Little White Lies; Research and Review

About Little White Lies

Little White Lies is a film (and sometimes gaming) magazine published by Church of London. They release their magazine every other month and theme each issue around a particular film they have enjoyed recently. The typography of each issue represents the theme (The 'Django' issue (above) featured tiny chains in between paragraphs). 

Little White Lies' primary audience are middle and upper class males although they are growing in popularity with young adults, particularly those studying film. A large part of the magazine is taken up by film reviews. They also post reviews on their website. 

^An example of a Little White Lies Review

We are creating a review for our film 'Yobs' in the style of Little White Lies. The graphology of the review contains the following:

• Title- Century Gothic font, size 30
• 3 Pieces of information under the title- 'Directed by', 'Starring' and 'Released'. Aparajita font
• 3 Columns of review content- approx 550 words/ around 6 paragraphs. Aparajita font. Columns are 52.4mm wide x 107mm long. 
• 'Ratings' at the bottom of the right column. 'Anticipation,' 'Enjoyment,' and 'In Retrospect.' Each scored out of 5. 
• Large 168mm x 70mm still image from the film at the top of the page

Language techniques used include:

• Puns
• Distinguished and superior adjectives
• Metaphors and Similies
• Sarcastic, dry humor

We are going to create our film poster using this structure. We will create it on Adobe InDesign as it is a better programme for text than PhotoShop. 

^ above is the template for our review that Shannen made on InDesign. We will insert our review into the three columns when completed.

The first draft of the Review

London's burning, London's burning etc etc. In Summer 2010 the whole world watched in horror as the youths of the capital decided it would be a brilliant idea to decimate the town;  let's face it, we've all been there when we were younger, our parents didn't understand and so forth, however we never actually acted on our temporary misjudgement and 'shanked up' the city .  Thanks to novice directors  Colette Newey and Shannen Smith we got to relive those devastating, dreadful scenes in what sounded like The Daily Mail's nightmare  and we couldn't bloody wait (we could).

It could be argued that this film is a debut for all actors involved, which is unsurprising when noting the short film platform and although they deliver to a satisfying and authentic standard we are still left wondering who the antagonist is. Mark Newey makes his debut as a suave news reporter Mark Smith, working for the audaciously named company 'CBB News.' Inventive.  Aside from this blatant filched title the news report is impressive- especially when taking the director's student budget into account and the fact it was actually shot from Newey's kitchen in a tiny rural village in Sussex. We then find ourselves thrown into the news headline Terror in London.

Cue hoody and balaclava wearing teens wreaking havoc on the poor, unsuspecting residents. We behold the yobs, Charles Newey, Angus York and Edward Newey, mugging an innocent old lady, demolishing a ford fiesta and running riot through the streets whilst filming every move on their newly hijacked mobile phones. This is perhaps the most arresting part of the film; we follow the young delinquents on their expedition around the city and relish in the pure carnage they evoke. The young actors perform brilliantly, suspiciously so, and we can't help wondering whether they've partaken in an event like this before.

Meanwhile we cut between the scenes of destruction to a dingy, grotty kitchen where we witness an enigmatic character obscured from our view partaking in your general kitchen shenanigans; cutting a red  blood-like object, lighting a gas stove with a match and limping threateningly across the doorway. It's erratic and strange and sends our inquisitiveness into overdrive. To say any more would impair the film's big reveal but take it from us- this is undoubtedly one to watch.

Although without the big budget effects, grittiness and screen time of other cinematic products involving hoody clad minions such as Attack the Block and Kidulthood, Smith and Newey  still manage to deliver a refreshing and humorous portrayal  of a seemingly mundane event. Albeit the deceleration in pace towards the climax of the film, this invigorating short film is a breath of fresh air- Newey and Smith shine as new directors.

A social realism/comedy hybrid short  film depicting 'the humorous side' of the London Riots? We were sceptical too, but incredibly these five minutes of supposed cinematic puerile delivered us with a few short minutes of escapism, intrigue and a tiny smirk at the end.  

Anticipation:

Enjoyment:  Refreshing, playful and damn right ludicrous 4

In Retrospect: Our nan would look great in a hoody 4

-Review Written By Colette, Review Template Designed by Shannen.

To Improve: 

• We may need to add a bit more to this. It is 520 words and the LWLies reviews tend to be 550-600 words. When we have inserted this into the template we can see if we need to up the word count.
• We could talk about the plot more, however it's hard to do this without giving away the twist at the end of the film!
• Add more film terminology. LWLies write for a film-educated audience and use a lot of film terminology.

By Colette :)