Post 36: Audience Feedback

In order to gain feedback I previewed our short film to my sister. My sister would be a member of our typical target audience of whom we wish to aim our short film at. Below I have inserted a video of her feedback as well as ways in which I am going to suggest changes to our film. 

Positives of our short film from feedback: 

-Soundtrack: 
The soundtrack was a convenient way of creating an emotive sense to our short story and presenting an overall mood and tone for the short film. 

-Camera Shot: 
The influence of 'zooming'. For example, the zoom of the door as it closes and Poppy leaves the room. Allows the audience to feel part of the situation. 

-Texting Shot: 
The use of the conversational shot allowed our audience to get a sense of familiarity within the characters day to day lives. Encourages an in depth understanding. 

-Voiceover: 
Allows our short film to appear more emotional and greater understanding is maintained.

Post 35: Our Film First Draft

Below is the first draft for our short film 'The Cheat'. This is an indication of our Storyline to preview to our target audience in which we will attempt to gain feedback. 

Post 34: Double Page Spread

Codes and Conventions

A large image

The image used is usually direct address, which entices the reader to buy the magazine the celebrity in the magazine is looking directly at the audience therefore it encourages them to but the magazine. 

A quote
A quote from the interview is sometimes presented as the headlines, or by the picture and sometimes it is even used in the text, to break it up. The quote used are usually rather controversial or shocking to grip the reader.

The text

 All text on a double page spread is size 11pt and it usually aerial font, however some magazines make the font connote the genre. All double page spreads have a drop cap which shows the reader when to start reading. The text is to make the text appear tidy and not all over the page. The page number, magazine name and text throughout usually use the same font. The article is always written in an informal mode of address therefore it relaxes the reader.

Images 

The main image on the double page spread is usually on the left however some magazines go against the codes and conventions and put it on the right side. sometimes the image bleeds over the whole page, although this is not in every magazine, it is relatively common. The picture on the double page spread always relates to the article and the artist and are ascetically pleasing.

By-lines

 The double page spread always include by-lines, which are put under the images to give credit to the photographer and writer.

Headline 

The headline that is used for the double page spread are always short, this is to make the reader intrigued.

Colour Scheme 

Double page spreads follow the same colour scheme that is ran throughout the magazine, it is usually simple so it doesn't overpower the article. Often than not, the name of the celebrity is highlighted by the colour scheme. The colour schemes used connote which genre the magazine is for example black is used a lot in rock magazines.

When looking up magazine film reviews on the Internet, I found that the majority were double page spreads, and included a large, main image over an A4 section of the spread with small text over it (print based) There are also a range of online reviews that are available to read which are priceless. After going in to the store, I purchased EMPIRE to look at the conventions of film reviews more closely. British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media and it is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain and is also published in America, Australia, Turkey, Russia and Portugal.

When researching double page spreads over the internet the majority of the double page spread had the main image linked to the film. This can be seen to reveal certain traits within the film such as the type of actor. Audiences become fond and enjoy specific actors, in addition to this it is common for certain target audiences to see a new release of a film with a actor of whom they know well. As well as this actors can reveal what a certain film will be like.Organization of information

 -Main photograph is key

 -Title is shown
 -Introduction on the title

 -Article commences on the specific film/genre

 -Photographs and quotes are included linking with the film 

 -Website link (linking to the film article)

 -Editors information

Analysis of double page spread

Below is the double page spread that I have designed by myself for our short film 'The Cheat'. I have used typical codes and conventions such as a rating, quotes, bold titles and information about our short film. 

Post 33: Final Poster Design

Producing a film poster: 

Typically in the film industry in order to promote and advertise a film there are a variety of methods. A typical feature would be a film poster and magazine edition based on the short film. Below, I have produced my own version of our short film poster 'The Cheat'. 

Due to the fact I play the role of Poppy in our short film, the female struggling of paranoia with the belief of her boyfriends unfaithfulness. I felt a picture of myself would be appropriate for the film poster. I shot the image against a plain background and edited the lighting to create a edge blur in the hope that it allowed the focus to remain on our films title 'The Cheat'. A typical convention for a film poster is to have the actors/actresses names on the poster, I have positioned mine at the top of the poster whereby they are visible by viewers. 

I have looked at a range of film posters where by there are different links to marketing techniques. Taking this in to consideration I decided to use feature twitter on my poster with the use of a hashtag, a hashtag on twitter is typically used with promotions and advertising which allows a range of different audiences to interact and communicate with the film. This also would promote the 'word of mouth' for our short film which is a positive feature. In order to create different dynamics to my film poster and make it appear more captivating I decided to use a range of different fonts, this allows individual texts to stand out and appear unique as oppose to appearing repetitive and lacking appeal to the eye. 

I have inserted a small slogan on the film poster "Lies are enough to question all truths". I felt that this quote was effective and reflected the portrayal of our film. I have considered dates to cinema in the presentation of my version of our film poster through the use of a 'Coming Soon' date, this is a typical feature of a film poster to give an indication to viewers of a start date and create a sense of excitement. 

The use of a white brick wall in the background allowed editing to appear more intriguing and I feel allow the text to stand out. I planned to achieve this, as well as allowing myself to appear a clear figure in the image. The film poster demonstrates a sense of mystery which reflects our short film leaving the film on a cliffhanger. 

Below, is the original idea which I started with in order to gather a final outcome at producing my film poster. 
The typical conventions that I considered to be essential are:
-Actors names
-Film Title (bold, clear, legible) 
-Marketing structure (through hashtag-twitter)
-Coming soon date
-Actor image

Post 32: Film Posters

Typical Conventions of a Film Promotional Poster: 

• Film posters are more appealing to different orders if they are eye catching. People will feel more obliged to watch the film. 
• The picture on the poster should reflect the mood/genre of the film to draw in the typical target audience for the film. 
• The title should be in bold, large writing which can appear eye catching and memorable. 
• The poster should be designed to be appealing and attract a large audience. 
• A release date is revealed.
• Information about directors/actors which is displayed as well as star rating. 
• Reviews from well known journalists/companies

Below I have been looking on YouTube in order to get inspiration on working with movie posters. I found this video effective at helping me in order to be creative and gather a realistic final outcome. 

Post 31: Most Common Film Methods

I have created a slide share to demonstrate the four different film methods which are present in my short film. The four being: Camera, Mise-en-Scene, Soundtrack and Editing.

Post 30: Make up and Costume

Costume/Makeup

Poppy

Poppy is going to be seen as a cute and likeable teen girl. For example she wear normal and on trend clothing that are a little edgy but still conservative. As the short film is set in a school area she would be wearing slightly academic looking clothes which would be appropriate for the setting. But the clothes would still make a slight statement.

Poppy's makeup will be slight and natural with some dentition to highlight and con-tore the face.

Carl

Carl is a normal teenage boy who acts a little womanizer like but is mostly liked by others. One of the popular boys at school and helps other students whenever he can. Carl will wear his hair slightly done but wont be done so much that its noticeable.  

 

Kath

Kath is know as a edgy teenage girl who everyone knows and likes. But as her friends boyfriend is cheating with her, shes not such a good friend but hides it quite well.

 

Kaths make-up will be edgy like her clothing choice and but simple as she doesn't like to be really noticed, even though shes friends with most.  

Post 29: Audience Research

Post 28: The BBFC

BBFC 

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). 

Non-governmental organization funded by the film industry which is responsible for the classification of films in the United Kingdom.All classification decisions are based on the BBFC’s published and regularly updated guidelines.

The BBFC have created guidelines which apply with films. This can be seen through age certificates. This can be seen from the diagram below which I found on wikipedia. 

Our short film would most likely fit the '12' category by the BBFC's age rating advice.

Amongst the 7 different rating categories the 12A category has been the most controversial. There has been debate of this age rating due to the fact that parents believe some of the films displayed are inappropriate for children of the age of 12. However the BBFC remind parents that parental viewing is encouraged. This matter occurred during the screening of Batman series 'The Dark Knight' whereby there were numerous complaints by viewers of implications of violence. 

Post 27: Most Common Film Methods

The four most common film methods:

In this post I am going to be highlighting the most important film methods. 

Camera Work, Soundtrack, Mise-En-Scen, Editing. 

Each of these factors will contribute to the overall outcome and success of our short film as a group. These will effect the quality and believability of our film. 

Camera Work 

Different camera shots: 

-Close up 

-Medium Long Shot

-Panning

-Tilting 

-Crane Shot

-Establishing Shot

Camera shots can be used to increase the audiences understanding of a film. Camera work will develop our audiences understanding towards the character of Poppy. The audience will see Poppy in a video montage in attempt to uncover the truth behind her boyfriend. 

Editing 

Different Editing Techniques:

-Fade

-Dissolve

-Wipe

-Jump Cut 

-Fast Paced Editing

-Montage

We like the idea of a video montage towards our film. The use of a video montage will display the nature of Poppy as well as improving the appearance of our film and changing the dynamics. 

Soundtrack

Soundtrack can be used in a film to help establish a certain mood. 

E.g. 

Fast, short notes - mystery, happy, exciting. 

Slow, long, deep notes - Dangerous, warning, frightening.
We will probably use a modern soundtrack in our film. This will reinforce the idea that our film is based in the life of a teenage girl, there won't be anything too frightening and the soundtrack will be mostly new(ish) music which is considered trendy.

Mise-en-scen

The factors which contribute visually to an overall film. 

E.g. 

Bombs, explosions, cars, races, fights. 

We are going to use Mise-En-Scen in order to allow our short film to be more believable and display typical conventions. For example, when filming the character of Poppy in her room we are going to make the scene believable with her bedroom displaying typical things of a teenagers room. 

Post 26: Pre Production Shot List and Location Recce

Location Recce

Below I have produced a table displaying the different shots we plan to use in our short film. We have tried to use a range of different shots in order to make it appear more visually interesting and introduce different dynamics to our short film. 

Post 25: Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

 Wires- Having wires hanging off the camera which connect the microphone to the camera. Which people can trip and fall over. Also the wires may be seen in shot, if we don't place them well.  

Plug sockets- These can be dangerous as they may blow up or water may be split in them. As there are no plug sockets in the canteen location of our film. The only danger will be in our house scenes.

Chair- Chairs may become a hazard when we're in the canteen as we may trip over them while filming, Also throughout the canteen they're placed everywhere so it may mean moving them to different locations so they become less of a danger.  

Low ceiling in locations- Low ceiling may mean that we bang our heads throughout the filming stage, which may cause head aches or cracking someones head open. 

Vending machines in location- Vending machines in the canteen location are noisy, which will hinder the sound within the film. This means that in some of the shots the film will have a loud buzzing of the vending machines in. 

Wet floor- As we're filming in the canteen, wet floor is common due to people spilling drinks. Also if the camera equipment and sound equipment gets wet its ruined and the film will be compromised because of it. 

Food and drink- While filming in the canteen there are food and drink all around, which means that we'll have to be careful when it comes to filming as it will have to be kept well away from the camera equipment.