Friday, March 8, 2013

Difference between a mainstream and an independent film opening

Skyfall (2012)

Mainstream

Skyfall is a mainstream film, distributed by Columbia and MGM pictures, this means that the company overall for the film had a very large budget to work this, they also had many famous actors, and also they had the fact that the film is part of an already large and famous franchise. The titles for Skyfall contain a very large up budget scene where James Bond the male protagonist of the film falls off of a waterfall and is dragged to the bottom of a river by a large hand, this is obviously a special effects and to do this it costs a large amount of money, this is something that can happen in a film like Skyfall because it is mainstream. Also the titles in the opening of this film are very basic, which isn't rare for a mainstream film, but they still suit the genre and overall atmosphere that is put across in this film opening, however the whole of this opening contains a great deal of special effects and sequences which can only be achieved through having a great deal of money a technology, this is something independent companies wont have, but mainstream will, like the makers of Skyfall.

This is England (2006)


Independent

 This is England is an independent film distibuted by Optimum Releasing and produced by the studio Film 4, which is owned by Channel 4. The fact that this film is independent and produced  by an independent company like Film 4, which are well known for making indie films, with low budgets, means that overall the makers of the film wouldn't have much of a budget to work with when making the film. You can tell from the very start that the company have saved a very large amount of money by using old news clips and footage from the time instead of actually filming all of the events that are happening in the opening, this shows the audience that the company dont have a very big budget, but it also gives the film a very edgy, almost vintage look and this helps set the mood of the film and also helps the audience see what genre the film is. The titles used in the opening of the film are also very basic which is common of independent films, they are just simply white on a black background and they have a font which suits the genre of drama/crime film. The titles simply fade in from the clip and fade back out to the clip. No special effects are used in the opening as all the violence and events in the clips are from actual events.

Difference in the two openings


One of the main things that sets the two openings aside is the animation in the Skyfall opening and the lack of content and material in the This is England opening, the animation in the Skyfall opening is possible due to a large budget and the correct equitment, even if This is England didn't re-use old clips they wouldn't have been able to make an opening sequence like Skyfall because they don't have enough money and also it wouldn't suit the genre of the film. The picture on the left shows the difference in quality between a clip from Skyfall and a clip from This is England, the clip from Skyfall (top picture) shows a high quality animation of the main character, it is of good quality meaning it looks professional, however the picture on the bottom from This is England shows a piece of footage from London in the 1970's the fact that it is actual footage and not a recreations shows how the studio doesn't have a very large budget. Another thing which sets the openings apart is the fact  that Skyfall has a piece of music which was especially written and recorded for the film by the well known singer Adele, however This is England uses a piece of music which wasnt especially made for the film, this shows how the studio for Skyfall can afford to do something like make a personalied piece of music for their film. The overall finish and look of the openings are very different as well, Skyfall looks very crisp and well finished, it looks classy and very professional, where as This is England comes across as having a very rough, vintage finish, although both of these overall looks for the opening suit the genre, it also show how they are very different from one another.

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