Research and Planning: Publication Plan

Publication Plan on Prezi

Research and Planning: Film Magazine Drafts

This is a draft of the film magazine. The white box to the left represents the content of the magazine...and 'text' obviously represents some sort of 'tag line' or 'subtitle'
i will not necessarily be using this photograph, this is just an example of the sort of photograph I will be using.
'Close-up' is the chosen name for my magazine. It works well as it is a shot type, and also could show the intimacy of the interviews and the details of the content.

Research and Planning: Magazine Anaylsis

Empire Magazine (picture left) is a well established film magazine. I like the layout of the components such as the masthead, content and main feature (picture of Harry Potter) I think that the arrangement of the content allows room for the picture to stand out. The colour scheme seems to be red, white, yellow and possibly blue (underneath 'massive preview special.) In my opinion, the white and yellow are fine, but the red differentiates somewhat with the rest of the colours on the page, as the only red on screen in the masthead. However, this use of colour makes the masthead stand out, so you can clearly see the name of the magazine.
I think this particular magazine is aimed at audiences 16+, as there is nothing about the colour scheme or font that would suggest it was for children. Also, words used such as 'bloody' would not suggest a child's magazine as children are considered not to say 'curse words' such as this.

'Jade Screen' (below) is probably less well known than empire, yet I believe the overall appearance in somewhat more professional. The colour scheme is red white and black, which reflects the mood of the main image quite well. The layout of Jade Screen is more simplistic than Empire, as there are no defined columns. The magazine content is squashed into a small box at the very bottom of the cover, separated from the main feature by a border. I do not like this, as it's very hard to see what is actually in the magazine, and at an initial glance, I couldn't see the list of content. I prefer the layout of Empire, as it looks far more structured, and Jade Screen looks more like a film poster than a film magazine. I like the quality of the main photograph, it looks very professional even though it is clearly edited, the vibrancy contrasts greatly to the black background and it's very eye-catching. I also like the font of the masthead, as it's not too simplistic, but not to extravagant.

I would say that the audience for this magazine, is again 16+ as none of the colour schemes or fonts suggest that anything in this magazine is for children.

Research and Planning: Micro Element

Within the group, each member has specific roles for the production of the teaser trailer. I have been titled as editor. This incorporates the transition of slides, graphics and special effects. This is a key role in the post-production process and how well I manage it can determine the quality and delivery of the final product.

 
Ideas:
I have some basic, rough ideas of how to edit the slides. I will perhaps put a darkened effect on the slides in order to create a darker, scarier atmosphere and to convey horror. The group and I have decided to use freehand cameras while filming to create a first person perspective from the villains point of view. I could play around with effects to find one that works well with the freehand technique, such as slow motion in a particularly dramatic scene.
The program I will be using is iMovie, I have had practice on iMovie (see post titled 'Research and Planning: The Test') and will be creating most effects and joining the slides using this program.

Shared Micro-Element:
The group has decided to share 'sound' as to not give one person two roles. I have some ideas to put forward to my group, such as making our own music in order to avoid copy-write. I could create a simple scary sounding song on the piano, and then perhaps play around with different effects using the program 'Garage Band.' I was also thinking of creating a carnival* song to relate to the villain as he wears a clown mask. This could also be created using garage band.

*carnival music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gshBY5ZzWpw

Research and Planning: Plan: 22nd - 26th

In order to progress with the production of the teaser trailer, I need to ensure the following occur:

- Decide on specific days and times of shooting that are accesible to every member of the group

- Hold auditions and finalise the cast

- Ensure all props and costumes are collected

Research and Planning: Anaylsis of a Film Poster

Genre:
There are many ways in which this film poster (left) suggests the genre of horror.The expression of fear on the characters face, the dark colours (black, grey, red) and the fire at the bottom all have connotations of 'evil.'

Narrative:
The story this poster displays is a female main character being pulled down by some sinister looking hands to a place that we know from the masthead is hell. This idea is definately a convention of the horror genre, as it reflects a good vs evil vibe. 

Anaylsis:
High-key lighting is used, which differs from the typical low-key horror convention. I think it is used as there is fire used in the imagery, and also to illumiate the characters face so the expression is visable, also to display the hands of the hell minions more clearly. There is much more colour in the main image than the background. which has a black and white/sepia effect. I think this gives a creepier effect as it looks dark and mysterious, another horror convention.  The straight on angle of the photograph suggests to the audience that they are the same as the character i.e they are everyday human beings.  
The layout is fairy simple, as there is a background image, a main image at the front, a masthead, a subheading and the names of the creators. It is probably slightly more complicated than the film poster shown (right) as there is no background image, just the main image. 
The poster (above) is aimed at adults and perhaps people aged fifteen and over, as it shows no signs of violence. It is not appropriate for children, as the picture suggests scenes of a frightening nature, also the title 'Drag me to Hell' suggests the same. 
There could be hints of sexism in the representation of the female character displayed, as it reflects the typical 'damsel in distress' idea associated with gender bias. It also shows the villians as non-human beings, as they are rising out of hell to take the character. 

Research and Planning: Storyboard

This is a rough initial sketch of our storyboard for the teaser trailer, which we will then realise with the aid of the final storyboard.

Research and Planning: Costume Ideas

Costumes:
- Typical student clothes / current fashion for all characters
- Outerwear (for camping scenes)
- Mask (preferably clown)

Research and Planning: Props List

 

This (above) is a list of all the props needed for our teaser trailer. Included is where we will acquire these props from, and how much roughly, if anything, they will cost.

Research and Planning: Software/Equipment List

There are many pieces of equipment and software that are available to me and our group in order to create our trailer to the best of our ability.

Equipment:
- Digital Camera
- Tripod
- Lighting
- Microphones (if required)

Software:
- iMovie / Final Cut express
- Garage Band
- Photoshop (if required)

Research and Planning: Group Meeting

Today our group got together to discuss ideas and roles within the group. I was allocated the role of editor, as i feel this is my strength. Anika is in charge of cinematography and Becky is in charge of Mise en Scene. We decided to tackle sound as a whole group.

We discussed ideas and came up with a storyline. A group of friends containing a girl and her ex boyfriend go to the woods to camp, the ex boyfriend asks his friend to scare his ex girlfriend and her friends, but the friend takes it too far and starts kidnapping everyone. We, as a group, created a simple storyboard to get together some scenes that could appear within the teaser trailer, and give it some kind of order.

Research and Planning: Cinema Trip

Me and our group went to see 'Despicable Me' at Cineworld in Ashton. The film was rated a 'U' (universal) meaning it is suitable for everybody. There we no acts of violence or offensive language.
The teaser trailers before the film started were very quick, and lasted no longer than 2 minutes maximum, this is what I have to achieve with my own teaser trailer.

Researh and Planning: Treatment

My ideas for the horror teaser trailer all link to some kind of revenge on a character(s). I think a good idea would be perhaps a group of friends going camping in the woods, and they're all having a good time, but then start to go missing one by one. Then one girl at the end gets away but the killer is still around.
Another idea I have is a girl dumping her boyfriend, and publicly humiliating him in front of a lot of people, so then the boy snaps and starts to hunt down the people who humiliated him. I think I'm leaning more towards this idea, as there are many ways in which people can be humiliated, the location could perhaps be a lot easier to get to.
I will have to discuss more with the group.

Research and Planning: Production Schedule

Today the group and I discussed the story for our horror trailer.

We decided that Anika is doing Cinematography, I'm doing Editing, Becky is doing the mise en scen and we are collectively working together for sound.

''The story is two female best friends, coming out of college and bumping into one of the girls ex's, who is still madly obsessively in love with her, but he knew she'd be at the cinema and whilst he was with his best friend, he asked another friend to scare her so she'd see he was the 'Knight in shining Armour' but things didn't go quite to plan and everything goes out of proportion''