Production Companies Research

After researching into which production companies we would use at the beginning of our trailer, we decided to use "Focus Features" and "HanWay Films".

We chose HanWay Films due to its involvement in producing other films that fall under the same genre as our film trailer, particularly the film "Franklyn", which we used as part inspiration in our film trailer through our research into other media texts as it included a dystopian narrative.

We chose Focus Features for similar reasons to that of HanWay Films. Focus Features produced the latest version of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", another film that we particularly drew inspiration from.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Film Deconstruction

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a thriller/drama film which came out this month! We went to the cinema to see how the film applied itself to it’s genre and to research the presentation of the characters. Warning – Contains spoilers!

Summary: There is a Soviet agent working in MI6, and George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is brought out of retirement to find him. The film is set during the Cold War.

The film presented intelligence warfare and juxtaposed to it’s context: the violence of the Cold War. It is a motion picture adaptation of a novel, which is rumoured to be based on true events as it’s author John le Carré worked for both MI5 and MI6.

The tone of the film was thoroughly sombre, serene and slow. The pace meant that violent scenes were more shocking  as characters were forced to break out of composed roles. The complicated plot meant that the audience were forced to work it out at the same time as Smiley. Extended silence was used to create tension and the naturalistic action made it clear that it was a British drama. The lack of action sequences was made up in the focused violence and purposefully morbid gore.

The film also used a combination of shots we appreciated would work well to mirror in our trailer. We noticed that the shots were often over the shoulder during dialogue, and that this meant that the audience had to imagine the character’s emotions. Whenever the suspects were presented in a series of quick paced shots, Bill Haydon (Colin Firth) was always first. He was the double agent, and therefore the audience was given clues throughout the film. Most of the film was flashbacks, and these sequences were slightly more hazy than the present shots and depth of field was interestingly never used. Another memorable shot was that of Peter Guillam appearing as a lift door opens behind Toby Esterhase waits unaware. We enjoyed how ominous this shot was, and how it gave a slightly comical edge to the sequence. During the film the character Control was always presented at the head of a desk. At the end, he was replaced by Smiley. This epitomised how Smiley was now in control, and was extremely effective. 

The thriller/drama genres were met by the following criteria:

•          We follow a central protagonist as he works out an enigma
•      The film is based around the British Intelligence
•     Tension is created
•         Truth, betrayal and mystery were central themes
•     There was a psychological aspect to the narrative
•      The characters were all flawed and these flaws effected the plot

Semiotics were used throughout the film:

• The files that travelled up and down the floors of the building represented the selling and trading of secrets
• Communist symbol was used to reflect the historical context
•    Pictures of the suspects were attached to chess pieces to represent the manipulation of the Soviet government within the British Intelligence. It suggests that spying is a game and spies and people can all be controlled.
• Smiley’s glasses changed in the present and past which could represent how people always see things differently at the time

The protagonist George Smiley was presented as cool, calm and collected throughout the narrative. He wore period dress which was discrete, dark and non-descript. His glasses were different in the present and in the past which made it easier for the audience to distinguish between the two. The antagonist of the film was more the enigma he had to solve and the obstacles in his way. Bill Haydon was a sympathic antihero in the way that the audience could understand how he lost faith the west.

The title of the film ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ is presented in the trailer like this. The idea is based around unwrapping an enigma. The title itself is intertextual as it refers to the child’s nursery rhyme which describes the occupation of various men. This rhyme is referenced in the film as all of the suspects are named after one of these titles. 

We believe that the main message of the film was to enhance the paranoia of the Cold War and that the film was based around the idea of disillusionment.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Web Page Deconstruction

The Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy web page is built entirely around the idea of the folder elevator featured in the film.   The elevator moving up and down the floors symbolises the trading of secrets within British intelligence. There are six floors, the top level with George Smiley sitting at the desk, the offices, the audio surveillance room, photography archives, research and the basement. All of these floors are real locations within the film, and their use builds on the genre of the film as it is all about surveillance and spying. 

The title and the release date are static throughout all the floors, and stand out due to their white and red colour, opposed to the darkness of the background. As with many films of this genre, the main colours are white, red and black. The images are made up of mise en scene typical of the 1950s, including old technology such as a slide projector, typewriters and rotary dial phones. These are mostly interactive within the site, and animations play alongside sounds when the user's mouse hover over them.  The scrolling bar within the user's internet software controls the movement of the lift, which is their viewpoint.

Other content is found at the top of the site, where a navigation bar appears if the mouse hovers over it. There are biographies and a synopsis, stills, interviews, downloads, video and the 'guide to the circus', a downloadable guide to the movie. It is notable the type of language the site uses, 'stills' instead of photos for example, which denotes the time era. As with many web pages, you can view the trailers and behind the scenes videos. There is also a link to their Facebook and Twitter pages, and a link to a booking site for film viewings. 

Access it at the official webpage

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Poster Deconstruction

This poster is based around the concept of secrets, lies and intelligence which are the central themes of the film. The protagonist Smiley (played by Gary Oldman) is in the centre of the poster, concealed by shadow. His costume is clearly a suit which shows his status and the formality of his occupation. He is also wearing glasses which has connotations of intelligence and also identifies a certain time era due to their style. The actor’s name exists inside his shadow in order to identify him and is just below where shadow becomes completely black, which makes the text more clear to read.

The background of the poster is made up of rows of letters and numbers which are uniform in size and shape. This denotes the idea of code and enigma and the smaller title text also uses this design. The background colour is blue and the text is white, but a spotlight shape appears around the protagonist and some of the background is in the shadow. The colours used within the poster are black, blue, red and white. The main title text is in red, which makes it stand out among the white text. The credits are in white below it, and all text is in the same formation and size. The poster also identifies the director of the film, Tomas Alredson, which will attract the audience of his previous films. It is notable how Gary Oldman’s credit is larger than Alredson’s, as it seems he is more of a pull to the audience.

The poster also identifies that the film is also a ‘best-selling’ novel by John le Carré. This also attracts an audience demographic that enjoys reading and perhaps has read, or will read, the book. This text exists within the letter/number lines. The tag line ‘The Secret is Out’ also does this, and is also in a white font. The release date comes directly after this, but is in red font, which sisters it with the title. The production company is also on the poster, but is small in the bottom left hand corner. It is also interesting how the poster is missing the conventional list of credits.