First Film Poster Draft

Production Company Logo

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Cast Shots and Location Shots

Unedited Photos

Trailer Prep

What do you need to ensure before and during shooting?
Cast - Are they ready? Do they know when to meet?
Locations - Do you have permission if needed? Have you done a 'reccy' to ensure suitability?
Equipment - Battery charged, tripod, lighting
Props and Costume
Transportation - How are you going to get to your locations
Budget - Are you going to pay for cast's travel expenses?
Camera Techniques - Practise before getting on set, Youtube is your cinematography friend!
Watch trailers!!!

Organisation of group
Everyone should be at the shoot!!!
Time - After school? During media lessons? Weekends?
Roles - Director, Producer, Camera operator, Editor

Tasks to do
Storyboard
Complete list of shots as a group
Locations - Organised and Permission to film
Cast - Find and organise
Costume and Props - Gathered and discussed in sketches, images on blog
Equipment - Booked and borrowed
Be organised

Planning Evidence

• Trailer plot outline
• Storyboards
• Script
• Shot lists
• Production company logo
• Cast and crew shots
• Location shots
• Behind the scene shots or video footage - vlogs

Film Poster Sketch // Flat Plan

Inspirational Film Posters

Questionnaire Analysis

Questionnaire

Create your own user feedback survey

Interview

Front Cover Sketch // Flat Plan

Headline Designs

Masthead Designs

Front Cover Ideas

The masthead is ‘Flick’; I decided to name the magazine this because according to my research Flick was a slang term used for ‘Film’, which was first attested in 1926. This proves it’s related to film and makes it suitable for a film a magazine. The masthead will be placed at the top of the magazine; it will also be the boldest and largest font on the magazine.

The headline will be the second largest text on the front cover and it will be the name of the film which is 'Vengeance'. Vengeance refers to a revenge against a person due to their wrong doing, which links to the plot of our film. As it is a psychological thriller the font will match this genre, this means it will symbolise some kind of mystery. This will be done using a bold font containing letter decay.

In terms of the subheading I will use a bold font to link to the seriousness within the film. This will allow the headline to stand out more compared to rest of the text on the front cover.

Front Cover Collage

Flim Treatment

Basic plot synopsis:

It starts with a boy Alexander Johnson who starts off his daily routine of turning his alarm clock off, slipping his feet into slippers, pouring breakfast into his bowl, turning the bath tap off, buckling his belt then slamming the door shit. A transition is made to a bus stop where he is approached by a group of bullies before a screen blackout to the aftermath of him lying in a hospital bed being hovered over his parents who are outraged by the ordeal. After this, scenes go to a courts scene where the bully is with his solicitor who says the vital words “you got lucky this time under the child crime prevention act 625, next time I don’t think I can save you..” which is the cue to fast forward to the current states of the bully and the victims and we get a glimpse of the life the bully is living in particular in comparison to the bully. We see the bully in his work environment and working hard with his colleagues at work living a stress free lifestyle however, his phone constantly rings off which is now causing him paranoia but it starts off small. He lives with his family of four at home and live a perfectly normal family life, however him and his wife are still bickering over his paranoia and she the thinks that the mysterious calls are from his mistress or someone else in his life that he is keeping away from his wife which leads to their relationship issues. He begins to have mini panic attacks and sees somebody who tells him he is anxious and if he has any concerns or anything bothering him etc. A few days go past and his daughter and her friends are walking to a party where the bully creeps up behind them and kidnaps the daughter and takes her to his house where she calls him on this unknown number and the dad finally picks up and she says “Dad, I am okay I won’t be home for a few days but I am okay. See you soon.” He immediately goes to the police station and reports this but their efforts with this is not enough so he takes it up himself. The bickering with his wife gets worse and she decides to leave the household – his work colleague decides to stay with him where he and she develop a strong relationship for one another which becomes an intimate relationship. They begin to investigate everything by themselves and go through many trials and tribulations to find out what exactly is going on around the bully and his life which takes them too many different locations and situations. A meeting with the bully and his childhood friends leads to one of them giving the bully a letter that someone gave him on the street saying “ See you soon, boxhead” – This is the moment of realisation that it must be the victim they bullied when they were younger at this moment all their phones ring on no caller ids.. A party scene follows later and everything is going well, the lights go off and the word boxhead appears on the walls, floors, people receive texts saying boxhead and boxhead becomes noticeable everywhere. The bully has enough of this and the rest unfolds.. 

What type of characters will be in the film?

Main Characters

Alexander Johnson - The protagonist he has high hope for his future. His name connotes as 'the defender of man' which fits perfectly with his personality.

Darnell - This name symbolises 'secret' and 'hidden' which can suggest his personality as someone who is an introvert and like to exclude himself from the others, showing his differences and a sense of outcast as he doesn't appear at all in the trailer, only when he was young and was constantly bullied. Therefore that's all the audience knows about Darnell.

Brionna - The name connotes to a flowering vine. This can reflect on her as a character as she, herself is trying to grow and heal from her past, as seen on the trailer that it haunts her and the daunting past is brought to life as she thinks she's going mad again.

What conventions of the genre will be included in your trailer?

A flashback will be used.The trailer will include quick cuts in order to create a panic effect for the audience. It will begin with long scenes but as it gets to the end the use of a montage will create excitement. Inter-titles will be used, it will include words and phrases such as ''don't/ look/ back/ at your/ past/'', ''Is your past/ inextricably linked with your/ future?''

Where will your trailer be set? What other aspects of mise-en-scene do you need to consider?

The trailer would be set in East-London, mainly at St Bons Comprehensive school as this is the school he studied. The main bullying takes action within a gym changing room. In his later stages in life, as he grows to be a successful man, we've decided to set most of the scene in Central London with the cityscape, this connotes to wealth, businessmen and to present his character as someone who is well educated with the illusion of 'the perfect life'. With that being said, Johnson's character would have to be well dressed and is frequently in suits to represent this middle class man. In terms of lighting, we want to mainly use natural gloomy light with low saturation, to foreshadow the dilemma of the story.

Front Cover Analysis:

Poster Analysis: Se7en

Trailer Analysis: Se7en

• The trailer begins with mid shots of 2 male characters in action. This can be seen as an introduction of the two suggesting that they work together. The use of quick cuts to focus on different objects, such as a body, an open window and a glass links to the genre of the film which is psychological thriller and crime fiction.   

• Low-key lighting is used in scenes when the detectives are at work, This emphasises the mystery and gloominess of their jobs, This contrasts with the high-key lighting used in the detectives house and this may show that the seriousness and darkness of their jobs are left on the doorstep and within their household is where their happiness is maintained.

• The weather in the trailer is constantly rainy and cloudy; this creates a dull and gloomy atmosphere. 

• Throughout the trailer, there are props used that are associated with the crime genre, these are guns and torches. Lose ups of these props could represent the violence that may take place within the film. There has also been a use of blue infrared lights, which are usually used in investigations. In one scene of the trailer the infrared light reveals the words ‘Help me’. This is intriguing for the audience and keeps them engaged.

• A voice over has been used throughout the trailer. The voice over begins by describing one detective as ‘looking for a way out’ and the other as ‘looking for a way in’, then sums them both up as ‘caught in a game’. This suggests that they are in some kind of trouble.

• The trailer contains many onomatopoeic sound transitions between clips; this gets the audience jumping and generally makes the trailer more exciting. The non-diegetic sound gets faster as we get to the end of the trailer; this creates excitement for the audience.

• The voice over states the names of the characters, this could be used to attract the audience.

• The use of inter-titles is effective. The inter-tiles state a number of words such as sloth, greed, pride and lust. The colour of the font is red, which is associated with danger and blood, this could signify what is going to be in the film.

Director Of Film Genre: David Fincher

David Fincher

David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American director and producer for films, television series and music videos. He was born in 1962 in Colorado, and first began taking interest in film when he was given a Super 8 camera at the age of 8. In 1983, after high school, Fincher worked for Korty films where he worked on the animated film Twice Upon a Time. He later co-founded the video-production company Propaganda Films and starting off directing music videos such as the R&B artist Jermaine Stewart "We don't have to take our clothes off". Mr Fincher also worked with big brand companies such as Sony, Chanel and Levis.

Awards:
David Fincher has 59 wins and 103 nomination, examples include:

2011 - Nominated (Oscar) - Best Achievement in Directing (The Social Network)
2009 - Nominated (Oscar) - Best Achievement in Directing (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

2015 - Nominated (Golden Globe) - Best Director - Motion Picture (Gone Girl)
2011 - Won (Golden Globe) - Best Director - Motion Picture (The Social Network)
2009 - Nominated (Golden Globe) - Best Director - Motion Picture (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Films:
David Fincher is known forthe movies:
Seven (1995)
Fight Club (1999)
Zodiac (2007)
The Social Network (2010)
Gone Girl (2015)

Poster Analysis: The Gift

Trailer Analysis: The Gift

• The use of cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing in this trailer gives the movie a sinister mood to it. This is highly effective for a film because the conventions fits the genre psychological thriller so it’s easy to establish and draws fans of psychological thrillers in to the film.

• The first shot from The Gift trailer is a close up of a ribbon, which audiences would automatically link to a present. This connotes that the present is significant in the film and is the root of the story line. It is also unexpected for something as friendly as a gift to turn out to be something with a dark twist to it making the story line unpredictable.

• The colour of the ribbon is red, which is associated with danger, aggression as well as sin. This is one of the signs that it could be dangerous. The red ribbon is repeatedly shown in different shots within the trailer, this could also link to the psychological aspect of the genre.

• At the beginning of the trailer, the music is calm and slow until the story picks up. Once the story picks up eerie non-diegetic sounds are used to create a disturbing atmosphere.

• The volume of the music in the background changes overtime, which could increase and decrease tension. The change in volume also creates panic as it creates a mysterious effect. 

• Inter-titles are used in the trailer. One inter-title said "From Blumhouse the producer of insidious", as insidious is a popular scary movie this could suggest to the audience that this movie has the same potential and will be as good as insidious.

• There is repetition of the phrase 'Let bygones be bygones' which means leave the past in the past. There is also repetition of the phrase 'Simon says' which is a well-known children’s game. Overall the repetition will play with the audiences mind and keep them intrigued, it also implies that the phrases are significant.

• The trailer contains a number of jump cuts as well as quick cuts. This creates a sense of panic for the audience as everything is moving fast. It also makes the film seem very active and implies chaos.

Conventions Of Psychological Thriller

The conventions of a psychological thriller incorporate elements from the mystery and drama genre, in addition to the typical traits of the thriller genre.

Mise-en-scene:
Shadows and low key lighting - These conventions are used to add and create tension to the scene for the audience. They also represent the mood of the character or atmosphere of the scene or location at the specific time.

Costume - Characters in a psychological thriller are usually dressed casually or smartly as the locations are mostly set in a modern setting.

Location - Psychological thrillers are conventionally set in a family home, mostly where the family have just recently moved in to. They could also be set in an empty outdoor area to emphasise the mystery within the genre.

Sound:
The sound within a psychological thriller is commonly eerie and slow, this is used to build up tension, suspense and create a sense of fear.

Cinematography/Editing:
Quick cuts - This refers to numerous shots within a scene, in a brief duration. This is usually used to create panic.

Close up shots - This is a frame which tightly frames a person or object. In psychological thrillers this is typically used to emphasise the facial expressions of a character, enhancing their fear or anger. It is also used to emphasise the importance of an object.

Flashbacks - These are scenes in the films which are set at an earlier time. This is used to show what previously happened, giving the audience an insight into the characters past and showing us why they may act how they do.

Genre Mood Board: Psychological Thriller

Trailer Analysis: The Woman In Black

The trailer begins by introducing the audience to the setting, through a number of shots such as mid shots and long shots. These shots are accompanied by non-diegetic sounds made by the toys in different areas of the room. This immediately gives the target audience a disturbed atmosphere.

A child, using a voice over, narrates the trailer. The child narrates the story line in the form of a poem/ nursery rhyme, which can be identified due to the rhyming and constant pace of the speech. The use of a child and narration in the form of a nursery rhyme connotes innocence however by looking at the location of the trailer it makes the audience rather suspicious and engaged. In the voice over the word 'she' is repeated, this could link to the title of the trailer 'The Women In Black' as we could instantly assume the women is who is being referred to.

Diegetic sounds of the wind, rain, lightening and the slamming of objects associate the scenes within the trailer. These sounds are effectively used and repeated to create a sense of unease and discomfort.

As we get closer to the end of the trailer, the pace of the different scenes increases. The use of quick cuts creates and builds tension for the target audience as well as a sense of fear. The trailer also shows snippets the more active and exciting scenes at the end of the trailer, this is effective as they'll be memorable as well as attract the audience to watch the while film.