Media Assignment

For a film to qualify as British there are certain criteria the film has to meet, under the British Film Act of 1985 limitations were set to categorise films.

• 92.5% of the film's running time must be created in the UK
• The remaining run time of the film must be made in a Commonwealth country or Ireland
• Most or all of the labour costs must go to UK citizens
• It must be made by the UK or elsewhere in Europe
  

As America dominate the film industry it had become increasingly difficult for the UK the make films in the British Film Industry alone. Even if a film is completely British made, without input from America for Distribution there is a large chance the film could flop and not be financially viable. For Britain, a film flop could cause huge problems financially. However for America, just one successful blockbuster film can cover for 9 film failures. Not only that but a lot of the profit made from a British film goes back to distributors and is not reinvested into the British Film Industry.
So, how has Britain managed to maintain such a strong and successful chain of films year after year when in competition with the American Film Industry?

At the end of the day, everything boils down to money in the film industry. Since 2000, the UK have been investing a lot of government money into educating young people about film studies and making the careers more accessible to them. Film makers hope that in the near future this will cause more investment into our film economy. 

In 2007 the Film Tax Relief was put into place. Since 2007 the costs for studios have shown to be 40% lower than the US and 7% lower than countries such as Czech Republic. By 2015 the Film Tax Relief hopes to encourage a 10-15% increase of global film production. As the money starts to come back into our economy government hope to distribute amongst Film Makers and offer training to those who are interested in the world of film.
Working Title Films work closely with film studios StudioCanal based in London, UK and also in Paris, France. Throughout the past ten years these companies have made classic films that have been huge hits all over the world. One of it's biggest hits in the past decade was Johnny English in 2003 followed up by the sequel released this year, Johnny English Reborn. Another reason hit from Working Title Films was Paul, also released in 2011.

Johnny English is undeniably British, the theme and the mis en scene throughout the film continue to display cultural content regarding this.

Johnny English as he is crowned King of England.

From the title of the film, as English is he second name, it's clear to say that England is where the film is based. In the opening scenes to the first film, the song A Man For All Seasons by English songwriter, Robbie Williams (Click for song) was used and written for the film itself. the lyrics in the film tie in with the plot line and include things that are only in Britain, 'House of Lords' 'Queen of Country' and also the title 'A Man For All Seasons' based on the West End performance.
Along with the establishing shots of London the audience in Britain will know where Johnny is and understand the lyrics more so than foreign viewers. However, as the Royal family as so admired all over the world, Johnny English is an instant winner when he keeps the 'Queen of Country safe and sound', like the song suggests from the start.
Johnny English himself is what makes both of the films so obviously British, and appeal to the audience in Britain. Rowan Atkinson is an incredibly well spoken man from the North of England and is an admired comedian of England for the past 30 years. His well spoken voice and charming present ooze everything that is stereotypical of a high class English man and appealing to audiences from all over.

His poise and well being show a class which is maintained throughout the film. In "The Toy Cupboard" scene, we can see how being a spy and a gentleman shows he has certain standards that he expects from others. When he meets a man after a time apart, Johnny says, "Please don't get up" because this is the kind of respect he would give as an English gentleman. Followed, of course, by a typical handshake. The gadgets are also very British, and we understand that Patch lost his legs to 'exploding brogues' which originated from Britain and are highly popular in Men's footwear.
In the scene the costume is also chosen very carefully and possibly only to be noticed by British audience. Johnny English is wearing a red tie whilst Simon is wearing Blue which suggested the political parties they follow. As they both work closely with the government in Britain it shows to the British audience that the two characters will have conflict at some point based on their views of England being different.


Paul however is a British film set in America, but like Johnny English still hold cultural content meant for the British audiences. Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost) maintain a tourist character throughout the film and appeal to the British audience by having little understanding of the American way of life but also using a lot of American stereotypes throughout the film. The mis en scene regarding their costumes shows a real 'fan boy' nature as they're both in T-shirts from different comics that they have an obvious liking for.

Clive and Graeme at Comic Con.

Although in the film, most of the films or comics mentioned and a lot of the images shown are from American companies, they are very popular in Britain too. Frost and Pegg decided to make this film because both of them are sci-fi fanatics, so in Paul they can live out the dream of a British sci-fi fanatic. In the film they used sounds from the ever popular, American made, Star Wars. Cantina composed by John Williams, (Click for music) was used in the bar just like it was in Star Wars. Even though Star Wars is an American Production, it is very popular in Britain and fan boys and girls of the British audience will have taken note of these details used in the film. Another sound effect that originated from America is used in the film, but also overly used in Star Wars is the Wilhelm Scream, something that has become an inside joke in the film industry and emphasises the 'nerdiness' in the film.

This clip from Paul is a perfect scene which really brings out the British in the main characters.
As Clive is complaining that their is an Alien making Bagels and Coffee in their kitchen, Graeme states the very stereotypical difference between the Americans and the British that is Tea-drinkers and Coffee-drinkers. Graeme points out that in America tea is very 'weird' in America. The British audience watching the film will have a far bigger connection with the characters than anyone else as we know or can at least imagine the difficulties they are facing, travelling to America.

Regardless of whether the British government have tried to help the Film Industry grow, it is not the only factor. New technology, especially in the last ten years have made it a lot easier and more affordable for small British filming companies to get themselves known. A perfect example of this is IndyWoodFilms. They have taken advantage of the what technology and social networking has to offer and shows the Britain and the world, "The web is what you make of it" (Google Chrome).
IndyWoodFilms are a fan-funded Film company and have been in operation since May 2009 relying on donations from the public to make their film, Invasion of the Not Quite Dead. The films mentioned above, although they are British made, the distribution of the films have all been funded by American companies and they take in most of the profit to their economy. This is where IndyWoodFilms differs, the use of social networking allows for free advertising on the most popular sites on the internet. Fans can keep up-to-date with the film's progress via mediums such as, Twitter, Youtube and Facebook. They can all take part in fundraising online.

Their intuitive site makes it fast and easy for anybody to share the link and everything IndyWoodFilms do, on to the most popular Social Network sites, taking 'word of mouth' to a whole new level. The company is hugely passionate about what they do, along with their equally passionate fans. Once the film is complete, Britain hope that this ambitious and creative project will be an inspiration to all films makers in Britain.