Foundation Portfolio final edit

Final Edit
Foundation Portfolio

Production Process Keynotes

Keynotes on the process of production by Kayla Lockington

Audiences and Institutions

ACTIVITY #1

1. What are the two different financial models that distribution agreements are based on?

• Leasing
• Profit sharing

2. Describe what they both entail. 

• Leasing is when the distributor agrees to pay a fixed amount for the rights to distribute the film.  
• Profit sharing is when the distributor gets a percentage of the films profits e.g. 10-15% 

3. What are ancillary rights? 

• Ancillary rights are the rights the film has to everything put in the movie or series such as soundtrack rights, stage play rights etc.

4. What is the definition of the film's 'opening' and what factors are taken into account when making decisions about a film's opening?

• Opening is the first or ‘official’ debut of the film. Factors include studio, target audience, star power, buzz and season.

5. What does it mean if a film has 'legs'? What factors might determine this?

• If a film has “legs” it means the film has big actors and is doing well but if it doesn't then it means the film has no legs and wont last long in popularity. Factors affecting this include, the amount of buzz created around the film, its target audience, may be the wrong time of year (season).

6. At the time of this article, how many theatres were there across USA and where are they mostly located?

• There were around 37,000 screens (theatres) in the United States at the time of the article, typically located in urban areas.

7. What role does a 'buyer' play and what are some of the terms they negotiate?

• Buyers are used in representing theatres in negotiating with distribution companies

8. What is meant by a 'loss leader'?

• It means that the theatre makes most of its profits from selling household items such as popcorn or drinks rather than the actual movie tickets.

ACTIVITY #2

- who distributed the films?

• Suicide Squad: Warner Bros. Pictures 
• Hunt for the Wilderpeople: Piki Films (N.Z.) Madman Entertainment (N.Z./Australia)
• Moonlight: A24 Plan B Entertainment Pastel Productions
• The Interview: Sony Pictures Releasing 

- how were they distributed?

• Suicide Squad: Strong release with box office records, seen in imax, REALD and 3D.
• Hunt for the Wilderpeople: Premiered at the Sundance Film festival
• Moonlight: Premiered at the Telluride Film Festival
• The interview:

- Where were they released and when?

• Suicide Squad: Beacon theatre, New York. 1st of August, 2016 
• Hunt for the Wilderpeople: Sundance festival, New Zealand. 31st of March 2016
• Moonlight: Released in the USA. 2nd of September, 2016
• The Interview: Premiered in Las Angeles. 11th of December, 2014

- What type of release did they have?

• Suicide squad: Cinema premiere 
• Hunt for the Wilderpeople: Film festival release
• Moonlight: Film festival release 
• The interview: Theatre (cinema) release 

Breaking Bad essay

Breaking Bad
Representation essay

"When they see us"

Media Studies
Representation Essay
“When they see us”

In the clip from “When they see us”, it begins with a dark low angled shot. The audience is looking up at the figures (two shot) in a room filled with shadows and uncertainty. The two characters can clearly be shown to be in some type of dismay and are possibly related, we can gather this from their body language as they are in a close proximity to one another showing displays of affection. A mirror used in the first couple of seconds used as a symbol of confusion. The boy (emphasis on the word boy) is staring at himself in the mirror as if not recognising the person staring back, an unfamiliar face. This adds to the mise-en-scene of the film growing the anticipation of the audience who are left pondering what the young man has done.

We can hear the non-diegetic music playing in the background adding mournful suspense. An effect of scarcity has been created through the sound of a single toned note playing over the footage. A voice over of a woman's voice can be heard speaking within the first 10 seconds, a female’s voice adds a maternal and loving instinct, allowing us to sympathise for the characters through the worry and hurt we can hear coming through. It is stereotypical as a man is seen as harsh and abrasive where a mother/woman is seen as kind and soft spoken, increasing the element of sadness when thinking that is someone's child. This is a good way to draw in a different dynamic of viewers parental figures may relate to this as well as the youth consumers.

The attention is then taken off the mother and son and switches to an establishing shot of the courthouse room. It is a high angled shot showing us the whole picture contrasting to the dim lighting show in the scene beforehand. Soft, melancholic piano notes are introduced stirring up emotions of sadness, practically acting as a preview of the bad news about to come. An array of close-up shots are used to show the young men rising in the courtroom. Each one standing, coming into the shot as if coming into their future. One by one each is informally introduced and we can get a sense of the extreme emotion being portrayed through the cacophony of blank faces and forced in tears. All the characters are shown to be minorities and ethnic young men. This a stereotypical scene where boys are seen to be more destructive when criticizing both genders. It is a racist attack against people of colour or ones with cultural backgrounds, they are portrayed as violent dangerous beings whereas people of pale skin are seen in a higher power/standing.

Through the use of editing a montage is used between the sentencing, courtroom scenes. It shows the boys being normal teenagers, living their lives as if they didn't know what was coming or what was about to be. We empathise for them as one day they were normal kids relating to some of the viewers, then the next they are being convicted of a life sentence. As we are shown these happy times the non-diegetic music starts to intensify playing heavy orchestral music with sudden drum beats in the back mimicking the audience's heart beat as it starts to heighten. The diegetic sound of the judge’s dialogue carries over the good times as if making them come to and end knowing their lives could possibly be over. Through continuity editing the pieces of film have been put together in order to show the contrast between the happiness and sadness. The dark ambient lighting may mimic the emotions of the people in the room. There are a lot of dusk and blue hues throughout the clip, disguised as natural lighting making the verisimilitude more realistic and eye-opening for viewers, as if it was happening in real time.

Slow prolonged shots are seen of the parents which is ironic as it is coming from what looks to be loving family point of views. Tracking shots are used to get the full atmosphere of the room increasing tension as each child's name is read out. Lawyers of pale skin are seen to be sitting comfortable while the people of colour are clustered together fighting for their future. The legal enforcers are shown through a low angle shot as if they sit higher both physically and mentally, as if they are more important than anyone else seen in that room. This can be seen as conforming to the ways of white supremacy and how they are there to put people of colour in what they may think as their rightful place.

As we see the conviction take place they are confirmed guilty, the camera then moves to the parents seated. Tilt shots are used one by one as if they are being slowly lowered into their graves portraying the fact as their lives very well may be over after being sentenced. Snippets of film to the boy playing a trumpet is used in editing as a flashback. It's reminiscent of what was in contrast to what is to be, they are being buried in an early grave.

Foundation Portfolio CCR

Question 1





Question 2

Foundation Portfolio Question 2 by Kayla Lockington

Question 3 


Question 4

Foundation Portfolio rough edit

Foundation Portfolio

I still need to upload the rest of my sound and layer it all together so that it sounds continuous. Colour effects still need to be placed over the original footage to add a more shadow based look (adhering to one of our planned conventions). I still don't have a title as i am making a title sequence and it is taking longer than i expected therefore it wasn't able to be uploaded in time. The film still has a lot of work that needs to be done.