Media Advanced Production

THE RANCOUR

By George Morgan

CHOOSING TO DO A FILM

• I decided to do a five minute film because I wanted a challenge, even though a trailer would be difficult a film generally has more shots and a longer narrative than a two minute trailer.

In this project I want to allow my audience to be on the edge of their seat but to also leave them wanting to find out more,

Ending the narrative with a mystery, cliff hanger or an anti-climax. Intensity!!!

CONVENTIONS OF AN ACTION THRILLERI decided to change the narrative from being about an American politician to a sub-genre, Action thriller…

Conventions of a Thriller and Action are appealing Such as:

•Extraordinary situations that summon an emotional thrill

•Conventionally characters come from humdrum life, and are swept into a unforeseen circumstance

•Constant battle if physical or mental between protagonist and antagonist, however protagonist always wins

• Plot twist are a conventional.

• The protagonist is hit with a difficult situation, and us as audience are forced to think whether they will overcome the situation

• Modern conventions include the death of a character close to protagonist seen as good. This then gives protagonist a purpose to drive narration on.

I saw this in modern remake of film ‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch hunters’. A relationship was created between character and protagonist, so following death; sympathy and emotional theme included

• Changing the narrative has also made the film more emotionally concentrate and character driven

• My old narrative was about an American politician, meaning it had to be based in America, and lastly I wasn’t able to gather enough actors who could speak with a believable American accent in my film.

• Thrillers tend to be psychological, threatening, mysterious and at times involve larger-scale villainy such as espionage, terrorism and conspiracy

• Leading on from my last point, My film links back to a Action-Thriller by including these conventions:

1. Protagonist being psychologically tricked through the narrative

2. The opening scene causing intrigue/mysterious feelings about who the killer was and why the parents were killed

3. I also characterised my Antagonist to be very villainous, such as shooting a young child at point blank range.

Prolific action-thriller movies:

• Die hard (Bruce Willis, 1988) Inception (Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, 2010)

• Seven (Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt,1995) Non-Stop (Liam Neeson, julianne Moore, 2014 )

Looking back at this choice its very likely I unconsciously included part of the narrative from ‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’ which is a conventional action thriller. In my narrative there parents are killed and they then decided to go after the killer and when they meet all together, the story takes a turn for the worst (plot twist) and the truth is revealed causing death among the least likely of people.

leaving a brother and sister to fend for them self

Bruce and Tina’s parents are brutally killed

They then set out, finding the murderer.

8 years later

RESEARCH ON GENRE: DRAMA

• I did some research on the genre Drama, because many elements of the genre linked into my film; even though its not a drama ( ones marked with * were used):

• Dramas are serious*

• They are plot-driven presentations*

• Portray emotional and relational view to realistic characters, settings, life situations.

• Involving intense character development and interaction.*

• A example of a conventional drama would be ‘The Book Thief’ or ‘Nebraska’

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (CHARACTERS)Researching my intended genre I paid attention to how the antagonist is created and how they are conveyed through the shot, meaning what does the director or camera man want us to feel for them, I aimed for fear.

Notorious antagonist are very uncivilised and absurd in there own nature and I developed this convention into my own.

Intrigue is created by ‘fear of the unknown’ . I used a cap to hide his identity, and a unclear shot of him.

Use of mask or face painting allows character to be anonymous

Gun being pointed at him, but he remains calm Is another unusual trait

Aimed to raise tension due to being so close (close up shot), as if where sneaking up on him

Low angle shot, making antagonist look threatening

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (CHARACTERS)Creating intrigue, I was influenced by this over the shoulder shot behind the character; not revealing his face when firstly introduced till later.

Close distance to anonymous character creates tension. May be seen as a unsafe distance for audience.

I also deliberately wanted the mise-en-scene to be dark, foreshadowing horror and terror to be associated with character.

I chose this way to introduce the antagonist because I saw it as the most effective way to conceal an identity.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (CHARACTERS)

I also researched prolific protagonist and sidekick’s and observed a similar trait from all of them.

Establishing by a close up shot of protagonist struggling shows nobleness and braveness which conventional defines a hero/protagonist in an action film

I aimed to achieve conventional shots like the ones above, having a sense of sympathy for the protagonist

high angle shot showing protagonist to be vulnerable and isolated with dead sister who had double-crossed him

Sympathy created

1. That the protagonist was always more experienced, stronger, smarter than the sidekick

2. The sidekick would have moments of true bravery

3. They are conventionally seen in a two shot

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (CONVENTIONAL CHARACTERS)

What character traits do you like to see about the protagonist and antagonist?

The protagonist should include: “anger problems caused by dark and traumatic past.” “Hint of badness and for it to be a realistic person.”

The antagonist should be : “mysterious but also a realistic character.” “Having a hidden weakness”. “Shouldn’t be able to work him out”. “Self-centred and unusual in appearance.”

This Survey in The evaluation stage helped me create characters, which directly effected the story line outcomes

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (CONVENTIONAL CHARACTERS)

Who do you expect to kill/ beat the antagonist (3rd party, protagonist ect)? one person said “it should be the protagonist”, another said “the police.” Another answer was “it should be a random person”

I took this answer into consideration which I did in my survey during post production, however I agreed to allowing a 3rd party (The Police) to kill the antagonist and arrest the protagonist.

I did this because knowing thrillers conventionally have a plot twist I wanted to also change the audiences perceived thoughts of the protagonist suddenly finding a way to beat the antagonist even though this is conventional.

So I challenged forms and conventions by allowing a 3rd party to

save the protagonist and showing him being arrested

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (CHARACTERS)

During research I learned Two shots are conventionally used to establish two or more characters having some type of relationship (brother+sister) (husband+wife) (hero+sidekick)

Brother and sister

high angle shot with two shot, I aimed for audience to empathize with characters being scared, isolated which is conveyed through the high angle of where the camera is.

Sidekick relationship

Both shots characters have guns, aimed to achieve them looking heroic and crowd pleasing

Mimicked this shot because it clearly denoted unity and character development of two characters relationship in a scary time.

I aimed to create the same feeling in my film by using it to create tension and reliance on each other when there father ran off to save their mother.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (CAMERA SHOTS)

Includes view of the mise-es-scene

Extreme Close ups

Long shot

I aimed to add to the tense atmosphere which this shot can achieve.

This shot enables communication of characters emotions through full view of facial expression

Creates clear significance or meaning of something Eyes communicate

emotions

Aimed to create bitter resentment between characters

Establish amount of space between characters


Camera shots creating tension….

over the shoulder shot with both the protagonist and antagonist, to convey a tense atmosphere

I had to frame carefully to achieve correct over the shoulder shot

I aimed to have a variety of over the shoulder shots that were different in distance, close and far

Far distance

Far distance

close distance

close distance


• The use of a low angle shot on the antagonist allows him to appear more over powering and a threat to the protagonist. his is a conventional shot in thrillers to establish character relationship

Sympathy is created for Protagonist by Having a mid-shot of protagonist being hurt.

I deliberately shot at this distance to put audience viewers uncomfortably close

Low angle mid-shot of Batman in frame with antagonist creates tension.

uncomfortably close position to action


Researching many thrillers with the sub genre of either crime or action really helped in the plot.

I had a low angle close up of Tina's face whilst saying “Bruce, we agreed not to talk about it”

This was to create suspicion of Tina knowing something the audience don’t.

Low angle shot, creates suspicion

HOW DID YOU USE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES? (CAMERA SHOTS)

I aimed to achieve tension with the opening of the doorTo achieve this I had to

accurately line the shot before recording it so it was framed correctly, and I also used the filming technique ‘Rule of thirds’

I screened shot this shot from the Prisoners trailer, a psychological thriller; this shot creates intrigue.


I was able to use this intended shot with a low angle, close up shot; which was done by using a trolley at the end of the table.

• I aimed to achieve the feeling of being very close to the action from the audience by using a close up shots.

Character is in uncomfortable position and camera distance connotes him being helpless

I wasn’t concerned about Bruce’s head being cut off by the angle of the camera because the antagonist being held down is the main focus.

To allow this sense of isolation and helplessness for the man I kept the camera on him for a while until a tracked away, making the audience empathise with him


• A lot of my shots were done at POV (point of view) because I wanted to give the audience a first hand and exciting experience.

• I achieved this shot by placing the camera roughly at his wrist, just like the one above

Making audience feel as if there holding the gun

Storyboard


I achieved this shot by sitting on the table telling the actor to walk and point gun at camera; breaking the 4th wall to make it more appealing to viewers

I found this shot very effective so I adapted it into my own

With this shot I aimed to achieve a sense of urgency and wanting to make the audience feel almost involved by having gun being pointed in their direction

I know I wanted a conventional style of cinematography in my film, so I include shots which create a level of intensity

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (MISE-EN-SCENE)

I arranged the mise-en-scene to achieve continuity such as family photos around and low key lighting.

Mise-en-scene shows girl to be in isolated alley way

Long shot shows her to be isolated in a hidden/detached area

Lamp in the mise-en-scene connotes a homely safe feel

This creates tension and allows the connotations of an event possibly happening

Aimed to use a mise-en-scene which looked detached to create sinister atmosphere

HOW DID YOU USE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES? (MISE-EN-SCENE)

I had to change the mise-en-scene for this scene which was originally in a bedroom

I had to alter the plans because the room was out of use and it didn’t fit the narrative for an important purpose.

1. Mentally which is evident through the dialogue.

“Are you sure you're ready for this” (script extract)

• I decided to pick the gym because it showed two ways of Bruce and Tina preparing to find the murder

2. physical which is the reason fore them exercising

In this scene tension was created because they spoke about the plot (getting the antagonist)

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (MISE-EN-SCENE)

I aimed to achieve a safe, calm family atmosphere.

Low key lighting creates a warmth,

Pictures, lamps in mise-en-scene allow copies real film allowing it to be more authentic

Allowed my characters to look parent-like (comfortable) mimicking the same in a real film

Low angle shot, creating a sense of safety because they are the biggest subject in frame

HOW DID YOU USE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION

STAGES?

EDITING (TRANSITIONS)

I used the transition tool ‘dip to black’ at the start so it starts smoothly, rather than abruptly

Opening in this style allows the pace of editing to be slow or quick, depending on the time of the transition

This transition also added to the safe ‘homely’ atmosphere I aimed to create

HOW DID YOU USE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION

STAGES?

Included an underscore, made the music very slow and peaceful to set the scene as peaceful

(Sound)

Music was to create a safe atmosphere, no sign of a threat

Tension created due to increase of volume of the doorbell and footsteps

Also able to arrange sound levels, both diegetic and non-diagetic

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (SOUND)

In the last scene I also used music because by now I knew the I could achieve a dramatic end by using music as an underscore to play till the end.

When josh walked in the scene and said ‘You're under arrest’ I started the music, so emphasis could be added to that line

I kept this music playing to the end, I wanted to the end the film on a tragic note; and I achieved this by using emotional music from YouTube and leaving a cliff hanger of what the police would do with the protagonist by cutting of as they walk away from the door in slow motion.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS? (CAMERA SHOTS/EDITING)

Three shot rule- Conventionally used in scene with dialogue, used to establish characters and there their positions on screen

1. Over the shoulder shot 2. Over the shoulder shot

3.Long shot

I aimed to edit conventionally (in this exact order)


I used a dip to black transition and a clock to show time passing

Clock symbolic for time

Next frame

Transition sets scene for introduction of antagonist

Introduction of antagonist is in low key lighting, representing danger

The red line means ‘Time stretch’. I used this tool to slow time down to 75% making it more evident that time has gone by.

This tool can also be used for exaggeration and portraying to the audience that something is very important.

Next frame

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR FILM DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL FILMS?

(CAMERA SHOTS/EDITING)

When antagonist rings door bell I create tension with heartbeat sound

Heartbeat runs through for a while to raise tension for climax I used a conventional

way to create tension, by having a brief silence after the climax.

Gun shot (climactic noise)


(CAMERA SHOTS/EDITING)I copied this establishing introductory scene from ‘State of play’, which is a thriller.

I did this to establish the back story of the narrative, which was for showing the audience the death of Bruce and Tina’s parents

I also used the gun shot sound as the transition into the title

An introductory scene can also be used as a pass in time. I used to this to go forward in the narrative by 8 yearsState of play used this film

technique to advance in narrative time by a few days


I aimed to condense time with editing technique, montage.

Montage : The technique of combining in a single composition pictorial elements from various sources.

I achieved this by telling a story through two seconds clips, showing Bruce and Tina on a journey after the protagonist


I used music through the montage because I aimed to make it very dramatic, due to me showing Bruce

beating up a man.

used sound bridgeThe first was used to introduce the

music and the montage of the fighting. The music played when the scene was ending. I aimed to show some action to give the audience a conventional ‘adrenaline rush’

The music was then used as a effective underscore because of genre being rock and the music having powerful climatic stages of singing , which I used for punches.

Pace of editing at this stage had to be fast, because the montage represents their journey of finding the antagonist

(Enter into search engine for song used)


I aimed to shoot tense scene at a very closer distance, over the shoulder shot shows characters perspective at front of them only

I also wanted the audiences perspective to be the same as the character, so it was possible to create tension and fear with other characters who are out of the frame

Tense scene, distance is close; done for exaggeration

over the shoulder shot shows characters perspective


I included my teachers suggestion of having an underscore playing under the most intense scene in the film.

The music played through the whole scene, I wanted to make this intense and very dramatic; and I believe I achieved this with music

These constant separate beats which get closer show music getting more dramatic, making it fit for the scene

Sound/ Editing


I deliberately cut Bruce and Tina walking to door by showing antagonist facing away camera, and looking as if he was in the room

I aimed to create intrigue and tension with this quick shot to firstly question who he is and is he in the room their going in to.

Aimed to create an anti-climax (plot twist) by showing that he wasn’t in room, and antagonist being step ahead of protagonist at times. I saw this character rivalry in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ between Batman and Bane

• I allowed tension to run by making it as if the antagonist was still in chair and he had been caught.

• I did this by sitting on table at front of chair, and telling the actor to break the imaginary wall between character and audience by pointing gun at camera,


In editing I aimed to achieve this modern/Hollywood style film with punching sound effects

With these sound effects it made it more cliché than gritty; which you would associate ‘London gangster films’ to have and which strive on making it authentic

I was able to use Youtube and search for ‘exaggerated punching sounds’ which proved significant to the development of this film


I aimed to achieve an exaggerated fight, seen in many action movies in Hollywood, such as ‘X-men, The Dark Knight and The Avengers’

I needed an influence from a film showing exaggerated fight scenes and a power struggle between the antagonist and protagonist.

I changed the angle for this shot but not the distance because I wanted a clear view of the action from a close distance

I achieved this shot by placing the camera on the 2nd level of the trolley and tracked to the left after the protagonist had been kicked and rolled on the floor in pain .

In what ways does your film develop or challenge forms and conventions of real films? (camera shots/editing/sound)

This section was Tina’s death (Bruce’s sister) I had to make sure I made it very emotive but realistic, so the audience could feel sympathy

How would you describe a conventional death in a thriller movie? Build-up of tension, unsuspected. Brutal deaths such as being shot, blown up, knife attack, beaten to death. Making it violent but creative.

Mid-shot zoomed to a extreme close up, however all in different takes allowing us to see characters emotions making the moment more depressing for the audience

The sound also helped exaggerate the scene by getting sound clips from youtube of a heart beat and music that naturally increase in volume into a screeching sound, allowing tension to build then hearing a gun shot after the silence to this frame below, allowing the audience to use their imagination, which allows it to be even more brutal.

I took into consideration my audiences opinion on how a thriller should be

HOW DID YOU USE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?

Blocking

I was able to complete this important stage of planning with a still camera.

I made it a habit doing it this way so I knew about any problems before filming so it could be attended to.

deciding where actors will move and stand so that lighting and camera placement can be set.


This is done so you know what your shooting in advance and what to shot again so you have the best quality

Blocking/ reshooting

HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TASK?

My target audience: they were initially 15+ people, both genders , and people who prefer viewing something visually adrenaline pumping rather than dialogue based (young-modern audience).

I made sure that I made my film appealing to the likes of my demographic by including those characteristics, such as:

I included a lot of shots which showed a level of brutality and death

making the age rating be set at

because as the BBFC (British board of film classification) state that ‘strong violence’ is shown in a film rated 15, as is very evident in mine


I looked on the BBFC website and came across this question which verified that my film was suitable for my audience.

Can there be strong violence?

“Yes, at 15 violence may be strong. It should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury, however, and the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable.”


In my film I also have a very subtle piece of horror, which is Tina shooting herself in the head; however like stated below the shot goes from:

What about horror works?

“At 15 there can be strong threat and horror as long as there is no sustained focus on sadistic or sexualised threat.”

This shot is used to take focus of the horrific death so audience is able to use imagination, making it terrifying.

There is use of blood but its not sadistic but subtly horrific


This poster is one of my favourites due to the way it includes a lot about the narrative but yet we still don’t know what the main situation because it’s so interpretable. We firstly see the mise-en-scene that everything is connoting destruction , it’s as if this poster is denoting a dystopia due to an important and famous building being destroyed.

The most eye catching thing on the page is the White House because we firstly see that it’s burning and a window smashing denoting destruction; but also it’s the largest image on the poster.

My interpretation of the film context is that there is something taking place within the building because of it being the main focus, possibly having a political message ;and seeing a character walking towards it with a gun connotes he is the protagonist who will deal with the situation.

We are able to say that this film is an action-thriller by the props such as the gun, helicopters, fire, the colours used and the American flag. The clouded sky above is significant in the poster because it firstly connotes a dark side to the story and also blocks the light out influencing the low key lighting used on the poster.

This poster is one of the three that I analysed in depth, and ultimately allowed me to gain a lot knowledge on conventional action-thriller posters and what they usually consist off.


The poster evokes the a sense of hope after the action due to the helicopters in the corners but was brought in to contradiction due to the American flag which seems faded possibly meaning a loss of passion or even people

We see a low angle-long shot of the character walking toward the house, and the fact that he is in mid motion of walking and we see fire and smoke coming out the white house, which gives it that authentic action type look. The tag line also intrigues us saying ‘The White House under siege. ‘A Nation under attack.’

The consistent colours used on this poster are red and white which both connect to the American flag and the typography such as the tag line, title and name of actors.

They raise the expectation of this film not just by the tag line but by the use of the star system which shows world renowned actors, therefore widening the audience and including their own fans. They also use the well-known director’s status but in this case a film he directed to give the film credibility and again widen the audience saying if you liked the film ‘Training day’ you’ll like this one.

This is a cliff hanger because this tag line connotes characteristics of a Docu-drama because a real building is in jeopardy, however the colour red is used for ‘A Nation under attack.’ Which emphasis the nation or possibly the White house has been attacked.


Influential Posters

I used these posters as a guide line, so I can also allow mine to look very authentic following conventions from the posters. I also purposely choose all thriller movie posters because depending on the genre the layout and props included is different; such as a gun being held by the protagonist is conventional on a thriller/ action movie poster. I also recognised that all the characters facial expressions show a level of intensity, but the more effective ones have a very high level of intensity, and also intrigues us about what happened to the character.

I also made sure they were modern films made not long ago so when I used certain layouts or camera shots it would be recognisable

I learned a lot in this process and deliberately searching for action/drama/thriller movies, I saw that each had a gun in common within the photos and the protagonist facial expression was the one which stood out the most and in my exam poster il be using this convention


new media technology

decided to do all posters on adobe photo-shop so I can become even more experienced using the programme, I also wanted to become more aware of the tools I can use; which was one of the reason I compare my posters to real ones and still used the programme.


Draft film poster 1My influence for this draft mainly came from the wrester poster

I saw that the characters facial expressions show a level of intensity, this created intrigue for me about what happened to the character.

So I decided to adapt this collage-like picture for mine

Like the wrestler poster I shot all characters separate and at a low angle shot

No character looks directly at the camera however they have serious expressions on their face, this could connote a high level of emotion from these characters


I copied the layout of being in a collage and whilst taking photographs, telling them to show a certain emotion but by not looking at the camera, so confusion on narrative is created.

I aimed to use a catchy tag line which draws more viewers in ‘Survive.Find.Kill’. I also made sure it had high impact words like survive or kill which would also intrigue the audience what the narrative ill be about, such as ‘Be careful who you trust.’


I increased the prestige of this film by including the star system and also the award they had won, communicating its going to be a very good film.

I used this technique from the ‘Prisoners’ poster.

I had to make it as authentic as a real existing film poster by having the release date

I made the tone of poster seem dark and dangerous by firstly the reoccurring colour of red, symbolising danger and death

Also one of the characters face is blocked by a cap. This choice of not showing an actors face broke conventions, but created intrigue of what he looks like and connotations of him being the antagonist

I made sure the typography which listed the title of the film and the actors name were big and clear, because possible viewers look for this significant information, because this information sells your film.


To create this draft I used the following tools:

The programme gave you the option to write and already had many default fonts which i used

I was able to use the eraser tool to erase the background or any unneeded features from the photo.

Able to arrange images or text to suitable place

I was able to choose a whole selection of colours which was suitable

I aimed to create a visible title which I used a bold but conventional typography with connotation horror due the sharpness of the letters

i aimed to have this phrase as visible as possible so it could pull in viewers

I aimed to show similarities to an conventional film poster by not having the photos original mise-en-scene

I aimed to create a conventional layout which my audience recognised and liked.


Draft film poster 2In my second draft poster I went for a more creative layout. Deciding to take on such a creative but unconventional layout pushed my current skills on photoshop to improve, because it had to be very good for it to work.

I adapted this layout into my own by using rectangles of different sizes and placing some behind or at front the subject.

I copied the style of photography by having the protagonist pointing a gun and the antagonist (in cap) not point the gun

I also included an age certificate to create a authentic poster which mirrored existing ones, so mine was recognised by my intended audience (15+)


I also adapted the quote which boosted the film because seeing other people saying the movie Is good gives the film some reliability making me more likely to watch it

I saw that ‘Welcome to the punch’ colour coded names one colour and surnames another. I copied this idea because as well as wanting to be creative, I aimed to make it visible and alive

I also copied how their title was arranged in columns making it neater and saving space, allowing other features to be included

One of the main reasons I mimicked characteristics of this poster is because the layout creates a 3D perspective, connoting it to be coming from the poster.


I copied the layout of the names known as the Star system because it aloud me to put the whole cast. This layout is conventionally seen in movies with a All star cast

I wanted my poster to be a recognisable action-thriller so I used gave them a gun each, which is a conventional mise-en-scene for this poster


I was able to use many shapes including hearts, squares, triangles. I was then able to adjust the width, length and position with this tool:

I was able to change the background to grey with this tool

I was able to neatly cut of at the point I wanted by using the crop tool.

I aimed to be creative and to almost create this puzzle-like background

I aimed to get a nice balance of colour in the background, so I deliberately choose grey and white because I knew the colour go together

I aimed to be creative but neat with my photography

To create this draft I used the following tools:


Draft poster 3

My last draft I planned to copy a layout much more simplistic and conventional.

Like this poster, I had the three main characters apparent; however the protagonist at the front. My aim in this is to rapidly tell people what they are going to get.

I also used the same star system layout, and placed the names on top of the characters which again gives it connotations of being 3D.

I also included a short phrase (tag line) ‘Vengeance is the Key’ to drag audience in, and letting it be easy to remember. In this line I aimed to give an overview of the narrative, however allowing it to create controversial atmosphere around it, causing people to be intrigued and watching it

I purposely included a famous existing magazine producer to making it as reliable and allowing it to appeal to film literate people who know status of ‘Empire’


I took into consideration of my photography and whether it was effective to have the subject looking at the camera, creating a emotional engagement or to have the subject looking away.

I wanted to copy this layout, however I didn’t have the pictures suitable to arrange like it. I then had to improvise and look through pictures until I found this:

I was concerned firstly due to this picture being taken in mid-action, however I used this to my advantage because him being the antagonist gave him a spooky look of walking towards the camera, and it could also be interpreted that the antagonist is always one step behind or two close to the protagonist and sidekick


I went more for a visual way in boosting the status of my poster, which was done by rating it by stars.

I made sure I followed the layout by having the title in a big bold font at the moment.

I purposely used the words ‘in theatres’ because I aimed to attract a film literate audience

I also added various awards added to by their name. this was done because I aimed to widen my demographic to film literates so they knew the significance of the award making them more likely to find out more about my film

i aimed this practically at the section of my demographic who prefer a visual perspective, conventional known as young people


I went forward with the layout of ‘draft poster 1’ because I felt I was more safe achieving a good grade with a simplistic layout, which only needed to be improved to an even higher quality and minor changes applied.

Draft poster 3 Final exam poster

As observed, there are some blatant and some slight enhancements, if I was to go forward with draft poster 2; in a sense it had to be perfect and if not, it wouldn’t of work.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BneNFPNvW4s/UvlYqVZY7WI/AAAAAAAAAHY/LYzEJXHe-zY/s1600/proper+poster.jpg


When changing my draft into a real existing product, I firstly had to criticize my own work and ask for my class mates opinions on it.

This two quotes wasn’t neat and needed to be symmetrical. The outlines on the photos

were very rough and on the lighter part of the section the original mise-en-scene colours were very visible

The colours of the names and the awards they won made it much more harder to spot because they weren't bright enough

The typography of the title is very basic and doesn’t draw you in as a potential audience member

The whole style of the poster isn't as neat and formulaic to how It should be.

Limited amount of information the potential audience member knows, to get there attention there would have to be more

Its very unconventional for a photo to be accidentally cut off, it is evident the character in the cap foot was out of the frame when the photo was taken; making it look very unprofessional


I used the magnifying tool to zoom in, and then either erased or I used the lasso tool:

I found this tool more effective than eraser because it was much quicker and accurate by eliminating the mise-en-scene

I aimed to make the quotes more clearer, so it was visible and it added depth to the poster

I wanted to be as authentic as possible by evidently detaching the actors name to the award they won

I also aimed to let the audience know what they were going to get, and I did this by placing as much information on the poster in a ambiguous manner

I was able to make my poster neat, especially with the top section, by lining each other on the same line, by using the Grid. I aimed to make it as similar to an existing product which would be aligned

My picture was unfortunately cut of by the foot, this is unconventional in existing film posters, so I had to cover it up with a quote with rectangles minimized at each corner

I copied this inspiration from my influential posters, the ‘Shooter’ poster, the title had a similar layout to it also.



I enhanced the colour of the title by firstly colouring it red, then adding an effect. I aimed for the title being one of the most eye catching features on the poster

I was able to upload pictures such as an age certificate or a social network logo. My aim was to open my demographic to a much younger/modern group of people, whereby making information easily accessible for them.

I was able to be creative by using the gradient tool ( ) on my background. I believe it makes the poster look very sinister, which reflects the narrative

I also aimed for the audience not having to guess the characters occupation to the narrative, but by the style of the shot and distance of the characters.

man in the cap has his head down and is walking with a gun towards the camera connotes danger (antagonist)

The boy and girl are close to each other and the boy is almost protecting her, connoting protagonist and sidekick



I included allowing the actors to have a gun to comminute action to the audience

The tag line being in red and having connotations of a protagonist conventionally wanting revenge on somebody

The constant red symbolises the blood shed in this narrative, connoting an element of the horror genre

Casting: I had a boy and girl so It could appeal to both gender sections of my demographic audience


Image represents the genre. Posture of protagonist and sidekick connote the action-thriller genre such as loading the gun

The layout of images, the girl being behind the boy could either connote her being the sidekick and the less experience one.

This could also connote her being unreliable and a ‘back stabber’ possibly having a hand in the cause of the plot twist

Having a character in a cap with a gun creates a thought of espionage and also includes an element of horror ‘Fear of the unknown’

The quote also tells the audience what there going to get, and the description evidently shows it to have ‘heart pounding action’ .


The format of this magazine is very neatly done with a one page picture, two columns of text and a small picture overlapping in the middle. The main colours used such as gold and white are symbolic to wealth and religion, due to the mentioning of ‘Gods’.

The title is an unusual one which firstly is juxtaposed, and spreads out through the two pages making a lot of the focus be on it; but the typography used connotes supernaturalism because the font is sharp edged at letters and very round on others

The low angle- long shot of the man on the left reveals a lot about the film such as the time era being in the distant past, a war is happening due to destruction and smoke around him and his shield is visible suggesting he is the protagonist

I also noticed he isn’t holding a sword just a shield and a bag which is unconventional and brings intrigue to what is inside the bag. The picture on the left also gives contextual knowledge because of the mise-en-scene but action being one of this films genre another shot on the other page is used which looks intense because we see them hiding; the caption also gives us information on the picture too.


The standfirst is in a unconventional place because it’s usually underneath the heading but this is in-between which allows it to be much more visible, because it boost the expectation of the film because it makes the reader aware of what ability they’ll be getting ‘with the direction of The Incredible hulk and the star of avatar’.

At the top right of the double page spread it has ‘Clash of the titans’ which firstly show the film name and devotes this section to it as well as having ‘Titan’ in gold to symbolise the definition of the Greek ‘Gods’ being powerful and royal.

The standfirts also tells us vaguely about the film intriguing the audience to find out the answer ‘Perseus is going to take…’

The overall tone is very dull due to the colours used but this can purposely be used to evoke at this moment of time war makes it dull and depressing

They also use a gold drop cap to indicate start of text and use a lede to instantly get the point across; also the amount of negative space shown is significantly a lot which Is used so the editor stops it from being a feature but more visual.


This double page spread is less visual meaning it’s a feature, which are a longer and more depth article. This being a feature allows the editor to go into depth with the film such as its rating in starts at the top, and a graph showing level of intensity

This in depth review doesn’t only help with the advertisement but gives the reader a more accurately review of the movie due to surveys done. The article is laid out using negative space which allows it to be in columns and looking very structured

The most eye catching things are the picture of spider man in a high angle shot but half way through an action bit because we can see his on top of a train, but also connotes the film will be action packed. The other eye catching thing are the use of red and blue which are the main colours used on the article; and is used to represent spider man through the traditional colours he wears.

The visible drop cap allows the reader to know were the article starts but it also being black makes it stand out more against the white background. The article is overall very congested and untidy because all the text is pushed onto the left page, this can suggest that they intended demographics are of a young age


, there is also a little caption on the picture telling you information; and above that again is another form of advertising and raising the prestige of the film ‘Film of the month’. Spider man is also in an animalistic position of a spider which is symbolic to the characters traits.

The pull quote is also squashed in-between the columns of text which I believe is done because the editor doesn’t want to take up space with the text but wants to have the picture of Spiderman in a fighting scene be the main focus.

Spider man is also looking directly at the camera which allows it to appeal to an individual and grasp their attention


This double page film review on the film ‘Prisoners’ is very visual and formulaic in the way it arranges the text in flush left. The medium shot of the two men behind the text is showing there facial expressions clearly, and seeing the man on the right looking angry could connote a high level of intensity and the film is emotionally fuelled

The raising of his hand (man on left) also evokes noise because he is mid-way through an action and also intrigues the reader what’s happening in that scene because both emotions are juxtaposed. The demographics of this article would be knowledgeable film viewers because they are showing two well-known actors (Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal) which will attract their fans meaning a larger demographic.

The tone is very serious and dull not just by the facial expressions but by the dark colours such as black, grey, white and brown. They use a large drop cap in white to indicate the beginning of the article, the ‘away’ part of the headline is faded making it more effective and spooky. The colour of the writing being white creates a spooky atmosphere, which fits in with the narrative and genre of the film being a crime thriller.

The editor uses different typography to show something being prominent such as the title of the film, questions asked to the actors and the name of the editor.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FeWSUhPO5wM/Uvjb-i1WGTI/AAAAAAAAADY/Oo-usoxQMD8/s1600/prisoners+pic.jpg


There is a standfirst underneath the heading which is giving some information on the film and the interview The mode of address of this article has a conversational tone due to the colloquial language used by the actors throughout which can possibly be targeting young people because they can relate due to the colloquial speaking.

The editor also neatly arranges the page number, date and name of magazine to also create a neat style of the magazines and allow it to be is easy to find pages. The top of the pages also show ‘In conversation’ and ‘Prisoners’ which make this section dedicated to this film.

The article is of a conversational tone due to the colloquial language used by the actors throughout which can possibly be targeting young people because they can relate due to the colloquial tone.


Draft double page spread 1

This draft out of the two is the least visual , because I made to have this double page spread as close to a feature.

I did take into consideration my demographic and how to widen it, so I a few pictures on the one page of text to balance the ratio of text to images.

I aimed for my draft to be as accurate to what I was going to have when making a double page spread, so included features such as drop cap, quotes, the name of the magazine, headline ect.


Draft double page spread 2

For this draft I went much more creative for this by looking at many double page spreads from an empire magazine I bought, and selecting features which I liked; which is the reason for the page numbers

I also juxtaposed both drafts so for draft two I was able to make it more visual and appealing to conventionally the younger side of my demographic

I attempted to make the draft as accurate as I could by arranging the placing of the pull quote said by the actor and whether a section is going to be a filler or photo.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pNCBOQaovio/UvlZdoDh5rI/AAAAAAAAAHg/kErxebr-cWY/s1600/Scan0026+(2).jpg


I aimed for my double page spread to look as authentic as possible so I went forward with the second draft, and changed minor editing such as font and picture placement.

I decided to have a effective picture taking up one page to make it more visual and allowing the reader to have emotional engagement because of eye contact and the distance of the camera to the actor (my inspiration for this photo was the ‘Safe’ poster)

I made sure I used a variety of colours to keep the page alive, and I also used a very clear and large typography for the title of my film, and I conventionally placed it behind the subject.

I used this pull quote to serve also as a sell, so it caused the readers to move onto the next page to read. I also made sure the colours were bright enough but didn’t interfere with the subject causing it not to be clear

I made by double page spread colour consistent by having the headline and stand first in clear colours, red and black


I purposely took a photo in mid-action causing extra pixels to appear due to hand moving and degrading the quality of the photo in that area, however I did this to connote noise and have a variety of photography style

I added captions so the reader understood everything in the pictures

I made sure the house style wasn’t very neat but condensed because aiming for a younger demographic, they wouldn’t be too concerned with this

I included a big pull out quote in red to attract potential readers if they were to skim through the magazine, that would catch their attention

I editorialised the article to suit my young demographic, which was by using colloquial language in the article.

I also justified my text flush left to make it look neat because its conventional for the text to have an order so its easy to read

I made sure I included a drop cap which was clear and stylish, because it’s a conventional feature that is used to start of an article

I noticed specifically that Empire magazine used information such as information on the film such as the age certificate to cover up negative space, I included this because I had the same problem, however some may interpret this section to be a filler because it has little importance


This image instantly communicates it being an Action-Thriller by the actor merely having a gun, pointing it the camera with a serious expression

This picture I shot also shows character rivalry with all characters holding a gun and two of them not looking at the camera which creates suspicion

The standfirst also communicates the genre being a good conventional thriller by describing it as ‘blood-boiling’

In the review it also recommends the film for ‘adrenaline junkies’ which again communicates the film being a good thriller

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK?

I created another audience survey but, on my finished film; asking people to evaluate and feedback to me.

1.If you were able to change an event in the film what would it be? Many people answered the killing of the antagonist, that the protagonist should of done it; to allow him to look even more heroic than vulnerable.

Protagonist vulnerable

Third party did protagonist job

The audience preferred: Protagonist defeating Antagonist


2. Who was your favourite character in my film and does he remind you of any other character in a thriller?

Majority of the people answered Bruce because they saw him as a conventional realistic character is driven by anger from the death of his parents.

Many compared Bruce to characters who drive the narrative by anger and revenge such as Hugh Jackman in ‘Prisoners’ who plays a father and his daughter has been abducted. Others also said Teddy Daniels in Shutter island


3. As a member of the audience did you feel mislead or unsure at a point during the narrative?

Everyone else agreed, however one person said that they felt there could have been many more instances of camera shots provoking a sense of being unsure who is good and who is bad, because I only did one.

The one I did by using a close up

This is an instance where I could of used a reaction shot of Tina, because she knew every thing was going to happen since she was young


4. Did you think the music worked as an underscore for the first and last scene?

Everybody answered yes, because I choose the correct style of music which went in harmony with the pace and overall message I was trying to communicate through the scene

First scene Last scene

It is evident that the volume automatically increases due to the sharp lines

I made sure I kept the adjustable volume low and constant on the same volume bar to allow it to be peaceful


5. Did you feel that the deaths of multiple characters where gruesome enough to fit into a conventional thriller?

Everyone agreed with this saying it was brutal and inhuman for characters such as Bruce (protagonist) and Clive (antagonist) and even suicide which Tina committed.

Clive shooting Bruce when he was a child

Bruce violently interrogating a man

Tina about to shoot herself through the head

Media Advanced Production

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