Individual Film Title Analysis - Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (Matthew Jones)

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The film titles that I chose to analyse, was Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll - a documentary style film, telling the story of punk icon Ian Dury.

The film opens with dark, mysterious shots of what appears to be an abandoned, derelict theatre of some sort. There then appears a shadowy figure through the darkness, his features still hidden by the shadows. A pigeon flies up into the roof of the building, which is the first defined sound that you hear, but is soon followed by the ring of echoing footsteps, as the camera follows the mysterious figure from behind.

After the character has hobbled towards a lone microphone, his face hidden by a tipped hat, a single spotlight clunks into action and lights him up, alone on the stage. This gives the feel of a very alone, and creepy character. Possibly someone not to be trusted.

He then rolls off his hat, to reveal a white face with darkened eye-sockets. He gives you the impression of an eerie, possibly crazy circus ringleader from the way he is dressed in a suit-like jacket with what looks like face paint. He then begins to speak in a grizzly, essex accent, and seems as though he is building up to something more.

Your suspicions are then confirmed, as he bursts into song, and the previously lonely and mysterious theatre, is full of life and colour. The curtains draw back from behind him to reveal the rest of his band members. They then go on to play to a lively audience, with the creepy main character as the lead singer.

The real-life scenes then move into animated clips, with the human characters interacting with a cartoon world. There are lots of complexed motion graphics and designs, throughout this next scene, that would be far too complex for us to attempt.

One thing that I did like about this title sequence, and something that we can do in our video, is the use of 'film burns'. These are overlays and transitions that flash up orange, yellow and red shapes on the screen, and make the scene look a whole lot more professional and well-produced, with little effort. The way in which we will do this, is download stock footage of these effects, then use an 'add' compositing mode to them, and layer them above the clips we want to affect in Final Cut.

Some relevant shots from the titles are shown below:

One of the first shots, of the abandoned theatre.

The spotlight clunks into action

The first look at the character's face

His band is revealed...

...but he maintains his 'lunatic' persona

The final part of the titles is when real life clips
are mixed in with animated scenes.

Title Sequence Analysis : The Pursuit of Happiness

The opening title sequence for 'The Pursuit of Happiness' starts with a serif font introducing the production companies and other businesses involved with the making of the film. As each name is faded in from black to white, it slowly swiped left to right until they fade back out. 

As for the title of the film, the camera pans over an open book which then highlights the words 'Pursuit of Happiness'.

Compared to the titles in our film, it is quite similar in the fact the white-on-black writing introduces the key companies/people within the first few minutes at a fairly slow pace. The only different I noticed is the title of our film is shown a lot differently as the screen fades to black and individual letter of "LiFE" pop up at second intervals. 

Link to the title sequence

Treatment - Full Film

Introduction:
Our film is an urban drama, inspired by films such as Shifty and Taken. A mixture of drug-fuelled twists and turns along with a touching story of a brothers devotion, makes this a must see for the majority of society today.

Title:

Our film will be called ‘LiFE’ due to the issues it covers, which could become reality for anyone without warning.

Audience:

The audience for our film is people mainly aged 15 to 50 who enjoy gripping, heart-warming stories with a sinister twist. People who enjoy related films such as Shifty and Taken may be interested to watch as it covers some of the basic elements of each without being a blatant copy. The certificate of 15 was chosen so that we can include some scenes involving drug use, kidnapping and strong violence, which may appeal to the more desensitised audience who prefer grungy, urban and realistic scenarios to glitzy Hollywood fakeries. A male audience would probably be more suited to watch the film due to the violent nature of some scenes and the overall theme, drugs. On the other hand there is something for everyone in our film, which makes it appeal to infinitely larger audience.

Duration:

The duration of our film will be about 80 to 100 minutes long, as this gives us time to work in a gripping introduction, an edge-of-your-seat main body and an ending where all narrative threads are tied up.

Synopsis:
“Our drug-fuelled crime thriller, follows the story of two brothers – Jake and Kyle Miller from Barnsley – who’s previously divorced Dad was believed to have mysteriously died when Jake was just 7 years old and Kyle was 12. Having no mother figure to support them, and little money left to them by their father, they struggled through homelessness and living in shelters for the most part of their young lives.

The story picks up when Kyle wins £25,000 on the National Lottery, which his brother Jake has always been reluctant to take part in. Jake is now 17, and Kyle is 22.

Needing at least £2,000 more in order to finally buy themselves a small 2 bedroom flat, Jake turns to small-time drug dealing, in order to quickly raise the money they need. Jake tells Kyle that he’s got a low-paying job, which has provided the extra money they needed, although Kyle remains suspicious of his brother.

On a dark night in a quieter part of town, Jake is kidnapped without any evidence left behind or any witnesses to the crime. After receiving a ransom letter from Jake’s kidnappers, demanding the £25,000 they were going to put to a flat, Kyle then finds out his brother’s secret drug dealing ways, and goes on the hunt to rescue him, being warned that Jake will be killed immediately if anyone else gets involved.

The film then follows Kyle on his hunt for his brother – the only family he has ever really known – as he travels from town to town to save Jake.

The twist in the story later reveals that it was in fact the brothers' father (Brian Miller) who kidnapped Jake after Brian faked his own death once he became involved in heavy drug dealing issues himself. The whole idea behind the kidnapping was to try and shake him out of the shady world of drug dealing, but was it successful, or is Jake on a set path in a downward spiral?”

Suggested Elements:

There are many things that set our film apart from others. The first one of which is the motion tracked text in the title sequence. This is not a common effect in films these days, with most directors opting for static text or motion graphics. Secondly, the film burns between clips make the final product look more professional, and make the piece look more interesting, and in turn keep the viewer interested for longer.

Permission for Train Station Filming

The link below is the permission we received to film some of our scenes at Barnsley Interchange Train Station.

CLICK ME

'Tricky' Camera Angles

 From looking at the script, and from taking photos of the areas we plan on shooting, there is only one shot that I deem to be tricky, and then, it's mainly about timing as we can select which train we need to film.

The only shot that will truly be hard to shoot is the one where we film both main characters walking on one side of the platform for a few seconds right before a train drives by, cutting to a different scene. The main problem that will happen is if the train isn't going straight through the station, and in fact stops, making the shot useless. 

Prop research

Sticking with the stereotypical idea of a homeless person, I've researched some props that could be used.

Alcohol (Specifically Special Brew or White Cider, generic cheap alcohol) 

The most common stereotype of homeless people is that they drink to 'drown their sorrows'. However since they have little money they have to buy cheap alcohol.

Price £2.50 (Need to be over 18 to buy) 

Sleeping bag 

Another common theme was that homeless people carry around nothing but a sleeping bag. This could be incorporated into the film somewhere ro make sure the audience get the idea that neither of the brothers have homes.

Price £8.00 

Newspaper & Cardboard with message

a popular stereotype is that homeless people are seen reading newspapers they pick up off the floor, or with scraps of cardboard on which they have wrote a message to beg for money

Costume research

Both of our characters are being portrayed as stereotypical homeless people. This means ripped, dirty clothes (often lots of layers, as a homeless person would be sleeping in the cold). Homeless people would also have no means of shaving or other grooming, so we will have to fake stubble.

These are stock photos of homeless taken from the web of a homeless person. Below is an on-location photo of our homeless costumes. We've used facepaint to make a stubble-like effect, and worn ripped and old clothes. Matty went as far as to find a pair of fingerless gloves, a hat and scarf. 

Individual Film Analysis : Shifty

Within the first 3 minutes of Shifty, the scene and overall plot of the film is set, with usage of drugs introduced quite early. In this short time, the main antagonists and protagonists are shown going about their routines right before the film begins.

When the two protagonists meet up at a house, through their body language and actions you can tell they previously knew each other and are on good terms. It is not until several minutes later though you find out that one of them has turned to drug dealing for a living. 

Meanwhile, when it focuses on the antagonist, the feeling is less rejoicing and more down-to-earth as you can tell, again, from his body language and behaviour that something is bothering him, causing him to leave the house without interaction with anyone. The idea that something is wrong is then confirmed as he is told to leave his work premises by his Boss for brining and using drugs on site. 

When compared to our film there are many similarities, mainly the use of drugs but also how people are reunited after a long period with no contact at all. The intro of ours is different as it mainly focuses on the fact the main characters are homeless and in a dire situation of being moved away from their current 'home', when in Shifty it is about reunion and drugs. (Which come at a later stage in our production). 

Facebook profiles for our characters

We created a Facebook profile for both our characters, as a way of advertising the film and taking advantage of social networks. These will work alongside a 'Life Movie' fan page we have created.

Title of our film

Our film has finally been named!
We decided upon a title of 'LiFE', as this reflects the fact the film is about the life of the two brothers. It is also a memorable title as it is short and not complicated, meaning it will stick in peoples heads more. A smaller title also means making posters and promotional material will be easier as we wont have to fit a large, hard to read title onto, for example, an A5 flyer

Editing The First Draft

For our first draft of our editing film we have added our Ochre Digital intro video and also added some titles similar to what would be seen in a real film, we have also used some key framing to make the film title appear on the wall and follow the motion of the camera an then fade out again when the camera moves away.

Treatment - Short Film

Introduction:

Our film is an urban drama, inspired by films such as Shifty and Taken. A mixture of drug-fuelled twists and turns along with a touching story of a brothers devotion, makes this a must see for the majority of society today.

Title:

Our film will be called ‘LiFE’ due to the issues it covers, which could become reality for anyone without warning.

Audience:

The audience for our film is people mainly aged 15 to 50 who enjoy gripping, heart-warming stories with a sinister twist. People who enjoy related films such as Shifty and Taken may be interested to watch as it covers some of the basic elements of each without being a blatant copy. The certificate of 15 was chosen so that we can include some scenes involving drug use, kidnapping and strong violence, which may appeal to the more desensitised audience who prefer grungy, urban and realistic scenarios to glitzy Hollywood fakeries. A male audience would probably be more suited to watch the film due to the violent nature of some scenes and the overall theme, drugs. On the other hand there is something for everyone in our film, which makes it appeal to infinitely larger audience.

Length:

The duration of our film will be about 2 minutes long, enough time to show the motion tracked titles, introduce the main characters and their situation.

Synopsis:

“The first 2 minutes of our film not only introduce you to the characters, but also give you a taste of what is to come later on in the story. The characters are shown to have contrasting outlooks on life, Jake taking a pessimistic approach to everything, where as Kyle is an optimistic person, always doing what he can to try and sort out their life. This is mainly shown when Kyle finds a lottery ticket on the floor, and hopes to keep it and win something, whereas Jake sees no point in keeping it, and has no hope of ever turning his life around. He believes that they are set to be down-and-outs for the rest of their lives, while Kyle thinks there is a chance of changing their futures.”

Suggested Elements:

There are many things that set our film apart from others. The first one of which is the motion tracked text in the title sequence. This is not a common effect in films these days, with most directors opting for static text or motion graphics. Secondly, the film burns between clips make the final product look more professional, and make the piece look more interesting, and in turn keep the viewer interested for longer.

Out filming - behind the scenes!

 Ben being the professional camera man he is

Matty did NOT like the wet tire

  On the moooove

 'Oh hi there camera!'

Josh dislikes having his photo taken. He will, however, sing on video.

So hungry I'm eating my thumb

 Ben fiddling with the camera, can only end badly

 Josh shouldnt be allowed a front-facing camera

Neither should I

 Everyone looking a bit tired

Slowly nodding off...

So artistic its unreal

 Happy Josh!

 Stopped for food

 I looked so strange taking this photo

Storyboard v1

Our first storyboard draft.

Click Here for Your Own Pleasure

Script v.2

This is our second draft of our script.

Click Here for Eternal Joy

Character Profiles

Here are our Character Profiles for our film, they are only on the main two characters.


Jake Miller
Age: 16
Personality: He is a thoughtless, self-centred character with a negative outlook on life and make enemies very easily.
Interests: Drugs, Smoking, Drinking, Music, TV
Place of Residence: Barnsley, South Yorkshire
Involvement in Story: Jake is the younger brother of Kyle Miller and he turns to drug dealing to try and earn £2,000 to put towards a small house after Kyle wins £25,000 on the National Lottery, he only wanted to sell drugs to pay for the house but can't get out of it once he has enough. 


Kyle Miller
Age: 20
Personality: Kyle is the nicer one of the two brothers and he aims to get a good life away from all the trouble that surrounds them in the town of Barnsley.
Interests: Music, TV, Drinking, Socialising, Theme Parks, Nightclubs
Place of Residence: Barnsley, South Yorkshire
Involvement in Story: Kyle wins £25,000 on the National Lottery and asks Jake if he can try and get £2,000 towards a small house for the two of them to share, to start with he doesn't know that Jake is selling drugs to raise these funds.

Filming Permissions

During this Media lesson (01/03/12) we took a camera to our desired filming locations, and took recon photos as well as asking in various places, whether we could be granted permission to film in those areas.

First off, we spoke to a number of different people concerning filming on the platforms at Barnsley Train Station. We were told to phone the National Rail Press Office and were given a number. Unfortunately, the person we needed to speak to was in a meeting at the minute, so we will try again later and update the blog accordingly.

After that, we went to the Civic, and spoke to a man who contacted someone of higher authority, who we then spoke to personally, and they told us that filming outside the town hall, or almost any public place in Barnsley is fine without permission, as it is public land.

The last place we went was to a small newsagents, close to the Old Mill Lane college building. However, after speaking to the man inside, he told us that he had his own personal issues with us filming outside his shop (which we would have to discuss), and also there were many health and safety issues that he was wary of, if we were to block the pavement outside the storefront. We were told to return on a Friday at 11:30, to discuss filming. For this reason, we have decided that there are plenty more newsagents that will surely be more reasonable than him, and will look elsewhere for our filming location.

We will update the blog accordingly, as we gain more permissions, and detail, on the locations where we will film our project.