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Submarine Trailer

Submarine trailer anaylsis

Submarine, an independant film production written by IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade, is written about a 15 year old boy, named Oliver Tate. Oliver Tate is a socially awkward boy, who has two ambitions in life; to lose his virginity, and to keep his parents together. He tries desperately hard to fit in with the other kids in his school. Its more of a story about a growing up romance for adults and late teenagers, who can reflect the awkward and confusing period of time that was school romance.
Oliver Tate isn't your conventional teenager. He's socially awkward, possibility OCD, obsessed with routine and keeping things at an equal level.
The theme to this story is love, which is where the social awkwardness of Oliver plays in. He is young and innocent and in love with a 15 year old girl. However, she is very forward, and very open. She is deviant and has experience.

The first kiss scenes capture the lighter side of the film. The young love allows older audiences to reminisce over their childhood days and remind young audiences of the awkwardness behindthem. These scenes allow the audience to feel like the film will be revolved around Oliver's perception of love; his happiness. The shot captures the emotion and feeling behind the scene, and encases the feel-good vibe which the audience crave so much

                                      

Of course, Richard Ayoade would not write anything and not include humour. We develop an emotional attachment to Oliver. The main part of the humour behind Oliver's character is his social awkwardness, especially with his love life. They both have two different views on love and eachother, but are along the same lines. In the trailer, Oliver's voice over says: "I asked her if she was my girlfriend now, she replied 'I'll think about it' but what she meant was 'Yes, we are now as one'" -Clearly, that would mean 'maybe not' but he's perceived it as something different, hence adding to the amusement. This shows the naivity and vulnerability of Oliver as a character, so we side with him. Our sympathies toward Oliver create an emotional attachment to our main protagonist.
Oliver's attempt at adult behaviour adds extra humour; he blew things way out of proportion making things awkward for the viewer to watch and adds a cheesy element to the romance, showing how inexperienced and awkward he is.

However, there is an element of realism in the story. The difficulty between his parents relationships, his awkward relationship with his parents itself (the lack of connection especially, and the psychological/socialogical doubts they have against him)
The informal first person narrative of Oliver Tate gives a present tense walkthrough the film, the use of the typewriter give an archaic, classic feel to the narration, and even still his life.
Therefore, it gives a saddening approach, that he's behind socially, and technology. That he makes do with what he has, but always aspires for that little bit more.
Submarine is the kind of film that can relate to other films, the story is a familiar story and older audiences can easily relate.

The Thriller Tube Map - F'ed's Movie Metro.

The most confusing media tube map created.

It starts with the violence scale, which is the black line across the middle. In the centre we have gangster heavy and gangster light. These variables are significant for the violence scale, and the violence scale only. The lines represent violence, black and white, moral ambiguity, voice over, Brit thrillers, femme fatale and death of main characters. They all intertwine and connect the different film.
Many of the films act as stations, as these films tend to have many of the qualities that the lines represent.

Violence = Black Line
Black and White = Orange Line
Moral Ambiguity = Purple Line
Voice Over = Yellow
Brit Thrillers = Green
Femme Fatale = Pink
Death of Main Characters = Grey

How has Working Title adapted its films and marketing for different audiences?

Working Title is an iconic British film production company based in London, founded in 1983 by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe, the latter being replaced by Eric Fellner.
It has two other sister companies, WT2 (company behind Billy Elliot & Shaun Of The Dead) & Working Title Television.
It specialises in low budget films.

Its first production was a controversial Comedy-Drama called My Beautiful Laundrette. It's based in London, as are most of their films, giving them a recognisable and internationally sell-able interface.

In 1992, Working Title joined with PolyGram, who would become their financier. Working Title produced several titles with PolyGram Filmed Entertainment.

From then on, Working Title became a major film production figure, with recognisable figures.
Working Title's next step was when PolyGram was sold to Seagram, who merged with MCA Music Entertainment soon after to form Universal Music Group, and then into Universal Studios. Universal Studios have the monopoly on the film and marketing industry.

From 2000, Studio Canal - the French network channel got involved with Working Title - financing the Bridget Jones's Diary films. They were a huge success, adding to their credibility.

The reason behind Working Title's success is the stereotypical 'Britishness' of their films. They have huge success with their very British films and even more British actors. Famous actors like Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, and of course Bill Nighy, who seems to appear into most film somewhere.

This is because globally, the idea of the stereotypical 'well spoken, tea drinking, classy brit' is a popular idea. The accent sells, and they account for that. Thats why Universal Studios like to sell the British side, as oppose to the actual film.

They produce Feel Good Rom Coms
-Love Actually
-4 Weddings and a Funeral



Historical Dramas
-Atonement
-Anna Karenina



Comedies
-Shaun Of The Dead
-Hot Fuzz



These pictures are cheap (relatively, mostly) to produce. The allowance for a production is up to 35 million, as specified in the contract. However, Working Title tend to keep the expenditure low to maximise the box office profit.

The productions take place in British locations with as many recognisable actors as possible, because that's the selling point. Anna Karenina was filmed in the Royal Albert Hall as a stage production disguised as a film. Love Actually is filmed all over London. Hot Fuzz is filmed all over Gloucestershire for extra comedy value.
A huge success has been Bean with Rowan Atkinson. There is no language barrier, and relies solely on Atkinson's demeanour, facial expressions and attitude, hence its popularity across the world.

Working Title uses appropriate actors to bring in appropriate audiences. Be it down to looks, personality or acting style. Like, Mr Bean will always sell because of Rowan Atkinson. Brit-Coms will always sell because everyone loves Hugh Grant, Colin Firth or Jude Law. Atonement will always sell because of Kiera Knightly.

Some examples of the types of film they produce, through their trailers.

-Love Actually

-Anna Karenina

-Hot Fuzz

Harry Lime

How is the sense of Claustrophobia and Doom explored in The Third Man

 The Third Man is a Pulp film (crime fiction magazine) featuring the story of Harry Lime in a post war Vienna. It's produced and based in 1949, in a prime example of Film Noir's World War influence. Vienna is perfectly portrayed in the Film Noir style, some what destroyed, badly lit (very dark) and the air of depression ever present.

The Plot features Holly Martins travelling through Vienna, where he ends up investigating the peculiar death of his old friend, one Harry Lime, who was involved in illegal black maket trading.

Film Noir is always about the atmosphere created in the shot. It goes hand in hand with tension, drama and dialogue, enhancing the viewer experience. One way to create the vague and eerie atmosphere is by making a sense of claustrophobia in the shot.

This is acheived through the long scene in The Third Man, which is a sewer chase scene. It is the epitome of the film, Harry Lime has been discovered and Austrian police and soldiers are chasing him through the many tunnels.

In this shot, the sense of claustrophobia is ever present; the perspective we get from the long shot is that we're in the tunnel with him, far deeper though. The sense of depth is created by the camera being so far away from the source of light, which is at the end of the tunnel (Light at the tunnel idea)

The tunnel is very narrow and poorly lit. The light reflects off the trail of liquid down the middle giving a sense of how dirty the tunnel. We can see there is only one way out, and several paths going off, giving the idea that Harry Lime is going to be trapped. He's merely a silhouette at the end of the tunnel, insinuating that his identity is vague and darkened. The tunnel idea feels like its slowly enclosing in on him - perhaps a metaphor that he's running out of luck?

Another close sewer scene is the shot above. It's slightly tilted, and gives it a very disorientated feel. We get the sense that we are also hiding with Harry, and evading the authorities that are chasing, we feel subtle and obscured, which works to build the tension in the scene. We can see here that Harry is just above them, hinting that he's the higher character in the scene. We can clearly see that he is pressed against the wall, hiding, terrified; clear representation of good and evil. The police are the good side here, looking to arrest their offender and the evil side is Harry Lime - a doctor (man of valued profession) who did not deserve such a career for his illigetimate trading of counterfit medicines. He is dressed in the colours of the shadows - black to represent the darkness of his actions, the evil - Police are dressed in white to be the purer side of things.

This is classic Film Noir. Moods represented through lighting, clothing, and position of characters.
It's a very claustrophobic scene, showing us that Harry Lime is in danger of being caught - how close they are to him, one move around and they would see him.

This shot is iconic in the scene. It perfectly shows the mood of the scene from Harry Lime's perspective. The lighting upon the upper side of his face is representative of the regular Film Noir moral superiority or ambiguity. The bottom half is much darker, showing the contrast between him and the above. It shows that he doesn't share such a properties as he is the bad side. The light could suggest 'good' and what he could have been. There is a clear expression of panic on his face showing that he's finally acknowledged the impending doom that he will undoubtedly encounter. It could also insinuate that he is a morally confused character, that he has seen the error of his ways but cannot undo or justify them now.  He is sweating, he is clearly worried about the outcome from this section of the film. We don't know any of what's occuring outside the shot or around him, we are focused soully on him.

This is the moment we know Harry's fate is sealed. He is trapped, the grate is firmly shut and cannot be opened. He is stuck underneath, in the stairwell, simply waiting. He can feel the wind on his fingers, the sense of freedom just beyond his reach. It can be viewed he is reaching up, almost looking for repentance or forgiveness. Harry's fate is clearly sealed here, as this is the last way out.

How does Casino Royale use conventions of film noir, and what meanings/connotations are created?

How does Casino Royale use conventions of film noir, and what meanings/connotations are created?

 

Casino Royale starts with a completely different introduction. It's separate from the rest of the film, in the way that it is shot in black and white, hinting at a Film Noir influence. 

This shot is an extreme long shot, and fully displays the building in which the intro is going to take place. As is typical in a film noir shot, it's shot from a low angle, displaying a wide view of the building/landscape, adding a sense of anticipation.

We can see a source of light in the shot, as is typical. The light is presented through the lone lamp post in the middle ground. Its almost as if the entire shot is illuminated from that point. Lamp posts were frequently used in Film Noir. The lamp post acts as both a location, under which a character would stand and a single source of light for the clip. 

Here, we're introduced to our bad guy. We can tell he's the villain due to the nature of his introduction. He gets out of a classy car in the darkness of night and the camera shoots him from a low angle, so that we look up at him. In this midshot, we can see his face has a sinister, but worried expression on it. This would evidently mean that he anticipates some kind of confrontation, or that something is going to occur in the next scenes. 

Props. In film noir, props are often fairly limited, normally revolving around cigarettes, guns, torches etc. In the drawer of his desk, we notice a pistol. The pistol is an icon of film noir, frequent shoot outs and murders meant that they were often on show. So naturally it was only a matter of time until a weapon was released into the scene. Therefore, we get a sense of tradition and that Casino Royale - a James Bond (crime/hero/action film) is looking back at the Film Noir era with a sense of respect.

A traditional Film Noir setting - The office. We have a wide shot of both characters here. It appears that the villain in the scene is in the well lit section of the room, on the right, and our protagonist, James Bond is sitting in the shadows of the left side, his face only partially lit. This adds a sense of gloom to the scene; the villain has the power in this shot, whilst Bond, only somewhat visible is made to seem like he's in danger. 

This scene is the darker side of Noir; the violence. Seeing as James Bond is more of an action film, the action is of course exaggerated. Film Noir violence tended to be intense eye contact, followed by a single bullet to the upper torso whilst the camera followed the character to the floor.

This scene is very bright when it comes to lighting. The white tiled walls of the bathroom they're fighting in give a sense of openness, and almost finality. We can tell that it's going to be a fight till the death. The contrast is developed through Bond's black suit jacket; this makes him look like the superior force here, as he stands out in the scene. 

Here is the scene in it's entirety.

Character Archetypes of Film Noir

Conventions of Film Noir (part 3)

Character Archetypes - Characters in Film Noir

Noir (anti) hero

The male protagonist in a Noir film will always be either a hero, or an anti hero. Anti hero obviously being a villain of some sorts.
A hero can be anyone. Usually, it's along the lines of a police officer (cop in this case), a strong witted, hardened detective or another sort of private eye.
The anti hero is usually a criminal master mind or along those lines; mafia members, murderer etc.
It often transpired that the Noir hero wouldn't have the happy ending.
They were frequently stricken somehow, be it with a mental inability, like depression, a physical affliction, like a limp or an addiction, like alcoholism. Maybe they'd suffered some event like a divorce or similar. Regardless, it was not usually a happy story.

A perfect example of a hard boiled Noir detective - Sam Spade from The Maltese Falcon.

Femme Fatales

Female characters came in the form of two types of women.
The first form could be a love interest. A powerless and gentle victim, symbolic of pure emotion. Simply, a woman that the male protagonist develops feelings for.
However, often enough the character in question is what is considered a 'Femme Fatale' literally, fatal female. These characters were more alluring towards the male protagonist, using beauty or persuasive words to convince the 'Noir Hero' down a dark road of (often) self destruction, with the promise of love or affection. This may be through enticing them to murder or commit other crimes.


Kathie Moffat, female character from Noir film Out of The Past. A perfect example of a femme fatale!

Camera Work in Film Noir

Conventions of Film Noir (pt 2)
Film Noir is used throughout the thriller genre. It's a much older style of film and it's a wide

Camera work.

Camera work is essential in all film. Especially in Film Noir, camera angles, distances and shot type.
For example, in this shot, we're experiencing an extreme angle. The angle has been used to show the scene from the end of the gun, so we experience what the character experiences. This helps us place ourselves in the same position and feel the same emotion as a viewer.

Of course, as with all films, the same variety of shots exist. 

ECU - Extreme Close Up. Closer than a regular close up, takes up most of the screen. normally just one detail, like the gun in the shot above.
CU - Close Up. Camera is close to us, normally portraying a face and an expression.
MCU - Medium Close Up. Character is shown from chest up.
MS - Medium Shot/Mid Shot. Generally from waist up, displaying background aswell.
MLS - Medium Long Shot. Used in Film Noir, people are shot from the knees up. Shows any kind of action as a full.
LS - Long Shot. Whole camera is at a distance from what it's filming. This means characters are shot from head to toe, and/or background is fully captured
ELS - Extreme Long Shot. Camera is far away, showing as a wide and broad image of the scene. Maybe used to emphasis background, setting, emotion or just a lot of action.



A very stereotypical long shot of Manhattan showing two characters as a silhouette, and a well lit background gives the sense of setting and space.