different finger picking pattern, I created this music to use in future cuts



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SAMPLE SCENE 2 Packing scene - 2nd attempt

This is the 2nd attempt at filming the scene where the tennis player's partner (Cathy) is leaving him



CHANGES

• Much more set dressing:
• tennis equipment is placed throughout the room
• photos of the couple and the tennis team have been added for verisimilitude
• female beauty products and jewellery were placed on the surface in front of the mirror
• stereotypically female books were placed on one side of the bed, and stereotypically male ones on the other
• the wardrobe was changed so that there is a clear divide between men's and women's clothes
• a larger suitcase that is more realistic for a permanent move
• Character creation had more detail:
• we prepared a business suit (black trousers, smart shoes with modest heel, shirt and a blazer)
• and a long, smart looking coat for when they leave the house
• a watch, something teenagers do not usually wear
• modest make-up (lip gloss and mascara)
• More directing for the acting:
• there was more demonstration of the actions (e.g. wiping the tear away)
• there were issues in following direction with the actress previously playing the tennis player's partner (saying she felt uncomfortable in front of the camera) so a change in cast was a good idea
• new shots:
• close-ups of the set dressing
• shot of the suitcase being slammed onto the bed so that we can attempt an almost match cut from the joggers foot landing on the ground
• 
  

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FEEDBACK

• Genre/target audience:
• the people we asked all though it was aimed at teenagers, though one though the target age would up to 20 - this could be because the lead of this scene is played by a teenager, though we have gone to a lot of effort to dress the character so that they seem older
• Improvements
• the sound editing has clear issues - make the ambient sound quieter and the music louder
• the lighting got mixed reactions - one said it seemed good, the other not realistic
• we did use the lighting to create some shadow on the face of the lead as she wipes a tear to show the gloominess, but the rest is the lighting we had available, which is the natural lighting of the room
• Positive feedback
• everyone said that the music fit
• there was no confusion as to what the narrative was - it was clear that she was leaving
• no one said the set dressing seemed posed or unreal - it fits in
• the genre guess was never far from accurate, but we did not expect teenagers to be able to guess if it was a social realist film

• on recording audio (google details) - noise reduction in FCPX - reduce background hiss
• dutch angle, varying focus and set dressing good (first shot)
• trim hand opening cupboard door - pauses unnaturally
• maybe trim door and keys in post box
• maybe quicker cross cut between crying bits to make it more convincing as you can't see tears
• do not want to lose verisimilitude. Maybe get 2 shots of her wiping face, not continuous shot - loses convincingness as its continuous
• slight continuity breach between hand wiping face in the 2 shots
• start music when she is holding the picture
• ring, earrings and office clothing good (power point embedded to show all things added)
• lighting is bad, lense might have been blurry. quite dark except for bright zones
• maybe try some non-linear editing? or don't as in rough and final cut all is cross-cut with jogging
• focus work - some is bad some is good
• about blur - see if sharpening tools in final cut
• maybe shorten takes or transition/cross them over to disguise
• maybe film a drop of water falling onto picture, very tight focus, to show tears
• maybe bring clang in earlier when she drops the keys then trim take slightly 
• trim unnecessary movements so time
• for second instrument ask music teacher what instrument she thinks is the second one in Tyrannosaur 
• ask if students play is
• direct them to record long, sad notes and then record

MAIN ISSUES:

sound and out of focus shots

music could be better - the music is a little dull - look at Tyrannosaur and spacing between notes and pacing, use 2 instruments - better simulacrum 

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Music update

A review of the second attempt at the packing scene showed us that we needed different music - the music we were using was very repetitive, but got the tone right.
Using the same chords, but a different finger picking pattern, I created this music to use in future cuts



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PODCAST 7

What have we done since the last podcast?

• planned the jogging and car crash scene to be refilled 3 times - cancelled because our protagonist could not make it on 23/01/19 and 03/02/19, on 05/02/19 Sam fell ill and we couldn't find a replacement driver in time
• Have asked someone else who I able to drive if they would play the role so that filming can take place this weekend
• We have edited sample scenes for the training scene and the packing scene,  and filmed audience feedback - we will be making adjustments and putting together a full rough cut (vey likely to happen before the final scene is filmed so we will use the initial sample scene for the jogging and car crash scene)
• we filmed the hospital scene on the 14/01/19
• We rented out a tennis court for an hour and filmed the training scene on the 13/01/19
• We have gone over our genre conventions posts for details and ideas for the scenes we had to reshoot, like the shots of the trees in Journeyman, the almost match-cuts in '71 and the set dressing in My Beautiful Laundrette and Withnail and I 
• We've worked on looking at some ideas for the evaluations questions and how we want to answer them

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GENRE EG5 '71 (Warp, 2015)

'71 is a 2014 British historical thriller film set in Northern Ireland. For our mock exam we analysed the opening of this film under timed conditions in a style similar to the summer exam format - I have embedded the essay (after typing it up) at the bottom of this post as it has lots of relevant points (many of which have been extracted and put in the bullet point format throughout this post).

'71 poster

PRODUCTION CONTEXT/HISTORY
PRODUCTION: Crab Apple, Warp, Film4, BFI, Screen Yorkshire, Creative Scotland

DISTRIBUTION: Studio Canal; 11 territories

BUDGET: £8.1M

BOX OFFICE: $3.2m
BBFC: 15

This production is a Warp production, but it had a much higher budget than the majority of their films. It did receive grants form the BFI and Film4 - typical of indie productions. This ensures that films with more diverse/controversial representations are still made and the industry is not monopolised by conglomerates.
This film lost a lot of money, and it was a big risk for art to have such a high budget in the first place.

The hybrid aspect of it being a historical thriller/action/social realist film did give it a higher chance at being commercially viable than the majority of Warp films, and though Studio Canal is a well-established distributor it did not put much of a gamble into the film and marketing was limited.

The film did have a week long theatrical release in America (to qualify for the Oscars), showing the ambition o this film in comparison to Warp's other productions, but the amount of territories it was related in was still a low number in compassion to WT films (and there was no distribution in China).

No. of territories (BoxOfficeMojo)

Company list (distribution) (IMDB)

The 15 rating form the BBFC is interesting, as This is England got rated an 18 mostly due to cursing and the violent scene at the end (which is relevant to the moral values the film condemns), but '71 has extremely graphic and violent scenes throughout (when his friend is shot in the face when they arrive in Belfast, when a bar is later blown up with a child inside, the homemade stitching done o the protagonist etc.). This is an examples of how more commercially acceptable films are given more chance for commercial success than more controversial ones.

Although the film was ultimately a commercial/financial flop, it was nominated for BAFTAs, BIFAs, and O'Connell won the EE Rising Star award. This shows how although the film was not a financial success, its' critical reception proved it to be a success in ways that many other Warp films are.

IDENTS/COMPANIES

• Studio Canal
• distribution and production company (mostly distribution)
• Subsidiary of NBCUniversal (one of the Big Six)
• co-production financing (that way risk is spread if the film is a flop)
• can be part of meaning (has worked with WT and Warp)
• shows range
• Film4
• tv channel (UK)
• denotes low budget
• BFI (British Film Institute)
• gives grants to low budget indie films they think require subsidy (which do not need to be repaid)
• government funded
• previously known as UKFC (UK Film Council)
• Screen Yorkshire is a regional branch -  the film was not shot on location, and the extensive creation of the streets with houses in varying states of destruction show where much of the budget was spent.

TITLES

• informational words are smaller than company names
• small serif font (white on black)
• signifies serious drama 
• 'presents'
• production and distribution
• co-production between Crab and Warp
• the Warp logo is also on screen - larger contributor

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MISE-EN-SCENE FOR EXPOSITION

• blood, sweat, costume, hair
• all wearing green military costume
• all sweaty (including those not fighting)
• all crew cuts (functional, military)
• creates high level of verisimilitude
• on the bus:
• is not a sports car
• signifies poverty
• man wearing a flat cap and smoking
• connotes Yorkshire
• signifies film is set in the past (cannot smoke on busses now), hence the name '71
• in the café
• is not a fancy 5 star restaurant
• run down, cheap looking place
• signifies poverty
• Is very similar to the sudden cut to the unappetising, greasy food in Withnail and I 
• Though not in the opening, when the locals bang their metal bin lids on the ground
• metal bins are now out of date, so signify the time period (maintain verisimilitude)
• preferred reading: it was a warning that police/army were approaching
• signifies target audience (older, native to the uk/Ireland)

EDITING

• fight scene:
• no ELS (establishing shot)
• fast-paced editing, short takes
• action genre
• cuts closer to protagonists face and cuts to see his reactions
• anchors protagonist
• centrally framed protagonist
• Training montage:
• quick fade from black (ellipsis)
• longer takes
• hand-held camera
• documentary style of realist genre
• sticks to 180 degree rule
• morning scene:
• almost a match cut done through the audio (the sound of the gun is similar to the lights turning on)
• fade-up from black
• shows ellipsis
• Café scene:
• fast-pan to reveal brother's face
• shot reverse shot in the conversation
• continuity editing
• 180 degree rule is used
• match on action with the fork and food

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CINEMATOGRAPHY

• fight scene:
• no long shots (M/MCU)
• no fade-up
• cuts straight to action
• impact
• shows brutality
• whip-pan and hand-held tracking shots (realist)
• Barthes action codes
• low-key lighting
• brutal/grim
• natural lighting?
• shallow field of focus
• protagonist in focus (and foreground), but can still see detail in the background
• anchors protagonist
• cuts back to protagonists reaction (and centrally framed)
• Training montage:
• ellipsis (there is an overall ellipsis, not just here)
• tracking shots of protagonist
• cuts back to protagonist
• anchorage
• morning scene:
• begins with tracking shot of superior officer
• becomes MCU
• long take
• lighting as man steps forward (lowkey and shows shadow on half his face)
• signified as villain?
• establishes power dynamic
• protagonist is in the edge of the frame
• sets up equilibrium with protagonist having very little power within his situation

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SOUND; GENRE SIGNIFICATION

• Fight scene:
• audiobridge over titles
• sound is unclear: basketball? fighting? shouting and hitting noises
• creates narrative enigma (Barthes)
• audio does not fade up - cuts in
• impact
• brutality
• diegetic sound
• ambient sound (crowd shouting and hitting)
• only coherent speech is coming form the coach
• Northern accent (Yorkshire)
• all for verisimilitude
• Morning scene:
• audiobridge fade-up
• music is sinister
• foreshadowing

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CENTRAL PROTAGONIST/NARRATIVE

• Anchorage:
• the camera repeatedly cuts back to the protagonist to show his reactions
• the protagonist is the first character we see in an MCU
• As the fight scene comes to a close there is a tracking shot of the protagonist, form an MLS to an MCU of his face, showing the blood and sweat on it (verisimilitude)
• Todorov's narrative theory:
• the protagonist's equilibrium is established almost entirely through the editing of the opening:
• he is established as the protagonist by repeatedly cutting back to show his reactions
• in the training montage, there is always an establishing shot of the area, with the troops training, then it cuts to a close-up of the protagonist's face - this shows him as indiscernible from the rest of the men (a 'cog in a machine')

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MOCK EXAM ESSAY


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GENRE EG4 My Beautiful Laundrette (Working Title, 1991)

My Beautiful Laundrette poster

My Beautiful Laundrette is a social realist/black comedy film, and was made by Working Title before they became a subsidiary of NBCUniversal (when they were an indie company similar to Warp). The film is completely different to the kind they make now, with the plot following the (eventually) romantic relationship between Omar, a Pakistani living London and the street punk/squatter Johnny (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) as they become managers of a laundrette. (Wikipedia)


OUR INFLUENCES

• Initially we were going to have the protagonist be in a mixed race gay relationship, but due to issues of casting we had to change this despite wanting to include non heteronormative representation to explore social issues surrounding the subject (more on this under the "other points" sub-heading)
• The happy music that begins to play (which doesn't seem to fit with the genre) is something we want to avoid, as the example of Tyrannosaur uses incidental, acoustic music much more effectively and fitting with the genre 
• The detailed shots of the set dressing for verisimilitude (similar to Withnail and I and Submarine)

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PRODUCTION CONTEXT/HISTORY

PRODUCTION: Working Title, Channel 4 films DISTRIBUTION: Orion classics
BUDGET: £650k
BOX OFFICE: $2.5m
BBFC 15, MPAA R

• the film was never intended for theatrical distribution
• got it because of Channel 4's interest in the film
• was screened in America
• managed to make a (very large) profit

  

  BoxOfficeMojo

• The BBFC gave this film a 15 rating - but how justified is it?
• There is cursing throughout
• there is a very graphic and realistic looking shot of someones skin rash
• lots of drinking
• In one scene a woman takes her shirt off and her nipples are censored or covered in any way through framing (there are scenes like this between Omar and Johnny where nether are wearing many clothes, but it is often the case that female nudity is more likely to be censored/sexualised)
• The interesting point is the violence: there isn't any graphic violence, or shots of realist looking wounds, and in the climax of the film a car is destroyed followed by a brawl in the street. In the example of This is England the fight scene at the end has graphic shots of Milky's bashed up face, with lots of blood - much more extreme than My Beautiful Laundrette - but the amount of violence and swearing in both of these films is nothing compared to the mindless and graphic violence you see in many WT productions, such as Hot Fuzz (which includes someones head being speared by a model church spire, someones head being crushed by a piece of falling building, someones hand being stabbed and many more) which also was given a 15 rating.
• 1988 Margaret Thatcher passed a law which banned the 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools and by local authorities (Local Government Act 1988, Section 28)
• lead to a general avoidance of non-heteronormative representation and the propagation of homophobic sentiment in a lot of media
• Thatcher's homophobic sentiment was largely emboldened by the 1980's AIDS/HIV crisis
• this film was subsequently politically controversial 
• Marketing strategy:
• in the US trailer the film is portrayed mostly as a comedy in hopes of being more successful at the box office
• there is also no reference to the homosexual content in the trailer (they refer to the relationship between the two main characters as "a partnership of 2 young entrepreneurs", and include a scene of one protagonist kissing a girl)
• lots of neon lights were used 
• made the film look more upbeat/comedic
  
  
• Low-key lighting used throughout the film
• part of social realist genre but also signifies low budget
• Hand-held cameras
• reflective of the British Documentary Movement
• also signifies low budget
• adds to realism
• 
  

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TITLES

• The titles don't fit at all with the genre
• The white serif font is similar to what was in other films (Withnail and I, Tyrannosaur, This is England), but the animation is very different to any of the other examples 
• The jokey washing machine animation really doesn't much sense as it does not signify the genre, and there is only a small a comedy aspect to the film
• All these could be a part of the hybridity aspect in hopes of making the film more marketable (similar to the misleading US trailer)

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MISE-EN-SCENE/FIRST SHOT

• First shot:
• not an ELS
• is immediately grim, no grand image
• immediately the action begins - adds impact, reflective of the violence which pervades the film 
• also follows Barthes action codes, very similar to in '71
• the furniture is old, cheap looking, dirty
• blocking the door
• not fancy
• walls are decaying (similar to in This is England)
• low-key lighting 



first shot

• immediately signifies poverty/social realist genre

• Props:
• the mattresses do not have sheets on them
• neither do the duvets
• multiple mugs are on the floor
• protagonist uses a black bin bag to pack his (very few) belongings
• all adds to verisimilitude
• connotes poverty (makes sense as you find out they are squatting in the abandoned house)



2nd shot (mattress, costume, protagonist in foreground)



wearing a coat but no shirt

• 

  mugs/rubbish for verisimilitude

• Costume:
• character asleep on the chair is wearing a large coat to sleep warm
• the fact that he's asleep on a chair rather than in a bed in the first place is a part of mise-en-scene
• clothes are all worn and dirty looking
• one man is wearing a large coat with no t-shirt underneath 
• prioritised keeping warm
• protagonist's jeans are ripped
• may be purposefully to signify he is a rebel/punk
• may be to show that he cannot afford new ones
• could be both

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PROTAGONIST

• how he is anchored as the protagonist (in the opening only, the 2nd protagonist is introduced later):
• shown in MCU high angle 2 shot in 2nd shot

  

  durable jacket, bleached hair, packing
  clothes in a bin bag

• is closer to the camera 
• is the first person you see
• camera follows protagonist and cuts back to show his reactions
• also uses varied focus to keep shots of him clear for longer than other characters
• one of the first characters to speak
• is on-screen for longer than any other character
• costume/hair
• the ripped jeans make him look like a rebel, but also suggest he might not be able to afford another pair
• is wearing two pairs of trousers to keep warm (further signifying poverty)
• oversized jacket (on top of a t-shirt and jumper) with the collar turned up
• connotes rebelliousness/non-conformity 
• is a durable jacket (made to last), part of a 'fashion' statement but also suggests he does not have enough money to regularly by more 'trending' clothes
• the layers signifies poverty (is a squatter, so he can't be assured he'll have a warm place to sleep)
• bleached hair
• is not bleached at the roots (suggests it has been a while since he last did it/can't afford to get it done again)
• signifies rebelliousness
• shows he does pay attention to his appearance/artificially changes it
• may be part of the non-heteronormative representation as it is stereotypical of gay men to pay more attention to their appearance (though there is no explicit gay content in the opening)
• Actions/dialogue:
• tells another man staying in the house to get up because they are being raided, and then physically hauls him off the ground
• when leaving the house he walks in front of the other man
• establishes the protagonist as the 'leader' of this group
• has a northern accent



throwing his bag out the window 

• does conform to stereotype that associates northern accents with poverty/lack of education (he is homeless)
• also conforms to stereotype of northern English focus on community (wakes up his friends when police arrive rather than just leaving without them)
• throws his clothes/belongings out of the window
• they are not very valuable/breakable, no sentimental attachment 
• This does change as the film goes on (character arc) as he gets a job and is given a place to live by Omar's uncle (realistic character arc/development)
• part of the social realist genre, as the character is also forced to face up to his fascist, anti-Semitic past
• non of this is seen in the opening though
• These things a UK audience would be more likely to pick up on than an international audience
• Stuart Hall's theory of readings: this reflects cultural knowledge and an element of preferred reading (similar to the banging of the bin lids in '71 as a warning for authorities), which makes sense as initially the film was never going to get an international theatrical release at all, so was made for a UK audience

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SOUND; GENRE SIGNIFICATION

• Though not explicitly stated anywhere, this film can be said to be a part of the emerging New Queer Cinema movement (coined in the 90's)
• This emerged in a similar way to feminist theory in the 80's, focusing on turning societal shame into pride
• Throughout My Beautiful Laundrette, Omar and Johnny have to repeatedly hide they relationship, and despite being rejected for it by the Tania character they continue to be together
• The depiction of their same-sex relationship is unapologetic, and other characters are created as antagonistic/villainous (Propp's archetypes) in their disdain/disapproval

• The happy music that begins to play with the titles does not fit at all with the genre, the scene or the rest of the film (but as stated earlier may be part of the hybrid aspect to increase audience appeal)

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OTHER POINTS

• To be clear, we did not intend to "straightwash" our initial idea, and we want to maintain the integrity of the social realist genre by exploring controversial themes in gritty, realist light, but now this will not include non-heteronormative representation (due to casting issues)
• Although when My beautiful Laundrette "came out"... there was inherent shock value with it being not only a same-sex relationship, but also a mixed race one, a film with central queer representation would be far less radical today, though still controversial
• a good demonstration of this is 2017's Call Me By Your Name, distributed by Sony and WB (2 of the Big Six), set in the 80's with the plot flowing the romantic relationship between a 17 year old boy and and the visiting 24 year old graduate-student assistant, Oliver. 
• This film won 12 awards in total - a critical and financial succes
• The other protagonist of this film (Omar, an young, enterprising anglo-pakistani) is not seen in the opening, but the casting of a '"model minority" in the lead marked a positive change in the representation of non-caucasians in film. Though the majority of representation is still caucasian and heterosexual, and this film was a low-budget indie production, it shows the importance of government funding (grants and the BFI) for more controversial films and the need for more diverse representation (also shown by the critical success of the film).
• Although Omar is not shown in the opening, this maybe an attempt to initially make an audience more inclined to continue watching (through identification, but also the narrative enigma created in the first scene)

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