Focus Group Discussions

Focus Group Discussions 

The idea for my final production is a 3 min extract of a 30 min modern-noir gangster movie recorded in a eastern European language (Polish) which give it that perfect Art house cinema feel. It will be about a young man that came to this country for a new life but gets involved with crime for fast money and he realises that he is doing wrong too late. It has the aspect of choosing between bad and good.

The focus group was really helpful as it gave us the oppourtunity to sit down with whole class and listen to the ideas each group have for their film. By doing this the class can give feedback such as questions to think about or how the original idea can be improved.  I presented the idea which was well accepted by everyone in the classroom who also liked the concept of having it in a different language, however some thought it might be hard to follow and fully understand the dialogue even with the English sub-titles. One person mentioned a reference to ‘Narcos’ on how similar the topic of drugs and violence is with it having aspects of a native language (Spanish) with English that helps support the story being told. With that feedback I added a voice over to the script which will be a line or two in English that will set the sort of mood and actions that are to come. It will also help understand the situation being shown except being thrown into a conversation in a different language. We also haven’t also decided where the 3 min extract will be to do with the film as the main part is a kidnapping, there are two choices we put forward to the classroom

Mise-en-scene

Location 1 : Empire road, Perivale, UK
Scene:
This location would be used at the start of the clip. It includes the scenes of kidnapping and the driving off in a car. The next scenes such as the montage of driving shots which are leading towards the next location. It’s inside an area that’s 

Location 2 : Horsenden LN, Perivale, UK --- Parking lot  
Scene:This location is where most of the action will happen which includes most of the dialogue between the two characters. It is a parking located inside the forest which helps to create a darker and more dramatic emphasise on the scene. It is also empty once it gets dark which is ideal as the scene consists of being empty with just the characters to be seen.

Props:

-      Fake Gun

-      Duffel Bag

-      Fake blood

-      Fake Drugs

Costume:

-       Domestic Clothing (everyday clothes, tracksuits, caps, etc.)

Casting Details:

Patrick Grzybowski – A immigrant from Poland that has come to the UK for a new start at life but struggles to have enough money for a comfy life and is always on a hustle to get money and get an education. Gets himself mixed in with crime and the wrong sort of people and realises too late for him to escape.

Kacper Tkaczyk – A leader of a small gang that took Patrick in to help out and use him for the advantage, after realising what he did he loses his cool and snaps. The amount of power he thinks he has over people gets over whelming and he sees himself as a powerful person. 

Project Schedule

Project Schedule

Date	What’s Happening	People Needed
08/01/17	Looking for locations for filming	Karol and Asmit
11/01/17	Cast actors and gather props for the filming	Karol
18/01/17	Gather everyone to inform how each scene will look like	Everyone
20/01/17	Film opening sequence in location 1	Everyone
21/01/17	Film the rest of the scenes	Everyone
22/01/17	Start editing the clips for a pre-cut	Karol and Asmit
26/01/17	Review the clip and record any missing footage.	Everyone
27/01/17	Edit final footage	Karol and Asmit
29/01/17	Review footage with sir	Karol and Asmit
30/01/17	Any final improvements reflection on any feedback given.	Karol

Script

Nowy początek (Fresh Start)

Written By 

Karol Tkaczyk

-----------------------------------------------------

SCENE 1 – PATRICKS KIDNAPPING

PATRICK WALKING HOME IN THE DARK, CAR DRIVES IN FRONT AND KACPER JUMPS

 AND GRABS HIM. SCENE CONSISTS OF PATRICK STRUGGELING TO ESCAPE. 

KACPER:

‘I co teraz? (What now?)’

PATRICK TRIES TO SHOUT AND STARTS TO PANIC, GETS PUT INSIDE THE TRUNK. 

KACPER ENTERS PASSENGER SEAT.

KACPER:

‘Prowadz (Drive)’ 

CAR DRIVES FORWARD, KACPER TURNS UP THE RADIO AND CLASSICAL MUSIC STARTS 

PLAYING. 

SCENE 2 – CONFRONTING PATRICK

MUSIC DIES DOWN AND CAR PULLS UP TO PARKING LOT, KACPER GETS OUT AND DRAGS

 PATRICK OUT THE TRUNK AND DROPS HIM ON THE FLOOR

PATRICK (VOICEOVER):

‘I didn’t want to be part of this, you seen what I did. I had no choice but

 to do this’

IN THE BACKGROUND KACPER IS SEEN PUTTING A GUN ON HIS WAIST, PULLS OUT THE

 BAG PATRICK WAS CARRYING AMND THROWS IT NEAR HIS BODY THEN WALKS UP TO 

PATRICK AND KICKS HIM.

KACPER:

‘Czy bierzesz mnie za idiotę? Myślisz, że możesz to wszystko zostawić? 

(Do you take me for an idiot? You think you can leave it all behind?)’

PATRICK:

‘Co ty do cholery jeszcze chcesz ode mnie, ja nic nie mam 

(What the hell else do you want from me, I have nothing)’

KACPER WALKS UP TO THE BAG AND OPENS IT AND LOOKS INSIDE

KACPER:

‘Nie pierdole, naprawde myslisz ze ciebie zostawie w spokoju jesli 

ukradlesz ode mnie (Don’t chat shit, you really think I'll leave with

 you in peace if you stole from me)’

PATRICK:

‘Niczego nie ukradlem, to moje bo bylismy w tym razem (I did not steal 

anything, because my we were in this together)

KACPER:

‘Nigdy nie byliśmy w tym razem, ty pracowałeś dla mnie (We've never

been in this together, you worked for me)’

KACPER THROWS THE OPENED BAG AT PATRICK WITH ANGER AND KICKS PATRICK 

3 TIMES AND THEN MOVES AWAY FROM HIM. HE CAN’T CONTROLL THE ANGER AND

 MOVES TO PATRICK AND PULLS OUT THE GUN PUSHING IT INTO PATRICKS FACE.

PATRICK:

‘Kurwa nie ... przestań, ja potrzebowałem pieniędzy, więc ci pomogłem. 

Tylko chce rozpocząć nowe życie błagam cie (Fuck no ... stop it, I needed

 the money so I helped you. Only want to start a new life I beg you.)’

KACPER STANDS UP STILL POINTING THE GUN AT PATRICK.

KACPER:

‘Chce towszystko zbobrotem’ (I want everything back )’

PATRICK STRUGGLES TO CRAWL ON HIS BACK ANDSLOWLY BUT BARELY STANDS UP.

PATRICK:

‘Ja nic niema” (

I don’t have anything!)’

THE TWO CHARACTERS ARE FACING EACH OTHER AND THE GUN IS LIFTED TOWARDS

 HIS FACE.

KACPER:

‘To nie moj problem… lepiej miej wszystko za 3 dni (That’s not my problem

 you better have everything in 3 days)’

SCREEN BLACKS OUT. 

THE END.

Arthouse Film Institution Research

Arthouse Film Institution Research

Production: Independent film studios

Look back at the five films you have analysed for your existing product research. Find which studios made them – e.g. Film Four, Studio Canal, BFI, BBC Films etc.

1)     Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-  ANONYMOUS CONTENT / THIS IS THAT

2)     Girlhood – CANAL Studios

3)     Boyz N the Hood – COLUMBIA PICTURES

4)     The Falling – BBC FILMS

Distribution: Independent film distributors:

1) Summarise the 10 steps of film distribution in a list using your own words.

The 10 steps of film distribution is a long method due to process which needs different people such as the directors, editors and actors to first complete the film. The first steps would certainly be to plan out the movie which it will then be finished to the end. The movie clips will then be edited and supervised by directors as they will have the final say in what is added and how it is added into the main film to follow the vision of the director. Lastly, right after the movie is finished it will be sent to the BBFC where it will be given an age rating from this the movie can be shared and distributed to cinemas around the world.

3) Now research the distributors for each of the arthouse films you have analysed for your existing product research. Who distributed each film in the UK?

For Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind the distribution for the movie is Focus Features

For Girlhood the distribution for the movie is Pyramide Distributions

For Boyz N the Hood the distribution for the movie is Columbia Pictures

For The Falling the distribution for the movie is Metrodone UK

                                                                                          

4) How many cinemas did each film open in?

The films have all made it to international releases meaning that they have been in many cinemas which can’t be counted on how many exactly.

5) How much money did each film make? Did it make a profit against the budget?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Had a budget of £20M and made £60M

Girlhood -                                                Had a budget of £500,000 and made £1.7M 

Boyz N the Hood-                                    Had a budget of £6M and made over £55M

The falling-                                              Had a budget of £750,000 but only made £468,762

6) Research Curzon Artificial Eye. Who are they and what do they do?

Curzon Artificial Eye is a UK organization that distributes independent films. They mostly distribute and release films that have a more critical narratives and which are directed by known directors, this is because they would have a greater appeal to an audience 

Existing product research

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The clip is a 2 minute extract from the movie 'Eternal Sunshine of the spotless Mind' which is a Sc-Fi/Drama released in 2004. In this extract, the main character Joel talking to Clementine, the shot is taken as a continuous shot to make it seem more natural making the audience feel like they are there. The directors choices when recording and editing was to produce a natural feeling film, this includes using the High Key lighting to produce the realistic. The setting of the clip is the library which seems as a normal place of recording, with this come diegetic sounds such as 
people in the background walking and book pages turning that really emphasis the realistic feel to it. The cinematography of the clip wasn't anything special as it was made up out of medium shots throughout which is the most common shot in movies as they are ordinary and allow clear understanding of the dialogue between two characters as seen. They don't draw attention to objects like a close up would. For the camera movement the director once again tried to emphasis the fact it's supposed to look realistic by using a handheld camera, it draws the viewers attention  less on the surrounding. Continuity Editing was used to make the clips seem like they are joined together and with the shots using handheld means that the audience will not pay any attention to the clips changing. 

With the BBFC rating the film as 15 due to it containing strong language and moderate sex reference seems fair meaning that the target audience is older then 16. The film genre being a Sc-Fi/Drama has a bigger appeal to women due to the drama aspect. Further, the theory of Gillian Dyer 'Lines of appeal' such as 'Love and successful Romance' because the movie is about a man that is trying to remind a women about their relationship and how he struggles. That sort of aspect once again would appeal to women rather then men. The target audience must be 20-35 year old people with 70% women and 30% as of the underlying theme of love that some men might not like and can't connect to those sort of feelings.



Girlhood

The clip is a extract from the movie “Girlhood” which is a French movie based around a girls “Marieme” life in the suburbs of France. The movie was released in 2014 and is a Drama/ Gangster movie with the aspects of crime, drugs and violence. The scene is recorded within a train where a camera follows the characters standing in a circle talking to each other. The main aspect which makes this an Arthouse film is the foreign language (French) with subtitles on top for the audience to understand the film. The scene is made up of close ups and a lot of camera movements which seem to be handheld and shot at an eye level, however the clip was really smooth with the movements from side to side. Thus allowing the scene to flow. The scene was filled with music that the group of girls have been dancing to that show how they disrespect and cause disruptions in public and acting wildly. The actors in the scene are energetic throughout by dancing and laughing which gives the whole scene seem to have more energy and forcing upon the dancing onto Marieme that was hesitating to dance.

The age rating of the film is 15 due to the certain scenes that show violence, drug use and strong language that was used throughout the full film. With the main characters being female that are messed up with crime this makes me believe that the majority of the audience would be more female than male. Lastly, the movie can be seen as a symbol that all crime movies don’t have to be based around males so this would have a bigger appeal to demographic of people that grow up in situations like the girl did.

Boyz N the Hood

The movie is an American gangster movie that came out in 1991, directed by John Singleton and the movie was known as a coming of age movie. The reason the movie is so popular with an Arthouse audience is due to its original narrative that has struck many people’s lives and moved many discussion of some topics. This clip of the movie shows how quickly a normal night out can turn really bad in areas such as those especially at night. Within the scene there is a lot of dialogue which lead to close ups on people’s faces when they are talking to each other, there are also other shots which are mostly made up of medium shots and no long shots. With the lighting of the scene being low it backs the mood of the scene to be really dramatic and kind of dark with the whole guns and violence happening near the end of the clip. Representation of gangs with the two sides going at each other, you could also back the stereotype that most of the members are male and are black in those areas of America. This is also done to have a higher impact on the audience to share that point of black mails getting messed up with these gangs, violence and even drugs. It might also signify that even if you do nothing wrong but live in those areas you are messed up with the violence anyway as seen near the end as the two characters have done nothing wrong but are still stopped at the end.

The age rating for the movie is again 15+ which it should be as most of the movie is based on the topics of violence, guns and drug use as well as some explicit scenes that still come under the guidelines for that rating. Lastly I think that more males would be drawn towards this movie the females as it has most male characters that deal with life problems. The appeal of the movie is to also show young males that live in similar places how it can affect them and sort of teach them to stay away.

The Falling

The falling is a Mystery/Drama that was released in 2014. The film is based In the late 1960s about mysterious fainting epidemics that strikes students in an all-girls school. The movie once again has that aspect of an Arthouse with the original concept and original concept which made the movie more interesting as it has a purpose. The scene begins with a close up of the main character with a voiceover of some dialogue that is to make the audience want to find out about the film. For the other clips I have researched it was mostly about the style of recording and the purpose of the film but with this clip the main focus was the way it was editing together. As the clip progresses the editing of the clips gets faster and faster to which it stops and ends with a single long clip. The last clip is of the two girls hugging each other which really condescends the first clips of the girl being alone. Lastly, the edits of the clips might be seen as flash backs to what the girls sees or what might happen which really backs the idea of the genre being a mystery.

The age rating for the movie is once again is age 15+ and that must be due to the explicit scene at the start of the clip which automatically crosses the guide lines for an age appropriate audience. Not really sure but I think that more girls would be interested in the movie then makes as of the female lead actor as well as the side of mystery. 

Video production tutorial 13/03/17

• ·         3 minute rough cut status: rough cut delivered on time (visuals) – audio still to be added.
• ·         Comments on current filming: a lot of the editing is very, very good – really nice pace to the scene when the victim is bundled into the car. The one issue that may hold you back slightly is focus – particularly the longer dialogue shot of your character on the floor looking up. If this was a couple of seconds I wouldn’t be too worried but it’s actually quite an extensive shot. You could either re-shoot or re-edit and include more shots from other angles to hide the focus issue on the top-down shot.
• ·         The in-car shots just felt a bit weird – shooting over the shoulder by the door seems a strange choice when you have the option of shooting over the other should out the middle of the windscreen. Similarly, the camerawork is a bit too shaky when filming the dashboard. Look over these again to add a bit of stability and focus to this scene.
• ·         The main issue of course is audio – adding that will be a significant challenge but fundamentally you’ve got a decent video here. The aspects you’ll need to add are dialogue, music, sound effects (kicking etc.) but also ambient noise – you’re external throughout so car noise, background sounds etc. are vital.
• ·         Colour correction between the two cameras will also need to be part of the final edit.
• ·         Think how you could use titles (if you want to) in order to show it is the opening to a film.

·         Next steps: simple – get the audio recorded and added; consider and carry out any re-shoots if required.

·         Print – work on this individually in free periods/after school as required.