PLANNING: Trello

To help plan and organise all of the things that I need to do I have decided to set up a Trello account to help me keep up to date with all of my work.

The Hunger Games: Distribution Strategies

The Hunger Games Mockingjay: Part 1 - Distribution from freddiehowe

PLANNING: Treatment

Film Title: Lights Out

The year is 1959. People are still recovering from the events of World War 2. When young Mrs Erica Cliffton had her husband taken from her, because of government secrets, she goes to a private detective, Mr Clyde Boggart, for help. WOMAN describes tells DETECTIVE about what she thinks has happened to her husband and about his clandestine government work. WOMAN believes that her husband is being held against his will at the 'asylum' where this secret government work took place. 

As WOMAN is describing her husbands disappearance it cuts to a voice over and depicts the disgraceful things that are happening in the asylum and depicts the actual kidnapping. DETECTIVE is reluctant to go to the asylum but goes anyway to honour their agreement. 

When DETECTIVE arrives at the asylum he sees that it is completely abandoned and has been for quite some time. He breaks in and discovers hell on earth. He uncovers the secrets that WOMAN'S husband was kidnapped for trying to reveal. In the asylum he sees the what these government secrets have done to people. He spends his time fighting for his life against crazed and tortured victims of secret government experimentation. 

PLANNING: Location Recce

1st Location Recce

2nd Location Recce

RESEARCH: How Brands Profile Audiences

Ting Ting uno from freddiehowe

RESEARCH: How Brands Profile Audiences

I began by investigating how brands like Kiss Radio and NME Magazine target audiences in preparation for making an audience profile for my AS Foundation Production. I need to devise a plan to reach my target audience.
When it comes to distributing my film, I will create marketing strategies that are personalised to fit my production and the people I believe to be my target audience. There are many ways I could do this, for example, I could create a Facebook page for the film, I could make a film website, I could make a twitter account for the film etc.

Audiences can be segmented and defined by their GEARS 

Gender

Ethnicity
Age
Region / nationality
Socio-economic group

I did some research on FourFourTwo magazine and the clothing store River Island to help me figure out how brands find their target audience and who buys these goods. I chose these two brands because I think that they are used by same target audience as my movie.


FourFourTwo is a football magazine aimed at teenagers and adults. In my opinion I think that this magazine is aimed for ages from 15-45+. I think this because people under the age of 15 will not enjoy this magazine because it is a more sophisticated football magazine. For people under the age of 15 the football magazine that they would usually refer to is Match which is a more child friendly/orientated magazine with lots of colour and trivia for the readers to take part in. It is aimed at football lovers and fans who want to spend their time reading about the sport that they love thats why I think that there is no age boundary when it comes to the older ages. I think that the target audience for FourFourTwo is people from the Socio-economic Bands A-B. I think this because it is a very sophisticated football magazine which doesn't just cover the brief details of the weekend matches and brief interviews with players it dives into the deep world of football.

River Island is a clothing company that sells very stylish and youth orientated clothes and accessories. I think that the target age group for River Island are people from the age of 13-25. Through my research I have found that other people believe that the target age range is from the age of 18-30. I think that the target audience are people in in the Socio-economic Bands of C2 to B. I think this because all of their products are very reasonably priced. This means that the people from these bands will be able to afford them. The reason I didn't include A is because I think that people from that band will go to more high end fashion retailers like Gucci or Burberry.

I also looked briefly at Kiss Radio and NME Magazine to help me think about my target audiences.

I chose to look at these two brands to help me because they are both very good at identifying their target audiences.

Suits: Title Sequence

The title sequence for the show 'Suits' is very cleverly made. They use the contrast between sped up footage and slow motion to show how hectic life is when you are a layer working in a top law firm in New York.

The way they do this is they  split clips of footage into two different clips and speed one up and slow the other one down. I really like this technique, especially when it is done well like it is in the 'Suits' title sequence.

Les Bleus De Ramville

Les Bleus de Ramville is a Canadian television series focused on the around the members of a fan club of a local hockey team. The opening sequence for this show is award winning and we are going to try and analyse different parts of it a think of different ways we could incorporate these different very affective techniques on to the opening of our movie.

 The opening shot constrains the frame making the viewer focus on the player and his pre-match preparations. The mid-shot of the player helps the audience become part of the world of the players in the locker room; it also enables us to feel the nerves and intensity of the players whilst they prepare to go onto the ice and go face to face with their opponents. I think it would be an interesting and skilled shot that I want to incorporate into my opening sequence.

This shot is an extreme close up of one of the players tying the laces on their boots. I like this shot because like the opening shot it helps the audience to really dive into the locker room and fell what the players feel.

 In this tracking shot the lights switch on one at a time revealing the mask. The sound and video editing in this shot are excellent because as the first light turns on you hear the sound of a slap-shot coming from the rink. The shot is tracking from the left to the right very slowly and steadily to show the audience the whole of the mask. I really like slow tracking shots because I thinks it creates a feeling of extreme tension and suspense because anything could suddenly happen to change the speed entirely.

This is a very low-angle shot of a spectator walking up the stadium stairs to get to their seat. This helps to build the tension because the beginning of this opening sequence is all about building up tension before the game; having a fan walking to their seats means that the game is almost ready to start and the build up of tension is coming to a climax.
In

 One of the best things about this opening sequence is that they include very legible credits. Every single credit that is shown, no matter, the background is legible and easy to read. This makes for a fantastic opening sequence because without the credits the audience won't know who stars in the show, who designed the costumes, write the scripts etc. In this opening sequence it only shows the actors that star in the show. This is the main thing that I want to achieve when making the opening sequence to my own movie. I want to make sure that my audience can easily read the credits and know all the details about the opening sequence that they need to know.

This tilt-pan shot shows the the lights of the scoreboard showing the time ticking down. The changing from the number 14 to 13 is fantastically matched with the music. In the soundtrack there is an underlying beat that sounds like a ticking clock and this beat matches up perfectly with the changing of time.

RESEARCH: NOWHERE BOY

The establishing shot of this movie connotes the insignificance of John Lennon when it comes to law and strength. This is shown by the monumental pillars and the size of the building he is running across. This shot also show us the rebelliousness of the young John Lennon. I think that the building represents society and that it shows how he wants to defy society and just be himself. I also think that it shows that he is just like everyone else in the world.

Throughout the rest of the opening ten minutes of the film we learn that John has a very strange life at home. His Aunt Mimi is a very strict and very disciplinary women whereas his uncle is very kind and very friendly and they spend their time messing and joking around with each other. Mimi contrasts Johns uncle perfectly and adds some real tension to life at home because she is very traditional and very strict.

Also in the opening ten minutes of 'Nowhere Boy' we are shown just how rebellious John truly is within 2 minutes of the movie starting we a in the principals office with him getting told off for something he did and being told by the principal that if he doesn't straighten his act up he is never going to be anything or anyone.

RESEARCH: DISTRIBUTION (Pride)

We investigated how the film Pride is attracting and addressing audiences

The Pride film website is the main thing that attracts and adressess the audiences. The websites allow people who are interested in the film or people who stumble upon the website to find many different pieces of information about the film, cast, soundtrack, obtaining tickets and even some reviews of the film.

After watching the film if you enjoyed the soundtrack and the music used there is a section of the website in which the songs used are listed and there are even links to buy it using Amazon, iTunes and Google Play. On every page of the website there is an option to share the information you have found on Facebook and Twitter. 

RESEARCH: DISTRIBUTION (What We Did On Our Holiday)

What We Did on Our Holiday

Genre: Comedy http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2725962/

Target Audience: This movie is targeted at people of all ages. It’s a family film that seems appropriate for all ages even though it is rated 12.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2725962/

Institutions spreading the word: The Times, David Tennant, BBC Films, Lionsgate films etc. David Tennant helped to spread the word of the movie on his different social media websites. He used Twitter and Facebook to drop exclusive trailers and secret details about the film to try and attract audiences.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2725962/

Info from the film trailer: The trailer shows that it is a comedy about a family going through a divorce and having to lie to their family when celebrating the grandfather’s birthday up in Scotland. The trailer shows that it is a funny light hearted family comedy that I think could be and probably is a good movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Lp1DVXIrE
IMDB is a very useful website because it has all kinds of information on the film and the cast. I used it to help me find information about the target audience, the institutions that helped to spread the word about the film and the genre. 

RESEARCH: THE ART OF THE TITLE Third analysis

Pacific Rim

The genre of this movie is sci-fi action. It is about aliens attacking earth from a different dimension from a portal under the sea and the story of how they came to be and how they are eventually defeated.

The main thing that creates a sense of action in this title sequence is the music. It is a very intense sounding rock tune that gets you in the mood for a fight (or to watch a fight). It is very heroic sounding.

Just like in most action film title sequences it shot entirely in slow-motion. It is also made only with CGI animation, there are no live action shot at all.

 

RESEARCH: THE ART OF THE TITLE Second analysis

The Conjuring (2013)

The genre of this film is horror. It is about a family that move into a new home that is haunted. They then proceed to try and get rid of the spirits that haunt their new home.

In this title sequence the music plays the biggest part in creating a sense of horror. It creates this sense of horror by playing very low and harsh sound trumpets and horns and different instrument to create a dark and eerie sounding tune as the titles and credits appear. The music starts with quite a low intensity but as the title sequence goes on the music gets more and more intense with the introduction of the sound of a women singing in a very screechy voice, crows and drums.

The lack of colour also creates a sense of period and horror as the film is set in 1971. The titles and credits all appear alongside old newspaper articles that show the real people that this film is based on.  

RESEARCH: THE ART OF THE TITLE First analysis

MacGruber (2010)

This movie is a spoof of the hit 1980's TV show MacGuyver. The opening sequence is crude and rude. 

The music is what makes the opening sentence so rude. The song playing in the background at one point says "the guy's a f***ing genius." This adds to the comedy genre because of the crudeness of the song. 

The title sequence is a spoof of all action movie title sequences. Lots of slow motion, dark intense colours and slow tracking shots.

The main thing that shows that this movie is a comedy from the opening title sequence is the things that we are shown. We are shown him lying in a tanning bed, playing the saxophone and even sharpening a pin which he then uses to defuse a bomb along with  piece of gum. This all happens whilst the song in the background is comedically describing how much of an amazing hero he is.

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE

Today in class we explored a website called Art of the Title. The opening sequence that I chose to investigate was the opening to The Walking Dead Season 3 (2012).

• The genre of this TV show is many things. I would class it as a mix between horror, thriller and drama it's has a hybrid genre. The title sequence is very dark and gritty so it fits the genre of the show perfectly. As it is a TV show about the zombie apocalypse each credit in this title sequence is displayed in different cuts that denote solitude and devastation. The very first credit is of the production company next to a highway full of abandoned vehicles.
• The lighting and colours used help to convey the dark and gritty genre because the whole title sequence is very dark and reasonably colourless. None are of the colours used are very bright. They are all very dark. The lack of colour and the different settings used help to show the genre of the show because they help to convey a zombie apocalypse.  
• The camera movement is very slow and steady. I think the reason that they move the camera so slowly is to connote the vigilance and caution you would need to have to survive a zombie apocalypse. The camera isn't always slow. There is one point in the opening sequence when the camera is rushing through an abandoned house. This links to the slow movement as it also show that to survive the zombie apocalypse you need speed and power.

Research: Representation

1. Roland Barthes Mythologies (1964):

This image depicts the front cover of a French magazine 'Paris Match'. The front cover consists of a young, negro boy in French military uniform, saluting to (probably) the French flag (the tricolour) or maybe a commanding officer. This cover is trying to connote unity within France with all of the French people but at the same time it is showing France as a completely unified country. Roland Barthes is saying that this is a Myth. He is saying that it is a myth because at the time of the release of this magazine (1964) the people of France were not united. There was racism and there was disgust between races and the people of France we unable to get along with one another.







2. Roland Barthes The Rhetoric of the Image (1977): 

Captain Phillips: Representation



These screenshots show the scene in Captain Phillips in which he has been rescued and now the medical staff are checking him and asking him questions and he is unable to control his emotions and bursts into tears thanking the medics.

Both of these screenshots represent gratitude, love, relief and happiness. You can tell this from the look on his face in the first screenshot. He is crying because he has been rescued from an incredibly traumatising situation. His tears show his unbelievable happiness and relief that he is now safe and doesn't need to worry about returning to his wife and family safely.
This second screenshot shows his pure shock that he has survived what has just happened and that he is now safe and he just cannot believe it.
The use of close up on Tom Hanks' face allow the audience to get up close and personal with a man who has just been rescued from a very traumatic situation and really see and feel his emotions.

PLANNING: STOP MOTION

Today I explored new software, iStopMotion, using a webcam to take shots then editing using 'onion skinning'. The project was to make a production company ident for our imaginary company SpeedMedia.

After feedback, we were pleased with the results but decided that the ident would have more impact with sound, so we have create a new version with some sound effects on it. As we don't have a huge variety of sound effects available to us the sounds don't really match the movements of the car, but it is the best we can do for now. 

Here are a few pictures of us whilst we were making our Ident.