Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Annotation Of Film Content Review By Malachi Davis Barzey

EMPIRE

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=7119

The review begins with a star rating of the film. Empire rated the film 3 stars (good). The opening paragraph gives a very brief outline of the films plot. Empire summed the film up in two lines, "Amongst the dilapidated tenement blocks of Coney Island, a mother and son descend separately into drug addiction."

The following paragraph gives an introduction to the concept of the "drug movie" which is the films sub-genre. It gave examples of films that made huge impacts in Hollywood such as 'The Trip' and 'Reefer Madness'. The reviewer then begins to criticise the director Darren Aronofsky by saying the film doesn't have up to his previous film 'Pi'. He says Requiem for a Dream adds little to the preachy sub-genre.

Rather than complimenting the actors performance the reviewer instead briefly comments on the two main characters role in the film and refers to their individual downward spirals as " a lazy plot."

The reviewer then talks about how people hale Aronofsky to be a "real filmmaker" but agai criticises his work saying that he is "busy gettig high on his own style." The reviewer uses this pun to give a negative reception of the film by using conventional factors of the film genre. This was done by the use of the word "high"
In the final parapragh the reviewer compares the film and states that his new "superficial elements" of fil aking does not suit the outdated book. The reviewer says that the film is depressing and predictibale. The fial verdict makes you not want to watch the film is the reviewer labels it as "not quite the masterpiece it was hailed to be" and it is given a three star rating.

The reviewer adopts a conversational tone which makes it seem as if he is directily talking to us as the readers. "You will want to look away, you may want to laugh." is an example. By doing this we are able to accept his personal opinion. Whilst doing this he uses very formal laguage which shows the opinion is given by an intellectual


TOTAL FILMS




http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/requiem-for-a-dream

The review begins with a four star rating which straight away indicates that the review will give positive commentary on the film.

On the side of the key information is given e.g. film rating, release date, main cast and director.
In the first opening paragraph the reviewer comments on the common themes brough up in the original novel "Requim For A Dream" by Hubert Selby Jr . The reviewer then compliments the fact that Darren Aronofsky had major success with his previous film Pi, and comments oin his belief that "Requim For A Dream" continues the success.

The bulk of the review focuses on mainly the visual aspects of the film (i.e. the acting and CG Effects) and brands the direction and performances as "Oscar-deservingly outstanding." The reviewer also says he likes Aronofsky's chose of editing, using split screens for multiple view points of the characters. Out of all the cast he singles out acctress Ellen Burstyn who he says "convingly portrays her lonely, pathetic character." He also says the overall cast performance is "all-too-believable" which again shows he thinks highly of the cast performance throughout the film.

The review ends with a positive four line verdict. The reviewer again praises how Aronofsky managed to make a dark and negative story look visually amazing. He says the film is able to "drag you through Hell and still make you glad you took the tour." which implys it can give a negative experiance as well as good, but overall he thinks the film is good.




FILM4

http://www.film4.com/reviews/2000/requiem-for-a-dream

Out of the three  reviews this one is the shortes tin length.

The review begins with a star rating for the reviewer and a user rating (users give their own personal ratings then an overall mean rating is given). Film4 gave a zero star rating where as the user rating is 5 which shows a huge contrast in audience reaction compared to the main review. The rating highlights the following review will be negative

The first sentence/introductory paragraph just explains that the film is an adaption of the Hubert Selby Jr. novel.

The following paragraph then summarises the plot and highlight each of the main cast members roles in the film. For example it reads "Sara (Burstyn), a self-consciously overweight widow, is addicted to TV, chocolate and 'diet pills'.

The third paragragh seems to riducle the film, labelling it as a "contemporary fairy tale" and calls the main
characters drug addiction on the film a "parody of TV addiction". The reviewer does comment on Aronosky's good use of rich colours and editing effects such as slow motion and timelapse which he carried on from the other film 'Pi'. However that is the only positives he seems to draw from the film

The final verdict reads "A visually adventurous cautionary tale that continues to linger in the system long after the credits roll," which implys the film is hard hitting. This short verdict shows the reviewer never had a huge deal to comment on about the film. However, it does seem as if he likes the film a bit, even though it was given a low rating

Tuesday, 16 November 2010

Raphael Peart (Content Review)

BBC - Review

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/01/19/trainspotting_1996_review.shtml

The film was given 5 stars for the method used to rate the film. In the opening paragraph includes brief good critical information on a film called 'Shallow Graves' produced by the same team including; writer John Hodge, producer Andrew McDonald, and director Danny Boyle. It led on to say that the production of another film was 'eagerly awaited' and the outcome was 'Trainspotting'. The review then expresses the great standard, high quality of the film stating that it 'Exceeds all expectations'.

in the second paragraph the writer of the review compliments Ewan McGregor's talented abilities in acting the character of the 'heroin-enslaved Mark Renton'. It also gives a slight insight to the character his awareness to his addition and his inevitable high-highs and low lows, and also states some of the best/ weird moments including character Renton the comical elements included in the section of 'worst toilet in scotland' to the more serious depressing elements of the death of the baby.

In the third paragraph readers gain a small introduction to some of the other characters of the film, Rentons Friends. The names of each of his friends are given followed the actor who plays them then a short insight to who they are, for example 'Begbie (Robert Carlyle) is a psychotic who revels in violence' or 'Spud (Ewan Bremner) is just unfortunately an A-grade loser' this type of information is given for each of Renton's friends.

The final paragraph, firstly it states how hard it would be for the viewers to not become fascinated by the characters of the film mostly because of the great performance of the cast, said to 'burn on the screen' and also to fault of the script. Finally the writer speaks of how successful the film was despite its British roots.

Credits are also given:


Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: John Hodge
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Ewan Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly McDonald, Peter Mullan, James Cosmo, Irvine Welsh, Dale Winton

Genre: Drama
Length: 89 minutes
Cinema: 1996
DVD: 22 March 1999
VHS: 1 September 2000
Country: UK


Empire - Review

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=132350

Choose life? Get a life — choose Trainspotting. - Sub-Header

In the opening paragraph the reviewer is stating that the film 'Trainspotting' does not 'Glorify' heroin, it glorifies youth. It goes on to say when we watch this film in the cinema we would be peer pressured into laughing at the 'Junkies' mistakes but if we were to watch it alone the theme of heroin may seem more serious. It then says that the seriousness of the heroin would not spoil the film but just the idea that heroin is glorified.

the second paragraph includes a short introduction to that film and the main characters highlighting some of the most memorable/ tummy-turning moments of the film such as 'the worst toilet in scotland' said to be the 'Rollercoaster rush' of the first half-hour of the film which made it memorable. The readers are then given slight insights to some of the characters in the film, stating what makes them memorable such as 'Spud (Bremner) mixes dorky geekdom with the world's worst interview technique'. It then goes on to say how the characters and settings have been 'Stylised' which gives the audience a 'sudden and shocking reality injection' straight after some of the most hilarious moments of the film.

The review highlights the constant rollercoaster of Rentons desire to give up the drugs but being un-able to. in this paragraph it states some of the events that happen the next morning and beyond such as, Rentons return to 'heroin...crime...hell'. It is then stated that director(boyle) gives the audience/viewers 2 minutes before throwing them into a 'Pit' showing how things can be turned up-side-down so rapidly. Some more memorable/ key moments which occur post the next day are stated such as; the death of a baby, spud going prison and Renton hitting rock-bottom.

In the final paragraph the reviewer is still giving the reader more information on what takes place in the film. It is stating how Renton once again gets back on track with his life but he is still haunted by his memories after moving to London. Finally the reviewers speaks of how successful the film was especially being a British film, also how if Brits' can make such a good movie on such a horrific topic 'what chance does Tinseltown have?'.

a verdict on the film is given stating 'This films does not glorify drugs it glorifies film'. The film was awarded 5 stars in this review. Film details are also included.

Variety - Review

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117910754.html?categoryid=31&cs=1

The review opens with a paragraph stating short introduction to the film in terms of the production crew, and expressing the good quality of the film using phrases such as 'this inventive pic..' to support the positive claims made.

The next paragraph begins with the review John Hodge (Screen-writer) made an adaptation of this film from the 'Welsh book', it then leads on to giving a brief introduction/synopsis of the film and the main character Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) described as an 'on-off junkie'which gives the readers an insight to which state/position the main character is in, also this tells the audience one of the main constant battles Mark Renton faces in life along-side many other 'junkies' just like him.

The next paragraph includes more information on the film such as; where it is set, and are a short introduction to some of the characters 'There's Begbie (Robert Carlyle), a knife-carrying, "sensory-addicted," foul-mouthed psycho who "only does people," not drugs' this is an example of how the characters are introduced to the readers.
in the next following paragraphs reviewer continues to gives certain parts of the film, as it is a very detailed review such as the scene in which Mark Renton 'plunges ' into the toilet.
The final paragraph speaks of the performance of actor McGreggor playing the role of Mark Renton so well








Thursday, 14 October 2010

Reece Report (Malachi Davis-Barzey)

LOCATION 1: MAIN CHARACTERS HOUSE






This will be used as the hallway of the main characters home. It will be used for the scene in which he picks up letters from the front door.

PROS
.We will have a good source of light coming from the light bulb in the passage.
.The plastering on the wall is falling off which reflects the characters broken state of mind

CONS
.There is not much space for camera movement. To tackle this problem we will only have the camera operator and actor on set to create more space
.No access to natural lighting as there are no windows. To tackle the problem we will raise the exposure for better lighting.
.Limited access to the location as it is outside of the college campus. Will need to find times when everyone in the crew is available to film here.










 This will be used for the main characters living room. It will also be used as his bedroom and the location for the dinner table scene It is suitable for the character  state as it consist of household items which shows he was in a wealthy position before. Also it can be easily made messy which again will reflect the characters current state.

PROS
.The room is spacious which will allow better movement from actor and camera
.Access to lighting from light bulb and we can open the curtains to gain access to natural lighting from outside.
.It is a member of the crews house so we have easy access to it

CONS
.lLocation is off the college campus. Therefore we will need to find times when the whole crew are available to travel to the household



LOCATION 2: WORK OFFICE




This desk will be used as a working space for the main character at his work office. The computer room in college can be filmed to look like a workign office

PROS
.Easy access as it is on college premisis
.The room is big so there is large space for character movement, camera movement and all crew can be on set
.Natural lighting coming from the windows as well as extra light from light bulbs

CONS
.Have to find a time when the room is free and available to film in. To avoid the problem we will look at the college timetable and find out when the room will be available
.May need to find extras to be in the office to make it look realistic. Can use people from our media class who are available to be an extra.






LOCATION 3: LORDSHIP LANE RECREATION PARK




 




This is one possible location which we may use, but not for definate. We will use a bench at a pond in Lordship Lane Recreation Ground for the romantic scene of the main character and his girlfriend

PROS
.Natural lighting as we are outside
. Large space to shoot

CONS
.May have interfered background noise as it is a public location
.The weatherr may be bad on the planned day of shoot
.May be difficult to keep continutiy




















































Poster Draft

Thursday, 7 October 2010

Annotation of Film Poster(Malachi Davis-Barzey)



.At The top of the poster there is critical acclaim by the Los Angeles Time saying "Brilliant, A Work Of Art" which is used to help sell the poster with positive feedback. Seeing as the poster has critical acclaim this indicates that the poster was released after the official release date of the film.

.The poster is split in two halves, with the an eye on top and the four main characters at the bottom.
Four characters all look lost, starring in different directions. Could suggest that the characters are all in a lost state of mind.

.The dilated pupil can connote to deep thoughts as the film is titled "Requiem for a Dream" and dreams are thoughts. It can also be connoted to drug use as pupils dilate with drug use.

REQUIEM in large font because requiem means "to celebrate for a death" so it emphasis on killed dreams. The word "dream" is writtenin red which makes it stand out and connotes danger, blood and other bad elements again emphasising on the killed dreams.

.Above the title it reads "From the director of Ï€"  and under the title it reads "A film by Darren Aronofsky" which means they are using the director Darren Aronofsky as a USP.

.The four main cast members names are placed at the top of the poster in a small font. This means less emphasis is put on the cast meaning they are not being used as much as tghe director to sell the film.

Annotation of Film Poster (Hussain Miah)

Lust, Caution Review (LAYOUT)

Flushed Away Film Review (LAYOUT)

Film Review: Stop Loss (LAYOUT)


Wednesday, 6 October 2010

Production Schedule (Malachi Davis-Barzey)

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

Production Company                    5 Star productions

Directors & Production Crew      Malachi Davis-Barzey, Raphael Peart, Ricardo Brown & Hussain Miah


FIRST ROUGH CUT
Filming

(14/10/2010 - 01/11/2010)                 
Location 
College - Using college classrooms and staff offices to look like main characters place of work
(Date: 19/10/2010 Time: 9am-11.45am)
(Date: 20/10/2010 Time: 2pm-3pm)

Director: Malachi
Assistant Director:  Raphael
Camera Operator:  Ricardo, Hussain
Cast:  Malachi
                                                                 
Begin editing if we finish before half term.                                                                                   

Half Term

Location
Ricardo's neighbours house - for main characters home scenes.
Malachi's house - Candle lit dinner table for dinner scene with main character and girlfriend
Local Park - Scene with main character and his girlfriend
(25/10/2010 - 01/11/2010) 

Director: Malachi
Assistant Director:  Raphael
Camera Operator:  Ricardo, Hussain
Cast:  Malachi & Leandra (actress)
Editing

Main editors Malachi & Raphael
(01/11/2010 - 05/11/2010)     -                   

Short film first rough cut submitted by
(05/11/2010)
DRAFT POSTER

Concept for poster design by Raphael. To be made on Adobe by Raphael and Ricardo.
SUBMIT BY (12/11/2010)



SECOND ROUGH CUT/MAGAZINE REVIEW PAGE DRAFT


Film all corrections needed for second draft between (8/11/2010-12/11/2010)

Director: Malachi
Assistant Director:  Raphael
Camera Operator:  Ricardo, Hussain
Cast:  Malachi

Begin second edit the following week  (15/11/2010-19/11/2010)

SUBMIT BY (19/11/2010) 
MAGAZINE - Begin first draft of magazine review page by (15/11/2010)
SUBMIT BY (19/11/2010)

FINAL POSTER


Start Improvements on Poster by (22/11/2010)
SUBMIT BY (26/11/2010)

FINAL DRAFT MAGAZINE PAGE

Begin making final changes by (29/11/2010)
SUBMIT BY (3/12/2010)

FINAL CUT OF FILM

If any changes need to be made in location/acting film during week  
(22/11/2010-29/11/2010)

Make any ammendments to the edit between (30/12/2010-10/12/2010)

SUBMIT BY (10/12/2010) 

Annotation of film poster ( Ricardo brown )

Saturday, 2 October 2010

Script (Malachi Davis-Barzey)

Directed by: , Raphael Peart, Hussain Miah Ricardo Brown & Malachi Davis-Barzey
Written by: Malachi Davis-Barzey


INT.         Jack’s Bedroom - Morning

Jack is woken up from his sleep by a phone call from a person demanding sums of money

                                                    Jack
  Hello (pause) Yes I know I know (pause) I’m gonna have it for you don’t worry
                                                       (in a tired and uneasy tone of voice)
  Please, please just give me another week and I promise I’ll have it for you like
                                                       (stuttering. Jack's facial expressions change
                                                       and it becomes more clear he is frightened)
 C’mon where am I gonna go (pause) yes I underst……
                                                       (phone hangs up mid conversation)


                Cut To: Jack in his kitchen

INT.        Jack's Kitchen - Morning


JACK enters - the kitchen looks dull and empty. A lack of lighting, the only source of light is a glare threw the window.
He turns on the kettle, then opens the fridge to take out milk but instead takes out a can of beer. He then leaves the kitchen drinking the alcohol. All movements are vague and lifeless as he just woke up.


                 Cut To: Jack in his hallway




INT.          Jack's Hallway - Morning


Jack enters- lighting is similar to previous location, dull and dim. He walks through his hallway carrying the same similar movements as he was in the kitchen. He walks up to his front door and to check his letters. He then freezes to open the letters. Handshaking when reading them as he is nervous because he knows it is bad news about loosing his home.


               Cut To: Jack at Work




INT.          Work Office - DAY


Jack sits at his desk doing work at the computer. He sits at the desk with good posture The room is lit with natural lighting as well as light source from light bulbs. 
Manager enters - Walks towards Jack's desk and begins positive conversation. At the same time Jack is having negative thoughts of a bad occasion at work.


                      Manager            
  Jack, I must say I have been very impressed
  with your work ethic as of late 
                                                                    
                      Jack (good conscience)
  Thank you sir, thank you very much
                          (smiling and said happily)
                      Manager
  Yes, you have been working so well that I
  believe you are ready to take one step up
                                                                                           Jack (Bad conscience)
            Jack (good conscience)                               F*** You, and this stupid job! I've
 What do you mean by that?                                       had enough!
                               (confused)                                                      (Angrily)                 

           Manager                                                                Manager
 I mean I am giving you a promotion                            Leave the premises now!

          Jack (good conscience)                                             
Wow...erm I don't know what to say                                     Jack (Bad conscience)
THANKS, THANK YOU SIR                                       SHUT UP! I will leave when
                                                                                I am ready!
                                                                                                                 
                                                                                         Manager
                                                                                Leave now!

Jack then punches his manager in his face
            
           Cut To: Jack in his living room



                                


INT.          Jack's living room- Morning

Lighting is dim and the room is messy. Jack angry at his past actions throws a tantrum and begins punching,breaking and throwing all his possessions. Whilst doing so he comes across an old picture of him and his ex-girlfriend. He stares at the picture and his mood changes from angry to a more happy state.

         Cut To: Jack and girlfriend in a park

EXT.       Local Park - Day

Natural sunlight as they are outside. Jack and his girlfriend sit together on a park bench. They hug, kiss, play fight along with other typical things that a young romantic couple would do.

         Cut To: Jack and girlfriend at a dinner table



INT.      Dinner Table - Night

The couple are sat at a dinner table. It is lit by candles. Jack prepares to propose to his girlfriend but she breaks bad news to him in the process.
                                                     Jack
                          Aren't you gonna eat up the meal babes?
                                                     Girlfriend
                          Yeah (pause) yeah i will was just thinking
                                          
                                                     Jack
                          About what?
                                                     Girlfriend
                          Don't worry its nothing really
                                                      Jack
                          Ok, because i've been thinking too. Well we've been together
                          for so long now, we've been through so much together, even
                          after I lost my job you still stuck by me thats why i think (pause)
                          I think we should talk our relationship to the next level 
Jack takes out a ring and puts it on the table. His girlfriend looks surprised and interupts him before he asks the question
                                                     Girlfriend
                         Wow erm.... I'm so so sorry Jack but I...I just can't
                                                     Jack
                         Oh You mean im moving to fast, oh no worries babes we can
                         slow it down...                (confused, and worried)
                                                     Girlfriend
                         No i mean (pause) you and me, i can't do it anymore. Ever since
                         you lost your job you've been a different man. I can take the alcohol
                         and the drugs, and the phone calls from dodgey men anymore
                                                    Jack
                        I.. I.. I don't understand, what do you mean?
                                                              (in near tears)
                                                    Girlfriend
                        I mean me and you are over. Im sorry
The girlfriend gets up and leaves the table quickly. Jack is left in shock, stunned at what just happened. He is left sitting at the table still with the eating utensils in hand
             Cut To: Jack in his living room
INT.        Jack's Living Room - Morning
Jack is sitting in the dim lighted living room. He holds a knife to his wrist and contemplates slitting himself. A mixture of sad, angry, confused and uneasy emotions is signified via his facial expressions and body language. He is in deep thought of his past and he becomes more distraught the more he thinks.
            Fade  To: Black