Costumes

Jims clothing represents and emphasises the fact that he is lazy and doesn’t really care about his own self-image or hygiene. When Jim first appears in the film he gets out of bed and puts on an old t-shirt that we can assume he will continue to wear for the duration of the day as he is next shown settling down on the settee playing computer games

Craig is smart, clever and active. When we first see him he is almost ready to set off to college, he is dressed in a t-shirt, coat, jeans and trainers carrying a college bag

The solicitor is shown as being typically smart and well presented, he wears a shirt, suit trousers and a tie

Props

Empty alcohol bottles and beer cans

Mobile phone

Kettle and mug

Posters

Passport
Buspass
Games console
Desk equiptment

Example of opening credits

The opening credits on our film need to be of a high standard. We have looked at the opening credits on the film step brothers for ideas. The first title you see is the name of the distribution company. Below is a screen shot.
You then see a number of production companies that have been used to make the film. Below are some screen shots.




You then see the title of the creator of the film, this being Adam Mckay. Adam Mckay directed the film, produced the film, did the screen play in the film and came up with the story of the film. Here is a screen shot.


The next titles that appear are the names of the actors. As you can see from the screen shot below, the credits are no longer just white text on a black background. They are now on top of the film.


The next three screen shots are casting by Allison Jones, costume designer Susan Matheson and music supervision by Hal Willner.



The titles fade out before the next title comes on. While the titles are white text on a black background there is some diagetic sound, this then matches up with the film. There is then a soundtrack that plays over the opening titles, this soundtrack is upbeat and has a happy feel to it. When the characters are talking in the title sequence the soundtrack gets quieter so that the audience can hear the dialog.
Below is a link to the opening title sequence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sczh_KjjFNU

Script

Film Distribution

A film distributor is responsible for releasing the film and making it available for the public to watch at the cinema or buy on DVD or Bluray. In order to achieve this they are responsible for posters, newspaper advertisements, magazine advertisements and trailers to be shown at the cinema and on television.

Large distribution companies, such as Columbia Pictures often have a much larger budget to spend on advertising a film because they are so well known and part of massive media conglomerates.

The comedy film, Step Brothers had a budget of $65,000,000 (roughly £40,800,000) and was distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Four Lions had a budget of £2.5 million and was distributed by Optimum Releasing.

Other comedy films Optimum Releasing has distributed: A Town Called Panic and Cockneys Vs Zombies

Other comedy films Columbia Pictures has distributed: Grown Ups, Zombie Land, Pineapple Express, Hancock, Don’t mess with the Zohan, Super Bad, White Chicks

I would suggest that our film be distributed by Optimum Releasing because the company is known for working with low budget comedy films.

Character Profile: Jim Phillips

Name: Jim Phillips

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Occupation: Unemployed

Character Traits:

No ambition in life, lazy, smokes all day, unemployed, popular, drinks and parties to excess. He wears old dirty clothes and rarely showers

Function in Narrative:

Spends all his time drinking and out with his friends until he gets a phone call stating that his twin brother, Craig has been left a significant amount of money by his late uncle Norman. He poses as his brother to acquire the money for himself.

Character Profile: Craig Phillips

Name: Craig Phillips
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Occupation: College Student

Character Traits:
He is hard working, smart, and presentable and had a steady job. He spends the majority of his free time studying and sorting out his brother’s mess

Function in Narrative:
He is the complete opposite of his brother; this helps to highlight all the negative aspects of Jim making him more humorous to the audience

Treatment for Full Film

Treatment

Film Title:
Thank you Uncle Norman

Duration:
100 minutes

Target Audience:
As we have chosen the classification of our film to be 15, our target audience is predominately made up of 15-24 year olds, although we expect to be able to attract viewers of up to 30 years old.

Synopsis:
Jim Phillips is 19 years old, unemployed and a party goer. With no aim in life he makes through each day playing games and going out drinking with mates. All this is broken however when he receives a phone call from a solicitor claiming his Uncle Norman has left his brother Craig £5 million and to tell the "lazy" brother how he doesn't get any.
Jim decides to impersonate Craig and claim the £5 million for himself, going to the solicitors giving his details and aquiring the whole amount with no questions asked. After getting the whole amount into his bank account, he travels to Amsterdam with a group of his best friends and they spend the money there, getting into all sorts of trouble like getting put into jail and meeting all types of people.
Craig finds out about Jim stealing his money and travels to Amsterdam himself to confront him, however when he gets there he learns that there's no money left and they both go back home, with Jim deciding to work hard to get a taste of the rich life again.

Suggested Elements:
The film is a comedy and one of the suggested elements is humour, however we intend to incorporate some drama into the film. When Jim goes to Amsterdam, there will be some scenes of him using drugs, as although seen as illegal in the UK it is legal there.
Another element which will be in the film will be how the main character is impersonating a person and how the brother gets caught up in it due to his antics.
Friendship will also be an element in the film, as he travels to Amsterdam with his friends and spends the money with them.

Treatment

Film title:
Thank you Uncle Norman

Duration:
100 minutes

Target audience:
We have classed our film as a certificate 15. Our film will be aimed at 15-30 year olds, male and female.

Synopsis:
Craig has been out the night before and is laid in his bed surrounded by beer cans, takeaways, empty bottles etc. He gets awoken by his younger brother Jim, playing music. He stumbles down the stairs with his duvet. He gets laid on the sofa downstairs and puts the television on. his younger brother comes into the room and has a conversation with him and then leaves the house. This is when Craig receives a phone call from a family member who tells him that his Uncle Norman has died and left their family 15 million pound."

Suggested elements:
As the film is a comedy, one of the suggested elements is the humour. The humour comes from the situations that the main character finds himself in and his attitude. You could relate him to Frank Gallagher from the TV series Shameless. He doesn't work or go to college, he is on the dole and he likes a good drink.

15 Certificate

Suitable only for 15 years and over

No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest  terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely  to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

Genre

Comedy

Slapstick-
Slapstick is a type of comedy that involves exaggerated violence and activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense. It will often add exaggerated sound effects to emphasize the violence. An early example of a t.v programme that has slapstick humour is Tom and Jerry. An example of a t.v programme that has slapstick humour, that isn't a cartoon, is Bottom. Here is a clip of Bottom.



An example of a film that has slapstick humour is Shaun of the dead. Below is a clip.



Satire-
Satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon. A common feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm. Parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve the very things the satirist wishes to attack.
An example of a film which uses Satire is Four lions. Below is a clip.



Character- Character comedy is a method used by some comedians. In character comedy the comedian performs as though he was a character created by themselves. A good deal of comedians have achieved fame from character comedy. Examples are, Kayvan Novak who plays the characters in Facejacker, Sacha Baron Cohen plays Borat, Bruno and Ali G and Rowan Atkinson who plays Mr.Bean. Below is a clip of Sacha Baron Cohen playing Borat.


Cringe-
Cringe comedy is a comedy genre that uses offensive or vulgar material or awkward and embarrassing situations to cause audiences to be repulsed or feel uneasy. The audience will often laugh out of nervousness. Comedians who rely on this style of humor are often described as controversial; however, it is a burgeoning field of comedy, and has been popularized by comedians such as Ricky Gervais and Jim Norton. Below is a clip of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, this film is considered to be a masterpiece of the genre.