Thursday 19 November 2015

The British Film Industry

BBFC - An independant, non-government body which classifies and censors film, video as well as computer and console-based games released in the UK.

BFI - The official UK agency for international cultural relations. Its Film Department promotes new British films (features and shorts), internationally principally through festivals and showcases.

UK Film council - Promotes understanding and appreciation of Britain's rich film and television heritage and culture.

British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Aims to support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image.

British council - Government backed lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.

Films made by:

Film 4 - The Inbetweeners Movie, 12 Years A Slave
Momentum Pictures - White Collar Hooligan 2, Insidious: Chapter 2
Working Title - The Theory of Everything, Johnny English Reborn
BBC Film Network - Ill Manors, StreetDance 2
Pathe - 127 Hours, Adulthood

British V American

British films can claim 25% tax relief from the government. This means the first 25% of any profit you make cannot be taxed! To qualify as 'British', a film needs to score 18/35 on the Bfi 'Britishness' criteria:
Ex Machina: 32
The Avengers Ag Of Ultron: 22
Star Wars The Force Awakens: 23

The British appeal

British films tend to cater and appeal to only British audiences. This could be down to a number of reasons including story lines that are generally contextually British, this means that the story line or theme of the film is to an interest of British citizens as well as a point of knowledge they may have, which those from other countries may not have. However this can also be a reason for audiences of non British nationality to watch these films, as some people, stereotypically Americans, enjoy learning and watching media products set in, on or about Britain. Also due to British people being known for their unique, often than not dry and harsh, sense of humour British comedies do not generally appeal to a wide range of people that are from and live outside of the UK. British films do not appeal to an audience as wide as Hollywood blockbusters, as these types of films are normally 4 quadrant films, with high budgets, global stars and are normally based on subjects of which appeals to a large variety of people. Whereas British films usually accomodate the binary opposites of the features of Hollywood blockbusters (listed previously). Moreover the distribution techniques of British films do not follow the institutional practices of most if not all Hollywood blockbusters.

How British films attract audience

Ex Machina - Aficionados
Suffragette - Aficionados
Attack the block - Mainstream Plus
Inbetweeners 2 - Mainstream
Macbeth - Aficionados
Far from the Madding Crowd - Film Buffs1

Why have a British film industry?

I believe that the British film industry has two main purposes. One of which is to develop the skills of Britain's in the film industry (for example: directors, actors and others), this then can lead to films that are not strictly British to be deemed British which will appeal to British people and therefore boost the UK economy via purchasing these films, regardless of the media they purchase and watch the film on. The second is to generate income from the actual film companies, this is done by excluding tax on 25% of profits that the film makes, which encourages film companies to produce and make their films in the UK. In juxtaposition this will lead to the services of other British companies being used, for example; caterers and carpenters (for sets), which creates a larger demand for these companies and reduces unemployment in the UK.

Representation of Ethnicity

Ethnic Representation in TV Dramas

Black character - Luther


This is a picture from the trailer for the new Luther series, in this clip Luther is portrayed as dangerous as he acts violently towards his office. This is a stereotypical representation of ethnic characters, as characters are seen as exotic, dangerous, humorous and pitied. This is the case as he will be pitied due to his actions of anger in his TV shows trailer. Although, there is countertypes due to the fact that black people are normally associated with low paid jobs whereas in this case he has a high paying job.

Black character - Danny


This is a picture from the TV drama, Spooks. This picture is taken from the part of the drama when the black character, Danny is killed. This is stereotypical as the black character is always involved in violence in TV, in this case he is the one being killed but he is associated with murder due to his colour and the stereotypes for a black character.

Black character - Michael Dawson


This is a picture of the character Michael Dawson from the TV drama, Lost. In this drama he is taken to court and not allowed to see his child anymore. This is stereotypical as the black character is appearing in court straight into the drama, they have done this as it is a stereotype that black people are associated with crime and mostly appearing in court.

White character - Detective Jimmy McNulty

This is a white character from the drama, The Wire. He is a detective which is stereotypical as the white male has a well paid job in the drama. This is stereotypical as normally the white man has the best job, which in this case this stereotype is used as he has a job as a detective and the part is not played by a black male.


White character - Daryl Dixon


This is a character from the Walking Dead, TV drama. In this case, he is tolerated by the group due to his skills in hunting and his efficiency when killing. This is stereotypical as the white male in the drama is liked by every cast member. This is due to the fact that he has good hunting skills and for this drama, he will be the one to go too in order to stay alive.


White character - King Joffrey


This is King Joffre from the TV drama, Game of Thrones. In this drama he has the title of King, this shows stereotypes as he is white and is king. This is because the white character will have a superior role to the other ethnic groups. This is the case as the drama is based from the past, when some ethnic minorities were seen as different.


Chinese character - Sun


This is a character in Lost, that is Chinese. In this drama she learns how to play the piano, this is giving the stereotype that she is intelligent which is a common stereotype with Chinese people in TV dramas.

Chinese character - Glenn Rhee


This is a character from the Walking Dead. In the drama he is smart and tactical. This is stereotypical as from war tactics, the Chinese are seen to have great tactics. This is due to skills when killing and hunting, the drama may have used this stereotype to attract all ethnics.






Tuesday 17 November 2015

Four key areas of disability


Watch the clip below and make notes on the four key areas:
  • Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
  • Editing
  • Sound
  • Mise en scene

Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
  • This clip begins with an over the shoulder shot which allows us to see the reaction of others, for example the man in the van when approached by the character with the disability even though they were previous friends before his disability. 
  • The clip is purely based on the character with the disability to show what is wrong with him, it shows his face and captures his facial expressions towards how people look at him.
  • Also, during this clip it emphasises the way people look at him whenever they see him, it proves what the people think about others with a disability, due to their facial expressions.
  • An establishing shot is shown in the first beginning of the scene, it shows they are in some sort of building site or building workplace. This is due to the equipment that is shown and also the resources which are shown throughout the shot, behind the characters or during the shot when he is walking away.
Editing
  • Shot reverse shot is used when Nick and some other guy are looking at each other and having a conversation. This is used to possibly show the tension between one another and to show what they are talking about. 
  • Cross-cutting is shown when Nick is at the building ground or workplace and then he is walking down a street to help a woman pick up the bags she drops.
  • Fast-paced editing may be shown when Nick is walking down town, and it goes from him to other people who are surrounding him to show their facial expressions to Nick's appearance, this is also may be fast paced due to Nick being quite angry, because he made the woman scream.
Sound
  • At the beginning of scene, it contains a non-diegetic sound which is the background music, which the characters can not hear as it is added in for effect.
  • A sound bridge is used to go from one shot to another when the music starts when he is walking away and then it cuts to Nick being in the middle of town. This keeps it from being boring and makes each cut flow onto the next.
  •  In the recruitment office there is no sound other than Nick and the recruitment officer talking, this makes the audience understand that this an important part of the episode and attracts the audience to listen. This makes all focus on Nick as he tries to change people's view on what the army is like once you are disabled, he believes that he is important and that he should be listened to.
Mise-en-scene
  • To understand it is a building ground there are many resources which are shown in the background, behind the 3 characters who are talking.
  • They are wearing casual clothing which proves the characters previous job was casual labour, he is wearing jeans and trainers which shows he is a relaxed character even though his disability effects him.
  • The makeup used is to show his disability which covers one half of his face, this is done well to every specific detail.
  • In the scene with Nick and the sergeant there is a shot that shows an army painting directly above Nick, which could possibly signify that his injury happened by being in the army.