COMPANY RESEARCH

We have conducted a group discussion on what to name our production company and have concluded a respectable name that would suit our production of a thriller opening sequence would be Celluloid Pictures. However, for us to be a company we would need a feel and some knowledge of what sort of production companies, similar to what we want ours to be, does in the process of film production.

WARP FILMS


Launched in 2001, Warp Films leads the way in exciting and original British Filmmaking. The company has been behind an array of critically acclaimed and award winning films, including several BAFTAs. These productions include Rubber Johnny, Dead Man's Shoes, This Is England, Donkey Punch, A Complete History of My Sexual Failures and Four Lions. 

Warp films is an independent company and why I think Celluloid Pictures should be linked with it is because it has a rather vast freedom on what their narrative could institute as it is not burdened with the thought of profit as some mainstream film companies do like 20th Century Fox or Universal. The brilliance of having a niche audience is the fact that it enables such artistic value in the story; there are no boundaries in its narrative.  





Four Lions certainly is a good example as it tackles the issues of terrorism in the UK. This is of course a rather serious and controversial topic which mainstream media would often avoid. However, as Warp Films attracts a small and niche audience, they have more freedom to convey such a narrative. It even goes as far as to veil the controversy of terrorism with humor and slap-stick comedy.

WORKING TITLE

Despite the fact that Working Title is part conglomerate, their aspect of independence is something to aspire to. Their narrative often falls into a feel of sophistication, something we would like to incorporate in our production as the element of sophistication is somewhat significant to a spy-thriller.



Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is our main film of reference and this movie is what I believe is perfect example of how to emulate the feel of sophistication in a spy-thriller. The various aspects of conventions instituted in a thriller is all applied in the film which conveys such a suspenseful and vintage look to the production.

TITLE OF PRODUCTION

So far our group remains indecisive of what to name our film. Therefore we have turned our attention to other films names in order to accumulate some knowledge as to how these names of the films were thought up.

The James Bond series were based on the novels from Ian Fleming. It was said that there was a team of people alongside him who's soul purpose was to think of names to assign to the books. These often resulted to iconic, spring-off-the-tongue names that caught their audiences eyes; ideal for mass appeal as it was cool, unusual and always an eye-catcher.


For example: Quantum Of Solace. This essentially means once depicted: Littleness of regret/concern. This is, in my opinion, a wonderful name as it conveys such sophisticated connotations purely of how they have worded it and of course the sophisticated manner is rather linked with the narrative of the film. The title also compliments the presentation of James Bond in the poster, and in the film, as though he seems like a person of high class, he holds a weapon in clear sight and is surrounded by a desolate area, leaving us to ponder with the question of whether he had caused such a destruction. This generates a rather cryptic and mysterious sense.



Another example would be GoldenEye. GoldenEye acts in accordance with the whole notion of ambiguity in James Bond titles. As gold carries connotations of wealth and riches, we are left with various questions due to the obscurity of its meaning such as whether there is value in observation or someone in the film literally has a golden eye. Either way it is interesting, thought provoking and draws the mass' attention.





We have finally came to an agreement that would suffice as an appropriate and interesting name, Unforeseen Emissary. I believe this is a great name as it complements the narrative of our production with its sophisticated wording. It essentially means an unexpected special mission/diplomatic representative which is rather linked to our narrative and secret-service theme.

PRELIMINARY TASK

This is the preliminary task which indicates all the continuity aspects of which we wish to implement in our final production of the opening sequence. The three continuity features outlined in the preliminary task are shot/reverse shot, match on action and keeping within the 180 degree rule.




EVALUATION:

During the start of the clip where Ricardo walks in from outside there are several problems present. The position of the camera is slightly tilted giving an unprofessional look to the production. Also, his face as been cut off from nearing the end of the first shot.

As Ricardo grabs the door handle, we establish a match-on-action shot however, it seems as if he grabs the door too slowly. However, when he walks through the door and the camera moves onto a long/medium shot of him coming through the door, it looks good in terms of continuity.

The continuity of the clip is staggered however when Ricardo walk through the hallway into the door as there  seems to be some repeat or backtrack of him coming through as seen through the window next to the door.

The shot/reverse shot is established between me and Ricardo during the exchange of dialogue. I believe we have sustained a good sense of continuity due to the variety of the shots exhibited and also the flow of the conversation. It is also good as we succeeded in not breaking the 180 degree rule allowing for assert the same right/left relationship and assuring professionalism.

MISE EN SCENE

Mise-en-scene is a vital part for our opening sequence as it translates a further insight to our narrative. This is a good feature of the film we need to invest our consideration and thought into as it can induce some depth to our final piece. But what exactly is Mise-en-scene?:

Mise-en-scene is a term used in film to describe everything that you can hear and see on the screen at any time when watching a film.  The director’s choices of:

·     lighting;

·     scenery and setting;

·     costumes;

·     props;

·     camera shots and camera angles;

·     body-language of actors;

·     sound effects;

·     music,

All help to create a particular atmosphere appropriate for the plot.  The director uses mise-en-scene to help enhance the audience’s understanding of a film and his/her decisions about what should and should not be seen on the screen will affect the overall tone of the piece. 

Basically, mise-en-scene is the director’s tool to stage events, giving him/her the opportunity to make the ultimate decisions about what the audience sees and hears in the movie.  It is the director’s way of adding detail to a film outside of the words an actor delivers in a script and is the equivalent of an author’s use of description in narrative to describe scenes and surroundings in depth.

TTSS PRODUCTION RESEARCH

Here is some background research regarding the production stage of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (our film of reference). This is important to know as we need to consider the what a company does such as Working Title prior to the movies release. 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a recent film made by Working Title. Working Title had recently divulged their ambition to engulf a wider audience, enabling their films to reach a larger market and gain reach of a global standpoint. As a result to this, they have two major distributors, one based in the UK and the other in the US. StudioCanal UK (UK) and Focus Features (US). The production companies that had taken part in making this film are Working Title Films and StudioCanal.

Thomas Alfredson, a Swedish film director, is the one responsible for directing this film. He is internationally best known for the vampire thriller movie Let the Right One In (2009). Alfredson had received a Guldbagge award for best directing for both his 2005 Four Shades of Brown and the 2009 Let the Right One In.

The key people in the production of this movie lay mainly within the cast. Actors such as Gary Oldman and Colin Firth really supports Working Title’s notion to reach a global audience. These two actors are well renown and academy award winners in their credentials, which automatically heightens the status of the movie. Colin Firth and especially Gary Oldman have successfully broken through into the industry globally.

Peter Morgan initiated the project when he wrote a draft of the screenplay, which he offered to Working Title Films to produce. Morgan dropped out as the writer due to personal reasons, but still served as an executive producer. Following Morgan's departure, Working Title hired Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor to redraft the script. Tomas Alfredson was confirmed to direct on 9 July 2009. The production is his first English-language film. The film was backed financially by France's StudioCanal and had a budget corresponding to 30 million US dollars.

The film premiered in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2011. StudioCanal UK distributed the film in the United Kingdom, where it was released on 16 September 2011. American rights were acquired by Universal Pictures, which have a permanent first-look deal with Working Title, and passed the rights to their subsidiary Focus Features. Focus plan to give the film a wide release in the United States on 9 December 2011.

STORYBOARD

Here is the storyboard me and my group wish to abide by throughout the production of our opening sequence:

ANIMATIC

An animatic is a is a comic-like guideline for the film. It's an indication of camera work, lighting, sound, etc. and is played in motion, frame after frame in order to project an accurate feel for what the final product could be. It involves either drawn picture or photographs along with brief notes. Gorrilaz, a popular music band, made an animatic for their music video Dirty Harry.

ANIMATIC:



FINAL PRODUCT:

There are very few inaccuracies from the animatic and the actual product but they are more or less the same.