Film Flow Chart

Flow Chart

Avatar (2009)

The main stars found in Avatar are Sam Worthington- who has stared is other films such as Terminator Salvation and The Clash of the Titans, Zoe Saldana who has been in Pirates of the Carribean, Michelle Rodriguez; she played a part in TV series Lost and film Resident Evil, Giovanni Ribisib- who was in hit TV comedy Friends and played a part in Saving Private Ryan and Sigourney Weaver who's famous for her Alien films. As well as these, other less well known actors in the film include Stephen Lang, Joel Moore and CCH Pounder.

The genres Avatar is classed under is action, adventure and fantasy.

The films estimated production budget was a stagering $310,000,000. Avatars gross budget was roughly $2,778,527,559. $760,505,847 of the money being from the USA and $4,007,750 from just it's opening week in the USA when it was showed in 812 screens.

The production companies of the film were Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (who have been behind the production of many major films such as The Simpsons Movie, The Last King Of Scotland and Fantastic four), Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners and Lightstorm Entertainment.

The film had various distribution companies, some of these being Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Home Box Office (HBO), and FX Network.

Examples of above the line advertsing were promotional posters, interviews with the actors on television, in magazine, and on websites, as well as film premieres. There were also examples of below the line advertising, these included: Avatar dolls being created, merchandise such as t-shirts, bags and hats and a game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP and PC.

An Example of Ethnicity- Gavin and Stacey

The ethnic group represented by Uncle Bryn in this Gavin and Stacey clip is Welsh. Peoples typical view on Welsh people is that they live in 'the valley', speak with quite a dim accent, and are huge fans of agriculture. Quite a few aspects of this clip from Gavin and Stacey reinforce these ideas.

When watching the clip you immediately become aware of the mise en scene. The clip is set in Uncle Bryns house, who is a Welsh man in his early 50's and stays very true to his roots. Being in the 21st Century we have quite high tech technology, and from looking at his computer you can tell he's defiantely not 'up to date'. The furnature in the room is also very old looking, and you'd imagine it to be in a much older persons house. This is very similar when it comes to looking at the wallpaper too. All of these features in the room help to back up the idea of the Welsh living in 'the valley' and being quite seperated from the rest of us.

There are only a few various camera angles used. One being a close up of their faces when mid conversation- it was a good choice to use one on Gavins face because it shows you his expressions clearly when being 'taught' how to use the Internet. The other one is a basic mid shot capturing Bryn, Gavin and the computer in the center. This could imply that the computer is the center of Bryns life or the main focus point at this moment in time. This also showing that the Welsh have only just been introduced to the Internet; which could infact be the reason because they've only just been able to gain a connection because of living so far away from civilisation.

The sound you can hear is only their conversation, so it's quite a quiet scene. However, this helps you to listen to his accent and hear the itelligence in his voice. When Bryn is describing to Gavin how to use the Internet he speaks his words quite slowly, and what he's describing is a very simple task to us. Speaking in a Welsh accent and being quite slow with his words also reinforces the fact that people have the idea of some Welsh people being quite dim and not very bright- this is also backed up by the topic of conversation.

Film Preliminary

The following film is of our final preliminary film. Please excuse the poor acting on my behalf!

Ethnicity

Ethnicity refers to ethnic traits, background, allegiance, or association of cultures. People who belong to ethnic groups are indentified by characteristics. The words 'ethnicity' and 'ethnic group' originates from the Greek wod 'ethnos' which means 'nation'. The term 'ethnic' in the UK often means 'race', whereas in North America 'race' tends to mean colour.

Examples of ethnic groups include: Mexicans, Spanish, Scottish, Catholic, coloured people, Muslims and Hutus. A stereotypical example of describing an ethnic group is Spanish people eat tapas or paella, they're Catholic and enjoy bull fighting.

Kick Ass

The production of the film took 14 weeks and the people behind the film were working 14 hour days. It included drafting the script, the costumes, the sets and the filming. It was prouced by Mark Miller who had previously been the executive director of 'Wanted' and directed by Matthew Vaughan.
Kick Ass is based on an American Marvel Comic written by Mark Miller called Kick Ass. However, the ending in the film is different to the ending in the comic because lead gets the girl, whereas in the film he's 'blown off'.

They encountered a couple of problems when making the film- the script being one of them. Miller was used to being in control of films so when he was told he must make accomodations he was shocked. As previously stated about the ending to the film being changed, Miller wasn't very for this idea. He was quoted to say "I don't really do happy endings" so for him having to change the ending to a happy one was quite a difficult choice.

He believes the UK  to be "world class leaders" when it comes to making films; however, he does not think we actually have a UK film indusrty. He uses James Bond and Harry Potter as good examples of British films but goes on to state that even though we've produced these films, we still can't manage to "get films off the ground in England". He would like the UK to build an indusrty with "the best writers, the best directors, the best crew, actors"

One of the ways they tried to keep the budget down was to film in London, even though it is set in Manhattan, New York- but Vaughan prefers to shoot there so it wasn't too much trouble. They made it look like Manhattan by building a studio, and using a huge green screen with images of Manhattan on and then using Media Composer to make it incredibly realistic. However, even though they had a low budget not all of the technology was cheap.

The film was rated 15 by the BBFC, which meant it's younger audience who are into superheros wouldn't have been able to go to the cinema to watch it. However, it was rated PG in France which was a shock to Vaughn.

The main controversy surrounding the film was the use of violence and swearing by young actress Chloë Moretz. For example, the line "Okay you cunts, let's see what you can do now" was highly compained about by family advocacy groups, claiming "the language [was] offensive".

The film was promoted in various ways, with the comic being one of them- another, newer comic was written at the same time as the fiolm was being produced. There was also a soundtrack for the film, and costumes of the characters too. As well as this there was a video game based on the movie for iPhones and iPod Touches, which later on went to be released on PlayStation.

The soundtrack was released on 29th March 2010 in the UK, and a day after in the United States. The title song is called 'Kick As'' By Mika, and was released as a single on 2nd May 2010. The rest of the songs found on the soundtrack are as follows:
1. "Stand Up" The Prodigy
2. "Kick Ass (Radio Edit)" Mika vs. RedOne
3. "Can't Go Back" Primal Scream
4. "There's a Pot a Brewin'" The Little Ones
5. "Omen" The Prodigy
6. "Make Me Wanna Die" The Pretty Reckless
7. "Banana Splits (Kick-Ass Film Version)" The Dickies 
8. "Starry Eyed" Ellie Goulding
9. "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" Sparks
10. "We're All In Love" The New York Dolls
11. "Bongo Song" Zongamin 
12. "Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (For a Few Dollars More)" Ennio Morricone
13. "Bad Reputation" The Hit Girls
14. "An American Trilogy" Elvis Presley

Kidulthood

The first camera angle we see if a medium long shot. The shot is of the pupils in the playground. This is effective because it gives you a clear shot of the pupils in their 'habitat', so you can view their mannerisms closely, but because of the long shot you can see clearly all the different variations of people that attend the school. To use this as an opening shot is a good idea because you're immediately introduced to what type of school the film is set in. This is also reinforced when they camera crew start to use panning- giving the the full effect once again. It pans across the playground quite fast which gives the impression that a lot happens in the playground- and fast!

The next shot used is a close up on the young boy and his machinery. I think this is used because it's quite effective as you can see the full concentration in his face- showing that what he's doing is of high importance to him. The close up of the drill he's using also give the full effect of the precision of it, and you see every detail.

There is a mid shot followed soon after this of a male on female couple. They are stood behind a tree, and the reason being for this is the fact that they are hiding from someone. Due to the fact that a mid shot being used instead of a long shot portays the intamacy and secrecy better, and in a sense you brought into hiding with the characters.

Another medium long shot is used again when the group of men are 'talking' to two young girls. By using this you can view clearly what the men are deliberately doing- this being intemidately the girls and almost bullying. You can see how they are taller than them and leaning over them, making them seem more superior.