Friday, 20 May 2011

Monday, 11 April 2011

Finished teaser



la voix de julie first cut from St Marylebone Media Studies on Vimeo.



Here is our Finished Teaser Trailer.

MUSIC-

We have chosen a french soundtrack as we have been inspired by the french lifestyle as well as the title of the film being french. Although we originally wanted to use a song by Brigitte Bardot, we could't do this due to copyright reasons and so decided to look for songs by unsigned artists that are free to use on websites such as:
Jamendo
freemusicarchive.org
freesound.org
Aurgasm
Sound Cloud

EDITING-

Using final cut pro, we stitched together all our footage that was separetly filmed and slowed down some section and sped up other in order for the picture to match the soundtrack and also to achieve a smooth, consistent pace.
We also added effects such as dulling the colour and placing an effect on top of the existing footage to give a vintage feel to the film which is what we wanted to achieve from our inspiration of old, classic films such as Breakfast at Tiffany's.

EVALUATION-

On reflection, I believe that we have managed to achieve the type of teaser that we originally had in mind. It reflects our personal taste and is a thorough representative of our genre. I also think that taking the risk of creating an unconventional teaser was a good idea due to achieving something different and original which is an important value when making an arthouse film. Our simplistic style also makes the teaser sophistocated and stylish as well as arousing the audience's interests and expectations which is what we hoped to aim for when originally planning our filming process.

Completed website



file:///C:/Users/h/Downloads/HANA.html

Here is my completed website. I chose to use my same image that I used in my poster so that the audience can easily associate the wesite with the recognisable poster. I took away the shadow in the background that was previously in the image by using the magic wand tool and making it white so that the image stands out and the background blends well with the rest of the white backdrop.
I used the same font and text styles as my poster in order to keep a consistent theme and added appropriate links and buttons that are conventional to film wesites such as popular social networking sites e.g facebook and twitter. I also created links to a synopsis, cast, gallery and soundtrack as I found that these were the most important and common links by looking at other film websites.
I am pleased with the outcome and believe it looks inkeeping with my genre and theme. I also kept the website design uncluttered and simple as I wanted to achieve a sophistocated, elegant, and simplistic feel which also reflects my theme of vintage films.

Film genre, Inspiration.

In terms of using props for the film I felt that a vintage perfume bottle will help define the genre and also create a more glamorous feel to the trailer. I also featured a similar perfume bottle with a pump in my storyboard.
Looking at pin up girl images is also a good source of inspirations as I wanted to define a character that is viewed as glamorous, vuluptious and sexy. The style of clothing is also interesting to look at as I wanted to feature pull up stockings in my teaser as planned out in my storyboard.
Looking at Edie Sedgwick was one of my main inspirations as she was a glamorous icon who was known for her quirky fashion sense and heavy make up look which was a trend that she started. This was what inspired me to create a storyboard where the main feature is of a woman getting dolled up for her glamorous lifestyle. The iconic short blonde hair cut is also highly appropriate to look at as my actress and model Holly Glavin has a similar hair style.
Audrey Hepburn is an icon who defines my genre of film noir inspired, arthouse romance. She is the classy, elegant and beautiful woman who everyone fell in love with. The film Breakfast at Tiffany's also defined the classic black dress and so I chose my model/actor Holly Glavin to wear a black dress in both my poster and teaser/trailer to define and establish my genre.

Poster plan

I have created a poster plan which I feel will reflect the trailer as well as being representative of the genre and inspired style that I am aiming to achieve. I chose to use a simple image that is a good layout for placing text on as I wanted to achieve a simplistic poster that is bold, eye catching and also different to anything else that I have recently seen by going against conventions.
I am pleased with my end product as I believe I have stuck to my plan, therefore achieving what I was aiming for. I also think that I was able to achieve the vintage inspired feel by editing the image and reducing the colour saturation. I decided to have everything kept within the black dress except the film title so that it stands out the most. Although my text is widely spread across the image, I feel it doesn't draw attention away from the image as I chose a powerful photo with a strong contrast of the black dress against the white background. I also kept my text a moderate size as I didn't want large text that would overpower the image and could even look tacky. I chose my star rating to be given by the fashion magazine Vogue as my target audience for this film is the same to those who would read vogue. It was also representative of the overall film which I associate with fashion.

Photoshoot plan for poster

For my photoshoot plan I have taken into consideration every detail required when achieveing a successful image such as location, model, shot and lighting. I believe a plan is helpful as it allows me to refine my ideas before taking the image meaning I won't waste time trying to achieve something that I am hoping for. It also gives me a higher success rate as I know exactly what I would like to achieve.
Here is my original photograph before being photoshoped. Although I am pleased with the outcome in terms of composition and lighting, I will edit it by taking away the pink tinge and enhancing the overall image by playing around with the contrast levels. I am also considering dulling the colours by reducing the saturation levels to give the image a slightly aged and vintage feel. I want to do this as it will be in keeping with my feel and will also make the image appear more fashionable and styalised.

Trailer analysis Breakfast at Tiffany's.



I have chosen to look at the trailer of the film 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' as it is one of the main sources of inspiration for my own trailer and genre of film. The film also includes the main character Audrey Hepburn who is a style icon and the person who I built my main character Julie around.

Throughout the trailer there is classic, stylish music playing that was fashionable and on trend at the time. The music sets the atmosphere and becomes slow and romantic when there are scenes to do with love and romance.
The teaser begins with a title appearing on screen; "Audrey hepburn is having BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S". After this title the trailer then moves onto a series of scenes from the film in order to illustrate the main story line. Throughout the trailer there is a narrator who introduces characters and speaks the outline of the storyline. This is quite a conventional way to present a trailer where there is a narrator who speaks along to scenes of the film.

At 1.58 the narration stops where there is just music playing and text appears; "starring Audrey Hepburn", this is then followed up by a series of other names of charcters that go with scenes of those acting. After the actors are credited, the music continues and at 2.22 text appears on the screen "It's everything you've always wanted to do..." 2.28 "and Audrey Hepburn's the one you've always wanted to do it with!". These two bold statements leads the teaser to the ending scene of Audrey and the title of the film re-appearing "BREAKFAST at TIFFANY'S Is delicious".

The trailer generally follows conventions and uses text on screen when delivering crucial informations and catching the audiences attention.
Audrey Hepburn being one of the biggest hollywood stars at the time, her name is mentioned in total 8 times in the trailer as it is important to highlight her name being the main role in the film and an all round icon.
In terms of taking inspiration from this source, I would say that the music is very important when creating a heavily styalised film that is aiming for a classic, vintage genre. Although in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's it was not intentional, to achieve the same effect I would also like to use a slightly dulled and grainy screen effect which I am hoping will create a vintage feel to the trailer.

Teaser analysis The social network


The teaser trailer begins with a series of bold words that faid in and out on a blurry background with dialogue from the film being spoke in the background.No information is given away in terms of visual language and seeing what characters are involved in the film and what they look like. This is definately unconventional and coes against expectations as it is risky in terms of not revealing much at all. The background also remains blurry and pixolated which again does not give away much and also goes against conventions.

The sequence of words are ordered as 'PUNK', 'GENIUS', 'PROPHET', 'TRAITOR', BILLIONAIRE' then goes onto the punch line which is also the main text on the poster, 'YOU DON'T GET TO 500 MILLION FRIENDS', 'WITHOUT MAKING A FEW ENEMIES'. As each word fades on and off screen the dialogue in the background reflects each bold statement. After the punch line the blurry, pixolated background zooms out to become an image of the main character's face, revealing the same still image used in the film poster.Although this does not entirely reveal much information it creates a sense of something epic that is going to happen in the film and the whole pixolated effect ties in well with the movie theme of social networks, internet and computers. The shocking unconventional and bold atmosphere the teaser creates arrouses the audience's interest and curiosity as there is not much given away hence the mystery and exciting. However the bold advert implies that there is something 'huge' that will happen in the film which is based on a true story.
After the character's face is revealed, the screen then cuts to black and a logo; similar to the facebook logo, appears on screen when at the point the dialogue has stopped. This then swiftly cuts to the release date and the teaser comes to an end.

On a whole the teaser trailer breaks conventions and challenges the viewer as it does not include any real moving picture or scenes from the film which is usually always included in the advert. Instead the whole teaser is based on one image and uses only simple text and dialogue. Although it couls be seen as simple, it is very effective as the mystery arrouses interest and created hype within the audience.

Website analysis Norwegian Wood


The Norwegian Wood website home page is rather conventional as you are greeted with a recognisable image of the main actors which is also featured in the poster, a clear film title header, bold release date and a synopsis of the film along with other link bars and buttons.

The layout and colour scheme of the website is a very simple black and white, clean finish 'look' which reflects the original book cover which is also a simple monochrome image. The black bar going through the image is a clever visual trick as it looks part of the design that blends into the black background, however it instantly draws the line across the bar with stands out against the white yet doesn't seem to draw too much attention away due to look part of the design. Links such as 'the novel' and 'the soundtrack' have been placed in this bar for further information on the movie.

Scrolling down the home page, the synopsis is folled by a brief history of the book and how it was translated into a moving picture.
There are then 3 round buttons which visually accompanies the main image well due to the replicated circle shape. These buttons include; (from small to large) 'where it's playing', 'latest news' (via social networking sites) and the largest button linking to information about a competition. This button has purposly been made the largest button in order to attract the most attention as when competitions are involved in the making of the film, it attracts a lot of publicity and hype of the film meaning more viewers and fans of the film. All three of these buttons are pretty conventional as alot of films create competitions and pages via social network sites to create a fanbase audience hence hype and more publicity in order to make the film a success.
On the bottom right there are also a list of sponsors such as uniqlo. Uniqlo is an international chain, mainly based in Japan and also popular in England. This is a well represented sponsor as Norwegian Wood is a Japanese film that has also become popular in England meaning the sponsors will pay alot as they are being advertised internationally. Sponsers for films are always carefully selected to reach the maximum of the target audience in order to make a large profit.

When clicked on the link 'trailer' a new page appears with the same layout except a different image, arrousing more interest in the viewer and a box where the trailer automatically starts playing. This is also quite conventional as in the way a trailer is linked to another page with a continued theme from the home page through layout and colour scheme. The title of the film and reliese date is still implace as this is vital information about the film. The viewer will be subconsiously aware of information even when watching the trailer e.g the large '11' that is part of the reliese date.
Overall the website is quite conventional however stylish in the form of a striking layout and colour scheme which reflects the original book cover and the monochrome also allows certain text to stand out as they are the two most contrasting colours on the colour wheel.

Website analysis Never Let Me Go

The 'Never Let me Go' website's home page opens to a copy of the poster with added text with can ne clicked on as links such as 'watch the trailer' and 'open menu'. This is a conventional layout for a website home page as all viewers need to see a recognisable image that is associated with the film in order to want to look at the website, hence using the same recognisable poster image as a basis for the page.

However this home page has also unconventional aspects such as not having immediate social network buttons. This reflects the poster as everything is kept simple, discreet and is based around the calm and sceneric main image.
When clicked on the 'Menu' bar on the bottom left of the home page, you are greeted with a list of links on a translusent grey layer which allows the image of the home page to still be seen; inkeeping the consistent re-ocurring poster image.
Option links include 'cast and crew' and 'ask ishiguro' (author of the book). I would say that these links are unconventional as they are options for people who hold interest in the actual book and the making process of the film rather that the typical selling and advertising points such as links to social network, information on hype and other links which would be fan based to attract as many viewers possible. It seems that the website is designed for a sophisticated and intelectual viewers that hold interest in the complex making of the film which reflects the well established book and the type of target market that would read the book; intelligent, middle/upper class. This then explans the absence of immediate social network buttons which are conventional for a film website as the target market is not the type to use or be a part of social network sites which are on the general aimed at young, social people that take interest in fan based activities and hype.Social networking links and 'hype' material and 'gossip' on the film is displayed separetly from the main page bu scrolling further down. It is made a part of the website but as a separate asset rather than the main attraction. Although the main theme and homepage of the website is based around a simplistic and modest feel, I believe that this webiste in comparison to other film websites goes into much greater detail in terms of being able to explore the whole making of the film, how it was transformed from a book into a moving picture and having the opinion of all the people involved in the making process of the film. The website is sophistocated, thorough and anti conventional as it avoids typical selling points such as immediate social network links and fan based, hype links.

Monday, 21 March 2011

Poster Analysis Never Let Me Go

The main focus of this poster is the centre image as there is minimal text that is in pale colours so that it does not draw attention away from the main image. The layout could be seen as unconventional as the text is very minimal meaning there is not much detail given away of the film. The image also challenges the audience as it is a long shot meaning there is yet again not much detail given away of who the actors are, their facial expression etc. Conventional posters would usually have a clear indicator of what the main actors look like however with this poster, both actors are facing away; letting the audience have no idea of who they are. Although the image is unconventional, the methods used to create this image could be seen as a success as not knowing what is going on and who the actors are reates mystery and drives up excitement and expectations in the eye of the viewer.

The colour scheme is neutral and calm which reflects the nature of the image itself; a calm pier. This could also be seen as unconventional as the film is not being advertised in a bold and pushy manner which can often be the case in order to catch the viewers attention amongst the competion of other film posters.

Although the title of the film is the largest text and most important on the poster, it is kept subtle by using a thin text in white. The billing box keeps the coninuing theme og the text as it is also in white and is made discreet by making it small and even hardly noticable in order to keep the image as the main focus.

The actors names have been listed using a different coloured and styled text in order for them to stand out as a separate asset besides the film information. Although the film includes high status actors such as Kiera Knightley, they have all been equally placed to show that all actors involved in the film are equally credited for their performance. Infact the mess known actor has been placed in the middle so that the poster does not seem to favour the most well known actors which would make them appear as superiour in comparison to the others.

The eye flow of the poster is a Z as the eye is taked from the title, through the image diagonally and straight across the bottom by the billing box. Although this is the eye flow of the poster, overall the text has been made discreet so that it merges well with the image making the layout overall vey balanced and pleasing to the eye to look at; there are no obsticales or difficulties in taking in all the visual information.

On a whole this poster is generally unconventional as it does not follow the typical techniques of advertising and selling techniques. The image speaks for itself as is a high quality and well thought out image that is very pleasing to look at in itself. Using minimal text that is discreet is a bold move as the creators obviously had confidence that the image and hype of the film was enough for it to be sold to its viewers. Having said that, the film does have an advantage of extra advertisement in comparison to the generic film as it was based on a top selling novel meaning there were existing fans of the story line before the film was even created.