Thursday, 11 December 2008

This is England: Who made it and How?

What are Warp Films and Warp X?

Warp films are a side project from Warp records, and are an English company based in Sheffield and were set up in 1999 with help of funding from NESTA (National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts).
Warp X are linked with Warp Films and Warp Records, and are based in Sheffield and have offices in Nottingham and London. They are pioneering new digital studio, they use cutting edge digital technology and low budget methods to produce high value films.

Who runs Warp? What was Warp created to do?

Warp is a small company, with only three full-time members of staff, and although they have limited staff, they have some of the best up and coming directors from Britain.
A Warp spokesperson said this about what Warp was about:

"Warp Films is an independent film production company which aims to mirror the ethos of its partner music label Warp Records. By keeping the creative process at the core of our approach to film making, Warp Films aims to create fresh and innovative feature length and short films to be viewed by a wide audience. Our current priorities are nurturing and developing existing talent, as well as discovering new exciting filmmakers." Directors:

Shane Meadows:
A lot of his influences came from "kitchen sink realism" that are from film makers such as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh but with a "post modern twist." He is a very relaxed director, he encourages his actors to perform at "one's pleasure" (ad lib) in order to make his films appear more realistic and get a better sense of realism for themselves. Many of his films are inspired by events from his youth, for example: Twenty Four Seven and Room for Romeo Brass. A lot of Meadows films are filmed in the midlands, and he is known for using unknown people to take part in his films, such as his friends and family.
Five of his films were shown at the 2007 Flourish Festival held in Uttoxeter to mark the release of This Is England.
 Chris Cunningham:
He works in video, music and commerical. He made his directorial debut with the music video "come to daddy" this landed him in the spotlight within the music industry. Cunningham was headhunted after Stanley Kubrick saw his work for the 1994 film version of Judge Dread, to do with the building of robotic arms, Kubrick wanted him to work on the animatronic tests for the robot child in the 2001 film Artificial Intelligence (AI), he worked on AI for over a year, before leaving to start a career in directing.
Chris Morris:
His break came with BBC Radio Bristol and Greater London Radio (GLR), he was sacked from BBC Radio Bristol for allegedly being abusive to a caller. Chris' earliest talk of work came from acting in "The Frogs" at Sixth Form.

What relationship does Warp have with Film 4 and the Film Council?
Quote from www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/warpx

"The key aims of the project are to establish a more integrated approach to development, production and distribution for up and coming filmmaking talent and at the same time to provide economies of scale for low-budget feature film production.

The joint objectives of the New Cinema Fund and FilmFour for Warp X are:

  • to source a diverse range of filmmaking talent and mentors;
  • to develop a more integrated and cost-effective model for the development and production of low-budget films by accessing a core team of production, financing and business affairs expertise and taking into account the cultural and commercial needs of the UK film industry;
  • to provide new opportunities to increase participation of groups currently under-represented in the UK film industry such as writers, directors, producers and actors who are female, disabled and/or from black and minority ethnic groups;
  • to encourage filmmakers to explore social issues of disability, cultural/ethnic diversity and social exclusion through the content and range of individual film projects;
  • to create much-needed progression routes into the UK film industry for identified filmmaking talent, who may have experienced some success through their first feature film or through short filmmaking, but who need further infrastructural and other support to make their next film(s) a success; and
  • to provide an opportunity for and to encourage established filmmaking talent to reinvest their expertise in the talent of tomorrow, both in front of and behind the camera. "
Who else financed 'This is England'?
This is England was co-funded by the National Lottery through the UK Film Council in partnership with FilmFour and EM-Media, Screen Yorkshire, Ingenious Media and Optimum Releasing.

Production Companies for This is England
*Big Arty Productions
*EM Media
*Film4
*Optimum Releasing
*Screen Yorkshire
*UK Film Council
*Warp Films

How was This is England distributed?
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