500 Days of Summer (postmodernism)

1) On your first viewing, what did you think was unusual about the film? How did it subvert your expectations of the rom-com genre?

Answer) It was unusual because the film was not in chronological order, it started near the end, the jumped back and forth between dates. The difference between this film and regular rom-com films, it seems towards the end that it was only the man that was in love with the woman, whereas typically, both people are in love with each other.

2) Postmodern films are often fragmented (broken up) or dont make sense chronologically. Was this the case with ‘500 Days’? And why?

Answer) This was definitely the case as the film jumped forward and backwards in time, at very random dates in time. This confuses the viewer.

3) Postmodern films often have unusual techniques that confuse/unbalance the viewer – where there any of these in the film?

Answer) Yes because they completely mixed up the order at which we saw the events in the film. Also by making the woman so hard to read, it made the audience confused as well as the man in the film.

4) Intertextuality, where the film links to other films, is another feature of post modernism. Did you spot any of this in ‘500 Days’? 

Answer) yes, when the man is dancing in the street and cartoon birds are flying all around him, we would usually see this in a disney film such as snow white.

5) Often Postmodern films are self referential, which means that they keep making the viewer aware that they are a film. How did ‘500 Days’ do this?

Answer) They did this with the dancing in the street film, as this doesnt happen in every day life.

6) Postmodern films can also blur the boundaries between different genres of films. How did ‘500 Days’ do this?

Answer) Yes because there are moments when you arent sure if its a comedy, or a romance. there are also many different moods to the film, such as being sad/depressed, happy/laughing etc.

7) Overall, did you enjoy the film? What type of film genre would you classify it under?

Answer)  I did enjoy the film because it doesnt finish the way everyone would have expected. I would classify it as a Romantic Comedy.

Transitions

Change from one shot to the next shot (cut)

Quick pan/whip pan, camera turns quickly whilst it cuts into another scene,

wipe, pushes one shot in to the next, can be daigonal, vertical, horizontal

shot blends in to the next shot, has two shots in at one point of time – dissolve/cross dissolve

Fade goes from normal shot to black and vise versa

Wash goes from normal to white and vise versa

TITLES – think about why it is there, what it does, not a transition just part of editing, breaks continuity by distracting the audience by reading the title rather than watching whats happening on screen, drawing attention away from the action

slow motion breaks continuety because it isnt real time, always done for an effect

talking/looking at the audience/camera breaks continuity

flashback does break continuity, analyse how they have made it seem like a flashback and the effect it has

movement with an eye line match connotes the movement of the actor

Tilt, slowly looking up/down

 

Mise en scene

‘Put in the scene’

Anything that is placed in front of the camera is in the mise en scene.

Costume – Old, black (funeral)

Props – properties of the set, do they use it? is it relevant to the scene

Location – ‘On location’= shooting in a real place, ‘On set’= something built in a studio/Set design, how has it been built? What does it look like? Colour, Materials etc.

Actors – Makeup/hair, casting, performance – expression, body language, how they talk/accents/delivery, 

Lighting – Low key lighting (dark, gloomy, shadows) / High key lighting (bright, artificial)

Case Study -> Shutter Island

S  h  u  t  t  e  r    I  s  l  a  n  d

Studio ->

Sikelia Productions/ Produced by Paramount Pictures.

Sikelia Productions -> Sikelia Productions, Inc. has a location in Beverly Hills, CA. Active officers include Martin Scorsese. Sikelia Productions, Inc. filed as a Statement & Designation By Foreign Corporation on Saturday, February 28, 2004 in the state of California and is currently active. Jacob Bloom serves as the registered agent for this organization. The budget for Shutter Island was $80 million. Sikelia Productions have also been studio to: George Harrison:Living in the material world (2011) and also Public Speaking (2010). This studio is not well known, its films are usually niche, which makes it a surprising choice for such a blockbuster as Shutter Island.

Film Package ->

It was directed by Martin Scorsese, this explains the choice of studio as Sikelia Productions is his own personal Studio which he created.

Produced by -> 

• Martin Scorsese 
• Bradley J.Fischer
• Daniel Dubiecki
• Mike Medavoy
• Jeffrey Clifford
• Arnold W.Messer
• Gary Barber
• Roger Birnbaum.

Main Cast ->

• Leonardo DiCaprio as Edward ‘Teddy’ Daniels
• Mark Ruffalo as Chuck Aule
• Ben Kingsley as Dr. John Cawley
• Max von Sydow as Dr. Jeremiah Naehring
• Michelle Williams as Doloras Chanal
• Emily Mortimer as Rachel Solando 
• Jackie Earle Haley as George Noyce
• Ted Livine as Warden

Leonardi DiCaprio has been in a lot of famous films, including; Romeo + Juliet, Titanic, The Beach, Blood Diamond, Inception and many more.

The idea for the film came from the original book: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

The film opened #1 at the box office with $41 million, according to studio estimates. The movie gave Scorsese his best box office opening yet.

3 main USP’s for Shutter Island ->

1. Martin Scorsese – Having his as a director makes people want to come and see this film because he has a reputation of making ‘Must See’ films.
2. Leonardo DiCaprio – Leonardo DiCaprio is a very profound actor. He has been in many blockbusters and is probably the most popular actor around.
   
3. Genre – People have always enjoyed psychological thrillers, and by making this a ‘new’ and ‘up to date they appeal to nearly everyone.
   

Production ->

Feature film rights to the 2003 novel Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane were first optioned to Columbia Pictures in 2003, but the rights lapsed back to the author. Lehane’s representatives then sold the rights to the production company Phoenix Pictures, who hired screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis to adapt the novel for film. The project was in development for a year. By October 2007, the project had developed into a co-production between the studios Columbia Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who had worked together on three films—Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and The Departed—were both attracted to Shutter Island as their next collaboration. Locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Nova Scotia were scouted. Scenery from Peddocks Island (initial island approach), Acadia National Park in Maine, Medfield State Hospital in Medfield, MA, and the Rice Estate at Turner Hill Country Club in Ipswich, MA were combined via CGI to create the imagery of Shutter Island as a whole. The large mountainous area of the island seen during the ferry approach was added in post-production and does not exist, but the decaying brick buildings on the lowlands are real ruins from Peddocks Island.

Marketing ->

The film was scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures in the United States and Canada on October 2, 2009. Paramount later announced it was going to push back the release date to February 19, 2010. Reports attribute the push back to Paramount not having “the financing in 2009 to spend the $50 to $60 million necessary to market a big awards pic like this,” to DiCaprio’s unavailability to promote the film internationally, and to Paramount’s hope that the economy might rebound enough by February 2010 that a film geared toward adult audiences would be more viable financially.

The film premiered at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival as part of the competition screening on February 13, 2010. Spanish distributor Manga Films will distribute the film in Spain after winning a bidding war that reportedly reached the $6 million to $8 million range.

Shutter Island used lots of standard advertising in order to promote awareness of the up and coming release of the film. They used billboards, posters and television adverts as standard but also used the main actor Leonardo Di’Caprio to sell the film to their target audience. As Di’Caprio is a very well know and famous actor the fact that he is the main character in the film will obviously influence lot’s of people to go and see it in order to see him. Another similar factor is that it is directed by Martin Scorsese who is another very popular director and his films such as ‘Cape Fear’ and ‘Age of Innocence’ were very succesful. One of the biggest of the initial waves of publicity for the movie came when it was announced that Paramount was moving it from its original October 2009 opening slot to February of 2010. 

Audience ->

The audience for this film is primarily for the younger market (between 16-25). Although there will be an older audience interested in the film. Psychological thrillers are very popular amongst teenagers, also the certificate for most thrillers are either rated 15 or 18. I think that this is very much for both genders, I feel that there is not a main gender that would want to watch this film. This is why it has been succesful. Other films this type of audience may watch includes: Silence of the lambs (Jonathan Demme), Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese), Memento (Christopher Nolan), all due to the related genre (psychological thriller).

Release date ->

Cut to last fall, when it was announced that Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island was getting its release date bumped from Oct. 2, 2009, to Feb. 19, 2010. That was a very tough move to spin. The studio, Paramount Pictures, claimed that it simply couldn’t afford to market the film as it desired amid the launch of the holiday awards season rush. And maybe that’s true. But deliberately, pointedly moving a Martin Scorsese movie out of awards season? There’s no way that sounded promising.

Trailer ->

The trailer for this film definitely reflects the main genre of it (psychological thriller). It makes the audience jump and keeps them interested throughout. I think that the trailer is very good because it gives us the general information you need to know, without letting us know too much. It definitely makes people want to go and see it in the cinema.

Posters ->

This is the poster for Shutter Island. I think it is quite good because it says “THERE IS SOMEONE MISSING” which gives the audience something to think about before they have even watched the film, it also adds to the eery, gothic feel to the film by the colours that are used and the facial expression on Leonardo DiCaprio’s face.

Distribution

1. What 3 questions is the producer thinking of from the start? – How it will sell, how much it will sell and how they are going to attract people to it.
2. What does the distributor do? – Find an audience for the film, and makes sure the audience are aware of the film.
3. How do major studio distributors and smaller distributors differ? Name 3 distributors.
4. How do smaller studios find films? – Film festivals.
5. What does USP stand for? What could the USP for a film be? – USP stands for Unique selling point, this can be used to appeal to a certain type of audience.
6. Why is the release date important? – The release date is important because you don’t want to release a film when another film with the same genre is being released.
7. What research does distributors have to carry out? – Ask random audiences to watch a premier of a film to see if they enjoy every part of the film
8. What is the marketing budget spent on? What 3 areas can the distributors focus on? – Advertising and publicity, trailers, actors to talk about the film.

Music

Use of Music:

• Incidental – Background Music
• Score – (Instrumental) Written for the programme (Theme songs)
• Soundtrack – All songs that are used in the film

Orchestral/Choral/Percussive/Rock

Sad/Happy music = Key –> Minor=sad/Major=happy

Exhibition

What happened in summer 2007?

Cinema attendances was at its largest number in 40 years
What is a big problem for the film industry?

Illegal piracy of films
Why is multiplex location important?

Good/easier access and good parking
What is Curzon Cinema?

A niche cinema
Why do people choose Vue Cinemas?

Because they offer something that other cinemas don’t (certain films, comfort, entertainment etc)
What kind of films would Curzon show?

Specialized films
What could digital cinema offer?

To show an unlimited amount of films, sporting events, live shows/concerts
Why is 3D important? What does immersive cinema mean?

Because it gives the cinema something extra thats different to watching a film at home (USP) immersive = in the middle of the film
What is the future for Cinema?

digital 3D, concerts, sporting events etc 

Distribution – The Campaign

1. What are the key elements of a film that distributors focus on?  Cast, soundtrack, CGI, storyline, anything that can be seen as a USP.
2. What is the most important part of the campaign? The trailer.
3. What does synergy mean? A link between the film and the campaign. 
4. What should the poster do? “tease” the audience in to wanting to view the film.
5. What would the perfect trailer do? You need it to sell itself, and draw in a wide audience. It wouldnt give away the storyline, and it doesnt need a voiceover.
6. What is multimedia marketing? Advertisement through the internet with websites, trailers on youtube etc.
7. What is a viral campaign and how does it work? Creating something that attracts multiple audiences.
8. Why are reviews important? Because its a professional view on your film that will influence people on whether or not to view the film.
9. What are tracking figures? The show whether or not the campaign is successful.
10. What is the most effective thing in the campaign and how do distributors try to control it? The word of mouth by the general public, they can start this off by having previews of the film.
11. What, ultimately, decides if a film is successful or not? Whether or not a large audience is attracted.

Camera work

Shot types

• Extreme Close up (XCU)

• Big Close up (BCU)

• Close up (CU)

• Medium Close up (MCU)

• Mid shot (MS)

• Medium long shot (MLS)

• Long Shot (LS)

• 2 Shot (2S)

• Over the shoulder shot (OSS)

• Wide angle (WA)

• Aerial shot (AS)

• Point of view shot (POV)