TKTKM Case Study Introduction

Film genre and type of production?

UK indie/Teen Drama/Greenscreen
Low budget
15 Certificate due to strong language, violence, drug use, and sex references.
BBFC
IMDB
Wikipedia

What’s the film about?

The protagonist, (Paul Varderman), reflects of the events leading to his death, namely he moved to a new school, and made friends with a group of outsiders, ‘The Freaks’. He faced pressure from them and the school bully, Roth, to decide where his friendship was. Roth made him deliver a message to a rival gang, starting a feud.
Life/Death/friendship/outsiders/gang crime/rivalry
Wikipedia
Trailer

Global and UK release dates? Where and what formats?

18th April 2014 London Independent Film Festival
15th July multiple screening event, Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester, Franks Cafe, London, and National Media Museum in Bradford.
UK release 28th October 2014, DVD, (Universal), and VOD (no theatrical release)
Wikipedia
IMDB
Kickstarter

Nationality of the film?

British indie - British directors, distribution, producers, and actors.
Produced in Green Screen Studios in Yorkshire.
IMDB
Green Screen Studios
Screen Writer's Blog Entry

Institutions behind the film’s production and UK/US distribution? Where are they based?

MATADOR - Gloucester Place Films based in London
Green Screen Studios based in Yorkshire
Stealth Media Group based in Brighton (sales + distribution)
Focus Features based in California (US distribution)
Universal Pictures (London branch) (Own rights for DVD release)
Green Screen Studios
Stealth Media Group
Matador Pictures

What’s the film’s production budget?

£3 million
Funded by:
- International Pictures Three and Gloucester Place Films (MATADOR)
- Premier Picture
- Some support from Universal
- Visual/post production effects by University of York TFTV dept.
IMDB
Matador Pictures

Any connection with other films?

Same green screen style as '300', 'Sin City'.
Based on the 'The Knife That Killed Me' Book

Who’s the director?

Kit Monkman - artist and film maker, creative director of KMA
Marcus Romer - artistic director of Pilot Theatre, he's a playwright, director, and small-time actor.
IMDB

How has the film been cast? Who’s in it?

Casting call for main role was posted 26th October 2011, plus call for "Yorkshire-based teenagers" on the 9th January 2012.
Main role played by Jack McMullen - known for 'Waterloo Road', 'Grange Hill', and others.
Other small-time British actors.

Core audience? Secondary/tertiary markets?

Core audience of British teenagers and young adults.
Secondary audiences of people from Yorkshire and fans of the book.
Tertiary audiences of fans of the actors, indie fans, fans of British dramas.

Big Hero 6 Case Study Introduction

Film genre and type of production?

3D Animation/Superhero/Action/Comedy, event movie, high-concept mainstream Disney blockbuster. PG certification.

- IMDB + Wikipedia

What’s the film about?

Hiro Hamada and friends become high-tech heroes along with an inflatable robot named Baymax,
uncovering a criminal plot and attempting to solve the mystery surrounding the crime.

- IMDB + Wikipedia

Global and UK release dates? Where and what formats?

The film will premiere at the Tokyo Film Festival on the 23^rd October, then will have its theatrical release on the 7^th of November in the US, and the 30^th January 2015 in the UK.

- IMDB

Nationality of the film?

American film made and distributed by Disney.

- Disney + IMDB + Wikipedia (basically everywhere)

Institutions behind the film’s production and UK/US distribution? Where are they based?

The film is produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures, based in Hollywood. The film will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, having branches across the world. Disney is a vertically and horizontally integrated institution, this film demonstrating a symbiotic relationship with Marvel.

- IMDB

What’s the film’s production budget?

A reasonable estimate of the film’s budget would be somewhere in the region of £150-£200 million.

Any connection with other films?

The trailer displays “from the creators of Frozen and Wreck-It-Ralph”, thus riding this film on the success of the other two. A short film, “Feast”, will be shown in cinemas alongside Big Hero 6.

- Trailer + Facebook Page

Who’s the director?

Don Hall and Chris Williams both codirect the film, they have previously worked together on other recognised films such as “Bolt”. Also known for “Emperor’s New Groove”.

- IMDB

How has the film been cast? Who’s in it?

The actors in the film, including Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit and TJ Miller are mostly known for American TV, for example Ryan Potter worked on Nickelodeon. These actors have been chosen in particular for their voices, as that is all the audience will experience of them.

- IMDB

Core audience? Secondary/tertiary markets?

There is a core audience of families with children, and a secondary audience of Disney, animation, and Marvel fans. A tertiary market may be teenagers watching with friends, or parents taking their kids, possibly also fans of Japanese culture.

- Facebook Page

Extra information:

Video game based on the film will be released 28^th October 2014 for 3DS by GameMill Entertainment.

Merchandise (figurines) available from toy company Funko.

- Wikipedia

Preliminary Continuity Task Evaluation

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I worked with Mario, Angela, and Thakshana. We shared the tasks between us from the beginning, Mario and I drew up the storyboard with the groups' help, and decided the shot types and framing, Angela wrote up the shot list, and Thakshana wrote up the full script.
During the shooting period, I was mainly on camera, Angela was the main director, whilst Mario and Thakshana acted in the sequence.

2. How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?

The first step we took in planning our sequence was to come up with a basic plot, and storyboard it. The storyboard was very basic as we only needed to get the general idea of each shot across to each other, and on the shoot day only needed to refresh our memories as to what each shot entailed. We wrote a basic script on the storyboard, but re-wrote it later on on a separate piece of paper. We also drew up a shot list in shoot order, this allowed us to plan when we were going to shoot each individual shot, and also plan the timings around what other people using the area were doing so as to not get in the way. We tried to take into account shot-reverse-shot and the 180 degree rule when Mario and Thakshana were sat opposite one another talking, and also match-on-action with movements such as the door opening and Mario sitting down.

3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

The camera we used was a Canon Legria HFG30, mounted on a tripod, with a directional microphone attached at the top. The tripod was very useful for panning, whilst the microphone was good at picking up the main bulk of conversation without too much background noise. To edit the footage, we used Adobe Premiere Pro CS5. We dragged our shots into the software, and cut them and placed them in the timeline so they fit with our storyboard, and also demonstrated good match-on-action. Once we felt the sequence was finished, we rendered it out and uploaded it to YouTube. The only downside we noticed when editing was that our master shot didn't really fit in with any other shots when we tried cutting to it in various places, this is due to the fact is was very similar to the over-the-shoulder shot of Mario during the conversation, so it broke the 30 degree rule. We also used some low-tech equipment for our shoot, such as the clapperboard.


4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting, and editing?

When planning our shoot, we had to take into account who else was using the areas in the Media block that we wished to shoot in, whether it be classes or the other group who were shooting, and at what times they would be doing so. We didn't really need to take into account lighting too much as we filmed in a classroom setting so the light levels outdoors were irrelevant. During shooting we had unforeseen issues that we should have noticed when planning, namely that the master shot sees through the window in the door, through the window in the opposite door, and thus into the opposite classroom, where the other group were filming. We mainly got around this issue by waiting until the other group were doing a shot from somewhere else where we couldn't see them. When editing, the main factor we had to take into account was the time constraint. We only had an hour to edit, so we only needed to worry about choosing which takes to use in our video, and where we were going to cut them.

5. How successful was your sequence? Identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

Overall I would say that our sequence was quite successful, we managed to include several matches on action, and we did adhere to the 180 degree rule and demonstrated shot-reverse-shot. The shots of Mario opening the door, and the ones of him sitting down were the best in my opinion as they were well-matched and really added fluidity to the sequence. In hindsight, there were several areas in which we could have improved. For example as previously mentioned, the master shot was far too similar to the shot over Thakshana's shoulder, so we couldn't really use it. The result of this is that there is a long section of just over-the-shoulder shots with no variation in shot type or framing. To improve this we could have re-positioned the camera to a side-on view of the table, or perhaps moved it to the other side of the table so it pointed towards the door over the table. Another improvement we could have made would be where Thakshana gives Mario the finger. Though the match-on-action of the shots seems good at first, the sudden change of Mario's expression doesn't really fit well, in my opinion it looks like he reacted too early. To improve this we could have had him wait slightly longer before pulling the surprised expression, or just not have that expression at all.

6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?

The main thing I have learnt from completing this task is that there are many factors you need to take into account when planning and shooting a sequence, such as lighting and location. This task has given a clear demonstration of how and why to follow the rules such as the 180 degree rule, and also made me think more about how shots should be structured and planned out before shooting.
I have also developed some experience in making the most of the footage you have if something goes unexpectedly wrong, (our master shot breaking the 30 degree rule), although I hope to have learnt enough about good shot planning by now, if anything did happen to go wrong in future shoots, I think I'm now more likely to be able to work around any issue that may arise.