129 of the greatest shots in movie history?

An interesting collection of stills from films via a BuzzFeed post, linked below.
Some wonderful images here.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/danieldalton/there-will-be-scrolling#.dka168LXe

The Business of Film Podcasts

These podcasts narrated by the brilliant Mark Kermode,  are an incredibly useful tool for AS Film Studies, as well as the Industry Analysis section of GCSE Film Studies controlled conditions work.

The link to the series is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/businessoffilm but I've also embedded them below for you to listen to.

Each episode is only around 30 mins in total and will be a really useful insight into the film industry. Some of the language can be really specific and assume that the listener already knows a lot about film, but these are a really enjoyable and informative listen and are highly recommended.


Episode 1: https://www.dropbox.com/s/x1xc97h0bqw1uhb/businessoffilm%20ep1.mp3?dl=0
Episode 2: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f5zzx1v9j3joj0s/businessoffilm%20ep2.mp3?dl=0
Episode 3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wnlhzagv03pp382/businessoffilm%20ep3.mp3?dl=0

New worldwide Box Office record for a calendar year.

2014 was a pretty year average year in terms of quality of films, but it was a spectacular one for 20th Century Fox who set a new record for earnings at the Box Office in a calendar year. 

Have a read of the link below for more. 

http://mashable.com/2015/01/05/fox-record-box-office-2014/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link

Royalty free soundtracks and sound effects

Try the following:

•http://www.freesoundtrackmusic.com/

•http://www.mobygratis.com/film-music.html 

•http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/ 

•http://ccmixter.org/ 

•http://www.beatpick.com/player/index

BFI Statistical Yearbook for 203 & homework reminder

Homework for Friday 16th January

1. Read the Guardian Box Office report again
2. Access the BFI Statistical Yearbook for 2013 below and read chapter 2.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-statistical-yearbook-2013.pdf

3. Give a written explanation as to what the 5 most successful films of 2012 were and, in your opinon, why each one was so successful.

Making a film with no money.

Making a film on a very limited budget is not only part of our Media and Film courses in school, but is how many famous Directors developed their craft and their honed their skills. Without a budget you have to be innovative, smart and resourceful. There are limitless possibilities when it comes to making a film with no budget and the useful website Raindance providing 10 tips for Filmmakers working with no money.

10 Zero Budget Filmmaking tips

GCSE Paper 1 Practice: Superhero films

Below you will find copies of the Practice Exam Paper that we looked at in class.

The clip you need for questions 1 and 2 can be found on the link above the exam paper.
Remember: you can only watch it 3 times when answering questions 1 and 2 and when answering, you CANNOT watch the clip. Obviously, I can't control that here, but it's excellent practice for the exam to follow these instructions.

There is also a resource for Question 3 to be used as well.

Film Extract for questions 1 and 2

How NOT to make a film: The curious case of World War Z

Below is a link a fantastic article by Vanity Fair on Zombie-apocolypse film World War Z which is just about to be released in the UK. Based on a book of the same name, this $200million Blockbuster was originally to be released 6 months ago and despite Brad Pitt starring and producing, seems to be headed for an uncertian performance at the Box Office. Vanity Fair recently published the story of how the rights to adapt such a highly regarded book (Simon Pegg said that it's "An absolute must have ... Brooks [the author] infuses his writing with such precise detail and authenticity, one wonders if he knows something we don't') into a film went so wrong and so quickly.


There is some wonderful insight here and would be a great case study and example for AS Students studying Hollywood, the film industry and the pre and post-production issues that can beset a film.


This is well worth a few minutes of your time and worth bookmarking for later use.

Vanity Fair: The Making of World War Z