Eval 3 final

Impact during pre-production• Film4 had a big impact during pre-production because they were the institution I was working

for. Whilst planning my production , I considered past films that Film4 had released.Film4 are known for releasing controversial films such as ‘12 years a slave’ which follows a free black man from upstate New York, who is abducted and sold into slavery. Whilst planning my production, I knew that my production had to deal with such controversial themes to live up to Film4’s expecations.Film4 exemplify their need to showcase realist films as they have a wide audience associated with their kitchen sink drama. Part of Film4’s ethos is to produce “ten to twelve feature films a year with a mix of license fee and equity and all almost our films are co-financed with other financing” . Film4 , in general , have a low budget with the films they released as they tend to steer towards realism rather than Hollywood. This means that my production had to be on the cheap side because I had to consider their funding so I was to make sure the mise-en-scene was real rather than stayed liked Hollywood films.

• Whilst looking at Film4 BSR films, I noticed that they used un-known actors and just ordinary people with little or no acting experience , this ensured realism because using popular actors such as Leonardo Dicaprio would make BSR films look more staged rather than real , so I had to make sure the actors I would be using were not well known but rather just typical people who could display the everyday situations. I also noticed the directors working for Film4 used the camera. Films such as ‘The Selfish Giant’ had many long shots which is something I needed to include in my own production because it would further show the British mundane setting.

Impact during productionFollowing their impact during my planning , Film4 also impacted my production also. I had to keep within the budget and had to put my ideas to work as I began to film my opening sequence.Film4 use average cameras to film BSR films , for example , a camera phone can be used for certain scenes to give a jaunty effect and to give the impression that a lot of scenes are done by a hand-held camera. This in turn gives the film a much more realist context and feel. For my own production I used the camera my school provided which was easy to use. I also used the tripod to help me move the camera for tilts and pans.

Keeping to the realism stated in Film4’s ethos, I stayed away from foley sounds as I wanted my footage to be 100% natural and not tampered with, making it authentic and fully representative of its themes.

Considering the type of actors used in Film4 , I made sure my actors were undiscovered which I had originally planned. Film 4 believe in “enhancing the British film industry by nurturing and funding new talent” , therefore , these undiscovered actors can kick-star their career in small budget productions prior to their future commitments. Once I had my actors and shooting script ready , I filmed my production in London which a popular setting for Film4 as it is the capital city and holds a busy atmosphere which helps connote the theme of commuting and working in such a busy place. London was a great place to film because it was gritty and followed the mise-en-scene in BSR films.

• My film , ‘Pushing Buttons’ is targeted towards a British audience aged 18-24 , therefore , my film will be distributed around Britain and will not be shown worldwide. The location is set in Canary Wharf, London , so culturally , my film will interest those more within England/London rather than someone in another country because they are more likely to find personal identity within a British film rather than someone abroad. As my film is a low-budget film , I will not be showing my production in big cinemas , instead it will be shown in small art house cinemas such as the ones in Stratford and Hackney. Curzon is an example of an independent cinema that distributes controversial films such as ‘Keep The Lights On’ which focuses on the taboo of sexual dysfunction , therefore my film would be great to show here as my film deals with similar themes such as sexual harassment in the work place which is something not spoken about often and fits the criteria of a controversial theme. These smaller cinemas are known to show independent films , therefore , I can ensure the right audience will watch my production as they will be looking for these types of film in particular due to Curzon’s reputation. My film will also sell DVD copies in local stores such as HMV.

• To promote my film , I would post about it on social media websites that I would expect my target audience to use such as twitter and use the process word of mouth to help spread my film, this is a low-budget way of marketing as Film4 tend to use a low budget.

Distribution