Evaluation

I believe that my magazine cover and film poster resembled the real media product very well. By using fonts that I spent time looking for on the internet, I was able to create professional looking titles and texts. However I feel that my trailer was lacking in comparison to real media products, but I do feel this is mainly because I did not have the resources that a professional would have on demand. As I only had a camera and a tripod, the camera shots I was able to do were very limited.

I think that my ancillary texts and my main product tie together really well. All products involve the main character in different poses and locations. Also the film poster and trailer go very well together as they're both so dark. The magazine cover is slightly different to the other two pieces, however I do not feel like this is a problem as the character is still wearing the same clothes and looks very much in character.

I posted my media products on to my blog on tumblr.com and this also posted them on to the social networking site Facebook. Within minutes I already had plenty of audience feedback commenting on the quality and realistic look of my media products. Some people mentioned, and I agreed, that my trailer needed a little bit more action involved to keep the audience interested.

I used my camera and computer pretty much for all my media products. The Canon EOS 7D was a massive help in creating a professional look to my ancillary texts and my macbook was very handy for the editing process, research, planning and filming.

Magazine Front Cover Evaluation

I feel that my film poster went very well, much better than I thought it would. This was my second time using photoshop and I had many problems when trying to create the magazine effect.

I started my editing process by reducing saturation, just like I have done with all my images and film. Unlike my other photos though, with this front cover I decided to keep a lot of colour still in the image.

The next task in my editing process was too add the magazine title. I chose the name "CINEMA" because it relates to film and also it worked very well with my chosen font. I chose a deep red colour as it really made the title stand out in front of the light, grey sky.

Once this was complete I moved on to add the detailed font around the title, such as price and website. I used a dark grey colour for this writing as it makes it visible however does not make it stand out too much.

I then added text about the cover story, this text was slightly larger than the other front cover text apart from the title. I chose the font colours to stand out from the back ground, this meant that the font colour would change frequently on different lines. Once all the cover story text had been done I added a thin white line under the writing to seperate it from the other news stories. I added the other text the same way as I did the cover story.

Finally I drew a white box and placed a black bar code over the top.

I am really pleased with my magazine cover and have been satisfied with the feedback i've recieved from it. I've never done this kind of thing before so was surprised by my results.

Sink Poster Evaluation

For my film poster I studied film posters that had a similar dark city theme. I noticed that many of these posters showed very little information compared to film posters of other genres. The dark, film noir poster style rarely had quotes and reviews on the front. Instead they showed little to no information so that the suspense and excitement for the film release is kept high.

I used my Canon EOS 7D to take the photo for my film poster. I used the ten second self timer mode, pressed the button and dived in the bath for a pose. I chose the bath because in a way it puts me in a box as I have a wall right behind me and to my left. I feel that this made editing easier and gave the poster a professional look.

Sink Film Trailer

Film title: SINK

Plot: A young man and his brother live in a cold dark city where crime rates are high and blood shed is higher. The main character is the story keeps to himself and does not agree with the life of crime and violence that his brother and others lead, instead he prefers to stay away from the dark life and look after himself. You do not learn the two brothers names, as there is little dialogue between the two.

One night when the main character's brother persuades him to come out and go looking for trouble they stumble across a high class party which unknown to them, is being held by one of the most notorious criminals in the city, Marcus. When they walk into the party they receive some unwanted looks by many of the guests. The brother wanders off on his own for a while so the main character is left to explore. While walking through the house he locks eyes with a gorgeous girl who appears to be upset. He goes to comfort her, at first she allows him to socialise but she suddenly starts acting strange and distant towards the main character after they share a kiss. The girl quickly disappears after the kiss. The main character moves on quickly to search for his brother, he felt strange, he didn't feel good about this party, where they are or the strange behaviour of the girl. He wanted to get out of here before any trouble starts.

He finds his brother strolling around the house drinking, so he quickly pulls him out of the house and they drive home. Once they are in the house, the brother pulls out a very expensive looking ornament from his pocket and laughs. The main character is furious that his brother had stolen from the house that night. The main character goes to bed, still angry at his brother.

In the morning the main character discovers his brother beaten, bruised and gasping. The main character rushes his brother to the hospital however does not make it in time. He drives to the house where the party way, the lead character has a strong feeling he knows who was behind his brothers death. From outside the house he could see the crime lord laughing and drinking with another group of men. His mood quickly changes to aggression and he smacks a girl to the floor. The other men laugh. As the girl gets up, cowering in fear the main character realises that it is the same girl who he saw at the party. The main character doesn't no what to do, he needs to kill Marcus, but he can't right now, he doesn't even know what he's doing. The main character drives home with the last few days flickering in his mind. He's sure that it was Marcus that killed his brother, plagued by anger the main character sets out to have revenge on Marcus. When he arrives at his house he sets about getting ready, thinking about what to do.

A week later the main character hears that Marcus is having one of his usual poker nights with his gang. He grabs his coat and his keys and walks out the door, he fills his car boot with chains, knives and an axe. He slides a gun down into his holster. Everyone needs a gun in this city.

He arrives at the party and walks round the side of the house and climbs in through a window quietly. He wants these to be quiet kills. He wants to kill all the gang members one by one so that he can have the satisfaction of scaring Marcus with blood and body parts. He slowly manages to pick off each gang member until it is only he and Marcus left in the house. They have a long fight in the large expensive house, often hiding and resting in different rooms and using various house hold objects as weapons. The main character dives into a bedroom too hide, in it he finds the girl from the party who is crying because of all the violence. The main character comforts and promises her that they will be fine and out of here soon. She kisses him again.

Marcus finally finds the hero hiding and they start to fight again, Marcus clearly winning as he is a lot bigger and stronger. As soon as the chance arises the character takes it and pushes Marcus down the stairs when he's off balance. Marcus falls unconscious, only to wake up in a bath, a couple of hours later, all chained up with no way off moving. The main character is perched on the side of the bath with a look of hollowness in his eyes, he is holding an axe. He starts his revenge..

Genre: The genre of my film is a mixture of thriller/film noir/crime. When I researched modern film noir I found that all the films of the genre are very dark, sometimes in black and white and use very low lighting in most shots. Film noir movies very usually always involve A hero, a girl who will most likely end up with the hero, and then also a villain is mixed into the plot as well. This is a good example of Levi-Strauss' binary opposition theory, where all important characters and themes have opposites. For example good/evil and also boy/girl.

Evaluation:

When I first started planning my trailer, I already had it in my mind that I wanted to create a dark, agressive film noir. I wanted to take the classic genre and bring a modern darkness to it. I used a Canon EOS 7D DSMC (digital still and motion camera) to film my trailer, this was a big step up from the equipment I was using for my AS piece. With the 7D I was able to shoot my trailer in 24fps, the same frame rate used by pros. This created a very smooth look to my film, perfect for my film noir vision.

I always tried to use low lighting for all my scenes as it created a very effective high contrast in my shots. I didn't want any shot in my trailer to look bright and cheery, as this would clash with my general film idea. Instead I used deep, dark colours such as black and red, then reduced the saturation slightly and increased contrast to create a look that struck out to the audience.

I have learnt a lot about filming this year and I have also got more involved with the camera work this time around. I was the one who primarily set up the camera, changed the fps, exposure, arpeture and shutter speeds.

I also feel as if my editing has improved this past year. In my trailer I featured shots of the rivals walking in each other's direction. I first shot the scene very low to the ground and got a medium close up of each character walking forwards. Afterwards I shot the same scene however from the level of their waist and hands, I did this so that the audience can see the weapons that the men are carrying, this hints at violence and agression. I cut the different shots so that the camera angle moved from the feet to waist in a smooth transition. I then filmed the two enemie's faces close up. I cut these scenes very quickly and alternated from quick shots of the mens faces to a tiled floor being covered in blood. I made sure I used a strong black and white effect on the bloody floor, this is so that the trailer would still be suitable for a wider range of audience ages.

I wanted to create suspense in my trailer so that the viewer wants to see more, and then hopefully go pay to see the film in the cinema. One shot that was very dark, and full of suspense, featured a corridor with a door at the end. I slowly zoomed in with the cameras lens while my brother hid behind the wall and flickered the toilet light. This created a brilliant, almost scary effect. I then did a similar style of editing to the scene before featuring the close up faces and blood. I kept cutting from the corridor zooming in, to blood pouring into the bath.

I finally finished my trailer by using my hand to smear the blood all over the bath. This looked very gory and violent.

After I had completed all the shooting and editing, my next step was to add original music to my trailer. I used a small simple MIDI set up and managed to create a track which was quite simply drums and a trumpet. I used the trumpet as my chosen instrument, as the trumpet is an instrument often associated with classic city music such as old jazz clubs in the dark city.

I feel that the making of my trailer went very well. At the very start I was concerned because I felt that the shots did not go well together, however I managed to quickly develop the shots into something a lot more than just quick scenes shot on a camera. By darkening, reducing saturation and increasing contrast I was able to make my shots blend together nicely. I was very fortunate this time of filming as I did not have any complications at all, apart from having to spend a long time cleaning up fake blood.

I feel that I have made a very good product seeing as all I used was a DSMC and a tripod, I've been able to create some good images for my trailer. I am happy with my product, however I do feel that I could have put more action in my trailer.

Other people who have seen my trailer have all given me positive feedback however some agree with me and feel that I could have more going on in the trailer.

My Film Poster

For my film poster I want it to bring across the message that my film will be very dark. I will do this by using very low lighting and also edit my photo so that it is very dark and almost black and white.

I took a few pictures which would be suitable for my film poster and that I thought would create the right effect. I narrowed my decision down to these two.

I decided to go for the image of the character sitting in the bath as this involves no blood. I was unsure whether it would be a good idea or necessary to have blood on my film poster.

I also thought that I would be able to edit the picture very well and I could see where I would fit the title and other information in.

I started the editing by reducing the saturation of the chosen picture. I did not do it too much as I did not want a complete black and white effect, instead I wanted a darker effect with a small hint of colour. I then increased the contrast to make the subject really stand out.

Next I made a faded black effect on the top and bottom of my photo, I did this by creating a new layer in photoshop then used the gradient tool.

I then started to add the title, there were three fonts I was interested in (see below) I decided on the first eroded font as it stood out well and looked effective. As I made the fade into black top, I thought that grey would be a suitable colour for poster title. I then used a slightly different grey and a smaller font for the actors names.

Some posters include "directed by", I did not do this as the director's name is already above the title as I acted and directed in the trailer.

I then moved on to add other text such as "coming soon" and theatre details.

The final text I added was distribution and production details on either side of the poster.

I felt that my film poster went very well, better than I expected. I have never used photoshop before so it was a program that was very new too me, however I learnt the basics fast and quickly made changes to my photo. I believe that my film poster put across the message that I wanted very well.

Film Poster Research

I am going to research movies off the thriller, crime and film noir genre that also explore life in a dark city.

Film: Sin City

Poster: http://thehealingtouch.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/sin_city.jpg
Director: Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez
Writers: Frank Miller
Tag line: Hell of a way to end a partnership.Walk down the right back alley in Sin City and you can find anything.
Skinny little Nancy Callahan. She grew up. She filled out.You're gonna love this,baby.
There is no justice without sin.
Summary: "Sin City" is four stories inter-weaved telling tales of corruption in Basin City. The first story (The Customer is always right) is short, and is based on the depression of women that they need to pay a man to feel loved when they commit suicide. The next story is Part 1 of "That Yellow Bastard"about a cop who needs to save a young girl from being raped. The third story (The Hard Goodbye) features a man taking revenge on a heartless killer who murdered his one-night stand. The fourth story (The Big, Fat Kill) stars a man who must dispatch a cop's body, but it will be a tough ride to do it. Following that are two conclusions to Sin City,the ending of "That Yellow Bastard" which is set 8 years later, and a short story that ends Sin City. (taken from imdb.com)
Relevance:Sin City is very relevant to my film idea as it covers similar issues in the same film noir style. Also it uses voice overs a lot through out the film, something that I plan to do.
Analysis: As you can clearly seen on the film poster, it has used very low lighting to portray the theme of the film. The film poster is entirely black and white apart from the film title which is in a deep red which uses a font that resembles an old comic book style, just like the Frank Miller comic book series. The subjects of the poster are the main characters of the film all in different action poses and also a small silhouette of a lone figure walking in the city.

Film: Pulp FictionDirector: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Quentin Tarantino, Roger AvaryTag line: You won't know the facts until you've seen the fiction.Summary: Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are two thieves who, while dining at a coffee shop
, decide that the best thing to do is to rob it. Vincent and Jules, two hit men workingfor
mob kingpin Marcellus Wallace, are sent to retrieve a very special and very mysterious briefcase for their boss. Vincent later must also show Mrs. Wallace a good time while her husband is out. Butch Coolidge is an aging prizefighter who is being paid to "take a dive", but instead, accidentally kills his opponent, and tries to flee town, but not before getting his dead father's lucky golden watch. These four seemingly unrelated stories are interwoven together in a non-linear fashion (taken from imdb.com)
Relevance: Pulp fiction is a crime thriller with a moderate amount of blood and violence.
Analysis: The pulp fiction film poster uses very low lighting and Uma Thurman laying on her front smoking to create an old style, sexy look. She has a gun and cut drugs in front of her to resemble danger and thrill. The poster has been edited to look like an old, tattered poster by using a ripped effect on the side and a worn effect over the entire poster. The fonts used stand out, yellow on red background, and also help with the old school look.




Film: Bangkok Dangerous
Director: Pang BrothersWriters: Jason Richman and the Pang Brothers
Tagline: The hitman has become the target.
Summary: Joe, an international hit man who follows a simple code, arrives in Bangkok for his last contract - four kills and then retirement. He hires Kong, a local street hustler, to run his errands, and he gets to work. By the second hit, Joe has started violating his four rules, losing his anonymity, leaving behind traces, and getting emotionally involved. Only one rule remains intact: don't ask questions. Can Joe regain his footing and get out alive?
Relevance: Bangkok Dangerous is a crime thriller involving a twisting plot line which includes crime and romance.
Analysis: The poster for Bangkok Dangerous is in black and white, something I am interested in. The fonts used are very big and stand out. A bullet hole has been placed in the middle of the word Bangkok to represent danger. The poster subject itself is Nicholas Cage the lead actor of the film in very dark lighting and then as you can clearly see, the picture has been edited so it has very high contrast, for example the face is black one side, in the shadow and then the other is white.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is the new generation of the internet, applications that broaden our possibilities. With web 2.0 the internet is much more interactive and audience created. Websites and applications such as Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Wikipedia and various blog sites. Web 2.0 allows the user to exchange content and communicate with other users.
With new websites such as Web 2.0 users have more control over the website instead of the website solely being run by the producers, where as before users could only retrieve information from a web 1.0 website.
"the characteristics of Web 2.0 are: rich user experience, user participation, dynamic content, metadata, web standards and scalability*"

YouTube, the video upload site is a fine example of a Web 2.0 as the website would not be able to work without the user. The producer requires users to upload home made videos to the site to increase site hits. Without the home videos then there will be no hits, which means no more rise in users, which then means no more videos posted to the site.
Flickr is another fine example, similiar to YouTube however it revolves around photos uploaded by other users.


*scalability is a desirable property of a system, a network, or a process, which indicates its ability to either handle growing amounts of work in a graceful manner or to be readily enlarged.