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If Thrillers Were A Tube Map…

The Jollie Metro ( Julian and Ollies Tube Map)

Key:

Red / Voice over
Orange / Gangster heavy
Grey / Claustrophobia
Blue / Gangster light

The tube map is a way of presenting the different themes and things found in films in the genre of thriller. The idea is that the four lines are different themes and the stations are the films that have these themes. Its a very great and unique way of present something because its a lot more interesting to look at. 

Submarine - Trailer Analysis

The film Submarine is a British drama/comedy about a boy who has two goals before he turns 16, to have lose his virginity and keep his parents together. The film is played out as if he is talking to you about his live and that he is commentating over parts of it. The film is written and directed by the popular actor Richard Ayoade, he has played in many TV shows such as the IT Crowd. Oliver Tate, the main character is played by the talented Craig Roberts and Yasmin Page as Jordana Bevan. In my opinion, the trailer to this film shows off to much of the film which could ruin it for some people but other than that, the trailer was very interesting and include some interesting parts of the film.

This part of the trailer sums up pretty much was the film is about, love between these two and also love between the his parents. This shot is interesting as it not a typical love scene where as the setting in this one is quite dull as its under a train track which shows the originality that this film brings along with its indie style. The shot is also unusual as it includes the lens flare from the camera which again fits in with the originality of the shots and themes used from the film. 

In this particular such it gives the idea that the film is being told by himself as a story of his life.  It is done in a way that he is commentating the past events of his life as if he is showing/telling a film crew as he mentions in the film. The idea that he is narrating his life gives the film more depth and makes the story telling more interesting rather than just the story being played out.

The final shot focuses on showing the true Britishness of the film with Oliver standing on the sandy coast, with a cloudy sky and the dull colours around him. The shot also links in with the indie theme as it uses the unique and more original colours and themes to create quite an unusual yet fascinating film and story.

The soundtrack to this film is the best part of the film as it is such an interesting and brilliant collection of songs written and produced by Alex Turner, the lead man in the popular British band Arctic Monkeys. The songs fit perfectly with the moods and themes produced by the film and give the film so much more brilliance towards the way its filmed and edited. The soundtrack was perfectly chosen as the film has gained extra popularity from Alex Turner which also created a brilliant album towards.

How Has Working Title Adapted its Films And Marketing For Different Audience?

Working Title over the years has become a huge production company for the UK films industry, producing amazing films such as Atonement and Pride and Prejudice. Recently Working Title was bought by Universal Studios and since then has been making a lot of new and creative films. With the film business at an all-time high, companies have had to adapt the genre of films they make to a broader audience to generate a higher income, whether it is changed from independent film/genre to a more mainstream one.

Working titles started with my beautiful laundrette, a small-scale independent movie. Its budget was 650,000, and managed to generate 2.5 million incomes. With an independent film, this is a nice income, but it wouldn't be able to sustain a film company long term, so the change to a more mainstream type of movie making was needed.

Working titles breakthrough success was 4 weddings and a funeral, a rom-com, which could be seen as a more mainstream genre. It launched the career of Hugh Grant to new heights, and collaborated with working titles numerous times after as he went on to star in Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary and Love actually, 3 very popular rom-coms. The Coen Brothers are two of the high profile directors, that working title worked with. There films, based upon a lot of dry humour, were a huge success, with the Big Lebowski and Intolerable cruelty. It also meant that working title worked with high-end stars like George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The trailer for ‘Mr Beans Holiday’ was a great step for the movie as it is able to bring in a lot of new young audiences to the movie with also having the old fans of Mr Bean. With trailers such as ‘Love Actually’ it showcases the popular actors that are in the film which get people intrigued about the film, with actors such as Hugh Grant and Keira Knightley, with their most success films, it’s able to get the viewers from those films to experience a change of film.

To increase the amount of audience, working title has also expanded to make famous and well known books into films, such as the Russia novel Anna Karenina. The popular title from the writer Leo Tolstoy was recently made into a film by working title which included big name actors such as Kiera Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson. The film was given much success of the originality of the settings and editing which really boosted the image for Working Title.

Working title films have also been added to the new systems of VoD around such as Netflix and LoveFilm. These processes make it able to watch films on demand from your computer, laptop, TV etc. this is good for Working Title as it will be advertised around the services so more people will be intrigued to watch them, this is also a great way to advertise the company as it will mention it in the video description and will also advertise the similar films from the company. Although these services get more publicity for the film and company, the films might not get as much money as the people will wait to see it then instead of watching it in the cinema so they lose a bit of money as the service wouldn’t give as much money back. 

Preliminary Task

The Third Man - Sewer Scene

The final scene at the end of The Third Man is a very memorable scene for the history of film noir as it's such a creative and imaginative scene, with the maze like sewers and the intense chase really make it a great scene. The sewer scene has everything to do with film noir as it has all the key themes and techniques all together such as the shadows of people running and the minimal light around each tunnel.

This shot is one of my favourites as it is such an claustrophobic and tight shot which really shows how small the staircase is and the feeling of being trap in this place like the maze it is. Also with the shadows of the bars could also give the idea that he is trapped in this place and that he's not leaving alive. 

In this next shot it shows the police chasing down the man into the further part of the sewers, and what's clever about this shot  is how they have made it so that the police are chasing a shadow, which makes it more interesting to watch as they could be trying to make this guy seem as a dark and shady man which he is. Also the way that the shadow gets bigger against the wall adds variety into the shot.

This is an interesting shot as uses different camera shots to make the scene much more enjoyable than it is, for one it uses the rule of third to to make the the top right of the shot the key part, the shot is also on a tilt which gives it more variety and makes it more of a tight and disorientating shot to watch.

This shot again, uses the rule of third to make the shot feeling like your there, hiding and watching what goes on with the chase. The shot is makes for good story telling as it shows the fear and exhaustion on the man face. Also the lighting makes it so that most of his face is hidden away from the light showing that he is a dark and shady character.

This last shot is one of the best shots in the film as it concludes the film and shows the fact the he is trapped and there's now way out from what he has done. The way the light amplifies his body in the shot also is affective and the way that the light at the end of the tunnel isn't even an option for the man really ends the film well.

Conventions of Film Noir

Although film noir technically isn't classed as an genre, the range of styles, feelings and themes that film noir produce make an amazing film type to watch. Film noir usually focuses on bring out dark and mysterious moods and tell a story very enigmatically. Not only are the stories told with a lot of thought, film noir brings out a lot of unique styles when shooting with the use of one light source, the big and strong shadows and the claustrophobic tight areas.

The biggest part of any film noir would be the obscure and ambiguous story lines that leave you amazed and stunned at the end of any film. The stories are usually about a couples betrayal, or a deceit of a friend which lead to unthinkable endings to the stories. Generally the story revolve around mobs of gangsters as well because of the era the films are created or based on, which lead to crime and investigation stories. When it comes to the police officer, he usually isn't the kind of guy you would expect him to be and would have sides of evil and shame in them.

As the stories in film noir are quite dark and mysterious its fitting to have deep shadows and minimal light to bring out darkness in some characters and to put people in the shadows who might of done wrong. A typical scene that focuses a lot on the lighting would be in some alleyway with only light coming from a lamppost, these scenes are a perfect example of how lighting is used because you are focused to what is happening in the light, and with the shadows they get amplified on to a wall or the floor which give the scene more depth and ideas about the characters. The idea with the light also means that you can hide part of a persons face, doing this can give people an idea that there's two sides to this person and that one side might be dark and evil person compared to the light and honest man.

In this particular scene from the film 'The Third Man' it has a range of interesting things in it that link to the conventions of film noir. Firstly in the shot nothing is centred and uses the Rule of Thirds to give the scene more variety. In the shot, it has the shadow of the man running on the far left side of the shot and to the right of the shot it has the one light source coming out from the archway. Secondly, the shot is very low to the ground and is pointing up to the shadow on the wall, the shot is also on a tilt which brings a variety in the shot and a sense of disorientation with the man running.

To conclude, the themes and moods that film noir creates are very tense and exciting but at the same time creates an enigma and leaves you feeling disorientated and surprised. All this is done by the use of the imaginative story lines, and the unique use of the light and shadows.

Setting and Costume in Film Noir

As film Noir started in the early 1950's, the settings and costumes used in the films tend to be quite old fashioned smart suits and hats, and old glowing lampposts and smart cars. With the costumes it helps to bring out the year, with the women wearing quite long silky dresses and having curly big hair, it fits in with the old fashion. And with the setting it tends to set the scene as a dark film, and show a sense of mystery which fits as most noir films tend to be about crime and investigation.

In this picture it shows the common clothes that a typical women would were in that time and in a noir film, the smart, white, silk dress with the women's long curly hairs represent that she could be quite an innocent character towards the story and would probably play the part of the victim in the story. the dress works well as it also shows the character as a wealthy person and could maybe play the part as an actress or movie star. in typical men wear, they would wear smart respectable suits and ties, and maybe even bowler hats for people with more power and money. the suits and hats are more for the working men in the films usually who play investigators or police as they have to look smart for the job.

The typical setting in a noir film would be like this road in the night, with maybe a few people talking anonymously under a glowing old fashioned lamppost  this setting or parts of it a commonly used in films to create a very dark shady scene which could be where the crime took place or is part of the mystery. the lamppost is a great part of the scenery as it can be used as the only light source in the shot so that you can easily manipulate the lighting so that you can make someone seem quite shady by not giving the much light, or can give someone a glow of light from behind them to amplify them and show that they have more power.

Film Noir Collage

I chose all these specific pictures as i think they represent film noir the most with for example, the costumes people wear such as the suits and long dresses, and the big curly hair and the hats. the pictures also represent the use of shadows in film noir with just the one light source making the big dark shadows against the walls and floor.

Casino Royale - Film Noir

Unlike other very popular and highly famous James Bond films, Casino Royale brings a bit of variety into the opening scene of the film as it portrays it in a film noir style. As Daniel Craig's first bond movie its like they're trying to bring out a darker side with him and the important parts of film noir such as deep shadows and tight shots really do set the scene. Film noir is such a unique style of film and can make a film  become very deep and real, but film noir as been fading away and Casino Royale bring it back very well.

The shot i would like to talk about is the very opening scene, the shot has particular things about it that are perfect and very popular in other noir films to have in a scene, such as the mist coming from the drain, and the lamppost giving of the only light in the shot. having these features makes the shot almost cliché as these are the sorts of things you see in old noir films and very early films, but having them together with modern architecture fits nicely.

The second shot focuses on this mysterious man, keeping with the theme the shot has not a lot of light and is very dark on one side of his face to show that there could be two sides to this guy or just to hide the guy to tell you he could be trying to hide in the shadows. The shot also is quite low and views the guy with power and maybe leadership as he could own the building in the background. And finally the shot is slightly tilted which be trying to show that the is being quite shady and sly.

Although this is quite a short shot it has a lot of noir features init which, again build on the dark opening to the film. The shot at first is a bit disorientating as there are several things in the way of the focus of the shot, the shot almost looks like it is taken under a table and after that the is a lamp taking up part of the shot. not only that, the shadows take up a lot of the shot which makes it very dark and makes the man walking in still shady.

Again with this shot it is taken up with mostly a lamp which even though is clearly on, doesn't give of much light in the scene and still puts a shadow on the mans face. The use of this much of the shot taken up by the lamp seems a bit to much in my opinion but the shot does well to show that maybe the man is in a dangerous position at this moment in time due to James Bond being in the room.

With this final shot it focuses on the gun about to be pull out of the draw. with this shot it combines all of the techniques I've talked about previously to make a perfect noir shot, for example it uses the dark shadows to only show half of the contents of the draw and has the table and the other surroundings to block out the full view of the draw to bring in some suspension, with it also being a classic noir shot it adds in its own little things such as a electronic gadget to show that its a new film but still has the noir theme.