Now that we had finished both our poster and our radio advert, it was time to concentrate on the first edit of the actual film as our teacher decided that the best time to finish the first edit was straight after Half Term. However, we have already edited some of the film already (due to the fact that when we were unable to use some of the equipment when we wanted to, so we started editing our film so make use of the time), so this deadline of after Half Term is easily achievable.
In terms of analysing full-lentgh feature films, we chose 'Donnie Darko' and 'Memento'.
'Donnie Darko' (2001)
This film applies to our film a lot because it tells the story of Donnie Darko, a teenager is plagued by Frank, a hallucination that takes the form of a demonic rabbit. Frank proceeds to threaten everything in Donnie's life while no one seems to believe him; Gretchen is one of the few people with whom Donnie can divulge his visions. This is largely similar to our film, however we have chosen to use a person to plague Lucy to make it slightly easier for us and we feel that if we used something like a demonic rabbit, it would take away from the thriller aspect of the film and would make it more comedic.
'Memento' (2000)
One thing that we decided to take from this film is the use of black and white footage and colour and how they are used to distinguish between past events and present events. We thought that this was very effective, and we would use this to show the difference between Lucy's hallucinations and reality. We also liked the way that the plot is jumbled up, but I don't think that this would work with our film; I don't think that we would be able to use it effectively within 5 minutes without it becoming very confusing.
Showing posts with label Analysis of existing products. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Analysis of existing products. Show all posts
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
6th October 2010
This week, we started to focus on one of our smaller production tasks; the poster advertising the film. We decided to look at some posters for feature films that we liked the look of and analysed them:
Film Poster 1: The Happening
We thought that this poster was very effective. We liked that way that the background is distorted, giving the poster a sense of mystery and a sense of the unknown. The mise-en-scene is also very effective, giving the illusion that the city is like a ghost town, giving of an air of enigma. Also, the low-key lighting - a typical feature of this genre of film - helps the poster look mysterious. The way that the characters are positioned makes the film look scary, as the woman is holding the child in a protective way, as if sheilding it from evil. We plan to use this type of acting in our poster; we will use facial expressions to make the character of Lucy look afraid.
Film 2: WAZ
We liked the way that the emphasis is put on one side of the face, while the other side is in a shadow, making the character look scary and mysterious. Also, the emphasis on the eye makes the poster look chilling. We liked the typography used for the title, which has connotations of the writing of person who perhaps has a frazzled mind, like Lucy in our film. From this poster, we learnt that having quotes from reviews is alos quite important because if the auidence sees a good review, they are more inclined to see the film. Also, a chilling tagline might be good idea for our film, as it draws the audience in and suggests a sense of enigma. We need to think of an appropriate tagline for our film; something that will hint at the plot just enough so that the audience can tell what the film is about, but not too much so it creates mystery.
Film 3: Murderer
Although this film is a foregin film, we liked this poster very much. The evil smile is very effective in making the poster look scary and - like in poster 2 - the fact that half of the face is hidden makes the chracter look more menacing and mysterious. The fact that the character seems to be looking round the side of a wall suggests that he is hiding or perhaps syping on someone, which can relate to our film. The strong use of red and black make the poster very noticable, drawing in the attention of audience. This is something that we can use in our poster; we can use dark colours not only to make the poster look menacing and dark, but it can alos be used to draw in the audience.
From analysing these 3 posters, we have learnt that the composition and the mise-en-scene of the shots are very important as they can give key clues to the audience about the plot and the genre. Furthermore, the lighting is alos quite important. Low-key lighting creates a sense of enigma, which would work for our film, as the audience doesn't know the Lacus is actually real and isn't a figment of Lucy's broken mind.
Film Poster 1: The Happening
We thought that this poster was very effective. We liked that way that the background is distorted, giving the poster a sense of mystery and a sense of the unknown. The mise-en-scene is also very effective, giving the illusion that the city is like a ghost town, giving of an air of enigma. Also, the low-key lighting - a typical feature of this genre of film - helps the poster look mysterious. The way that the characters are positioned makes the film look scary, as the woman is holding the child in a protective way, as if sheilding it from evil. We plan to use this type of acting in our poster; we will use facial expressions to make the character of Lucy look afraid.
Film 2: WAZ
We liked the way that the emphasis is put on one side of the face, while the other side is in a shadow, making the character look scary and mysterious. Also, the emphasis on the eye makes the poster look chilling. We liked the typography used for the title, which has connotations of the writing of person who perhaps has a frazzled mind, like Lucy in our film. From this poster, we learnt that having quotes from reviews is alos quite important because if the auidence sees a good review, they are more inclined to see the film. Also, a chilling tagline might be good idea for our film, as it draws the audience in and suggests a sense of enigma. We need to think of an appropriate tagline for our film; something that will hint at the plot just enough so that the audience can tell what the film is about, but not too much so it creates mystery.
Film 3: Murderer
Although this film is a foregin film, we liked this poster very much. The evil smile is very effective in making the poster look scary and - like in poster 2 - the fact that half of the face is hidden makes the chracter look more menacing and mysterious. The fact that the character seems to be looking round the side of a wall suggests that he is hiding or perhaps syping on someone, which can relate to our film. The strong use of red and black make the poster very noticable, drawing in the attention of audience. This is something that we can use in our poster; we can use dark colours not only to make the poster look menacing and dark, but it can alos be used to draw in the audience.
From analysing these 3 posters, we have learnt that the composition and the mise-en-scene of the shots are very important as they can give key clues to the audience about the plot and the genre. Furthermore, the lighting is alos quite important. Low-key lighting creates a sense of enigma, which would work for our film, as the audience doesn't know the Lacus is actually real and isn't a figment of Lucy's broken mind.
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
29th September 2010
This week, we looked at some short films on YouTube that explored the same topic as our film. The following 3 films are the ones we liked and we felt that we could take inspiration from:
Film 1 - Schizophrenia Short Film
In this film, black and white is used to determine between hallucination and reality. We thought that this was a good idea because it makes it easier for the audience to understand the plot and it will give the film a more sinister and Film Noir-esque look to it.
We also liked the way that the audience is able to see the hallucinations. This makes it easier for the audience to put themselves into the shoes of a schizophrenic person. Also, we liked the way that the suspected bad people in the film were dressed in dark clothing. We aim to use this idea to make the hallucinations look more menacing and sinister.
Film 2- Schizophrenia: A Short Film
We both thought that this film was very emotive. The narrative was very sad, and it was portrayed well in the film. We also liked the actor that was used; he was able to pull off the erratic behaviour that often comes with having Schitzophrenia. However, we think that the weakness of the film is the fact that, although you can hear the voice of the hallucination, you can't see it. We thought that this was a disappointment because the director could have had a lot of fun playing with the different shots and making the narrative more effective.
Film 3 - Paranoid Schizophrenic
In this film, the use of low-key lighting is very effective. Although it is somewhat hard to see what is going on, it is a very good way of conveying a dark, sinister atmosphere. We also liked the idea of the fact that is has a very short plot, which means that it is not complicated and therefore doesn't drag out. However, we thought the ending was a little boring and predictable, but it was shot effectively and the smile at the end made the ending sinister and creepy.
From researching into these short films, we have learnt that there are a lot stereotypes of a psychological thriller that need to be avoided so it doesn't become predictable and clichéd.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
16th June 2010
Today, we made a brainstorm of typicalities of romantic short films and visited YouTube.com so we could find some examples of romantic short films so we could get some ideas for our own short film. The following videos are ones that we researched into and liked:
Film 1
We really liked this short film. We thought that the voiceover was a very good idea as it gives the audience some insight into the character's real thoughts and feelings, however we decided that for our film, it wouldn't be appropriate because we'd prefer to use proper dialogue and we have limited technology. We also thought that the twist in the plot was a very good idea, because the audience won't be expecting it. We plan to use a twist in our plotline to engage and interest the audience.
Film 2
This film uses exterior settings in the happier scenes, making the most of high-key, natural light and good weather. We thought that this was a very good idea because pathetic fallacy is quite important in filming, especially in happier scenes, as it reflects the character's emotions and it affects the overall look of the shot. However, this film doesn't have much dialogue, and relies on a monologue to convey the plot. We don't think that this would be suitable for out film because of technological difficulties and the fact that out film has quite a complex plot; it works for this kind of film, but not really for ours.
Film 3
Even though this film is shorter than what our film will be, but ti is very effective. Again, this film uses no dialogue, but we think that this is because the plot is fairly simple and it doesn't need dialogue. However, our film is more complex, so dialogue is needed. A wide range of shots are used in this film, and the actors have been chosen very carefully in order to create the right look for the sequence. Also, the locations have been picked carefully to create the correct atmosphere and tone to the film. But overall, we think that this is a very effective film and we like the way that it uses diagetic sound to set the tone.
From watching and analysing these films, we have gained an insight into what our chosen genre entails and what the tell-tale signs of a genre are. We have drawn the conclusion that we need to use high-key, natural lighting in the happier scenes, and we need to make sure that the weather is correct to make the tone of the film appropriate. However, this might be difficult because we plan to film in October, and the weather may have an affect on our filming schedule. Also, we have learnt that dialogue - although hard to ensure it is heard with the camera we plan to use - is important for our genre.
Next session: we will make a first draft of a treatment that outlines the plot and the characters we have chosen.
Film 1
We really liked this short film. We thought that the voiceover was a very good idea as it gives the audience some insight into the character's real thoughts and feelings, however we decided that for our film, it wouldn't be appropriate because we'd prefer to use proper dialogue and we have limited technology. We also thought that the twist in the plot was a very good idea, because the audience won't be expecting it. We plan to use a twist in our plotline to engage and interest the audience.
Film 2
This film uses exterior settings in the happier scenes, making the most of high-key, natural light and good weather. We thought that this was a very good idea because pathetic fallacy is quite important in filming, especially in happier scenes, as it reflects the character's emotions and it affects the overall look of the shot. However, this film doesn't have much dialogue, and relies on a monologue to convey the plot. We don't think that this would be suitable for out film because of technological difficulties and the fact that out film has quite a complex plot; it works for this kind of film, but not really for ours.
Film 3
Even though this film is shorter than what our film will be, but ti is very effective. Again, this film uses no dialogue, but we think that this is because the plot is fairly simple and it doesn't need dialogue. However, our film is more complex, so dialogue is needed. A wide range of shots are used in this film, and the actors have been chosen very carefully in order to create the right look for the sequence. Also, the locations have been picked carefully to create the correct atmosphere and tone to the film. But overall, we think that this is a very effective film and we like the way that it uses diagetic sound to set the tone.
From watching and analysing these films, we have gained an insight into what our chosen genre entails and what the tell-tale signs of a genre are. We have drawn the conclusion that we need to use high-key, natural lighting in the happier scenes, and we need to make sure that the weather is correct to make the tone of the film appropriate. However, this might be difficult because we plan to film in October, and the weather may have an affect on our filming schedule. Also, we have learnt that dialogue - although hard to ensure it is heard with the camera we plan to use - is important for our genre.
Next session: we will make a first draft of a treatment that outlines the plot and the characters we have chosen.
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