EVALUATION Question 4

MEDIA

Programme used : YOUTUBE

Role : Youtube played a massive part in the reasearch, planning and production. Was very useful for researching teaser trailer examples related to our films and for the conventions used.

Programme used : CANNON DIGITAL CAMERA/RECORDER

Role : We used the redcorder to film our teaser trailer. Was very easy to use - simple as well as having several factors to produce advanced techniques.

Programme used : IMOVIE

Role : We used imovie to edit our teaser trailer. A variety of styles techniques and affets were available to produce our trailer. Easy enough to use however problems did occur but overall good.

Programme used : PHOTOSHOP

Role : Photoshop was used to produce our film poster and magazine cover. Had a huge amount of diverse affects to apply to our image ensuring optimum quality. Quite tricky to master but once educated its very helpful.

Programme use : MOZILLA FIREFOX

Role : Allowed to search for all internet related sites such a blogger and youtube.

Programme used : BLOGGER

Role : Allowed us to display our progression from start to finish to be marked.

EVALUATION Question 2

- All products (film, magazine, poster) interlink. Poster image taken from film, same font used throughout although fiml magazine cover ( as no characters were given away in the teaser trailer ) was intended to be distributed after release of the film - interview with the cast of 'Judas Kiss' so didnt have much aesthetic relation to the film or poster however continued with style and colour of font. However the composition of the photograph on the magazine cover correlated witht he film by being shot in black and white with bright writing - much like the film poster and trailer.

EVALUATION Question 3

FEEDBACK - asked 10 female - 10 male

WHAT THEY LIKED
- POINT OF VIEW SHOTS
- MUSIC AND IMAGE WENT VERY WELL TOGETHER
- BLACK AND WHITE = DRAMATIC
- TEMPO OF SHOTS - QUICK PACE INCREASING DRAMATIC EFFECT
- CURIOSITY DUE TO LACK OF INFO = WORRIED FOR CHARACTER
- TITLES INVOKED INTRIGUE

WHAT COULD BE BETTER
- TOO LITTLE INFORMATION
-POSSIBLY CHARACTERS REFLECTION IN TRAIN WINDOW
- REWIND SEEMED TO HAPPEN WITH NO DUE CAUSE
-SOME SORT OF DIALOGUE

EVALUATION Question 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-fF0fi61fc

IN WHAT WAYS..

Our task for A2 media studies was to research and plan then create a teaser trailer using imovie - and related media such as a film poster (photoshop), blog (internet), and a magazine cover (photoshop).
As our film is a crime comedy we needed to interpret both of their conventions into our teaser trailer. Main conventions of a crime teaser trailer are;track,pan and tilt camera movements - weapons, sex, drugs and money mise en scene - continuity editing, short cut edits along with point of view shots ad medium close up shots. The main comedy conventions consist of background sound (for example light hearted music), dialogue (usually comedic attracting audience), clips from the film, film studios at the start, information on the film, (e.g release date), voice over although not always used, etc.... An example of a combined convention teaser trailer would be Brothers Bloom a film i researched prior to making the film which contained features from both genres. Our media piece uses some typical conventions of these genres.
At the beginning of every trailer or film no matter what its status is, there is always a film or production logo. 'One way films' was the chosen name, having some relation to the film meaning, well, no return. The image used is a street sign - we thought it was most appropriate when making a film about typically English characters, also based in London, town streets would play a major part in our mise en scene.
The whole trailer was shot in black and white suggesting a dark and ominous undertone of the film in contrast with the titles following a traditionally British color scheme ( red , white and blue )possibly representing a brighter more humorous side. For our teaser trailer we made sure that our shots were quick and choppy keeping the audience intrigued and curious. We mainly used medium close up shots, long shots and establishing shots - to let the viewer know its set in England and not much else.
It challenges teaser conventions by not introducing a character at all as most of the shots are point of view shots - this was possibly one weakness of the trailer.
This created what is known as an enigma effect:

-A PUZZLING OR INEXPLICABLE OCCURRENCE OR SITUATION: his disappearance is an enigma that has given rise to much speculation.
-A PERSON OF PUZZLING OR CONTRADICTORY CHARACTER: to me he has always been an enigma, one minute completely insensitive, the next moved to tears.

We chose to shoot familiar scenes that people would see everyday so in some way they can relate, using iconic images such as a train and skyscrapers.
For example the low budget film 'Love on the heath' was very unknown was raved about within the surrounding areas of hampstead heath itself. Apart from a select few most teaser trailers have some sort of dialogue, however in our teaser trailer we chose not to include any dialogue as we thought that this might further exaggerate the mystery. Instead we decided to use writing to briefly inform the audience of a basic story line. The whole trailer was shot in black and white suggesting a dark undertone to the film or a sad reality, we counteracted this information with the bright color of the writing (colors associated with britain to indicate England = English film) this could imply that as well as sadness is comedy there to balance it out or even cover it up. The teaser trailer follows the story board exactly - this was not our initial idea but the shots are somewhat confusing further alienating the view as well as pulling them in. In our film we challenged most conventions of a crime comedy movie. However developed those conventions within a teaser trailer.
The music used in the trailer was somewhat quite unconventional for teaser trailers. Big budget films tend to use Big name tracks and example of this would be the films when in rome. Using 3OH!3 ft. Katy Perry - Starstrukk and Fox on the run by the academy is however there aren't even lyrics in our song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTxURFMWRxg
The narrative of our film/teaser trailer however develops the convention of crime comedy. Every film has a build up to something and an issue the charcters need to overcome and most of the time there will be a romance. We have included all of these convemtions into our film and developed gthem by interlinking them together through just one character - Alice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWw0ov-cAUg - dark knight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VXa82AuwHU - 2012

FILM POSTER

TEASER POSTER

The film poster is very simplistic much like the teaser trailer itself. It is very similar to the teaser trailer in the way that the image is black and white, possibly suggesting that the film has a dark undertone combined with the brightly colored title showing that there is some fun.
An example of a film poster like ours would be 'Harry Potter and the half blood prince' pictured above. The film doesnt even state the name of the film just - 'once again i must ask too much of your harry' and below HP6. They are able to do this as it is a worldwide sensation and everyone who saw the poster would know and although our film is unknown this convention of teaser posters is effective so was used.
'One way films' is a production company that was made up to give the film more credibility along with the 'In association with warner brothers' - a very well known name in the film industry lulling people into a sense of familiarness as they have already proven they produce good/great/amazing films. The lack of information adds to the feeling of enigma felt by the consumers along with their curiosity and need to know. The date however is kind of like the reassurance of when in fact you will find out instead of just not knowing.
there is a formal connection between film poster and traile uses still image from trailer as background image and the font is similar and one way productions in the corner.
The films poster was released early on in the advertisement campaign this is why there are still no characters connected or represented with the film. However by the time the film magazine interview has arrived the characters are well known due to film release.

FILM MAGAZINE COVER

Our magazine cover follows the conventions of a typical empire magazine cover. Using photoshop i was able to use the actual logo from the magazine to maintain its authenticity. On the magazine cover i believe we used a set color palette that complimented each other and that weren't clashing. The color scheme was intended to be Britannia colors - red, white, blue, - with an exception of the lord of the rings Blu-ray advertisement as our film is British. As the girls character in the film isn't introduced - intended as a mystery - we thought an interview would entice readers to want to know more and finally see the face of Alice. The composition of the picture is great. The stereotype dog for 'it' girls is combined with her unconventional rock chick style, cigarette in hand and messy bed covers with a Staten hat. The mise en scene is so varied it creates the character profile that we tried to portray in our film. Also following a format that most magazines regardless of their target audience would have is the writing, eye-catching, bold, variable fonts and different colors which i believe was done well.
The date is bigger that on usual magazines for no particular reason again we used it from another magazine to keep it authentic. The lord of the rings advertisement stands out from the whole cover. This was added to also follow the conventions of numerous advertisements within empire magazine.
An example of an Empire magazine cover to illustrate the conventions is pictured above. The variety of text fonts and sizes, the exclusive offer below, interview with a character from a film etc.

STORYBOARDS

Inspiration: Guy Ritchie

His second feature film was Snatch, released in the year 2000. Originally known as Diamonds, it was another caper comedy, this time backed by a major studio following the previous success of Lock, Stock. The cast featured such Hollywood big names as Brad Pitt, Benicio del Toro and Dennis Farina, along with the returning Vinnie Jones and Statham. Similar to "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" in featuring a complex and inventive storyline in which the characters weave in and out of each others' lives, the film also plays with time, depicting events from various perspectives. It currently has a rating of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, being widely viewed as too similar to his debut in both thematic content and performance, with Roger Ebert noting: "I don't care if he returns to the kind of material that worked for him the first time around. I just want him to get organized, to find the through line, to figure out why we would want to see the movie for more than its technique."

ANALYSIS OF FILM POSTERS

There are two versions of the scarface film and film poster. This poster was released in 1983 following the remake. We see the poster split in two one side black the other white. Its simple black,white and red coloring has a number of possible meanings. The character in the middle is Tony, directly split between the two it could be that black represents the dark side of the law. Or as Tony is posed with a gun, it could be just life and death.
At the top of the poster the actors names and the title are given equal billing. The use of only the actors surname also embeds this. there is also a lot of writing on the poster but it does not take away from the main picture.
The large ring on Tony’s hand could represent the riches he has as a result of his gangster lifestyle, which we know by the presence of a weapon.
The main titles are in bold red. This gives the impression that blood is an irrelevant substance, especially when we see that Tony is posed below with a weapon by his side so casually.
The lack of gradients in the poster, apart from Tony’s face could also mean there is no in between, you’re either in or out of a situation.
The text on the black background gives the viewer an insight into the story. The synopsis talks of the American Dream and mentions he characters name Tony Montana. However, his nickname is emphasized by being used in block capitals ‘…SCARFACE’. It suggests that he is not a nice person.
Lower down the poster the text says ‘ He loved the American Dream. With a vengeance’
The opposite side of the poster lists the credits in black on a white background.

ANALYSIS OF CONVENTIONS OF TEASER TRAILERS

Teaser trailers are usually very short in length compared to normal film trailers, they are usually between 30 and 60 seconds long, and usually contain little, short clips from the film.

Teaser trailers are only normally made for big-budget and popular themed movies. The main purpose of a teaser trailer is to let the audience know that a movie is coming up in the near future, and to how them small snippets of the genre/content/plot.

Teaser trailers are often made while the film is still in production or being edited. As a result of this the teaser trailer may contain scenes that are actually not in the film as they did not include that scene when editing the film.

Some teaser trailers for films are released or have appeared a year or over before the movie’s release. E.g. the teaser trailer for The Incredibles was advertised in May 2003 with Finding Nemo, which was a full 18 months before The Incredibles was actually released.

textual analysis : sight and sound vs empire


EMPIRE: DECEMBER 2007 - GOLDEN COMPASS SIGHT AND SOUND: AUGUST 2009 - PUBLIC ENEMIES
DIRECTED BY Chris Weitz DIRECTED BY Michael Mann

Sight & Sound Magazine is one of the best selling monthly film magazines in UK. Published by the British Film Institute and carries the entire world of cinema at your doorstep. There are wide varieties of in depth and informative features which covers various aspects of film world. Sight & Sound Magazine brings cinema history to life. Each issue of this magazine comes with features on past, present and future cinema’s. Some of the issues cover foreign cinemas, its directors, and other information. On the whole this magazine is a valuable resource for all cinema lovers. All the features are well written and presented professionally. 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 whereas sight and sound tend to cover only niche films.
As well as film news, previews and reviews, Empire has some unique regular features. Each issue features a Classic Scene, a transcript from a notable film scene.
The regular Top 10 feature lists Empire's choice of the top ten examples of something film-related. For example 10 Best Chase Scenes or 10 Best Movie Gags in The Simpsons. Readers are encouraged to write in if they disagree with the choices made.
These acclaimed magazines are both successful in engaging their target audiences through different styles and methods. 'Empire' magazine is initially directed at the mainstream audiences of the cinematic world. Mainstream audiences tend to consist of people who may be less educated about what the film industry actually is, what it entails and it methods and processes in regards to all aspects and areas of the film industry. Empire tends to advertise films that are big budget hollywood stylized - conglomerate blockbusters. For example in the issue december 2007 the cover film Golden Compass- the article takes a behind the scenes look at the making of the film (populist approach). Whereas 'Sight and Sound' advertises more independent, lower budget, niche films catered more towards middle class society and those who may be working within or interacting within he film industry itself. An example of a film advertised in sight and sound - Public Enemies - photographed on the cover.
The noticable feature of Empire front covers is the contrast between text and imagery. The text completly complements the images and gives brief statements encouraging the audience and cosumer to read on. Aswell as having one main story they also offer many sub stories that may also appeal to the reader as a commercial product with a need to make money.
What is also noticable is the constant mention of popular actors and directors to further entice the audience to consume the product. The general format is simple but at the same time due to the use of colour it appears busy and almost gives the effect of bursting with 'you' want to read and hear about.
The inclusion of article in film magzines boosts the potential success of a film massively as the ratings go up because of another branch of unforced advertisement. It comes across as impartial but realistically it only displays the film that are believed to be sucessful.



The date is in quite small print, which gives the impression that it is not the most important thing on the cover, it just follows the normal conventions. The price is small too, which, the same as the date, follows conventions and is not seen to be the main importance on the cover of the magazine. The image of somebody flying reinforces the fact that it is a fantasy film and links to the word fantasy on this cover. The word magic adds to the fantasy of the film. It is also shown in the same colours as the ones used for the title of the film, making the two link together. All the text on the cover is gold/white to follow the theme of the film, which shows the importance, as even topics that are not involved with the film are in hose colours. The compass in the back- ground is one of the main focus’s of the cover, which links to the narrative and the title. The little girl is slightly more forward and is holding the compass, which shows that she most likely has the main part in the film. She also looks innocent which leaves you wondering what the compass is going to do. The dominant look is a contrast to the little girls innocence and vulnerability, adding to the narrative. The image of somebody flying covers the title of the magazine, making the film the most important thing. The gold dress also links with the ‘golden’ of the film. The blue back-ground has a sense of mystery to it, as you can vaguely see objects /shapes but not enough to know what they are. The top bar of the magazine gives more information about the film and advertises it. ‘ Collectors edition’ shows that it is different from any other edition, therefore it is unique.



In comparison the date is slightly bigger with the price around the same size (its more expensive) again indicating that the price is not important because generally speaking to pick up the magazine in the first place you would already be intending to buy it and would do so regularly. The main object in the picture bar the famous face is the gun showing the readers that the genre would be crime/drama possibly thriller shown through the wardrobe - trilby hat and long black coat along with the signature gangster leather gloves. If these obvious factors didn't indicate a gangster film the block print 'GANGSTER SPECIAL' splashed across the middle of the page just might. Also the use of several different fonts for different pieces of information draws attention individually to each piece of writing. Johnny Depp is the only character displayed on the cover suggesting he is the main character in the film and is also a familiar face in the film industry attracting his fan base unaware of the feature film. The lack of visual information gives a sense of mystery in comparison with the empire magazine where several characters of the film are displayed along with symbolic images indicating the narrative of the film in detail and all different themes in the film whereas the image of Johnny Depp and a gun does not.F

The advertisements and films in sight and sound follow the theme of less commercialized products although there are some exceptions. For example the film 'Coco before Chanel' which has received huge publicity is reviewed in the magazine alongside 'Charles Dicken's England' which is less known. The articles provide a synopsis of the film, list of the cast, credits and an overall review of the film itself. The picture to text ratio on a randomly chosen page but generally follows this pattern throughout the magazine is never really more than 20% in comparison with Empire magazine where it would never be less then 20% on average. General advertisements in both magazines differ. Films festivals are often advertised in both magazines an example of a film festival advertised in both would be the cannes film festival as it is an acclaimed film festival. Other smaller film festivals such as Edinborough film festival would most probably be advertised in sight and sound as it is less commercialized. General advertisements in other words sponsors for the magazine appear much more frequently in Empire magazine. Sight and sound advertisements are for critically acclaimed films rather the daily mail review, sunday times ect reviews in Empire. Other advertisements in the magazines - in sight and sound are for books or courses for film studies courses and little of them - in Empire magazine there are regular adverts for such things as cameras themselves ( e.g Dison, Canon) along with drinks and food advertisements. Thus indicating that sight and sound may be a more successful magazine that does not need a lot of sponsors.

When referring to color schemes in both magazines they are somewhat quite similar however sight and sound would be less busy in different and contrasting colors whereas Empire doesn't really follow a color pallet from page to page. The language/vocabulary used in sight and sound is that of a more technical style using specialist language when referring to films. An example of writing style reviewing the film 'Mesrine: Killer Instinct' - 'Of course, there's an ethical issue at stake here: despite the film makers admirable reluctance to be judgmental, its nigh on impossible not to side with our antihero, whom we last glimpse sauntering into the sunset, swag-bag in hand' key words - 'nigh, reluctance, whom, sauntering'. In Empire on a review of 'Cemetery Junction' - 'At the heart of the movie is a portrait of three friends — cool, good-looking Freddie, troubled (but good-looking) Bruce and group idiot Snork, so named for his close resemblance to a Banana Splits character — captured at a time when the friendship is evolving.' key words - 'cool, good-looking, idiot'.

ANALYSIS OF FISH TANK TRAILER

before making my teaser trailer research was necessary to find out about different styles associated with different genres. although fish tank was a different genre to my film it was very helpful.
the initial shots are the girl doing her make up, drinking vodka and an establishing shot of what seems to be her living establishment - a council estate. This is introducing the viewers briefly to what her life revolves around. We then assume she is lower class and typically has nothing else to do. Next the girl begins to argue with other girls on the estate - showing she is confrontational and brave as she is on her own challenging a group of girls. there is also dialogue in this scene further indicating her social class. this is followed by another argument scene with what seems to be her mother broken by a quick shot of her dancing with light reflecting in the camera almost signifying its her haven from her life.
Next shot is introducing the award winning director attracting the audience along with a change in music to a percussionist melody raising tension towards a climax this followed by the introduction of a new character and her facial expression and stare shows her interest and curiosity of her mums new boyfriend. Followed by her prancing around in her knickers in front of him causing conflict between the mother and her while he gives her a look up and down suggesting there may be more of their relationship to come. throughout the trailer there are several shots of him behaving in a parental manner towards her showing her love that her mother doesn't. Scenes with both Mia and Connor in seem to monopolize the trailer showing little things that happen between them all with a sense of comfort and sexual tension. The last few scenes consist of the girl dancing, taking a breath and dancing some more indicating this is her escape from the fish tank the basis for the film. all the dancing takes place in an abandoned flat with large windows overlooking the city which could be her in a fish tank, very strong imagery.

SYNOPSIS

synopsis


Three foolish young male friends all familiar with crooks and bad guys place a bet in a card game and lose. The problem is they didn't have the money in the first place and now have a big mobster on their back to get his money. The guys have no idea how they' re going to do it but dirty money is the fastest and easiest money. One of the three Joel friends is beginning a new relationship with a girl he met in a bar. The girl (Alice) is from a wealthy descent and is highly skilled in theft and deceit working as a safe code breaker for some years.

His initial intentions were good but on discovering her background and abilities, being desperate and fearful for their lives the other two men Bobby and Jack make a plan and convince Joel. Having spent weeks planning the heist and Alice being chilled and laid back asked not to be bored with the details just wanted to know when and where was fine with the boys. During this time Joel is falling for alice and has preservations constantly but there is no other option. Closing in on the day of the attack hours before the heist Alice discovers that the building they are about to rob is her estranged fathers and her and Joel form an alliance with her father and set up the other boys in a 'police sting'. But her father turns joel in as well however paying off his debt. Ending set outside of a prison where alice is waiting for joel to go on and live a happy life with the money her father left in his will after being run-over tragically, but what happened to bobby and jack......