Friday 27 November 2009
Other Title Sequence Idea's
Other idea's I got from watching a variation of different title clips was to have our typography creating the impression of blood. As the text would appear it would be dripping and in blood-red. This could relate to our psycho's character and also contrast against the dull, lifeless background. Another option I see was to have a spotlight slowing revealing the credits against a dark background. This mysterious opening would create suspense, reflecting the mood of the film we want to portray.
Title Sequences - Westside Story
Westside Story
Robert Wise
1961
Bass uses both open and end credits for the title sequence of Westside Story. The ending credits display a live-action montage of graffiti scrawled upon worn urban surfaces. The composition scrutinizes each wall, zooming, panning, and then halting patiently on each credit. Occurring after the tragedy that closes the film, Bass’ hand-scrawled type authenticates the environment and conflict of the environment where this tragedy has taken place.
An idea we could take from Westside Story's ending credits, to duplicate in our own film is the scrawling of grafitti on a brick wall. Like in Westside Story, this would emphasis the conflicted, run down setting of our film. As grafitti can also be an iconic theme of crime, this can also reflect a part of Alfie's character which can be associated with crime.
Robert Wise
1961
Bass uses both open and end credits for the title sequence of Westside Story. The ending credits display a live-action montage of graffiti scrawled upon worn urban surfaces. The composition scrutinizes each wall, zooming, panning, and then halting patiently on each credit. Occurring after the tragedy that closes the film, Bass’ hand-scrawled type authenticates the environment and conflict of the environment where this tragedy has taken place.
An idea we could take from Westside Story's ending credits, to duplicate in our own film is the scrawling of grafitti on a brick wall. Like in Westside Story, this would emphasis the conflicted, run down setting of our film. As grafitti can also be an iconic theme of crime, this can also reflect a part of Alfie's character which can be associated with crime.
Title Sequences - Casino
CASINO
Martin Scorsese
1995
In the title sequence of Casino, the first shots are kept very simple to contrast with the car bomb exploding, creating maximum "shock factor" for the audience. Fire takes over the screen with the character Sam Rothstein falling across and transitions into the crimson lights of the Las Vegas Strip. Flames shoot up from the bottom of the frame, showing a screen covered with abstract shots of iconic Las Vegas signage and illumination. This vision of hell created by Bass summarizes the narrative ahead, without ruining any of the surprises Scorsese has in store. The combination of image and sound urges the viewer to consider theme: Las Vegas as the most tempting hell on Earth, just as it was for Scorsese's protagonist.
As fire plays an important concept in our film, the Casino title sequence had a specific relevance. An idea I had was to incorporate the fire explosion transition, after the lighter is sparked in our film. I thought at this dramatic point of the title sequence it would be the perfect time to display the film's title. However, as we were limited to the editing software we used, we learned that we wouldn't be able to create this effect.
Martin Scorsese
1995
In the title sequence of Casino, the first shots are kept very simple to contrast with the car bomb exploding, creating maximum "shock factor" for the audience. Fire takes over the screen with the character Sam Rothstein falling across and transitions into the crimson lights of the Las Vegas Strip. Flames shoot up from the bottom of the frame, showing a screen covered with abstract shots of iconic Las Vegas signage and illumination. This vision of hell created by Bass summarizes the narrative ahead, without ruining any of the surprises Scorsese has in store. The combination of image and sound urges the viewer to consider theme: Las Vegas as the most tempting hell on Earth, just as it was for Scorsese's protagonist.
As fire plays an important concept in our film, the Casino title sequence had a specific relevance. An idea I had was to incorporate the fire explosion transition, after the lighter is sparked in our film. I thought at this dramatic point of the title sequence it would be the perfect time to display the film's title. However, as we were limited to the editing software we used, we learned that we wouldn't be able to create this effect.
Title Sequences Research - Saul Bass
In order to get some ideas for our own title sequences, we looked at the work of Saul Bass. From analysing many of the opening title sequences he has created we were able to take away many possible title ideas for our own film.
Title Sequences
If the opening credits to a film bore us, we would be forgiven for feeling the whole film will be boring. If they're exciting and manage to push our cart to the top of an emotional roller-coaster, then there we'll be, sitting at the edge of our seats, strapped in, waiting to be thrown around. The first few minutes of a film will often either leave the audience full of excitement and eager to see how the story of the movie will play out, wondering what hints they were shown in the opening credits to what they're about to watch. When producing a title sequence, creativity and thought must go into what message you want to portray through the first few minutes of your film. Some title sequences are made to match the action and almost give taster of the film, whereas others do the opposing, telling the story of the film in an style which completely contradicts the rest of the film. This is done to create a sense of unexpectedness for the audience. A good title sequence must share many qualities such as being original in a way that it is either daring or challenging and it must also be visually unique. As well as the image within your opening title sequence, in some opening credits, typography can also be a big focus, and used to open the story of the film.
Magazine Review - Draft 1
When I showed this review to my class and teachers for feedback these are the comments I recieved:
- Make our own films the main focus, yet add other films into the review to make it look like an actual magazine review page!
- Give the magazine a specific house style to suit a chosen magazine.
- The page will suit a magazine such as Empire.
- The images work well and it does look like an actual review.
From this feedback I decided to place my magazine into a review page such as Independant Critics.
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Independant Critics
Independant Critics Magazine, is focused on giving breif reviews from different view points. The multiple reviews on the same page is an idea I could interperate into my own magazine review, however I would like to think our film would be featured in a more specific film review magazine. Independant Critics have not described the plot or events of the film but give their own opinion on the films style, and whether it is worth going to see.
Making Props!
In our film we wanted to show the audience that the fire Alfie's character had set up, caused the death of Marie & Johhny's character. However, as we wasn't able to film a real fire, or have the editing software to do so, we had to think of an alternative way to show it. Therefore, we decided before Alfie's face is revealed, he could be reading the newspaper which holds the headline "2 School Children Die In Fearsome Fire" or something to that effect. This would happen during Scene 2, just before Alfie's face is shown to the audience.
To make the front page of the newspaper, I produced this on Microsoft Publisher. I used clipings from "The Sun" newspaper to give our front cover realistic newspaper elements. I then wrote a brief article of what I would have expected the artice to say, but with main emphasis of the newspaper on the headline.
To make the front page of the newspaper, I produced this on Microsoft Publisher. I used clipings from "The Sun" newspaper to give our front cover realistic newspaper elements. I then wrote a brief article of what I would have expected the artice to say, but with main emphasis of the newspaper on the headline.
Monday 23 November 2009
Total Film Spiderman Review
Like the language used in Empire Magazine, Total Films style is also rather relaxed compared to formal, and is full of opinion. The rating chart at the bottom is an element we could incorporate into our own film review page, with the star ratings! The review informs a little about the plot, with an obvious foreknowledge of other spiderman films , and passes personal opinion on the film. In my opinion, Total Film's language is targeted at young adults and teenagers as the review is written in a very casual style. It suggests to me the review is written for film lovers who are already fans of the superhero compared to naivists of the film.
Comparing "Twilight" Reviews.
Empire Magazine
"Let’s assume that you’re going into the second episode of Stephenie Meyers’ vampire saga with an open mind, having been pleasantly surprised that the first film didn’t turn out to be Vampire High School Musical. If that’s the case, you’ll probably enjoy this slice of high melodrama. If not, stay away. This is a series almost entirely lacking in irony, one that takes its central tortured romance too seriously to waste good gazing-soulfully time on filling in the background or winning over naysayers. There’s moping to be done, after all.
That’s not entirely a criticism. To berate the Twilight saga for indulging in moping would be like suggesting that perhaps John McClane and Hans Gruber could have sat down and talked their differences out. This is a series about the all-encompassing, deadly seriousness of first love, and judged on those terms the first Twilight did convey that feeling of mad romance and the second film picks up that theme and snogs it senseless. But in the same way that most second superhero movies are about our hero trying to give up the cape, this sequel is about the heartbreak that almost certainly follows such unthinking passion.
Robert Pattinson’s upright, buttoned-down Edward gives up Kristen Stewart’s Bella for her own good (as it seems to him) and disappears from her life. After turning into a virtual zombie as a result, the heartbroken Bella finds some comfort in the friendship of Native American Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), himself afflicted with a searing crush on the self-effacing heroine. Unfortunately, it turns out that that’s not the only thing Jacob’s afflicted with, as he starts turning furry and lupine and also abandons Bella for her own protection.
Amid such masculine faffing about, Bella’s character is the only constant, and she comes across as a little stronger this time around, gradually pulling herself out of the fog of depression and fighting to keep both men in her life – if only in hallucinations in Edward’s case. Stewart still relies a little too heavily on the tactic of blinking a lot, but then the same could be said of the male leads’ reliance on slight frowns, and all three are doing a good enough job to win over the fans and convey the high drama of the novel. Incoming director Chris Weitz, taking over from Catherine Hardwicke, is more reserved and perhaps slightly less attuned to his teenage stars, but handles the action and the effects well despite the breakneck production schedule.
While there’s only a tiny and very occasional hint of humour from the love triangle members, however, the addition of Jacob’s fellow Wolf Pack members and more traditional high vampires the Volturi allow for a little looseness and the opening up of the Twilight world. The Wolf Pack are given, at best, momentary character sketches but receive just enough attention to establish them for future instalments, while the Volturi threaten to romp away with the film in just moments onscreen. Then what can you expect when they’re led by Michael Sheen’s deliciously dangerous Aro, and boast a psychic torturer played by an immaculate Dakota Fanning?
The plethora of shirtless men (sometimes shot in – god help us – slow-motion) and general fetishisation of Bella’s love interests may raise a giggle or an eyebrow in audiences more accustomed to seeing women in their scanties, and the pace does sometimes slow to a crawl, but this is another faithful and largely successful adaptation of Meyers’ old-fashioned love story."
The layout of this review is minimalistic suggesting the main focus is on the actual language and writing style of the review. The language is very relaxed and at times even sarcastic. A truely honest judgement of the New Moon saga, it describes a little of the plot without giving away any twists and points out both good and bad points of the film. The slang language such as "snogs" and "faffing around" can be related to by the older teenage audience, who is our own target audience. Therefore this is the style of language we could use in our own film review.
The Guardian Newspaper
This newspaper review is simplistic and almost bare as a review which I don't think would benefit our film. The independant broadsheet newspaper doesn't have the target audience of our film and therefore would almost be pointless putting our films review in this type of media. It breifly summarises the plot rather than reviews the film, and only gives the opinion of one critic.
"Let’s assume that you’re going into the second episode of Stephenie Meyers’ vampire saga with an open mind, having been pleasantly surprised that the first film didn’t turn out to be Vampire High School Musical. If that’s the case, you’ll probably enjoy this slice of high melodrama. If not, stay away. This is a series almost entirely lacking in irony, one that takes its central tortured romance too seriously to waste good gazing-soulfully time on filling in the background or winning over naysayers. There’s moping to be done, after all.
That’s not entirely a criticism. To berate the Twilight saga for indulging in moping would be like suggesting that perhaps John McClane and Hans Gruber could have sat down and talked their differences out. This is a series about the all-encompassing, deadly seriousness of first love, and judged on those terms the first Twilight did convey that feeling of mad romance and the second film picks up that theme and snogs it senseless. But in the same way that most second superhero movies are about our hero trying to give up the cape, this sequel is about the heartbreak that almost certainly follows such unthinking passion.
Robert Pattinson’s upright, buttoned-down Edward gives up Kristen Stewart’s Bella for her own good (as it seems to him) and disappears from her life. After turning into a virtual zombie as a result, the heartbroken Bella finds some comfort in the friendship of Native American Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), himself afflicted with a searing crush on the self-effacing heroine. Unfortunately, it turns out that that’s not the only thing Jacob’s afflicted with, as he starts turning furry and lupine and also abandons Bella for her own protection.
Amid such masculine faffing about, Bella’s character is the only constant, and she comes across as a little stronger this time around, gradually pulling herself out of the fog of depression and fighting to keep both men in her life – if only in hallucinations in Edward’s case. Stewart still relies a little too heavily on the tactic of blinking a lot, but then the same could be said of the male leads’ reliance on slight frowns, and all three are doing a good enough job to win over the fans and convey the high drama of the novel. Incoming director Chris Weitz, taking over from Catherine Hardwicke, is more reserved and perhaps slightly less attuned to his teenage stars, but handles the action and the effects well despite the breakneck production schedule.
While there’s only a tiny and very occasional hint of humour from the love triangle members, however, the addition of Jacob’s fellow Wolf Pack members and more traditional high vampires the Volturi allow for a little looseness and the opening up of the Twilight world. The Wolf Pack are given, at best, momentary character sketches but receive just enough attention to establish them for future instalments, while the Volturi threaten to romp away with the film in just moments onscreen. Then what can you expect when they’re led by Michael Sheen’s deliciously dangerous Aro, and boast a psychic torturer played by an immaculate Dakota Fanning?
The plethora of shirtless men (sometimes shot in – god help us – slow-motion) and general fetishisation of Bella’s love interests may raise a giggle or an eyebrow in audiences more accustomed to seeing women in their scanties, and the pace does sometimes slow to a crawl, but this is another faithful and largely successful adaptation of Meyers’ old-fashioned love story."
The layout of this review is minimalistic suggesting the main focus is on the actual language and writing style of the review. The language is very relaxed and at times even sarcastic. A truely honest judgement of the New Moon saga, it describes a little of the plot without giving away any twists and points out both good and bad points of the film. The slang language such as "snogs" and "faffing around" can be related to by the older teenage audience, who is our own target audience. Therefore this is the style of language we could use in our own film review.
The Guardian Newspaper
This newspaper review is simplistic and almost bare as a review which I don't think would benefit our film. The independant broadsheet newspaper doesn't have the target audience of our film and therefore would almost be pointless putting our films review in this type of media. It breifly summarises the plot rather than reviews the film, and only gives the opinion of one critic.
Empire Magazines Web Review Page
This is a typical layout of Empire's web review page. It shows a variation of different film genres as well as exclusive interviews, representing the magazine as universily accessible as there could be a film on here for everyone. The black, white and red colour scheme creates house style, and is the colours also used on nearly all the magazines covers.
The front page features hollywood actors, well established actors who are known to all the public and not just people involved in the film world. This attracts multiple audiences and suggests the magazine focuses on mainstream films rather than art house films. However, this also proposes the magazine focuses on the most awaited films rather then the best made for example. Therefore there is aspects of Empire Magazine where our film review would fit as there isn't really a specific target audience or film genre as it is aimed at people who genereally like films, however it could also be out of place.
What Is A Film Review?
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory.
Many people use film reviews to create a judgement, or back up their own opinions. Others use film reviews to decide what they're best of watching at Orange Wednesdays. However, all film reviews inform the reader a little about the film and its plot, and more importantly a biased judgement on whether it is worth going to see!
Some magazines are dedicated to film reviews such as Empire Magazine, and Total Film Magazine. Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, and is also published in Australia, Turkey and Russia. In common with most British film magazines, Empire is populist in both approach and coverage unlike less irreverent and more 'serious' magazines such as Sight and Sound. It reviews both mainstream films and art films, but feature articles concentrate on the former. Our own film review could feature in Empire magazine as their is an interest in arthouse films, however I don't think this would be the most relevant magazine for our films review to be published in.
Total Film, published by Future Publishing, is the United Kingdom's second best-selling film magazine. It offers film and DVD news, reviews, and features. The magazine was launched in 1997 and is published every four weeks. Each month, TF provides a range of features, from full-length interviews, with established and up-and-coming actors and directors, to major film previews, from Top 100 lists to retrospective pieces — all illustrated with film stills and profile shots. All issues contain The Total Film Interview — an in-depth chat with a celebrated actor or director, along with a critique of their body of work and a rating of each major film to date. I feel our own film could feature in this magazine as their is a strong focus on up and coming productions.
As well as these two leading film review magazines there is also many independant reviews, as well as those in newspapers and gossip magazine, as well as on blogs and other parts of the internet.
Many people use film reviews to create a judgement, or back up their own opinions. Others use film reviews to decide what they're best of watching at Orange Wednesdays. However, all film reviews inform the reader a little about the film and its plot, and more importantly a biased judgement on whether it is worth going to see!
Some magazines are dedicated to film reviews such as Empire Magazine, and Total Film Magazine. Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, and is also published in Australia, Turkey and Russia. In common with most British film magazines, Empire is populist in both approach and coverage unlike less irreverent and more 'serious' magazines such as Sight and Sound. It reviews both mainstream films and art films, but feature articles concentrate on the former. Our own film review could feature in Empire magazine as their is an interest in arthouse films, however I don't think this would be the most relevant magazine for our films review to be published in.
Total Film, published by Future Publishing, is the United Kingdom's second best-selling film magazine. It offers film and DVD news, reviews, and features. The magazine was launched in 1997 and is published every four weeks. Each month, TF provides a range of features, from full-length interviews, with established and up-and-coming actors and directors, to major film previews, from Top 100 lists to retrospective pieces — all illustrated with film stills and profile shots. All issues contain The Total Film Interview — an in-depth chat with a celebrated actor or director, along with a critique of their body of work and a rating of each major film to date. I feel our own film could feature in this magazine as their is a strong focus on up and coming productions.
As well as these two leading film review magazines there is also many independant reviews, as well as those in newspapers and gossip magazine, as well as on blogs and other parts of the internet.
Editing Feedback.
After we had finished editing each individual scene, we recieved feedback from other class members and different media teachers. Here is the feedback we recieved for each scene:
SCENE 1:
- Remove the shot of Marie's character screaming, when the lights black out, as it didn't seem realistic.
- Use less shots of Marie and Johnny flirting and more cut away shots so the attention is really focusing on Alfie.
- When Johnny leaves Marie to go and check the door, cut the shot earlier so the change of angle flows better.
- The music we use at the beginning of the scene should fade out quietly when dialogue between characters starts and be audible in the background.
- Make the shot of Alfie locking the door shorter, so it doesn't drag on.
- Add in the sound effect of an explosion after the flame is sparked, to create an effect and make the action more significant.
- Remove the 2nd shot of Johnny and Marie flirting or add a shot for Marie's character to react to.
SCENE 2:
- Re-shoot this scene as there was bad continuity and the shots didn't flow, however once we re-shot this wasn't a problem.
- Possibly shorten the length of this scene as it did seem rather slow paced compared to Scene 1, however we needed this effect to create the right mood for the scene.
- The ambulance sirens should sound for a longer duration, up until the tapping of Alfie's foot is shown.
- Remove the wind sound effects or make the volume of it extremely quiet. Instead use background music for longer to increase the tension.
SCENE 3:
- Best scene, shots used are really good.
- The cross-fade effects add realism.
- Black & White images represent the passing of time and the past well.
- Remove shot of tilting up Alfie on the staircase as it takes too long to reveal his face.
SCENE 4:
- Some shots were not digitised properly and therefore had limited shots.
- Alot of background sound changes, which would affect continuity.
- The camera operater and the camera was visible in the window reflection behind the characters and the action.
- Pointless scene as Scene 4 does already send the same message.
- We didn't shoot as much footage as we needed to for a successful scene and therefore was advised to scrap this scene and use the shots we were able to use in our flashback scenes.
SCENE 5:
- Not to have Alfie's character walking away towards the camera as it isn't an effective ending.
- Use a fade to black to end the scene, ready for the titles to appear.
SCENE 1:
- Remove the shot of Marie's character screaming, when the lights black out, as it didn't seem realistic.
- Use less shots of Marie and Johnny flirting and more cut away shots so the attention is really focusing on Alfie.
- When Johnny leaves Marie to go and check the door, cut the shot earlier so the change of angle flows better.
- The music we use at the beginning of the scene should fade out quietly when dialogue between characters starts and be audible in the background.
- Make the shot of Alfie locking the door shorter, so it doesn't drag on.
- Add in the sound effect of an explosion after the flame is sparked, to create an effect and make the action more significant.
- Remove the 2nd shot of Johnny and Marie flirting or add a shot for Marie's character to react to.
SCENE 2:
- Re-shoot this scene as there was bad continuity and the shots didn't flow, however once we re-shot this wasn't a problem.
- Possibly shorten the length of this scene as it did seem rather slow paced compared to Scene 1, however we needed this effect to create the right mood for the scene.
- The ambulance sirens should sound for a longer duration, up until the tapping of Alfie's foot is shown.
- Remove the wind sound effects or make the volume of it extremely quiet. Instead use background music for longer to increase the tension.
SCENE 3:
- Best scene, shots used are really good.
- The cross-fade effects add realism.
- Black & White images represent the passing of time and the past well.
- Remove shot of tilting up Alfie on the staircase as it takes too long to reveal his face.
SCENE 4:
- Some shots were not digitised properly and therefore had limited shots.
- Alot of background sound changes, which would affect continuity.
- The camera operater and the camera was visible in the window reflection behind the characters and the action.
- Pointless scene as Scene 4 does already send the same message.
- We didn't shoot as much footage as we needed to for a successful scene and therefore was advised to scrap this scene and use the shots we were able to use in our flashback scenes.
SCENE 5:
- Not to have Alfie's character walking away towards the camera as it isn't an effective ending.
- Use a fade to black to end the scene, ready for the titles to appear.
The Editing Process.
Once we had finally finished shooting, the editing process started, which took place during our free lessons and after-school. Adobe Premiere is the software we used to edit our films. Firstly we had to digitise all our rushes, which took my group a while as we had many technical problems with the computer not capturing our rushes. Once we had finally finished doing so, it was time to start a rough assemble edit. Meeting the deadlines our teacher set, we had to edit each scene onto the timeline and use the feedback we recieved to make changes. Once all five scenes had been edited we started to focus more on our background music and sound effects and add this onto the timeline. Once our film was visually and musically complete we had to recieve our final feedback.
Shooting Day Adjustments Causing Schedule Changes!
14/10/09
During our filming, due to problems we worked to overcome, we couldn't follow the guideline of our shooting schedule. We started as we meant to go on shooting Scenes 2 & 5 first, however when we came to shoot Scene 1, the science lab had been overbooked therefore we has unable to film there. Instead we skipped to filming Scene 4 and used the afternoon to shoot Scene 1 in another science lab which we found was free. As we was unable to finish shooting Scene 1 this had to be finished on our second shooting day.
15/10/09
On our second day of filming we started by shooting our flashback scenes. We started with the areas of the school which got busier during the day as this was shot before school hours. As the assistant director I checked the different flashback locations before me and the crew moved to them, and chose the most appropriate place to shoot the next flashback. As we were only given an hour during second period to use the science lab again we had to finish filming Scene 1 in between our flashback shots.
Once we finished shooting all our scenes, we decided we had to reshoot Scene 2, as we needed to use a newspaper to reveal the headline of two school children dying. Therefore we re-shot this scene on the afternoon of our final shooting day.
During our filming, due to problems we worked to overcome, we couldn't follow the guideline of our shooting schedule. We started as we meant to go on shooting Scenes 2 & 5 first, however when we came to shoot Scene 1, the science lab had been overbooked therefore we has unable to film there. Instead we skipped to filming Scene 4 and used the afternoon to shoot Scene 1 in another science lab which we found was free. As we was unable to finish shooting Scene 1 this had to be finished on our second shooting day.
15/10/09
On our second day of filming we started by shooting our flashback scenes. We started with the areas of the school which got busier during the day as this was shot before school hours. As the assistant director I checked the different flashback locations before me and the crew moved to them, and chose the most appropriate place to shoot the next flashback. As we were only given an hour during second period to use the science lab again we had to finish filming Scene 1 in between our flashback shots.
Once we finished shooting all our scenes, we decided we had to reshoot Scene 2, as we needed to use a newspaper to reveal the headline of two school children dying. Therefore we re-shot this scene on the afternoon of our final shooting day.
Rehearsals.
On Monday 12th October, our first official rehearsal was held. However it was then when Emine Hassan, our Marie character, decided she did not want to play our part. Aswell as this problem, our main character played by Danny Martin also fell ill! As the main character is my brother, lucky enough I was able to rehearse his scenes and lines with him at home! Therefore this rehearsal consisted of running Kieran Roberts, Johnny's character, through his scenes. It was then we was able to cast Georgia Jones, a year 13 student to play our character of Marie as she was willing to help.
On Tuesday 13th October, (yes the day before filming!), we had our final rehearsal with Johnny and Marie's character. However as Alfie was still ill, he was unable to attend any rehearsals.
On Tuesday 13th October, (yes the day before filming!), we had our final rehearsal with Johnny and Marie's character. However as Alfie was still ill, he was unable to attend any rehearsals.
Auditions?
As we had a minimum response to our ask for sixth formers and drama students help, we had to rely on school pupils we knew to be able to play our characters. In order for our film to be a success, we knew the actors would have to understand the characters personalities and the lifestyle they have, to make their performance believable. Therefore on Thursday 8th October, we finally had our cast and a brief audition where we talked each actor through what would be required and how we expected their character to be played.
On Friday 9th, we sent out call sheets to our characters and also their costume requirements aswell as the expectations of our actual filming days.
On Friday 9th, we sent out call sheets to our characters and also their costume requirements aswell as the expectations of our actual filming days.
Photo Storyboard.
As we had many problems with our cast just days before our filming was due to start, for example actors dropping out and our main character falling ill, we had to use substitute characters to fill in for our actors. Also, as we had problems finalising our storyboard, as we kept changing shot orders etc, this photo storyboard only roughly follows the shot order which was captured in our film.
Film Poster - Final Draft.
After a class discussion, we recieved some really posotive feedback from this third version of our film poster. However, from our feedback we learned:
- The names of our actors could of been brightened up so they are more legible, however we felt this wasn't nessecary as we didn't want to add to much colour onto our poster.
- The credit block is done very well and works on our poster.
Overall, the feedback was very posotive, with only a few minute changes needing to be made, and our next aim is to produce another two film posters with the same message and house style.
Sunday 22 November 2009
Film Poster - Draft 2
From our audience feedback we learned that overall this was was a much better format for our film poster. We had some really posotive comments and only a few changes needed to be made.
For example, we needed to:
- add a credit block to make the poster look more professional.
- play around with colour on the tagline as the audience were curious whether it would look stronger in an outline and not in red.
We adapted these changes and produced the final draft for our film poster.
Friday 20 November 2009
Film Poster - Draft 1
After a class discussion we recieved feedback we could use to improve this poster. From this we learned:
- to remove the red eye which suggested fire in Alfie's eye, as it gave too much of the story away and also removed the intensity of his evil expression.
- to change the font on the actors names and the tagline as it didn't look very professional and didn't match the look of our poster.
- to come up with a new name for the film, as "pyscho" was very predictable and didn't think it was an effective title for our media product.
Therefore we had a group discussion and decided on the film name "I.C.U". We decided this would work well as I.C.U is a pun on our tag line, and would get the audienceinvolved with the film as the pronoun is directly aimed at the reader. It also generally stands for the "Isolation Care Unit" which is an accident unit, and we thought this pun is relevant to the themes of our film.
Thursday 12 November 2009
Movie Poster Developmental Studies.
Movie Poster, Developmental Studies
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In order to create a film poster which will successfully represent the world of our film, I reasearched many different fonts, film posters, colours and credit blocks in order to be able to develop the stages of creating our film poster.
The fonts I found all have a similar style and are all strong characters that are bold and often look rough and parts faded out. This fits a typical thriller convention as these style of fonts hold a mysterious element. They appear tough and I personally feel the "28 Days Later" would work well on our poster, as it stands out, looks rather rough and suits a thriller genre.
When researching idea's for our poster, me and my group decided that we would like to have Alfie's face covering half the poster. This idea was used on both the "Waz" film poster and also "Frailty". The "Waz" poster especially represents the style and effect we want our poster to display. The dark lighting falling across the characters face with his hood up, creates mystery and also makes him appear quite menacing, which is the impression we want Alfie's character to create. The "Dark Knight" film posters also use the idea of covering half of the characters face, however using symbols. We thought we could use this idea incorporating our films key props of the lighter our even possibly a petrol can. The dark lighting with focus on the main characters face is also an effect we wanted to use on our poster. The intimacy between the characters on the "Twilight" film poster is the relationship we would like to show between Marie and Johnny's character, even though they will only be in the background. We decided Alfie should take up the foreground of the poster to show he is the films protagonist and to build suspense. In both the "KIDS" and "Kidulthood" film posters the lighting creates the kind of atmosphere we want for our film poster. The dark, gloomy atmospher creates suspense and mystery and also highlights the focus of the main character.
I decided on dark, dull colours such as blacks and greys, for our poster as this fits our thriller genre and will also make our text which will be in red, stand out. We decided on red as this was our inspirational colour for the film and will contrast with the darkness of the poster which emphasises the suspense and mystery.
For the setting of our poster, in our group discussion we decided that the most appropraite setting for our movie poster would be a desolated dark corridor. This way we could use both Johnny and Marie's characters in the poster, as well as Alfie in the foreground without the poster looking too cluttered.
I looked at multiple different movie posters to get idea's for credit blocks. It seemed that the majority of thriller credit blocks were fairly similar and kept rather simplistic which I thought would work on our movie poster as not to draw attention away from the main focus. Unlike the "Ocean's 13" movie poster, we decided to use a typical credit block, because the "Oceans 13" credit block fits super well into the style of the film and the house style.
An idea we had for our poster was to make Alfie's eye stand out as their is a key scene in our film which focuses on Alfie's eyes. I thought we could add flames into Alfie's eyes to give the audience a clue about the events of our film. It would also add mystery to the movie poster and possibly intice the audience and interest them.
Monday 9 November 2009
Film Poster - Group Discussion & Idea's.
After producing our own rough visual of the poster we discussed what were the best ideas we could incorporate to make the most successful poster. We decided:
- to feature all three of our characters into the poster, yet with Alfie in the foreground to show him as the protagonist and also as the character with power.
- to use the idea of half of Alfie's face blacked out to create suspense.
- to use dark, dull colours which are essential for our poster as it fits our thriller genre and will also make our text which will be in red, stand out. We decided on red as this was our inspirational colour for the film and black emphasises the suspense and mystery.
- a possible symbol could be the petrol can, which once the audience see the film will become inconic. We thought we could have the film title spilled out as the petrol from the can. We didn't want to use fire as a key symbol as it gives too much of our film away.
- to use Alfie's eyes as a key focus of the poster.
- for this poster to be both photographic and graphic, with the background being a long empty dark corridor.
- this poster should be visual with the only verbal aspect being the tagline.
- "Who have you got your eye on?...Because I've got mine on you", is the tagline.
- the target audience to be young adults as this is stereotypical for the thriller genre.
- the tagline to be our most persuasive technique, as it creates suspense. Alfie's half blacked out is also gripping and makes the audience want to know more.
- to add movie poster critiques and preferably a credit block.
- to keep the audience guessing with a sense on unpredictability and on the edge of their seats.
- to possibly have Alfie's silohuette in black holding the petrol can which is in colour.
- for the tagline to be a pun, as a main emphasise on the film poster could potentially be Alfie's eye.
- to show Johhny and Marie's character as fearful of Alfie.
- to feature all three of our characters into the poster, yet with Alfie in the foreground to show him as the protagonist and also as the character with power.
- to use the idea of half of Alfie's face blacked out to create suspense.
- to use dark, dull colours which are essential for our poster as it fits our thriller genre and will also make our text which will be in red, stand out. We decided on red as this was our inspirational colour for the film and black emphasises the suspense and mystery.
- a possible symbol could be the petrol can, which once the audience see the film will become inconic. We thought we could have the film title spilled out as the petrol from the can. We didn't want to use fire as a key symbol as it gives too much of our film away.
- to use Alfie's eyes as a key focus of the poster.
- for this poster to be both photographic and graphic, with the background being a long empty dark corridor.
- this poster should be visual with the only verbal aspect being the tagline.
- "Who have you got your eye on?...Because I've got mine on you", is the tagline.
- the target audience to be young adults as this is stereotypical for the thriller genre.
- the tagline to be our most persuasive technique, as it creates suspense. Alfie's half blacked out is also gripping and makes the audience want to know more.
- to add movie poster critiques and preferably a credit block.
- to keep the audience guessing with a sense on unpredictability and on the edge of their seats.
- to possibly have Alfie's silohuette in black holding the petrol can which is in colour.
- for the tagline to be a pun, as a main emphasise on the film poster could potentially be Alfie's eye.
- to show Johhny and Marie's character as fearful of Alfie.
Film Posters Class Feeedback.
In order to find out how to make our film poster the most successful it could be we decided to get feedback from our class, to see what they thought of our ideas for the poster and what else we can add them. After the discussion these are the idea's we retrieved:
- Using dark, grey, colours keeping the images very minimalistic.
- A dark figure of the physco leaning against a wall, at an angle, yet not revealing his face. In the foreground you can have two lovers enjoying themselves as the figure in background is watching on.
- An eye looking at two lovers, who are clearly panicing and frightened.
- In a corridor with a black silhouette, and the wall has red writing saying "pyhsco".
- A hole in the wall, with an eye looking through it watching onto Johnny & Marie's characters flirting.
- Incorporate newspaper or newspaper font from our newspaper all over the poster.
- A triangle of light beaming down revealing the couple in the spotlight, yet in the background. Alfie is in the foreground looking menacing in black with his hood up.
- Half of Alfie's face blacked out with light shining on the other half.
- Alfie walking down the corridor looking powerful and the couple in the background looking scared.
- Marie holding hands with Alfie looking back over her shoulder down the corridor at Johhny.
- Using dark, grey, colours keeping the images very minimalistic.
- A dark figure of the physco leaning against a wall, at an angle, yet not revealing his face. In the foreground you can have two lovers enjoying themselves as the figure in background is watching on.
- An eye looking at two lovers, who are clearly panicing and frightened.
- In a corridor with a black silhouette, and the wall has red writing saying "pyhsco".
- A hole in the wall, with an eye looking through it watching onto Johnny & Marie's characters flirting.
- Incorporate newspaper or newspaper font from our newspaper all over the poster.
- A triangle of light beaming down revealing the couple in the spotlight, yet in the background. Alfie is in the foreground looking menacing in black with his hood up.
- Half of Alfie's face blacked out with light shining on the other half.
- Alfie walking down the corridor looking powerful and the couple in the background looking scared.
- Marie holding hands with Alfie looking back over her shoulder down the corridor at Johhny.
Monday 2 November 2009
Sex & The City Movie Posters.
Film posters have a commercial use to promote their film but also have an artistic value. Over many years some film posters have become iconic pieces of art, for example Pulp Fiction's film poster. Film posters now occupy the gap inbetween advertisement and art.
Sex & The City, one of my personal favourites, was a film which had many different film posters.
There isn't a specific main colour used on these posters, as the characters have different outfits on in each which instead suggest fashion is a key element to this film. However the title of the film is written in pink, sparkly text which connotates to me that this is a film aimed at women and possibly a "chick flick". The background of the posters is mainly dark colours, or is blurred out so the focus is on the characters and the attention grabbing text. As the characters are wearing standout outfits in each poster this again represents the strong relationship the film has with fashion.
Only in some of the film posters are symbols used. In the background of the first film poster I have posted there is a blurred yellow taxi. This is an iconic symbol of New York City where the movie is set. Many fans who already followed the tv series of Sex & The City would have this foreknowledge, however as this is such an iconic image of NYC, the audience would be able to decode it without seeing the film first. In the background of the third poster that I posted you can see the blurred setting of bright lights and possibly a theatre which creates the feel of a New York Street. Not so much a symbol, but the mise-en-scene of costume is used to decode the theme of fashion in the movie. The glamourous high couture dresses the characters are wearing represent the fashion capital the film is based in and also the glamourous social lives of the characters that requires them to dress that way.
In two of the film posters the main focus is of the main character Carrie Bradshaw. This suggests her as the lead role in the film and who the story line is based around. Another film poster is of four female characters out on the town together, which suggests the story is based around the friendship and lives of these three women. These three posters are all represented photographically with the background blurred out. In the final movie poster the main focus of the poster is the stand out pink sparkling text and an image of Carrie's character. This is represented graphically and is quite a minimalistic layout suggesting this poster is aimed at people who are already fans of the Sex & The City tv programme, and don't need to know more about the film to sell it to them. In the first three posters the messages are primarily visual whereas the final posters message is verbal with the film title and slogan "get carried away".
I think as the tv programme is already a success, the posters are primarily aimed at its tv fans. However through these posters I do think they are aimed at women in particular through the texts and images used. The word "sex" in the title also suggest it is aimed at older teenagers and women who can find the lives of four middle aged women interesting!
Not many conventional persuasive techniques are used to attract and audience to this poster, as they are using the already successful movie title to attract the main audience. They use stereotypical aspects to attract a female girly audience for example, glamourous clothes which suggest to the audience they can live vicariously through these characters. It is a steroetypical "chick-flick" genre.
The main character is cast as Sarah Jessica Parker which is a unique selling point to the film. With her as the main character, the film is already attracting her own fan base as she is a well loved and respected actress. She is the only focus in three of the four movie posters representing her as a unique selling point to the film.
Through the movie posters some pleasures are promised. On the cinema release date the caption reads "Save the date", suggesting that this film is something worth waiting for. Through the happiness in the characters facial expressions on the movie posters it implies the film will bring you into this world, if only for the films length, yet it gives you the feeling you can be as happy as these characters.
Attention is gained in these posters through the stand out colour and the beauty and glamour of the characters. One the final movie poster there is a tagline. "Get Carried Away" suggests the film can carry you into a different world yet it is always a pun on the main characters name Carrie.
Like any other poster their is product constraints. From this poster you do not learn alot about the movies institutional context in the stages of production. We are aware that this movie is a blockbuster as it is being awaited in cinemas, yet the only information that we can gather through the movie posters is that it is in association with HBO, and american televeision company. The movie posters are important to the marketing campaign as a whole as they help to sell the film. The different conventions and style of the posters appeal to its target audience.
In my opinion I think the posters are effective as they do promote the housestyle of the movie, without giving away the plot. The key to the movie's success is drawn on the success of the tv series and the movie posters highlight what women love most about the tv series, Carrie Bradshaw and her outfits! Therefore appealing to the target audience it gives them what they want to see in the film. I don't think the poster can be seen as effective in anyway as it doesn't give off any violent or abusive messages. The posters don't damage the message of the marketing campaign as I don't feel they can be taken the wrong way. The poster's aren't nesseccerily trying to send a particular message just promoting the glitz and glamour of the film.
Sex & The City, one of my personal favourites, was a film which had many different film posters.
There isn't a specific main colour used on these posters, as the characters have different outfits on in each which instead suggest fashion is a key element to this film. However the title of the film is written in pink, sparkly text which connotates to me that this is a film aimed at women and possibly a "chick flick". The background of the posters is mainly dark colours, or is blurred out so the focus is on the characters and the attention grabbing text. As the characters are wearing standout outfits in each poster this again represents the strong relationship the film has with fashion.
Only in some of the film posters are symbols used. In the background of the first film poster I have posted there is a blurred yellow taxi. This is an iconic symbol of New York City where the movie is set. Many fans who already followed the tv series of Sex & The City would have this foreknowledge, however as this is such an iconic image of NYC, the audience would be able to decode it without seeing the film first. In the background of the third poster that I posted you can see the blurred setting of bright lights and possibly a theatre which creates the feel of a New York Street. Not so much a symbol, but the mise-en-scene of costume is used to decode the theme of fashion in the movie. The glamourous high couture dresses the characters are wearing represent the fashion capital the film is based in and also the glamourous social lives of the characters that requires them to dress that way.
In two of the film posters the main focus is of the main character Carrie Bradshaw. This suggests her as the lead role in the film and who the story line is based around. Another film poster is of four female characters out on the town together, which suggests the story is based around the friendship and lives of these three women. These three posters are all represented photographically with the background blurred out. In the final movie poster the main focus of the poster is the stand out pink sparkling text and an image of Carrie's character. This is represented graphically and is quite a minimalistic layout suggesting this poster is aimed at people who are already fans of the Sex & The City tv programme, and don't need to know more about the film to sell it to them. In the first three posters the messages are primarily visual whereas the final posters message is verbal with the film title and slogan "get carried away".
I think as the tv programme is already a success, the posters are primarily aimed at its tv fans. However through these posters I do think they are aimed at women in particular through the texts and images used. The word "sex" in the title also suggest it is aimed at older teenagers and women who can find the lives of four middle aged women interesting!
Not many conventional persuasive techniques are used to attract and audience to this poster, as they are using the already successful movie title to attract the main audience. They use stereotypical aspects to attract a female girly audience for example, glamourous clothes which suggest to the audience they can live vicariously through these characters. It is a steroetypical "chick-flick" genre.
The main character is cast as Sarah Jessica Parker which is a unique selling point to the film. With her as the main character, the film is already attracting her own fan base as she is a well loved and respected actress. She is the only focus in three of the four movie posters representing her as a unique selling point to the film.
Through the movie posters some pleasures are promised. On the cinema release date the caption reads "Save the date", suggesting that this film is something worth waiting for. Through the happiness in the characters facial expressions on the movie posters it implies the film will bring you into this world, if only for the films length, yet it gives you the feeling you can be as happy as these characters.
Attention is gained in these posters through the stand out colour and the beauty and glamour of the characters. One the final movie poster there is a tagline. "Get Carried Away" suggests the film can carry you into a different world yet it is always a pun on the main characters name Carrie.
Like any other poster their is product constraints. From this poster you do not learn alot about the movies institutional context in the stages of production. We are aware that this movie is a blockbuster as it is being awaited in cinemas, yet the only information that we can gather through the movie posters is that it is in association with HBO, and american televeision company. The movie posters are important to the marketing campaign as a whole as they help to sell the film. The different conventions and style of the posters appeal to its target audience.
In my opinion I think the posters are effective as they do promote the housestyle of the movie, without giving away the plot. The key to the movie's success is drawn on the success of the tv series and the movie posters highlight what women love most about the tv series, Carrie Bradshaw and her outfits! Therefore appealing to the target audience it gives them what they want to see in the film. I don't think the poster can be seen as effective in anyway as it doesn't give off any violent or abusive messages. The posters don't damage the message of the marketing campaign as I don't feel they can be taken the wrong way. The poster's aren't nesseccerily trying to send a particular message just promoting the glitz and glamour of the film.
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