TRAINSPOTTING
Task 1: The Film
· Synopsis
Ewan McGregor, who plays Renton, is a man with hardly any ambitions. Renton and the rest of his friends are heroin addict. His addiction also provides a rush of excitement and physical and mental challenges that his life may lack.
Also Renton's best friends are also junkies: Jonny Lee Miller who plays Sick Boy, a loud colourful dresser, and Ewen Bremner who plays Spud, a genuinely honest nerd. Renton and his pals also hang out with Robert Carlyle who plays, Begbie, a borderline psycho who hates junkies even though he drinks alcohol as if it was water. After one too many knocks with the law, Renton goes cold turkey on his heroin addiction and moves to London, where he finds a job, a flat. However, Sick Boy, Begbie, and Spud all arrive at his doorstep on the trail of a big and quick pay day, taking Renton right back into drugs and crime once again. Soon after the transaction of drugs and money was mad. Begbie kicks of again and Renton sees this and has enough, so whilst the boys are asleep that night Renton takes the money and makes a run for it. Leaving 2,000 of the money in a locker for Sick Boy.
· Danny Boyle was the director of ‘Trainspotting’.
Other films Boyle directed were;
The Beach (2000/1)
28 Days Later (2002)
Alien Love Triangle (2002)
Millions (2004)
Sunshine (2007)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
· The budget was £3,500,000.
· The companies which made it were, Warner Bros, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, Universal or Columbia Tristar (Sony).
· Trainspotting was filmed in a number of places and despite the film being set in Edinburgh, most of the film was filmed in Glasgow, apart from the opening scenes of the film which was filmed in Edinburgh, and the final scenes which were filmed in London.
· Ewan McGregor also stared in, Moulin Rouge, Being Human, A Life Less Ordinary and many more. He has become famous on an international scale.
Jonny Lee Miller also stared in, Goodbye Cruel World, Dracula 2000, The Canterbury Tales and many more. He has become famous on an international scale.
Ewen Bremner also stared in, Death at a Funeral, 16 Years of Alcohol, Naked and many more. He has not become famous on an international scale.
Robert Carlyle also stared in, Black and White, 28 Weeks Later, Silent Scream and many more. He has become famous on an international scale.
· Trainspotting was distributed in America by Disney. Trainspotting was awarded;
BAFTA Film Award in 1996
BAFTA Scotland Award in 1997
Bodil in 1997
Brit in 1997
Czech Lion in 1997
Empire Award in 1997
Evening Standard British film Award in 1997…
Task 2: Marketing
· The poster tells you a bit about the film. It shows the main characters to begin with and they are in line up formation, as if they were doing an identity parade as if they had committed a crime. This gives me an impression of what the film could be about; it gives me that impression of constant rule breaking and dealings with a higher authority. The poster gives a comical and up beat film, I get this impression of comedy due to the different personalities betrayed through there poses. I get a portrayal of an up beat film because of the fiery orange used on the bottom of the poster and some of the writing.
The selling methods used were, the energetic orange used to lighten and attract an on looks eye. Also by using a previous film which did well in the earlier years which was created by the same makes may draw in those same customers once again, and encourage more to take interest in it.
The only information they give you about the film in the poster is the main characters, due to them being the main point on the poster. The shot that is used in the picture is an eye level shot, this is giving the viewer a chance to perceive the characters how they wish, making that slight judgment before watching the film itself. This shot draws the viewer in and making them think of what the story maybe about making them more intrigued in watching the film.
· The trailer tells you the very important parts of the film and also shows the most interesting bits too. “Choose life, choose a job, choose a career, choose a family, choose a big television”, and so on but by the end of the trailer it goes back to the very first point of choosing life. This gives me a sense of hope for the main character because at the begin he says good and useful things to choose, and then he strays away and says “choose a big television” but I the end he goes back to choosing life. This is how the film pans out from the offset, He tries to reform himself by coming off of drugs but strays and gets back onto drugs and then as it gets to the end of the film he reforms himself once again and gets back on track. The trailer gives us a genre of, Action, drug relations and romance to a certain degree. The target audience is for the slightly older generation eighteen plus, due to the language, sexual activity and drug use.
The methods that are used to sell the film are short and snappy clips of exciting bit throughout the duration of the film. The picked visual as well as vocal parts of the film which would attract views for different reasons. For example, when there running away from the authorities at the beginning of the trailer, short clips of the main characters and another character saying something about the other, so that you get a quick brief of what type of personality each one has.
The trailer quite a lot of information in small details, like the descriptions of each character, through the mouths of another. It also gives information about the drug taking, via views of characters dropping to the floor in a passing out fashion. Romance in a sexual way, showing more lust than love.
I think that the trailer is successful at making you want to see the film. For the mere fact that it gives you clips of the film but just the right amount, it doesn’t give you to much so that it is pointless going to see the film but it doesn’t give u a useless amount so that you are disappointed with what you see. I think also how they give you an insight of each character helps to make a person what to see the film, the insight helps you get a picture in your head of how the rest of the story will pan out. The music is up beat and fast, with lots of percussion instruments such as drums. The drums could symbolize a heat beat because through the whole of the trailer it is very energetic, from the running scene at the beginning, to the clubbing bit half way through.
Task 3: You
· I think that the main message of the film is to live life to the fullest, maybe also not to trust everyone because even your closes friends could betray you. Also do not let others bring you down, and if you have set out to do something don’t let others, including friends deter you for what you are doing, especially if it helps you and you future.
I think that as a British film it says that our society are all drug crazy alcoholics, that back stab are friends if it benefits ourselves. It also show that the majority of us are not working class and feed off of others/ our friends living if they allow us, and if not play a guilt trick in order to get what we want. Our society also is portrayed as untidy and aggressive people. We are portrayed as short tempered and scary personalities.
I think that the film was successful because of, the witness perceived by some characters, the different personalities, not one character was exactly the same. Also the conflict of characters weather they are main characters or extras. Special effects helped to bring a twist on reality but really helped a view understand the film. For example when one of the characters was lying on the floor and the area were he way laying inverted in like a whole where a casket would go into the ground. This gave you the understanding of how the character maybe feeling and it brings you into the film. The characters also made the film a success by playing their individual parts so well and making the view connected with the atmosphere and what was happening from scene to scene.
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Task 1: The Film
· Synopsis
Dev Patel who stars as Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning an amazing 20 million rupees on India’s "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" But when the show comes to a break for the night, police arrest him under the suspicion of cheating; wondering how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, some corrupt encounters with local gangs, and of Freida Pinto who stars as Latika, the girl he loved and lost on several occasions. Each chapter of his life story reveals the key to the answer of the game shows questions. Each chapter of Jamal’s increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the shows genuinely impossible quizzes.
· Danny Boyle was the director of ‘Trainspotting’.
Other films Boyle directed were;
Trainspotting (1996)
The Beach (2000/1)
28 Days Later (2002)
Alien Love Triangle (2002)
Millions (2004)
Sunshine (2007)
· The budget was $15 million.
· It was filmed in India, Mumbai.
Dev Patel stared in Skins a television program and The Last Airbender and that’s it. He has now become famous on an international scale.
Freida Pinto has not done any other films but will be doing some up coming films in the future. She is not yet famous on an international scale.
Madhur Mittal stared in Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye, One 2 Ka 4 and Say Salaam India. All Hindu films, he has not become famous on an international scale.
Anil Kapoor stared in Apradhi, Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love, Black & White and many more. I do not think that he has become famous on an international scale.
- Slumdog Millionaire was distributed in United Kingdom, United States, Australia and India by Fox Searchlight Pictures Warner Bros. Slumdog Millionaire was awarded;
Academy Awards
Best Picture
Best Cinematography, Anthony Dod Mantle
Best Director, Danny Boyle
ECT.
BAFTA Awards
Best Director, Danny Boyle
Best Film, Christian Colson
Best Sound, Glenn Freemantle, Resul Pookutty, Richard Pyke, Tom Sayers, Ian Tapp.
ECT.
Golden Globe Awards
Best Picture – Drama
Best Director, Danny Boyle
Best Screenplay, Simon Beaufoy
Best Original Score, A. R. Rahman.
- It was filmed in India because its about the controversy of a slum child winning, and correctly answering the question on a television show which most well of people do not get right. If it was filmed in England and it was about the slums it would not make sense and would confuse the viewers.
Task 2: Marketing
- The poster draws you in from the first look, the colours merging into one tell the story in a visual way, and the pictures enhance what the colours foretell of the two characters trying to find each other. The question has a subliminal message behind it, it draws you in without you knowing, you try answer the question and then watch the film to see if you were right. The poster tells shows you the theme of the film, to lost lovers trying to find one another no matter what the circumstance. For the poster the target audience is mid teens and above. The methods that are used to sell the film through the poster would have to be the colours. The colours are enticing and interesting, very eye catching and drawing.
- The trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilZOJkZaspU)
Was full of colour and life. I think that the colour represents the the action that happens throughout the film as well as trailer. The shot and snappy shots of certain main bits of the film draws you in as well of the visual question given on screen, as a millionaire answer.
