Uploading Issues

We have encountered some issues whilst trying to upload our film. When we export it, the sizing changes from widescreen to very small. Also, the quality becomes very poor. We are currently trying to fix this issue, and we will then re-upload it.
Shannen

Poster Mock Up- By Colette

We thought about our poster quite early into the task and discussed some ideas on our blog HERE. The first time we filmed we decided to take some photographs of one of the 'yobs' as we decided that we wanted our  poster to contain one of the younger rioters as to not give away the reveal at the end of our story.

We took these photos using a Canon 1000D Camera. We decided to use a DSLR Camera because it gives a high quality, very large image which is easy to edit and wont look 'pixely' when it is blown up into a poster. We. have already decided on the font and colour of our title as shown HERE and the style of the editing shown HERE. 

Now we are focusing on composition and the other smaller details on the poster as well as which raw image we want to start with. Below is a mock up I made on Photoshop along with some of the techniques I used to manipulate the image. 

^ First I opened the image in Photoshop. Here is the original image with no editing

^I heightened the contrast of the image to make the image stronger and more powerful. I then selected the hoodie using the magic wand tool and desaturated the clothing as I felt the bright blue of the hoodie made the character seem too approachable when we wanted him to look threatening! 

^ I then used the "T" (text) tool to add text to the poster. I used this tool to create ratings about the film, the credit box, the production company logo, tagline, website and other information found in film posters. 

I then pasted in the title (which we made before) and the age certificate. 

Here is the mock-up!!!

What could be improved: 

• We still need to think of a tagline for the film; ideas of this will be up on the blog soon!
• Empty space- there is a space between the tagline and credits box that needs to be filled
• Title; we could outline this with black to make it stand out more
• Reviews- edit the reviews to target our audience, maybe add one more above the two we have?
• Age Certification; for now I decided on a 12 certificate because of violent themes and offensive language however this needs to be discussed further among our group after looking at the official criteria for age certification
• Company logo; this is a (very) quick mock up I made for the production company. This will most definitely change; Shannen has a lot of knowledge and skill in branding and has created logos before in Business Studies so she will be better at creating a suitable logo

By Colette :)

A look back at us in action! By Colette

As I was looking through my camera to find the photographs we took for our film poster I came across a few photos of us filming!

 Here is our set up for the cross cut scene where the hob is lit. We set up 2 standing LED lights and positioned the camera in front of the hob. We filmed the whole scene in one entire take and then edited it afterwards as our tripod was faulty and kept moving whenever we pressed the record button.

Here we are filming a short video explaining the hair, makeup and costume we decided on for our 'yob' characters.

Here Shannen is briefing Mark on his script whilst he practices it. Charles is in the corner holding up the Green Screen as we didn't have enough room for the poles!

Here is the set up for the news report. This was the 2nd time out of the 3 times we shot this scene.

Here I am cleaning up the mess that we made when filming the cutting scene. We cut strawberries up until they were so squished they looked like blood (eww) and then had the delightful job of scraping it off the side afterwards

Final Editing

I have just finished editing our first cut of our short film!
Colette started some sound overlay for it during the lesson and I have finished it and added it to the film, as well as moving a few final things around. I will upload it shortly!

By Shannen

Poster Analysis by Shannen

Grabbers

Grabbers is a short film directed by Jon Wright. I have seen this film when it was premiered at the 2012 Encounters short film festival in Bristol. It's one of the longer short films at 94 minutes (around an hour and a half).
Grabbers is one of the rare short films that has a film poster. On top of this, it actually has a lot of film posters. Aside from the one "main" poster - which I found on Grabbers' IMDb, it has 6 other English posters which each feature different characters, as well as some international posters too. Below is a selection of these posters:

An international Grabbers poster example:



These posters are not so much the main, detailed film posters, as they tend to just have a picture, the film title and a phrase to grab your attention. I'd call these posters "awareness" posters as they tend to just make the audience aware of the film rather than give details about it. The poster which I feel is the most detailed is below:

• The actors' names appear on the poster, but only as part of the credit block, which is small and hard to read. This is suprising as there are some well known actors in the film, such as Richard Coyle and Russel Tovey.
• The main image is a mixture of an actual photograph and computer imagery - there is a picture of the pub and scenery, with the computer imagery of the Grabbers' arms, and then on top of this are the images of the characters. The characters' image is right in the centre of the page so it stays the focus. The title is made part of this image, with one of the computer generated images being part of it - an arm wrapped around it. This title lays over the image of the characters, but only over their legs. The colour of the title is bright red - which is also the colour of the release date - which is a popular signifier for blood. This is relevent to the film.
• There is a website for the film at the bottom of the poster, which could show us that the film is quite well publicised, even though its a short film.
• There is a tagline which says "Erin island is under attack... and the locals are getting pissed!". This shows us one of the genres of the film will be comedy as this tagline has a double meaning - "pissed" as in angry and "pissed" as in drunk.
• There is a credit block at the bottom of the poster which blends in quite nicely with the poster - it doesn't stand out but it isn't hard to find.

Genre

The genre of this film is a hybrid of comedy and horror. This is quite a popular genre convention for short films. We can tell this from the poster as there is a comedy tagline, and the characters are in quite comical poses with odd props. Their facial expressions are also quite humorous, which can also lead us to this genre. The horror element can be connoted from the use of red on the title and release date, but more importantly from the imagery. There is lightening at the top of the poster which can suggest quite a dark theme. Then there is the supernatural element made the computer imagery - there are no other genres which incorporate the supernatural.

Representation

From the poster, we can tell that the film represents local communities as in the tagline it mentions the word "locals". Also, the characters on the poster are quite a wide variety of ages which could also suggest this.

Audience

The poster can suggest that the film is for a slightly older audience as the tagline suggests that the film is about drinking. Also, there is the monster-looking computer imagery which might not be suitable for younger audiences. From the poster we can also decide that the film would be for audiences who enjoy comedy and horror.

Media Language

• The use of a long shot and an extra long shot for the main images on the poster creates a sense of mystery as you cannot clearly see the characters/setting in detail.
• The props, hair, makeup and costumes lead to the idea that the characters are just normal people. This is different as in a lot of film posters the characters will look glamorous and attractive.
• The characters' body language and facial expression is both comical and defensive, which can lead us to different thoughts about the film - that there could be violence/action, and that it could be funny.
• The colour and lighting is used to make the poster look dark and scary. This helps generate the genre of the film (comedy horror). This also makes the poster quite exciting to look at.

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina is an independent feature length film directed by Joe Wright. It was shown in some large cinemas, but mostly in small cinema houses such as the Duke of York in Brighton and the Bristol Watershed. Like Grabbers, it also has a series of publisising posters which feature some of the main characters. A selection of these are below:

When looking for a "main" poster, I found the two below. The poster used depends on the location - for example, poster 2 would've been used in multiplex cinemas such as Cineworld, and poster 1 for independent places such as the Watershed.

I chose to study further the poster that would've been shown in smaller cinemas.



•  The actors' names appear on the poster - some on the credit block and the two main "stars" quite large above this. This is to attract fans of those actors.
• The main image is actually a mixture of images. The most prominent scene is of a seemingly trashed high class theatre. Then, where the stage would be is another image of a steam train in a snowy mountain scene. These two images are connected together by the snow - snow is coming out of the image and into the theatre. The picture of the theatre is stunning; it's grand - even though it's trashed - with vibrant colours. In contrast, the snowy scene is pale and distanct, but quite mysterious to look at because of this. 
• The main characters are all on the poster, with "Anna Karenina" herself in the centre, and the other two main characters in the background.
• There is a cultural reference on the poster - "a bold new vision of the epic story of love" is stated on the bottom of the page. This suggests there has been at least one version of this film before.
• There are references to the directors' achievements - his other big films - "Pride and Prejudice" & "Atomenent". This is to attract fans of these films to this film.
• There is a tagline - "You can't ask why about love". This suggests the genre of the film is romance. This tagline is pink which is a strong signifier of love. The release date is also in this colour.
• At the bottom of the poster there is a release date. However, it is quite general - saying only "November 2012". This suggests that this poster is being used internationally/nationally, so this vague release date allows for the different release dates in different countries.
• The title is the largest text on the page, right in the middle on top of the "stage" area. The tagline is directly under this, but quite a lot smaller. The text used is quite a fancy, serif typeface which fits with the rest of the poster well.

Genre
The genre of this film is romance. This is derived from the use of words and colouring. The tagline is "You can't ask why about love" which immediately leads the audience to the assumption that this is the genre of the film. Furthermore, the colour of this is pink, which is a signifier of love and romance. The release date is also this colour.

Representation
From the poster, we can derive that this film represents the upper class. This is due to the choice of costume, hair & makeup, props and the mise en scene of the background. The main female is wearing a very fancy dress with expensive looking jewelry and her hair and makeup is done in a very expensive looking way. The men in the background are wearing suits which look very expensive and look like they could be army related. The decoration of the theatre is very beautiful, with sparkling chandeliers, red velvet chairs and gold architecture. This also is a signifier of a higher class.

Audience
The main audience for this film would be people who enjoy romance films. Also, people who enjoy films about the olden days and how everything used to be more glamourous for the higher classes. We can derive this from the poster because of the features I have mentioned previously. The other film references would also reinforce this audience as they are the audiences for those films, which are very similar and of the same genre.

Media Language

• The use of Anna's body language can lead us to think that something dramatic will happen during the film - she looks like she is open mouthed with shock and her arms are up in defence.
• This conclusion can also be made from the mise en scene - the chairs are knocked over and it looks like something has happened which could involve violence.
• The use of lighting in the poster makes it look overall quite dramatic. The centre of the poster is very light as it is a snow scene, but then the further out of the poster you go the darker it gets - especially towards the bottom of the poster. This could signify the snow scene being purity and then the darkness being the purity being destroyed.

Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy also has a variety of posters. They all look very different, however they all have the same image on them somewhere. A selection of these are below:

Some of these posters show us that the film went international as they are in different languages. 
Below is the poster I chose to analyse. I chose it because I find it the most interesting to look at.

• The actors' names are right at the top of the poster, quite bold, but they are not too prominent.
• There are 3 images of the main actor in character, with a few of other characters in the images too.
• The main text (title) is above the main image, but the tagline is sandwiched in between this and some other images. The credit block is at the bottom, out of the way.
• There are no references to other films, but there is a thumbnail image of another film poster for the same film in the bottom right hand corner. 
• The tagline is a sort of cultural reference in itself; it states a key cultural aspect of the past (John Lennon) whilst giving some of the genre of the film - love. 
• There is a website on the poster, yet it ends in ".NL" which means it might not be a mainstream site. 
• There is no overall background - it's white, with text and smaller images placed on top. 
• There is no age rating on the poster which could suggest it's unrated. 
• There is a FILM 4 logo beneath the credit block. Paired with the fact that there is no release date, this could suggest this film was made for television. 

Genre

This film is a hybrid of social realism and romance. We can decipher this from the poster because of two reasons - 1, it mentions John Lennon, and he was a major landmark of the past, and 2, love is directly mentioned in the tagline. 2 of the images on the page also could reinforce this, as in one, the main character is waling closely with a girl, with loving facial expressions, and in a second there is a boy being cradled by a woman (supposedly his mother) lovingly. 

Representation

From the poster we can decide that the film represents people from the 1960's due to the costume, hair & makeup, props and settings used in the pictures. Also, we can decide this as the film is about John Lennon as a teenager, and he would've been a teenager in the 60's. 

Audience

The audience for this film would be people who enjoy the romance genre or fans of John Lennon. This is because from the poster we can tell that these will be the main themes of the film. Music lovers would also enjoy this film as John Lennon was a musician, and also in 2 of the 4 pictures on the poster the main character is holding or using a guitar. 

Media Language

• The use of the props in the pictures help towards making them look authentic to the time being represented in the film. For example, the cars are very old and are less likely to be in a film poster presenting a film from the 2000's. 
• This can also be said for the hair & makeup, props and costume used in the pictures. 
• The body language and facial expressions in the pictures used on the posters also leads us to the genre of the film. In two of the pictures loving postures and poses are seen - for example strolling closely with a woman. 
• In the main picture, the main character has a carefree attitude which can be denoted from his body posture and facial expressions. This leads us to make conclusions about both the film and John Lennon himself.

Broken

For this film I could only find the one poster.

This film poster is in French so this suggests that this film is a French independent film. However, there is a small BBC logo at the bottom of the page, which could suggest British influence on the making of the film. 

• The names of the actors and the director's name appear on the poster. The two main actors & the director's names are placed around the title, and the rest of the cast are just above the credit block at the bottom of the poster.
• The poster is an image with text on top of this. This image is a long shot of the two main characters.  
• There is a film festival logo at the top of the poster, suggesting that the film won or was nominated for an award. 
• All of the text on the page is white and a plain, sans serif font. This is very simple yet effective against the bright background. 

Genre

The genre of this film is not clear from the poster. None of the text on the page helps us derive a clear genre. However, looking at the image we could decide that it is a plot-driven drama. From the looks of the image it seems like it could be something to do with a father and daughter relationship. This lack of clear genre leads to a sort of mystery about the film, and it makes me want to learn more about it. 

Representation

From the image we could derive that this film represents a father and daughter relationship. This is the only clue to what the film could represent. However, this image could be misread, and it could be about something completely different. 

Audience

I'm not too sure on who the audience for this film could be. There are no clear clues as there is no age rating or clear genre. However it would probably be a more serious/elder audience due to the film most likely being about the two characters on the poster. 

Media Language

• The costume, hair and makeup can suggest that this film is from an earlier time, for example the 1990's. This is because no one dresses like that anymore and the girl's it is quite a dated hairstyle. However, this might not be the case because it is a French film and that might be how they dress in the place the film is set. 
• The background behind the characters doesn't lead us to where the film is set, which builds a sense of suspense towards the film. 
• The body language and facial expressions suggests the film is about the relationship of the two characters.

My favourite poster out of the 4 is the Grabbers poster as it uses both photography and computer imagery. Also, I like the variety of the posters as they all use different characters and pictures, whereas the other films which have a variety of posters seem to use the same picture in all/most of them.

Django Unchained Review - Shannen

On Friday the 25th January we spontaneously went to see Quentin Tarantino's new film "Django Unchained". This was mainly because Leonardo Di Caprio was in it more than anything! But WOW it was amazing.

The cast were spectacular. Cristoph Waltz was my favourite in particular - he bought both humour and suspense to a character who was actually quite serious. 

Leonardo Di Caprio was great too - his character was so different to other roles I have seen him in; he's not the protagonist for once, but the antagonist. His character was truly evil but he still managed to make you feel empathetic for him. 

The cinematography was amazing. Certain shots where Quentin would quickly zoom into the characters face were stunning, for example the one of Leonardo below:

That shot of Leonardo was actually my favourite in the film.

The way blood was used was brilliant - rather than being dark and sticky looking like in most films, it was a bright red liquid which would explode like a Coca Cola & mint bomb - it was great. The deaths in themselves were great too as characters would actually react when shot or injured, shouting/screaming/swearing in the most hilarious ways. 

That leads me onto the language - that was probably the most controversial part of the film. Nearly every other word was a swear word, and the N**** word must've been used 100+ times. However I think this also made the film quite authentic to the time as that's how it would've been towards black people in the time of slavery in America. 

Finally, the soundtrack was great - it really kept the film uplifting and sounded very Mexican - most of it was in Spanish.

I would definitely suggest this film to anyone - 5/5!! 

Production Company Intro

For our film we wanted to have a production company intro like other films. We looked at ones on Youtube from the big production companies as well as some smaller homemade one. We took inspiration from the one below as we thought it could relate to our film.

I made it by using different video transitions and filters, as well as using our logo from the poster with motion effects. There is no sound added to it yet - this will be done when we add sound to the final cut. It is below:

By Shannen

Colette's Poster Analysis **UNFINISHED**

Kidulthood

Kidulthood is a short film directed by Menhaj Huda which was released in 2006. The 89 minute long social realist film portrays the gritty reality of the lives of teenagers struggling to grow up in the streets of West London. There are several variations of the film poster however they all contain the same imagery- a group of youths posing on the top of a skyscraper overlooking the city.

It is not very common for a short film to have any film posters at all as they are not usually made to make money but to entertain online audiences. This shows that the film was very successful.

Representation: The poster seems to represent both genders as equal as they are all sitting together in the foreground however two out of the three females have male characters looming over them in a protective way which represents the females as more vulnerable. The baseball bat suggests that the characters are violent and often get into trouble. The characters represent the young generation growing up in London.

Genre: Short films are usually hybrids. Social realism/drama hybrid conventions are evident throughout the poster. The imagery seems like something you would expect to see in the city. The tag line suggests the theme of growing up and the seriousness of the character's faces suggests the film will be full of real life scenes of loss and violence which are common conventions of  a social realist film.

Audience: The film's primary audience are teenagers and young adults of both genders. The violence connotations (baseball bat) will attract a male audience. The characters show that the film will be relatable to an audience of a similar age and the way that both genders are featured equally in the film will attract a female audience.

Film Language: - The colour and lighting used in the poster helps to capture the real-life feeling of the film. The imagery has been desaturated and strong lighting used on the character's faces to connote their struggle and the 'darkness' in their lives.

- The medium long shot allows the all of the main characters into the poster. We are at eye-level with the characters which connotes that all the people in the film are seen as equals.

-The costumes of the characters help us to build a stronger idea about their lives. Their clothes are simple and they haven't been over sexualised or dressed up (something that usually happens in film posters.) Their clothes look old and worn suggesting that they are normal people from a lower class background.

 - The main image is made up of photographic imagery although it has been heavily edited to give the image a threatening feeling. The foreground is made up of the main characters in the film which establishes character. The characters are looking straight down the camera lens making them seem menacing and aggressive. 

-The title overlays the image and the colour contrasts with the dark imagery behind to draw our eye to it. The font is bold and stands out and the un-capitalisation of the letter 'i' hints at the childlike meaning to the film and symbolises the characters; children trapped in an adult world as is the letter 'i' in the title 'KiDULTHOOD.' It may also be a play on the idea that the children of today are illiterate. 

- The tag line 'before adulthood comes' tells the audience that the film is about the teenagers struggle to grow up in an adult environment. 

- The character holding a baseball bat connotes violence and destructiveness whereas the boy sat on the floor looks defenceless and suggests that the film also has themes of vulnerability and inferiority. 

-The actors names are featured on the poster but only in the tiny print at the bottom. This is probably because the film was low budget meaning the actors will be unknown and relatively new to the film world. 

- The rating at the top of the page is bold which make sure the reader notices it. The phrase "kicks the door off it's hinges." connotes the violence and genuineness of the film. 

- There is a website at the bottom of the poster which allows the audience to find out more. The fact the film has it's own website suggests that it is very successful for a short film.

- The credit block at the bottom of the poster is the same length of the title and rating which makes it sit nicely underneath. Under this is a sentence informing about the soundtrack which features artists such as Dizzy Rascal and The Streets. This artists appeal to the young audience.

- The age rating is situated to the right of the title. In this poster it is small and hard to see at first which may be because the designers didn't want to disturb the layout of the poster

Brighton Rock

Brighton Rock is a feature length film Thriller directed by Rowan Joffe. I found 4 different posters for the film. 

All of the posters feature the same imagery- the main character/s of the film. The poster above is the "main poster." This would have been shown in cinemas to promote the film.

Representation:  From the poster I can see that the film is set in the 1960s. Signifiers of this are the setting and the character's clothing. The female on the left seems very upper class as she is wearing rich colours and is heavily made up which signifies she has time to spend on her appearance. The male seems very powerful; his pose suggests threat.

Genre: The film is a thriller/crime hybrid. We can tell this from the pose of the characters; and the dark colour scheme. Also the statement 'From the Producer of Eastern Promises,' hints at the genre of the film as it is a thriller/ crime film which is well regarded. The review which labels the film as "Thrilling" also signifies the thriller genre.

Audience: The film's audience will be people who enjoy Thriller films; predominantly young males aged 18-25. Audiences who enjoyed 'Atonement' and 'Eastern Promises' may see the film because of the stated similarities between them and Brighton Rock.

Film Language: -The colours and lighting of the poster depict that the film will be interesting. The rich colour scheme suggests an intense, exciting plot.

- The hair,makeup and costume of the characters help to portray their personalities. The male is wearing dark colours and his facial expression suggests that he is dangerous. The female on the left's red coat suggests that she is not to be trusted whereas the other character's white costume suggests purity and innocence.





- The actor's names appear on the poster above the title. They aren't very big which may be because two out of the three actors in the film aren't very well known.

- The main image is made up of two images; the three main characters and an extreme long shot of Brighton Pier. Both the background and foreground photographs are at a canted angle which signifies unease. The main character is in the foreground with the other two characters in behind him- this establishes his dominant character. The background depicts the setting, althouigh this already evident in the film name 'Brighton Rock.'

- Ratings and reviews from well recognised critics and companies at the top such as 'The Times' and 'The Daily Mail.' The audience is more likely to trust reviews from people they have heard of. These are in a large, bold font so that they stand out and are noticeable.

- The statement "From the producer of Atonement and Eastern Promises," backs up how good the film is that they are trying to portray. It also helps to attract people who have enjoyed the films and want to watch something similar.

- The same can be said for the statement "Based on the classic novel by Graham Greene." People who have enjoyed the book will be curious to see how it has been changed to fit the film platform. Also, films that have been based on books are usually very successful (e.g. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings) which will be a selling point for this film.

- The film has a website 'www.brightonrockmovie.com' which allows the audience to find out more.



Buffalo Bill
 

Credits music

We have decided to use the song 'I predict a Riot' by the Kaiser Cheifs for our credits sequence at the end of the film. As the music is copywritten we are unable to use the original so we have been looking on YouTube for cover versions we could use.

We have decided on this one:

We have contacted the owner of the video asking if he will allow us to use the sound from his video in our film. We are now waiting for him to get back to us.

Font

Credits

We are now making decisions about how we are going to show the closing and opening credits of our film. Here are a few of the ideas we thought about for the closing credits:

• Short clips of each actor, freeze on their face and then their names come up. We liked this idea because it is often used at the end of comedy films which would fit well with the 'reveal' at the end of our film
• Simple, scrolling text from top to bottom of screen. This is one of the most traditional ways that credits are made, however we thought that it may be a bit boring. Short films are generally quirky and exciting right to the end of films, even the credits so we decided against this idea.
• Scrolling credits across the start of the film. In our thriller last year we had our credits over the start of the film instead of at the end. Again, we decided against this idea as we believed it to be suited more towards a longer, mainstream film where the director wants to get the actors names shown.

We have decided on having our credits over small clips of the characters whose faces then freeze into amusing facial expressions when the credits appear. We liked this idea as it's entertaining and carries on the 'humour' of the reveal after the plot has ended. We wanted the film to be entertaining right up until the very end as usually in films you turn off at the credits. As our film is short we want our audience to watch it in its entirety.

By Colette

Editing!

We have been editing small parts of our film for a few weeks now but we are finally putting all the individual clips together. We have been using the editing programme Final Cut Pro to edit our clips together. This year we have become more experienced in using this software and have learned a lot of new ways to edit.

Last year we used the programme only to cut our clips and put them together into a sequence. This year we have inserted shapes, colours and pictures to create a realistic news report. We have also played around with the effects available on the programme. We have used an effect called 'Bad TV' which adds a static effect onto the film, to create our CCTV style shots.

Perhaps the biggest challenge we faced was editing the green screen work we did for the news report. We had an issue with our original green screen footage as there were shadows and light blotches behind the subject with stopped the editing from working. We re-filmed and overcame this problem and managed to create a realistic news report.

We have also played with sound; deleting parts we don't need and using effects to fade it out. Once we have edited our whole film we will add extra sound effects in Garage Band.

Stock Footage Debate

From the beginning of our idea, we really wanted to be able to use some stock footage from the actual riots. We found a really good video of David Cameron's speech on the riots on Youtube - the full video can be seen below. We found this video multiple times on Youtube and none of them had any obvious copyright issues connected to the video.

We cut up a bit of the speech (around 7 seconds or so) and put it in the news report section of our short film and edited it a bit with layers on top of it to make it seem part of a news report. We then had a discussion with Marion and Andy about whether we were allowed to do this. We decided in the end that it would be okay as it was edited, it fitted in well and we didn't use too much of it.

By Shannen