Dark Knight Presentation

Director: Christopher Nolan –
Produced both Batman movies, The Prestige, Insomnia, Memento. With a director who has produced some popular films over the past 10 years, this also helps to attract the public, who saw other films by Christopher Nolan and the previous Batman and know It will be a good film.

Budget$185,000,000 (estimated)

Production CompaniesWarner Bros. Pictures – The famous Warner Bros company which only big or certain films get produced by. Legendary Pictures – Seem to produce films for the male audience, these include lots of big superhero and comedy films DC Comics – The famous comic company that produces the comics of iconic characters in the DC universe. Worldwide brand associated with Batman Syncopy – Worked on the previous batman and the prestige by Christopher Nolan and another film in 1998. Just 4 films.

Opening Weekend$158,411,483 (USA) (20 July 2008) (4,366 Screens)£11,191,824 (UK) (27 July 2008) (502 Screens)Gross$529,143,070 (USA) (16 November 2008)£48,246,658 (UK) (28 September 2008)

Cinemas shown: ODEON – Most common popular cinema in UK, IMAX London, Cineworld. Even lots of local cinemas paid to get this in there screens.

Importance of Genre - The superhero genre has been a solid seller over the past decade and slightly further to the early nineties.The specific genre appeals to all comic book fans wanting to see their childhood heroes come to life on the big screen. Other fans may just want to see an ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER film as this is normally the type of genre that superhero movies are based on.

$$$$$$ THE STARS $$$$$$ -
A film maniac would look at this cast and believe that the film would be very good with this cast. Not only are they all good actors to help make it a believable/enjoyable film but one could assume that the actors arent all in it for money and have read the script and feel that it is a strong story.


•Audiences are reached through the amount of money spent in the media industry. This included tons of publicity for the trailer of the film on the internet and TV. A collection of impressive looking posters were put up at bus shelters and billboards. Lots of them revealing the Joker, whom was a big icon in the film and an instant hit. This is mainly due to the performance put in by Heath Ledger and the announcement of his death included many different audiences seeing the film.
•This also brings me to mention that stars are a huge part in films these days with many audiences having their favourite actors. “The dark knight “ is full of well known actors. The main movie poster tells us this. To me if it has lots of stars in the film, it has to be a fairly decent film.
•Young children seeing the film because its Batman in general how is an childhood hero. They are also reached through mass merchandise in toys, food and clothes. Older teens and men seeing the film for action and the continuation of the Batman series. You could say people who weren’t fans of Batman saw the film simply because of Heath Ledgers technical last performance and the hype of the character of the joker through the media. We could say this is how they reached many female audiences also.

Music: Hans Zimmer was one of two composers that produced the soundtracks for this film. He worked on the first film and has become a ‘legend’ among his fan base. He produces such powerful music. The music to a film may not be the key point for attracting audiences, but it does help to make a better experience when viewing.
An online version of the fictional newspaper The Gotham Times arrived and was followed by numerous websites, including a defaced Joker version of the paper called The Ha Ha Ha Times. This was very interesting and shows another way that fans would be interested to view this site by going on the web, learning more.

Evaluation – The Meeting

In a small group consisting of me, Craig and Dom, we were set the task to take photos of a ‘meeting’ in a way that made them look as if they were stills from a movie scene. We divided the rolls between us, I was to take the photographs and Craig and Dom were the cast involved in the scene. We conducted the final project between us. We each also came up with ideas for the story and then chose the best idea.

The meet was about two people meeting, ending in a face off and then a cliff-hanger at the end, as seen in all good action films. The scene also has an air of mystery about as it leaves certain questions unanswered. Like who was Craig waiting for and why was he so scared of Dom’s character. The first shot used was a medium shot of Craig leaning against a pillar. The shot sets the scene as there is a lot of scenery shown in the shot. There are then a few shots of Dom walking along a path. At this point you are wondering who the two characters are and how are they connected. A crane shot was used to make Dom look smaller in comparison to his surroundings. It then dissolves into a shot of Craig looking at his phone, this suggests that maybe he has been contacted, or maybe his was checking the time? It keeps the audience in the dark for the most of the time. Then it does a straight jump to a shot of Dom looking at his phone also. The audience begin to make the connection that these are contacting each other. For this shot I used a low and shot looking up at Dom to show his state of ‘Power’ and ‘Dominance’. The screen the dissolves to a shot of Dom running down the street. Why is he running? White flashes fill the screen as the shots change to show the distance doms character is covering and to show his movement. It dissolves to a first person view of Craig’s phone. This acts as the turning point of the scene as it confirms that Dom is coming to meet Craig. Then there is two straight cuts showing a series of two close ups of Dom’s and Craig’s faces to show their reactions to what has happened. Dom looks angry and Craig looks shocked/Scared. This tells you a little about the characters. Finally for the final shots we staged a stand off between the two characters. The screen dissolves to an over the shoulder view, over Craig’s shoulder looking at Dom. There is a shallow focus for the first shot and you can only see Craig’s shoulder with the things in the distance out of focus. With each shot the focus changes and the background becomes more focused as opposed to Craig’s shoulder and Dom is revealed in the distance. Then there is a wipe to another over the shoulder view from the opposite point of view; from Dom’s shoulder looking at Craig. This time everything is in focus and instead of the focus changing, the zoom changes. It starts zoomed in on Craig in the distance and with each shot zooms out showing the size of their surroundings and the distance between them.

Dark Knight - Marketing

Information taken from Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_Batman_Begins_Sequel#Marketing

Marketing
In May 2007, 42 Entertainment began a viral marketing campaign utilizing the film's "Why So Serious?" tagline with the launch of a website featuring the fictional political campaign of Harvey Dent, with the caption, "I Believe in Harvey Dent." The site aimed to interest fans by having them try to earn what they wanted to see and, on behalf of Warner Bros., 42 Entertainment also established a "vandalized" version of I Believe in Harvey Dent, called "I believe in Harvey Dent too," where e-mails sent by fans slowly removed pixels, revealing the first official image of the Joker; it was ultimately replaced with many "Haha"s and a hidden message that said "see you in December." During the 2007 Comic-Con International, 42 Entertainment launched WhySoSerious.com, sending fans on a scavenger hunt to unlock a teaser trailer and a new photo of the Joker. During that month, WhySoSerious.com featured an animated jack-o'-lantern whose mouth was shaped like a bat-logo. The candle in the jack-o'-lantern melted as time progressed, while half of the pumpkin's face simultaneously deteriorated.
On October 31, 2007, the film's website morphed into another scavenger hunt with hidden messages, instructing fans to uncover clues at certain locations in major cities throughout the United States, and to take photographs of their discoveries. The clues combined to reveal a new photograph of the Joker from the film, accompanied by an audio MP3 clip of Ledger's recorded voice saying, "And tonight, you're gonna break your one rule." Completing the scavenger hunt also led to another website called Rory's Death Kiss (referencing the false working title of Rory's First Kiss), where fans could submit photographs of themselves costumed as the Joker set in various landscapes. Those who sent photos were mailed a copy of a fictional newspaper called The Gotham Times, whose electronic version led to the discovery of numerous other websites.
The Dark Knight's opening sequence, (showing a bank raid by the Joker) and closing montage of other scenes from the film, was screened with selected IMAX screenings of I Am Legend, which was released on December 14, 2007. A theatrical teaser was also released with non-IMAX showings of I Am Legend, and also on the official website. The sequence was released on the Blu-ray Disc edition of Batman Begins on July 8, 2008. Also on July 8, 2008, the studio released Batman: Gotham Knight, a direct-to-DVD animated film, set between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and featuring six original stories, directed by Bruce Timm, co-creator and producer of Batman: The Animated Series. Each of these segments, written by Josh Olson, David S. Goyer, Brian Azzarello, Greg Rucka, Jordan Goldberg, and Alan Burnett, presents its own distinctive artistic style, paralleling numerous artists collaborating in the same DC Universe.
After the death of Heath Ledger, on January 22, 2008, Warner Bros. adjusted its promotional focus on the Joker, revising some of its websites dedicated to promoting the film and posting a memorial tribute to Ledger on the film's official website and overlaying a black memorial ribbon on the photo collage in WhySoSerious.com. On February 29, 2008, I Believe in Harvey Dent was updated to enable fans to send their e-mail addresses and phone numbers. In March 2008, Harvey Dent's fictional campaign informed fans that actual campaign buses nicknamed "Dentmobiles" would tour various cities to promote Dent's candidacy for district attorney.On May 15, 2008, Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Great Adventure theme parks opened The Dark Knight roller coaster, which cost $7.5 million to develop and which simulates being stalked by the Joker. Mattel has been producing toys and games for The Dark Knight, action figures, role play costumes, board games, puzzles, and a special-edition UNO card game, which began commercial distribution in June 2008. Also to promote the film, the Toyota Formula One team raced with a special livery featuring the Batman insignia and "The Dark Knight" at the 2008 British Grand Prix, held from July 4, 2008 to July 6, 2008.
Warner Bros. devoted six months to an anti-piracy strategy which involved tracking the people who had a pre-release copy of the film at any one time. Shipping and delivery schedules were also staggered and spot checks were carried out both domestically and overseas to ensure illegal copying of the film was not taking place in cinemas. A pirated copy was released on the Web approximately 38 hours after the film's release. BitTorrent search engine The Pirate Bay taunted the movie industry over its ability to provide the movie free, replacing its logo with a taunting message.

Taxi Driver, 1976, USA

Director: Martin Scorsese

Genre: Thriller

Music composer: Bernard Herrmann


Sound:

• Opening title with racey music. links with 'Psycho' as is a similar style and has the same music composer.
• Diagetic sounds during the office scene.
• Off screen diagetic sounds during office scene. for example, cars passing by, city sounds etc.
• Monologue. Recorded voice over played while the main character is driving. voice over acts as his subconcious voice.

War Of The Worlds - Cinematography

2005/Steven Spielberg/USA

Shot, Reverse Shot - In the two screen shots to the left hand side are a couple of close ups. They are first person shots as the camera acts as the characters eyes looking at the other character. This involves the audience and makes them feel part of the film. The close ups emphasise the facial expressions on the characters faces. They are obviously afraid/anxious about what is happening around them. The camera starts as the eyes of the girl and then changes to the opposite characters point of view; this is called a shot, reverse shot. By doing this it helps involve the audience. The camera is facing the light which is usually something the directors avoid; this creates a gleam on the lens of the camera which can also be found in the film ‘Elephant’.

Extreme Long Shot – Establishing shot sets the scene. Camera starts by following the characters as they leave the house then pans round following the son looking at the landscape. An extreme long shot is a way of framing a shot so that the scale of the main object/character is very small and the surroundings fill the majority of the screen. The shot sets the scene and creates a sense of distance and vastness. Although it’s used in a different context, this is similar to ‘Fargo’ in a sense that landscapes were also shown a lot in the film to create a sense of enormity.

Close up – Close up on the back of the character. Again similar to the film ‘Elephant’ as there were many shots from an ‘over the shoulder’ view in that film. Shows the surroundings and the character in clear focus, this means there is a deep depth of field. The character turns to face the camera as his father calls him. Another close up shows the look of disgust on his face

Shallow Depth Of field – The screen shot shows a close up of one of the characters faces in such a where that it has been framed so that the foreground is in sharp focus and the background is blurred. This is known as a shallow depth of field. By doing this the director has averted all of our attention on the character in the scene instead of our eye wandering around the screen. Again the close up shows the emotion on the characters face. Shallow depth of field was also used in the film ‘Elephant’ but to a different effect. In Elephant, instead of using this technique to direct the audience’s attention to a particular subject the director used it to create a mundane feeling. As the characters were walking down the corridors their surroundings were out of focus to create a sense of realism and normality; when we walk somewhere we walk on a regular basis we tend to take no notice of the surroundings.

Crane Shot – Establishing shot sets the next scene. Camera pans slightly to the left as the car drives past. Long shot creates a sense of distance.

Fargo Review

Director: Joel Coen
Year: 1996
Genre: Thriller/Drama

Setting plays an imortant part of the mise-en-scene in 'Fargo'. For the most part, 'Fargo' is set in a flat, snowy plain. The large empty land portrays a sense of isolation and lonelyness. The white snow reflects the coldness of the kidnappers. The characters are also established through the use of mise-en-scene. Costumes for example tell us alot about the personalitys of the characters, 'Jerry' especially. The character comes across as a dull and bland which is shown in his choice of clothing; brown and beige are generaly dull, boring colours. Alot can be determined about 'Jerry' also by looking at his office. His workspace is very empty and organised. In one corner of the room there is a collection of golfing trophies. This suggests that he has to have them on show to give an impression that he has achived something when infact the opposite is true. Also, golf is considered as a boring sport wich adds to the persona of blandness. The two kindnappers characters contrast greatly. While the larger 'hired goon' is portrayed as a calm, silent and emotionless, the smaller kidnapper is the exact opposite.

On reflection, i personally did not like 'Fargo'. I felt that the story was boring and the pace was too slow to hold my attension. There were scenes where i found the characters to be humerous but on a whole i feel that the film is not as good as others that i have seen of the same genre. On the other hand, i think 'Fargo' shows good examples of mise-en-scene and from it i have learned a great deal about establishment of characters especially.

Phone Booth Opening Scene Analysis - Mise-en-scene

Director: Joel Schaumacher

Year: 2002

Genre: Thriller

Phone Booth is a psychological thriller set in present day (2002) New York. The Plot sees Stuart Sheppard, an arrogant publicist, who unknowingly answers a call in a phone booth he has been using to cheat on his wife with another woman. He finds himself in a life changing situation, held at the mercy of an extortionist's sniper rifle. The film was directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, The Incredible Shrinking woman) and stars actors Collin Ferrell, Forest Whitaker and Kiefer Sutherland.

The film begins on the busy streets of New York, showing ordinary people going about their everyday lives. This sets the scene as the film is set entirely in this location. The hustle and bustle of city life portrayed also gives you a clue to the pace of the film ahead; the busy, frantic crowd suggests that the main character is set to get into some frantic situations. All of the shots consist of the public using a phone of some sort. This suggests that phones will play a big part in the film. From the start of the scene, you can hear diagetic singing from street performers. ‘Operator, give me information. Operator, give me long distance’, these lyrics are associated with phones which also gives you the impression that phones play a large role in the film. The music then fades out and a monologue starts. The narrator states facts about telephones whilst the camera jumps from pedestrian to pedestrian, using their phones. The narrator has a deep emotionless voice which suggests that the plot is going to be very cold. The camera falls on a phone booth where the narrator begins to set the scene and introduce the main character. ‘It is the last booth of its type. Hardly two blocks away, meet the man who is to be the final occupant of that booth’. This gives the audience clues that the main story will take place in this booth. The word final makes you wonder what is going to end and suggests that something dramatic is going to happen. The camera then jumps to the main character.

The camera follows the main character and his apprentice from in front as they walk the streets, juggling phone calls. On first appearances, Collin Ferrell’s character appears wealthy and important businessman with his flashy suit, slicked hair and sunglasses. He has a confidence about him in the way he talks on the phone and his body language as he walks. His apprentice on the other hand, comes across as a nervous, unconfident person. There is a contrast between the strong prominent character of Stu and the weaker, bumbling mess that is his apprentice. Although he is wearing a shirt and tie there is a clear class difference between the two characters. He has a frantic, hesitant demeanour about him; it seems as if he is scared of making a mistake around his boss. This makes you think that maybe his boss is less than forgiving. The apprentice drops one of the phones he was holding for his boss. ‘ADAM, I know three people looking for dog walkers, that could be you. Sit, stay... no worries fluffy, ill clean up your shit and wipe your ass’. From the way Stu spoke to Adam you discover more about his character. You can see he is not the nicest of people from the way he talks down to his apprentice. All previous preconceptions about Stu’s character have changed.