FILM PRODUCTION COMPANIES- Suitable for 'Loving Jennie'

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANIES- 'Loving Jennie'

'Loving Jennie' befits the genre of romance and the plot is very similar, to movies that have been done before. In order for us to find an appropriate production company for our opening, we filtered through our genre research (particularly the british romance films etc) narrowed the films down and checked the various production companies behind them and which ever one would be suitable for our film:

BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It is considered to be an established company at the forefront of British independent film-making and co-produces approximately eight films a year. Also works in partnership with major international and UK distributors. BBC film like 'Fingersmith' also has the theme of homsexuality featured although situated in a totally different era, than our film.

Momentum Pictures (also known as Alliance Films UK), an Alliance Films company, is one of the leading independent motion picture distributors in the UK and Ireland. With films like (some 2011 theatrical releases) 'Season of the Witch', 'Insidious', 'Hobo With a Shotgun', 'Limitless' and 'Justice'. Mainly horror and/or action.

Relativity Media (sometimes written as RelativityMedia and Relativity) is an American independent motion picture production and investment company based in West Hollywood, California. Relativity Media filmography include many of the genre in topic, romance, e.g. 'The Holiday', 'Love Happens', 'Dear John', 'Wild Child' and 'Made of Honour'. These films do seem like polished hollywood-styled films unlike our film which we dont intend to give this impression at all.


*Redbus Film Distribution is a British film company. They have distributed and produced many films for the UK, some becoming hits, such as Bend It Like Beckham, What's Cooking?, Cabin Fever, Jeepers Creepers and It's All Gone Pete Tong. The first film released by Redbus was Open Your Eyes. Movies like 'Bend It Like Beckham'

Big Talk Productions Ltd. (stylized as bigtalk productions) is an English film and television production company established in 1995 by Nira Park. The company, located in London, has produced films such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz; it is also known for its British sitcoms such as Spaced and Free Agents.

*Focus Features
With films like 'One Day (2011)', Jane Eyre (2011), It's kind of a funny story (2010), Something New (2006) Brokeback Mountain, (2005), its evident this company work majorly with romance/romcom films that, in my opinion, are very much unlike others. For instance, Academy Award-winning, 'Brokeback Mountain',  features a storyline that depicts the complex romantic and sexual relationship between two men in the American West. Considering our films plot is centred around the same issue of homosexuality, we think Focus Features would be the best decision production company wise.


*Ruby Films
With their film catalogue including movies like 'Love + Hate (2005)', 'Love and Other Disasters (2006)', 'Tamara Drewe (2010)', it suggests 'Ruby Films' could be perfect for 'Loving Jennie' because of their audience base being similar to what we intend aswell.


Others Include:

Summit Entertainment
Gateway Films
Sally Head Productions
Film4


POSTED BY TOSIN

LOVING JENNIE- Meaning

Loving Jennie


Meaning

Our film opening is titled 'Loving Jennie' because we feel not only do it presumably suggest the genre of the film but also the omission of the name of the person who 'loves' Jennnie, subtly refers to the fact, we have more than one person in our plot who loves Jennie, our protagonist.
We want our audience to understand our title as perhaps an understated summary of our plot.

POSTED BY TOSIN AND SHAHNAZ

MISE EN SCENE: Characters' Actual Costume- Death Scene/Argument Scene

Actual Costume


Roland

For Roland's costume we kept simple but quite typical in terms of what a teen boy would wear. The playful impression of the mickey mouse jumper over the school boy like polo shirt, ties in nicely with the brown chino's. His coat suggests he perhaps is on his way out, which eventually does happen as he storms out after their argument.



Jennie

For Jennie's costume, we wanted to keep it simple with some aspects of colour; the scarf. Natural looking make-up and dark nail polish; we think this subtly suggest she takes some effort in her appearance. With her coat, we again wanted to give the impression both characters were on their way out before the argument flared up.

POSTED BY TOSIN

SHOOT UPDATE: Sunday 18th December 2011

Shoot 3- Update

 (Bedroom Scene: Re-shoot- Shahnaz and Jennie)

 (Death Scene- Roland after being run over)

(Clips from our montage: Jennie and Roland)

We changed a few aspects:

-Instead of filming some clips in a local park, like previously decided, we filmed it in the same bedroom that Jennie now shares with her female lover (but we changed the bed sheet to imply a totally different time frame). We decided using the same bedroom seems more personal and more intimate, in terms of wanting to the real chemistry between Roland and Jennie.
- We added a quick POV shot of the unknown driver (in the car: showing the dashboard) in the death scene.
- Instead of creating bruises or scars or even using fake blood on our character, Roland's, t-shirt we thought it be would more effective and realistic to scatter the fake blood on the concrete road near his head, to suggest a fatal head injury.

PICTURES TAKEN BY: SHANHNAZ, STEPHANIE, KULSUMA, TOSIN

POSTED BY TOSIN



We again all took still images of our work and efforts in progress.

SHOOT UPDATE: Sunday 4th December 2011

Shoot 2- Update

We again all took still images of our work and efforts in progress.

(Night time Montage Clip- Location)

(Male character of Roland-Montage Clip)

(Argument Scene- Location)

We changed a few aspects:

-The positioning of the argument scene was decided to be the bottom of some stairs as it will look more forseeably that the character of Roland will easily storm out the front door after that.
- Instead of the aerial shot of Jennie's eye (entering the dream) we decided on a simple close up shot, as it appeared less shaky and smoother.
- We decided to have one of the clips from the montage with a dark night/moon backdrop with just Roland. This was to appear more romantic and almost as if Jennie is the one filming him, as he messes about.
- We also realised we wished to re-shoot the bedroom scene on our next shooting day with a different second main character (the lover).

PICTURES TAKEN BY: SHANHNAZ, STEPHANIE, KULSUMA, TOSIN

POSTED BY TOSIN



TYPOGRAPHY- 'Loving Jennie'

Typography- 'Loving Jennie'

Now our group has decided on a name of our film, we have a few researched options, that we feel will be suitable for our film genre and our audience can understand.

To aid us in our research into different font types, we used 'dafonts.com'.










Below are the shortlist font types we collectively have decided on:

(bebas neue)

This font is edgy, yet has a sense of subtle femininity to it, and could possibly satisfy the general themes of our film of heterosexual love to lesbian love.

(jenna Sue)

This font is typically used for titles in films etc that have similar genre to ours. The curly letters collectively resemble handwriting of perhaps a love letter and it's also a font type that our audience can quickly see and assume the genre of our opening.

Similar to the above font type, this one seems like handwriting which gives a personal feel to it. Again, its a font type that will be synchronous not only with our genre but the type of impression, we wish our opening, to give to our desired audience.

(harting)

This font looks like type writing letter and it appears as if it has been written sincerely by an actual person, complementing the possible reality of the film and that this could actually happen. The roughness of the lettering creates an edgy effect which symbolises the drastic change in sexuality our protagonist goes through to make her the lesbian she is now.

 (aerial demented)

This font's shattered effect shows how our protagonist's life became quite shattered and shocked her when her lover was ran over, the font portrays this but it doesn't mean that she's given up, because the title forms actual words, it also reflects how she has picked up the pieces from the past and is giving love another chance although her sexuality has changed and her outlook on life, as she comes to term with the harsh reality and somehow she finds an inner strength that emerges in the form of her sexuality.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ/TOSIN

SHOOT UPDATE: Monday 28th November

Shoot 1- Update

As we filmed the beginning of our opening, we all took still images of our work and efforts in progress.

(Bedroom Scene)

Upon beginning to film, we realised a few aspects of our prepared storyboard (this includes certain camera shots etc) in execution wasn't either practicable or something we felt added anything to the scene or atmosphere we were trying to achieve, but we also added a few new shots:

- The extreme close ups of Jennie's mouth and nose etc was not needed nor adding anything. Only a extreme close up of her eye is needed, to signify the beginning and entrance of her dream.
- The shot where Jennie reachs for her bra on the bedside table; instead we simply placed the bra in the background of the shot. We'd rather leave it to the audience's imagination as what whose bra it is etc.
- We added a low angle shot of the messy floor of the bedroom; this is to, not only establish the setting a bit more. but also because the props scattered across the floor are each significant into understanding who the character(s) is and implies certain events maybe that could have previous happend that resulted in the room being messy like that.
- We also added a pan where Jennie goes towards the window and we managed to get a close up of her face looking out the window  (A reflection of her face against the window)

PICTURES TAKEN BY: SHANHNAZ, STEPHANIE, KULSUMA, TOSIN

POSTED BY TOSIN

TESTS SHOTS/CLIPS

TEST SHOTS/CLIPS

We took it upon ourselves to ensure that we are clear about the type of shots we want to include in our opening and just how we will go about constructing it; through filming short experimental shots and clips using a volunteer. 

For example: This is a test shot is of how we would go about the extreme close-up of our main characters eye in the very first clip, entering the dream sequence.

POSTED BY TOSIN

SOUND- Acoustic Choice (MattLungleyMusic)

Sound

As we intend the non-diegetic sound in our film opening to be acoustic, we began research into unsigned acoustic artists that produce original songs, as we understand the copy right restrictions on using other songs.

We came across a particular unsigned artist 'MattLungleyMusic' on Youtube with original songs that would be more that suitable for our film opening and just our whole genre and plot in general. We then took it upon ourselves to request permission from him to use his songs in our opening and he fortunately said yes, shown below.

Matt Lungley

 

Below is one particular song we considered as next to perfect for the type of atmosphere and overall 'feel' we intend to create and it would also be synchronous with the events happening.

POSTED BY TOSIN.

CHARACTERS (Changed)

CHARACTERS

Main Character
Name: Jennie Jarnot


  

No particular body or even face type preference, although her brown eyes would be key for the extreme close up shots, but mainly a girl who indeed who has a convincing look of the average 15-17 year old girl. 
Although the results of our audience survey showed caucasian to be the most voted ethnicity for our characters, we think our chosen actress, Jennie above would still be suitable for the part, as she isnt english but yet this aspect stands as almost intriguing, in a sense that the audience could make their own assumptions as to her background, actual race etc.

Character: The Boyfriend

Name: Roland Emojevbe

The male character in our opening, we want to look around the same age of our main character 15-17, not too tall and medium build. We deliberatly chose him to be Black as we think this type of interracial relationship (Roland and Jennie) isn't typical at all but this is for the purpose of keeping the audience generally interested, subverting stereotypes and an impression that our film opening isn't predictable. We also feel that this young couple would suggest an urban feel.

Character: The Other Girlfriend (Changed from Lucy to Shahnaz)
Name: Shahnaz

The other female character featured in our opening is set to be the lesbian lover to our main character. Although only showed for a quick clip, we intend this character to be socially considered pretty in terms of appearance so, with that said we don't wish to play into bold stereotypes of a typical lesbian with the short/cropped hair etc but rather small touches that subtly reflect this sexuality. With this in mind, we decided to use our own group member Shahnaz as we feel she would be appropriate in portraying a convincing lesbian.

POSTED BY TOSIN

INSPIRATION: Other AS Trailers/Music Videos/Openings

'The 11th Hour'

- This particular example made excellent use of fast cuts (1.09-1.16) when one of the characters was being hit. The cuts made the impact/hit seem more intense, it was effective in creating tension for an audinence. The non-diegetic sound matched well: as the happenings heightened as did the sound.
For our opening, we think its important that we, as the above example, understand what time of mood we wish to show with the use of sound, ensuring it matches the plot and character actions well. Also for our death scene whereby the male characer gets hit by a car, we think it would be much more effective if we use fast cuts to again, increase tension.



- although this example is a music video, it perfectly makes use of slow motion in exactly the type of scene we intend to as well; an argument scene. Each outburts and gesture clearly shown and exaggerated with the use of slow motion.
The extreme close-ups of the characters face was effective in a sense it really stressed to the camera, just how exactly what she was feeling was written all over her face. Perfect examples of a close up reaction shot.
From about 4.31-4.39 the previous clips of the girl on her journey were cleverly, rewinded to the beginning point; this was a clever editing feature as it really shows just how one decision made on the characters part has this, chain of effect on the rest of the happenings, which i think really pulls the piece together.


Hush

To me, this media production was very creative and the imagination factor of this was very high. The music I thought matched the genre of the clip which I assume is a drama/thriller; the music is mellow and touching just as the sensitivity of the topic is. 
At the beginning of the clip, I feel as if the sepia/black and white effect was very effective as it was of a flashback and the sense of nostalgia was heightened with the lack of colour as if it was a real flashback. The transitions in these 25 seconds suited the purpose of memories as the fading of it made the short clips connected more and reflected how memories are thought and how they fade in and out of peoples heads.
I think the extreme close up shot at 0:46 was very effective and showed real emotion and it was almost as if you could read the actor's mind while she read the letter and her eyes were following the words. The word that stands out at 0:47, 'infertility', makes us comprehend the actor's reaction more and I think this was cleverly done as an extreme close up shot was used straight after this of her eyes again so it's almost like we can feel her sorrow.
The title shows at 1:07 and this is done when, assuming, the main actor has left the room.
The connotations of white for the title can be that of the unknown, an act she does which she may think is innocent but not for the audience and it's a colour normally associated with children.
The fact that the title is on it's own can possibly reflect the loneliness of the actor.
The cuts used from 2:22 which cross cut to the main actress to the mum in the park is a very good editing technique as we see what's happening in both parts rather than just having to focus on just one and missing out on what was happening in the other if it were all in one pan.



POSTED BY TOSIN/NAZ

STORYBOARD- Changed

Draft 2:

Following up on our previous storyboard we have since made a few changes that we feel with benefit and add substance to the plot, in terms of sticking closely to the genre.

Change 1:
Instead of the montage being very much based in a park location we have added a scene where the couple will be simply 'hanging out', possibly 'messing around' with a guitar. We think this will still show the playful nature of the couple and just how happy and comfortable they were before tragedy hit. (Shown above in the first mid shot)

Change 2:
After reviewing shot by shot our whole film opening,  we realised the transition between the 'happy, chirpy, love-birds' scene in the montage to the scene with the death of the guy, didnt really appear to make much sense and may not be claear, so we decided to add a short clip whereby the couple are having a heated argument which results in the guy storming out into the road and thats where he's hit. But just before, the girl attempts to call out to him, to save him.
This creates a clear enough reason why the girl feels guilty and has reoccuring dreams concerning the death of her boyfriend. We feel that our audience would quickly be able to put two and two together, that she blames herself.

POSTED BY TOSIN

STORYBOARD

Draft 1:

Our storyboard gives a shot by shot breakdown of our entire film opening. This includes the use of sound (diegetic and non-diegetic), camera angles, lighting and transitions.

1. (Head on shot- straight into camera lens) Close up of Jennie's face, as she sleeps.   (Non-diegetic sound begins- fade out sound)
1A. Collection of four extreme close-ups of Jennie's facial features and a zoom into Jennie's eyelid. (Non-diegetic sounds continues)
2. Screen fades to white, to signify the entering and beginning of Jennie's dream. (Previous non-diegetic sounds pauses, transitions to another as montage begins)
3/3A. Montage (within the dream): 4+ clips showing the couples relationship progression and 'good times' e.g memories of them hanging out over a period of time leading up to the death. (New Non-diegetic sounds continues)
4.  (Ending of the montage)- Jennie's boyfreind dies from a fatal car accident. (Diegetic sound of Ambulance Sirens and a faint sounds of a repeating heartbeat)

5. Extreme close up of Jennie's wide eye (Diegetic sound of the heartbeat gradually increases and comes to an abrupt halt as her eye snaps open)
5A. Close up of Jennie's face and chest (as an unexpected hand comes across her chest)
6. Aerial/Birds eye view shot of Jennie and asleep lover on bed.
7. Mid-shot of a disturbed Jennie, head in hands.
7A. Eye-line match/Close up of exactly what Jennie was looking at; Alarm clock covered by a disgarded bra. Pan as Jennie reaches for the bra.
8. Mid shot; affectionate moment between Jennie and her now woken lover. (Dialogue exchange)

Post by Tosin, Stephanie, Shahnaz and Kulsuma

HISTORY OF HOMOSEXUALITY: General/Film

History of Homosexuality
General social attitudes towards same-sex relationships have varied over time and place. Homosexuality was seen as a psychiatric disorder for many years, although the studies for this theory were later found to be flawed.

 In 1973 homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness in the UK. In 1986 all references to homosexuality as a psychiatric disorder were removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association.

The early years of Hollywood, from the 1890s to the 1930s homosexuality was rarely depicted on the screen. When it did appear, it was there as something to laugh at, ‘sure-fire source of humour, object of ridicule’, or something to pity, or even something to fear in some cases. ‘Hollywood taught straight people what to think about gay people... and gay people what to think about themselves in a sense’

It was also in this time a character of the what Hollywood called the ‘sissy’ was popular, such a character was a source of amusement and reassurance for the audience. The sissy was not seen as a threatening representation of homosexuality because ‘he occupied a middle ground between masculinity and femininity.’

From the 1930s to the 1950s, religious and women’s groups criticized Hollywood films for contributing to immorality. As a result, the industry introduced a self-censorship code that affected the portrayal of homosexuality. During these years, films could not feature openly homosexual characters—so homosexuality was implied through a character’s mannerisms and behaviour.

In the 1960s and 1970s,  the event of the women’s movement and the gay rights movement began. While gays and lesbians were becoming more visible and vocal in public life, their representation in films was becoming even more homophobic. At this time, gay characters were often represented as dangerous, violent, or murderous.

It was only in the mid '80s a change hit American theatres, foreign films with gay male protagonists and clear depictions of gay male sexuality began filling theatres across America, getting good reviews and doing well at the box office.

Since the 1990s, Hollywood has improved its portrayal of gay and lesbian characters. But despite these advances, critics say that ‘the industry is still too cautious in its portrayals of gay themes, characters, and experiences.’ Hollywood films are designed to appeal to as large an audience as possible; and producers fear that focusing on gay and lesbian themes risks offending a large portion of the audience, as well as potential investors.

Examples of early movies lesbian, gay or transgender related movies:

• Lot in Sodom (1993) The movie uses experimental techniques, Avant-Garde imagery and strong allusions to sexuality, especially homosexuality.
• A Florida Enchantment (1914)
• Go Fish (1994 American lesbian-themed independent drama film that tells the story of the interrelationships of a small group of lesbian friends in Chicago. Includes a number of discussions on lesbian issues, dream sequences, commentary that breaks the fourth wall.
• My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
• Philadelphia (1993) American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia.
• The Children's Hour (1961)  The film is based on the play The Children's Hour. Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine play school teachers falsely accused of having lesbian relationship; one of them realizes that she is in love with the other.
  Desert Hearts (1985) lesbian-themed romantic drama film.
• The Leather Boys (1964) British drama film about the rocker subculture in London featuring a gay motorcyclist. This film is notable as an early example of a film that violated the Hollywood production code, yet was still shown in the United States, as well as an important film in the genre of gay cinema.

By Tosin

GENRE THEMES: Homosexuality Film Examples

HOMOSEXUALITY- Film examples

Homosexuality is a theme often used in period dramas and they indeed share some codes and conventions with modern films.

Examples:

Affinity

-awkward and hesitant intamacy
- exaggerated reactions to touches (protagonists physical interaction)
- high emotions running
- close proxemics (eye contact/ personal space)

Fingersmith

- extreme close ups (especially when intimate- e.g face touching etc)
- eye contact
- minimal to none use of make -up
- delicate touches and embraces towards the protagonists
- use of a montage with clips showing the relationship progression of the protagonists

This simply gives an idea of the sorts of aspects we should be considering including in our film opening.

Post by Tosin

GENRE RESEARCH

     BRIEF

         For our AS Media Coursework, we have to create a film opening of a genre of our choice.
         Our group chose the Romance genre and  to focus on the topic of homosexuality, in terms of plot and characters.

    GENRE RESEARCH

       •Research chosen genre

       •Codes and conventions of the genre generally 

       •Modern film examples for the genre

       •Deconstruction of each film opening

________________________________________________________________________

       GENRE CONVENTIONS: ROMANCE

        'Romance films are love stories, or affairs  that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters (usually a leading man and lady), and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus.’

• Prologue introduction into love theme – Occasionally voiceover
•  Two Protagonist Characters – Normally Man and Woman hesitant to become romantically involved
•  Fundamental Differences Between leading characters; .i.e social class, race, popularity etc.
•  Break-up or Dilemma due to some form of an argument or disagreement.
•  Non- Diegetic sound is usually well known pop songs, so that the audience can recognise them easily. They normally relate to the story being told in the film. The songs can even assist in the story-telling process.
•  Normally situated in an urban location
•  Often centred  around the female POV
• Montages
•  Common Place the two protagonists coincidently go; where the encounter takes place, .i.e high school, work place, party etc
•  Sex or make-out scenes

By Kulsuma, Shahnaz, Stephanie and Tosin