Final Main Product

Final Auxiliary Task 2

This is my new and improved cover that i created as i felt that my cover was lacking certain things and the sell lines didn't work at all with the look that i was trying to put across. I now have a much clearer and more professional look that makes the overall presentation of my work greatly improved. 

Final Auxiliary Task 1

Evaluation Question 4

The image you see for my magazine cover is not the actual magazine cover it is actually the link you see here- http://kristophercooka2media.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/final-auxiliary-task-2.html

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation 3- Target Audience

Main Task

For my main task i successfully filmed and edited a trailer from scratch as well as two auxiliary tasks that all share the same bond. For this stage in my evaluation i am going to discuss the different sets of feedback that i received from multiple different sources and talk about how their feedback has helped me to not only make the same mistakes again in the future but if some of my ideas where good and memorable then they can be used  again in any future tasks.

I also collected some actual feedback from two of my classmates to help me get a better understanding of their opinions of my work and whether or not there is room for improvement in certain areas that only they can see. Both Joe and Mark are the age of my chosen demographic so the results that i gathered from them is very beneficial as they are my target audience and they are the people most likely to see the film.

 

Mark

 Mark spoke a lot about how he enjoyed my trailer which is great, he talked about how my use of quick cuts and the theme of it which is really good feedback, he also talks about how unpredictable my trailer is which is exactly the kind of vibe i wanted to put across so i am glad that people are experiencing this. Mark mentions that my only real weakness is the amount of black and white used in the trailer which i kind of agree with but at the same time im glad with the final product i chose to end with.

Joe

 Joes recording got deleted by accident so i couldn't upload his voice but here is just a transcript of what he said.
"Ive just finished watching the trailer for Heist and i actually enjoyed it, at first i was wondering why it was in black and white but once the trailer started to kick in and coloured scenes started to come into it i felt like it really worked  and  added to the overall theme of the trailer and also gave you an idea on the genre of the film. The use of editing is really good with techniques like dissolve and fade to black being a big edition, id like to see more use of editing if i had to say something bad about it."
 

The feedback i got from Joe was very helpful and he talked about my strengths and only weakness. Everyone who has seen my trailer likes the overall theme of it which is great as i wanted to create a certain atmosphere with my work. I could have experimented a little more with editing technique's but i stayed true with some of the basics because i wanted my trailer to be simple yet effective.  

 

Sticky Notes

What the sticky notes are is just simple feedback that was gathered by my classmates all have a similar pattern in terms of what i did good and what I maybe could improve upon. A lot of my strengths people thought where my use of camera angles and catchy music with a little bit of people liking the use of contrasting scenes with some being in colour and some being in primarily black and white. My negative feedback spoke about how i need more text in my trailer and maybe make itthe text a little less fuzzy, going back i don't see how more text could help my work as i already have enough and more would make it a lot more cluttered, the fuzzy text must have something to do with the video quality as my versions I've seen are all clear.

Facebook

I posted a link to my video on Facebook asking for peoples personal opinions on my trailer and i managed to gather some pretty good feedback. most of the friends i have on Facebook are mostly the same age as me and considering the main target audience for my film is 18 it really helps as they are my direct audience and the answers i gathered all are catered to my trailer. The feedback was mostly positive talking about how the use of music really worked with the trailer and portrayed a certain theme. I did get some critique however and it was about the use of text in the trailer and how it could have benefited being in a different location on the shot, when editing that certain part of my trailer i used a low angle and placed the text in the parts where the sky peaked through the different houses to try and create an atmosphere and the use of text was a good way of adding in different reviews for the film itself, i feel like if i was to place the text in a different position not only would it not make sense as its a low angle but it was also not benefit the background as the black text would be un readable on the different available locations where the text could be placed.

Reddit

 This is the response that i received when i posted my trailer on Reddit and asked the users there if they could give me some feedback. The guy who responded was from Canada and has had experience with what i did for my main task so it was a great way of gathering feedback from the other side of world and would lead to some real answers and give me a sort of outside opinion as my trailer has a real British feel to it. The users feedback is very helpful he talks about how most of my trailer could benefit more with the use of a tripod which is a fair assumption to make but i wanted my film to actually feel like a documentary esc trailer so the shakiness of the camera really goes with the theme of my trailer either way though it gave me a little to think about as some of my scenes could have benefited from being used on a tripod. He also suggested that i could have added some sort of record effect on the scenes of my trailer that feature my character talking directly into the camera, as this would have been a good editing technique to use i don't think it would have really kept up with the theme i was trying to portray and if im honest made it look a little cheesy and almost fake. The feedback gathered from this source was very helpful and gave me a lot to think about such as the use of a tripod.

Surveys

 I posted a link to my surveys on different social media sites as well on internet sites such as Reddit and i managed to get a lot of responses that are very helpful and compliment my strengths and weaknesses very well. These are my two responses that i feel are very impactful and overall very helpful.

Both of my selected responses think that my trailer is a genre that isn't listed already which is exactly what i wanted, my trailer is supposed to have multiple different codes and conventions from multiple different sources so i have a sort of comedy element, a documentary element and a thriller element, i must have done something right because even though i have no real specific genre both of them seemed to like it which is exactly what i wanted. The main things that the people enjoyed was the fact that my trailer was straight to the point and pretty much tells you whats happening and what the film is about which is something that i wanted to do for my trailer as i felt like if my trailer was to go off topic with other things you wouldn't really understand whats going on. Another positive comment i got was about how my trailer has many different codes and conventions of other genres but they all come together to make a hybrid genre of comedy/documentary/thriller which is exactly what i was going for. The improvements that have been suggested are pretty useful, the users thought that it would probably be better if i used a little less black and white scenes and more scenes that feature colour, i think this would be a good idea as i could really adjust the contrast and brightness on some of the scenes that are in black and white to make it more exposed and overall fit the scene an overall theme of my trailer. Another piece of feedback i got about my trailer was the overall length of some of the scenes and how they could maybe be a little bit longer, i think that my trailer works so well is because it has a mix of different quick cuts and jump cuts it sort of matches the personality of the main character how everything goes quite fast and before you know it its over. Both of the people involved with the surveys you see would both go to see my trailer if it was to come out in the cinema which I'm very pleased about and it goes to show that my hard work has payed off.

Pro's

Here is a bulleted list of the overall positive feedback gathered-

• Good choice of music
• Good use of steadycam
• Good use of black and white
• Has a mix of 3 genres
• Tells you straight away about the films plot and shows you the personality of the character

Con's

Here is a bulleted list of the overall negative or constructive feedback gathered-

• Text could have been placed differently
• Could have benefitted with the use of a tripod
• Could use a lot more colour scenes
• Use of time codes at the bottom of the screen
• Could have lengthened some of the shots

Auxiliary Tasks

Surveys

I also created a set of surveys that asked the users to have a look at my Poster and Magazine cover, once again i picked the two best answers i felt had the best and most useful things to say. The feedback gathered for my auxiliary tasks where very helpful as they are both positive and constructive feedback that i can not only use to help gratify the work that i created but also learn from mistakes that i may have made and mistakes that only other people can see. Im going to talk about the results i managed to gather from my poster first then im going to talk about the results gathered for my magazine cover. The results i received for my poster was pretty good both of my chosen examples believe that my text is of the appropriate size and is not too big or too small which is vital when it comes to a poster promoting a movie so im happy that i managed to get it right. Both of my examples however have different opinions on what genre of film my poster is though which goes back to my trailer where it has no defined genre it exists using examples of different genres, so i am happy with this response as i feel like it really does link in with my trailer which also happens to be one of the responses for what the user thought of my poster. Both of the respondents liked my colour scheme that i have for my poster which is mostly a mix of red and grey colours which sort of represent the theme of my trailer so im glad that they like it. One of the users really liked the way that i have certain parts of the poster fading away like they are about to disappear which sort of reflects on a certain part of the plot in the story which once again connects my trailer to my poster. My negative comments talk about how i should try to implement more colour and to also make the text more clear which after some consideration my work could benefit from both suggestions as it would add another layer to my work that would maybe make the overall presentation a lot more cohesive. My final  question for the poster pretty much sums up the probably most important factor and that is basically does the poster link well with my trailer and after both answers say yes im very pleased that my all aspects of work have a clear link to each other. My Magazine cover questions where basically the same as my poster questions and the feedback i gathered was pretty similar but with a few exceptions for starters the respondents suggest that i add more sell lines and have a lot more different colour which i feel will just make my magazine cover feel really cluttered which isn't what i was going for as my magazine cover is meant to be something professional that you would see on something like the New York Times.  The users thought that my main image was very good and that my magazine cover had an overall professional feel about it which is exactly what i wanted and im glad that other people think that it gives off that professional feel to it.Both users like my colour scheme and feel like it links in well with all of my other created products which is something that i was worried about as my magazine cover has a sort of different feel and style to it in comparison to my other pieces of work but im glad that people think that it links in well with my other pieces of work.

Pro's

• Main image
• Colour scheme
• Professional appeal
• Something different but keeps with the same theme as the trailer
• Parts of the poster look faded

Con's

• Try using more colour
• Add more sell lines
• Make the text more clear

Overall i am pretty happy with all of my feedback that i managed to gathered and it really made me think about my work and how it could have been portrayed differently had i chosen to do something a little different than what i did.  Im glad that most of the people who gave me feedback enjoyed all pieces of my work to an extent, the feedback was from multiple different backgrounds as well with my classmates friends and people from around the world all took part in my feedback.The compliments received helped me believe that i can use similar codes and conventions in the future and with the constructive/negative feedback i gathered i can also make my work overall better and not make silly mistakes.  .

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Update of Progress as of 7/2/14

As of 7/2/14 i have posted all of my final tasks that are all fully finished and am now in the stages of completing my evaluation. I have posted multiple different posts that are all using different formats to try and gather feedback that i can use in the stages of my evaluation. Im coming to the end of doing my coursework now and i have enjoyed it for the most part especially the parts that allow me to be a little bit more creative than a standard blog post.

Gathering Feedback For My Final Product- Reddit

To help me in my evaluation I have posted a thread on the film section of Reddit asking people what they think of my trailer and to give me any feedback they like so it may help me in the future, as well as Reddit I have asked my friends and family to give me some sort of input about my trailer which will come in handy when it comes to doing my evaluation.

Gathering Feedback For My Final Product- Facebook

I have made a post on Facebook asking people if they could give me feedback on my work as i feel like Facebook will probably be the best possible source for gathering feedback and considering the people i have on Facebook are mostly the same age as me it should give me some good feedback.

Gathering Feedback For My Final Product- Surveys

Click here to take survey Click here to take survey Click here to take survey

First draft of my Magazine Cover

This is my first draft for my magazine cover the reason i changed it is due to various different reasons, the main reason being i felt there is far too much space wasted in the page and when i try to fill it with content like sell lines of information it just looks out of place and doesnt look profesional which is something that i want to have. I feel like i need to make this a lot more simplistic and get rid of the sell lines, increase the size of the image and move the product information somewhere else to make it really a lot better and a lot more proffesional.

Review of Making Products

Review of Products

Audience Focus Groups

I have just completed a first draft of my trailer and I'm still not completely satisfied with the actual product as a whole as there are things missing i feel that me personally cant see whereas others can, this is why i asked some of my classmates to have a look at and i received a lot of good feedback that i will implement. I got them to all write down some things that are maybe wrong or could be improved upon and this is what they had to say.

Joe 

"The video starts off well with a lot of black and white scenes that represent the past but i think you could probably shorten it by a couple of seconds as all you need it for is to give you an idea on the narrative. The parts of me talking could benefit by also being in black and white as they aren't really explained to be told in the past or present or whatever so putting it in black and white might be a good way of giving you an idea that this is my sub conscious talking. Other than that the use of quick cuts at the start and the various scenes where there is a lot of action is really good and i cant see any other changes other than to make sure that the sound is properly edited so it doesn't sound stupid as the song just randomly changes without the use of an editing technique."

Joe has given me a lot to consider as i do want to create a certain atmosphere with my work and maybe having the monologue scenes in black and white could help me create a mystery about my work that could make my audience come up with their own interpretation of what it is and why he's talking straight to them. The main focus of my trailer is how Joe is in the present and he is right where my past scenes are too long so shortening it will make it a lot better. The sound also needs to change as it just quickly changes and your left thinking whats just happened so i will try using different techniques to help me out. 

Mark 

"The Heist trailer is overall pretty well put together and i enjoyed the unpredictability of it however you could improve a couple of things, for starters you could maybe have more editing technique instead of fade to black you could maybe use fade to white and things like that. The camera we used when filming this isn't a very good quality you could maybe alter it to make it fit the theme of your trailer more." 

Mark enjoyed he predictability of my work but he mentions that i could maybe have used fade to white as i maybe use fade to black too much which in turn is actually a very good idea as after Joe's monologue to the audience i could maybe have a fade to white transition that will take you into the next scene which will keep up with the aura that Joe's monologues create. Changing the brightness levels and maybe the contrast on the scenes could maybe make my work look a lot more British and a lot more gritty so i am definitely going to do that. 

Chris

"The trailer is really good id see the actual film, couple of things could be used to improve it though is maybe shorten a couple of the scenes that involve Joe talking directly to the audience as it can kind of get repetitive, other than that i love the mix of multiple genres used it almost has a dark humour side to it like Bronson but at the same time a thriller element that you would see in films like Shutter Island, Joe's character is really interesting as well he seems unhinged and could lead to some very unpredictable events caused by him."

Chris mentions that i should shorten a couple of the scenes that involve Joe's monologue which i sort of agree with as there is sometimes a space of silence that could be shortened or involve another scene. Chris also mentions that he likes the fact that my work features elements of other genres and the personality of Joe which is great as my ideas are rubbing onto other people. 

Rachel

"Its violent thats for sure haha, erm if i was to make a couple of improvements for you id say to maybe make it a lot more solid in terms of the editing as the song could be implemented better especially when you change to a later part of the song almost instantly, other than that id say maybe play around with a couple of different techniques as you could maybe use it to your advantage and give off a different feel other than that i like it."

Rachel is the only girl that gave me feedback for my work which was a nice change of pace as i get a perspective from a female that maybe doesn't share the same ideas that men maybe have especially when my trailer is quite violent and wouldn't seem to be liked by females but she actually liked it. Like Joe Rachel says that the sound could be edited better so that it sounds a lot clearer which i will definitely change. 

Everyone has given me a lot to think about and i think i can defiantly improve the presentation of my work thanks to my peers. 

Update of Progress as of 31/1/14

As of 31/1/14 i have managed to fully shoot my trailer and am in the process of editing it to try and make it the best possible product i can. I am also in the stages of going through the different images that weren't used in my auxiliary tasks and also explaining why there weren't used and also why the images i did choose where chosen to be apart of my final tasks. I have gone through the different locations that my trailer was shot in and discussed why i chose to shoot in those areas, i have also spoken about the music in my trailer and gone through the other considered songs that where almost used in my trailer and why they weren't or where used. Using real life conventions i created a production company for my trailer with the use of Photoshop, i enjoyed the freedom of being able to create whatever i wanted that would be involved in my trailer. My script was also finalised and posted here on my blog and im pretty proud of it and if it comes out as well as i think it is my final trailer should be really good.

Image Choices

The following images are the images that I used in my final 2 auxiliary tasks, I took a lot of photos and finally was decided with these 4 images as I felt like they were the best and had the same characteristics as that of my actual trailer.

The first image was used on my magazine cover and features my actor standing in a position that makes him look very focused and has his mind set on something. I wanted this image because I wanted my advertising for my trailer to reflect the beginning part of my trailer where my main character is still a hired gun that helps take part in robberies and heists instead of the crazy maniac he becomes later on in the trailer.

This next image was used in my movie poster and is one third of my images that are actually in place on my poster, I wanted there to be three main images on my poster each reflecting something different about the character, this image represents the side of my main character who did things just as he was told to do with no questions asked. I love how in this image you can see his eyes through the mask and is staring directly at the camera, it gives it that focused attitude which is what I want  to show in my poster that there was a side to this character where he did bad things for what he thought where good reasons.

The next image is the second image that is on my movie poster, this image reflects the time in the characters life where he realised that what he has previously done was wrong and how he is full of regret and despair for his actions. The image itself is very good in my opinion it shows the character in a very sad/depressing state of mind almost like he doesn’t want to be there. I wanted this image to show that the character had a conscience and actually has feelings and emotions.

The final image that is front and centre of my movie poster is the one you can see to my right it features my main character with a very smug look on his face almost like he is happy about something, I think this image really contrasts well with the other images behind it as the images behind this one are parts of the past and are long gone especially when you compare the image where Joe(my character) is looking down with his eyes closed in comparison to him looking directly into the camera with his head slightly down and smiling. This image represents the final part of my characters personality and that personality is that of a mad man who is obsessed with not letting his past mistakes take a toile on him.

Sell Lines for Magazine

I tried a couple of different sell lines for my actually magazine cover and some of them where really good i thought and others just made it seem really cheesy and didn't go with the actual product, for the actual product i wanted to have a sell line that isn't actually spoken but is reflective on the character and his lifestyle/personality, here are some of the sell lines-

No Rules No Prisoners- I didn't really like this one as it was more suggestive of something that you would see in some sort of prison break or fighting movie.

Theres only Madness- This was a good on the only problem is that it is too short and any text past this doesn't make sense and wouldn't go with the theme I'm trying to put across.

Liar Liar Liar Liar Liar- I wanted to try something different and trying one word on its own but it didn't fit so i tried repeating it and it just looks really stupid and doesn't really go with the poster and makes my product one dimensional.

Time Fades Down Towards the Water- This is very suggestive as it represents two different things time going by which also goes with my theme of my main characters personality changing and down towards the water is suggesting that the character is a killer and throws his victims bodies into the water. This was close to making the final cut but i opted to g for something else as without watching the trailer it doesn't make much sense.

Live By the Sword Die By the Sword- This is very suggestive and represents multiple different layers of my character featured in my poster, it also is reflective and also makes the reader want to know more as it shows that there are consequences for living a certain lifestyle, i said to myself that i wanted something that wasn't said or shown but represented as a sell line which is why i chose this one.

Photo Review

These photos where all taken from my photo-shoot I took about two dozen photographs all were of a good higher quality than you would expect from your regular cameras. Most of these images where really good and some weren’t so good, here is my photographs that I took and my personal opinions on them.

Photo Review

Skill Development

I have now been working with premiere pro for about a week now editing my final product and I have also learned a couple of new things that are very helpful especially when it comes to the overall impact of my trailer.

 I was pretty used to the basics that allowed me to just simply play around with the clips and have them just simply follow up after each other, recently though I have learned how to effectively use different editing techniques such as the ability to Dissolve a shot into another shot which I find very useful as I was stuck as to how I was going to proceed to the next scene in my trailer as it goes from a really fast paced part to a more slower part instantly so with the use of Dissolve I was able to get past it.

 

While adding things such as credit boxes I needed to implement text into my video which before I didn’t know how to do all I knew was how to give the video an opening title and that was it but now I am playing around with a couple of different ideas and am trying to come up with an effective title box with the name of the film that matches the theme of my movie.

Previous Magazine Cover Layout

This previous layout is something that i was trying to implement but it never really worked what i wanted to have is something similar to what you see in the Star Wars posters that feature multiple characters in different spaces of the poster, my film is only about one character so i quickly realised that this is a bad idea so chose not to go with it.

MacGuffin Plot Device

“A MacGuffin is a plot device in the form of a goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues, often with little or no narrative explanation as to why it is considered so important or needed. The specific nature of a MacGuffin is typically unimportant to the overall plot. The most common type of MacGuffin is an object, place or person. However a MacGuffin can sometimes take a more abstract form, such as money, victory, glory, survival, power, love, or even something that is entirely unexplained, as long as it strongly motivates key characters within the structure of the plot.”

My work completely is centred around this plot device and is something that I considered ever since I saw Pulp Fiction for the first time and the significance of the brief case where its contents is never shown, in my product I convey the fact that my protagonist/antagonist is in this for glory and the recognition that he feels he deserves, why he believes this is exactly like the plot device it never is truly explained instead it is implied briefly as the main attraction to the film is him being violent in his current state. My main characters conscience is what drives the narrative that asks him why he’s doing what he is doing which can be hard to explain like MacGuffin’s plot device.

Male Gaze Theory

“In 1975, Laura Mulvey created the Male Gaze theory, the theory is believed that in film the audience have to see the various characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. She then later argued that women are relegated to the status of objects and that the female viewer must experience the narrative secondarily by identification with the male.”

My work re-creates the various themes that are looked at in this theory, my work features a lead heterosexual male who goes around showing his alpha male like dominance which re-establishes the many different parts of this theory. My project doesn’t contain woman at all, in fact woman aren’t even mentioned as I feel like it would just end up coming across incredibly cliché and lacklustre as everyone has seen it before where the strong male lead is trying to fight for the attention and love of a female and knowing my target audience who are mostly students they would piece together my work to like that of those films if I just had a glimpse of a female in it. It might be a really sexist thing to say but I don’t think my target audience would be as in touch with my work if it was a female as my lead role as the way they are portrayed in other forms of media that is similar to mine show them as really frail and more in touch of their emotions more than anything else, whereas my character reacts more to his instinct and reacts in the moment without thinking and without feeling which is something I would find to be really hard to display had a female been involved.

My Magazine Cover Influences

When i was considering the various different ways in which i can portray my movie magazine straight away all i could think of was Empire and how they present themselves in such a professional way that makes it if not the best form of magazine when you are looking for a movie magazine you react instantaneously whenever it is mentioned as it is a household name that has a signature font and its masthead/logo is easily recognisable as it is big bold and stands out. Empire was my inspiration for my magazine as i sometimes flick through it and  have a clear indication of their content  and how they go about portraying it so i knew how to structure my work around Empire, it was almost like i was using it as a template to help construct ideas and see what i can come up with.

When doing my initial research i already knew at this point  that Empire was my main goal however i still wanted to play around with a couple of thins which is here i came across GQ magazine which features a very bold and professional look to it that you could only find in certain magazines, almost everyone on the cover for those magazines are well groomed strong males that  are wearing suits, which is where i had an idea to do a different spin on my idea and to have my man actor pose a certain way that allowed him to look incredibly professional and for him to hold certain props that give you a different idea that he isn't as good as he looks.

Final Script

All of the script is narrated by the main character of my trailer and will be said through the entirety of the trailer.

Just a hired gun

For awhile a hired gun is all that i was but with a difference

I had a conscience

I would work for possibly the worst people in the world who have no remorse for their actions, I would never question what they asked me to do.

I'm out of the business now though i have a new profession and that's being the most violent man in England.

 

You see no one can touch me no matter who you are or whatever you do for a living there is no middle ground i aint scared of no one.

 

You may ask why i do what i do and the simple answer is this, you see in order to keep my conscience from putting negative thoughts in my head and overall putting a real downer on my day i have to cause physical violence i don't know how it works something to do with the adrenaline pumping i think.

 

I cant remember the last time my conscience started spewing nonsense into my head about how the man i used to be actually had remorse for what he did, sometimes i can hear the voice in my head reminding me questioning me about what i do but still its just that a voice and im the one who gets an overall say in it all.

 

(end in laughter)



Contacting Actors

I have texted my friends pretty much every Sunday for the past couple of weeks to get my filming for my trailer finished, these are screen shots of some of the texts that i sent to my friends to sort

out filming and to see if they are available.

Filming Progress

As of 15/1/14 i am about half way through my filming, so far i have collected a los of shots that will be used at the beginning of my trailer which will be used in black and white. Most of the shots are going to be used for quick cuts mostly as i don't really want to spend a long time on what are basically flash backs that will be used within the first 30 seconds of my trailer.

I should have everything all filmed and sorted within 2 weeks depending on the weather if it happens to rain it will ruin my continuity so fingers crossed i will have clear weather to film the rest of my trailer.

Editing Choices Update 2

Once i started to experiment with different editing techniques i realised i could follow similar codes and conventions of other films that share the same genre as my film trailer, in my previous update i started to use such functions as Dip to Black and Black and White to display my beginning of my trailer to show the audience that it is in the past, now that i have sorted everything in order i need to add a couple more techniques in order to make my trailer look a lot more like a trailer. The following are new techniques that i have incorporated into my work.

Brightness and Contrast

For some of my scenes that involve my main character looking directly into the camera i have noticed that you can barely see him so with the use of the Brightness and Contrast option i can adjust the lighting of my shot and make it so that my main character is clearly visible, in fact i liked the new form of lighting so much that i added it to all of my shots that aren't used as a flashback as the new lighting makes my film look a lot more real and gritty and really gives it that British feel which is exactly what i want.


Incorporating Text

For the last part of my trailer i need to incorporate text into my trailer such as reviews and comments by news papers and peers, i have tried to keep the text the same as my other tasks so that it gives my film an identity.



Dissolve 

I got to a part in my trailer where i was stuck as to how i could switch in-between scenes without it looking stupid, this is when i experimented around with different editing techniques and i managed to use the dissolve technique to switch between scenes to make it look a lot better.







Adding in images 
I have realised that i need to include things in my trailer such as my production company and the red band trailer certificate. I have simply just dragged an image into my Premiere pro and from there i can edit it into my work and add effects onto the image to make it better and fit in with the trailer.

My Main Product Influences

When considering different ways in which i can make my movie trailer i was mostly set on a certain path because of films or film trailers that i have previously seen or looked at when researching different trailers to try and make mine similar or to follow the same codes and conventions.

My film trailer was heavily based upon the film Bronson and its various trailers. The way that Tom Hardy plays the character of Charlie Bronson was what lead me to create my main character for my trailer and to also share some of his traits and beliefs especially when it comes to causing physical violence without having any regrets from the acts of violence he has caused.

Between scenes of where Bronson causes violence he speaks directly to the audience and discusses how he feels and his beliefs towards certain things, this is an idea that i loved as having my main actor Joe narrate over the entirety of the trailer makes it set the mood for the film itself and to also  give the viewer an idea of what's going on otherwise it would just be a trailer of something that stats in black and white then changes into colour and then has Joe beating up people in various different ways and then laughing about it.

When watching my trailer you can obviously tell that there are multiple different things that are similar  to that of the Bronson trailer such as things like the text based on a true story and then certain shot types like the tracking shot/low angle shot.



Another thing that influenced my character in my trailer was the character of Trevor in the game Grand Theft Auto V. I know that its a video game and that it has nothing to do with films but the character of Trevor is unstable, unpredictable and has no remorse for his actions which is something that i liked a lot as it shows that the character has nothing to lose and will do anything he wants whenever he wants.

My Poster Influences

Seeing as I wanted to go for something incredibly professional for my magazine cover I decided that my poster needs to be something that reflects more of the theme of my actually main product as posters do tend to be the main way that people dictate what the film is like depending on the actual poster, it needs to be eye catching and it needs to display the certain themes of the actual thing that its promoting. With that being said I looked at a various set of posters going through pages and pages of images trying to find a poster that looked similar to the idea that I had in my head which is when I came across the first Star Trek film poster which I was immediately interested by. The poster features the three main characters all staring forward with different facial expressions which made me think about how to structure my work so that it resembles this. I want to keep a certain correlation between my work but whenever I can I like to play around with the already contrived conventions which is where I came up with the idea to feature just one character but to play with the idea of multiple personalities or different times id feature him three times with different facial expressions. This idea is incredibly eye catching as at first glance you consider them to be different people but after closer inspection you realise that they are the same person which I find to be an incredible idea and an opportunity to really highlight some of the themes of my actual product and it’s all thanks to the Star Trek poster.

Main Title Font

I want my main finished products to have some continuity between them that allows me to maybe try something a little different with one of my auxiliary tasks, I’m thinking about doing something that resembles a professional magazine cover. I want a font that clearly tells you straight away what sort of genre is being portrayed and exactly what is the font tied in with, a better way of explaining this would be to say that if you were to see a certain film and it has a specific unique font you associate that font with that film so when you see it elsewhere you recognise the film that used the font which makes it very memorable and adds to the value of the actual product as you will always remember it for its sense of style used in its font.

1. Heist- Adobe Fan Heiti Std B
2. Heist- Adobe Gothic Std B
3. Heist- Britannic Bold
4. Heist- Bernard MT Condensed
5. Heist- Castellar
6. Heist- Gloucester MT Extra Condensed

 

1. The very first font I looked at was the Adobe Heiti Std B font which at first looked very good and professional but I didn’t feel like it was edgy enough it was a little too plain.

2. This font was pretty much the same as the one I looked at before only bolder which I thought gave it a little more edge, unfortunately it didn’t and it just made it look too dark and without refined edges which is something I want for the final font.

3. This font was a lot more in touch with what I want the only problem is that it was far too dark, which actually is a good thing just it looks too fat and I want it to be thinner.

4. I was quite happy with this font as it was pretty close to what I wanted however I felt like it was too tall and it needed to have something special about it to make it stand out and this font is pretty generic.

5. I went completely off the wall with this one I wanted to see if something more ancient Rome would help give my work an identity unfortunately it didn’t really work so I decided not to have it.

6. This final font is everything I want, it has a very simplistic style, it has a very good way of catching someone’s attention, the H and the smaller letters that follow could give people the idea that it is significant and finally it fits perfectly with the various things I want to do when it comes to doing my final products.

A good example of where the Font can define a product is the series of Spiderman films. Every Spiderman film has used the same sort of similar font that resembles that of a spider’s web which is also tied into the film.

With that being said I wanted my font to resemble something that represented what you link a heist with a sort of really professional italic like font that has multiple different meanings that all come together. I looked at a couple of different fonts to see which would be the best to implement into my work and i found Glouchester MT Extra Condensed which is everything i wanted for my main font.

 

 

 

 

Flat Plans for my Movie Poster

The layout that im going for this is not what you would consider a bog standard poster, i want to have something that reflects that of my work which is a collection of different genres all harmonising into one which is where i came up with this idea of having this layout featured as my main auxiliary poster.

Main Image x3- The reason behind me using 3 images as my overall main image is to bring light to the fact that my work isn't something that you see everyday and that the poster and magazine cover should tell you that if you haven't seen the trailer, a good clever witty poster can bring attention to the actually film itself. The three images will feature my main character in three distinct poses that all reflect parts of his personality at different stages of his life, so i will have an image where he is wearing his mask as hat is the earliest representation of him in my film, to then him looking sort of depressed to represent him during his denial stage of his life, to  which then leads to where he is now so i need an image of him looking sort of crazy maybe a smirk of some kind. The final image should be in the middle of the poster and should be in front of the other images to tell the audience that this is the best representation of what he looks like in the present and also the most important stage of his life as my entire film will be focused on this part of his life.

Film Title- My font has already been chosen for my title as mentioned in a previous blog post, the Gloucester MT Extra Condensed font chosen is a very unique style of font that im hoping will give my work an identity that will exceed past my film itself and will stick in peoples heads. To keep with similar codes and conventions i am going to place the title in the middle of the page just below my centred main image as it coincides with the image and will lead to some interesting interpretations for anyone looking at the poster.

Actors Name- To keep up with the level of professionalism that my work has i am going to put the main actors name above the film title to make sure that it looks like something you would see for an actual movie poster. I also believe doing this that the actors name will make the film title seem like it is in the right place as without the actors name i feel like something is missing.

Credit Box- As with every movie poster my poster will feature accredit box that features the production studio, the director, the producer and actors etc. I am following set codes and conventions that have been used for pretty much every movie poster i have seen hence why the credit box is  right at the bottom.

Flat Plans for Magazine Cover

The layout for my magazine cover is one that is pretty standard it is something that you would normally see on a daily basis, this is the vibe i wanted to put across with my work as it varies differently for what i want to do with my poster. The professional approach of this piece of work is what will make it stand out especially when you put my work together and look at them all together.

Masthead- the masthead is basically as simple as it comes in terms of placement, like Empire magazine the masthead goes from left to right and its width goes from one side to the other making it one of the focal points of the cover. The masthead is usually the main reason as to why people buy a certain magazine as it gives it an identity and the location of the masthead is following those codes and conventions as moving it to another location would be stupid.

Main Image- The main image is the main attraction for a magazine as the image will most likely be the main reason someone buys your magazine. I chose to keep up my professional approach by putting the main image right in the middle as it is usually the first thing people see when they look at a magazine, the main image will be quite big and will take up the most space on the cover which will be fully edited to make it look very professional and clear.

Main Sell Line- The main sell line will be featured pretty much in the centre of the magazine just below the main image as it is the only form of sell line to once again stress the fact that this is a professional style magazine.

Barcode- The barcode is located in the bottom right as it isn't really the main point of the magazine and is really only there for the store who sell the magazine to scan them. I will make the barcode the smallest part of the cover to highlight some of the better parts of the cover.

Essential Info- The essential info will be used in a very unexpected place, i got the idea for this from a specific Empire magazine cover where the essential info was placed in the space between the two parts of the letter M and seeing as my magazines name is TMOVIES i felt like it was only necessary to place the essential info in a place where you wouldn't expect. The location also tucks it away not so much as to where you cant see it but so much so that the main image and the main sell line are the main attraction.

Final Company Logo

Company Name- Topple Productions

Font- Rockwell
Font Size- 24

This is the final fully finished logo for my production company, the company is called Topple Productions and my logo features a spinning top which will later be animated to where it fades in to focus then out of focus, to give it some life.

Making My Company Logo

This is the original image that i took from google i then just incorporated it into my Photoshop file.

I then decided to play around with the exposure tool to try and make it look more presentable and more artistic. 

I added the text Topple Productions into my logo the font used is Rockwell as i felt like it fit the purpose of the logo. 

The next thing that i changed was i edited the vibrance on the image to make it more dull. 

To make the image as clear as possible i used the posterize tool and put it as far as it can go.

I then used the gradient map tool to make the image more black and white to make it a lot more serious. 

I finally used the exposure tool again this time to really highlight the shadows of the spinning top, I wanted a really serious production company and i feel like this logo delivers on that.