What impact did the media institution Film4 have on each

production stage and why ?

San Dhinsa

Who are Film4?• Film4 is a company that helps support the

making of films financially and producing them. Their parent company is Channel 4 who also own e4. An advantage for the success of their films being owned by that parent company means Film 4 films will have more exposure because their parent company,Channel 4, has a high reputation for releasing fantastic material to their audience. Film 4 also have a great tie-in with the BFI Future Film Fund. The BFI Future Film Fund help aspiring film-makers develop their craft with the help of people form the industry.Film 4 help these young learners understand the processes they need to endure to create a full film i.e script writing and editing.Film 4 contribute to the Future Film Fund by helping them promote their work by showcasing them on the Film 4 channel.

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 ‘Fish Tank’ which follows the story of a teenage girl living in a council estate aspiring to become a street dancer but ends up falling for a man twice her age. Whilst planning my production , I knew that my production had to deal with such controversial themes to live up to Film4 ‘s expectations. 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 licence 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 staged like 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 Leonard 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 way 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 Production• Following 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, some films such as ‘Ill Manors’ used a camera phone for certain scenes to give the jaunty effect and to give the impression that alot of the scenes were done by a hand-held camera , giving the BSR film a much more realist context and feel. 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-start 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 is a popular setting for Film4 as it is the capital and held a busy atmosphere which helped 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

• I would also distribute my film on Film4oD. Film4oD is a simple way to stream movies online which follows the philosophy Film4 follow as they handpick the films they put on the streaming service. Customers will be a fan of Film4 films in particular which my film will be part of.

• An example of a great film that Film4 has had distributed was 127 hours. Danny Boyle's 127 Hours is the remarkable true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's struggle to save himself after a falling boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. 127 Hours stars James Franco as Aron Ralston and reunites the Academy Award winning director of 2008's Slumdog Millionaire with Academy Award winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and Academy Award winning producer Christian Colson. 127 Hours is a Pathe, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Film4 presentation in association with Warner Bros Pictures of a Cloud Eight/Decibel Films/Darlow Smithson production. 127 hours was promoted and distributed on a very low budget and had virtually no CGI yet is popular to this day. Although it was “macro in sale” , it was “epic in intensity” which I am hoping can be the same fate for my own production.

Distribution