Film Production Companies Research

The following film production companies I will research fully in the post:

• DreamWorks SKG
• DreamWorks Animation
• 20th Century Fox
• 20th Century Fox Animation
• Universal Studios
• Paramount Pictures
• Columbia Pictures
• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Walt Disney Pictures
• Pixar Animation Studios
• Marvel Studios 
• Hollywood Pictures
• LionsGate Entertainment 
• Summit Entertainment

 DreamWorks SKG

It was founded October 12th 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen.
Its headquarters are in Universal City, California.
Steven Spielberg is its Principal Partner, and Stacy Snider is the Co-Chairman/CEO.
It produces motion pictures and television programmes, and employees 80 people.


It has produced films such as:

• Cowboys and Aliens
• I Am Number 4
• The Lovely Bones
• Transformers
• Meet The Fockers

Dreamworks Animation

It was founded the same date as DreamWorks SKG and founded by the same people.
Its headquarters are in Glendale, California.
Jeffrey Katzenberg is the company's CEO, Mellody Hobson is the chairman, and Lewis Coleman is the President.
It produced theatrical animated feature films, and television animated series.

It has produced films such as:

• Shrek
• Madagascar
• Kung Fu Panda
• Wallace and Gromit: The Movie
• Flushed Away

20th Century Fox

It was founded May 31st 1935 by a merge of Fox Films and 20th Century Pictures. It is founded by Joseph M. Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck. Its headquarters are in California and Rupert Murdoch is the Chairman.
It produces motion pictures and television films.
 It has produced films such as:

• Avatar
• Dr Doolittle
• Titanic
• X-Men
• Wolverine

20th Century Fox Animation

It was founded in 1997 by 20th Century Fox.
Vanessa Morrison is the President.
It produces CGI animated films and animated sitcoms.

It has produced films such as:

• The Flinstones
• Family Guy
• The Simpsons
• Ice Age
• Anastasia
  
  

  Universal Studios

It was founded April 30th in 1992 by Carl Laemmle, Pat Powers, Mark Dintenfass, William Swanson, David Horsley, Charles Baumann, Adam Kessel, and Jules Brulatour.
Its headquarters are Universal City, California, and its President is Ronald Meyer.

It has produced films such as:

• Jurassic Park
• Jaws
• E.T.
• Fast and Furious
• Despicable Me

Paramount Pictures

It was founded in 1912 as Famous Players Film Company, and then in 1914 as Paramount Pictures. Its headquarters are in Hollywood and it produces motion pictures.
Brad Grey is the Chairman, Rob Moore is the Vice Chairman, Frederick D. Huntsberry is the COO, Mark Badagliacca is the CFO, and Adam Goodman is the President. 

It has produced films such as:

• Star Trek
• Thor
• Iron Man
• Paranormal Activity
• Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

 Columbia Pictures

It was founded by Harry and Jack Cohn along with Joe Brandt in LA in 1918 as CBC Film Sales, but then renamed as Columbia Pictures in 1924.
Its headquarters are in California  and Doug Belgrad is the President of the company. It produces Motion pictures.

It has produced films such as:

• Spider Man
• Skyfall
• Men In Black
• 21 Jump Street
• Casino Royale

Warner Bros. Pictures

It was founded April 4th 1923 by Albert, Harry, Sam, and Jack Warner. Barry Meyer is the Chairman, and Kevin Tsujhara is the CEO.
Its headquarters are in California, and it produces motion pictures, television programmes, and video games.

It has produced films such as:

• Man Of Steel
• The Dark Knight
• The Hangover
• The Wizard Of Oz
• The Matrix

Walt Disney Pictures

It was founded in 1950 by Walt Disney. Its headquarters are in California and it produces motion pictures.

It has produced films such as:

• Monsters Inc.
• Finding Nemo
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• Dumbo
• Bambi

Pixar Animation Studios

It was founded 3rd February 1986 by Ed Catmull, Alvy Ray Smith, and Steve Jobs. Its headquarters are in California, and is run by Ed Catmull (President), John Lasseter (CCO), and Jim Morris (General Manager).

It has produced films such as:

• Up
• Toy Story
• A Bug's Life
• The Incredibles
• Cars

Marvel Studios

It was founded in 1993 by Avi Arad, ToyBiz, and Marvel Entertainment Group. Its headquarters are in California, and is run by Kevin Feige (President) and Louis D'Esposito.

It has produced films such as:

• Spider-Man
• The Avengers
• Iron Man
• The Wolverine
• Captain America

Hollywood Pictures

It was founded February 1st 1989 as a product of Walt Disney Studios. It produced motion pictures, however it was dissolved in 2007.






It produced films such as:

• The Santa Claus
• Super Mario Bros.
• Breakfast of Champions
• G.I. Jane
• Spy Hard

LionsGate Entertainment

It was founded July 3rd 1997 by Frank Giustra and its headquarters are in California. Mark Rachesky is the Chairman, Jon Feltheimer is the CEO, and Michael Burns is the Vice Chairman. It produces motion pictures, television programmes, home videos, family entertainment, music, and music publishing.

It has produced films such as:

• The Hunger Games
• Saw
• Twilight
• Dirty Dancing
• Kick-Ass

Summit Entertainment

It was founded in 1991 by Bernd Eichinger, Arnon Milchan, and Andrew G. Vajna. Its headquarters are in California and London. It produces motion pictures and Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger are the main directors of the company.

It has produced films such as:

• Twilight
• Step Up
• American Pie
• Now You See Me
• The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Research

As my main research, I asked people to fill out a questionnaire which would help me to find out what people like and don't like in the opening sequence of a film.

 

This tells me that more people like the use of 'flash-forward' than dislike it, which makes me more lenient to include it in my opening sequence.

This shows me that more people like action more than any other genre, which is a good thing for me as this is my chosen genre for my final project.

The results show me that, if I was to advertise my new film to the public, the more effective way to do this would be to advertise it via a TV or cinema trailer, rather than in a magazine.

I can conclude that people find music in the opening sequence important, as opposed to not important at all, which allows me to follow my original plan of including music.

This shows me that people prefer more simple opening titles as opposed to more complex or 'busy' ones.

These results tell me that people are interested in films based on the storyline, then the trailer and genre of the film, which means I need to focus on the storyline in the opening sequence.

Questionnaire

As part of my research, I am handing out 20 questionnaires to people of different ages to get an idea into what people like and dislike about films. I thought this would help me as I can apply this to my opening scenes.

Below are screenshots of my questionnaires, and I will post the results soon.

The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan - Opening Scenes Analysis

The film starts with the logos of the companies which produced the film; Warner Brothers, Legendary Pictures, and DC Comics. As these are high profile and well trusted companies, people expect the film to live up to these expectations, and it definitely doesn't disappoint!
The film starts with an establishing shot of the opening scene, which consists of a very large black building in the middle of a busy city landscape; this sets the scene for the next few shots. We see two men in clown masks smashing the glass of the building and shooting a metal wire as an 'escape route' onto the roof of the opposite building. The fact that the men are on the inside of this building. immediately makes us think that this is an 'inside job'. There is no music playing throughout this scene, which adds to the suspense.
The men are all wearing clown masks which hides their faces; this could be to make sure the security cameras don't see their faces, but it could also be them hiding behind mask, and almost hiding their identity as they want to isolate the crime from their normal life. The masks create a sense of mystery, but is also quite ironic; clowns are associated with comedy and children's parties, yet the criminals are using them out of fear and to make people believe that clowns etc. are almost bad and not to be laughed at or taken lightly. This could be a metaphor for the criminals themselves; they want people to take the seriously which is why they are robbing such a high profile bank and not committing 'petty' crimes. The criminals have a lot of equipment and they know exactly where they are going at what time, which shows that have planned this for a long time, and they are 'professionals'.
The music increases in tempo as the action in the scene increases, which builds suspense.
There are a lot of close-ups on the faces of the criminals, which is ironic as we can't see their faces because of the masks, but this could be Nolan's intention.

Taken by Pierre Morel opening sequence analysis

The very first thing we see in the opening sequence is the Twentieth Century Fox logo; this gives the impression to the audience that the film has been funded by a large, trusted company, so the film is expected to be of a high standard.
The titles are in a simple font, with a black screen turning into home videos of the family together. This shows that the videos are personal to the character, and the titles are in the corner of the shots, which makes the videos the focal point of each shot. The videos are flashbacks that the main character is having, which shows that he still holds onto that memory.
The music has a sharp tone to the soft sounds, which almost foreshadows the tragedy later in the film. The fact that the family is laughing over the sharp sounds in the music, implies an almost naivety about them, and shows how oblivious they are to what is about to happen.
The titles fade away, which could connote how the main character is trying to forget that he lost his family to another man. Also, the title of the film 'Taken' is almost 'whipped' off the screen by a passing car, which is also what happens to the daughter later in the film, so it is setting the scene of the film and showing the harsh realties of what are about to happen.
The first scene of the film shows the main character of the film sitting alone in a dark room, with 2 empty Chinese takeaway boxes on the table. As he lives by himself, it shows that he is incapable to look after himself fully and that he misses his family too much. He is immediately portrayed to the audience as being lonely and in regret of letting his wife and child walk out of his life.

The Start of the Final Project

So, for the final project, me and David have decided to go for a crime/thriller genre as we were had more ideas for this genre.

Currently, I'm handing out questionnaires to get people's opinions on opening titles, and I'm researching into the film companies which produce the kind of films which are similar to the one I am doing for my final project.

I will post the results of the questionnaires on monday in my next media lesson, which will also be accompanied by evaluations of opening titles as part of my genre-specific research.

Just Another Boyband - The Finished Project

So, here it is! This is my most proud project to date, and I hope you enjoy it!

 

THE VIDEO

Introducing: Pick 'n' Mix!

Here is just one of 3 members of the girl group Pick 'n' Mix who are here for the second round of the X Factor, just like the Aztec Funkeys.

The pressure is on...

Will they get through as a trio?

Their fate lies in the hands of the two judges!

The Script

I thought I would post the script for this project as a little teaser for what is to come, so here it is...

(we are all improvising on the script to make it fit to what we think is best at the time, so we're not following this directly)

Scene One

The band walks through the corridor looking extremely nervous. They are greeted by the show’s presenter who attempts to calm their nerves. It is the second stage of the competition and the band has been called to see the presenters and are about to enter the boardroom.

Caroline Flapjack: Hello boys, how are you feeling?

Robin Thin: We’re quite nervous.

Alex Turnoff: We all felt like our first audition was our best performance of our careers but one judge didn’t agree. 

Niall Whoreman: Yeah we have Louis Welsh to thank for Aztec Funkeys making it to the second stage of the competition.

Caroline Flapjack: So Nicole gave you a no last time? Do you feel as if you have something to prove this time around?

Band: Yeah

Alex Turnoff: Definitely 

Kanye East: We need to show her how serious we are about our music yo

Caroline Flapjack: Well you better get in there then. Good luck boys.

Scene Two

The band enters the room and sits down in silence. The judges are already in the room. 

Louis Welsh: Hi boys

Nicole Shirtswinger  Welcome back

Louis Welsh: In your first audition you impressed me with your passion and enthusiasm. Personally I thought it was a great audition

Band: Thanks Louis

Nicole Shirtswinger: You were definitely enthusiastic but I’m just not sure you’re right for the competition.

Niall whoreman: This is our life. We have so much riding on this it means everything to us.

Louis Welsh: I can feel your determination

Nicole Shirtswinger  I think you need to fight for it.

Louis Welsh: As a compromise, as I think you have potential and Nicole disagrees, we have decided that to you need to earn your place in this competition.

Nicole Shirtswinger: Aztec Funkeys is becoming a three piece band.

Louis Welsh: Show us what you can do and what this competition means to you.

Kanye East: Yo I’m doing this for the music and for my baby girl North East. 

Robin Thin: My true inspiration is my late great late great grandma. 

Alex Turnoff: My hamster Angela has a serious bone disease and I’m here raising awareness. Hamster owners will be able to relate to me.

Niall Whoreman: I own a potato farm back in Ireland really needs a rejuvenation and this competition will help me achieve that.

Each band member improvises an act to impress the judges.

"Just doing it for the music"

Introducing : The Aztec Funkeys

 

 

 

Me, [FROM RIGHT TO LEFT] Callum (Alex Turnoff), Dan (Robin Thin), Niall (Niall Whoreman), and Freddy (Kanye East) for giving up their free period to film an 'introduction' of the band and gives us an insight into why they want to win the X Factor (basically their sob stories).



 

 

 

Just another boyband

So me and Zoe are working on our next project together, and these are our ideas so far...

Boyband - Aztec Funkeys

•    Members

   -  Niall
   -  Dan
   -  Callum
   -  Charlie
   -  Freddy

Zoe - Caroline Flack
Calum - Interviewer / Judges
Me - Interviewer / Judges

• Outfits

Band Members   -   Aztec clothing (top, jumper, bow tie)

• Props

Guitar 
Coca Cola Glasses for judges


Girlband - Pick 'n' Mix

• Members

   -  Ellen P
   -  Ellen W
   -  Bethany

• Outfits

Skirts
Sparkly?
PINK

• Me        -    Curl hair, black polka dot dress
• Calum   -    Prom suit (minus tie)
• Zoe       -   Caroline Flack attire (black dungarees, white shirt)

The Prisoner

This is project 3, and my most proud film to date!


the video


An evaluation is to follow!

"Am I famous yet?"

On the hour and a half long bus journey it took to get to Newcastle, I seemed to have mispalced the script that I took with us. Fortunately, I had pictures of the script saved on my phone, so I wrote out a script for both me and Jacob and we were ready to go. Also, I made a copy of the storyboard at home so I will scan that onto my laptop and post it on this blog.

Jacob was a really good sport and he made the day fly over with his funny one liners and his campness, so thanks Jacob!

Below are some sneak previews into our project with some bloopers in between them, enjoy!

Amateurs!!

The word of the day is "amateurs" as this is the word Jacob said everytime either of us messed up when shooting. It's fair to say that there are plenty of bloops I can post on here!

It was a really good day of shooting today and I can't thank Jacob enough for helping me and Sarah out, especially seeing as it was only going to be me shooting today as Sarah is at a christening.

The photo below is definitely the funniest picture I've seen for a long time, and is the last frame on one of our shots.

I thought this picture of Jacob looked a lot like an Indie album cover. Jake Bugg eat your heart out!

The below picture is Jacob's coat when he decided it would be hilarious to hide from me behind a hay barrel half way through a scene. That's karma for you!

This is the door to which leads us to the setting of our project. It looked a lot creepier in person!

This was the mise-en-scene of our shot (the flash is used for this picture so it was a lot darker for filming)

Location, Location, Location

On Thursday, me and Sarah went to our first location to shoot the very first first scenes of our movie. As you can see from the mise-en-scene, there were trees surrounding us and the weather was pretty shocking!

However, our camera was only charged enough to last us 15 minutes, so we only got 4 minutes of footage in total :( we're going back next week after school to finish shooting and we will start editing the footage on monday from mine and Jacob's shoot on sunday.

Below is a video of me and Sarah introducing the set for our shoot and Sarah getting weirdly excited over a tripod...

There was a slight spanner in the works yesterday as our only actress bailed on us just 4 days before the shoot. However, I found someone else who is willing to act in the film and we have planned all of the small details in order to have a hopefully successful shoot. Updates to follow.

So, we have found a location for shooting! My grandad has worked his magic and we are now able to shoot a local farm which is just a bus journey away!
We haven't planned what we are filming to the extent of being able to shoot it straight away, but we start shooting Sunday so fingers crossed everything goes to plan!

Shooting Planning

Places
Farm - barn
Field / woods

Rehearsal
1st day of shooting - 15 minutes max.

Setting
The beginning of the shot - Witton Gilbert woods
Base of the shot - inside the barn?

Production Base
School

Transport
Bus to the farm then a car to the final location
Walk to and from the fields

Call Sheets / Actors
Me - Number 2 / director
Sarah - Director / Camera Operator
Ellen - Number 6

Continuity
Shots will take more than one day - need to wear the same clothes for each shot

Props
   -   Sunglasses for Number 2
   -   Button for lift shaft (homemade)
   -   Skateboard dolly

Costumes
Me - black trousers, black blazer, black top, hair tied up, plain makeup
Ellen - Casual clothes, dull colours, 'beaten and dirty' makeup

Script
Photocopy a copy for Ellen

Storyboard
Plan outside of school - convene on a free lesson

Schedule
Shooting outside of school
Possibly during frees

Log Sheets
Me and Sarah joint responsibility

Special Effects
None so far but can be added if needed

Sound Effects
Duplicating laughter
Door creak?
Lift Shaft start up / moving

Dialogue Run
If needed, we can record the dialogue again whilst at the shoot

Voice Over
Thoughts of Number 2 if we have time during editing

Music
If needed, we can add it during editing

Extras
Refreshments for actors
Extra batteries

this is my second shots project, which i edited and shot nearly all shots by myself.
this is the final thing, enjoy :)

this is ,again, another outtake courtesy of freddy

this is an outtake from our shooting process which i thought i should upload to my blog to show you the kind of things i had to put up when being camerman for the day...

 

p.s. please pardon my french at the end, it had been a very long day and freddy definitely wasn't helping in this situation!

 

 

we have finished all of the shooting for our second project! today is the first day of editing as the deadline is wednesday. me and sarah are sharing editing duties so that we ensure we finish it in time for the deadline. fingers crossed!

again, i have made a collage but this time it is of some media terminology

i sometimes get confused between certain camera shots, so I decided to make this from old magazines just to help me with my notes

my blog wouldn't let me upload the finished video, but below is the link to Sarah's blog where she has uploaded the finished thing. (sorry for the bad quality, it wasn't working in full resolution)


THE VIDEO

I thought I'd update you all on the project so far just to stop me from getting stressed out. The clips keep jumping so hopefully we'll get it sorted for tomorrow. More updates to follow

first shoot

me and sarah did our first day of shooting yesterday.... lets just say it was interesting and we had great fun recording. updates coming soon!

first project - the video

the video

We were asked to make a video showing me or someone I know in a positive light. I chose my friends. I have so many funny pictures of us all and this video kinda sums up this year for me and what we got up to. Enjoy!