Analysing Scenes from Quentin Tarantinos' "Jackie Brown"

"Jackie Brown" was produced and directed by Quentin Tarantino and was released in 1997. It is rated a 15. It is based on the book "Rum Punch" written by Elmore Leonard.

Above is the opening scene. From 0:36 - 1:50 there is a panning shot. This panning shot manages to introduce us to the character of Jackie Brown. This shot connotes that she is a very calm and collected women and that she also has some authority symbolised by the lanyard around her neck and the badge on her uniform. Stereotypically in films it could be argued that women are portrayed to be traditional and innocent characters, (however this idea is being challenged more and more with such characters as Lisabeth Salander in David Fincher's "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"), Tarantino has thrown this portrayal of women to one side however as he presents us with a woman who looks strong, calm, independent and successful. It is interesting to note that the colours going past Jackie could imply that she has a rather 'colourful' past. We find this out to be true in the film later on when it is revealed that she has previously been convicted for drug smuggling.


From 2:07 we see Jackie walking down a hallway with her arm swinging casually by her side. You may notice that everybody else in the mise-en-scene is walking in the other direction and this is used to make her stand out from the crowd. Tarantino may have included this to try to make Jackie look very proud of what she does for a living but also perhaps to present Jackie as having a rebellious streak or a stubborn attitude which doesn't go with the crowd.


Costume is very important in this opening scene. An aspect of Jackie's costume which makes her different from everybody else is that she is wearing bright blue making her stand out from the crowd and seem different, whilst everyone else blends into the background. The colour blue may connote calm but her uniform may be associated with military, meaning that the first impression Tarantino is trying to give of Jackie is calm, collected and orderly but might have a slightly darker, violent and systematic side to her.
This is contradicted by the non-diegetic and up-beat soundtrack being played in the background leaving the audience room to create their own assumptions. The soundtrack in question here is the song titled "Across 110th Street" written and produced by Bobby Womack released in 1973.
 The lyrics heard from 0:36 are:
"I was the third brother of five.
Doing whatever I had to do to survive.
I'm not saying what I did was alright.
Trying to break out of the ghetto was a day to day fight."


The lyrics above help to paint a mental picture of the struggle which Jackie may have had to live through to get to the position she now finds herself in. The third line suggests that whatever she had to do, she may not be proud of.
We then have an extreme close up of her face. These shots are simply trying to establish the character of Jackie with the audience.


At 2:33 we cut from the close up of her face to a tracking shot. You may notice that she is over-taking people whilst walking down this corridor and this could imply that she is in a hurry and that she is getting ahead of people. Perhaps it could connote that she is one step ahead of everyone and a very ambitious and driven woman.


At 2:40 she breaks into a fast paced walk/ light jog. It could be argued that this represents her throughout the film: she starts off in control and not caught up in any of Ordell Robbie's (played by Samuel L. Jackson) plans. Yet throughout the film she gets increasingly out of control and into more trouble than she had first anticipated.


Whilst she is jogging lightly we see an aeroplane taxiing. It could be argued that this aeroplane is shaped like a bullet and that Tarantino is trying to use a subtle form of subliminal messaging and hinting at the events which are due later on in the film. To add to the subliminal messaging; the light outside seems to be bright yet have a slight dimness to it like that of a cloudy day. It is impossible to say whether it is cloudy or not but this is Tarantino using the weather to foreshadow coming events: pathetic fallacy.


Arriving at the desk at 3:40 she appears very calm and despite her rushing she can perform well under pressure.

Here is the next scene due to be analysed. This is the murder scene of Beaumont Livingstone (played by Chris Tucker). This analysis is starting from 3:33 through the video clip posted above.

At 3:34 there is a low angle, point of view shot of the two characters in this scene: Beaumont Livingstone (to the right of the frame) and Ordell Robbie (to the left of the frame). The reason a point of view shot is used is to try to make the audience feel more included in the whole plan. The low angle shot gives power and authority as the two figures fill the frame and the audience is looking up at them.
If you look closely you will see that the shot is also a slight tilt shot connoting nightmare and mystery. This shot is slightly tilted to the right making Ordell Robbie just that little bit higher in the frame than Beaumont Livingstone implying that Ordell is still the man in charge and with the power.


 At 3:35 there is a medium close up shot of a car boot. This is a classic thriller convention being a confined space and no way out. At 3:37 there is another point of view shot from the point of view of Beaumont Livingstone being presented with a shotgun. This is used to try to make the audience feel more included but also to hit the audience with the reality of what is expected of Beaumont.
From roughly 3:44 onwards you notice the difference in body language between Beaumont and Ordell. Ordell appears very calm, collected and in control whereas Beaumont seems to be increasingly uncomfortable with the whole situation. This could be used to demonstrate the ongoing reluctance of Beaumont to carry out this task, given his recent release from jail and his need to stay out of trouble yet Ordell manages to persuade him. This just goes to show the reality that in the criminal underworld there is no turning back and that you will always be labelled as a criminal.


Costume at this point is very important. Ordell is wearing all black and Beaumont is wearing a light coloured casual shirt. The costume here is used to imply that Beaumont is more innocent and less prepared than Ordell. It could be argued that Ordell's costume represents military with the traditional black beret. This is shown in his organised and systematic plan.


At 5:18 it cuts to a shot of Beaumont in the boot of the car. We never see the pair solidly agree to this but this allows the audience to see a bit more of Beaumont's personality: that he is easily persuaded. The bargaining tool which Ordell uses to persuade Beaumont is the promise of a free meal. It could be argued that by the fact Beaumont was persuaded with something as simple as a free meal means that he is living on a rather basic level. Almost in a primitive state when a need as simple as food is not being met.
At 5:29 it cuts to an extreme close up of a hand turning on a radio. The music which comes on is rather eerie. This is used to foreshadow coming events and also helps to build suspension. Ordell puts on a pair of gloves hinting at something which is about to happen; it helps to build suspense with the audience. The whole time he is putting on the gloves he looks detached. This could suggest that he has perhaps lost touch with reality and is not quite as sane as he appears.
The sense of normality conveyed by the radio and his calm exterior suggests that he is not anxious nor troubled by the act of violence that he is about to commit. This demonstrates the distance of Ordell from the social norms of society.
At 5:54 we see an extreme close up of his hand opening the glove compartment to reveal a gun. This is a classic thriller feature. Tarantino utilises a close up shot of the bare hand turning on the radio and then later the gloved hand getting out a gun. It could be argued that this shows a transition in the mind states of Ordell and how he has lost all compassion for Beaumont. Also notice at 5:54 the gold chain around his wrist. This is a symbol of power and wealth, however because we are familiar with Ordell's character we know that it is more likely to be fake wealth. This could relate to "Bill" in the opening scene of Tarantino's Kill Bill 1. The scene referenced is pictured below.

At 6:17 there is a close up of the front of the car. The headlights are not "flooding" the mise-en-scene with light and are quite dim making the car look rather demonic. This is adding to the violent theme. From 6:15-7:43 note that the 180 degree rule is not broken.

When we actually witness the murder of Beaumont Livingstone it is a long shot. This is used to connote Ordell's lack of morals and his distance from reality. What lengths he would happily go to, to kill someone instead of killing them right there on their doorstep. Around 7:16 the atmosphere is very anti-climatic. This is only used to display how nonchalant Ordell is about taking another human beings life.

The scene above stars Bridget Fonda and Robert de Niro.
The scene starts off at 0:02 with a low angle close up of the front of a classic looking Volkswagen Camper van. This type of van is famous for being the transport of the 1960's, the era of peace and love. So one would imagine that this van has a peaceful history behind it. This view is later opposed when Louis is shot dead inside the van at point blank range, spraying red blood over the inside of the white van. This could be related to the scene in David Michod's "Animal Kingdom" where Barry 'Baz' Brown is murdered in his car splattering blood over the windows.
This van could also be compared to the white van used in the opening scene of Terry Winsor's "Essex Boys" which in itself is a thriller convention being an enigmatic factor of many thriller film. Tarantino is putting a clever twist on a classic tradition of the thriller genre by using this white camper van.
The time in the bottom left corner of the frame is also another thriller convention and is common in thriller films before a crime. The reason for this is because in a police report, the time of a crime is very important. An example of another thriller film where a clock is used in before a crime is in Peter Jackson's "Heavenly Creatures" released in 1994 at the certification of 18.


It could be argued that the way in which the two characters of Louis and Melanie get out of the car portray them as individuals. The shot used is a head and shoulders shot of Louis with Melanie getting out of the car in the background. Melanie gets out of the car with ease and in a sensible and contained manner. Louis on the other hand has to force his way out in a rather aggressive manner. This is used to present to the audience the character of Louis (and his very agitated state) also to foreshadow coming events of how he treats Melanie etc. To round off the violent image of the car, Louis slams the door at 0:08.


You may notice a common trend in the filming of these two characters and this is that Louis is always in the foreground/front of the shot and Melanie is always further back in the shot. It could be argued that this represents male dominance in American culture etc. An extra note is that the 180 degree rule is not broken between 0:04-0:39.


At 0:43 we see Jackie Brown (played by Pam Grier) looking very smart in a new suit. This shows the contrast between the three characters but also the vast difference between the two women; Jackie having black skin and looking very smart and Melanie having white skin and being rather scantily clad. This highlights the difference in the portrayal of the two female characters here in that Melanie enjoys flaunting her assets to get what she wants and she uses it frequently as a bargaining tool mainly with men. Jackie on the other hand seems to appear to be a very respected and independent woman who would never lower herself to Melanie's standard or image. Melanie is a very bound to the physical nature of her femininity whereas Jackie is more cerebral.


Louis is in the front of the frame until 0:51 when it switches and Melanie is in the foreground. This represents the start of an ongoing battle of wills between these two characters as demonstrated by the argument over who has the right to carry the money bag (2:10). Arguments between characters only happen between these two, the reason being of their equal status. For example there are no arguments between Ordell and Louis because it is obvious that Ordell has more authority. However in this case Melanie and Louis have the same status in Ordell's mind thus neither of them have more authority than the other. Ultimately Louis wins this battle of power because at 3:34 he shoots Melanie...twice

In comparing the shootings of Melanie and Beaumont we can observe a number of important differences.
Firstly it is significant that Beaumonts murder is pre-planned and well executed. Whereas Melanie's death is following a period of potentially playful provocation where Louis eventually snaps and shoots her. It is spontaneous in response to Melanie's banter.
A fairly obvious observation is that Beaumont's killing is at night and in an isolated area. Melanies' however was in broad daylight in a public place, a car park which is another thriller convention. The reason why Melanie was shot in daylight was to make the killing more of a surprise to the audience for they would not have seen it coming.
In the film Louis remains remote, a rather ambiguous character and we do not get to see his real personality. The impact of Louis snapping makes Melanies' death all the more shocking to the audience.

Our Thriller Shooting Locations

Below are our locations where we are going to shoot our thriller. It is mainly based inside a house so a lot of them are corridors etc. Alongside the picture is a brief description of why these are being used.

Rule of thirds: 2 thirds staircase and 1 third hallway.
Low angle shot, connotes power and authority.
Hallway acts as a vanishing point.

An ominous looking dark doorway can connote to nightmare, mystery, and the journey that one of the characters will have to take.

Wet cobblestone pathways connote to mystery and nightmare. Such thriller conventions as this are frequent in the mise-en-scene in films like Carol Reed's 'The Third Man' released in 1949.





A high angle shot implies power and authority. In this shot you get this effect and also it could be argued that this is a point of view shot out of something like a bedroom window. The wet cobbled streets connote corruption and the dark slippery acts which occur only at night.

The room at the end of the corridor acts as a vanishing point. The fact that the room at the end is dark and the rest is light connotes that at the end there is danger and risk but also the unknown. The mirror on the wall to the left together with the lighting could imply the characters personality. This being that they are usually considered a bright and cheery person but underneath there is corruption and evil.

The shot of a messy bedroom powerfully reflects a persons lifestyle. This bedroom could imply that the person is hectic and unorganised. It could also relate to being rash with decisions which in the underworld of criminality could get you into a very tight situation.

A high angle shot down a flight of stairs represents intimidation and looking down on people. At the top of the stairs the lighting seems rather dark and gets lighter towards the bottom. This could represent danger going down into safety.

Here is a demonstration of chiaroscuro lighting. This lights up the whole mise-en-scene from one light source. There are also the wet streets similar to those in "The Third Man" representing nightmare and confusion. To the left of the frame there is the ominous white van with no markings on it. White vans can look very sinister because they can contain anything but also white is the colour of purity but in thriller films they are not used for good purposes. An example of this is in the opening scene of Terry Winsor's "Essex Boys" released in 2000.

Witness Opening Scene Additional Points

The reason why Peter Weir filmed the murder in the location that he did (which was a grimy public toilet) was to portray the contrast between the real world and Sam’s' world. It is used to portray the massive difference in community. Another reason why it was shot in a public toilet was to try and shock the audience because the fact that the murder takes place in a rather unappealing location shows that Sam is from a whole other up-bringing and thus it is more of a shock for Sam. This aspect tries to get the audience to connect with Sam. Before the murder actually takes place the location could portray forthcoming events that there is something filthy and disgusting about to take place just like the location.

When Sam walks towards the toilet, the toilet door acts as a vanishing point but also represents Sam’s' journey from his safe and loving community to the corrupt underworld of the 'big city'. Sam's mother also sends Sam to the toilet by himself. The reason she does this is because she has never experienced such criminality and so is not aware of the dangers which could be lurking around any corner in this vicious real world.

The location (being a toilet cubicle which Sam hides in) holds up a generic thriller convention of being a confined/claustrophobic space. This connotes that there is nowhere to escape and that he is trapped. In the toilet there is the use of ambient lighting meaning that the scene looks more believable with just the normal toilet lights on instead of being tampered with by studio lighting.

The location also manages to reflect the morality of the killers in that they too are filthy scum of the 'big city'. One of the killers is very casual about the murder which has just taken place that he stops to wash his hands afterwards but doesn’t look in any particular hurry at all. This sets the expectation and judgement of the killers which the audience will automatically make. The killers have no emotional attachment at all and don’t look bothered by the corpse lying on the floor whilst they wash their hands.

The close up shots of Sam (an example is below) watching the murder portrays the shock on the small child’s face. Because he has never witnessed such evil before it comes as a huge shock to him. Weir still manages to uphold the faint biblical connotation around Sam by having a close up shot and making Sam’s' hat (which portrays a halo around his head) more distinct. After the killers have left Sam has taken his hat off yet is standing on top of a toilet with his arms outstretched for balance (this connotes to Jesus Christ being crucified, yet another biblical reference).

Witness Opening Scene

Director: Peter Weir. Year Made: 1985

In this clip we join an Amish boy and his Amish mother arriving in Philadelphia Station. The Amish are very simple living people. So to a little Amish boy the Philadelphia Station is a world apart from his village.

From 0:01 - 0:08 seconds there is a low angle shot of a biblical related statue (the Angel of Mercy). This shot suggests power. From 0:08 - 0:12 there is a slightly low angle medium close up of the boys face. The hat on his head connotes to a halo, by showing this he looks innocent. Over all of this there is the non-diegetic sound of a soundtrack. The music is a peaceful sustained note. It allows the boy to look even more fascinated by this statue. At 0:17 there is an extremely high angle over the shoulder shot from the statue. This makes the little boy seem very insignificant. The reason i say this is because everyone else in the shot is walking past the magnificent statue not taking a glimpse of notice and this little boy is staring in awe. This shows just how appreciative he is to be witnessing this statue in all its glory. At 0:33 you see the mother and child sitting in the station. There are all by themselves making them both isolated figures. Slightly in the right of the frame there is a vanishing point which in this case is the door to the public toilets. This is a brilliant example of the rule of thirds which Peter Weir uses here. The vanishing point takes up roughly one third to the right of the screen and the other two thirds to the left of the screen are the bleak and seemingly abandoned station.

At 1:12 there is a man in the toilets washing his face. It could be argued that he is cleaning himself from some of the dirty work he has got up to and that he is involved in the grimy underworld of crime. Weir uses the ambient grim lighting of the public toilets. The colours in these facilities are very bleak. Lots of creams and browns and very plain and gives the whole room a rather 'grubby' look and feel.

At 1:25 Wier begins to use a shot which is repeated throughout this scene. This is the use of a point of view shot through a crack of the cubicle door. The reason why this is so brilliant is because of its sheer simplicity. At 1:52 there is another example of the use of thirds. We see the man on the left's face however we do not see the man on the right's face. This means that the man can remain enigmatic and becomes another piece of this puzzle for the audience to try to work out. The victim is in the middle of these two men and this connotes that there is no escape from what is about to happen. This incident happens at 1:58. Notice that the jacket used to smother the man is blood red. This is almost trying to subliminally make this murder more violent.

Once Upon a Time In America Opening Scene

Once Upon a Time In America is a gangster thriller. Directed by Sergio Leone.

During the opening titles there is a soundbridge of the song "God Bless America" written in 1918. The version used here is sung by Kate Smith, 1938. In this film Leone is using it sarcastically and ironically.
The first shot is a silhouette of an enigmatic femme fatale. It couyld be argued that the lighting is almost chiaroscuro lighting but is really more noir lighting. She looks quite glamarous. She is wearing pearls around her neck which can also represent tears and foreshadow what events are still to come. She is by herself making her out to be an isolated figure. She goes to turn a lamp on and three men step out. Costume here is very important and Leone has gone with the traditional trilby hat and long coats with a cigar. There is a shot from behind her when she is confronted by the gentlemen and you can see an archway over her. This is a thriller convention and implies that she has been framed in some way, shape or form. She is shot and falls dead onto a bed. The lamp she had turned on before is then turned off by one of the men. This is metaphoric for her life as the lamp light fades just as she breathes her terminal breath. The lighting in this scene is almost sepia.

Essex Boys Opening Scene

The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culminated in the murders of three drug dealers in Rettendon, Essex, UK. On 6th December Patrick Tate, Craig Rolfe and Tony Tucker, three drug dealers well known to the police, were lured to Workhouse Lane, Rettendon. There they were blasted to death with a shot gun while sitting in their Range Rover. They had been lured to their deaths on the pretext of a lucrative drugs deal. The three bodies were found the following morning, 7 December 1995.

Above is the first scene to Terry Winsor’s' "Essex Boys" starring Charlie Creed-Miles, Sean Bean and Gareth Milne. The scene opens with the credits in white writing on a black background. This is accompanied by a harsh scraping sound like nails on a chalkboard. This leaves the viewer uncomfortable as it is a cringe worthy sound to have to endure. When each name is shown there is an unsettling fanfare of music. Although it is unsettling it is not harsh and the sound is left ringing until the next name is shown creating suspense. However when the title 'Essex Boys' appears, a harsh note rings out along with one of the loudest scratches so far.

The credits end at roughly 1:24. From 1:24 to approximately 1:38 it could be argued that chiaroscuro lighting is used (scene pictured below) because there is a single light in the background casting shadows towards the camera making the figure look very ominous. Chiaroscuro lighting also gives the audience a point to focus on. It helps to add a sense of mystery and nightmare. It connotes to other noir thrillers and helps to add a sense of menace or corruption. Films which use similar lighting are David Fincher's "Fight Club" and Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski’s "The Matrix". 

All we are allowed to see at this point is the silhouette of a man and the side of a car in a run down, weary looking garage. This alone upholds one thriller convention: location, chiaroscuro lighting and making the viewer very uncomfortable and unaware. The garage is a confined space and gives a feeling of entrapment and claustrophobia. At 2:11 there is a voiceover, this could link to David Michod's "Animal Kingdom". Another feature which could link to Animal Kingdom is that Billy and Jay from Animal Kingdom are both roughly 18 and very young to be going into this dark, criminal underworld. Another link to Animal Kingdom is that both of the stories are told from the young men’s point of view.

This could foreshadow the rest of the film and give the viewer a hint of what is to come. Also it could set the audience up for the type of film this is going to be. A light is turned on to reveal that this threatening looking character is actually probably no older than 18 years of age. This might have been used to confuse the audience and to imply that you can’t trust everything you are going to see in this film. It keeps the audience guessing. 

At 2:11 there is a voiceover heard. There is a cultural signifier at this point because the voiceover (meant to be Billie’s voice) is in an Essex accent. He sounds quite innocent. The reason the producer used this is to establish with the audience who Billy is and what role he might play in the bigger picture and where he happens to stand in the pecking order. We are told that he has been asked to drive Jason Locke around for a few days. This tells us that the young man is desperate for money but wants to please this client of his. He is easily persuaded and manipulated which are traits of being young and in-experience. Jason Locke has been out of jail for less than 24 hours at this point. Why we are told this is to inform the audience of who this man is. The audience also start to piece together this man’s story and his background. The first establishing shot we have of Jason Locke is a point of view shot from Billie’s perspective through a filthy windscreen of a car at 2:21. This implies that he is involved in some rather dirty work and doesn’t have a clean conscience. That he comes from the filthy, boundary-less, world of crime.

Costume here is very important. Billy is wearing mainly plain clothes. The reson for this is that you can usually tell a lot by someones clothes and yet it keeps the audience guessing at what Billy is like because he doesnt talk at all the opening scene due to the voiceover doing it for him. When we first see Jason however (at 2:21) through the windscreen he is wearing a boisterous yellow and black shirt and a leather jacket. This tells us that Jason is quite vain and possibly quite a bold character because of the shirt he is wearing. As for the leather jacket, stereotypically the people who wear leather jackets are "hard-nut", butch bikers.

At 2:32 an unsettling soundtrack begins. The audience may have been lulled into a false sense of security with Billy at the start and this is to throw the audience back into the real and violent world which this film dictates. The director has also used a very good example of pathetic fallacy which is the use of the weather to foreshadow coming events. In the scene the sky is cloudy and grim and the road is wet and shiny. The entrance to the tunnel becomes a vanishing point and there is even subliminal messaging because you can clearly see a road sign saying "stop" and this could be telling Billy to stop because he doesn’t know what he is getting himself into. A link to Peter Weir's "Witness" when the little boy is going to the toilet in the station and the vanishing point is the toilet door. The tunnel is also another confined space again to reiterate the feeling of entrapment. Once they are actually inside the tunnel it could be argued that it represents the barrel of a gun. 

At 3:00 you can see Billy from the front of the car looking in on him driving. In this tunnel there are strobe lights on the ceiling. You can see these strobe lights reflected on the car windshield. These could represent prison bars and again foreshadow coming events. Billy is also not looking comfortable at all with the situation he is in. Whilst Jason Locke is relaxing in the back seat of the car looking almost tranquil. This could be used to display the contrast between the two characters.

Coming out of the tunnel (which was actually filmed in Dartmoor Tunnel, Essex, UK) there is a shot from the moving car say "Welcome to Essex". This could almost be interpreted as "Welcome to Jasons' Kingdom" for he is one of the more infamous criminals within Essex.

From 3:44 to 4:38 we see the more violent side of Jason Locke. This is the reason that he is so calm in the car is to show the contrast between the two sides of him. Some would say verging on bi-polar. The weapon of choice for Jason to beat up this enigmatic "friend" of his is the leg of a chair. This is the more humane method of "teaching him a lesson" because when this poor man is taken around to be put in the back of the van, Jason throws a bottle full of acid in his face. But whilst Jason is beating up "an old friend of his", Billy is sitting in the van. The look on Billie’s face portrays a mix of confusion, pity and fear. A good example of this expression is at 4:11. Due to the fact that Billy is sitting in the van there returns the divide between Billy and Jason. Ironically this divide again happens to be a car windscreen. 

At 4:38 there is a fantastic wide shot of the blank white van. There are no marks on it at all. Also because it is white this could suggest purity and innocence however this could not be further from the truth. The white, unmarked van also acts as an enigma because of the lack of any obvious markings.

On the way to where Billy and Jason are planning to take this guy, Jason notices he has got some of the acid on his shirt. This just goes to show how little he cares for the poor soul with acid all over his face but also shows Jason's vanity.

Finally they arrive at the Essex Marshes. Billy is sent round to the back of the van to let the man out. He is cautious in doing so and looks very nervous because he is so new to this whole concept. The Essex Marshes are bleak, featureless and have no boundaries. This could reflect that from Billie’s point of view, Jason seems to have no moral boundaries. This is a similar landscape to when Craig Cody (played by Sullivan Stapleton) is shot dead in Animal Kingdom. The featureless landscape gives a sense of isolation and a sense of out in the open with nowhere to hide.  In Animal Kingdom Craig Cody is shot in a large field which stretches on for miles.

What Are Universal Doing?

Universal has two theme parks in Orlando, USA. These are very successful because they target families by using the themes from their films with the park rides e.g. there is a ride called Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey, The Incredible Hulk Coaster etc.

Universal are also linked to UMG (Universal Music Group). Some of the artists which are signed to UMG include:

·         U2

·         Rihanna

·         Cheryl Cole

·         All American Rejects

·         Stevie Wonder

·         3 Doors Down

·         Snow Patrol

·         Take That

·         Rolling Stones

·         Bon Jovi

·         Shania Twain

Some Universal pictures which are predicted to be released soon (late 2011-2012 at the earliest) are:

·         Peter Berg’s “Battleship”.

·         John Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg’s “American Reunion”.

·         Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda’s “ Dr.Suess’ The Lorax”

A film due to be released 2^nd December 2011 is Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.’s “The Thing” pictured below.

A small side fact about “The Thing” is that it stars Joel Edgerton who plays Barry ‘Baz’ Brown in Animal Kingdom.

While the film was originally set for release in April, Universal Pictures changed the date to October 14, 2011, to allow time for reshoots. The aim of the reshoots was to "enhance existing sequences or to make crystal clear a few story beats or to add punctuation marks to the film's feeling of dread." There was a video game made called “The Thing” and it was a third person survival horror game. The game was presented as a sequel to John Carpenter's 1982 film “The Thing”. It was released in North America for the PS2 on August 19, 2002, on the PC on August 20, 2002 and on the Xbox on September 9, 2002.

Peter Berg’s “Battleship” has been accused of being like “transformers but on water”. However this has given review websites the opportunity to rip it to shreds. Such websites include screenrant.com, latinoreview.com, hollywoodreporter.com and finally facebook.com. Battleship was produed in USA. Battleship is what is known as a four quadrant film meaning that there is an aspect of the film which everyone will enjoy. These are things like romance, action, sci-fim, comedy etc. Battleship is due to be released on the 20th April 2012 in the UK and due to this fact the figures are not certain yet the budget is being estimated to come to a whopping $200,000,000 (£127,180,000). It's not suprising with the large budget that they can afford to have a sar studded cast with such actors as Liam Neeson and the famous popstar Rihanna.

What Made 'Animal Kingdom' a Marketing Success?

Director, David Michod, and Producer, Liz Watts, created a lot of hype of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. The interesting thing is that they accomplished this during the early stages of shooting. I personally believe the reason or this was to create a larger audience. The audience wouldn’t have been very big if they hadn’t taken this approach because it is an independent film and the director is very well known. In Animal Kingdom there aren’t any A-list actors. This could be another reason why Animal Kingdom needed the support from the social networking sites. The only known actor in Animal Kingdom was Guy Pearce and yet in the trailer they don’t “sell him”. The film was incredibly low budget compared to some other films releasing at the moment in multiplex theatres, for example Peter Berg’s “Battleship” which is due to be released in 2012. The budget is estimated to come to a whopping $200,000,000! Animal Kingdom’s budget came to just under a measly $5 million. This said however doesn’t damage the outstanding film which David Michod has created.

Animal Kingdom also refers to certain reviews which have shone the film in good light. These newspaper reviews range from the Los Angeles Times where Kenneth Turan claimed the film was “…immaculate”. The Independent (UK) published that the film was “…remarkable”. Todd McCarthy from Variety Magazine wrote the film was “ambitious and powerful”.

Animal Kingdom was nominated for and won several awards (an example of this would be the LAFCA award from the 2010 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards. This was one by Jacki Weaver for Best Supporting Actress) however I believe the most renowned prize this production won was the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. 

The trailer for ‘Animal Kingdom’ was very successful. Here is the hyperlink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5BsYRmMfus

They were pushing the theme of violence hard. Even in the logo for the film there is a gun incorporated within the text (the ‘G’ in the word Kingdom).

The advert includes a popular song. This song is “All out of love” by Airsupply. A lot of people recognise this song and so can relate to the trailer. Another reason why they include a popular song such as this is so that when you here this song you may think of the trailer. It could be argued that it is a form of subliminal messaging.

How Has Working Title Adapted To Changes In the Film Industry?

Recently Working Title produced the film ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’. This film was towards the low budget end of the spectrum however they did go to Universal for financing. Nevertheless Universal turned the project down. So next Working Title looked to European based countries for finance and finally Studio Canal gave them the sufficient funding to complete this project. This could be one reason why a lot of the locations were based in Europe from sunny London, UK to Istanbul, Turkey.

Another reason why it did so well in Europe is it is based on a best-selling novel written marvellously by John lé Carre. A lot of people were familiar with the novel thus it was familiar to them and appealed to the older target audience because a child for example would not have read this fine piece of literature.

Universal bought Working Title to create less competition in the market but also so Working Title could stop fretting about funding and concentrate on making films which the European market seemed to love so much due to things like Working Title being a British Company and doesn’t use many things like CGI etc and ravish the lower fund films.
In this modern world we live in there are so many more platforms to consumer film on at home than just television e.g. computer on iPlayers for example or YouTube, smartphones, Playstation3 etc and because of this Working Title have had to adapt and make the cinema more of an experience. They have also had to compete with the new technology of 3D and CGI etc which Universal is very fond of using. That said however a lot of Universals films currently are aimed more towards the younger market/perhaps branching into family films. An example of this would be James Cameron’s “Battleship” which is very action packed. Battleship is due to be released on the 20^th of April 2012. Another brilliant example of Universals’ CGI saga would be another one of James Cameron’s films: Avatar which was released in the UK on the 19^th of December 2009. Just to demonstrate the vast scale of 3D films which were released in 2010, a staggering 28 3D films were released; this is double the number for 2009; this amount generated a whopping £241.8 million in the UK.

To conclude there are more 3D films than normal films releasing at the moment the main reason for this is that producers can make more money from 3D films by charging more people for more money since the public are more interested in seeing a new film in 3D because it’s more of an experience compared to home viewing. Although trends show that people who go to the cinema to see a normal (non 3D) films are still more than happy to buy them on DVD.
“6.2 million DVD players were sold in 2010, and 1.1 million Blu-ray stand-alone players were sold.”
 “92% of households own at least one DVD player and 8% own a Blu-ray player”

Brief Synopsis of Our Thriller: MARKED

Our thriller is going to start off with a boy asleep in bed. He is going to wake up due to the loud "bang" of a gunshot. Hearing this noise the boy gets out of bed to investigate. Checking a few of the rooms upstairs he finds nothing out of place: although he notices that in his parents’ bedroom the bed covers are ruffled as if they had got up in a rush. Establishing with himself that there is nothing wrong upstairs he heads downstairs and starts to walk carefully down the hall. He stops for a second to hear the television buzzing in the front room. He creaks open the door to find his father 'asleep' on the sofa with his head facing away from the boy. The boy goes to shake him to wake him up only to find that as the fathers arm (which was resting over his chest) slips down that there is a bullet wound through his chest and blood down the front of his shirt. The fathers head rolls towards the boy to reveal a scarred crest on the father’s neck. It looks like it had been burnt into his neck although not freshly. It had the look that it had been faded with time although still prominent on the pale white skin. Panicking the boy reels back in shock and horror. He then runs towards the door, flings it open and runs down the street and around the corner. Little does he know that he is being watched by a man with a gun from his own bedroom window? The boy runs around the corner to find himself caught in the headlights of a car. The car seems to be almost waiting for him. There is a close up of the drivers hand to reveal the same mark as on the father’s neck. From here it will fade to black and then on the black background the words "MARKED" appear; the reason for this being that it is the title. We thought it would be good to end like this because it ends on a cliff-hanger and there is also the enigma of who is the person watching him from his bedroom window, who is the driver, who has shot the boys’ father down in cold blood but furthermore who is this infamous gang?

Shot List for Preliminary Task

Below is the list of shots which we chose to use in our preliminary task because we thought these would be the most effective. The first shot is fading in from a blackout to a high angle shot of Lyndsey asleep with a book on her face. This cuts to a wide shot of the whole of Lindsey’s body on its side lying down. This establishes with the audience the character which Lyndsey is playing and the personality of this character e.g. clumsy, forgetful etc. This wide shot then cuts to a bird’s eye view tracking shot of Emily walking down a corridor. This bird’s eye tracking shot lasts for approximately 5 seconds before cutting to a stationary shot of Emily walking through the door. This shot cuts to Lyndsey slowly waking up and picking up the papers which have fallen on the floor in the process of her restlessness during her "slumber". At the moment the video is very balanced i.e. there have been two consecutive shots of Lyndsey then two consecutive shots of Emily and now back to two consecutive shots of Lyndsey. This cuts to a medium panning shot of Emily entering the room and asking Lyndsey whether or not she had just been asleep. This panning shot follows Emily into the room and then stops in a wide shot. The wide shot establishes that the characters are opposite and this ensures that the "shot reverse shot" does not confuse the reader. At this point what we were attempting to do was to try to include as many examples of "shot reverse shot" in the conversation. Although at 0:54 we do use a medium shot which has both the characters and this, again, establishes who is on which side just not to confuse the reader. At 0:58 seconds there is a close up on the screen of a phone which clearly displays the time changing from 12:00 to 12:01. This cuts to a tracking shot of Lyndsey running out. This then cuts to a stationary shot of Lyndsey running down the hall. As she runs away because the camera stays still she slowly disappears smaller and smaller.

Preliminary Task Final Cut and Evaluation

In our preliminary task, the most important aspects of editing this video which we were most worried about like continuity editing, not breaking the 180 degree rule, using shot reverse shot etc. An example of how we managed to maintain continuity editing is that we filmed this over a number of days and made our actresses (Lyndsey Wise and Emily Ledger) bring in the same clothes so this didn’t change half way through the video. We try to us a variety of shots including such shots as bird’s eye view, tracking shot, wide shot and close up. The story of the conversation is that due to being nervous all night Lyndsey hasn’t slept very much and has accidentally fallen asleep on a chair. When Emily comes in to wake her, Lyndsey realises she has slept so long that she is late for her interview and runs out of the door. As for suiting the requirements Emily open a door at 0:19 seconds. Emily then continues to walk across the room at 0:40 seconds with a smooth tracking shot. From walking across the room Emily goes to sit down opposite Lyndsey at 0:45 seconds. During the main conversation there are many examples of 'shot reverse shot' as we change from one character to the other. There is a close up of the screen of a phone. This clearly shows the time changing from 12:00 o'clock to 12:01 o'clock.

A mistake that I have made in the continuity editing is at 0:33 seconds. If you look closely Lyndsey put her legs on her right hand side and this suddenly changes to her left hand side when she goes to pick up her papers. Apart from this tiny mistake I think the continuity for this video is quite well put together.

Working Title Productions 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy & The Boat That Rocked.

The trailer above is for Working Title’s “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”. This was directed by Tomas Alfredson and based on the best selling novel by John le Carré. This story is set during the bleak and suspicious years of the Cold War (a political conflict mainly between America and Russia). The Cold War lasted from 1946-1991 however this glimpse of the Cold War which we witness in ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ is in/around the year 1974 when the Cold War was perhaps at the most tense between nations. The storyline is that there is a mole (spy for another nation) at the top of MI6 but nobody knows who. A man named George Smiley (played by the brilliant, British A-list actor of Gary Oldman) is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover who this mole is. In this film MI6 has a codename of “the circus” in this film which gives it a realistic edge and makes you feel as if your part of the action by including you with this sort of thing e.g. catchphrases and codeword’s, codenames etc. This film is in-fact a remake of the original TV drama/thriller series ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ which was directed by John Irvin and was aired in 1979. In my personal opinion I think that the recent film directed by Tomas Alfredson is very good although if you are a viewer with fresh eyes e.g. you haven’t read the book or seen the 1979 television series, then the film could be a little bit confusing and perhaps slightly lost on a more “uneducated” audience.

The trailer above is for Working Title’s “The Boat That Rocked”. This was directed by Richard Curtis and based on a true story. In the 1960’s there was a very similar pirate radio station to the one portrayed in the film called ‘Radio Caroline’. I personally believe this could have been some of the inspiration which spurred Curtis on to create (in my own personal opinion) this masterpiece of a film. The main storyline behind this film is that it’s based in 1966 where free love and peace rules. There is a boat which is a pirate radio station called ‘Radio Rock’. This is the most popular radio station because in 1966, BBC only played 45 minutes of popular rock music a day whereas radio rock played it 24/7. The government sees this radio station as ruining the country. Therefore they bend every rule in the book to try to shut radio rock but the pirates fight on. The film is based around this conflict but also the relationships between the crew on board. There is a quote from the film from the character that is in charge of shutting down the radio station who calls the people of Britain who listen to this radio station: “the drug takers, the law breakers and the bottom bashing fornicators of our recently great country”. I thought this summed up his views on the matter very succinctly. I think the reason this film did so well is because it appealed to so many different audiences. For example it appealed to the older generation because they would’ve been around in the 1960’s and could relate to the music. So it could have been mainly the soundtrack which appealed to the older generation. It would also appeal to the younger generation because it has A-list British actors like Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, and Chris O’Dowd etc. This is my favourite film just due to the fact that because my dad is such a huge ‘Beatles’ fan etc I was pretty much brought up on the kind of music which is in this film and so I can sort of relate to it because it reminds me a little bit of my childhood and that’s the kind of music I grew up around which I know and love.

 

This is the opening scene to Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill 1"

The reason why this is shot in black and white is Tarantino paying tribute to the older film makers from the 1940's and 1950's. The first thing you hear is diagetic sound from the bride. The first shot is a close up of the brides face looking rather helpless due to the fact her face is covered in cuts and bruises. This establishes a connection with the audience because they feel pity for her. The first actual dialogue in the scene is the enigmatic character "Bill" asking the question "Do you find me sadistic?". This sets the audience up with a prediction of what the rest of the film is going to contain and be about. The moment we find out that this characters name is Bill is when he goes to wipe some blood from the brides face revealing writing embroided into the hankerchief saying "Bill".

Year 12 Media Student Questionnaire

Year 12 Media Studies Student Questionnaire

Name:

James Winterburn

GCSE results:

·         Science 1^st year = A

·         Science 2^nd year = B

·         Catering = B

·         Geography = B           

·         English Literature = B

·         English Language = B

·         Religious Studies = B

·         Music = B

·         Maths = B

·         ICT = C

Hobbies:

I thoroughly enjoy playing the drums in my band called ‘The Crates’. We have two songs uploaded on YouTube and one uploaded on Facebook. Another hobby of mine is ten pin bowling where I play at a competitive level. Last year I along with my team mates managed to win the local league. I also competed at a national competition in Nottingham but unfortunately not bringing home any individual merits to celebrate. My club managed to win a handful of trophies overall though.

Media Interests:

Print Media:

I don’t read a variety of news in news papers although I am very interested in reviews for things like restaurants and new releases of music albums, maybe even film reviews. I prefer to read the news in the news paper rather than on the internet because it feels more traditional. Also a personally reason is that at home my internet connection isn’t exactly brilliant so I might not be able to access it on the internet on some occasions. I do not read many magazines unless you can count things like comic strips e.g. the beano, the dandy etc for which I am an avid reader.

Radio Media:

For radio it is mostly entertainment which I listen to. The most common time is from about half 7 – 8 o’clock in the morning where I am packing my bag, having breakfast etc and I will put Radio 1’s The Chris Moyles Show. I find it very funny.

Music Industry:

I don’t really have a favourite genre of music because I listen to a large variety of music apart from such genres as ‘Dub-step’ etc. Although if I had to pick I would say rock/metal is my favourite genre to listen to.
I belong to a band called ‘The Crates’ where I am the drummer.
I access my music mainly through YouTube or iTunes, although I thoroughly enjoy listening to my dads’ old vinyl records on his old vinyl player. There’s something about the vintage quality of the music. Perhaps it’s because I enjoy the music so much even though it’s not from my generation.

I don’t agree with illegally downloading music because that is which is damaging the music industry.
If your favourite band starts to dress in a certain way then you might copy them because in your mind they are what you consider ‘cool’ thus you start to mimic them. As far as my attitude goes I have had one major influence from a particular artist. This artist being, what I consider to be the ‘King of Reggae’, Bob Marley. Listening to his music I have learnt that there is no point in worrying because life is too short and that everything will be fine in the end if you stick to it and try your hardest at what you want to do in life.

Video Games:

I thoroughly enjoy playing video games. I would say that my favourite video game would be a game called ‘Assassins Creed’. It involves you completing missions but you have the ability of jumping from roof to roof and doing lots of parkour and jumping around etc. Almost like an olden day spider-man in a way.  

A lot of video games are based on violence using guns and such. This could influence the way that gamers view the world and that the way to solve a conflict is to kill the opposed person(s). A good example of a game which exploits women is the series of the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ games where you are a thug and you can hire women as prostitutes etc.

New Technology:
I think that new technologies, like the internet for example, have increased my knowledge and understanding of the world due to the fact that things like the news are more accessible. A few examples of technology that which have increased the ability to communicate with others are things like the internet, mobile phones, and even some games consoles give you the ability to talk to your friends. With new technology access to films has become very easy. For example on the internet there are such websites as ‘BBC iPlayer’ which let you watch television programmes which you may have missed or maybe just want to watch again. There are also many popular sites for the music industry to distribute music throughout the internet legally. There are of course websites which allow you to illegally download music which I personally am strongly against. Websites like ‘BlogSpot’ and ‘Tumblr’ allow you to create your own blog which people can follow and comment on etc. New technologies have helped this because before, for example, the internet the only way you could possibly do this was on paper etc.

Television: One of my favourite channels is ‘ComedyCentral’ just because I like such programmes as ‘Live at the Apollo’, and concerts made by certain comedians. Another channel I like is a channel called ‘G.O.L.D’ which stands for “Go on Laugh Daily”. As you can see, even from the two examples I have given above, I enjoy watching things which make me laugh and smile. My favourite television genre is comedy because I am not really a fan of things like horror for example, quite the opposite in fact. One television programmes which I personally find memorable is a programme called ‘Mythbusters’. The reason for this is because they take myths and rumours and put them to the test. This programme usually ends in them just being silly and going completely over the top. This usually contains them being silly and using high explosives etc. Another one is called ‘Bear Grylls: Born Survivor’. The reason for this is because I find it very interesting to see the different ways of surviving in the wilderness. I think it may have something to do with the fact I was in Scouts for quite a few years when I was younger and this topic has always slightly interested me. I would say the final television programme I will mention is a programme called ‘Man vs. Food’. In this programme he goes around sampling some of America’s most famous restaurants etc. He also tries to complete eating challenges where he just has to either eat his way through a large quantity of a certain type of food or maybe eat a certain amount of the spiciest chilli etc. The reason for this is because I am a bit of a food fanatic and will try anything because I love food.

Feature Film:

My favourite genre in film is comedy, music and action/adventure. I love to have a laugh and music is my passion. 3 films which I find absolutely outstanding are ‘The Boat That Rocked’, ‘Wanted’, and ‘Anchorman’. In summary, ‘The Boat That Rocked’ is a large cargo ship which has been converted into a pirate radio station in the 1960’s. The reason I like ‘The Boat That Rocked’ so much is due to the fact that it has a lot of music in it from the era which I enjoy listening to e.g. 1960’s rock like ‘The Who’, ‘The Beatles’ etc. The reason which I like ‘Wanted’ so much is because it’s packed full of action and has a very interesting story line about a man named Wesley Gibson who is the son of a professional assassin who is shot and Wesley has to try to ‘step into his fathers shoes’ so to speak. Anchorman is about a top news presenter who is the best in the whole of San Diego called Ron Burgundy. He is then rivalled by another woman presenter called Veronica Corningstone. Ron faces the possibility of losing his job to this new presenter and gets up to all kind of antics to sabotage her brilliant reputation. The ways in which I enjoy consuming film are at the cinema and on the television. My favourite cinema is probably Vue Cinema in the Castle Mall. The reason is because I really enjoy the buzzing atmosphere in there and also because the prices are reasonable. I definitely prefer to watch films in a group because I enjoy the company of others and asking about which parts the enjoyed the most.

Am I a media producer?

The only sort of media production which I have contributed towards is my bands music video. These are very basic videos using a home camera to film us playing our songs without any effects or editing of any kind. Unless we have someone else outside the band to film us it’s usually a still shot of us playing.

Conclusion:

I am not an easily offended person so I don’t have a very vivid idea about the kind of media which could have offended me. Really the only contender would have to be the magazines like ‘Match’ and ‘Match of the day’. These are football magazines for those of you unaware. The reason I don’t like them is because I personally am not very interested in them myself. Although, having said this, my brother is a huge football fan and these magazines are scattered everywhere in our house.

In contrast to this I am an avid reader of adventure/fantasy books which intrigue me. I think it’s due to the fact that in these books there are no limitations which I enjoy very much so.

I text which changes my view about the world everyday is the newspaper. I never really get buried with interest in it but my dad reads it everyday so I like to have a skim through just to try and keep up to date with things in general.

I would probably choose a popular magazine which lots of teenagers read e.g. heat, hello or OK magazine. The message I would try to put across would be something to do with a popular genre of music or perhaps a rising star, maybe someone doing very well for a few wrong reasons. Basically a music review to be fair.

The reason I chose media studies as an option was because I am very interested in the production of films and music video etc.

I hope you have enjoyed this little insight into my interests in media etc.

James Winterburn 12KE J