'The Soloist' Production Notes

-made by Joe Wright and stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downy Jr.

-based on a true story. LA times journalist Steve Lopez was writing a series of articles on Nathaniel Ayers about his life,how he got the streets and how music inspired him and helps him through everyday life.

-made by DreamWorks Pictures and Universal Pictures. In associaton with Working Title.

-the executive producers are Tim Bevon, Eric Fellner, Jeff Skoll, Patricia Whitcher.

-was rated 12 for thematic elements, some drug use, and language.

-the film is distributed by Paramount Pictures.

-Jamie Foxx was already a highly skilled musician and he "spent six intensive months learning advanced cello and violin techniques.

-Joe Wright knew from the beginning that he wanted to use real life homeless people as extras from the streets of LA.

The Soloist Questions

The Soloist was directed by Joe Wright who also directed 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Atonement'.

1. Who were the producers of the film?
Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff

2. What did Steve Lopez question about the film from the start?
Steve Lopez said "how could you make a movie if you didn't have an ending".

3.When did the producers meet Nathaniel?
They met Nathaniel after having lunch with Steve Lopez in 2005.

4. Where were the real life locations of the film?
Disney Concert Hall, The Tunnel, Skidrow, L.A.M.P, Anderson Street- so they didn't move people from Skidrow, they re-created it on Anderson Street.

5. What was Susannah Grant's aim when screen writing?
Susannah Grants aim was to show that homeless people all come from a family and they all have their own story.

6.Why was Joe Wright apprehensive about making the film?
He didn't want to make a film in America because he is used to directing in England.

7. What does Robert Downy Jr say about the role of Nathaniel?
That Nathaniels role is very challenging and very difficult.

8. Why did Joe Wright want authentic locations and authentic people in his film?
So he could help the homeless people and only wanted to use extras who are real homeless people.

9. How long did the set designers have on location to build the set?
4 weeks, lots of things built ready in a workshop.

10. What process did the actors go through to ensure that the acting was authentic?
They had to go through a sense of trust when they have not acted their parts before.

11. What comments are made about the ending by Susannah Grant and Russ Krasnoff?
They both said that they did not want to create a happy ending as it had to be honest because it is a true story.

Let The Right One In Essay

‘Let the Right One In’ Essay

‘Let the Right One In’ is a Swedish horror film which was made in April 2009 and is directed by Thomas Alfredson. The film stars Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson and Per Ragner. ‘Let the Right One In’ had a budget of £4 million. The film has been extremely successful and has also since been re-made in Hollywood and is out in cinemas at the moment. The film is based on the horror novel written by John Ajvide Lindqvist. The film is set in a Stockholm suburb in 1982.  The film is about a 12 year old boy called Oskar who is getting bullied at school. He appears to have no friends and so does nothing about the problem and always takes a beating. Until when he meets Eli outside his flat. Eli is also twelve and has just moved into the flat next door to Oskar. Eli is looked after by an accomplice, who he is we do not know but he commits murders to collect blood for Eli to feed on. Eli does not tell Oskar that she is a vampire. They get on well and start to form a relationship. Eli convinces Oskar that he needs to fight back at the bullies. Oskar eventually finds out that Eli is a vampire but still is not put off. The film ends with Oskar being drowned by the bullies at school until Eli turns up to rescue Oskar and kills them.

The mise on scene for the film is very basic and very bland. The film mainly shows Oskars school, his walk home and his flat. The film is set in a dark, brutal winter in Sweden. Most of the film is in darkness with the exception of Oskar at school. The producers of the film wanted to use the natural environment of the area to film to show a more dark and grim setting. The flats are shown to be old and dated, to be shown to be 1980’s. The actors clothes are also very dated. All the sets are used to create a damp, dark and cold environment inside as well as the natural environment outside.

The music used for the film is slow when showing the everyday lifestyle of Oskar. This may be trying to show how boring a life he leads. However for the more fast paced events when Eli is attacking people there is more alert and jumpy music used. This helps to build tension and create a more risky environment. Most of the sound for the film is from the environment and is mainly the howling of wind and trees.  However there is also lots of speech from the characters.

The film uses mainly long shots for the camera work when Eli is attacking people. The camera then shows a close up of the victim or someone who observed the killing to show their emotions. There are many panning shots when a person enters a room and follows the character. There are also lots of close ups of Oskar at his window in his flat and also when he is sitting with Eli outside. There are also long shots used when Eli is climbing buildings. Again the camera work uses dark environments to show the bleak surroundings. Also when in Oskar and Eli’s appartments there is very dull light.

Levi Strouss’s binary opposites are shown very obviously in ‘Let the Right One In’. E.g. ‘good vs evil’, ‘boy and girl’.  At the start when Eli’s accomplice is shown hanging the man upside down from a tree and slitting his throat it shows a ‘good vs evil’ binary opposite. Later on we see another ‘good vs evil’ between Oskar and his bullies. We also see later the ‘boy and girl’ relationship between Oskar and Eli. Later on we see the opposite ‘human and non- human’ between Oskar and Eli.

Jacob Boswell

'Paul' Blog

Paul Blogs


http://blog.whatispaul.com/

The Male Gaze- Eric Prydz: Call On Me

Eric Prydz - Call On Me from suray.net on Vimeo.

This is England and Hot Fuzz Essay

Magazine Evaluation

Magazine Evaluation 

Our magazine preliminary task was to create a school magazine and contents page.

I drew out my original design on A3 paper and annotated it. With annotations I realised that the masthead was not large enough to cover the whole width of the top of the page. I then placed the barcode just under the masthead. I took a mid shot of Jack and then used the magnetic lassoo on photoshop to cut round him. I then enlarged the image and used it to fill the right of the cover page. I then added the features below the barcode. I also placed a logo of lutterworth college on the bottom left of the page.

 

To cover the top of the contents page I used another Lutterworth College logo. Below this I added the contents title which covered the width of the page. I then added the features and pages of the magazine below this. I tried to keep a red and white colour scheme for the text and background. 

I feel that I am happy with the cover page. However I would have liked to of added more detail to the contents. This preliminary task has given some skills that will help me if I decide to to a music magazine as my coursework.  

Hot Fuzz Storyboard

School Magazine

Warp Films and Shane Meadows

Warp films was set up in 1999. It has an office in Sheffield and London with 14 full time staff employed. They have released several films including "This Is England" and "Dead Man's Shoes" both directed by Shane Meadows.



Shane Meadows was born on 26th December 1972. Meadows is a director, screenwriter and BAFTA winner.

Shane Meadows grew up in  Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a  lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop. His father discovered the body of a child murder victim and he was initially considered a suspect in the murder case, which led to Meadows being bullied by other children. He left school without any G.C.S.E's and he then turned to crime. When he was 20 he moved to Nottingham. Meadows completed a Performing Arts course at Burton College. He started out his career in 1994 when he started making short films. The film that made him recognised as a director was "Dead Man's Shoes" which was inspired from his Nottingham life when one of his friends commited suicide due to drugs. Meadows later released another hit film "This Is England" in 2006. Meadows has also recently directed a TV series on channel 4 named"This Is England '86".

Hot Fuzz and This is England Comparisons

American Beauty Family Scene

What do we learn about the family in this scene?

Camera Work

The scene starts with the camera on several tables which are showing pictures of Jane smiling, next to more roses. The camera then moves to a wide shot of the dinner table, Jane is sitting in between bothe parents. The camera then slowly zooms in towards them. Throughought the scene there are also more family photos but where they are happy.

Mise en scene

When the camera cuts to the table, Jane is seen to be sitting behind the roses. There are mainly the same bland colours used again in this scene,  which again shows the dullnes of the family life. The parents are also directly opposite of each other which could show some sort of conflict over jane? Lester is also very slouched in his seat showing his lazy personality again. When Lester is confronted by his wife he leaves for the kitchen. Showing him to be quite cowardly.

Music

The music throughout the scene is Bali Hai from the musical South Pacific. Jane said, "do we always have to listen to this elevator music". This shows that their meal times are always very routine and similar. 

American Beauty work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSSCo3ncYag

Lester Burnham:
-42 years old
-Unhappy with his life
-Likes his daughter
-Family is a cliche
-Lazy
-Bored
-He has given up
-Pessimistic
-Expressing regret
-Submissive
Very bland colours are used where Lester is shown. Neutral/boring colours- helps create an atmosphere- links to representation of Lester Burnham- he is boring.

How is Lester represented as being trapped? He is often shown 'behind bars', his image is reflected in the computer screen, looking out the window. In the shower-behind the screen. Trapped by his wife.

Music: Repetitive, awkward sounding, uncomfortable, music fits the visuals.

The Man

What does this man look like to you? Who is he?
First Impressions:
-Late 50's - early 60's
-Lived a hard life?
-Tramp?
-Lonely?

Who is he really?
This man is called Doug Bilmaier. He works for Ralph Lauren. He chooses the furnishings and look of the worldwide stores (e.g choosing picture frames, sofa's lamp shades etc...). If you look closely you can see that his trousers are turned up perfectly even to the other side and ironed. The trousers are completly clean and his cardigan fits him perfectly. Not quite what you expected?

About Me

Acadmic Achievements
GCSE's:
-Maths-B
-English Lan- C
-English Lit-C
-Science Applied-B
-Science Additional-B
-Music-B
-P.E-A
-Food Tech-B
-R.E-C
-French-D

A level courses:
-P.E
-Media Studies
-Biology
-Music

Media Interests

Films:
-Saving Private Ryan
-Black Hawk Down
-Monty Python's Life of Brian
-Dog Soldiers
-Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny
-Action Films
-Comedy Films

TV:
-Mock the Week
-Have I got News for You
-Never Mind the Buzzcocks
-Anything on Dave!!!

Music:
-Avenged Sevenfold
-Bullet for my Valentine
-Red Hot Chilli Peppers
-Stone Sour
-Lamb of God
-Jack Johnson!!!
-Metallica
-Tenacious D

Games:
-Call of Duty series......
-Skate 1,2 and 3
-Battlefield Bad Company 2

Hobbies:
-Freestyle Kayaking
-Slalom Kayaking
-Flatwater Kayaking
-Whitewater Kayaking
-Anything to do with kayaking
-Tennis
-Cricket
-Playing guitar
-Playing guitar in a band