contrast between Badlands and Natural Born Killers

There are many ways in which the two lovers on the lam films we have looked at compare and contrast each other. One of the most obvious comparisons between the two couples in Badlands and Natural Born Killers is the killing scene that involves the death of both Holly and Mallory's fathers. The comparison between the two killing scenes is simple in h fact that both male characters arrive at the family home to kill the parents

Little Miss Sunshine American Independent Film Case Study

Little Miss Sunshine is an American comedy-drama film. It is one of the more successful American independent films, released in 2006. The film is also the directorial debut of husband and wife Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was also written by first time writer Michael Arndt. 

Although this is an independent film, which usually consisting of an unknown cast, this film includes several famous actors and actresses such as Steve Carrell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collete, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin. This pushes away from the typical independent film techniques of casting unknown actors, however this particular independent film is not one that was received by the public in the usual way such as film festivals and dvd. This film was picked up by major Hollywood studio, Fox Searchlight Pictures, who bought the rights to distribute the film and released it into cinemas, making it a complete success.

There are a few different reasons as to why Little Miss Sunshine is classed as in independent film. One being the controversial matters shown in the film, such as the pageant world and how it sexualises and glamourises children in an unconventional way. Many of the girls shown in the film being genuine pageant contestants who dressed in costumes and performed real acts from their own previous pageants. This issue is something that would not necessarily be shown in Hollywood box office films as it is seen as shocking and a bad representation of society with winning being their ideal life goals.

Another reason Little Miss Sunshine is independent is due to the production of the film, done by Big Beach Films. As previously stated, the directors and screenplay writer are both performing their debut with this movie and are not well known, successful and wealthy, which are usually the traits that major Hollywood production companies look for in directors and writers. Also, this film is not a big budget film with large sets and technology used. Instead, this film was made with a budget of around $8 million and was filmed in Arizona and Southern California over a period of 30 days, which is and incredibly short amount of time to film compared to the months that it takes for mainstream Hollywood films. Yet another reason this film is seen as independent is due to the way it was released. Being low budget and not yet having the support of a major Hollywood studio company, the film was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on the 20th of January 2006, a well known film festival used to display many indie films. August however, is when the film expanded to a wider release, due to being picked up by Fox Searchlight Pictures for over $10 million and 10% of all gross revenues, and being one of the biggest film deals in the festivals history.

This it what makes the film one of the most successful indie films in recent times. Overall, the film grossed over $100 million worldwide, which compared to the films production costs of $8 million is an astounding success

The Stone Roses: Made of Stone British film case study

The Stone Roses: Made of Stone is a 2013 British music documentary on the acclaimed band The Stone Roses directed by Shane Meadows. The film stars Ian Brown, John Squire, Gary Mounfield and Alan Wren. The film was released in the united Kingdom on the 5th of June 2013. The film follows the band reforming in 2012 after a 16 year split, capturing the band at work and in their everyday lives as they rehearse for their much anticipated reunion on a tour across Europe, which came to a close when the band performed three triumphant homecoming gigs at Manchester's Heaton Park. Although the band ore widely known and extremely successful, the genre of this film, being a music documentary, is primarily targeted at a niche audience of The Stone Roses' dedicated fans, whether that be young or old. It also is a film that was not shown in cinemas and didn't have a big budget marketing campaign, meaning that the audience of this particular film would be people who knew of it's existence and followed this particular music genre. Another way in which it may pick up viewers, would be because of the successful British director of this film, Shane Meadows. As well as this close up documentary, looking into the world of The Stone Roses, Shane Meadows has directed several other well established British films such as the 1997 feature film Twenty Four Seven, and the widely known 2006 film This Is England, which was also a successful television programme, partly directed by Meadows. As he is known for being a stand out British film director, Meadows could very well have a significant impact on audiences and have a following, causing this particular music documentary to be viewed by people who are familiar with his work. 
As well as the director, there are several other reasons why it may have picked up an audience. One being the films reviews. The Stone Roses: Made of Stone picked up positive reviews by many. The Guardian wrote about this film, describing director, Shane Meadows' insight and portrayal of The Stone Roses as a "great, heartfelt tribute". It also describes the film itself as "warm, energetic and purposeful". These positive and passionate reviews could easily influence potential viewers, causing the film to reach out to a wider audience of intrigued and interested people. 
Although there is no specific budget written down for people to see, it is easy to make an assumption that this film, being a documentary especially, would have a significantly low budget to not only Hollywood blockbuster hits, but also successful, bigger budget British films. There is however, a figure for the amount that this film has made to date, being £473,282. To the film industry, this figure is significantly smaller than the high budget, Hollywood blockbuster hits, however compared to the low budget and the fact that this film is a British documentary with a niche audience, the money made on The Stone Roses: Made of Stone is a significant amount, and I would say, labels this film as a success. 
To me, being a documentary about one of Britain's many successful and influential bands, this film is an incredible insight to the lives of The Stone Roses that is rarely seen, and is something that I would definitely watch and be fascinated by. Although many do not relate to their world, it is something which is not seen by many. Therefore every single lover of this brilliant band, along with myself, will thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the well filmed documentary, The Stone Roses: Made of Stone.

The Great Gatsby American Blokbuster Case Study

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 Novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story mainly follows the mysterious, unknown world of millionaire Jay Gatsby and his relationship with the young and beautiful Daisy Buchanan. "The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval and excess, creating a portrait of the jazz age that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream."

There have been several film adaptations of this novel, the most recent being in 2013. This particular adaptation has been extremely successful within the box office world, and there are a few different reasons why. The most obvious proof that film has been successful is the money it has made. The budget for this film was $105 million, which in itself, proves that The Great Gatsby is a huge Hollywood Blockbuster. So far, this particular Great Gatsby film has made just under $350 million, which compared to the budget, is a very large amount of money. This statistic alone proves that this film adaptation has been a complete success in the box office world, however there are other possible reasons why this film may have been such a success, as well as reasons that argue the statement that the film has been completely successful.

Apart from the money made, another factor as to why The Great Gatsby may have been so successful could be due to the cast of this particular adaptation. The cast includes top Hollywood stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Isla Fisher. These stars already have a huge fan base, as well as a successful acting career, making them incredibly admired by film producers and the public alike. 

Along with the factors i have already discussed, another factor that may have influenced the success of this film adaptation could have been the story itself. As mentioned previously, The Great Gatsby is a famous novel, written by a famous author. This alone could have brought in an audience of many, as not only is there just the novel alone, there has been several adaptations already made in the past. A point that could argue against this being part of the success of The Great Gatsby adaptation could perhaps be how much this particular film has modernised the original novel. As it is a recent film, released in the modern day world where technology has drastically improved, this film has heavily modernised the original. One particular way the producers have done this, is through the soundtrack. The songs played throughout this film do not relate too well to the film itself, in fact, some of them are completely new songs, sung by well known pop stars. It has been argued that this has ruined the authenticity of this famous novel, however it has also been argued that the modernisation of The Great Gatsby has helped this adaptation become so successful. Many people have said that the recent pop songs and well known Hollywood cast have brought in a much wider audience to the film, helping it to appeal to many more viewers, even children. If this argument includes truth, then I feel it is more than likely that these adaptations have definitely increased the success of The Great Gatsby

Captain Phillips Research

Domestic Total as of Nov. 26, 2013: $101,140,974
Production budget: $55 million
Worldwide grosses: $177,440,974
Opening weekend: $25,718,314

Captain Phillips is a 2013 American action thriller directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi. The film tells how merchant mariner Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean during the Maersk Alabama hijacking in 2009 led by Abduwali Muse.

The film premiered premiered on the 28th September 2013, opening the New York film festival. The film was praised for its direction, screenplay, production values, cinematography and the performance of Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi. It was described as "smart, powerfully acted and incredibly intense, Captain Phillips offers film goers a Hollywood biopic done right and offers Tom Hanks a showcase for yet another brilliant performance."

This film would appeal to audiences as there is a film star cast as the main character. Fans and supporters of Tom Hanks will want to see this film no matter what the story, because he is in it. It may also appeal to people who are interested or knowledgable about the issue that this film is based on, with it being a true story. 
Although the genre and story of this film is typically related to male audiences, female viewers may also go and see this film just to watch Tom Hanks.

By looking at the statistics of the money this film has made so far compared to the budget of the film and how much it cost to make, I would say that this film is definitely successful.

Practical Coursework Ideas

Storyboard

Urban/ Social Realism
- young target audience
- drugs, drinking, violence

Horror
- young girl (teenager)
- vulnerable, naive, innocent
- use camera as killer (never seen)
- modernised for younger target audience

Young Romantic
- teenagers at school/college
- dramatised struggle of love

Noir (hybrid?)
- romance (doomed
- bars (drinking/smoking)
- some parts in colour (red)
- voice overs
- low key lighting





Aims and Context:
- genre: noir/romance hybrid
- storyboard
- target audience: teenagers and young adults (18- 25), female, middle class
- focusing on lighting and cinematography
- explore gender roles and how they are portrayed

Horror Film Sequence

In groups, we were given the task to produce a film sequence of 10 shots in the genre of horror. Our group had the idea to use one female character as our visual. We shot her in an establishing shot of a comfortable, well lit environment. We then changed the mood by cutting out the lighting and filming the character frantically panicking. We also chose to use diegetic sound as our 'killer' as we felt this caused more suspense to the audience as they would never know where the killer was.
      I feel we portrayed the horror genre well in our short sequence and captured panic and fear in the characters' eyes. I feel that to improve we could have introduced some non diegetic sound to increase the amount of tension and suspense that the audience may feel.  I also feel our lighting let us down as although we aimed to use low key lighting to help with the emotion portrayed in the sequence, the outcome of our shots were underexposed and we lost the effect we wanted to achieve.