Case Study

Knives Out

History/ Target Audience

Knives Out is a Mystery Film created by a company called T street and was released by Lionsgate Entertainment (Mini Major). The company was founded in 2019 and is led by Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman. The target audience of this film is for teenagers and adults who loves to solve puzzles and find who the culprit is to a case. 

Production

The budget for Knives Out is $40 million. Johnson came up with the idea of creating the movie in 2005. The movie was filmed in Massachusetts; the towns and cities included were Boston, Berlin, Easton, Marlborough, Natick, Wellesley, Maynard, Waltham, and Medfield. The actors that were casted in the film were Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer. 

Distribution

Knives Out had a standard release. The movie was released in The movie was premiered on September 7, 2019 at Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theaters on November 27, 2019. Later is was distributed to streaming services like Apple TV, Vudu, and Amazon Prime Video. 

Marketing

The selling point of Knives Out was its likeable characters and its director who directed Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi. The movie was marketed through posters, trailers, special screenings/ primers and festivals/ awards. The movie was able to gross $311.4 million worldwide. 

Cross media convergence and synergy

When it comes to working with other companies T street has yet to entail any other company in their films

Update: Recently Netflix has agreed to pay $469 million for the rights to two sequels 

Script Example 

Sources used to help with my Case Study 

https://time.com/5739679/knives-out-rian-johnson-making-of/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knives_Out

https://www.slideshare.net/robertclackmedia/productiondistributionexhibition-an-intro-final-for-media

Genre Im Doing

 

Basic Genre Conventions of Mystery 

Mise en Scene

Lighting: The lighting for crime films is mostly naturalistic. Usually low key lighting.
Character: The hero is usually a super smart private detective or persistent policemen. There is normally a very mysterious villain whose face is rarely seen and whose identity is only revealed at the end of the film.
Props: Murder outline; magnifying glass; police tape; police uniform; murder weapon; cars; torch; glasses; guns; blood; evidence.

Narrative Structure

Most Mystery films follow a common structure. The Hero is going about their day to day life. Then a crime is committed or someone is found dead. The hero either hears about the crime or is approached by a source and sets off to solve the mystery. The hero will then go out of his/her way to catch the criminal. A few more people then die as the film progresses. The villain normally makes slight mistakes that the Hero picks up on. The criminal is always caught.

Cinematography

Close up shots are used to show peoples fear when they discover a dead body or their anger when their most prized possession has been stolen.
High and low angles to either show a potential murder victim as vulnerable and weak or to show the killer as strong and in control.

Setting

They can be set in countryside towns with a low population and miles away from a city.
Good settings for mystery films can be: police stations, big cities forests, city streets, forensic labs, hospitals, docks, lakes, fields.

Sound
Fast paced music is used when the Hero is chasing a suspect. This creates tension as the audience doesn't know if he will get away or not.

Audience

Usually for people who loves a challenge; determine who is the murder in the film 

Music Video Project

Choosing an Editing Software

Openshot

Pros 

• ability to lay multiple tracks (both audio and video)

• ability to strip or mute audio and natural sounds from video 

Cons

• not able to be accessed anywhere  

• not able to collaborate with others 

Clipchamp

Pros 

•  Works in-browser

• ability to lay multiple tracks (both audio and video)

• ability to strip or mute audio and natural sounds from video 

• ability to collaborate with other users 

Cons

• Some features still coming

Kapwing 

Pros 

• Works in-browser

• ability to lay multiple tracks (both audio and video)

• ability to strip or mute audio and natural sounds from video 

Cons

• not able to work with others 

Summary - While evaluating each of these editing software's i came to the conclusion that I'm going to be using clipchamp. Each of these software's are good but each has their own problem. Openshot, its not able to be accessed anywhere and I'm not able to collaborate with others. Clipchamp, some of the features are still coming. Kapwing, I'm not able to collaborate with others. With all the softwares I have the ability to lay multiple tracks (both audio and video) and ability to strip or mute audio and natural sounds from video. Except for openshot, all these softwares work in a web browser. The reason I chose clipchamp because other people are able to edit my videos if I add them to my team. 

Research of Film Openings

Definition 

Opening Shots are used to convey the films main ideas, premises, or character arch's 

Common Conventions used in Film Openings

1. Introduce the protagonist main traits and skills 

2. Introduce the world

3. Offer the audience a before and after picture to compare to 

4. Tense and Suspenseful 

5. A surprise or plot twist 

6. Set the tone and genre of the film 

Main Features of a Film Opening 

1. Establish Setting 

2. Mise-en-Scene

3. Representing the Genre 

4. Cinematography 

Key Characteristics of Film Openings

1. Theme

2. Tone 

3. Main Characters 

4. Backstory 

What to do when creating an Opening Scene

1. Introduce the protagonist as soon as possible 

2. Communicate the genre 

3. Create conflict immediately

4. The first scene needs to contrast the beginning of the second scene in some way 

Different Types of Film Openings

1. Flashbacks

2. Flash Forwards

3. Dreams

4. Metaphors 

5. Bookends

6. Red Herrings

7. MacGuffins

8. Final Takeaways

Methods used in Film Openings 

1. Enter the Villain

2. Enter the Hero

3. Establish Relationships

4. Plot Catalyst

5. Follow Genre

6. Flip Genre 

Cinematography

 What is Cinematography?

Cinematography is different techniques used to connect the viewer to the story 

List of some Shot Types used in films 

1. close up - frames an actors face 

• expresses an significant emotion
• identifies a moment of extreme importance in the story

2. pov shot - viewer sees in the characters perspective 

• understand the characters feelings and action

3. establishing shot - shows the setting of a scene while showing the subject from a distance 

• connects characters physical and emotional relationship to the environment 

List of some Angles used in films

1. high angle shot - looking down at the subject at an angle 

• used to show weakness in a character and a lack of importance 

2. eye level shot - looking straight at the subject 

• gives the audience a sense of realism 

3. low angle shot - shot at a low angle from a subject that fills a big space of the screen 

• shows importance 

List of Movements used in films 

1. tracking - camera follows the subject

• used to make you feel what the character feels 

2. panning - camera moves horizontally ( left to right) 

• used to make you feel what the character feels 

3. hand held - used so the audience could feel like their experiencing it 

• creates anxiety 

Example of different Angles 

Genre Research

What is Genre?

Genre structures peoples ways of seeing the world

Genre films are shared by its subjects or themes: its defined by the distinctive emotional effect. 

4 steps taken to understand Genre

1. Define Genre 

•  you find out what makes that Genre

2. Analyze Genre

• look for the conventions used
• To filmmakers conventions are materials they work with while to the audience conventions shape their expectations 

3. Genre History

•  look for its origin and find out how it developed throughout history 

4. Social Function of a Genre 

• find out how it impacts the audience 

Example of finding the Social Function of a Genre

Basic Genre Conventions of Mystery 

Mise en Scene
Lighting: The lighting for crime films is mostly naturalistic. Usually low key lighting.
Character: The hero is usually a super smart private detective or persistent policemen. There is normally a very mysterious villain whose face is rarely seen and whose identity is only revealed at the end of the film.
Props: Murder outline; magnifying glass; police tape; police uniform; murder weapon; cars; torch; glasses; guns; blood; evidence.

Narrative Structure
Most Mystery films follow a common structure. The Hero is going about their day to day life. Then a crime is committed or someone is found dead. The hero either hears about the crime or is approached by a source and sets off to solve the mystery. The hero will then go out of his/her way to catch the criminal. A few more people then die as the film progresses. The villain normally makes slight mistakes that the Hero picks up on. The criminal is always caught.

Cinematography
Close up shots are used to show peoples fear when they discover a dead body or their anger when their most prized possession has been stolen.
High and low angles to either show a potential murder victim as vulnerable and weak or to show the killer as strong and in control.

Setting
They can be set in countryside towns with a low population and miles away from a city.
Good settings for mystery films can be: police stations, big cities forests, city streets, forensic labs, hospitals, docks, lakes, fields.

Sound
Fast paced music is used when the Hero is chasing a suspect. This creates tension as the audience doesn't know if he will get away or not.

Audience
Usually for people who loves a challenge; determine who is the murder in the film