Age Ratings

There are five different age ratings for films in the UK, these are...

= ''Suitable for All''.

A 'U' film should be suitable for audiences ages four years or older. 'U' films should be set within a positive moral and the film should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.

= ''General Viewing''

Some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A 'PG' film should not disturb a child ages around eight or older. Parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger children.

Both symbols mean the same thing, the material is only suitable for those aged 12 and over. Works classified as these may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them. The 12A category exists only for cinema films, nobody younger than 12 may see a 12A film unless accompanied by an adult. An adult may take a younger child if they feel that it will be suitable for them.

The 12 symbol exists only for video works.

The above symbol means that no persons younger than 15 can see or rent this film.

The above symbol means that no persons younger than 18 can see or rent this film.

Devotion

I have done some research into our film inspirations and have discovered that the film age rating was mainly U with some being PG and 12a for mild swearing and scenes of a sexual nature.

• Emma = U
• Pride & Prejudice = U
• Sense and Sensibility = U
• A Room with a View = PG
• Becoming Jane = PG
• The Duchess = 12a

The rating for our film we have decided will be a U. We decided this because we feel the film we are creating has no offensive or suggesting scenes which will not offend children and will be suitable for everybody for enjoy.

Costume

Maid

    
The maid's costume looks simple and plain. This is to suggest her status within society. Her costume consists of a plain white t-shirt, a dark brown apron, a brown skirt, and a mop hat.

Elizabeth's costume needed to portray her higher class. We dressed her in a black dress, with a white, decorative lace collar, which was joined with a black jewel. The sleeves had lace cuffs to add a more expensive feel to the costume.  

Billy



Billy's costume will consist of black trousers, a white, regency styled shirt, and a brown waistcoat. We have decided to use brown colours, to show his background as a farm boy, and to imply warmth and the safety of home for Elizabeth. We decided that this brown waistcoat would suit the period of the film more. We wanted to imply Billy's farm background, but we also wanted to suggest that he is continually trying to impress Elizabeth throughout the film. 

Character Development

Billy Walters Played by Ash Coombs

Age: 19

Billy is a young boy who comes from a poor background, living with his aunt and uncle on a farm as his mother and father tragically died just after he was born. He falls in love with Elizabeth, and continues to write letters to her throughout the film. She does not reply to any of his letters. As an audience we know that the maid and Elizabeth's husband are keeping all the letters from her. However, Billy cannot understand why she will not reply, and his constant paranoia will change him as a person.

Costume: He has light brown hair, that is scruffy and out of place. He will wear a white baggy shirt, with a working, brown jacket. This colour is a warm, country colour, and will emphasis the fact the characters background. He will wear riding boots and trousers, which would have been the correct equipment to use whilst riding a horse.

Elizabeth Harding Played by Nicola Tee

Age: 18

Elizabeth is a young woman who comes from a middle-class family but lives with Philip Jeffories in his manor house. She is training to be a primary school-teacher and enjoys charity work. She is forced into getting engaged to Philip Jeffories by her parents even though she is in love with Billy Walters. 

Costume: Elizabeth has long dark blonde hair normally left down and wavy. She typically wears a black day-dress with a white collar and plain black pumps.

Maid Played by Jess Oxley

Age: 17

Role in Film: Billy delivers his letters to one of the maids. Elizabeth trusts this maid above all others, and so Billy trusts the maid to deliver his letters to Elizabeth. However, Jeffories (Elizabeth's husband) has instructed all his staff to dispose of the letters Billy sends. In the opening sequence, the maid lets the letter blow away from the house. This introduces the fact that the staff cannot be trusted.
Costume: The maid will wear a brown, ankle long skirt. Plain black, working shoes. A black shirt, with a dark brown apron.  She will wear a bonnet, which will keep her long brown hair away from her face. She wears a shawl to protect her from the cold.

Philip Jeffories Doesn't appear in opening sequence.

Age: 24

Philip is wealthy manor house owner keen to make Elizabeth his wife.

Costume: Philip is a tall, slim male with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. He normally wears beige trousers with a black day jacket, waistcoat and skirt. 

Title Sequence - First Draft

Title Sequence First Draft

These slides are not in the time that they will be seen in slide.  Cross dissolve will be slower in transitions.  The pan will be smoother, and steady.  Pan/tilts will be more clearer when filmed. 

Shot 1 (Opening shot/logo) - Production Logo with appear on this shot.  The logo will fade in and out.  Once faded out the camera tilts downwards to show shot 2.  

Shot 2 (Establishing shot of area) - Titles will appear in the centre of the screen.  Pan camera right slowly.  Cross-dissolves into shot 3 when reaches the end of tree line.

Shot 3 (Introducing Billy) - Camera will tilt downwards slowly to shot 4.

Shot 4 - Camera then follows the horse (at same speed) by panning to the left, and stops at shot 5.  This shot will introduce to the audience how atheletic the character of Billy is.  And will also connect Billy to a working class background due to his horse/costume/appearance.

Shot 5 (Long Shot) - This shot will show the audience how far away Billy is from Elizabeth - Distance between the characters emotionally and physically. 

Font
We liked the idea of using a similar font type to the writing which we are going to use for the letter Billy sends to Elizabeth. Our titles will have a hand drawn effect. An example is below;

Title Sequence Second Draft

As you can see from the image above we have managed to add an effect which we can add to our film shots and make them look hand drawn. 

Moodboards

Women Outfits

Maids Outfits

Mens Outfits

Filming Locations

School Drama Room

We will be using the facilities available at school to film the first part of our film and the voice-over. We can use the room as its dark and we can light it however we want.

Sandwich

We will be using locations around Sandwich to film the second part of our title sequence, we liked the look of Sandwich as its a historic town with many great areas that suited the genre of our film. After scouting around we found an archway with a door ('Fishers Gate') which was perfect for filming the sequence where Billy gives the letter to the maid. As well as the arch we also used local fields and a bridge to film parts of our film.
The archway can be seen below.

Our production company name and logo

After analysing and looking at many professional companies we decided to call our production company SkyLine. We have also developed and come up with a logo (displayed below). We liked the name SkyLine as it sounds like a professional company and its universally attractive, audiences of all ages would be interested in our company name.


Idea One

Idea One (developed)

I drafted a range of logo ideas and brainstormed with Miranda. We liked the idea of having a city as it represents audiences and people. After designing our first draft and adding it to our film we decided that it didn't fit in very well with the 'period drama' feel. So I have re-designed a more suitable logo below using relevant imagery which represent us as a company.

Idea Two

Idea Three

We finally decided on using idea three, we feel as though idea three fit in best with our production. The feather symbolises the soft, romantic period drama we have created. The blue text still ties in the production name 'skyline' while the cursive writing combines the 'period drama' feel into the logo. 

Skyline Productions produce very professional romantic films. Genres which Skyline Productions are likely to produce are: Period Drama, Romantic, Rom-Coms. All the films that Skyline Productions offer are dreamy, romantic and happy.

Production Companies

Before deciding on a name for my production company and designing my own logo I have done some research into real production companies and their logos.

DreamWorks Animation

American production and distribution company.

Founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.

DreamWorks aim to product high-quality family animations. Their aim is mirrored within their logo as the typography is colourful and fun, appealing to young children and the images are 'dreamlike' and build on the fantasy which is featured in many of their productions (such as Shrek). The logo overall appeals to families and has appropriate images which reach out to their target audience. The logo is bright and eye-catching which will appeal to adults as well as children.

Pathé

French production and distribution company.

Founded in 1896 by brothers Charles, Emile, Theophile and Jacques Pathé.

The pathé company logo stands out and gives a off a fun vibe which will appeal to younger audiences specifically. The speech bubble coming from the chickens mouth is comical and will also appeal to the younger generation. The typography is dynamic, the different sized lettering and bubble writing makes the text stand out against the orange background. The logo is clear and easy to read which also will appeal to younger audiences. Altogether I think that this logo mainly appeals to younger audiences due to the playful imagery and bright orange colour.

Universal Studios

American production company.
Founded in 1912 by Carl Leammle.

One of the nice things about the Universal logo is that it has incorporated both the word and image together, the picture of the world mirrors the 'Universal' name. By doing this I feel that it portrays the message that Universal is a world-wide production company that produces mainstream films that appeal to the fourth quadrant, audiences around the world. The Universal logo, I feel, has a more professional, sophisticated feel to it than the others I have analysed so far, this is due to the fact that the logo has used a bold hard font and cold colours compared to the previous logos. The professional look is more likely to attract older audiences as they will associate the high-class feel of the logo with good, high-quality films. However Universal have still tried to attract younger audiences with their logo by the 'fun' image of the glowing world and stars. Altogether I do like the Universal logo and think that it does appeal to the types of audiences they target and represents the type of high-quality films they provide.

 20th Century Fox

American production company.

Founded in 1904 by William Fox.

The main eye-catching component of the 20th Century Fox logo is the bold 3D lettering which makes up the production company name. The audience recognises immediately the company name as soon as they see the logo. Much like the Universal logo the 20th Century Fox logo also has a sense of sophistication about it due to the deep rich colours. The imagery used, specifically the spotlights pointing to the font, makes the company image look superior. Overall I feel that this logo appeals more to adult audiences rather than children as it uses little imagery and plain colours giving it a more professional feel and look.