Wednesday 29 April 2015
Monday 27 April 2015
Evaluation - How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning, and evaluation stages?
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning, and evaluation stages?
In order to present my research and planning, and evaluation, I needed to create it in blog form using 'Blogger', a website which allows you to create a blog through your Google account. 'Blogger' is a website on the internet. The internet was an integral part of my research and planning. I used Google Chrome, and accessed numerous websites such as 'dafont.com' and 'fontyukle.com', websites that allowed me to choose a font for my media products, and 'impaawards.com', a website that contains thousands of magazine posters for me to analyse, obtain ideas for my tagline billing etc. The internet also provided me with 'Youtube', a website that allows you to upload and watch videos. It was here that I was able to research teaser trailers, and gain ideas and inspiration for my own teaser trailer. Other internet based websites that I used to create my media products were Google Docs, which helped me create my shot list for my teaser trailer, and Spotify (although this can run without internet), a music application which allows you to stream music instantly (I used this to find the music for the opening part of my teaser trailer).
I used Photoshop Elements for the creation of all my ancillary texts. I used it to create my Poster and Magazine Front Cover, and to create the still images in my Teaser Trailer, including taglines, billing, social media links, and release dates. Photoshop Elements is an easy and quick way to design and create to design media products such as the ones I created as it is laid out in a simple way so that even someone using it for the first time, such as myself, could find a way to understand how to use it, and make the best possible product as possible.
It offered me a huge amount of different tools to use in order to maximise the potential of my product. Due to the majority of my poster and magazine cover requiring text, I mainly used the text box tool, which requires you to drag a box in your desired place, pick a font and font size, and write whatever I wanted.
For my poster, I created a black background, and the first thing I did was obtain my pre-cropped photo of my main character, which I filled in white, so as to contrast against the black background, and highlight his positive role in my film. I added my billing and inserted my tagline, which I would later change due to personal preference, at the top of the poster.
I then added the film name and main actor name in the space between the picture of the star and the billing. I originally made the font of the film name smaller than the tagline, which I would later change, as it is required for the film name to be the largest text on a poster.
I then added ratings and reviews to my poster which are essential for the marketisation of my film. I also added my production company logos which I had chosen during my research, and I then proceeded to play around with my design. I decided at this point to change my tagline, and also refrain from using only white text, as I decided to use red text as well to add a different dimension to my poster.
To film the shots for my teaser trailer I used a Panasonic HDC TM900 on a Hama Star Tripod. The Panasonic is a state-of-the-art camera that allowed me to capture the best quality shots possible. Alongside the qualities of the shots it can capture, the Panasonic also has many other abilities that aided me during my filming, such as the ability to review all of my shots at the click of a button, as well as allowing me to delete those that I did not approve of. This was all made easy thanks to the pop-out touch screen connected to the camera. This made recording and viewing my shots extremely easy as you were able to film with comfort and also made it possible to line up my shots a lot easier.
It was also extremely easy to take different kinds of shots on this camera, such as out of focus shots. This was all possible from the click of a button. The Hama Star Tripod was also very helpful in securing difficult shots at awkward angles, and meant that all my shots would be guaranteed to be steady as they were not all being filmed from my hands.
In order to present my research and planning, and evaluation, I needed to create it in blog form using 'Blogger', a website which allows you to create a blog through your Google account. 'Blogger' is a website on the internet. The internet was an integral part of my research and planning. I used Google Chrome, and accessed numerous websites such as 'dafont.com' and 'fontyukle.com', websites that allowed me to choose a font for my media products, and 'impaawards.com', a website that contains thousands of magazine posters for me to analyse, obtain ideas for my tagline billing etc. The internet also provided me with 'Youtube', a website that allows you to upload and watch videos. It was here that I was able to research teaser trailers, and gain ideas and inspiration for my own teaser trailer. Other internet based websites that I used to create my media products were Google Docs, which helped me create my shot list for my teaser trailer, and Spotify (although this can run without internet), a music application which allows you to stream music instantly (I used this to find the music for the opening part of my teaser trailer).
It offered me a huge amount of different tools to use in order to maximise the potential of my product. Due to the majority of my poster and magazine cover requiring text, I mainly used the text box tool, which requires you to drag a box in your desired place, pick a font and font size, and write whatever I wanted.
For my poster, I created a black background, and the first thing I did was obtain my pre-cropped photo of my main character, which I filled in white, so as to contrast against the black background, and highlight his positive role in my film. I added my billing and inserted my tagline, which I would later change due to personal preference, at the top of the poster.
I then added the film name and main actor name in the space between the picture of the star and the billing. I originally made the font of the film name smaller than the tagline, which I would later change, as it is required for the film name to be the largest text on a poster.
I then added ratings and reviews to my poster which are essential for the marketisation of my film. I also added my production company logos which I had chosen during my research, and I then proceeded to play around with my design. I decided at this point to change my tagline, and also refrain from using only white text, as I decided to use red text as well to add a different dimension to my poster.
To film the shots for my teaser trailer I used a Panasonic HDC TM900 on a Hama Star Tripod. The Panasonic is a state-of-the-art camera that allowed me to capture the best quality shots possible. Alongside the qualities of the shots it can capture, the Panasonic also has many other abilities that aided me during my filming, such as the ability to review all of my shots at the click of a button, as well as allowing me to delete those that I did not approve of. This was all made easy thanks to the pop-out touch screen connected to the camera. This made recording and viewing my shots extremely easy as you were able to film with comfort and also made it possible to line up my shots a lot easier.
It was also extremely easy to take different kinds of shots on this camera, such as out of focus shots. This was all possible from the click of a button. The Hama Star Tripod was also very helpful in securing difficult shots at awkward angles, and meant that all my shots would be guaranteed to be steady as they were not all being filmed from my hands.
Before editing, I had to record all my voice-overs and obtain the sound effects that I wanted to use in my trailer. We recorded the voice-overs using a Shure SM58 microphone with a pop shield in front of it. This muffled out any unwanted popping noises and ensured for quality sound, and made it sound authentic and professional. The recorded sounds was accessed on a soundboard, where I could edit and control the sounds produced and prepare them for immediate placing in the teaser trailer. I did not need to record any sound effects as I obtained them all from my college's sound effect library.
Once I had done that, I then had to be edit all my shots together with the music on Avid Media Composer. Avid Media Composer is an editing tool used for making videos, using shots taken from the camera and editing them together with music, making it look authentic in the process.
I began by sorting all my shots into categories and placing them into 'bins'. These bins made it easy to go through specific shots and allowed me to find the shots I needed with ease. Each shot had a thumbnail on it which allowed me to see what each shot was from the picture, which made it even easier to tell the difference between the shots and place them in bins, as all my shots, as you will see in the pictures below, do not have any distinctive names placed on them.
Once all my shots were organised, I was able to create my teaser trailer by using Avid to place each shots after each other using a timeline to measure and perfectly place each shot. The timeline was especially helpful as it allowed me to place things in layers. This means that I was able to easily structure the combination and timing of my shots with sound effects and non-diegetic music.
I was able to view both the selected shot, and the overall work produced side-by-side on a viewing screen, so as to constantly check and make sure that I have no made any mistakes or want to change anything. I was able to add effects on my shots, for example, I used 'fade' on my establishing shots, so as to ensure a flow at the opening of my trailer.
Sunday 26 April 2015
Evaluation - What have you learned from the audience feedback?
What have you learned from the audience feedback?
Audience feedback is a key part of creating a successful marketing campaign. The ultimate aim of such a campaign is to be successful in the eyes of the audience. Therefore, feedback is important as it enables you to improve on what you have already done based on your target audience's opinions.
Throughout my research and planning for my media products, I have been striving to ensure that my products is suitable for my target audience. I knew my film would not be suitable for children, so I already had an idea of the tone of my products. Despite that, I still had to make sure that my products were relevant and relatable to real media products, of which I was trying to emulate, but in my own unique way.
In order to get an idea of what the audience wanted from my poster and magazine cover, I designed questionnaires that would allow me to have an understanding as to what is expected of my products from my target audience.
The results I received back were very similar to what I expected. I expected my target audience to be aware of the conventions of a poster, partly due to their age and likely understanding of modern posters and what is present on them. The only thing that surprised me is that 75 out of 100 people did not expect to see the directors name on the poster aside from the billing. I was surprised because when I researched posters and their conventions, I found that it was not uncommon for the director to be mentioned aside from the billing.
The audience feedback on my poster ultimately did not cause me to change much of my poster, although I did refrain from mentioning the director aside from the billing, and instead decided to list my star actor instead.
Audience feedback is a key part of creating a successful marketing campaign. The ultimate aim of such a campaign is to be successful in the eyes of the audience. Therefore, feedback is important as it enables you to improve on what you have already done based on your target audience's opinions.
Throughout my research and planning for my media products, I have been striving to ensure that my products is suitable for my target audience. I knew my film would not be suitable for children, so I already had an idea of the tone of my products. Despite that, I still had to make sure that my products were relevant and relatable to real media products, of which I was trying to emulate, but in my own unique way.
In order to get an idea of what the audience wanted from my poster and magazine cover, I designed questionnaires that would allow me to have an understanding as to what is expected of my products from my target audience.
I gave the above questionnaires to 100 people between 15-31, as this was the age group my media products are attempting to attract. These are the results I obtained from the questionnaires:
The results I received back were very similar to what I expected. I expected my target audience to be aware of the conventions of a poster, partly due to their age and likely understanding of modern posters and what is present on them. The only thing that surprised me is that 75 out of 100 people did not expect to see the directors name on the poster aside from the billing. I was surprised because when I researched posters and their conventions, I found that it was not uncommon for the director to be mentioned aside from the billing.
The audience feedback on my poster ultimately did not cause me to change much of my poster, although I did refrain from mentioning the director aside from the billing, and instead decided to list my star actor instead.
The results to my magazine questionnaire were, as was the case for my poster questionnaire, unsurprising. The reason for this is, once again, as my target audience is between the age of 15-31, I expect the vast majority of them to have read a film magazine, although perhaps that is more likey from the 31 year old's rather the 15 year old's.
The results I received did not lead me to adjust the design and layout of my magazine front cover. The results I received were the results I expected, and therefore only served to remind me how important the conventions of media products are in the design of said products.
Ultimately, the audience feedback I received only served to teach me that the conventions of posters and magazine front covers are used for a reason. Without them, there would be no structure to a poster of magazine front cover.
Saturday 25 April 2015
Evaluation - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
As my project was to create a marketing campaign for a film, involving a poster, magazine front cover, and teaser trailer, I was aware almost immediately of the relationships between the three products. The teaser trailer and the poster are marketed by the company behind the film. Everything is the same, the fonts, tone, and genre. There is a common theme between them, and this is because the production company want to sell the film to the audience, and can control what the poster and teaser trailer tell, and make, the audience think.
The magazine front cover on the other hand, has very little contribution from the film company. Apart from providing the magazine with a selection of images to choose between, they have as little contribution as anyone else. The magazine has its own font, own layout, and decides on its tone. This makes it stand alone in my marketing campaign, as I had to create a magazine cover from the viewpoint of the magazine, not the production company.
As I mentioned, it was imperative that there was a relationship between my poster and teaser trailer. I had to spend a lot of time deciding on the tone of my movie, and finding a way to incorporate that tone onto my poster and teaser trailer, and be able to create a poster and trailer that convey that tone in such a way that the audience can see it, and that it comes across over both the poster and trailer. This was difficult to do because I could not treat each product by itself, for example, my tagline on my poster is "Nobody ever notices the cleaner", and this is also a line spoken by the main character in my trailer. It may not seem like to big of a deal but it is something that the audience may notice, and may effect them and attach them to my film.
The font I used was 'Headliner No. 45'. It took me a long time to decide what font to use because the genre and plot of my film is very particular, in the sense that there is normal person who has got himself involved with the wrong people, but has to do bad things in order to return to his once-normal life. Therefore, the font had to, in a way, reflect that. This font does just that, as it is a sharp font, that has a dark feel to it, but also leaves room for interpretation.
Another way the ancillary texts and my product combine well is due to the anticipation they cause. For example, I used the reviews and ratings, and the release date, to cause excitement among the audience. During my research, I noticed that many posters do not contain the exact release date of the film. This may be because there is not a confirmed date yet, but more often than not it is to create a buzz about the film. If the audience have a rough date of when the film will come up, they will, intentionally or unintentionally, think about it and look forward to it. Also, reviews and ratings also create excitement. Speaking from personal opinion and from my research, the reception the film has gathered effects the interest in the movie. The audience take reviews from respected names such as Empire and Rolling Stone seriously, and if they say a movie is good, the audience think the movie is good. Production companies know the audience notice the reviews, therefore it is a welcome part of the marketing campaign.
I used the same font for all text on my poster, except for the billing which is written in the font 'Steel Tongs', as it is the convention in all film posters to show your billing in that font. I personally like how, as my tagline ends with the name of the film, I took advantage of the opportunity to combine the tagline and the film name into one, as seen above. It may be a simple idea, but it is something which the audience will remember, as it is text that flows and is memorable. I noticed during my research of taglines that this is not such a common thing. The majority of posters include taglines that stand alone from the film title, but that is not to say that what I decided to do was wrong, but I just took advantage of the opportunity to do something different that would stand out.
Although the billing on my poster uses a different font to the rest of the poster, the billing on my teaser trailer, as mentioned earlier, uses my font 'Headliner No. 45'. By using the same font, this again causes the audience to notice a link between my trailer and my poster. I also noticed during my research that the billing does not necessarily have to be just on one page, it can be put on two pages so as not to put pressure on fitting all the billing onto one page. This allows the billing to look neat, and attractive. When I created my billing, I realised I needed to split my billing over two pages. I noticed immediately how beneficial it is, as it seemed a lot more presentable, as well as looking professional.
As my project was to create a marketing campaign for a film, involving a poster, magazine front cover, and teaser trailer, I was aware almost immediately of the relationships between the three products. The teaser trailer and the poster are marketed by the company behind the film. Everything is the same, the fonts, tone, and genre. There is a common theme between them, and this is because the production company want to sell the film to the audience, and can control what the poster and teaser trailer tell, and make, the audience think.
The magazine front cover on the other hand, has very little contribution from the film company. Apart from providing the magazine with a selection of images to choose between, they have as little contribution as anyone else. The magazine has its own font, own layout, and decides on its tone. This makes it stand alone in my marketing campaign, as I had to create a magazine cover from the viewpoint of the magazine, not the production company.
As I mentioned, it was imperative that there was a relationship between my poster and teaser trailer. I had to spend a lot of time deciding on the tone of my movie, and finding a way to incorporate that tone onto my poster and teaser trailer, and be able to create a poster and trailer that convey that tone in such a way that the audience can see it, and that it comes across over both the poster and trailer. This was difficult to do because I could not treat each product by itself, for example, my tagline on my poster is "Nobody ever notices the cleaner", and this is also a line spoken by the main character in my trailer. It may not seem like to big of a deal but it is something that the audience may notice, and may effect them and attach them to my film.
The font I used was 'Headliner No. 45'. It took me a long time to decide what font to use because the genre and plot of my film is very particular, in the sense that there is normal person who has got himself involved with the wrong people, but has to do bad things in order to return to his once-normal life. Therefore, the font had to, in a way, reflect that. This font does just that, as it is a sharp font, that has a dark feel to it, but also leaves room for interpretation.
Another way the ancillary texts and my product combine well is due to the anticipation they cause. For example, I used the reviews and ratings, and the release date, to cause excitement among the audience. During my research, I noticed that many posters do not contain the exact release date of the film. This may be because there is not a confirmed date yet, but more often than not it is to create a buzz about the film. If the audience have a rough date of when the film will come up, they will, intentionally or unintentionally, think about it and look forward to it. Also, reviews and ratings also create excitement. Speaking from personal opinion and from my research, the reception the film has gathered effects the interest in the movie. The audience take reviews from respected names such as Empire and Rolling Stone seriously, and if they say a movie is good, the audience think the movie is good. Production companies know the audience notice the reviews, therefore it is a welcome part of the marketing campaign.
I used the same font for all text on my poster, except for the billing which is written in the font 'Steel Tongs', as it is the convention in all film posters to show your billing in that font. I personally like how, as my tagline ends with the name of the film, I took advantage of the opportunity to combine the tagline and the film name into one, as seen above. It may be a simple idea, but it is something which the audience will remember, as it is text that flows and is memorable. I noticed during my research of taglines that this is not such a common thing. The majority of posters include taglines that stand alone from the film title, but that is not to say that what I decided to do was wrong, but I just took advantage of the opportunity to do something different that would stand out.
Although the billing on my poster uses a different font to the rest of the poster, the billing on my teaser trailer, as mentioned earlier, uses my font 'Headliner No. 45'. By using the same font, this again causes the audience to notice a link between my trailer and my poster. I also noticed during my research that the billing does not necessarily have to be just on one page, it can be put on two pages so as not to put pressure on fitting all the billing onto one page. This allows the billing to look neat, and attractive. When I created my billing, I realised I needed to split my billing over two pages. I noticed immediately how beneficial it is, as it seemed a lot more presentable, as well as looking professional.
Friday 24 April 2015
Evaluation - In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Before I could create my media products, I had to outline and design these products. In order to do this I had to understand the conventions and details that go into creating a poster, trailer, and magazine cover. In order to do this, I had to research what makes these media products, and how to go about creating a realistic set of media products.
Firstly, I had to research films and magazines and their conventions, and then I narrowed them down to suit my genre:
All this research on these media products gave me the perfect preparation and ideas for my own products. I now knew how these media products were created, and why they were created in such a way, and I was ready to set my own ideas in motion. To do this I had to prepare layouts for my poster and magazine cover, and come up with ways in which I could create these products based on my research:
While I was doing this, I was able to research the little details that would make my media products look like the finished article, such as font, name of magazine and film, taglines, certificate of the movie, billing, and cover lines. These are all important, because, although some of these are more noticeable and important than others, they are all necessary an required in the media products I created. My research and effort in being as prepared as possible was rewarded as I was able to make changes to my tagline or cast names if I felt I needed to in order to make my product better. In the end I made a last minute change to my tagline as I felt it didn't suit my film plot and poster.
While the above is important for the poster and magazine front cover, the teaser trailer requires completely different preparation for the filming. Once I decided upon the plot of my movie and the name, I had to prepare a shot list for the filming of the trailer. This had to be presented in a way that made it easy to follow and keep to. A shot list was necessary because it is an important guideline for the plot of the movie, and also made sure that I did not lose track of what I was required to shoot.
Doing the above gave me the perfect preparation to create my real media products. When doing so, I was always aiming to make my products as realistic as possible. Now I have created the final products, it is necessary to compare my poster, magazine front cover, and teaser trailer with existing media products, to see whether or not my products make a feasible marketing campaign.
Poster
My poster is realistic in the sense that it uses all the conventions; Title is the biggest font on screen, includes billing, production company logos, an image, review and ratings, release date etc.
These two posters are both posters designed for films for the thriller genre, and there many differences and similarities between them. It is very clear that both posters have dark tones and use very little colours, with the majority of the poster being in darkness. Regarding the positioning of the text on the posters, again there are many similarities between the posters. Firstly, the title's are the biggest text on the poster, and are positioned at the bottom of the poster, directly above the billing. Under both billings, are the date it's due (my poster does not give a confirmed date) and either side of it under the billing are production company logos, although the production company logos on my poster are separated from the billing whereas they are not separated on the Batman poster.
Differences between the two posters are infrequent, but a noticeable difference is that in the Batman poster, the main and supporting characters are listed at the top of the poster, whereas on my poster only the main character's name is present. I have also decided to include reviews and ratings on my poster because I felt that my movie was a movie that, although it may have already had a previous fan-base due it being based on a book, it could not rely on them just to be successful. The successful ratings are a ploy to attract more people to see the movie than already would. The Batman poster does not have ratings, and for good reason; it does not need them. The Dark Knight Rises is the final film of a hugely successful trilogy, and does not need to fill its poster with reviews and ratings in order to attract fans when it already has a huge fan-base.
Ultimately, my poster follows the conventions listed as being common in film posters, and therefore would pass as a real film poster.
Magazine Front Cover
My poster follows the vast majority of the conventions of a magazine front cover; Masthead is the biggest text and is at the top of the cover, a dominant central imagine, main cover line (bigger text than cover lines), cover lines etc.
The two posters look very similar. The mastheads are both at the top, are very similar fonts (I used Bureau Eagle Bold), and both have part of the magazine name inside the other part of the name (101 in the 'M' in Film). The dominant central image is also the main image as expected, as is the main cover line, and the cover lines are beside the dominant central image in both. Both posters also include banners, barcode, a web address, and a slogan that is consistent on their magazine covers every week/month.
There are not many differences between the other posters, apart from the fact that you can distinctly tell that a lot more time, effort, and money has gone into the Total Film magazine due to the quality of the imagery and background. This shows that, although it is not of the quality that a magazine like Total Film can produce, it still contains all the conventions of a magazine front cover that are present in real film magazines.
Teaser Trailer
Before I could create my media products, I had to outline and design these products. In order to do this I had to understand the conventions and details that go into creating a poster, trailer, and magazine cover. In order to do this, I had to research what makes these media products, and how to go about creating a realistic set of media products.
Firstly, I had to research films and magazines and their conventions, and then I narrowed them down to suit my genre:
While I was doing this, I was able to research the little details that would make my media products look like the finished article, such as font, name of magazine and film, taglines, certificate of the movie, billing, and cover lines. These are all important, because, although some of these are more noticeable and important than others, they are all necessary an required in the media products I created. My research and effort in being as prepared as possible was rewarded as I was able to make changes to my tagline or cast names if I felt I needed to in order to make my product better. In the end I made a last minute change to my tagline as I felt it didn't suit my film plot and poster.
While the above is important for the poster and magazine front cover, the teaser trailer requires completely different preparation for the filming. Once I decided upon the plot of my movie and the name, I had to prepare a shot list for the filming of the trailer. This had to be presented in a way that made it easy to follow and keep to. A shot list was necessary because it is an important guideline for the plot of the movie, and also made sure that I did not lose track of what I was required to shoot.
Doing the above gave me the perfect preparation to create my real media products. When doing so, I was always aiming to make my products as realistic as possible. Now I have created the final products, it is necessary to compare my poster, magazine front cover, and teaser trailer with existing media products, to see whether or not my products make a feasible marketing campaign.
Poster
My poster is realistic in the sense that it uses all the conventions; Title is the biggest font on screen, includes billing, production company logos, an image, review and ratings, release date etc.
These two posters are both posters designed for films for the thriller genre, and there many differences and similarities between them. It is very clear that both posters have dark tones and use very little colours, with the majority of the poster being in darkness. Regarding the positioning of the text on the posters, again there are many similarities between the posters. Firstly, the title's are the biggest text on the poster, and are positioned at the bottom of the poster, directly above the billing. Under both billings, are the date it's due (my poster does not give a confirmed date) and either side of it under the billing are production company logos, although the production company logos on my poster are separated from the billing whereas they are not separated on the Batman poster.
Differences between the two posters are infrequent, but a noticeable difference is that in the Batman poster, the main and supporting characters are listed at the top of the poster, whereas on my poster only the main character's name is present. I have also decided to include reviews and ratings on my poster because I felt that my movie was a movie that, although it may have already had a previous fan-base due it being based on a book, it could not rely on them just to be successful. The successful ratings are a ploy to attract more people to see the movie than already would. The Batman poster does not have ratings, and for good reason; it does not need them. The Dark Knight Rises is the final film of a hugely successful trilogy, and does not need to fill its poster with reviews and ratings in order to attract fans when it already has a huge fan-base.
Ultimately, my poster follows the conventions listed as being common in film posters, and therefore would pass as a real film poster.
Magazine Front Cover
My poster follows the vast majority of the conventions of a magazine front cover; Masthead is the biggest text and is at the top of the cover, a dominant central imagine, main cover line (bigger text than cover lines), cover lines etc.
The two posters look very similar. The mastheads are both at the top, are very similar fonts (I used Bureau Eagle Bold), and both have part of the magazine name inside the other part of the name (101 in the 'M' in Film). The dominant central image is also the main image as expected, as is the main cover line, and the cover lines are beside the dominant central image in both. Both posters also include banners, barcode, a web address, and a slogan that is consistent on their magazine covers every week/month.
There are not many differences between the other posters, apart from the fact that you can distinctly tell that a lot more time, effort, and money has gone into the Total Film magazine due to the quality of the imagery and background. This shows that, although it is not of the quality that a magazine like Total Film can produce, it still contains all the conventions of a magazine front cover that are present in real film magazines.
Teaser Trailer
Both teaser trailers have similar structures, as they are split into two parts. The first part of the trailer is set up to inform the viewer of what is going on, although as a teaser trailer, it does not give too much away. This part is longer than the second part, which is the montage. The montage is a fast-paced sequence of shots at the end of the trailer which are not placed for any meaning, but are there for the quality of the shots. They are used to excite the viewer and make them want to see more. Due to the genres of the films, both trailers use action shots in the montage as this is what the audience wants to see,
Both trailers include taglines. Taglines are shots that contain writing that are used for a few reasons. One of the reasons are to inform the audience. This may be to add a bit of context to the movie, for example, the first tagline in the Mad Max trailer contain the words "A world without hope". This gives the audience a bit of context about the film, but only four words worth of context, it does not reveal key plot lines. Another way taglines can be used are to fill the spaces in the trailer. Taglines are not just informative, they are carefully placed in between certain shots so as to add effect to a trailer. It is as much of a shot as any other shot in the trailer, even if that shots is to only tell the audience who the director is.
Both teaser trailers contain billing and a release date at the end of the trailer. Both are conventions of a teaser trailer so it is no surprise that they are included in the trailer.
Both trailers contain non-diegetic music. This is music that the audience can hear, but the actors cannot. Non-diegetic music is used in order to set the tone and to ccause tension amongst the audience.
Friday 3 April 2015
Certificate of my Film
After long consideration and planning, I have decided that my film will not have a certificate. This is because of the scheduling of my film; Teaser Trailer and Poster released in the Summer, film released in the Winter. Therefore, the gap between the marketing campaign and release of the film is long enough for it yet to not be given a certificate.
However, if it were to have a certificate, my film would likely be a '15' rated film. The reason for this is because my film would contain bad language in a negative context, and would also contain some extreme scenes of violence. However, it would be put in a context that wouldn't shine it in a bright light as the whole message of my film is he is a normal human being in a difficult situation just trying to survive.
However, if it were to have a certificate, my film would likely be a '15' rated film. The reason for this is because my film would contain bad language in a negative context, and would also contain some extreme scenes of violence. However, it would be put in a context that wouldn't shine it in a bright light as the whole message of my film is he is a normal human being in a difficult situation just trying to survive.
Tuesday 31 March 2015
Certificates - Research
Certificates are an essential part of a film as they are given by the bbfc (British Board of Film Classification) in the UK, as well as other boards in other countries, and decide who films are suitable for. However, it is common in the promotion of films and the marketing campaigns that a film is not yet certified. That is because the bbfc have many films to go through and give a certificate, and it is not necessary to give a film a certificate a long time in advance. This is common, so when films are marketed, their is usually an indication (on teaser trailers, not necessarily posters) of whether there is a certificate or not.
The bbfc have guidelines to help them decide what certificate a film will be given;
12/12A
15
The bbfc have guidelines to help them decide what certificate a film will be given;
12/12A
- 12A requires an adult to be accompanying a child under the age of 12, whereas a 12 is suitable only for people aged 12 and over.
- Tone of movie must not be dark and unsettling, must not disturb the audience.
- Strong language such as "F***" is acceptable depending on the manner that it is said. Aggressive use of strong language is deemed unacceptable. Moderate language is allowed. Discriminatory language and behaviour is also not tolerated.
- Some nudity is allowed but sexual content should be brief and discreet.
- Moderate violence is allowed. Should be no emphasis on injuries or blood. Action sequences and weapons are acceptable, although easily accessible weapons (knives etc.) should not be glamorised.
- Dangerous behaviour (hanging, suicide etc.) may be present, but not focused on.
15- Strong language is accepted, although certain words (C***) are allowed, but with moderation and restraint.
- Racist and discriminatory language and behaviour is allowed, but the work as a whole should not endorse this.
- Nudity and sexual activity can be portrayed, but without strong detail. Strong references to sex and sexual behaviour are allowed, but crude references are unacceptable unless justified by context.
- Strong violence is allowed, but it should not dwell on the affliction of pain on an injury. Strong gory images and sadistic violence is unacceptable.
- Drugs and drug-taking is acceptable as long as it is not encouraged. The misuse of drugs is unlikely to be allowed to be shown.
- Horror films can include a strong threat, as long as there isn't a focus on sadistic or sexualised threat.
18
- No limits to strong language
- Racist and homophobic discrimination is allowed, although the work as a whole should not breach any relevant legislations.
- No constraints to the amount of sex and nudity in the work. Very strong, rude and crude sexual references are allowed.
- Strong violence allowed. No constraints to the showing of pain and injury, as well as to scenes of strong sadistic and sexual violence.
- Horror films may contain gore or a sustained threat.
- Drug-taking is allowed, but work must not promote or encourage drug misuse.
Tuesday 24 March 2015
Music For Teaser Trailer
When preparing my teaser trailer, I had to decide what music to play on my trailer. Music plays an important part in setting the tempo and tone of a film, and that is no different on a teaser trailer, as music is used to create drama and suspense, as well as creating peace and harmony. As my trailer is from the Thriller genre, I knew the shots I would be creating for my trailer would be fast paced and dramatic. My trailer would also tell a story.
I know for the first part of my trailer, I would need a piece of music that would help make the trailer flow, but would also reflect the shots in the trailer. Therefore, I am choosing to use a piece of music called "Coast to Coast". It is a jazzy, comedic-80's gangster movie type of music, a piece of music that you could envision hearing in a Quentin Tarantino movie. The music would make it easy to follow the trailer, as it reflected the almost comedic goings-on that will occur in my trailer.
I know for the first part of my trailer, I would need a piece of music that would help make the trailer flow, but would also reflect the shots in the trailer. Therefore, I am choosing to use a piece of music called "Coast to Coast". It is a jazzy, comedic-80's gangster movie type of music, a piece of music that you could envision hearing in a Quentin Tarantino movie. The music would make it easy to follow the trailer, as it reflected the almost comedic goings-on that will occur in my trailer.
For my montage, I need a fast-paced, exciting, and consistently enthralling piece of music, that reflects the action shots that are occurring at this stage of the trailer. I looked at many options, such as Led Zeppelin's Kashmir, but in the end I decided to use the intro to Kings of Leon's song "Crawl". The reason I decided to use this piece of music was because of the sound of the opening 45 seconds of the song. The use of the electric guitar is key to me using this piece of music, as the tune is perfect as there are a lot of quick shots in the montage, and it contains a steady rhythm and beat that the shots can be measured to follow.
Friday 20 March 2015
Shot List
In preparation for my filming, I created a shot list for my trailer so when it came to filming, I knew exactly what shots I needed to do.
Sunday 8 March 2015
My Teaser Trailer Billing
My billing consists of real crew members who have worked on similar films to my own, but includes fake cast members and a fake director, as well as a fake novelist.
New Line Cinema Presents A Europacorp MG Films Production
A Film By James Boyd Danny Robins "The Cleaner" Alexander Harvey Nicola Rose Jeremy Carver Julian Durand Arter Groling and Christoper Dean
Casting - Nathalie Cheron (Taken movies)
Costume Designer - Jeffrey Kurland (Law Abiding Citizen)
Cinematography - Robert Elswit (Nightcrawler)
Music Supervisor - Harry Gregson-Williams (The Equalizer)
Screenplay - William Monahan (The Gambler) Oliver Reed
Product Design - Donald Graham Burt (Gone Girl)
Editor - Lee Smith (Inception)
Producer - Jennifer Fox Tony Gilroy (Nightcrawler)
Executive Producer - G. Mac Brown and Doug Davison (The Departed)
Reference to source material - based on the best selling novels by Oliver Reed
Director James Boyd
New Line Cinema Presents A Europacorp MG Films Production
A Film By James Boyd Danny Robins "The Cleaner" Alexander Harvey Nicola Rose Jeremy Carver Julian Durand Arter Groling and Christoper Dean
Casting - Nathalie Cheron (Taken movies)
Costume Designer - Jeffrey Kurland (Law Abiding Citizen)
Cinematography - Robert Elswit (Nightcrawler)
Music Supervisor - Harry Gregson-Williams (The Equalizer)
Screenplay - William Monahan (The Gambler) Oliver Reed
Product Design - Donald Graham Burt (Gone Girl)
Editor - Lee Smith (Inception)
Producer - Jennifer Fox Tony Gilroy (Nightcrawler)
Executive Producer - G. Mac Brown and Doug Davison (The Departed)
Reference to source material - based on the best selling novels by Oliver Reed
Director James Boyd
Friday 6 March 2015
Sunday 1 March 2015
Billing/Credits Analysis
Billing is an important component of a teaser trailer. It is necessary for there to be a list of the cast and crew involved in a film, as well as an indication to the companies involved in the making of it. The billing is listed in a specific order, as the billing for Reservoir Dogs will highlight.
The billing on this poster lists the cast and crew in the way that is conventional, and is listed in all other film posters. The order is as follows:
- Production companies
- Director
- Cast (In order of importance)
- Music Supervisor
- Costume Designer
- Editor
- Production Designer
- Director of Photography
- Co-Producer
- Executive Producers
- Producer
- Writer and Director
All films follow this order, however, some films vary in the amount of crew members they include.
The credits in the trailer for Reservoir Dogs is very similar to the billing in the poster. The same cast and crew are mentioned, and in the same order.
The font is the same, as is expected, although the spacing and layout is different. The noticeable difference is that of the production company logos. Although numerous posters contain production company logos, the Reservoir Dogs poster does not.
The billing on this poster lists the cast and crew in the way that is conventional, and is listed in all other film posters. The order is as follows:
- Production companies
- Director
- Cast (In order of importance)
- Music Supervisor
- Costume Designer
- Editor
- Production Designer
- Director of Photography
- Co-Producer
- Executive Producers
- Producer
- Writer and Director
All films follow this order, however, some films vary in the amount of crew members they include.
The credits in the trailer for Reservoir Dogs is very similar to the billing in the poster. The same cast and crew are mentioned, and in the same order.
The font is the same, as is expected, although the spacing and layout is different. The noticeable difference is that of the production company logos. Although numerous posters contain production company logos, the Reservoir Dogs poster does not.
Saturday 28 February 2015
Possible Magazine Names
It is important to have a magazine that is memorable for it's name. It has got to sound good when spoken, and make the audience want to buy it. Film magazines such as Empire and Total Film do this as their names stand out, and they are names you would remember.
I have compiled a list of magazine names that would suit my magazine:
ACTION - This is an interesting name as it stands out and is something the audience would remember. It is also a name that the audience would automatically associate with the film world as action is a genre of film, and is also the cue for actors to perform on set of a movie.
FILM 101 - This is a very simple name, which despite its simplicity, is catchy and rolls of the tongue. It is also reflective of the genre of the magazine, as 101 means "introductory something", as my magazine would not only review films and interview stars, it would also give an insight into the film world, and teach the audience a lot about film.
FILM WORLD - This is also very simple, and very suitable as my magazine would explore the world of film.
BEHIND THE SCENES - This is a name that would suit a magazine that has in-depth interviews with stars, and has first-look insight in films and their sets. It would include many 'never-seen-before' articles and interviews, and would include many pictures from these.
FILM FEST - A relatively upbeat name, It is a suitable magazine name as it rolls of the tongue, and clearly highlights the genre of magazine.
I have compiled a list of magazine names that would suit my magazine:
ACTION - This is an interesting name as it stands out and is something the audience would remember. It is also a name that the audience would automatically associate with the film world as action is a genre of film, and is also the cue for actors to perform on set of a movie.
FILM 101 - This is a very simple name, which despite its simplicity, is catchy and rolls of the tongue. It is also reflective of the genre of the magazine, as 101 means "introductory something", as my magazine would not only review films and interview stars, it would also give an insight into the film world, and teach the audience a lot about film.
FILM WORLD - This is also very simple, and very suitable as my magazine would explore the world of film.
BEHIND THE SCENES - This is a name that would suit a magazine that has in-depth interviews with stars, and has first-look insight in films and their sets. It would include many 'never-seen-before' articles and interviews, and would include many pictures from these.
FILM FEST - A relatively upbeat name, It is a suitable magazine name as it rolls of the tongue, and clearly highlights the genre of magazine.
Thursday 26 February 2015
My Production Company Logos
I have decided to use New Line Cinema, EuropaCorp, and Canal+ as my Production Companies. The reason I have done this is because my film is not a big, Hollywood movie. It is a European movie, and it is essential that my Production Companies have experience in dealing with these types of films.
EuropaCorp Films are the company behind the Taken movies Although this is a big Hollywood movie, EuropaCorp is a French company, and in the first Taken movie, the majority of the film was set in France.
As my film is still a big film, that would be shown worldwide, it was essential to have a big production company behind the film. New Line fits that. They are the company behind Seven, one of the biggest ever Thrillers, and they have a huge collection of movies, such as The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, and the Austin Power films, as proof of their expertise.
These logos will be present in the teaser trailer that I will create
EuropaCorp Films are the company behind the Taken movies Although this is a big Hollywood movie, EuropaCorp is a French company, and in the first Taken movie, the majority of the film was set in France.
As my film is still a big film, that would be shown worldwide, it was essential to have a big production company behind the film. New Line fits that. They are the company behind Seven, one of the biggest ever Thrillers, and they have a huge collection of movies, such as The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, and the Austin Power films, as proof of their expertise.
These logos will be present in the teaser trailer that I will create
Friday 20 February 2015
Production Companies - Research
As my film is a thriller, I researched numerous production companies who have a history of creating thrillers. The reason I did this is because production companies are the foundation behind the films, and without them there would be no film. It is imperative to make my film as realistic as possible, and that includes the company behind it being authentic.
I found that the Thriller genre is a reputable genre, as all of the best and well-known production companies have been involved with many. It is also common for production companies to team up with each other on films, due to the size of the film. Here are a list of a few well-known thrillers, and the companies who produced them:
Alien - 20th Century Fox
Silence of the Lambs - Strong Heart/Demme Productions
Seven - New Line Cinema (among others)
The Dark Knight Rises - Warner Brothers, Legendary ictures
The Bourne Trilogy - Universal Pictures
Casino Royale - Columbia Pictures
Taken - EuropaCorp
I found that the Thriller genre is a reputable genre, as all of the best and well-known production companies have been involved with many. It is also common for production companies to team up with each other on films, due to the size of the film. Here are a list of a few well-known thrillers, and the companies who produced them:
Alien - 20th Century Fox
Silence of the Lambs - Strong Heart/Demme Productions
Seven - New Line Cinema (among others)
The Dark Knight Rises - Warner Brothers, Legendary ictures
The Bourne Trilogy - Universal Pictures
Casino Royale - Columbia Pictures
Taken - EuropaCorp
Thursday 5 February 2015
Cover Lines
Cover Lines are an essential part of a magazine. They inform the audience of the contents of the magazine, and in doing so, are a way of attracting people to buy it and read it. They are done by being written in a certain way, with catchy phrases, and 'fun words' used to excite the reader. Aside from any images on the cover, the cover line is the only indication of what to expect on the cover. Audiences want their money's worth so it is imperative the cover lines attract the audience.
Here is a list of cover lines that would be suitable for my magazine which is due out in December 2015:
- Captain Marvel - Stan Lee discusses the past, present, and future of the Marvel Universe
- Sisters - Fey and Poehler team up for one big party
- Break-ing Point - Is the remake doomed to fail?
- A New Hope JJ Abrams discusses the pressures of bringing the Star Wars universe back to life
- Krampus - He's not coming to bring you presents
Friday 23 January 2015
Potential Taglines
I have come up with a selection of possible taglines that will fit my film well. When creating these taglines, I tried to give away as little possible to the audience, while also trying to lure them in and make me want to see my film. These taglines are rough ideas, and I will be continuing to research more taglines in order to find the perfect tagline to suit my film.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT!
NOBODY EVER NOTICES THE CLEANER!
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN ASKED TO KILL THE WOMAN YOU LOVE?
KILL OR BE KILLED!
FIGHT OR FLIGHT!
NOBODY EVER NOTICES THE CLEANER!
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN ASKED TO KILL THE WOMAN YOU LOVE?
KILL OR BE KILLED!
Monday 19 January 2015
Taglines - Research
I analysed numerous taglines from various different films from the Thriller genre. I did this because it would give me a very good understanding of what is expected when it comes to taglines, and the effect is intended to have on the audience. Taglines are important because, apart from the name of the film, it is text related with the film that teases the audience on what happens in the movie without giving much away, and tends to be at the forefront of the marketing company of the film.
Here are a selection of taglines:
Seven - Seven deadly sins. Seven ways to die
Sin City - There is no justice without sin
Inception - Your mind is the scene of the crime
Zodiac - There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer
The Prestige - Are you watching closely
The Dark Knight Rises - A fire will rise
Leon: The Professional - If you want a job done well hire a professional
The Bourne Ultimatum - Remember everything Forgive nothing
Basic Instinct - Flesh seduces. Passion kills
Taken - They took his daughter. He'll take their lives
Interstellar - Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here
Here are a selection of taglines:
Seven - Seven deadly sins. Seven ways to die
Sin City - There is no justice without sin
Inception - Your mind is the scene of the crime
Zodiac - There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer
The Prestige - Are you watching closely
The Dark Knight Rises - A fire will rise
Leon: The Professional - If you want a job done well hire a professional
The Bourne Ultimatum - Remember everything Forgive nothing
Basic Instinct - Flesh seduces. Passion kills
Taken - They took his daughter. He'll take their lives
Interstellar - Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here
Monday 12 January 2015
Magazine Questionnaire
Do you expect to see a recognisable actor/actress on the front cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the masthead to be at the top of the magazine cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the masthead to be the largest font on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the cover lines to mention what is in the current issue?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the cover lines to give away a lot of information?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the price, issue number, and barcode to be on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect there to be social media links on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the font to be in bold, italic, or neither?
Bold Italic Neither
Do you expect to see a slogan on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect to see other images on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the masthead to be at the top of the magazine cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the masthead to be the largest font on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the cover lines to mention what is in the current issue?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the cover lines to give away a lot of information?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the price, issue number, and barcode to be on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect there to be social media links on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the font to be in bold, italic, or neither?
Bold Italic Neither
Do you expect to see a slogan on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect to see other images on the cover?
Yes Maybe No
Friday 9 January 2015
Poster Questionanaire
Do you expect a main character to feature on the poster?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the names of the cast to feature?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the film title to be the largest writing on the poster?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect ratings and reviews to feature?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect billing to feature?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect there to be a website or social media address?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect to see a tagline on the poster?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect the directors name to appear aside from the billing?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect to see a release date?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect to see a certificate?
Yes Maybe No
Do you expect a clear indication of genre?
Yes Maybe No
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