Second Media Journal

2nd Media Journal

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Taking more photos...

My Media Studies teacher pointed out to me yesterday that the film shown in our teaser trailer was split into two parts: the modern day world and the 19th century era. This made me think about the photos that I had previously taken, and the fact that all of them were of the part of the film which was set in the 1800's. I decided that as our target audience are 18-35 year old viewers it is vital to have photos of Sarah included, especially on the poster which advertises the film. It needs to appeal to the target audience, so a combination of the two images will mean that they would take more interest in it, whereas a Victorian style image alone would probably not catch their attention. I feel that these additional images will make my overall promotional package better, as the aspect of the flashback used in our teaser trailer is a key part to the storyline.

Images of Sarah for my poster and magazine

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Media Journal- Update of tasks

Media Journal

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Taking photos...

Whilst I was at Aske Hall and Kiplin Hall I took photos for my magazine cover and promotional poster, as these are needed to complete the package. This was good as Frances, Jon and Peter were all in costume, and the locations were perfect. It made sense to take advantage of what I had whilst it was there, as we only have the costumes for a certain period of time, and we may never get chance to go back to the same locations. I took one type of photo at Kiplin Hall, where I used the staircase for my shot. At Aske Hall I used the outdoor archway and bench so that I have two different photos for my poster and magazine cover, which will both appeal to our target audience.

Magazine Analysis: Total Film

On this particular cover the title is done so that the 'Total' is placed inside the 'F' for 'film'. A much smaller font is used for this, with the word 'Film' being emphasised, therefore allowing the target audience to know of the nature of the content within the magazine. The colour scheme is black, yellow and white within the last two colours I listed being the most predominant and eye-catching for the audience. The image on the front cover is a long shot, showing the relationship between the two characters and how close they are- this is placed slightly more to the right than the centre. This would generally mean that our eyes were directed to this side of the page, to pick up on features within the magazine. However the size of the font at the left-hand side of the page balances this so that we focus on the cover as a whole- the text at this side of the page is nearly as big as the title, and this draws our attention to it. This cover also uses terminology linked with films- "starring"- as well as the use of ellipsis which creates suspense in films. These words re-enforce the genre of the magazine, and it allows them to put across their features in an interesting way. The bar code is located along the right-hand side of the cover, which is the same as 'Empire' magazine. The date, issue number and price are placed inside the dip of the letter 'M' which is something else that 'Total Film' magazine has in common with 'Empire.'

Magazine Analysis: Empire

This magazine uses a bold font for the title, with a colour scheme of white, red, turquoise and yellow for the whole cover. It hightlights features which be of interest to the target audience such as Oscar Award Winners, a film guide and a 3D movie special. The bar code is placed along the right-hand side, with the price and date inside the letter 'M.' The image which has being used fits in with the main feature of the magazine, and the skin of the model appears luminous, which adds interest for the reader. The image which has been used is placed in the centre of the cover, meaning that our eyes are neither diverted to the right or the left hand side. The features of the magazine are placed around the model. There is also a line connecting the heading "The 3D Event of the Year" to the "Quorra: Programme" box, emphasising that this is an aspect within the film. It also allows the audience to become aware that they are able to go and see the film in 3D.

Poster Analysis: Letters to Juliet

This poster uses very pale colours, that fit in with the colour of the envelope that a letter is usually inside. However, these colours do not stop the poster from being eye-catching, as the close-up of Amanda Seyfried's face draws attention. This close-up shot allows the audience to see her expression; one of curiosity and happiness, indicating that the film will be of a similar nature. She is also holding an envelope to fit into the colour scheme, and one this the effect of a wall is used, suggesting that the letters may be hidden away. As she is holding the envelope and there is an image of a couple in the centre it suggests that she will be related to them in the film. There is a caption at the top of the envelope and institutional information at the bottom, underneath the image of the couple.

Poster Analysis: Wuthering Heights

Unlike the poster for 'Atonement' this one only uses one image, which is the main focus of the poster. A close up low-angle shot has been used to give a certain status to the couple dancing. There is much less institutional information than on many film posters. The title itself appears to be a continuation of the dress, as it is blue, but with a white rim. The fact that the title is at the bottom of the poster makes the film more mysterious, and the blue colours link into this mystique that has been created.

Poster Analysis: Atonement

"Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. Based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan."

In this poster the two images are linked together through the use of vibrant colours such as green and orange. We can guess from the poster that the man and the woman are probably lovers, as they both look lost, and the title box is used to seperate them. Each of them are gazing: with the female it is into the distance and with the male it is to the ground. The century that the film is set in is highlighted through the mise-en-scene of the costumes and the hairstyle of the female. Additional images are used in the grey box in the centre to convey more of the storyline, as well as the names of the actors, director and a caption- this is a list of three. The institutional information is placed at the bottom of the poster.

Target Audience and Genre

As we have changed our idea at this point I have created a post to clarify these to aspects. The target audience are those in their late teens, as with the flashback to modern day as well as the 19th century footage it would appeal to them. Sarah's look would appeal in particular as she has piercings, cool clothes and coloured hair. Even though there is the 19th century footage as well it would still be something that people of this age would want to watch, because of programmes such as Downton Abbey creating this appeal and making it something for a younger audience as well. However those in their late twenties may also be interested because of the footage from the 1800's. Before we made changes our target audience would have been those in their late twenties/early thirties because of the flashback not being present.

The genre of our film will be a period romance but with a twist, because of the editing that will be used, and the fact that there are the two time periods. We hope that through creating something different it will appeal to the target audience that we are aiming for.

Filming the final shot

Last night we went back to Emily's house so that we could film the final shot where Peter has to act drunk. She has a wall outside so we made sure that we did not get any vehicles or houses in the distance, and with it being dark this was as not as much of an issue. As we had not already used the maid's outfit we decided to change our idea slightly and make it so that a maid (Lucinda) approached Peter to flirt with him, only for him to push her away emphasising the regret he would feel if he was involved with two women. The fact that he is drunk shows isolation, as well as the fact that there is no one else around. The darkness will also give off connotations of loneliness. We used an empty bottle of wine for Peter to drop, and as it was one that did not break easily it meant we could get him to drop it several times without a problem. If it had broken we did have a spare bottle we could use.

Issues with sound

When our footage was loaded onto the Apple Macs we had trouble with the sound, as we needed to import it seperately from the actual footage. Then it would not save with the footage on the Mac, as we had to put the memory stick in everytime, open the sound, import it and then when the memory stick was removed the sound was gone and not saved with the footage. This is a problem as it means we cannot have sound with our footage unless (as we were told yesterday) we upload the footage/sound straight from the cameras onto the Macs. As we have done quite a lot of editing already Lucinda, Emily and I discussed whether it would be worth starting from scratch with the editing in order to get the sound. As we only need sound for some of the shots we have decided to use the sound effects on the Mac, and as we will have a soundtrack over the top anyway we do not think that it is worth sacrificing the editing we have done so far just to get the sound.

What I have learnt so far on Final Cut Pro...

Below I have taken an image of Final Cut Pro and then highlighted the features I now know, and also what each of them does. As I continue to edit over a longer period of time I will gain greater knowledge regarding the tools that I can use on Final Cut Pro, and what each feature does, but for now this is what I have gained from my several edting sessions and information given to me by Lucinda...

Another feature not highlighted on this image is that you can right click on a certain part of the footage in order to change the duration or speed of a shot, therefore making it faster or slower depending on what you want it to look like.



More editing...

Today we got together as a group to edit, as we needed to decide between us how the particular shot should be edited. Emily and I have been listening to the advice which Lucinda has given us regarding Final Cut Pro, and have learnt how to use certain features such as changing the duration or speed of a certain shot and using the bar which allows you to scroll through the footage slowly in order to get to the exact point you need.

We have also decided to use the name 'Spotlight Productions' as Lucinda created it last year for her AS Coursework. It was the most popular choice when this survey was carried out by people:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/653VYN9




This is the production company logo that we will use:

Beginning to edit

As we have now filmed most of the shots for our teaser trailer it means that we can start to edit it, as the drunken scene is at the very end anyway. Over the past few days Lucinda has being showing me how to use Final Cut Pro as she used it last year for her coursework. I have found this very helpful, and picked up the tips she was giving me really easily. We are going to take it in turns to edit, and then do one session together too, so that everyone gets a chance to contribute, but then we can all get together as well and combine our thoughts and ideas on what has been done so far.

Hair and makeup

Images of hair and makeup

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Filming at Kiplin Hall

Today we filmed at Kiplin Hall, where we arrived at 11am. Once again Frances, Jon and Peter got changed into their costumes. Dawn gave Emily and I another quick tour of the building so that we could decide which rooms we wanted to use for filming, as she needed to open shutters and curtains, as well as leaving lights on. Whilst we were choosing the rooms we would need Lucinda did Frances' hair for her, and then Emily did Frances' makeup when we returned from the tour.

We moved around from room-to-room, starting in the long gallery and ending in the servants corridor. As we filmed we changed some of the shots such as making the make-up scene into one where she was writing her diary, as we felt it corresponded more with what the film is meant to be about. For the 'keyhole' scene we did not film her eye looking through: instead we filmed from behind her, showing that she was peering through, and then her shocked reaction.

At 2pm Emily's sister Annabelle and her French exchange student Melissa arrived with brownies, wraps and hot chocolate. This was really good as it meant we got a break from filming, had something to eat/drink and got the chance to discuss what else we needed to film. After we had our break we cracked on to get the rest of the filming done, and then Emily's mum came to collect us once we were finished. We made sure that we thanked Dawn for allowing us to use Kiplin Hall, and she told us to send her the trailer once we have completed it. Overall the day went really well, and now we only have one shot that needs to be filmed: the one where Peter (the poor man) has to act drunk.

Emails prior to filming at Kiplin Hall

Filming at Aske Hall

Today we filmed at Aske Hall, as I had informed Lord Ronaldshay the day before that we would be going up there. When we arrived we let Mandy Blenkiron (his secretery) know that we were there, and she told us that there was a toliet we could used to get changed in, as well as a kettle if we wanted anything to drink. She also unlocked the chapel so we could use it for filming, and then left us to get on with what we were doing, as we knew where she would be if we needed her.

Jon, Peter and Frances then got changed, as well as having their hair and makeup done. This took about 45 minutes, and we beginning to worry that we may not get enough filming done, but from then on the day went really well. We filmed the outdoor shots first including: the confrontation scene, Frances flirting with each male and the "shame" scene. We also incorporated two new shots: one where Frances ran down the steps leading to the lake in a black dress and another which was an establishing shot of Aske Hall. As we got on so well with our filming today we are only going to do one day of filming instead of two at Kiplin Hall, and get up there sooner in order to get plenty out of the day.

Emails prior to filming at Aske Hall

Research into Victorian hairstyles

As Lucinda will be doing hair when we go to film at Aske Hall and Kiplin Hall, she has done some research prior to this. She used the following websites to carry out her research:

http://kerryg.hubpages.com/hub/A-Simple-Victorian-Hairstyle
http://www.erasofelegance.com/fashion/hairstyles.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8157131_do-do-victorian-hairstyles.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8257191_victorian-mens-hairstyles.html



Here is a Prezi I created showing some additional research I did along with what Lucinda did herself:

Risk Assesments

Through assessing the risks at both locations it means that we will take extra care and precaution whilst filming.

Recce Shots of Aske Hall

Aske Hall Recce Shots

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Meeting at Aske Hall

We went to another meeting again yesterday to see Lord Ronaldshay from Aske Hall about filming there. When we arrived he inquired about our idea, and then showed us around. We were looking for a church to film in, and there is an old 19th century chapel there, so it will be perfect for what we need. He said that we were free to use the chapel and grounds for our teaser trailer, I just need to email him with the dates and times we wish to film there.

Recce Shots of Kiplin Hall

Recce Shots

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Footage when looking around Kiplin Hall on Prezi

Meeting at Kiplin Hall

Yesterday Emily and I went to Kiplin Hall as arranged (Lucinda could not be there for personal reasons). Emily's mum took us up there and we tried the Warden's lodge as we were not sure where the door with the intercom was! We were told to wait at the bottom of the stairs, and then Dawn came down to meet us. She was lovely and very enthusiastic, and she gave us a guided tour of all the different rooms. She asked us about our idea, and the different shots we needed to do, giving us lots of useful information on the hall and on each individual room. Afterwards she let us go back round each of the rooms to take Recce Shots, and then Emily bought a guide so we can read the information to find out about the history of the building.

We also went round and got some photos of the outside of the building afterwards, as well as some footage of certain areas such as the gardens and lake. In the end it was a really successful afternoon, and the fact that Dawn was so easy to talk to means that she understood what we were doing, and her knowledge of the hall was helpful, as she had been working at Kiplin Hall for 11 years. Before we left she told me we could film on the Wednesday and Thursday of half term, but not Tuesday as they have a ghost tour taking place, and not Friday as no one is usually there. I am going to email her with times as soon as possible.

Kiplin Hall emails...

Another email...

As we cannot film at 'Newby Hall and Gardens' I decided to email 'Kiplin Hall', as if we could film there it would be really good, and look authentic as a 19th cetury building.

Email to (and reply from) Newby Hall (Ripon)

Update on costumes

Yesterday Emily went to R.A.D.S at 12:30pm, and as Lucinda and I were not here she took Frances (who is going to be an actress) with her. Frances tried some outfits on which fit her, so we have a ball gown, pearl beads, a day dress and shawl for her. We have an outdoor cloak, outdoor scarf, outdoor hat, dinner suit, and waistcoat for the wealthy male (Jon). For the poor man (Peter) we have a footman's tailcoat, bow ties in black and white and a waistcoat. Lucinda is playing the minor part of the maid, so has got a choice of a serving skirt in grey or black, an apron, a blouse and a cap. We had to give a £10 donation, and are allowed to keep the costumes until mid-November, but if we need them any longer than that we need to get in touch to get an extension. So costumes are now sorted!

Continued emails to Aske Hall

I phoned Mandy Blenkiron during my lunch break to tell her we would go to the meeting on Thursday 20th October at 4pm, so she has given us a meeting slot with Lord Ronaldshay. I recieved one more email after I had phoned:

More responses to location requests

I recieved this email as a reponse to the filming request, so sent a reply with further details, including all the relevant information as regards to what they needed to know:

Update on location and costume...

We now have a reply from National Trust regarding "Treasurer's House", and unfortunately we cannot use it for filming. I have emailed the Aske Hall contact to see if we will be able to film there, and I will phone round if I need to. There is also the local church in Masham where I live which we could film in, as I would be able to speak to the vicar. I will wait a couple of days for a reply to my email, and I have made sure that the person recieving it knows how important it is that we film in a building of the correct period.

In terms of costume Emily as finally got through to RADS and they are meeting with her to discuss costumes tomorrow. Sadly Lucinda and I cannot be there, as we are on a school trip, but as we urgently need costumes at this point Emily has agreed to go down there and take any of the actors/actresses who are free with her.

Production company name: market research

We carried out further market research to deicide upon a company production name. We created this on SurveyMonkey.com, and asked people to answer the questions. The survey is shown below:

We now know that the most popular name is 'Spotlight Productions', so we will use the logo that Lucinda created for her AS coursework.

New Storyboard

I have created a new storyboard for our new idea, so we have added shots where there is an elderly lady looking back over her grandmother's life through what she wrote in her diary, and she lived in the 19th Century. This means that we will be setting it in both the modern day, but mostly the 19th century, and focusing on 'scandal' and relationships between people of different classes.

Emails regarding locations

This is a copy of the email which I sent to three National Trust contacts enquiring about Treasurer's House, Beningbrough Hall and Gardens and Nunnington Hall. I sent the same email to each, and changed the name of the location on each email. If we do not recieve any replies after a few days then I will phone up instead, as we urgently need to get the locations sorted.

Analysis of a teaser trailer to coincide with our new idea: Letters to Juliet

This is the trailer for the film 'Letters to Juliet,' and I am analysing it because we are using the concept of the letter and how the events of the past change the life of a character in the present.

Camera Angles/Movement: There is an establishing shot of New York, so we realise that this will be a significant location within the film. Over the shoulder shots are used as she eats the spaghetti. Low angle shot of the plane as it flies overhead. There are further establishing shots which focus on the fact that it has moved to a new location. Low anlg eshot of the male stood on the balcony. Close-up of his face as he speaks to her, then a shot of her laughing. Close-up as she peers into the hole in the wall and when her expression changes. Extreme close-up of her hands holding the letter and the address on the envelope.  Long shot of the people in the streets. An overhead shot is used when Sophie and the male are lying on the grass together. Close-up shot as the man and woman step towards each other (lyrics in the music also fit in well with this moment and add suspense.) Sophie and other male smile at each other- this suggests to the audience that something will also happen between them. Close-ups of people's faces shown emotion- happiness in paricular is shown.

Editing: There are many fades used, and you can see one piece of footage merging into the next. Institutional information is shown at different points in the trailer. There is text shown on screen.

Sound: It opens with light-hearted music and then changes when she peers into the hole in the wall, emphasising that what she finds will have an impact on her life. A voiceover is used to help the viewer understand the storyline. Orchestral music is used to build up tension- we do not know whether they will find the man they are looking for. As the trailer develops a soundtrack is used- "Love Story" by Taylor Swift also has connotations of romance.

Mise-En-Scene: The location of Italy fits in well with the concept of romance, and from the costumes that people are wearing you can tell that it is set in a warm location, as well as the fact that blue skies are seen. The aspect of the letter is brought to light, especially as she finds the envelope with it in inside the wall. Many different settings re used within Italy- we see a church, fields and tables outside restaraunts.

GarageBand Research and Soundtrack

As we are going to be using Garage Band to create our soundtrack I have decided to do some research into it:


The layout of Garage Band-



Through watching this tutorial it has helped me to gain a better understanding of GarageBand. This will be beneficial when it comes to experimenting with music for our own soundtrack, as we will be able to decide what works best.

Soundtrack:For this we have decided we would like something which links to both eras, so we will construct something that includes orchestral instruments such as violins. This will also help to add tension to our trailer, and hopefully will help the viewer to understand the storyline as well as the connection between Frances and Sarah in our trailer.

CHANGES...

At this point we have decided to keep the 19th century era, but make it so it flashes back to this time period from the 21st century as the character looks back over their ancestors' life (perhaps a great or great great grandmother). We feel this will work better, as it will no longer be just a period drama, and will make our idea more original. An issue which was made evident to us was that there are no other period drama films which are not based on a novel, so this would mean that our idea would not be successful as a film. We have also decided to change the title from "Ménage à trois", as we realised that this did not translate to 'love triangle' as we initially thought. We will therefore carry out further research into a new titles we come up with to see which one people think suits our genre of film.

In the meantime as locations manager I am still looking into locations we can use, and once we have spoken as a group I will email/phone the appropriate people to enquire about whether we can film in those buildings or not. I have also been the photographer for the Aske Hall Recce shots, and I will take more photos when we start to film. Emily is in the process of organising costumes, and Lucinda is going to direct once we begin to film, as well as being in charge of the soundtrack. Even though we have changed our idea at this point I do not think that it is going to be a major problem, as we can go back over things such as the storyboard and alter them to fit in with our new idea. We will also analyse new teaser trailers, and carry out further market research. The teaser trailers which we have already analysed will still be helpful, as they are set in the same era, and analysis of sound, editing, mise-en-scene and camera angles in each one will benefit our overall understanding of how to construct a teaser trailer.

Analysis of costumes in a teaser trailer: The Piano

This is a film which is also set in the 19th century, so I am looking at the costumes. This knowledge will help when making my teaser trailer, meaning that my group and I have a better understanding of what to hire.

The females in this trailer wear hats tied with a bow, dresses with frilly collars, and the shade of black appears to be popular within that era. Nevertheless when not in black the young girl whears a white dress with frills. The women wear sleevless dresses when they are at special events.In terms of hair it is not lose and is plaited into ringlets at either side of the head.

The males who are rowing the boat are of a different culture, so they are showing their bodies. The other men (who would be upper class) wear top hats, bow ties and suits. Another male wears a bowler hat, lose fitting jacket and checked shirt.

Analysis of a teaser trailer: The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black is a 2012 supernatural film set in the 19th century and is a remake of the 1989 film of the same name. It stars Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds and Janet McTeer
 Camera Angles/Movement: Establishing shot of the house with branches either side making it feel as though you are spying, zooms as though you are walking forward, close-up of a males face, mid-shot as male jumps backwards and close-up as male is grabbed.

 Editing: Institutional information, words on screen to tell the narrative rather than a voice-over (the font fits in with the genre), fades to a black screen, use of the pictures rolling across the screen and the title font dissolves at the end of the teaser trailer.

 Sound: Gradual build up of music before the male leaps back- then a screeching noise at that point, the music sounds like a children's music box- this is haunting and builds tension- it also suggests that a child is involved even though there isn't one in the teaser trailer, ticking as the pictures scroll across and when the male is grabbed it sounds like a train in the distance.



How this will help towards our product:

Even though this is not of the same genre as our teaser trailer is going to be it will be helpful as it is set in the same century. This means that costumes will be similar, as well as the props used.
Mise-En-Scene: The building looks like a haunted house, the branches make you think of being haunted as they are black, natural lighting is used, at the point where it focuses on the males face it is half in the light and half in the darkness, he is wearing period costume- black suit and tie, the theme of darkness is used throughout- black trees, black costume, black font, and lack of light to create this effect.

Shots

In our teaser trailer we will use a variety of shots to make it look good, but also to show character's emotions, locations, important objects, and to give the viewer a general sense of what will happen. This will give all the people in my group a chance to input their ideas, and as part of the development process some of the shots we were going to do when the storyboard was created may be changed if we feel the shot will be more effective when done differently.

Looking into props

To make the teaser trailer authentic as being set in the 19th century it means we will have to buy props which are of that era. I have been looking on the Internet to see if there is anything suitable, and as we want to keep the money spent as minimal as possible Ebay and Amazon are the most cost effective places to look at.

Amazon...

Enquiring about costumes

Today Lucinda, Emily and I all went into town to find the RADS (Richmond Amatuer Dramatic Society) building, as we need Victorian costumes, and feel that it is worth asking them as they might have some. We went into the Georgian Theatre Shop as we did not know exactly where there premises were based. The lady was really helpful, and she told us that even though there probably wouldn't be anyone there at that time of the day she would speak with the person who did costumes, as she was a member of RADS too. She took Emily's phone number, asked us exactly which costumes we were looking for, and then said that she would get them to give us a call. This means that is sounds promising in terms of being able to get costumes, but if it is too expensive to hire them then we will have to find an alternative.

Disadvantages of chosen locations...

Advantages of chosen locations

Advantages of chosen locations on Prezi

Locations: Initial Ideas

Initial Location Ideas

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Costumes

In terms of costumes we need to begin to take the measurements of the actors/actresses. We are also going to create a log where we write down who has let us borrow what, so that we make sure everything gets returned, and to the right people. We will need various types of clothing such as suits for the males and dresses of the 19th century era for the females. Emily in my group has created more posters to display around college so that people know what we need and who to get in touch with if they can lend us some props/costumes.

The poster displayed around college (made by Emily):

Plan

After talking about the things which still needed to be carried out we drew up a plan together so that we have a strict order in which each task needs to be done. This will be helpful as we will be able to refer to it to make sure that everything that needs to be sorted is done, and to make sure that we don't forget to do anything of importance.


Plan
July:

· Analyse trailers and get ideas and inspiration

· Take notes on camera angles, editing techniques, mise-en-scene and sound used in trailers

· Plan ideas and storyline for our own trailer – decide genre


September:

· Research trailers of a similar genre to ours and establish conventions of them

· Make storyboard

· Research locations and costumes needed/where to get them

· Audition actors

· Find/research props

· Decide on which actors to cast


October:

· Contact people about costumes/locations

· Get costumes and confirm locations

· Research hair and makeup

· Research film magazines and posters

· Plan filming dates and book out filming equipment

· Plan photoshoot

· Film

· Do photoshoot for magazines and posters (whilst on location?)


November:

· Do research into using Final Cut Pro

· Begin to edit footage

· Do more research into film magazines and posters

· Begin print work

· Research soundtrack and voice-overs/text for trailer


December:

· Begin to add transitions

· Find soundtrack

· Write voice-over/text

· Cast someone for voice-over/record it (if using one)


January:

· Finalise editing

· Finish print work

· Get audience feedback for trailer and printwork/overall promotional package

· Blog posts on how we made print work

· Personal evaluations/group evaluation

Choosing the actors/actresses

We watched the auditions back within our group and decided between us who we thought would be suitable for each part. We then informed the people of the parts that they had been given, and they are all willing to still be in our teaser trailer.

Analysing a promotional film poster

I analysed the film poster for Larry Crowne in terms of audience, language and layout, with another girl in my class, as it was the task in the lesson. It will help when I come round to making a poster of my own for the promotional package we need.

Audience: The audience for this film would be women aged 30+, as the genres are romance, reality and comedy, so they would be interested for these reasons.

Language: The two names which are written on the poster are Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, who are well-known movie stars, so women interested in the film would be aware of other films that these actors had been in.

Layout: The fact that the woman is clinging to the man driving the scooter signifies a romantic relationship and shows that she trusts him. It is placed in the lower right-hand corner. The use of the colours blue and yellow signifies happiness and peace. The font is all capitalised and conforms to the blue and yellow colour scheme.

Looking at the promotional package of a film: Pazhassi Raja

As 'Emma' was an older film which was made in 1996, I have decided to look at a more recent film which is 'Pazhassi Raja', released in 2009. I will look at the promotional package for this film, which is a combination of a trailer, magazine front cover, promotional poster and website too.

Promotional Poster:



This poster shows the role of men within that time period, as the male looks like a figure of authority. We can tell by the clothes he is wearing and the writing on the poster that it is set in somewhere like India. The use of the gold has connotations of wealth and possibly royalty.


Magazine Front Cover:


I could not find a magazine front cover for this film, although there were reviews and online newspaper articles about it.


Website:

http://movies.sulekha.com/malayalam/pazhassi-raja/events/pazhassi-raja-website-launch/picture/1.htm

This website has features such as wallpapers, images and reviews and has links to other films that the target audience may also be interested in.


Trailer:



Even though this film is not of the same genre as the one which my group are going to make it has been interesting to look at, as it shows the outfits which people living in India in the 1800's would wear. It has given me an insight to how each of the coutries in the world during that period of time were different, especially the different classes and those with certain occupations.

Looking at the promotional package of a film: Emma

I have looked at a 'Emma' to seen how it is promoted through the use of a promotional package which is a combination of a trailer, magazine front cover, promotional poster and website. We will need to use these three items to create our promotional package for our coursework, so it will be interesting to see which features a film similar to ours uses in their promotional package. My group can then develop the ideas that film uses for their promotion to make our promotional package look just as good and for the target audience to be able to recognise the genre of film.

Emma

Promotional Poster:



This poster shows the leading female as being an attractive woman, and the way that she makes eye contact with the person viewing the poster puts across that she is also flirtatious. The cup she is holding makes her seem quite dignified and angelic, as she also has golden curls which are made to stand out against the white background.

Magazine Front Cover:

'Emma' was never on the front cover of any film magazines, although it was in the news because of the various adaptions of the novel. Gwyneth Paltrow was featured on both the front covers of Vogue and US because of her new found fame in 1996- these are shown below:



Website:

The film didn't have a wesite either, as it was a 1996 film. There is however a Jane Austen's World website where there are links to the 'Emma' film, enabling you to view features such as photos from the film and adaptions made to the novel. If it did have its own website then I think that there would be a link to the original novel by Jane Austen, as well as a description of the plot.

Trailer:




Even though I have already analysed this trailer I have put it onto this post anyway, as it is an essential part of the promotional package for the people watching the film.

Auditions

We held auditions in order to choose the best actors and actresses possible for our teaser trailer. As we filmed the people who auditioned it means we can watch them back and decide who we want to have the main parts.


The plan for the audtions was as shown below:

The auditions went well and we got a range of people who do drama within college who showed interest. Once we have decided who we think has earned which part we will get back to them and then we can begin to film the real teaser trailer. I think that holding auditions was a good idea as it means we got the chance to see which skills each actor/actress has to offer, and this will help to decide which part they will be suitable for.

Initial Storyboard

As a group we discussed the storyboard and then I created one on the computer so that we know what each shot will be, and also to give the potential actors/actresses an idea of the storyline. It will help us when it comes to filming the trailer as we will know how to edit each shot and what is meant to be happening at each point. Along with the script this will be the one of the key stages to making the film look good.

Mood Board

As we are doing a 19th Century romance drama for our teaser trailer, I have created a moodboard showing the fashions, buildings, inventions and transport from that period of time. This will help us when we come to filming the teaser trailer, as we will know which props to get and where to set the trailer in order to make it look authentic as a 19th century film.

Brainstorming

Brainstorm on Prezi

After we had chosen our groups we began to brainstorm ideas about the type of trailer we would want to do. We considered various genres, and we initially chose to do a horror film. However, we felt even though the idea for our storyline was good, it would not really work, as we weren't sure where we would film it or who would act in it, as we needed a young girl as an actress. After deciding that this idea was not what we wanted to do anymore we chose to do a film set in the 19th century about a wealthy girl who loves one man who is beneath her class, with the title of 'Ménage à trois', which means 'Love Triangle' in French. In the film he loves her also, but she is being sought after by a rich count. She feels attracted to him slightly, so she decides to lead them both on, resulting in a massive fiasco. I feel that our second idea is better as it will be more interesting and something very different to horror, which could turn out to be cliché and end up looking over the top if we did not get the balance right.

For our idea of a peridoic teaser trailer we are going to need to find props and shoot in buildings which are of the 19th century time period. The drama department at our college do have some costumes of that century which we can borrow, but we will still keep asking people around college if they have an 19th century clothes, furniture etc... or if they know of any buildings which we could use for the film trailer. We will also display posters around college letting people know that we need props for our teaser trailer.

Another thing which we need to do is display posters asking for possible actors/actresses so that we can hold auditions for those who will be interested. Once people come forward the auditions can be held and we can begin to plan the locations where we will shoot, as well as the costumes we would like people to wear. The auditons process will be carried out during lunctimes when people are free, and we will film each person. My group can then watch them back and decide who we think will be suitable for which part.

Market Research

We carried out market research by asking 6 people some questions. They were male and female, and we made sure that they were different ages too. By carrying out this market research it will help us to decide upon a final idea for our teaser trailer, and to make any changes that we need to. When doing the market research we took it in turns to do the filming of the person who answered the questions, the asking of the questions and the explanation of the task that we were going to carry out. This worked well as there are three of us in the group.

Market Research on Prezi

Understanding clues used in teaser trailers

I looked at the teaser trailer for the film 'As If I Am Not There', and analysed the clues given throughout in greater depth to see if I could guess the storyline. Before researching the film these are the clues that I found in the trailer:

·         Number tattooed on wrist- owned by someone else

·         Running towards cliff- trying to escape

·         Locked in room

·         Facial expressions- woman looks blind- extreme fear, petrified. Blank, almost possessed.

·         Setting- Doesn’t look like England because of the mountain ranges and types of trees. Children riding on a horse suggest the culture and the animals that people have in that country.

·         Clothing- what the women wear makes them look European, and poor e.g. headscarves. This suggests that they have nothing in their lives, and they cannot be free like they want to be.

·          Beginning and end link together as she is in the same clothes.

·         Theme of travelling throughout- riding the horse, bus journey. Another feature they have in common is the slamming of the door and the slamming sound when it shows the institutional information.

·         Could be refugees as they are under someone else's control.

·         Men and women are separate- suggests how the women in the film will be treated and that the men could be controlling.

·         Sound is slow and sad- indicates that it is going to be effect people emotionally.

·         Apart from music there is no dialogue and only a door slam at the end, which suggests the emptiness that the woman feels in her life.

·         The woman is about 20 whereas the men are older, and then there are the young girls who are about 10 or 11 years of age3·        

• Woman is with different men all the way through- so there is a suggestion that she could be a prostitute.

After looking at these clues I think that the film will be about a woman who is trapped from freedom. I think that she will be a prostitute for the various men she is with, and that she does not want to do any of the things they are making her. Eventually she may be allowed freedom, but I am not sure because of the fact she is locked in the room at the end.

What actually happens in the film:

"A harsh dose of cinematic realism about a harsh time-the Bosnian War of the 1990s-Juanita Wilson's drama is taken from true stories revealed during the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Samira is a modern schoolteacher in Sarajevo who takes a job in a small country village just as the war is beginning to ramp up. When Serbian soldiers overrun the village, shoot the men and keep the women as laborers (the older ones) and sex objects (the younger ones), Samira is subjected to the basest form of treatment imaginable."