Harry Brown

Harry Brown information
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Directed By: Daniel Barber
Written By: Gary Young 
Main Distributors: Samuel Goldwyn Films, Destination Films,
Production Companies:  Marv Films, UK Film Council, HanWay Films, Prescience Film Fund, Framestore and Prescience.
Classification: 18
Release Date: 11 November 2009
Estimated Budget: $7300000
UK Gross: £4,557,776 
USA Gross: $1,818,681

Information from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289406/ 

Notes:
The use of swearing indicates to the readers that its an action film and that its an 18 rating.
The death in the film indicates that its a drama and the police and valance indicate a crime film.
At the beginning of the film the use of the hand held camera shows shows the chaos in contrast to the old man and his simple morning routine.

Added Notes:
The use of the camera phone creates a scenes of realism. The angles of the shoots show a different perspective rather than just at eye level. There a couple of shoots that show depth of field and this creates an interesting shot for close ups and to focus on the made subject of the composition. 

The location in the film makes scene because of the concept e.g. If it was shot in a posher part then the location wouldn't make scene. In the lighting of the shots the director wanted to keep it natural and this makes the film seem more realistic to the readers. The clothing of the teenagers is very stereotypical because there wearing hood and tracksuits. The set design is very true to where the film takes place e.g. the pub toilet is very dirty and old looking. 

The titles at the beginning of the film are small to represent that Harry Brown is only a small part of a large estate.

Summary of Harry Brown:
The film follows an ex-marine, Harry Brown, as he tries to stop a group a teenagers terrorising his neighbourhood. After his wife dies and best friend die's by the hand of the teenagers, Harry Brown searches for revenge. He kills anyone that he believe deserves to die because of there actions. I'm the pursuit of revenge Harry Brown ends up in hospital but soon discharges himself. He goes home to find a riot taking place. He saves two policeman in his local pub and reader encounters a twist.

Gender homework

About fourteen seconds in there is a woman asking how much a dress is and a man telling her the price, this is shown by an over the shoulder shot of the woman. The way the camera angle is tilted down towards the woman suggests the man has more authority (higher class) then the woman. When continuing watching the viewer finds out that the woman can’t afford the dress which also shows that the man has a higher status then the woman because he is wealthier. This stays with the stereotype of men and woman. 

As the woman walks out the shop there is a close up of another woman’s hand to show a very expensive ring on her finger. This tells the viewer that she is married to a wealthy man and the fact that she is shopping in an expensive shop also shows this. After this there is a close up of her face to show her feminine beauty. A tilt shot is used to show the woman wearing the dress. This shot is used to show her feminine beauty and for the masculine viewers.

After this there is an establishing shot of two men in a bar which shows their masculinity because there wealthy, are drinking and are smoking which are all stereotypically masculine things. 

Back in the shop the shop owner is looking for the woman lost ring on the floor when two feet come in the close up shot of the man’s face. There is a tilt shot of the man as the shop owner looks up at him from the floor, this suggest that the man has a higher status then the shop owner. This shows that the man is more masculine then the shop owner because masculine because are stereotypically competitive and dominating. Also the tilt shot is used to show the clothing of the man, to show the viewers that he is wealthy because of the things he is wearing.  There is another shot (over the shoulder) over the shoulder of the man looking down at the man on the floor this also shows the man’s higher status in this situation.  

When the woman and the shop owner are talking prices there is the use of the eye line match shows that the woman is looking up at the shop owner and the shop owner looking down at her. This correlates with the idea that the shop owner has a higher status then the woman because of her wealth and because of their gender.

When the woman is looking for her ring the different shots are quickly changed to another to show her panic about losing the ring. The quick changes in the editing correlate with her being in such distress. This stays with conventions because stereotypically woman are more emotional whereas men, stereotypically are more hard and emotionless.  

The use of diegetic sound is used when the shop owner is talking to the woman who wants to buy a dress. The voice of the shop owner is very dismissive towards the woman and this shows his lack of interest in the woman in contrast to the interest he has towards the typically more beautiful, younger woman.The tone in his voice and the long sigh, tells the viewer that he is not interested in what the woman wants and wants to put the woman off the shop because he believer’s that she isn’t in the right class to be shopping there.

The woman wants to please people with the way she looks because she wants to buy a new dress for her daughters wedding, this is stereotypically feminine thing and the use of diegetic sound gets this across to the viewers. This also links to the other woman because she also wants to look nice and she wants to please her husband with not losing her ring and buying a new dress. 

The woman, that loses the ring, has a very seductive voice that she uses to help her get what she wants. Her voice is very feminine and in this situation she has a higher status then the masculine man because of her wealth. This goes against the conventions. 

In the shop there is non-diegetic music playing throughout and its quit upbeat music, however when there’s the scene of the two men talking links to the fact that masculine people don’t listen to that type of music and its just them talking in the scene. However right at the end of then scene some Jazz sounding music starts to play to lead into the next scene and to add to the atmosphere that there in a masculine setting and there doing masculine things (drinking and smoking) in a men’s club.

As the woman losses her ring the music picks up the pace to correlate with her rushing around and to show her femininity. The non-diegetic sound also links to the quick cutting of the shots because they’re both fast and shows the panic. Also there’s a scene with a man doing some electrical work and when something goes wrong he seems calmer then the woman because stereotypically men are calmer.

When the two men drinking seem to have to much to drink the music is upbeat to fit with there moods and they don’t seem to care about what time of day it is and just seem calm which links to the masculine representation. As the man in the shop is walking to meet the woman there asynchronous sound of a man asserting his authority on the other man, telling him what to do. 

The arrangement of scenery shows that there is only feminine clothing in the shop and this suggest that shopping is a feminine thing to do. The fact that the shop owner is a man suggests that he could be a bit feminine to be working in a clothing shop. However the clothing that he is wearing suggest otherwise. The women in the shop is wearing very feminine clothing for example the red nail polish which suggest romance and the skirt suit is fitted to show her figure which stereotypically females care about what they are wearing. The dress that the woman tries on is feminine because it’s backless and fitted and stays with the idea that feminine people want to look nice for other people.

The props in the scene with the two men correlate with the fact that there masculine because they have cigarettes and glasses of alcohol. Also the arrangement of the scenery shows that the men are in a living room setting so there probably at a men’s club and it’s an expensive club to be in. The old-fashioned decor and the smart suits the men are wearing shows masculinity.

Everything in the scene, in the shop, shows that it’s expensive because of the lack of clothing, well presented and the fact that there’s not a lot of people in there shows that only wealthy people come in.

The History of the British film industry

Homework

Q1: What makes a British film?

A british film can be divided into five different categories and they are:

Category A: films made with British money, personnel and resources.

Category B: films co-founded with british money and from foreign investment, but the majority of finance, cultural content and personnel are British.

Category C: films with mostly foreign (but non USA) investment and a small financed input, either financially or creatively.

Category D: films made in the UK with (usually) British cultural content, but financed fully or partly by American companies.

Category E: American films with some British involvement.

British films claim a great number of films under category D and E and a decent amount from B and C but very few are successful as category A films.

Q2: What are the different ways a film can be marketed or promoted?

Poster: E.G. buses, train stations, bus stops...

Merchandise: Goods that relate to the film are sold to help promote the film.

Trailers: A trailer is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. 

TV apparences: Trailers shown on the TV

Interviews: Actor and Actress are interviewed about the film.

Q3: What are the different ways a film can be exhibited and consumed?

• Cinema 
• Film Festivals 
• Online- Netflix and iTunes 
• DVD
• TV

Film Distribution (More Notes)

• Many people say that the audience has the greatest power.
• Film distributions describes everything that happens in between production and exhibition. 
• The promotion of a film pays for "above the line"advertising, which will be funded as part of the project, such as trailers.
• It is crucial not to see film distribution as a helpful stage in the life of a film whereby distributors treat all films equally and ensure fair play in getting films to the public's attention.
• Five major distributors that dominate the UK film industry: United International Pictures, Warner Brothers, Buena Vista, Twentieth Century Fox and Sony.
• Film distributors are responsible for prints and marketing.
• Prints- producing physical copies of a film for cinema/home release and finding the exhibitors/retailers to sell the film.
• Marketing-raising audience awareness and anticipation of a new release.
• A distributor may: be a part of the same parent company as the production company, have a long term arrangement with a production company and provide financial assistance for may of their productions, provide financial assistance for a single film by a production company
• Acquire a film after it has completed production. 
• 360 degree guerrilla marketing. It communicates with your prospects and customers from all directions and across long periods of time.
  

Homework Distribution

What is distribution?

• Distribution is the third part of the film supply chain and is often known as 'the invisible art', a process mainly known only to those within the industry and barely written about. 
• Distribution is the most important part of the film industry. Its where completed films are brought to life and connected with an audience.
• Distribution is about releasing and sustaining films in the market place.
• "In the practice of Hollywood and other forms of industrial cinema, the phases of production, distribution and exhibition operate most effectively when 'vertically integrated', where the three stages are seen as part of the same larger process, under the control of one company. "

Licensing

• "Licensing is the process by which a distributor acquires the legal right to exploit a film."
• "International distribution ensures that films find their way to the 90+ market 'territories' around the world."
• "Then there is 'local' distribution, which involves the distributor acquiring the licence to release and exploit the film in a particular country. The distributor will usually pay the producer a minimum guarantee for the licence."
• "In addition to paying a fee to secure the film, the licence will stipulate that the distributor will also pay royalties to the producer, taken from the profits that the film generates."

Marketing

• "The marketing of a film release revolves around Two key questions: 'When?' and 'How?'"
• The distributor will try and position a film to avoid a release date is occupied by other films with similar genres and storyline. 
• "The costs of theatrical distribution, met by local distributors, are often referred to as 'P&A', or Prints and Advertising."
• "P&A also represent the bulk of the distributor's investment, after paying the initial fee for rights, and can range from less than £1,000 to over £1 million for the release of a film in the UK."

Prints and Advertising

The key elements of Prints and Advertising (P&A) that a distributor must consider at this stage are:

• The quantity and production of release prints and trailers
• Press materials, clips reels, images, press previews, screener tapes
• The design and printing of posters and other promotional artwork
• Advertising campaign - locations, ad size and frequency
• Press campaign / contracting a PR agency
• Arranging visit by talent from the film

The Logistics of Distribution

• "The distributor will enter into an agreement with the cinema to screen the film on certain 'play-dates'. It is the responsibility of the distributor to arrange the transportation of the film to the cinema, as part of its wider coordination of print use across the UK."
• "Logistics represents the phase of distribution at its most basic - supplying and circulating copies of the film to theatres, of tapes and DVDs to shops and video rental stores, and managing the effectiveness of the supply."

Case Study: Bullet Boy

• "Bullet Boy is a low budget, independent feature helmed by first-time feature director Saul Dibb. The film stars UK rapper Ashley Walters as Ricky, a young man newly released from prison, but unable to extricate himself from the cycle of gang violence that has become an everyday feature in some parts of inner-city London. The film describes, with particular insight, the effects of Ricky's life on his mother and, especially, his younger brother."
• The film got a reputation as the first film to look at the difficult subject of contemporary gang and gun crime in Britain's inner cities. 
• "The film was released on 8th April 2005, opening on 75 prints UK wide, in a combination of established independent cinemas and multiplexes concentrated in greater London and other major urban centres."
• "The poster design aims to convey the look, subject and tone of the film, supported by key press quotes, while also foregrounding the major presence of Walters."

Digital Distribution

• "Digital technology is seen to offer a more cost effective and logistics-light alternative to the tried and trusted, but unwieldy model of 35mm print distribution described above. It will, eventually, be cheaper and much less stressful to send films as computer files to cinemas across the UK, than to transport 20-25kg tins of film in the back of a van."
• "All this suggests that in the future, more titles, both mainstream and specialised, will receive wide theatrical openings, and that this broadening of access at the point of release will dramatically reduce the overall theatrical period from 3-6 months to perhaps 1-3 months."
• "The shortened first-run period will in turn bring forward the distributor's release of the DVD."
• "The adoption of digital technologies offers greater opportunities for distributors to create joined-up campaigns for theatrical and DVD releases, in which, increasingly, the theatrical opening is used as a way of providing a loss-leading marketing platform for the highly lucrative DVD leg."

Comparing Production Value (Avatar and Trainspotting)

Avatar

• CGI is used to create avatar and this is a very expensive process
• Recognisable actor and actresses 
• The length of the film suggests high value
• Well known director 
• Sci-fi films are usually more expensive 

Trainspotting 

• Not well known actors 
• Comedy films less expensive 
• 
  

Trainspotting

Production Budget-$3,500,000
Domestic Gross- $16,501,785
Worldwide Gross-$72,001,785
Profit- $68,501,785

http://www.worldwideboxoffice.com/movie.cgi?title=Trainspotting&year=1996

Avatar

Production Budget -$425,000,000
Domestic Gross-$760,507,625
Worldwide Gross-$2,783,918,980
Profit- $2,358,918,980

http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/budgets/ 

New Media Technology

Newspapers Industry

• Apps 
• Internet 
• Social Media

Magazine Industry

• Apps 
• Internet 

Film Industry

• Internet 
• Trailers
• 3D
• 4D
• Better Special Affect
• DVD
• Blu ray 
• Apps (love film)
• DVD rental 
• Social Networking (promotional) 

Music Industry

• Internet 
• Apps 
• iTunes 
• Videos 

Television Industry

• Internet 
• On demand 
• Apps 
• HD
• 3D
• Recording