Post 17: Ancillary Task 2 - Film Reviews Part 1

For our second ancillary task we have to create a film review page. However this cannot be completed without looking at conventions of existing film reviews. To enhance my understanding I will be analysing a number of different reviews. I will take a closer look at the conventions used in newspapers, magazines and website reviews.

Industry Magazine - Sight & Sound

The first film review our class read was from the Sight & Sound industry magazine. The magazine doesn't normally do short films however had a special section dedicated to short films. After the class was put into groups, we had to analyse the review for the 2004 short film Frozen. We took down notes fro each paragraph and the conventions used in each. Below is a breakdown of each paragraph and what they say.

Frozen
Paragraph One

• Prize winner,
• Her first feature film,
• Where she is from,
• Where it was filmed.

Paragraph Two

• Setting up the scene,
• Character,
• "Offers an emotional.."

Paragraph Three

• Talking about character relationships,
• Kath and her feelings.

Paragraph Four

• Metaphor about the ice showing Kath could be trapped,
• Location filmed.

Paragraph Five

• Setting scene,
• Drama/Conventions.

Paragraph Six

• Summary,
• Audience,
• Location.

Paragraph one opens straight away giving us information about the director Juliet McKoen, getting straight to the point that this is a prize winning short film. This immediately grabs the attention of a reader as any short film winning an award must be worth a watch. While the first paragraph looks at the director, the next four speak about the short film. Paragraph two immediately introduces us to characters from Frozen, helping to set the scene. The next three paragraphs go on to the same however go into depth with character relationships including the genre and so forth. Paragraph six is a final summary of the short film looking at the audience and location. The synopsis at the bottom of the review is for a quick and easy understanding for a reader. This is a convention used on all of the other reviews I glimpsed at while looking through Sight & Sound.

The language used in Sight & Sound is aimed at a more educated audience. This means the wording used is at a higher quality. It is at a higher quality because the magazine is aimed at people in the business meaning the understanding as professionals has to be targeted. The niche film audience needs to be addressed correctly as it is such a minority. This is why a magazine review might be the best way to market our short films to professionals.

Newspaper - The Independent

The next source I used to read a film review was the newspaper. I looked at two different newspapers, the first being The Independent and its review of the 2010 British historical drama film The King's Speech. The Independent wrote a short review for the film which I took note from of all the conventions used. Below is a list of all the conventions I wrote down from the review.

• Image from the film,
• Title; "Firth's stammering monarch is a sh-sh-shoo-in for an Oscar nomination",
• Introduction with mention of an Oscar recognition,
• Description of films content
• Conclusion - mentioning the sucess it will have.

This is a quick film review however is sharp and quick to the point. In comparison to the Sight & Sound review this is easier to read. In my view this film review is an advertising and informative review. It shows the film in a bright light encouraging the reader to go see the film.

Newspaper - Guardian

The next newspaper I went on to read was The Guardian. I took a look at their film review for the Oscar nominated King's Speech. The article written by Peter Bradshaw looked into depth about the film unlike the Independent which was short but sharp. Once again I took note of the conventions, which are listed below.

• Image of protagonist from film,
• Description of film in title; "Colin Firth is the stuttering monarch and Helena Bonham Carter the future Queen Mother in a richly enjoyable drama. By Peter Bradshaw",
• Introduction - Setting,
• Paragraphs on the film,
• Little box - Production year, Countries, Run time, Directors, Cast,
• Conclusion - "Not every ones going to like this film"

The Guardians review is similar to The Independent in relation to the conventions. Comparing the conventions many are the same throughout. The only difference between the two is The Guardian has more content. However like The Independent is very different from the Sight & Sound review. This could be down to aiming the reviews to different audiences.

Websites - FilmGuru

After looking at newspapers i went on to look at a website called Film Guru. It was a film website writing reviews with the slogan "Millions of people see bad movies. Don't be one of them." I read their review for the short film I F*cking hate You. Below is a list of conventions the review used.

• Introduction - The writers thoughts,
• Description of film,
• Image from film,
• The writers thoughts.

This review is different to all the film reviews i have looked at before. This is because the website is a critical view of films with the writers, writing what they really think. In my view this is the most appealing because you know the review your getting is real.

The language used is dumbed down to target an audience of online users looking for a quick read review. It uses these words to appeal to a wider audience and not professionals in the business.

Layout Drafts

Layout idea One



Layout idea Two

In the two layout drafts i have decided that the picture will be the main focus point. This must grab the attention of an audience and will be the pulling factor for a reader towards the artical. I feel the writing must wrap around the films details as its must look proffessional to the eye. The writing will be in two collums both being different sizes so it isnt boring. The right hand side of the review will be other short film reviews. I will look on the internet to gain these and place them into my review page ensuring they keep to the design of the whole page.

Conclusion

After reading through all of the film reviews I feel the one which might be best to market our short film Karma in the form of a magazine. The two Internet websites, The Guardian and The Independent and the magazine review all target an educated audience. However the Sight & Sound magazine review, targets the professionals in the media world. These are the people I want to market my short film to. This is why i have chosen to follow the magazine style of writing and layout route. After taking notes from the review in Sight & Sound on Frozen I will closely follow this when writing my own review.

The reason why I have chosen not to choose the website style route is because it doesn't target my audience I need to target. The language used in the website review is not for an educated audience and most defiantly not for professionals. This would not target my niche audience and is the main reason why I have decided to follow the magazine route.

Post 16: Ancillary Task 1 - Postcards Part 1

Film Posters

Before we went on to look at advertising short films through postcards we looked at posters for films. Posters are mainly used for bigger films rather than short films. This is because of the budget restraint, posters are expensive to create which is why postcards are used. We looked at what a film poster would normally include. Below is a list of all the usual details you would generally see on a poster for a film;

• Name of film,
• Release date, 
• Images, 
• Slogan - 'Tag lines',
• Quotes from the film,
• Unique selling point,
• Style reflecting the drama,
• Actors names.

After this we was asked to find two film posters and analyse the conventions. Below is the two images with an explanation of their conventions.

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

This poster was from the 2008 return for the Batman film called The Dark Knight. From the first look at the poster we are immediately shown the protagonist of the film, Batman. He is looking down at the camera showing the dominance and power he has. We can see many of the conventions that would usually appear on a film poster. We soon assume from looking at this the film is going to be action packed shown by the burning building in the background. Next to the building there is a 'tag line' "Welcome To A World Without Rules." this pushes the idea the film is action packed but gives a sense there is going to be crime. The style of the poster very conventional reflecting the style of the film. Other conventions that are clear is the release date shown just below the name of the film and the actors names.

BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY (2001)

This poster is from the 2001 British romantic comedy film Bridget Jones's Diary. This poster uses many conventions I have spoke about. Like the Dark Knights poster we are immediately shown the main character/characters from the film. The image is conventional showing Bridget Jones with her diary and pen thinking about what she is going to write next, while behind her, the two men interested in her. The name of the film is directly under the photo with the 'tag line' "Uncensored, Inhibited, Unmarried". This reinforces the idea this film is going to be a romantic, however the quote at the top if the poster shows it also has a comedy element to it. The only unconventional element I didn't speak about before is the mention at the bottom about the makers. It mentions other films the creators have made, this is a cheap way of interesting a market they already have.

In comparison between the two posters there is not a lot of difference. Both use the conventions I have spoke about before. The Dark Knight was made on a budget of $185 million while Bridget Jones $26 million. This is a considerable difference however looking at the posters you would not be able to see the gap spent. However the films both reflect the style of their film attracting many interested viewers with the posters. 

Short films will find it very hard to release bold posters like these two mainly because of the small budgets they have. Many of the short film money comes from funding like the national lottery but this funding is not even close to the $185 million of the Dark Knight. Wasp a 23 minute short film was made on a budget of just over £53 thousand which is only a little snip-it of the two films I looked at regarding film posters.  

Film Postcards

After looking at films posters we came onto postcards made for short films with smaller budgets. We spoke about the conventions and what is included on a postcards. Below is a list of the conventional elements you would usually find on a postcard;

• Info
• Website link,
• Designed by, 
• Description of film,
• Duration,
• Who sponsored,
• Style from front to back - kept same,
• Personal design.

Straight away we can see the conventions of a postcard are very different to a film poster. Postcards generally have less info than big film posters this is because there is less space to fit it all on. But we already see many elements like the duration of the short film and who sponsored the film are conventional while these would never be seen on a film poster. Postcards are very direct and the people making them know who their target audience are. Below are a few examples of postcards for short films.

This first image shows how less info but a good use of photos can still make the poster intriguing.

The back of a postcard can be used for all the detail. It can also be the perfect place to write a message when sending it to a target audience member. Other uses can be the use of them at film festivals. For instance information about the short film can be included, including the duration, cast and when it is being held at a festival.

Researching into film posters and postcards was a great way of learning the conventions of them both. This would help me when I came to creating my own postcards. Looking at examples gave me ideas and inspired me to go and create my own for our A2 short film.  

Below is draft designs of the Postcards I created for our short film;

Design One

For design one i used a large and bold title to grasp the attention of an audience when they first took a look at the postcard. My background will be a picture of the grass from the alley way scene with iPod headphones coming in from the top. The quote "What goes around comes around" is a message from the film and will be placed on the postcard just under the big title Karma.

The back is very conventional and i have used many of the techniques previous designs on postcards have used. For instance the backs main function is for writing. I put the postcard designers name through the middle to separate it into two parts. Like the second postcard i looked at earlier on in the post i included the main people involved in the creating of the short film. I also used the same convention of showing the production company's logo. This was the logo i made earlier on in the project hoping to use it on my postcards etc. I felt the back was the place where information could be placed on this postcard for all the details of the short film.



Design Two

Design two was very similar to design one. On the front of design two I want to take the atmosphere from the film and put it onto a postcard. With this in mind I intend to have a conventional picture of the letter Lucieanne picks out of the coat pocket on one of the alley way scenes. The letter will be on the floor open with Lucieannes headphones coming in from the corner of the picture. After this has been taken I hope to take put the picture on photo plus and play around with the lighting settings. This will help create the atmosphere I want to show through the postcard. Also on photo plus I intend to insert the name of the film Karma. This is going to be small and placed in the top right hand corner of the postcard.

The back is similar to my design one. I like the idea of being able to write to someone on the back which is why I used it on design two as well. Like design one it includes the director, produced by and the production company logo. This was my other logo design I created. However on this design i inserted the year of release for the short film. I have seen this used of other postcards and wanted to incorporate it somewhere on this design. The back on this design has been created to address a specific person or alternatively to be used for writing at film festivals.

Design Three

For design three I took a lot of inspiration from the first postcard I looked at earlier on in the post. I liked the little use of writing and effective use of photos. I believe the photos i have chosen to take are appealing and effective to an audience viewing the postcards. The front page includes a simple but effective photo of our actor Lucieanne. She is looking nervous, fragile and scared and i hoped this would show a little bit about the short film without giving too much away. I also included the name of the film and production company logo. 

The back is once again a simple but effective photo. The photo used will be of the alley way - an important location in the film. The inspiration i took from the first postcard design from earlier on in the blog, made me want to create a postcard with both sides used as images. On the back of this design i also included the key names in the production and name of film.

My other postcard designs;

Design Four

Design Five

Feedback

After asking a group of about 11-12 to give me their feedback on their favorite design it was clear to see which one the group liked the most. Design three got the most praise. The feedback I got from the group will help me when I come to choose a design to create. When asking questions to why the people who choose design three choose it I got the same answer. It was because the main character of the film was used in the picture. My feedback has told me my final postcard must have a image of my protagonist Lucieanne.

Below is a video of one of the group members I questioned on my different postcard designs explaining why he choose postcard design three.



Conclusion
 Looking at the conventions and examples of existing postcards has enabled me to create my own. I realised the importance of using them instead of film posters. By looking at film posters I have been able to realise the difference between the two. I will use my knowledge and understanding when i finally come to creating them on photo plus.

After creating these five postcard designs I hope to go on and choose one to actually create. The audience feedback has helped greatly in deciding which ones I should automatically not use. This final postcard design possibly might be all of these design incorporated into one. However I feel after getting feedback I must listen to what has been said and keep them thoughts in mind when creating. I will go on to create my final design on photo plus.

The postcards are a key way of marketing our short film to an audience. As postcards are aimed at a specific audience, creating a successful one for that group of people is vital. The need for creating postcards is very important as its one of the easiest ways of advertising. I hope to use this marketing strategy to reach out to our niche audience. This appropriate use of marketing will hopefully be successful and gain our short film Karma an audience.

Post 15: Reflecting on Theory

In previous posts I have looked at the three different theory's, Genre theory, Narrative theory and Audience theory. For post 15 I have been asked to reflect on the theory's thinking about how they can/t be applied to our short films and plans we are making. This is also an important blog post in preparation for our media exam in the summer.

Genre was the first theory we looked at, ("Genre theory is used in the study of films in order to facilitate the categorization of films. Genre are dependent on various factors such as story line, whom the director is, what are the audience expectations et cetera. In using genre theory we create a short cut in how we are to describe films. Genre theory through it's use is a method of shortening academic works.") Source

I looked at this theory in post 4, speaking a lot about Robert Altman's, Neale and Hartley's opinions. Looking at some of Robert Altman's views on genre i believe many can be applied to our A2 media short film. One of his views is "That genres are defined by producers and are easily recognised by audiences.". I believe this is a very important view we should try use in our short film. This is because after looking at short films in post 5,6 and 7 I learnt it is key for the audience to know what genre it is as the film is so brief. One way we can do this is with our lighting. After looking at lighting in previous posts I believe we can use what we have learnt to help change the lighting to create an atmosphere. This will not only create an atmosphere but will help show the genre of the short film - relating back to Altman's view genres can be recognised by audiences.

Robert Altman (1925-2006)  - American film director.

In the lead up to post 4 on genre our class also had a discussion on Tomato puree. We was asked were it would be found in a supermarket, then what would happen if it was placed on a different shelf in a supermarket. After this discussion I had to blog post my thoughts on how this could relate to film. I came up with the idea on actors. For instance if X actor was not chosen for X film would the audience for that film still be the same. One of the examples i came up with was would as many girls go to see Twilight if Taylor Lautner wasn't chosen to star in the film. I believe this cant be applied to our short film we are creating. This is because we have not had the joy of choosing an actor out of hundreds or thousands of people. We had to choose an actor who wanted to act and who was also willing to give up some of their free time. However I believe our lead actor is a great choice for the short film we are creating.

Tom Hanks - Audience hit.

Our short film Karma is being packaged and marketed to appeal to a teenage audience. The pre-production work, postcards and so forth have been designed to appeal successfully to this group of people. The genre is a drama. From family issues to bulling our short film is a hard hitting short film looking at real life situations.

The next theory we have spoke about earlier on in the year was narrative theory. ("In media terms, narrative is the coherence/organisation given to a series of facts. The human mind needs narrative to make sense of things. We connect events and make interpretations based on those connections. In everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end. We understand and construct meaning using our experience of reality and of previous texts. Each text becomes part of the previous and the next through its relationship with the audience.") Source

After looking at genre theory we went on to look at a narrative theory PowerPoint. Once again we looked at different theorists such as Julian McDougall. On the first slide of the presentation there was a quote saying "In everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end.". I believe this can be applied to our short film. I think our film has a starter, while including a action filled middle finished by an ending which leaves the audience in deep thought. Our starter was outlining the problem Lucieanne has at home with the closeup of the door with shouting over the top. The middle is filled with bulling scenes with Lucieanne being the bully and victim. While by the end she turns into the victim. I think its important we have this structure and keeping to the storyboards/shot lists will help us do this.

Following on from this we was introduced to another slide on narrative conventions. The four conventions were Genre, Character, Form and Time. These four conventions are important as they help an audience interperate a text. Once again this relates back to genre theory and how important it is for an audience to understand what is happening very quickly. I believe these conventions can defiantly be applied to our short film. All of the four conventions will help the understanding of our audience enhancing the pleasure when viewing the short film.

For our film Karma the storyline is very important. It is one way to grip the attention of our audience. How it is told can be enhanced by using many of the conventions we have learnt. Editing the final cut will help us show a storyline by playing around with how it is told.

The third and final theory we spoke about was Audience theory. ("Audience theory provides a starting point for many Media Studies tasks. Whether you are constructing a text or analysing one, you will need to consider the destination of that text (i.e. its target audience) and how that audience (or any other) will respond to that text.") Source

To improve our understanding on audience theory we was placed into groups and had to create a presentation. Our group did ours on David Gauntlett - Critism of the effects model. This improved our understanding, and was an early learner to helping us create our short films. Audiences have different views. This comes from how they interpret a text given to them. Our group of four must make sure the audience for our short film interprets Karma well. Click the link to view the presentation.
Audience Theory Presentation

From the first slide we found out Andrew Hart believes that audiences are vital in communication, if it wasn't for the audiences media wouldn't exist. After reading through the slide I believe this one jumped out at me. This is because we are making our short film to communicate to an audience. Communication is vital if we want our short film Karma to be successful. In the last few months I have learnt many ways to communicate to an audience but i believe our filming and editing will play a big part in communication to an audience. This is because if both are not completed to a high standard an audiences interest will not be there. When we do come to filming and editing i will be thinking about the audience, including how they would perceive it when watching Karma.

Further on in the slides I found out theorists Blumler and Katz suggested there are four main needs for audiences. These are Diverson, Personal relationships, personal identity and Surveillance. I believe our film cant show diverson which is escaping the pressures of everyday. This is because our short film looks at bulling and other problems. While personal identity on the other hand is a great way of communication to an audience. Our audience is going to be aimed at teenagers. With Lucieanne a school girl this is one way a viewer would be able to compare their life's with hers. Personal identity takes me back to communicating and this is one way our character who plays Lucieanne will have to relate to an audience.

Representation Theory & Media Language
The two remaining topics we have yet to speak about are Representation theory and Media language. These two topics are due to come up in the exam so it is very important I research into them both.

Representation Theory - ("Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.") Source

Media Language - ("Any specialized form of discourse has its own unique language and media literacy is no exception. Even experienced media teachers are often bewildered by the seemingly interchangeable terminology used by writers and speakers in the field.") Source

Post 14: Pre-Production Documentation

Script - 'Karma'
This was the final draft of our short film script named Karma. Completed by group member Emily, the group had numerous discussions on how the script could be improved. This was the final outcome;

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Shot List

The first piece of work I did for the pre-production was the shot list. To do this shot list I looked at the script and wrote down every shot there was. These had to be separated by scenes and shot numbers. After finishing the first draft i had a discussion with my group members to see whether anything needed changing. By the end the changes we spoke about making were more shots. Almost every scene had more shots added to it to add to the atmosphere we want to create in our film. This atmosphere we want to create is frightening and nerve racking and felt adding more shots would help create this;

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Storyboards

The storyboards were the lead off from creating the shot lists. The storyboards were straight forward however took a lot of time and effort to complete them. I completed the description on the storyboards.

As a group we all worked together to draw out the images once the storyboards had been complete. The only problem we had with the storyboards was getting the drawings done on time which took a while to finish. Each group member did four pages each of drawing for the pictures to the description;

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Production Name

A production name was needed for the film and a design to go with it. I created the name 'ThaT Production Company' with a logo to go with it. This can be used when creating the postcards and so on. I created a few logos and asked for class members opinions. After the feedback was around 50/50 i decided both of the designs can be used at various stages in the project if needed;

Location Recce
The location recce is set of panorama images of all the locations our group will be filming. The reason behind doing a recce is to make sure all the areas of filming have been examined and thought about. After our group director Emily chose the locations, our other group member Carolyn, took the photos and edited them;

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Costume and Props
It was important to look at this subject before as it would help us when we came to preparing to film. The costume and props were put into a table for each scene, for each character. These were completed by group member...

Mood Boards

The mood boards were created to further our understanding of the protagonist in our short film Lucieanne. These were completed by group member Carolyn;

Technical Recce
The technical recce was a follow on from the location recces and looked at them in more detail. These were completed by member Sohail;

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Actor Profiles
The actor profiles were created to aid our director Emily when she needed essential information quickly about her actors. The profiles were created by Carolyn;

Shooting Schedule

The shooting schedule was created to ensure the group is organised and ready for filming.

Camera Pre-practice

After being chosen to be the camera man in our group it was important I learnt how to set up and use the expensive piece of equipment. The first demonstration for using the camera was the basic setting up. This will help me when I come to filming and will not waste time when on set trying to figure out how to use set up and use the camera. We recorded ourselves showing us;
Setting up the tripod;



Putting the base-plate on the camera, putting the camera on the tripod, attaching the battery and inserting the tape;



Setting up the recording format to 16:9;



The next stage of the camera test was recording with the camera to demonstrate the skills we have learnt. What we had to demonstrate in this recording was the zoom, NDs and colour balances. The whole point of doing this experiment was to help us when we came to filming for our A2 film. If I have learnt anything from doing this it would be remembering to change the recording format to 16.9. As I did not change it to do the experiment this is a key learner to remember the correct recording format when filming for our short film.
Recording test;




The final test we did on the camera was the 85 filter experiment. What we had to show was what the camera looked like indoors and outdoors with an 85 filter and with and without. This will help me when I come to film for our group short film as I have learnt the 85 filter will help enhance the lighting.



Sound Pre-practice
As group member Sohail was chosen to be in charge of the sound it was vital he learnt the basics pre-filming. Sohail and two classmates had to demon-straight how to set up the sound equipment. This was important as everyone in the group needed to know their role. Below is one of the videos Sohail featured in. The rest of the sound clips can be found on Sohail's post 14 which has been linked at the bottom of this post.
Setting up the sound;



Links to group members pre-production documentation;
Carolyn Thornton
Emily Downer
Sohail Sadiq