Final Evaluation

Our media product (short film) uses, challenges forms and conventions of a real motion picture with many different methods. As a group we think we have constructed our film professionally by developing it the way they do in the real film industry. The first convention I will be discussing in terms of our film will be the camera shot sizes that have been chosen. In our film we made sure that we used all the shot sizes. In the beginning scene we have used an extreme close up of Alex’s eyes. With this choice of shot and it being so early in the film it already gives off a few signs that this man could be quite mysterious. From this the audience could also think he could be unnatural in a predisposed way. Other uses of extreme close ups in the film include Alex writing letters to show the detail and make it clearly visible for the audience to read what he is writing. When Alex is about to post the letter there is also use of an extreme close up of the letter in his hands. With the use of this shot and the text to go with it this can be seen as mimicking the parody silent films. It gives that effect that the messages are helping the audience of what is happening in terms of the films narrative. These shots have only been used when Alex is writing messages which will give the audience to think about in terms of what is actually meant by them. In this sequence there is also the use of a medium close up when Alex is texting on his phone. This shot was taken from behind so you see him from the back. The purpose of this shot being used here was to see Alex using his phone and with this being one of the first shots you see we wanted to hold that assurance for a little while by not revealing his face. Throughout the film many close ups have been used especially in the scenes that contain the friends of the two (Alex and Melissa). In these scenes close ups were used because we needed to clearly show the audience who was speaking when the conversations were taking place. The extreme long shots and long shots start to appear in the middle of the film and particularly in the park scene. This is because there is a sudden transition of location to a more open place. This is why we have used this hot so the audience can easily identify the setting and this shot will also set the atmosphere. With the use of these shot sizes it makes the film a lot more interesting with the variation used.                                                                                             Other techniques were used throughout the film such as dominant and submissive shots. When we used the dominant shots they were mainly of Alex to show that there could be something dishonest about him. We did not always show shots of Alex in a dominant way, we did make him submissive with high angle shots. In the beginning scenes we used many submissive shots of Alex to show his is vulnerable in terms of the narrative at the time. These included shots of Alex writing a letter and texting to try and communicate with Melissa which shows that he is failing at it. In the friend’s scene with Alex and his best mate an establishing shot was used to set the scene. In this scene a consistent number of over the shoulder shots were used to show the reactions and responses in the conversation. In the park scene we used another technique which was loose framing. When Alex is seeing if Melissa is coming we made sure that there was plenty of room around him to give more meaning in terms of his life. This framing suggests that Alex is free and vulnerable and with Melissa nowhere to be seen in the shot it suggests that Alex is very alone. In our film there is also use of horizontal composition when Alex is about to post the letter. The use of this composition makes him stand out but not in a positive way. It makes him look rather odd and unsettled especially when he looks up at the camera. Within the film there is not much camera movement but when we did have movement we used the techniques that would be seen in a classic thriller film. In the park scene we used a forward tracking shot to create tension for the audience with a steadicam being used which also involved the audience. A pan was used after this technique to create interest to where Alex was going. The significant piece of camera movement was at the very end of the film when a hand held technique was used to reveal the death of Melissa. The camera is also slightly canted which creates unease for the audience.                                                                                                           In our film we have used sound very effectively by having phone messages playing in the opening scenes of the film. These messages will be played when Alex is in his living room and when he is writing the letter. The phone messages are basically Alex trying to get in contact with his Melissa with the dialogue starting off soft and then becoming aggressive. The use of swearwords within the phones messages also show how angry Alex is getting and gives the audience a hint of what his personality is like. With the use of these messages we did not want to anchor the audience so they are free to perceive. In other scenes such as the park scene ambient sounds are heard this makes it more real and sets the mood. Except from the phone messages every other sound is diegetic and comes from within the story. Other dialogue within the film includes the conversations that take place in the friend’s scenes. In this conversation Leanne says “She broke up with you weeks ago” which reveals to the audience a narrative twist, with the audience thinking before that Alex was actually going out with her. You see a narrative twist all the time in thrillers and we thought we would use one in ours. In the other friends scene between Alex and his best mate, towards the end of the conversation Alex says “and she’s still mine” this gives the audience something to think about in terms of what it actually means and there could be many different assumptions. This line is also said going into the dead scene, with the use of this sound bridge it links the scenes very well. The last piece of dialogue that is heard in the film is “No new messages” which signals the end of the film in a sophisticated way with everything being revealed.                                                                                                                        The lighting in our film is hard light throughout because it is basically light from the sun. We did not need to film any scenes in the dark but the end scene is more soft light than hard light. This is because it was filmed inside and required light from another source. It is a very dark scene anyway in terms of death; the lighting corresponded with the narrative. Another lighting effect we used within the film was the letter scene where you see them being posted through the door, the last shot you see in this sequence is slightly darker which indicates time has passed.                                                                                                                             The film had five different settings with the first few scenes being set in Alex’s living room which is very symbolic in terms of his character. With Alex sitting in his living room for a long time the audience will instantly think that he has something on his mind. The kitchen was also used in Alex’s house for the dead scene which makes you think of the ways she could have been killed with knives around etc. Other settings included exterior locations such as the street, a park and a pub garden. We used the street for Alex to wait by Melissa’s friend’s car which made everything seem like he was staling them. The spacious park being used as a meeting point made everything tenser. A shot in this scene includes a bench with graffiti on it which makes the location creepy and insecure. Also the open space adds to the loneliness of Alex’s life. For the other friend’s scene we used a pub garden as it is a typical meeting place for men which made everything more realistic. The use of the pint glasses in this scene gave a more mature and grown up theme to the film. Other props used in the film were the use of letters which were the most significant props in the film. This is because the film is called “The Last Message” so it was very important we had loads of letters. Junk mail was also used in the letter scene to make the film more real as everybody receives junk mail. In the beginning scene there was a mobile phone which was used to emphasise how desperate he is to get in contact with Melissa.

In the opening scene of the film the costume that Alex is wearing is a black T-shirt and jeans. This basically shows the audience he has nowhere important to go as he is just lying around the house. The black T-shirt also shows a little bit about his personality as well and it is quite a mysterious colour to go with the role of the character. Throughout the film you see Alex wearing a long black coat which gives other connotations of evil and devious. The other characters in the film wore their normal clothes which gave the audience a chance to relate to normality. In the last scene of the film where Melissa’s death is revealed, Alex’s and Melissa’s costume is the same. We chose to both have them wearing chequered shirts so it adds to the eeriness of the psychotic issues Alex possesses.                                              For the titles in our film we chose to use a classic combination of white writing on top of a black background. The font we used was also a serif font which looked like we had written them ourselves. This corresponds with the films narrative of writing letters. Our titles included the company name, title, actors, director, screenwriter etc.                                      In our film there are many editing techniques that uses, challenges forms and conventions of a real film. In the beginning scene there are a number of dissolves used to show considerable time has passed. These are also long takes which shows how bored Alex is becoming. This edits continue through to Alex writing the letter and you start to sympathise with him. During this scene we also used a jump cut when Alex throws a screwed up piece of paper behind him to show his aggression and emotions. A jump cut is also used to link the scene to when you see Alex holding the letter. At the start of the scene simple match on action edits are used when he is about to post the letter. When the letter was posted a jump cut was used to show the interior of the letter dropping. This was the part of the film were we used a number of dissolves to show another time lapse with different letters and junk mail being posted. Then this faded out to show it was the end of the scene. The edits we used for the next scene were a number of reverse shots to show the reactions and responses in the conversation that was taking place. After this scene the edits became slow again with Alex waiting at the park. A number of dissolves were also used to show another time lapse. The slow edits continued until Alex got off the bench to see if Melissa was coming. The editing technique we used here was Alex walking towards the camera until it was black and then straight away the camera was placed behind Alex to aid the continuity. When Alex was looking for Melissa the edits became a little shorter to emphasise the fact that he is becoming stressed. In this scene slow and fast editing was used to signify boredom and stress. In the other friends scene more reverse shots were used again as it was a conversation and at the end of the scene we faded it out into the last scene with Alex saying “and she’s still mine”. The last scene contained one long take with eventually revealing the death of Melissa. Most of the edits we used in our film were very subjective in tricking the audience into taking Alex’s side and sympathising with him.                                                  As our film is about dealing with a psychological breakdown it does raise awareness of the mentally ill. The theme is also very obsessive and with the protagonist being male it does make a statement about men. The film could suggest that men suffer more when breaking up from a relationship. That is why we have sent this message out so we can challenge forms and conventions of a real psychological thriller.

With our film we had to produce ancillary texts such as a film poster and a review. The colours on my film poster are red and white which correspond with the genre of our film. This is because red and white is usually associated with the genre that of thriller. The film poster is subjective with it containing conventions that make it very biased. The use of anchoring in particular makes the audience accept what they see. On my poster is a main image of Alex looking straight at you with you only being able to see half of his face. This anchors the audience into mystery which is a typical convention of a psychological thriller. The tagline also anchors the audience with it being “How far would you go to make someone yours”. This suggests that Alex could go to extreme lengths to get what he wants and the audience will have to go find out if this is true by watching the film. The font that is used on my poster is the same one that applies in the opening credits of the film. With both having a serif font it looks like it has been handwritten which corresponds with the films narrative. The text that all three contain is the same in terms of who is involved with the film. The purpose of the film poster is to advertise the film whereas the film and review is to entertain. The review is objective because the person who is writing it has to say things he does not believe to suit the audience. The audience for this is intelligent but this also depends on the complexity of the review. I structured my review with comparisons to other films, good points, bad points, etc with a chatty tone to my writing. My persona when writing the review was in the form of a critic as I had to be harsh but suit my audience at the same time. I had to make sure I made some positive points in my verdict to keep my audience happy. Overall the combination between my main product and ancillary texts are very effective because they all have a relationship. When an audience like a media product they tend to want to find out more about the actors, and maybe the issues involved.                                                                   After our film was made we showed it to different within different age ranges. These age ranges were young teenagers, older teenagers, adults and the middle aged. After the young teenagers watched it we had responses with them basically not understanding the narrative which we did expect. Our certificate is a fifteen so we knew that it was not aimed at them anyway. The people we showed it to after were the older teenagers who came back with a better understanding of the narrative. They also came out with different assumptions about how the film panned out which showed that they did not quite grasp what was going on. With the certificate being fifteen older teenagers are eligible to watch it but we did not expect all of them to fully understand it. Then the adults viewed our film and said it took a while to get into but picked up and had a great narrative twist. These adults are more in the age range of our target audience and we had a few positive responses. The last age group that we asked to watch our film were the middle aged. They thoroughly enjoyed it as they could grasp the psychological breakdown and they liked the mystery, especially the men as they tend to like working things out. As a group we were really happy with this because we agreed our target audience would be middle aged men.                                                                                               From our feedback we gathered our strengths which were the mystery involved in the film, the film flowing well, and the different range of techniques that were used especially with the camera. We were happy with these comments and made sure these stayed in the film. However, the feedback we got did contain some weaknesses about the film such as the film taking a bit too long to get going with it being slow at the beginning. Another weakness we found from our feedback was there were not enough sound effects and we decided as a group that if we were going to make changes it would be to add in these sound effects.

With new media introduced it gives us the chance to access our content at any time and in anyplace as long as you have a digital device. With it being digital it gives people the chance to give interactive feedback instantly. The difference between new media and traditional media is the fact that you can digitize content more by it being easy to transfer. The new media has characteristics with it being more manageable, networkable, and interactive. With the rise of this new media it has increased communication between people around the world. We have expressed ourselves through blogs. With the use of our blogs it gave us a chance to show our research and basically the construction of our film to the world. With producing this generated media it becomes globalised which shortens the distance between people all over the world. With distributing our media product to global audiences it has a great chance of being seen. The website “YouTube” for example is worldwide which contains millions of media products. When doing research for our short film we used YouTube to give us an idea of how they have been constructed. We also used Google images to find film posters so we could analyse them and have a better understanding. We also used a range of websites to research the genre in order to know conventions to use in our film. We also used websites to research the symptoms of people who are mentally ill gather information for ideas of our film. When constructing our media product we used a high tech editing program to put it together. On these programs are various techniques that can be used in order to make the product of professional standard. For example, you can now add titles which were very easy to do whereas in the past you were not able to do this and you had to add them in an unprofessional way. The use of blogs were also used for the planning process as we could post planning schedules, possible locations, idea of narrative structure etc. We also posted our shot scripts by taking images of them and then uploading them. When evaluating the film we now have the chance to post it globally (YouTube) and receive feedback from people. This was never the case before as traditional media could not allow interactivity to take place. We have evaluated our film but by getting verbal responses after they have watched them rather than receiving them digitally. With the new media introduced producers and us have the chance to create a high quality media product to distribute to the world. The only bad thing with the globalisation is the risk of your personal details being sifted through. With the use of new media technology it has been very beneficial in terms of creating a media product to a high professional standard.  

My Film Review

UNDERSTANDABLY, THE LAST message has already drawn comparisons to American Psycho with both male leads having that sense of mental instability which surrounds their lives. Within the two films, both heavily feature a sumptuous woman who is the main love interest to the protagonist – but the similarities are only in the broad sense. Where American Psycho’s focus is all about the experimental idiosyncrasy with fear and violence, The Last Message is more interested with the despondency of not being able to accept the fact that two people who were an item are no longer.

In the monotonous opening sequence we learn that Melissa (Katrina Allison) receives a significant amount of phone messages from Alex (Adam Marsh) in the hope of an avid response for Alex’s sake and also the audiences. Visually, there is a cycle of apathetic exposition which insinuates a little bit of Alex’s psychopathic ego that he possesses. This lingers throughout the film and gradually helps us as an audience to cast a decision of what this man is capable of. The next portion of the film – the affection section – is appealing enough but can be seen as dreary and generic. Alex goes in search of Melissa hoping he can have the assistance and help from her friends to find out what is going on but that wasn’t going to happen – was it? Whereas his presumptuous best buddy Tom (Harry Bradford, in a role so poorly written it seems like something personal) is there for him to give the most important advice of his life. Tom’s advice does not really take effect as Alex comes out with words such as “Don’t say that, she’s everything to me and she’s still mine” which indicates that he is not going to give up on her and not listen to the best advice he could of ever heard. It’s a relief that there has only been one badly written character with the lead (Marsh) saving the day and being stupendous in the latter stages of the film Marsh plays Alex down to a T, even if the characters roles around are not so great. You also have to give credit to Oliver Quinton for Marsh’s performance with infusing Alex’s character into a more twisted and neo – farcical psycho that makes the film obsessive theme a whole lot more interesting. Quinton also defies the critics with the second half of the film described as “Spectacular”, “Staggering” and being the most unpredictable climax to a psychological thriller ever.

Thankfully, the second half of the film is fantastic as the film takes a fairly dramatic tonal shift, entirely for the better with a stronger sense of narrative structure that allows Marsh to create massive amounts of charisma and power. This is not to mention the explosive moments that confuse the audience by insisting on a mixed reaction. It’s these moments which Quinton binds in his taut direction with scenes that depict the egotistical psycho in a way that has never been done before – well, I certainly have not seen anything like it. As the film does gradually accelerate into a clever dash towards the big climax it uses a few simple but remarkably effective camera techniques to keep you thrilled. It’s a testament to how exactly the film builds to its conclusion that only days later you do realise this finale is one of the best you have ever seen.

VERDICT If you can make it through the bland schmaltz of the first half you’ll be rewarded with a astonishingly intense climax. This could be a thriller that is remembered as an all time classic.

My Film Poster - The Last Message

From looking at my own film poster you can instantly tell that it is a psychological thriller. The poster has one main image that fills half of the poster and it is of the main actor. The main image is of Adam Marsh who portrays the role of Alex in our film. With only seeing half of his face this suggests that his could be hiding something which could comply with the films narrative. This main image could also suggest there are two sides two this man and does not always have to be negative. The different pieces of text on the poster are white and red which are typical thriller colours. With the use of these colour it kinds of gives away the genre and these colours are used on most thriller film posters. With the use of black as the background of this poster it suggests that Alex holds a lot of power and this colour could also be associated with fear. With some of the text being white however it could suggest that he is more innocent than you think. On this poster there are pieces of text that are red which again swings the mood to a more dangerous man. The title for this film is called “The Last Message” which gives the audience something to think about in terms of what that last message contains. This is what will sell our film as we do not have a well know actor. With the title font being a serif font it gives the approach that the film is more serious than you think. Below the title is the tagline which reads “How far would you go to make someone yours” which instantly involves the reader. This tagline suggests that Alex could go to extreme lengths to get what he wants. With the “someone yours” part being in read it just highlights the fact that what is actually meant by somebody being yours. The use of red here also suggests the determination of Alex to get what he needs. With there being no actor or directors name on the poster it tells the audience that they are not very well know with the title being the best chance of selling the film. As you can see “coming soon” in the middle of the poster it shows that it has been constructed in the form of a coming soon poster. It also suggests this with a date at the bottom of the poster to tell the audience how soon it is coming out. At the very bottom of the poster we have put all the information about who was involved in the film. We have used a typical diamond formation which you see on most film posters. The names include actor, director, the production team, screenplay etc. The font is a lot smaller here because it’s not the most important text on the poster.

Film Poster - Kick-Ass

The last film poster I have chosen to look at is "Kick-Ass", when looking at this poster you can instantly tell what type of film it is. With the different montage of images that this poster has you can tell that it's an action/comedy film. The image as a whole is a bunch of superheros and mediates a strip from a comic book that it is based on. Each superhero is wearing a different colour costume which helps with the films narrative in terms of what the characters are about. In the centre of the poster is the superhero in green which could indicate that he is the less dangerous of them all as green has a strong emotional correspondence with safety. Beside him is a superhero dressed in a purple costume which tells the audience she is more ambitious and mysterious than the one in green. Above these two characters is another two superheros with one dressed in black and the other dressed in red. The one dressed in black could be seen as more evil and stronger than the others. The one in red can also be seen stronger and dangerous than the others. The title "Kick-Ass" is in a big, bold, yellow font behind the characters. The colour yellow is a good colour to use as it is very energetic which goes with the theme of the film. At the bottom of the poster it reads "In Theatres April 16" which means the film is coming out soon. This is also in a yellow font just below the billing block. The tagline for this film poster is "Shut Up. Kick-Ass." which is quite comedic as it is basically saying get on with it.

The actor's names have been placed at the top of the poster from left to right. They are all in a white font with their last names slightly bigger. The lead Aaron Johnson is not very well known with this film being his biggest one yet. The film does have a very well known actor in it though with Nicolas Cage playing one of the superheros. With him being in the film it will help with selling the film. The director's name is only mentioned in the billing block at the bottom of the poster which tells us he is not very well known. The information at the bottom yet again includes most of the people involved with the film. Underneath this is a website where fans can visit to gather further information about the film.

Film Poster - Jumper

On this poster there is one main image that has been constructed very cleverly. The image is of the main actor in the film (Hayden Christensen) and has been created to look like a hologram which gives away the genre that tells us that this is a science fiction film. This holographic image tells the audience straight away that this is no ordinary man. It gives away the fact that he has some power which others do not posses. In the bottom of the image there is a montage of images which represent different countries. The iconography has been used to represent the fact that he can teleport to different countries in a matter of seconds. The pyramids are shown to represent Egypt, the Sydney opera house to represent Australia, and Big Ben to represent London. The iconography used here helps with the films narrative by giving the audience an idea of what the story is about. Also the fact that he is wearing a long black coat makes him a more mysterious character. With this poster having a white background it could suggest that this character is more innocent than you think and is not all negative. The actor Hayden Christensen is famous worldwide gaining this fame from portraying Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise. This means the audience would recognise this actor even know his doesn't appear on the poster.

The biggest piece of text you see on this poster is the title "Jumper" which is another word for teleporting. The title also looks holographic which goes with the theme of the film. Just below the title is the same font which reads "In Cinemas February 14" which means this poster is in the form of a coming soon poster. At the top of the poster in black writing it reads "From the director of the Bourne Identity and Mr & Mrs Smith". As soon as the audience see these film titles they will instantly think that this film is of very high quality. People who liked these two films will defiantly come and see this film as they liked the director's work before. When a poster mentions the previous work of a director it helps a lot with selling the film. The tagline on this poster consists of three words which are "Anywhere, Anything, Instantly" which anchors the audience into believing that this guy can teleport to any place on earth when he wants. This film poster has no billing block but does have a website at the bottom instead. This is there for fans to gather further information about the film.

Film Poster - Limitless

This poster has used a montage of images with the two central images being the two main actors. The images in the background have been cleverly stylized to create a busy city. Iconography plays a big part as the images together are to represent New York City. This instantly tells the audience that both of these men lead a busy lifestyle. The background images are very bright and make the poster look techno which fits well with this techno- thriller. There are also phrases from the film such as "Unlock your potential" and "Clear Pill" that have been placed in the form of a billboard or shop name down the high street. These phrases are also written in a techno font to blend in with the city. The leading man in this film (Bradley Cooper) is a popular actor and is the central image of this poster. He is wearing a smart suit with no tie and top button, this suggests that he is found to be attractive guy in the film and money isn't all he thinks about. Whereas Robert De Niro is wearing a suit with a tie which could suggest that he is more concerned with his financial business. With Robert De Niro being on the poster it is a massive advantage in selling this film because he is one of the world's best known actors.

The film title is the biggest font of them all which stands out the most. It is in a white font like the other titles such as the actor's names which goes with the theme of the film. The three main actor's names are positioned at the top of the poster from left to right. The tagline that the film carries is "Everything is possible, when you open your mind". This really gives the audience something to think about in terms of its actual meaning. It means that you can be as powerful as you want and achieve anything if you are able to access all of your brain. This is how it anchors the audience in thinking that these men are capable of achieving anything. The billing block at the bottom of the poster is in a small blue font with the people's names slightly bigger. The director's name is only in this piece of text which tells you that he is not very well known. The text is in a diamond formation with the companies involved in distributing the film underneath. This poster is in the form of the film being released soon.  

Film Poster - Hostage

The first thing you notice when looking at this poster is the very well known Bruce Willis. As he has been in over sixty films his popularity has grown and he is best known for his die hard masterworks. This plays a big part is selling the film as all action/thriller lovers will pay to see this movie. Most films starring Bruce Willis is this type of genre and this is what the target audience expect to see. The main image of Bruce Willis holding a gun instantly represents violence and danger. Once again he is involved in a narrative with people's lives on the line and it's his responsibility to help them. The poster looks like it has been damaged and scratched, this gives the impression the narrative is dangerous and people are in danger of getting hurt.

On this poster there is a lot of text with the title being the biggest one that stands out the most. The title "Hostage" is bold and is a red font. The title has also been stylized to look like it has been scratched to give that element of danger. The stars name "Bruce Willis" has been positioned just above the title in the same red font which means his name is just as good, if not better than the film title. The poster carries two taglines with the biggest one reading "On March 11th there will be no negotiation". First of all there is a date which tells the audience when the film is going to be released, this means it has been structured in the form of a coming soon poster. This tagline also anchors the audience into believing that Bruce Willis will get his way no matter what. The other tagline reads "Would you sacrifice another family to save your own" which tells the audience that Willis is going to show a lot of courage to save everyone. The taglines and all the other text on the poster are in a white font. At the bottom of the poster it mentions it is based on the number one best selling thriller. This also helps with selling the film as people will understand it is based on a very popular novel. Also at the bottom is all the information about who was involved in the film. It is in a very small font with the various jobs being mentioned as always. The director's name only appears in this billing block which means he is not very well known.   

Film Poster - 127 Hours

From looking at this film poster you can instantly tell that the genre is some sort of adventure film with some high energy experience attached. The poster has one main image that fills the whole poster and has been constructed very cleverly. The image has been constructed to convey an hourglass with the two canyons coming in either side in a triangular shape to form the hourglass. The main actor is placed in the centre of the poster with a boulder just below him which is very significant in terms of the films narrative. This part of the image with the main actor and the boulder below is actually in the film so that is where it has been taken from. The main actor (James Franco) is a recognisable character and has been in a lot of films with achieving his international fame with the portrayal of Harry Osborn in the spider - man trilogy.

The different pieces of text on the poster are different shades of brown which goes with the main image (Canyons). The title being the biggest sized font which has been placed towards the bottom part of the poster with the main actors name just above. With "127 Hours" being the film title it gives the audience something to think about in terms of what it actually means and what these hours represent. Below the title is the tagline which reads "Every Second Counts" which anchors the audience into believing that the time is crucial. The other noticeable piece of text which is located at the top of the poster reads "A Triumphant true story" which majorly helps with selling this film. When an audience see's those two words "true story" it becomes of very high interest to them as people are more interested in films that are true. Just below this the text in a slightly smaller font, it reads "from the academy award - winning director of slumdog millionaire". As soon as the audience see the title "Slumdog Millionaire" as it is in a slightly bolder font, from this they will know that this film is going to be good as Slumdog won eight academy awards including best director which is the director of this film. When a poster mentions the previous work of a director you know that the film is of very high standard and also helps yet again with selling the film. 

At the very bottom of the poster is all the information about who was involved with the film. This ranges from the distributors, production companies, actors, music, editor and right down to the director. When mentioning these jobs the font size is very small but the text beside the jobs is a lot bigger and clearer which tells us the person who does the job. Most film posters use a diamond formation to present the information whereas this poster has used more of a rectangular shape. The text is small but is still in capitals like every other piece of text on the poster. Below the billing block is a website that you can check to gather more information about the film. This film poster is in the form of being released at the cinema soon as it has "Coming soon" at the foot of the poster.

Film Poster

A film poster is used to advertise a film and many studios often print several posters that vary in size and content. The posters that are printed are for various domestic and international markets. A poster will normally contain an image which will often feature photographs of the main actors. You can get a set of character posters which is for a film with an ensemble cast, each featuring an individual character from the film. The text of a film poster will usually contain the film title in large lettering which is mainly the biggest font on the poster. The text will also contain the names of the main actors that are starring in the film, along with the director's name and release date. From the three, title, actors, and director the film title is usually the one that sells the film. The actors who star in the film and who directed the film also plays a big part when selling the film. A film poster will also have a tagline which is a slogan that will anchor the poster. It is a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of the film. The audience is not encouraged to stray beyond the fixed layer of meaning that the tagline creates.

A film poster contains other elements to it such as stylized graphics which are usually used to create a background to form something that is significant to the film. Film posters also contain a montage of images which are usually individual images of each of the characters if the film has well known cast. It could also have a montage of images centred around the main character showing a number of images from the film. The credits on the poster are also centred usually in a diamond formation at the bottom of the poster below the main image. Mimicry is another thriving element to a film poster as it could be mimicking another film poster with a humorous version of the film which we have seen over the past decade with the scary movie franchise. Mimicry has other styles to it such as simply having two main characters opposite sides of the poster. Film posters also use images and characters to mimic a specific object that relates to the film. This use of mimicry can be very effective and eye-catching towards an audience.

Film posters are displayed in cinema's across the globe and outside of the cinema as well. You will find film posters on billboards in the street and at bus stops. These posters can also be found on the side of buses and in shops. Film posters can be used on DVDS as well on the internet, whereas the main film posters we see usually are coming soon posters which you will find at your local cinema. You can get other types of film posters such as a teaser poster which is an early promotional poster, containing a basic image or design without revealing too much information such as the plot, theme and characters. The purpose of this poster is to generate hype for the film. There are also remix posters that are posters that have been altered to change the intent of the original film poster. This poster often contains a political or comedic message, using the credibility of the film poster format to deliver the message of whoever is creating the remixed poster. Another film poster that you would see around would be a motion poster which is a more recent type of poster in which the poster is animated. Whatever type of film poster you see it can always suggest what the film genre is.

Title Sequence

We decided to have the opening titles play through the opening sequences of the film. This means we see the titles over the top of the opening scenes. We felt that if we did it this way it would be a very unique approach and challenge conventions of a real thriller film. The phone messages are also being played in this opening sequence which adds to the very effective opening sequences. For the end credits we used a typical classic sequence in having the white credits onto a black background. These credits included the director, Cast members, and screenwriter etc. I feel that with these titles being placed in with the phone messages it has made the film a lot more professional.  

Sound Addition

As we decided to not have a specific soundtrack playing throughout our film we decided to play the phone messages of Alex trying to get into contact with Melissa. As a group we placed these phone messages over the opening scenes such as when Alex is in his living room and when he is writing the letter. With this dialogue being played straight from the start it sets the atmosphere for the rest of the film. After adding the sound in we watched it back and found that it was really eerie with it suiting the film genre.

Finalised editing

After discussing and going over what needed to be changed in the previous meeting, the group and I changed the mistakes. After we done this we put the scenes together which did not take any time at all as it was simple. This was because our film was in chronological order anyway so we did not have to play around too much. We then watched the film again to check if there was anything else needed to be changed but everything was fine. We then came to a decision that the sound that we were going to use in the film was the phone messages being played in the opening scenes.    

Editing rough cut meeting

As everybody in the group has finished editing there sections we thought it was time to discuss what we could improve on. As a group we watched each other’s sections one by one and commented on them. When I say commented on them we discussed what changes could be made to the scenes in order for improvement. We talked about what techniques we could be better of using and what parts to add them in. After this we then started to discuss where the titles could be placed in the film with an idea of them being seen when watching the beginning scenes.

Editing

When it came to the editing process of our project we decided that everybody in the group will edit their own sequence. The software we used to edit our programme was called Movie Pro 11.

The first sequence I edited was the scene where Alex is posting the letter at Melissa’s house. The first shot seen in this sequence is an ECU of someone holding a letter and from this I used a dissolve to show Alex standing there looking at the front. Then simple actions match edits were used for when Alex was posting the letter. When the letter was posted a jump cut was used to see the letter drop and hit the floor. This was the part where I used a number of dissolves to show the different letters being posted with considerable time passing. This then faded out to show it was the end of the scene.

My second sequence that I edited was for the Park scene and I started off using edits that dissolved into each other as Alex walked up towards the bench. Once Alex was sitting on the bench I made sure that the edits were longer to suggest him becoming bored. These long takes continued until Alex decided to get off the bench and walk out towards the park to see if Melissa was coming. The editing technique I used he was with Alex walking towards the camera until it is black. Then straight away the camera is behind Alex to aid the continuity. When Alex is looking for Melissa the edits became a little shorter to emphasise the fact that he is becoming stressed. In this scene I used slow and fast editing to signify boredom and stress.

The last scene that I edited was the scene with Alex and his best mate at the pub. For this scene the first shot I used was an establishing shot to set the scene. Then I used consistent shot, reverse shots to show the reactions and responses in the conversation. This was all I needed to do for the editing in this scene as it was just a conversation. At the end of the scene I faded it out with Alex saying the line “And she’s still mine”.

The edits I have used in my scenes are very subjective with them positioning the audience into taking the side of Alex and sympathising with him.     

Post-production meeting

When we got back to school we decided to hold another meeting and discuss what we done over the half term. As we got all of the filming done we talked about how it went and what minor problems there were. The problems were not that severe and we knew we could solve them in the editing process. As a group we discussed that in the future lessons we were going to view all of the footage and make decisions on what and not to use. This will also gives us the chance to see if any of the scenes needed to be re-filmed.    

Shooting Diaries 4

On the last day of filming we only had to film the scene where Alex sits down at a park bench hoping that Melissa will meet him. We met up the park at 1pm and all we needed was the people within the group as no other actors were needed, only Adam. In this scene there are a number of different camera shots and movements. This is one of the most interesting scenes in terms of camera techniques as it uses a different range of them. The shots varied from close ups to extreme long shots and the camera movements included forward tracks to pans.  Overall I think the filming was very successful and we did not encounter any major problems. The filming took four days to complete and was very enjoyable.  

Shooting Diaries 3

On the third day we decided to film the scene where Alex meets up with his best mate at the pub. We met at Adams house at 12am and Adam drove us down the pub we were going to be filming at. I got the two actors sitting at the bench opposite each other a recorded the scene twice from opposite sides of the bench. I used consistent over the shoulder shots in this scene as it was showing a conversation taking place. I also chose to film it from either side twice so the camera would be in the same position. I also used other shots like a two shot from the side of the bench and a few slight dominant shots as well. The only problems we had when filming this scene was the actors forgetting some of their lines so we had to do a few more takes than expected.

After we finished this scene we went back to Adams house to film the scene where Alex is on a social network looking up Melissa. This scene did not take very long to film as all we needed was an over the shoulder shot of Adam on the computer. We also included shots like an ECU of Adams hand using the mouse and shots of his eyes and face. We also filmed what was being done on screen as well but it did not look that good on camera.    

Shooting Diaries 2

On the second day of filming with decided to film one of the friend’s scenes with it being the one where Alex tries to get some information off Melissa’s friends. This scene involved two other actors and we all decided to meet at Adams house at 10am. We decided to film this scene outside Adams house as we used his car for the part where he is waiting for Melissa’s friends. When they appear the dialogue starts and we used a number of over the shoulder shots to show this. We also used close ups and a panning shot as well. We did have one minor problem when filming this scene though and it was the fact that it was a bit windy which made the dialogue slightly harder to hear.

After we finished this scene we went into Adams house and recorded the phone messages for the first scene. Adam had the script in front of him and he simply acted out the lines into the phone. After this we used the camera to film the phone messages on the answering machine.    

Shooting Diaries 1

On the first day of filming we decided to shoot all the scenes that were going to be filmed in Adam’s house. We decided to meet up at Adam’s house at 11am with everybody who was need for the scenes. This was the three of us in the group and Adam’s girlfriend.

The first scene we decided to film was the scene where it is revealed that Alex has murdered Melissa. Also in this scene is Alex writing a letter to himself pretending that Melissa is writing it for him, this will be before you see that Melissa is actually dead. The use of the camera in this scene was worked very cleverly with us restricted the audiences view in order to not reveal the death of Melissa.

The second scene of the day that was filmed was the scene where Alex is lying around on his sofa in different positions in order to show time is passing. We decided to take a lot of these shots so when it came to the editing we could choose the most effective ones. When editing, we will also use a number of fades to show this time lapse. After we filmed this scene we decided to have a little break.

After we had a break we decided to film one of the letter scenes which was the one with Alex writing the letter. When filming this scene we yet again used a number of camera techniques to restrict the audiences view. This was the first scene where we needed to use of props with letters and screwed up pieces of paper that Alex throws which shows he is not writing it correctly.

The scene that we decided to film last was the other letter scene where Alex goes to post the letter to Melissa’s house. This was one of my scenes and I started the scene off with an ECU of Alex’s hand holding a letter saying “My one and only, Melissa” on it. The next part is Alex walking up to the house and posting the letter. After he posts the letter we filmed another time lapse scene from inside the house where you see all the letters come through the letter box with junk mail as well to make it more realistic. Every shot that was filmed for this part we put more and more letters down each time.     

Planning Schedule

In terms of shooting our film we have held a meeting and discussed when would be best to get the filming done. We have taken into consideration that we have a half term coming up and decided that it would be best to get all the filming done in that holiday. Everybody in the group has got what they need in order to shoot the film; this includes scripts, storyboards, props, actor availability and the equipment that will be given to us before we break up. As we have a week off this will give us plenty of time to film all of the parts we need. In this meeting we also discussed who is going to be available on which days and arrange a schedule. As a group we agreed that we should allow the whole week Monday-Friday to be filming days. However, we may not need all of these days but will try and use the time efficiently.

Presentation of selected locations

As a group we have made a final decision on what locations will be used in the film. We have come to a decision that the writing letter, posting letter, and the dead scene will be filmed at Adam’s house. For the other scenes with have also concluded that we will use a pub garden for the scene with Alex and his best mate. We have also been given permission to use the garden as my sister works there and asked the owner if we could use it for filming.

The other location we have agreed on will be at a local park where we will be filming the scene where Alex is waiting and hoping for Melissa to turn up. The park is also nearby so there will not be any problem with getting there. Overall, all of the locations are close and easily accessible so if we need to re-shoot then we can do this without any problems.

Sound Ideas

In our film we have decided to not have a specific soundtrack throughout the film as we do not think it will be suitable. Instead we have chosen to do something different and unique to challenge the conventions of a typical psychological thriller. We decided as a group to play the phone messages that Melissa receives from Alex in the opening few scenes of the film. We believe as a group that these messages being played will be a lot better than music as the dialogue will make the whole atmosphere creepy.  

Props

There are not many props going to be used in our film but the most significant ones being the pint glasses for the pub scene with Alex’s mate. The use of these pint glasses gives a more mature and grown up theme to the film. Also it was important to show pint glasses at a pub garden to make the film look more realistic. Other significant props that will be used are a bundle of envelopes which will be in the letter scene. These envelopes will show the handwritten letters that Alex is writing to send to Melissa and you will see these being posted through her door. In this scene will be other props such as a load of junk mail which will be seen by the door for the part when the fades occur to show time has passed. This will also make the film seem more real as everybody receives junk mail through their letterbox. Another significant prop will be the use of a mobile phone which will be Alex’s, there will be use of consistent shots involving the mobile phone to emphasise how desperate he is to get in contact with her. I believe the use of these props will make the film more realistic in terms of the context of the film.  

Costume

With the context of our film the costume is not something that is crucial in terms of representation. The characters in the film do not need to be dressed that represents them in a certain way. This means that the characters in the film can wear their normal clothes. However, Adam does own a long black coat that he will be wearing in the film which will give him that sense of mystery. In the other scenes casual everyday clothing will be used which gives the audience a chance to create some sort of relation to the characters. In the last scene where it is revealed that Alex has killed Melissa, both of them will be wearing the same sort of shirt. They will both be wearing a chequered shirt which will add to the eeriness of the psychotic issues Alex possesses.     

Possible Locations

As a group we discussed possible locations of where we were going to shoot certain scenes. As we had the scene order in front of us we started to think of ideas of where we were going to film. For the phone messages, writing letter, posting letter, and the dead scene which is the last scene, we discussed and had an idea of shooting these scenes at Adam’s house. All these scenes would work in the house because they will be just what we and the audience need to see in terms of the narrative. If we were going to split these scenes up and shoot them in different places it would be too time consuming in regards to the amount of time we have for the filming. We came up with the idea that the scenes that involve the friends of the two main characters could be filmed with one of them in a pub garden which would be Alex’s best mate. The other scene we came up with the idea of changing the scenery by not having it at a social place by having Alex waiting by Melissa’s friend’s car in the street. This will help vary out the scenes which will make the film more appealing. For another scene we as a group decided to use a public park for the part where Alex is waiting for Melissa to meet up with him. When discussing locations we tried to make as many different locations possible in the limited time we had.      

Casting Decisions

In our film there are not many actors with there being two main characters in the film. The main protagonist (Alex) is a man who is roughly around twenty five years old. We have given him this age to give the film a mature approach and make it look professional. We have decided to cast someone in the group as Alex as he knows the role and how to portray his character. This is because over the duration of the course he has got to know the character of Alex the most as he did introduce the character to the film. Even know the actor is younger than the characters age it will not be noticeable and the use of costume will help this. The other main character in the film is Melissa and we have decided to cast the real girlfriend of the actor for Alex. This is because they can show a real life relationship on screen and make everything more realistic. Even though you do not see Melissa that much in the film it’s still important that both actors have a strong bond. The best mate of Alex will be played by another member in the group because knows the character and how to portray the role. The other two characters that have some dialogue in the film are Melissa’s friends who will be played by a member of the group’s sister and her mate. The reasons for this are that it will save time because we do not have to go and search for actors for a film, especially a short film. Another reason for this selection is that we can easily stay in contact with each other if there is a problem with the film and we can easily re-shoot. These choices we have made I think have been chosen very intelligently and will be a success when producing our film.      

Distribution of our film

As a group we have decided to distribute our film to film festivals around the globe including Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, and the Sundance film festival. This is because our film is in the form of a showcase and we want it to be recognised. We would like our talents to be seen from acting to camera work in order for opportunities into bigger projects within the film industry. At these festivals are agents scouting for the best talent and we hope ours will be noticed. Our film can also be seen over the internet via the popular website http://www.youtube.com/ where most shorts films are distributed for the same reason of trying to showcase their talent. This website is a great source because millions of people around the world it every day so it gives us a great chance of our talents being seen.

    

Dialogue

In our film there is not dialogue in every scene because of the simple fact that it is not needed. The scenes where there is no dialogue show Alex and this emphasises that he can be seen as weird and mysterious. The fact that there is silence in some scenes it also adds to eeriness that surrounds his life. The scenes we do have dialogue in are the beginning scenes where the phone messages are being played. They are the friend’s scenes where Alex is trying to find out where Melissa is and the other friends scene where Alex meets up with his best mate for some advice. This scene was my responsibility and the dialogue can be seen below.