29 November 2012

Film Institutions: Enigma Entertainment


Enigma Entertainment was founded in October 2012 by myself, Philip Smith, and my associate Nicholas Ashurst. It is currently comprsied of two sub divisons - Enigma Theatre and Enigma Cinema - which are, together, a re-branding of the now-defunt ASP TV and its subsidaries Colossus Pictures and Spartan Enterainment, which were responsible for the critically acclaimed France 24 and The Piano in the cinematic department, as well as Love, Lies & Venice,and the recent The Nero Complex as performed in the Therfield Drama Studio.

Enigma Cinema is a production company that specialises in virtually no-budget blockbuster epics, with our debut feature the hugely successful Preliminary Task which has accumulated over 200 views on YouTube within a fortnight.

Our upcoming project is the feature-length motion picture Sins Of The Martyr (Release Date 2013 TBA), which aims to revolutionise cinema. An exclusive prologue will be released early 2013 to generate interest and hype.

27 November 2012

Film Institutions: The Mini-Major Movie Studios

Dreamworks Animation
A sub-division of the Steven Spielberg founded Dreamworks Inc., it has grown to be more financially successful, with such franchises as Shrek and Madagascar.





Lionsgate Entertainment
The most successful independent film distribution company, it is known for The Hunger Games as well as a number of horror remakes.



Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Known predominately nowadays for the James Bond franchise, this film studio has been around for a long time but has experienced some financial turmoil in recent years




Relativity Media
In recent years, the film division of this studio has released a number of critically and commercially successful films such as Bridesmaids and The Social Network, but generally is a rather low-key film studio.


The Weinstein Company

Formed by the Weinstein Brothers following their departure from Miramax, this relatively new film studio tends to finance films that look to do well at the Academy Awards.


Film Institutions: The Major Movie Studios: 20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox (News Corp.)


File:Life of Pi 2012 Poster.jpg
Fox December release
"Life Of Pi"
20th Century Fox, founded in 1935, is iconic both for its recognizable insignia and association with many major blockbuster film properties such as Star Wars, Alien and the most successful movie of all time Avatar.

One of, if not the most powerful film studio, they produce and distribute films across all kinds of genres. Fox Searchlight Pictures is the name given to the art-house label of the studio, which also releases a number of British films.

Film Institutions: The Major Movie Studios: Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures (Comcast)


Universal January release
"Les Miserables"
Formed in 1912, Universal Pictures is one of the longest lived motion picture studios to be located outside of Hollywood. Today it is a division of conglomerate NBCUniversal, and is responsible for a wide range of films, such as the Back To The Future and Bourne franchises.

Universal's subdivisons include Focus Features, the arthouse and world cinema production company and distributor, and Working Title Films, a British production company famous for comedies such as those of directors Richard Curtis and Edgar Wright.

Film Institutions: The Major Movie Studios: Walt Disney Pictures


Walt Disney Pictures (Disney)


Disney February release
"Wreck-It Ralph" 
Walt Disney Pictures, formed in 1928, has been one of the most well-renowned and successful movie studios, due to their films' mass appeal. The company has released films targeted towards family audiences, of both live action and animation. Touchstone Pictures is an imprint of Walt Disney Pictures that typically releases more adult and darker-orientated movies, while Pixar Animation Studios is known for critically and commercially successful releases such as Toy Story and Up.

Acquisitions in recent years include Marvel Studios, which led to the hugely lucrative The Avengers, and LucasFilm, responsible for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, allowing Disney to pursue future installments.

Film Institutions: The Major Movie Studios: Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures (Sony) 


Django-Unchained-Poster
Columbia January release
"Django Unchained"
Columbia Pictures was formed in 1918, and today is now currently under the operation of Sony Pictures Entertainment, who still primarily distribute their films under the Columbia label. It began as a minor player in Hollywood, but today has been very successful, with lucrative properties such as Spider-Man and the recent installments of the James Bond series.

Sony Pictures Classics operates as a sub-division that distributes lower-budget films, such as those of director Woody Allen.

Film Institutions: The Major Movie Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures

  Warner Bros. Pictures (Time Warner)


Warner December release
"The Hobbit:
An Unexpected Journey"
Warner Bros. Pictures was formed by the four Warner brothers, who had already established a previous distribution company, in 1923. It was a leading studio throughout the twentieth century, pioneering 'talkie movies', while also being responsible for the Looney Tunes animations. In recent years, Warner Bros.'s most successful film properties have been the Harry Potter series and The Dark Knight Trilogy of films.

New Line Cinema was recently merged into Warner Bros, after previously being a subsidiary. It is most well-known for the successful "The Lord Of The Rings" trilogy of films.

Film Institutions: The Major Movie Studios: Paramount Pictures

 

Paramount Pictures (Viacom)


Paramount May release
"Star Trek Into Darkness"
Paramount Pictures was founded in 1912 and is the fourth oldest existing film studio in the world and consistently ranked as one of the highest grossing.
 
They are known for a variety of films across all genres, in recent years being responsible for leading sci-fi franchises such as "Transformers" and "Star Trek", while also releasing numerous action films and comedies. It is now the last movie studio still based in Hollywood itself.
 
Paramount Vantage is the sub-division of the studio that is responsible for more low-key affairs, such as indie drama and documentaries.

23 November 2012

Location Scouting: Farnham - Waverley Abbey

Location scouting for this location was actually done a long while back, exclusively by my colleague, Nicholas. The thought of using this location had actually been an idea of his for a while. You can see why in the pictures below:




21 November 2012

Location Scouting: Brighton - The Pavilion





Location Scouting: Brighton - The Pier

During my excursion to the seaside town of Brighton on the 20th and the 21st of November, as part of my Geography course, I spent some time taking photographs of various locations around the area, as we thought Brighton would be an interesting locale that would contrast with London.

An iconic location in Brighton is, of course, the Pier.






19 November 2012

Video Diary: Location Scouting | London - St. Dunstan-in-the-East

Here's the second of our video diaries, detailing our location scouting in London this past weekend.

 

Video Diary: Location Scouting | London - Trafalgar Square

I have edited together some short video production diaries, chronicling our visit to London and the many locations we hope to feature in our film.

Watch our first video diary below:

11 November 2012

Film Classification: Our Intended Rating


In production of a feature film, it is crucial in understanding the target audience the movie is aimed for. As can be seen in my post regarding our target audience for "Sins Of The Martyr", we have decided to go for a young adult and older demographic. Thus, if our full film is to be classified by the British Board Of Film Classification (it won't) it would likely receive a 12A/15 rating, which would be reflected in the nature and content of the movie.


As we have decided to make an action thriller, you can of course except some violence and intensity. Some profanity may also be uttered, in keeping with the hard nature of the proceedings, and sex or nudity could make an appearance. However, the sequence that opens the film is unlikely to feature a great deal of the latter due to the location and confidence of our actors, but there is the likelihood of blood and perhaps a swear word. Therefore it is more probable that the opening sequence would be classified a 12A than a 15, as films such as "Skyfall" and "The Bourne Legacy" have gotten away with more than we expect will be seen in our finished product.

Typically, films that receive lower classifications do more successfully at the box office due to reaching a wider audience. However, this is not something that we took into consideration when deciding upon the content of the movie, it was a rather a creative choice not to go too overboard with our ideas. We also do not want to alienate older audiences, our intended demographic, with the stigma of having a 12A rating, so a 15 would be preferable in order to draw the right audience. An example of the downsides of attracting younger audiences is for instance, during a showing of "The Woman In Black", a horror film, mind you, there was a high percentage of pre-pubescent young girls in the auditorium, a fact that I found highly distracting to my enjoyment of the film. Much like with Daniel Radcliffe in that movie, our production has a strong cast of highly attractive strapping young men to lure this particular young female demographic to the cinema.

If we feel, during filming or in post-production, that "Sins Of The Martyr" could strongly benefit from an increased level of intensity we will make arrangements to change the content in order to reach a higher classification. Till then, however, we are content with aiming for a 12A or a 15.