Slumdog - Distribution

The distribution for 'Slumdog Millionaire' was feared by Warner Bros. to go straight on DVD as for doubts of the commercial value of the production. However, Danny Boyle used his ingenious streak to buy rights to a song, which - by word of mouth - turned into a smash hit in many countries. Boyle recalls it as an "incredible stroke of luck" as Fox Searchlight Pictures became acknowledged of this song and was persuaded to help distribute the film with Warner Bros.

The film was distributed with the help of the album - which included the hit track 'Jai Ho', as well as posters and trailers being regularly shown with the help of being a Channel Four/ Film Four production.

Slumdog millionaire had a limited release which is called an art-house release which is - after it had been out for a while it changed over to become a universal or mainstream release. This was due to the masses of people that watched it, which was unexpected from the production company themselves..

Slumdog Millionaire Marketing

The Poster

This was the main film poster for 'Slumdog Millionaire', it doesn't give away much of the plot, in fact the only information is given is the small question at the bottom of the image. The question is in the style of 'Who wants to be a millionaire' therefore people can relate to the poster and connect to their everyday lives. Moreover, this depicts the plot to the audience. The director is shown in bold letters, which will open up to appeal to another audience.

The colors of the poster are bright, loud colours, the writing in bold - 'feel good' - and the coloured paper falling over the actors, gives the imagery of a celebration and happiness - which juxtaposes the plot. However the celebration seen in the poster allows the

audience to understand the film isn't all serious and there may be a happy ending. Orange is known to be vibrant and full of energy, it has the calm cheerfulness of yellow and the aggression of red combined. The pink is obviously noted for it's connotation with romance (as it is a toned down passionate red, with the purity of white), however as it is a dull tone the connotation is changed and it is a description of a childhood, which is so important to the film. The background is completely white expressing purity, innocence and cleanliness, however it also keeps the image clear, and is used to keep the other objects and figures the most important.

The actress is portrayed in the arms of the male actor, and she is slightly turned towards him, showing her connection with him and maybe her dependence on him. The male (lead) is an English actor known for a television production (on channel four) of 'Skins' therefore the young population of United Kingdom will be able to relate to this actor and depicts another audience who will want to watch this film. Moreover, the way they're standing suggests a relationship, and the question at the bottom of the screen says 'Love' as an option; these suggestions conveys another genre of the film - Romance.

The layout of the poster is the main manipulation of how we see the film; the font and size of the film title are the biggest words shown on the poster. This draws attention to the film title, and the actors are shown first, for being the lead actors, and having the biggest roles in the film. They are young and hopeful - by the way they're standing looking up to the future, conveying a positive emotion on the audience, impacting the feeling of the film.

In contrast, Slumdog Millionaire released another poster. The impact is completely different. The layout is portrait, and the first thing to catch the eye is the 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire' styled question, which gives an insight to the film itself. The main colour is Black symbolising the dark, grim emotion throughout the film, the complete opposite to the white-washed previous poster. Colours are still used, however the colours are much darker, instead of pale, bright colours, the shades are much deeper reflecting on a flamboyant yet contrasted unsettling story. Here, even the title of the film is filled with colour; starting with a deep red - symbolising pain and fear, and ending with the simple yellow - creating an almost pure and lighter tone. This can portray the themes of the story as well as the layout of it.

The actors are still used, symbolising their necessary roles within the film, however the lighting and facial expression are different. The man is almost just a silhouette and the emotion pouring out of the expression is fear and worry. Red blazes his skin, and this colour can even mean death/pain or romance. In watching this film it conveys both pain and romance, showing it is a fitting colour to portray the film. The woman is placed in the opposite direction, meaning that she has either lost him or running away. She is contrasted with the darkness - the lighting is bright, making her look angelic and pure.

www.desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorsection/p/orange.htm

Foundation Portfolio

Seven

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

Made up of mainly extreme close-ups and close-ups, and hardly any

movement from the camera. Therefore, this effect makes the audience feel a sense of secr

ecy maybe reflecting the character we can hardly see in the shots.

Sound

The sound is very synthesized

and full of bass, which builds up with

unfamiliar sounds like rattles, squeeks and distant noise that sounds like human screams and suffering.

Editing

The editing is very fast and allows the audience to see a couple of seconds of the shot, this expresses disorientation to the audience, as nothing is ever completely s

een. Transparency and a variety of quick and erratic edits to simulate a film running thr

ough a projector.

Mise en Scene

The credits start with an open

book being flicked through, by hands blurred in the background, and throughout the credits books are continuously shown, from the hidden person

making one, to shots of shelves full of books, stressing that these books full of pain and graphic images are important to the persona and prehaps the film. There are graphic images of cutting his fingers and pictures of people in pain are conventions that reinforce to the audience that this will be a horror/thriller. There are words shown throughout the credits, almost every shot have words shown over the image, and/or words wrote in books, this also reinforces the persona may be obsessed/fascinated with languages, or (because of his precise cutting as well) an perfectionist within life.

Characters

The main character is hidden from the audience, apart from a few shot of his hands. However the opening sequence suggests that this character may be the murderer as he is surrounded by pain and death images and words. The way he acts in the credits also shows the persona as an obsessive person and enjoys collecting work involving pain and

deaths.

Locations

The location is hidden from the audience, mainly because so is the pers

ona, and this enforcement of being hidden suggests the theme of being so close, yet so far.

Narrative/Plot

From the credits, the plot is possible to be picked out. The audience can assume that this person could be the murderer, but will be involved in the plot somehow.

Themes

The theme of pain is shown from the various images of blood and cutting himself. moreover, an obsessive nature is reinforced from cutting in a precise strait line and holding every book made.

Visual Style

The visual style employed David Fincher in the opening of Seven, wa

s, at the time very original and unique. Fincher, incorporates a variety of techniques to

unsettle the viewer including rapid cuts, an emphasis on close-up and out of focus objects which, at the time, was very new and was the first of it’s type, this proved his visual technique as unique.

Genre

Investigation Thriller

Panic Room

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

The shots are various extreme shots, including high-angle and low-angle shots, focused around the

buildings of New York in the daytime. There are some shots that pan slowly revealing other areas of the city.

Sound

The music consists of string instruments at first, which builds up with the use of cymbals and deeper notes using the cello. The cymbals also introduce a ticking noise, almost like the sound of a clock, which could relate to the plot. The music is by the same person as in ‘Seven’ - Howard Shore, there is a difference between the two however, he as used his unique style in both.

Editing

The shots are cut at a slow pace depicting a relaxed t

one and feel. The font is layed within the shot, near buildings at angles which is a new style of credits within media and especially in horror, mainly because it juxtaposes conventions of a horror film.

Mise en Scene

The mise-en-scene includes various of buildings around a very large city, and the movement of people and cars show that the city is still working as normal. In one long shot a poster is seen closer-up then anything else, the picture is of a man and a woman hugging and smiling, contrasting with the genre and maybe giving the audience and insight into the plot. Another long shot shows the busy city at life, however on one of the buildings is a film/advert playing which says ‘Face Your Fears’, which again can give an insight, and therefore brings back some conventions of a horror.

Characters

There is no insight into characters in the film, infact even the plot is hard to pick out of it.

Locations

New York city in the daytime.

Narrative/Plot

The only thing which can be picked out of the credits about the plot, cold be that it is set in the busy streets of New York, which could suggest somethings about a persona’s way of life e.g. he may have a job in the city, street-wise ect.

Themes

The city brings on loads of themes, and since thats the main thing we can see inflicts that this important, themes of city include jobs, busy lives and the homeless. However the adverts bring themes of love and family which is important.

Visual Style

The way the credits are included in the sequence is different from nearly all other opening credits, just because of the style. However the sequence involve a range of shots which can attract an audience, and keeps their attention. Moreover, the extreme shots can add a sense of unfamilarity about the city, like we are uncovering something new.

Genre

The genre is more difficult to pick out, unlike ‘Seven’. The music and mise-en-scene of the adverts suggest uneasiness towards the city and therefore show that it could be a thriller film.

Zodiac

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

The credits consist of extreme close-ups, which can express a theme of the film - privacy

or an investigation of the killer/s. The movement is slow, using pans across the shots, it only moves in four angle throughout, and the shot never shows the whole object we are looking at, except a shot of a car.

Sound

The music is at a consistent pace which

quite slow and relaxing with a few random guitar notes to increase the pace and tone, which is used in psychological investigation movies. The music contradicts with the genre for being slow

, however it can also be read as a creepy, hypnotising effect.

Editing

The editing is smooth and a spotlight effect has been added into the first part of the titles, which adds to the secrecy of the film. The camera shots are much longer then in ‘Seven’ which slows the credits down, and allows the audience to see more images and words.

Mise en Scene

There are letters panned across/up the with writing ‘This is the Zodiac speaking...’ and ‘The murderer of...’ which tells the audience the murderer is called ‘Zodiac’. These shots move into movement across the letters, which show important facts and keywords of the letter, but still keeping the main part hidden. The letters are written in blue ink. Moreover there is a extreme-long shot of a New York cab under a street light which lasts more time then any other shot, so far seen, showing importance.

Characters

The audience learns about the murderer through the notes and letters shown throughout, the letters read that the murderer is called ‘Zodiac’.

Locations

There is only one location shown clearly in the whole sequence. The long take of the cab under a spotlight, shows the scenery of an empty street corner, with trees at the side. The fact it is a yellow cab and the streets have little nature, shows that it is set in a city. The letters shown after this shot write ‘I’m very upset with the people of San Fran Bay’, giving the audience a insight in the location.

Themes

The theme of investigation is shown through several letters with clues to the public of who the murderer is and other key news.

Visual Style

Zodiac and Seven are both directed by the same Director - David Fincher. Fincher has used this animation in the same way he has used the montage in ‘Seven’, which is keeping the key images and words hidden from the audience. This is why there is an amount of secrecy and investigation in both. However, the shots in ‘Zodiac’ are much longer then in ‘Seven’ letting the audience focus on images ad words.

Genre - Thriller

Hard Candy

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

The camera shot moves in slow movements to whatever position next. The shots are persistently at a medium-long length, straight on at the screen.

Sound

The non-diagetic music consists of the piano, playing a continuous tune, at a constant slow pace, working with the titles movement. The fact the music is slow, ad

ds a sense of ‘calm before the storm’ in the fact it is a sensual piece of music, however, it also conveys a disturbing tone to the film.

Editing

The editing feels continuous, as all the lines and movements flow from each shot without a mistake cut being made at the wrong place.

Mise en Scene

The only thing the camera is shown are red and black lines and shapes, with black font appearing within the shapes. The background is a strong, fixed, white colour. The colours are very monochrome, and the red could symbolise love and affection or - in juxtaposition – blood and death. The lines and movements move as if appearing to walk through a floor plan (doors opening, shapes of cupboards ect), this adds psychology into the credits, which is shown in the movie. The floor plan shows tht the thriller/murder is planned out well before it is taken place.

Locations and Narrative/Plot

There isn’t anything shown in the credits of this film, adding secrecy that gives away some of the plot. Secrecy and unknown facts is the reason drama is created.

Visual Style

The visual style is similar to Panic room, in the sense the credits are involved with the surroundings, and not a lot is given away by the credits, except two or three things, expected in a thriller film.

Genre

Psychological Thriller