CONSTRUCTION: INTERROGATING CHARACTERS

To show how I developed each characters backstory I intend on hot seating them (asking them a few key questions, based on a script that my group and I have devised).I  got the idea from FilmEscape - found HERE. 

I will interrogate the main available characters that have the most focus in the storyline: Sydney (played by Demi Collins), Aaron (played by Marcus Couling) and Female Migrant (played by myself, Kate Bradford). 

1. I will write a questionnaire / script (key questions that reveal motivations, character related to the storyline of my trailer/film). 
2. I will film the interview / hot seating. 
   
3. I will present each character interrogation as a short edited video in which I will 'hot seat' the character. 
4. I will then upload the finished (short) video to my film trailer FaceBook page and elicit feedback for Evaluation question 3. 

Below are some examples, provided by the FilmEscape website, of questions I can interrogate my characters with. I will choose 6 key questions.

EXAMINERS REPORT 2015

I read through this extract of the 2015 Examiners Report and made sure I followed the recommendations about BBFC ratings, using a variety of shots, mixing up the narrative arc in the trailer brief, using pace in the trailer brief and signalling the genre clearly. By doing this I will have completed a successful film trailer that follows the appropriate guidelines of the 2015 Examiners Report.

CONSTRUCTION: MIGRANT MOTHER BY DOROTHEA LANGE

My group and I was shown a famous photo of the Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange connoting social realism. This photo shares similarities with my film trailer storyline that features a migrant mother and baby. Although our storyline is set in modern day (2015, 21st Century), the key emotion portrayed in the Migrant Mother of worry to keep her child(ren) safe and healthy, the desperate need for sanctuary (in the form of a passport to become a citizen in my film trailer) and well-being restored. For Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites, the Migrant Mother is also overwhelmingly a photograph about class, and one that evokes not just sympathy but compassion, an impulse to help that crosses social boundaries. The powerful depiction of class difference, also shown in my film trailer between the desperate working class migrants and middle class wealthy Sydney, becomes most obvious when the photograph (or character) is contrasted with other visual images (or another character), influencing empathy amongst the audience.

Another scene in my film trailer that conveys an absent father (and husband) is when Chris is holding a gun up to the migrant mothers head, portraying a sense of loneliness and threat. For Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites, the “Migrant Mother” is a single, vivid image, and also a complex representation that draws together the reformist tradition of documentary photography, the pictorial conventions of religious iconography, and the interpellation of the public audience in the place of an absent father. The image provides a powerful pattern of definition that then can be transposed to other times, social locales, and issues, that are still relevant today.

Below is a photo of myself, I play the Female Migrant. 

CONSTRUCTION: EDITING

My group and I looked briefly at the Legend film trailer via YouTube. I chose to analyse Legend (found HERE) as part of my six film trailer analysis' and thought the inter-titles font was extremely eye-catching, dominating and atmospheric due to the bold, opaque and square font depicting the actors and actresses names and slogans. Another aspect of the film trailer I thought was really unique was the word format of the principle actors name, for example 'Tom Hardy is Ronnie Kray' and 'Ton Hardy is Reggie Kray' - this informs the audience that one actor is playing the twins. I had never seen this before in any other film of the same genre and thought this would be fitting for my film trailer. I thought these two areas of the trailer successfully connote the genre and mood of the film that is similar to my murder, thriller film trailer; in turn this can be useful inspiration for font and word formats that would be appropriate for my film trailers inter-titles or films poster.

Example from my film trailer - using inspiration from Legend film

RESEARCH: DISTRIBUTION - WARP FILMS

Firstly, I completed research on the FDA website, I watched this video. I previously wrote a post on my research HERE. I learned about the steps completed to distribute a film. For example, once a film has been produced and edited, the film can be distributed. 

I chose Warp Films to distribute my film trailer because they distributed films of the same genre as mine, we agreed that this was appropriate. I learned about the distribution company, Warp Films, on my A Level study day at the BFI Southbank on UK Cinema: Audiences and Institutions on Wednesday 11th February 2015 presented by Matthew Hall. I learn't about the distributors Warp Films and Vertigo, this influenced by choice of distributors for my film trailer. 

I have made a SlideShare presentation explaining which distribution company would present my film trailer and why I chose that company. 

RESEARCH: DISTRIBUTION

I firstly consulted the website http://www.launchingfilms.com and watched various presentations to help me learn about film distribution. 


Distribution Companies- Top American Film Studios (Big Six) have a Vertical Distribution System
Warner Brothers


Disney
Universal Studios

Paramount Pictures


20^th Century 

Fox 


Sony 


Independent film distributors 


Lionsgate


Momentum Pictures

Metrodome

 

The first point distributors assess when they are deciding whether a film is worthy of distributing:  

Define the audience, attracting and addressing the audience. 


 

1. Who will want to see it

2. Why will they want to see it

3. How will they be persuaded and to deliver the audience to the fill

4. (Is it a 'Niche' film – small, specialised audiences such as French films, Scandi-noir, Art House Cinema
)

Mark Batey: the Chief executive of the FDA


“Launching them (films) to audiences” is “Highly competitive”. He describes the Market place as "highly strategic”


   

Film Festivals to advertise and distribute films to audiences 


Sundance


Toronto


London


SXSW


Cannes


Most successful way of attracting audiences is the in-cinema trailer giving the audiences a realistic view of the film. 


 

1. Establish the Genre

2. Find its USP – UNIQUE SELLING POINT (hook, one line to describe and understand the film) such as the actor, cast, director, location, genre, theme

3. Target Audience - Frequent cinema goers are often in 15 to 24 age group or families (defined in age groups). 
4. Distributors to attract as many people to watch audience – who will see the film, why and when to release the film at the best time, how can you put it into the market place with the best possible chance of succeeding such as in the school holidays or before Christmas in different territories such as USA, China, England (trying to prevent piracy)

5. Research – research audiences (someone who they may think would watch the film – target audience), questionnaire, what appeals to the audience, asks personal questions about whether they would watch a film like this (projects a section of the film) and then get feedback via questionnaires online or on paper

RESEARCH: FILM MAGAZINE FRONT COVER ANALYSIS #3

Below is my film magazine front cover analysis for The Hollywood Reporter Magazine (February 2012). I have researched and analysed the codes and conventions of a professional film magazine front cover to gain a better understanding of how I can successful produce a film magazine front cover, as part of my ancillary project, to attract and address my target audience.

I made this presentation in Emaze. Emaze is an extremely useful presentation tool as it allows me to quickly and efficiently upload a Power Point presentation or make my own using unique, vibrant and eye-catching tools.

RESEARCH: FILM MAGAZINE FRONT COVER ANALYSIS #2

Below is my film magazine front cover analysis for Total Film Magazine (Summer 2011). I have researched and analysed the codes and conventions of a professional film magazine front cover to gain a better understanding of how I can successful produce a film magazine front cover, as part of my ancillary project, to attract and address my target audience.

I made this presentation in Emaze. Emaze is an extremely useful presentation tool as it allows me to quickly and efficiently upload a Power Point presentation or make my own using unique, vibrant and eye-catching tools.

RESEARCH: FILM MAGAZINE FRONT COVER ANALYSIS #1

Below is my film magazine front cover analysis for Empire Magazine (February 2011). I have researched and analysed the codes and conventions of a professional film magazine front cover to gain a better understanding of how I can successful produce a film magazine front cover, as part of my ancillary project, to attract and address my target audience.

I made this presentation in Emaze. Emaze is an extremely useful presentation tool as it allows me to quickly and efficiently upload a Power Point presentation or make my own using unique, vibrant and eye-catching tools.

PLANNING: A QUESTION OF IDENTITY FILM POSTER - USING INDESIGN

In class today I began to experiment with Adobe Indesign.

After collecting thumbnails of social media platforms I can use on my film poster (and start updating to attract and address an audience with photographs and videos of the film trailers progress) such as Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and writing the films credits and institutional information, I began to experiment on Adobe Indesign.

I experimented on Adobe Indesign to know what software is used by professionals and how they successfully use it to produce posters, like mine, to attract and address their target audience.

This was the photo I took in the previous lesson and imported it into Adobe Indesign

Below are the steps I took experimenting with Indesign to create a mock poster for A Question Of Identity. 

I learned how to add text to my page - the film title is seen above

I learned how to add a photo and project it through the text

I projected the trees from the image I took last lesson through the text

I learned how to change the shape of text - I could use this when I type out the title or actors/actresses/director/slogan/coming out date

My final poster with a title, photograph on the main protagonists, and institutional information and credits - I also experimented with other ways in which I can change the shape of text and add shapes to attract and address audiences.

PLANNING: A QUESTION OF IDENTITY FILM POSTER

Today in class I began to plan my film poster for A Question Of Identity. 

I began by saving images of thumbnails for social media platforms that I can use on my film poster to attract and address my target audience.

Thumbnails for social media platforms I will use - Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter

I have been updating the film trailers Instagram page - found on the right side of my blog roll.

HERE is a post I made on making my film trailers Instagram page.



I then started to write the films credits with my group. This will be put at the bottom of the poster in the font Bee Two. I will use this font to make my films poster look professional, like the Thor poster I looked at to gain codes and conventions of film posters and know the right format I should be writing the actors, producers, director of photography's name in - as seen below.

Credits I wrote

I then decided that I would take a photo that I can use to plan and experiment with Adobe Indesign in the next lesson. This photo isn't going to be used in the real poster I will make, but gives me a good idea on how I can structure the characters I want in my photo, how I want the mise-en-scene to look, the camera angle and lighting to be used to create an eerie, questionable and sinister atmosphere.

Experimental photograph to be used in Adobe Indesign - with the characters Sydney and Aaron, the two protagonists

RESEARCH: FILM MAGAZINE FRONT COVERS

http://www.world-newspapers.com/film-magazines.html

I have started to research professional film magazine front covers, such as those from Empire Magazine and Studio Magazine. From completing this research it gives me a broader understanding of the codes and coventions used by professionals to attract and address an audience, to not only buy the film magazine but lure and entice them to view the film at the exhibition stages. This gives me a good idea on how I can structure the characters I want on my film magazine front cover, how I want the mise-en-scene to look, the camera angle and lighting to be used to create an eerie, questionable and sinister atmosphere.

FEEDBACK FROM FILMING AT THE GRAVEYARD

I asked on social media platforms for feedback on my production company ident. Asking for feedback will allow us to have a better understanding on what our audience likes and dislikes (to improve our shots); allowing us to have a high chance of producing a successful film trailer attracting audiences to come and watch the film at the exhibition stages.

As of yet, I haven't had any feedback given on social media platforms, however Pearl Brown, 60, Surrey who doesn't have Instagram or Twitter commented saying "I love the dark, sinister and haunting feel of the grave yard!".

I also asked:

Catherine Lowe, 29, Hampshire, "I think the grave yard is a really atmospheric part of the trailer due to the low lighting,

Ruby Howard, 24, Surrey, "I think the grave yard is really spooky! It makes me wonder how Sydney died - whether she was murdered or she died naturally!"

Olivia Jenkins, 47, West Wales, "I love the way Aaron collapses onto the grave - it adds emotion, sympathy and pity for Aaron dealing with his sisters death!".

Geoff Jenkins, 60, West Wales, "I agree with Olivia! I think the combination of Aaron collapsing onto the grave makes me feel sad, sympathetic and pity Aaron dealing with his sisters death. He must be so confused and desperately want to avenge her death! This shot makes me not only want to carry on watching the trailer, but follow the films process on social media platforms and view it at the cinema!".

I posted this on Instagram and interconnected with Twitter allowing me to have a variety of feedback from people of different ages, genders and locations in the world.

Instagram post

Twitter post

PLANNING: SOUNDTRACK

Today we continued editing the completed footage uploaded onto the iMac using iMovie. My group and I want to create a smooth transition between each frame therefore making our film trailer easy to follow, understand and not jumpy. This is important as I want to audience/viewer to be able to follow the story line easily without getting distracted or confused with unnecessary transitions such as shots fading in and out creating a dodgy, unfocussed transition. 

I decided that when we come to making the soundtrack that it would be appropriate to to create a mix of melodies (making mashup music) for our film trailer, making ours orginal. For example I thought it would be fitting to amplify a constant beat of a keyboard rhythm whilst slightly muting a synthesised track in the background. I also thought about the wild sound of our thriller trailer such as walking of footsteps, wind and breathing, amplified and noticeable over the top of the music. I want to do this because I want to make Aaron's exhaustion and desperation noticeable by the exhausting journey he has taken to avenge his sisters death and find the killer.

I think my group and I want to have fast paced music to accompany the shots as it would suit the detective, thriller genre, theme and storyline of our film trailer - focussing on murder and the urgency to avenge loved ones death who was killed by a brutal, abusive attacker.

I also feel that the fast paced music would suit the fast paced shots such as Aaron running through open spaces such as carparks in dark, eerie and dangerous locations; this would also add even more pace to shot, also adding suspense and tension.

From completing my FutureLearn course and studying a weeks focus on copyright music, I will take the information I have learned into consideration.

HERE is a link to a blog post I wrote on copyright music during week 4 of my FutureLearn Digital Filmmaking course.