Multiple choice films is something that Netflix have been experimenting with for a while. They recently put a Minecraft story mode series onto the platform as one of the first test runs for their future developments on this style. Recently Black Mirror released their own interactive film on Netflix. If you don’t know what Black Mirror is, it is a tv series of different weird futuristic context story’s usually involving technology-based inventions e.g. eyes as cameras. As a huge fan for strange and abnormal plotlines that make you think, this show is up with some of my favourite tv shows and I obviously jumped right into the film when it was first released in Netflix.  

Looking at the film in more depth, the narrative, based in the 1980’s, showed a teenage boy called Stefan Butler and his strive to create a successful video game. With the film being an interactive one, giving the audience multiple choices at different points into the film, it made sense that the game Stefan was creating was a multi pathway game based on a book of the same name, displaying a subtle yet effective link to the film style choice and the context of the narrative. Throughout the film you are faced with many different scenarios that allow your choice as an audience to affect the plotline and ending. One negative to this multiple-choice style is the repetition and similarity between choices. For example, some choices lead you to a dead end where the film would then take you back in the film to choose a new option. After a few rewinds in the film, I felt the plot sometimes became repetitive and boring, possibly changing into more of a game style rather than a film. Despite the repetitive elements of the film, the ideas behind alternate endings, definitely made me want to re-watch the film more than twice to discover all the possible endings, this could be a great boost for the film as they will gain more views from the same people. 

Another way the film managed to keep me entertained was the subtle and constant use of humour and comedy throughout. During the entire film the forth wall was continually broken by references to the main character feeling as though he had no control over his choices. This was clearly done to be aimed towards the audience. Later on in the film there is a scene where you have the option to communicate with the main character to let him know you are the one controlling him. This I felt really added humour and engaged me as a viewer due to the intrigue in the way the film would portray the reactions from the characters once he knew he was being controlled by us. Humour was also added through unrealistic and bizarre options such as ‘fight the therapist’. This option led to a comedic fantasy fight between Stefan, his therapist and his dad using samurai swords. Because of how random this scene was and how unexpected it really created a more entertaining and engaging element within the film. I loved the idea of the unexpected consequences throughout. 

On a more cinematic level the film editing was good however it seemed to be more in your face about what it was portraying. While most films like to allow the audience to figure out what is going on in the scene the editing seemed to use multiple shots of the same thing to drum the concept into the viewers head. For example, during a scene in Stefan’s bedroom you are faced with a computer error before the options are even given you are shown about three separate shots of his tea in his hand which just tell the audience that something is going to happen with the tea a little bit too much. Besides editing the cinematography throughout was great, I especially liked how accurate the images were to the era of the 80’s. From the big retro style computers to the clothes and décor of the rooms. 

Overall, I thought this film had a great concept behind its interactive style that tied nicely with its tv series. Mystery and strange plotlines are my sort of entertainment and this franchise of Black Mirror really gives your brain a run for its money.

 This documentary gave an insight into American films from different eras. It follows the discussion of different films from gangster, western and musical, all the way up to when illustration and animation began. Martin Scorsese discusses his personal take and opinion of the different genres as well as enlightening the audience into what it takes to become a director.  

At the start of the documentary, 1940’s films were discussed as the beginning of the film revolution. From the examples it was clear that the acting elements were very exaggerated and over the top, with less competition in the industry this was not an issue at this point. One thing

i learnt from this documentary was that the 50’s era was the kickstart of the cultural challenging films that would be considered offensive in modern day society.

Martin Scorsese consistently elaborates on the concept of mastering the film industry. He said to do this at the beginning of the film industry was to make the film stand out and to be original. Today that is proven difficult due to the broad range of films available already and the difficulty in creating the plot line that hasn’t already been made. On the top of this, as the separate genres expanded, each company (for example Warner Bros) would begin to make certain amounts of each genre to attract a wider audience and allow their industry to grow.  

After watching this documentary i can safely say that it has broadened my knowledge of film. Martin Scorsese discussed the fact of how difficult it is to become a successful producer/ director because in the early era of film, only one person would have a say over the film, whereas now there is a large group of people who have a say, making it hard to stand out as an individual even if it was your own idea in the beginning. 

 

This film has had both of negative and positive background of reviews and I must agree that this particular DC film is not the best when compared to other super hero films from this year. Like most DC action films, it seems rushed. The plot line wasn’t thought out as well as it could be and although at moments the film felt as though it was drawing you in, it also made me lose interest at many points. One key problem I feel with this film was the poor script.  Having Jason Momoa play the starring role of Aquaman was a great choice of casting however I felt that his talent was held back with the poor writing of dialog for him. Comedic element seemed to be thrown away just because they weren’t written in a way that made them funny. Having Momoa as Aquaman seemed to be the only thing pulling the script off. 

Moving away from the screenplay and looking more into the visuals of the film, one thing that made me feel torn about where the film stood in the rankings was it use of cinematography style and attention to details, especially underwater scenes. Throughout the film I felt that main efforts went in to the underwater moments. For example, the detailing behind Atlantis as a location as well as the movement and animation of the characters hair to help add to the effect of being underwater. Another element of the underwater moment that I felt enhanced the audiences experience was the added effect of distortion when the actors move to resemble the movement of the water past the camera. I will admit this effect could have possibly been subtler as to prevent it becoming more of a distraction however it did sometimes serve its purposes of making the audience feel more inside the movie.  

Overall as far as entertainment goes this film seemed to give it with its use of action scenes underwater and giant sea monsters fighting back. Not to mention, the much-needed romance of Aquaman’s parents that was used in the final scene to conclude the ending and symbolise the feud between land and sea being over. All of these both negative and positive points really make it difficult to decide on whether this film was ‘good’. I feel that when looking at the film for the entertainment’s aspects, it isn’t one that I would want to watch again. However, if you break it down to the creativity and detail that went into the cinematography and mise en scène, it could be classed as a film with admirable visuals.

This week showed the release of the highly anticipated Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse. After many Spider-Man based films this one stands out as different. Taking the inspiration and style of the original comic book, this film shows immense cinematography and animation skills not only showing one style of animation but several from different origins and era’s such as Japan and the old-style black and white comic, Spider-Noir. Despite my thoughts of the film not being able to combine the different animation well, the film used stylistic elements within their animation and cinematography of scenes which helped connect reality with a comic style animation. The main character, Miles Morales, was animated in such detail that he clearly resembled a realistic boy helping to create a more realistic and emotionally stimulating animated film. 

Looking further into the narrative and editing being this film, it’s clear that a lot of time and thought went into producing this film at such a high quality. The film starts with Miles Morales living an ordinary life before crossing paths with the Spider-Man of his universe. It soon becomes clear that Spider-Man from different realms are being pulled into one. As Miles meets each different Spider character the narrative then shows the story from their point of view. I personally felt that this constant repetition became rather predictable and boring by the third time of doing it. Despite the repetitive element the use of a nonlinear narrative and the editing of a comic book style flipping back through the pages to start from everyone’s own side of the story did create an original and visually stimulating look to the film which I give credit for. The film seemed to rely on its comedic elements to liven up the film at point that could be seen as dull, this did seem slightly forced however I will admit that many inside jokes made towards the old Spider-Man films did help create humour for the older generation who have seen the past films and read the Spider-Man comics. 

When looking into the ethnicity of the film and the link to the modern society it is clear that Sony were trying to create a wider perspective on Spider-Man and open the door to a more multi-cultural franchise by choosing the base Miles Morales around African Americans and get him to be the newest Spider-Man. The music choices through the film again helped to link to a more modern audience with music from Post Malone to Nikki Minaj featured in the film. 

Overall, I felt this film lived up to its anticipated release when it comes to cinematography and the editing style of the film. However, I do feel that the narrative for the film was rushed, predictable and repetitive at times leaving no elements of surprise and simply relying on the comedic elements to keep the audience listening. I wouldn’t watch this film again for its narrative, but I would definitely watch it to admire the editing and comic book inspired cinematography again. 

 

I decided to watch these two films after hearing about them during a discussion. Before I even watched the films, I listened to my peers describe it as strange, weird and disturbing. Despite the negative backlash, I felt the need to watch the film to see for myself. If we look at both films narrative it was, although seemingly strange and abnormal, interesting and drew me in. I felt that this was due to the constant juxtapositions between fishing and her issues.  These constant Comparisons allowed the audience to connect better and understand more of what Joe is attempting to explain, the narrative becomes much more relatable as a subject when compared to a common hobby that many viewers will be able to understand. The films together take the viewer through the life journey of Joe, a sex addict who explains her life style of sins to a new friend.  

The editing style of this film was in my opinion very engaging and in an original way. The film opens with Joe lying on the floor of an alleyway covered in blood and cuts. Shortly after she is approached by a man called Seligman who takes her into his apartment and helps her. Throughout the narrative Joe and Seligman are sat in a small apartment as Joe tells the events of her life as if it were a book. With the use of constant flashback to Joe’s past during each main event all the way up to the point where Seligman found her outside really keeps you drawn into the film and constantly wondering how she ended up passed out on the street floor where Seligman found her at the beginning. The jumpy edits between her flashbacks and the present day really enhanced the explanations behind Joe’s story. For example, every time a flashback ended it would be because Seligman had a question, this really helped me to understand what Joe was trying to show emotionally as Seligman made her points more relatable by comparing them to items in the room or hobbies of his own, more common to the viewer discretion. The editing style also used great focus pulls to enhance the story more towards Joe’s opinion and show things from her perspective, for example while in the hospital as her dad dies the film shows her dad in focus through her legs before shifting focus to her legs, revealing something disturbing. I felt this made the film feel more original. Instead of focusing on what seemed to be the important moment of the scene it created a strange and almost shocking turn that was not expected. 

One negative thing I would say about the film is the length. Both films follow on from each other to create a full story of how Joe ended up where she was, However, I felt this was dragged out too much. Some elements of the film seemed to be too long and rather than display more information to the viewer they just repeated elements that had already been shown before. Overall these two films had a good narrative concept behind them, and the editing style choice was good, but I feel that the script and cinematography could have been improved to become more to the point and more detailed/ stimulating for the viewers eye. 

Recently, Disney have been making sequels or remakes for their past films. This can be seen in my eyes as a way of making more money out of a dead movie however I still went to go and see what Wreck it Ralph 2 was all about. One reason I wanted to go and watch this film was down to the marketing and distribution of the film. Throughout the wait for the film’s release date, Disney produced many teasers and trailers to keep the audience intrigued and hype of the film. Within these trailers they included the humorous moments of the films that helped to draw in the older audience with glimpses of dark humour and adult jokes.  

Looking at the films positive elements I felt the main thing that kept this film interesting was the use of humour throughout the narrative. Adult jokes on top of the child friendly jokes I felt really helped to improve this film as they allowed the parents/ adults in the cinema to be entertained just as much as the children who the animation is seemingly aimed at. The narrative was simple throughout this film however the details and humour with in scenes such as the princess scene helped make the narrative more immersive by showing the internet from a game characters perspective. This simple concept of the internet not only made it an interesting film as it was original but also because it is a culturally relevant subject for both the younger generation as well and teens and parents. This wide range of relevance to target audiences really helps to bring this film towards a family genre as its whole story line and concept includes something for everyone in the family unit. As well as narrative the films overall animation style was above high quality with certain scenes showing immense detail and cinematography. For examples, the scene of multiple Ralphs helped to show the detail and time that went into the film as it was a new level of animation. Animating what seemed to be over one thousand Ralphs in every shot for an entire scene was something I would praise Pixar for within this film. This scene made me realise how much detail had gone into this film and helped to support the concept of the film’s animation being as high as every other Disney/Pixar branded film. When it comes to cinematography and detail in Disney’s/ Pixar’s animations, they don’t fail to impress the viewer every time. 

Despite all the amazing positives about this film, no film goes without mistakes or places for improvement. Personally, I felt that this film revealed too much of its concept within its trailers before its release. This really didn’t help when the full film was revealed as it took away from the narrative and made the film more predictable than it needed to be. On top of oversharing scenes, one of the main scenes that drew me in during the trailers wasn’t in the actual film but instead was used for a post credit scene. This was played on well by Pixar with a simple joke being made from it however it would have been nice to include it somewhere within the film.  The entire film throughout, although entertaining at some points, didn’t live up to the standard Pixar set in the marketing stage. I felt that the entire film was milking the franchise and if it wasn’t for the humorous moments, would feel like it was made purely for the company’s profit. 

Overall, I feel the film was good in cinematography standards and animation details however I feel that without the comedic moments and its original concept, it would have had a rather predictable and boring narrative to draw the audience in.

Throughout this short film, a hand held camera is used during the shots of the girl talking directly to the camera. By using both these techniques it allows the forth wall of the film to be broken down and in my opinion allows the audience to feel more connected with the girl, as though they are walking with her. Throughout the narrative the girl constantly talks about anything and everything she can. I felt that this helps develop the idea of her being constantly on edge and thinking about other elements of her life instead of living in the moment. All the speech in this short film was seemingly negative comments aimed towards her parents. By doing this I feel it allowed the audience to side more with the girl about how neglected she feels behind all the talking and although this isn’t shown during the narrative it is hinted at during the thought provoking pause as she stops to look in the canal, almost with a sense of fear amongst her.

Although I loved the message behind this short film and the way it was presented, one thing I would improve about this short film would be the ending. I loved all the shots being the same to reflect the idea of her life being boring. However, I felt that the ending could have been more elaborated with possibly more shots of the baby to let what had happened really sink in to the audience. The way she just continues her walk as though nothing happened, creates a sense of carelessness about the girl which I feel is something the film was trying to do however I feel to improve this concept I feel more focus on the baby before she is seen walking away would have more impact as a whole.

Overall, I really felt that this film creates a great message towards its audience through not only the presentation of the narrative and use of hand-held camera but also through the unseen ending leaving the audience in shock and questioning the girl’s life altogether.

Recently, I went to watch the hate you give for a second time. Throughout this film the stereotypes of African Americans are challenged in a way that covey’s emotion to the viewer. From the moment the film begins you are drawn into the life of Starr Carter and given a chance to connect with her instantly. After building this strong emotional attachment to Starr Carter the film starts its emotional journey of what it’s like to live in her shoes. While displaying the joyful elements of her life it allows you to be shocked when the horrific incidents around her life start to happen, seemingly just because of her skin Colour. This film helps to highlight the society of today and gives us a shocking insight into the normal lives of ‘Thugs’. The cinematography within this film really helped to enhance the narrative and emotion behind the story being told. I feel that after watching this film I have been left with a constant questioning of what society is like for other people like Starr.  

When looking at the editing style (by Craig Hayes, Alex Blatt), it is clear that this film is trying to connect with the modern audiences, constantly portraying the film through a modern eye from the perspective of a teenager. The framing and the scene transition where incredible. 

My overall favourite element of this film and why I felt it was so touching was how abrupt and to the point the narrative was. There was no build up to the disaster it was just a shock which I feel really helped the audience to feel for the characters and tug on their heartstrings. I think it’s safe to say this film is one I would love to keep watching.

The whole concept of marketing and distribution is to gather the interest of your target audience and draw them into the film you want them to watch. This is done through posters, merchandise and trailers. From the fonts chosen to represent a certain genre to the snappy slogans, all these marketing techniques are all used to capture a larger audience. One thing I have found recently is trailers especially on Netflix are more enticing than ever before. I found that these trailers entice me within a matter of seconds. But how? 

Looking into Netflix there has recently been a huge growth in the popularity of Netflix original films. Their trailers always drag me into wanting to watch the film as soon as I see it. One way this is done I feel is through the simplicity and the mystery behind the trailer. From the sources I have seen over the last few days I found that almost all the trailers from Netflix open with a nonlinear point leaving me immediately curious of what the film is about, and this could be one reason for the trailer being so great. On top of this the use of cinematography throughout their films in general follows a modern interpretation and always has a view point that is guaranteed to entice the audience. Despite all these positives, another reason that Netflix could have some of the most gripping trailers could be down to the fact that they will push them at you until you click on something to watch. Just by hovering over a film triggers the trailer and immediately forces you to watch the trailer if you don’t keep scrolling. This type of pressured advertisement along with the uncanny assembly of the trailers themselves can guarantee a large audience every time.

In this week’s lecture we were given the task of creating our own conspiracy short film. After watching some examples for inspiration, we began to research about the conspiracy we wanted to base our film on. During this lecture I found that to make a good conspiracy film you must create a biased side to the topic and overpowers another view by manipulating footage to resemble something that supports your theory. One of the examples we watched was about Facebook selling your information. I found that this example wasn’t the best. Although it did make a believable conspiracy and convinced me to consider their theory as true, I found that they made their points to literal. Throughout the film they kept repeating the same points that were already established to the audience within the first 30seconds allowing the audience to lose interest as they already knew the whole theory within the first part of the narrative. Taking this film into account while designing the layout for our conspiracy film we will make sure that the film creates more of a build-up to conspiracy to draw the audience in more. 

Another example that we watched was based on the death of John Lennon and how it was faked. I found this example helpful and I liked the way they built suspense and made the audience feel unnerved through their use of music. After watching this conspiracy, I was convinced that there could be some truth behind what they had to say about his death and their points were put across so clearly with supporting images and videos manipulated in a way to be perceived how they wanted really inspired me to create a convincing conspiracy in my team.