Review of directors short films

Gurinder Chadha
Gurinders style is shown through all her films. She tends to focus on stereotypical Asian characters living in Britain and problems some of them face with British and Asian cultures and backgrounds.

The film 'I'm British but...' is based on real life expereinces rather than a made up story, so her audience are more likely to have a connection with the Asian cast telling their life stories.

Her film 'I'm British but...' introduces the life of four British Asians living in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England and what they experience in Britain and classify themselves as. They all face different challenges and live different lifestyles, some are bad and some are good.
For example the Pakistani Scottish women likes to be called British and enjoys were she is from due to she treated well but the Welsh Asian does not enjoy where he lives because of certain incidents like when his field was built in which he believes was a racial motivated attack.

The film is similar to all her mainstream films due to the storylines and issues but it is a real life documentary while all her mainstream films are comedy/drama. It tells me that she likes to have a relationship with her audience whether it is through comedy or drama.

Many of the shots used in 'I'm British but...' showed different parts of Britain like the fields, buildings, crowds etc. These were used with non diegetic sound to tell the audience that although these people telling their lives are British, they are still Asian by blood.

The shots capture the audience through narrative as it shows the UK and talks about the lives of the characters. This helps the audience get into the story as they see what is going on.

They also capture the audience through the characters because it is them that are telling the story not through a voice over giving the audience a much greater understanding as it feels they are talking to them directly.

Made in Dagenham

On Monday 27th September 2010 we went to the Empire Cinemas in Leicester Square to watch the upcoming film 'Made in Dagenham'.

The narrative of the film is about a group of working class women working at the Ford Dagenham assembly plant in 1968 and not getting the same pay as the men.

They get inspired and decide to go on strike which affects the company and soon leads to parliament. After the successful campaign their wish comes to pass two years later.

When the film finished we were lucky to speak to the producer Stephen Woolley who has worked on the film 'The Crying Game'.  He spoke to us about how he got to were he is and his passion for films.

Some things he told us about pre production - production was that it took four years to get the whole script together and that most of the shooting wasn't in Dagenham.

The original film name is titled 'We Want Sex' and is it's name in most European countries but was disallowed in Britain by authorities.

     
I personally enjoyed the film because of its humour, characters and narrative. Despite the fact it is a drama and tells us history of what happened in Dagenham in the past, Stephen still manages to put humour into it making it more enjoyable and interesting for the younger audience.

They also manage to represent working class people as hard working people which many films and TV documentaries don't but represent them as lazy and stupid.

I also come from Dagenham so I found it easy to be interested and related to many of the characters as I felt I knew them even though I never.

Britain's best film directors

In class we read an article about some of Britain's best film directors who are all different in good ways. The ones we learnt about are famous for directing short films which I will be doing for coursework.

Ridley Scott -
                             Short Film - Boy and Bicycle (1965)

• His brother acted the boy in Ridley's first film 'Boy and bicycle'.
• Has 25 films in development.
• Worked on Allen (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Thelma and Louise (1991), Black Hawk Down (2001) and Gladiator (2000).
• Made the film 'Boy and bicycle' with only £65
• Didn't plan who to target film and had no one to advice him as he didn't go film school.

Ken Russell
                   
                        Short Film - Amelia and the Angel (1957)

• First film called 'Amelia and the Angel' made in 1958.
• Directed Oscar winning 'Women in Love'(1969) and Tommy (1975)
• Argentinean Mercedes Quadros played actress Amelia.
• £100 was enough to make film.

Shane Meadows
                               Short Film - Where's the money, Ronnie? (1995)

• Directed film 'This is England' and the drama on Channel 4.
• Shot films like Room for Romeo Brass (1999), Once upon a Time in the Midlands (2002) and Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
• Was chucked out from college for financial reason and was supposed to be doing a job to pay debts but actually ended up doing volunteer work at a film centre.
• Made mistakes when shooting film 'Where's the Money, Ronnie?', but was comfortable with them.

Gurinder Chadha
                         
                             Short Film - I'm British but... (1989)

• Her films mostly focus on Asian people living in Britain.
• Her films are Bhaji on the beach (1993), Bride and Prejudice (2004), Bend it like Beckham (2002) and upcoming film it's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010).
• Was originally a journalist.
• Saw how the media was when it came to defining Indians after the riots in the 80's
• Her producer of 'I'm British but' said "We're supposed to be making a film about music not racism"
• Her work was all about challenging images of Indians in the media and that's what she did.

Stephen Frears

Short Film - The Burning (1967)

• After the success of his film My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) he worked on Dangerous Llaisons (1988), High Fldelty (2000) and Oscar winning The Queen (2006)
• Didn't have a clue what he was doing when making his first film.
• The story is set in South Africa, but we filmed in Tangier.

Amelie

For preparation for our film production, we watched a French film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet named 'Amelie' in school and so I chose to pick my best shots and possible shots that I could use or similar in my own 5 minute film.

This is an establishing shot that was used in the opening of the film to tell the audience the location and setting of the film. It also represents the type of lifestyle the character Amelie is living which is a dark life as she never received love as a youngster but has a bit of light as she likes to help out other peoples life.

You can not really see the houses in detail suggesting that they are not great and could mean that the people living there are all similar which is they all have a dark personality. The lighting reflects on the street showing that something is about to happen on it which is exactly what happened as a car went past.

The fact that the set design is not in colour suggests that the mood of the story isn't going to start of great

I like this shot because it tells me a lot about the beginning even though it has just started. The colour, lighting etc means a lot when portraying something. I chose to put this shot up because I feel I could learn from it and possibly if suitable use in my own film as it will help as it is a silent film.

This is a long shot of Amelie on a bridge throwing stones into a lake. This shot is used to represent her mood and personality. I know this through her body language and costume, setting and lighting.

• Her body language tells the audience that she is active and doing probably a hobby.
• Her costume is red which can represent energy, active and passion.
• It is set in the woods which could mean she is a naturalist and enjoys her time in the outside environment.
• The selective lighting reveals the trees showing nature and also the lighting is natural showing Amelie's fun side.

As the long shot is wide it produces space for her affecting the overall look and making her look free supporting her mood and personality.

I like this shot as it represents her life in all elements of the Mise en Scene. It is effective as it tells the audience how she is feeling through the lighting and setting and tells us about her as a character.

This shot could help me with my work as I can use all elements of Mise en Scene to tell a story, which is very important for a silent film.

Feedback (Of 2 best film ideas)

No Way Out
The main feedback I got from my film No Way Out was that it was similar to the Horror film 'Friday the13th'. I haven't watched the film so I never knew that the narrative was similar.

Other things that were said were that it was too predictable and typical of a Horror movie.

A positive thing I was told were that the title and tagline were catchy and smart.


Miss Singleton
The feedback from this film was much more positive than 'No Way Out'. Most of it was that it will appeal to emotional people and keep them engaged.

I was also told that the narrative was very different to other Drama films as they mostly have good endings.

The downsides were that it was predictable and can be boring at some parts, especially during the middle.

Pictures taken in school

This is a photograph I managed to take in school. My intentions were to create a weird feeling as the objects overlap each other.

The pattern is very creative and looks as if it is going in to another world or dimension. I used selective lighting to create an atmosphere as the artificial lighting begins from the top and disappears down representing something like a cave or tunnel. A pattern emerges as the objects have been arranged roundly. 

As the photo is in colour it affects it by making it look like a type of masterpiece. The lighting at the top and pitch blackness at the bottom creates an atmosphere suggesting there is something inside. 

I like this photo as it is creative and feel it is effective as you can find different meaning behind it. I could relate this to my work by changing one image to another instead of showing cuts, because cuts are obvious forms of continuity.

This is a photo of a window that I took and turn of the lights to create a particular atmosphere. I chose to take this photo because I feel it suggests something is out there. It could suggest that something weird or incredible it there and can tell a particular story as it has similar looks to the moon at night.

I chose to take it in the centre frame to tell people that it is the main focus. As there is enough space on both side of the window it could suggest that it is something special. The shape affects the overall look of the image as you usually don't get circle windows so immediately pulls you to it.

As the photo is taken in the dark it represents a dark atmosphere. The lighting is natural showing a more natural and pure side.

I like this photo as it is different but I could have done better. This is because of the handle at the bottom. 

I managed to take this photo from a side angle so was lucky to catch everything inside. It shows repetition of a red square. I took this to show continuity, so even though you can not see everything you know the next thing is still going to be a red square the same size. It basically is a pattern and you can call it art.  The elements of line, space, form and shape makes the overall look of it neat and tidy. The high key lighting also reveals the shapes much more and portrays a happy colourful side.

I personally like this photo because of the repetition. I don't feel it's effective but I think it can have a message behind it like 'never changing' or 'once your something you can't go back'.         

I took this photo outside the school lift and my intentions were to create a type of suspense. You can see me in the photo as there was a mirror in the lift. The purpose of this photo is to get people thinking 'who is that? The lift closes me so you can't see me properly. The story this photo could tell is that the person is a mystery and the light blocking my face covers my identity.

The lighting in this photo is artificial creating more suspense. The lighting across the lift also separates it into four pieces.

I like this image because it is different and gets the audience thinking. It is effective because it shows how you can tell a story by putting things together. 

What I could of done to improve it is to crop the side. 

Main Task Treatment (my 2 best film ideas)

No Way Out - Treatment

Tagline: You can run... but can't escape
Genre: Horror
Rating: 15

Pitch
A group of school friends rent a house to stay for the holidays, but die one by one after one character discovers something strange is inside the house and haunts them all.

Treatment
School has finished, and the holidays have begun. Seven schoolmates from Barking Abbey Sixth form stay in a rented house paid by Sam's (one character) dad for the holidays to have fun and enjoy.

Nick feels and then spots that there is something in the house. He becomes nervous but keeps it to himself as he doesn't want to be seen as a coward. Quickly he tells them he's going to the pub and smartly persuades them to come.

Chelsea's not feeling it and decides to stay and watch TV. It's been 2hours they've gone and she keeps hearing scary noises. Frightened to death she creeps upstairs to see what it is and BOOM..... there is no way out. 


Miss Singleton - Treatment

Tagline: They say having a family will give you support and love. What they don't tell you is that it can ruin your life.
Genre: Drama
Rating: 15

Pitch
A story of a woman after her seperation from long term boyfriend after baby dies. Shows audience her life. She commits suicide coincidently the same time her boyfriend opens the house door to come back to her.

Treatment
The death of Sheila's baby daughter Grace just six months after giving birth to her has led to continuous arguments between her and Jamie (her boyfriend)

They then break up and Sheila's life crashes in pieces. She can't trust or speak to anyone and decides to commit suicide.

Jamie realises he has done wrong and decides to go back. But it's too late.

Film Genres

In my own words a Film Genre is codes and conventions that a film follows in order to appeal to their target audience and has special characteristics.

According to http://www.filmsite.org/ it gives a more detailed definition of " Film genres are various forms or identifiable types, categories, classifications or groups of films that are recurring and have similar, familiar or instantly-recognizable patterns, syntax, filmic techniques or conventions - that include one or more of the following: settings (and props), content and subject matter, themes, mood, period, plot, central narrative events, motifs, styles, structures, situations, recurring icons (e.g., six-guns and ten-gallon hats in Westerns), stock characters (or characterizations), and stars. Many films are considered hybrids - they straddle several film genres."

For my coursework I will focus on a genre to make my film  easier and more clear to understand. I done research on the most common and main film genres.

• Comedy
• Drama
• Science Fiction
• Thriller
• Crime and Gangster
• Action
• Horror
• Romantic
• Adventure
• Musicals
• Epics/Historicals 
• War
• Western

Below is extra information I researched from the genres that I will like to shoot.

Horror

Horror Films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale.

Horror films deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden worst fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown.
Aim: Scare viewers, while entertaining them at the same time.
Themes/Elements: Monsters, Ghosts, Vampires, Werewolfs, Zombies, Haunted houses, Demons
Many of the films have age restrictions due to their graphic.
Examples: Frankensein, The Mummy, Dawn of the Dead, Saw.

Comedy

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour
The comedy genre humorously exaggerates the situation, the language, action, and characters.
Aim: To make audience laugh by enteraining or being silly.
Themes/Elements: day-day life, family, pranks, situations, protagonists, schools, house, office
They normally have a happy ending.
Examples: Alfie, Clueless, Honey I shrunk the Kids, Daddy Day Care.

Adventure                                                                     

Adventure film are exciting films that feature exciting locations and new experiences.

   They are similar to action films as they provide energetic moments but viewers are more fascinated with the travels, explorations, journeys rather than violence and fighting.

Aim: Persuade viewer to live vicariously through the adventurous world.

Themes/Elements: Maps, rulers, fantasy worlds, creation of empires, pirates, mission, ancient, the impossible.

Examples: The African Queen, Lawrence of Arabia, Back to the Future, The Lost World, Pirates of the Caribbean.

Other gernres that have been taken into consideration and often classified as Sub-Genre

• Disaster
• Guy Films
• Fantasy
• Biographical
• Sports
• Supernatural