Total Film Collage

This is a collage of Total Film magazine covers that I have made which cover a variety of different genre films. My research into film magazine covers has uncovered the fact that the conventions of this particular type of magazine are different to that of fashion magazines... In addition, despite that all of the examples below are of diverse genres, they all share common features. 

Features such as these, we found are common among this branded magazine:

• Strap line at the top of the covers
• Barcode 
• Characters are in front of the Total Film, providing the do not cover most of the title
• A solid/gradient background

Empire and Total Film

Upon discussing what film magazine company we would like to use in order to create our third media product, we narrowed it down to two of the biggest selling names: Empire  and Total Film. Before we made the decision however, we had to resolve the issue of whether we should make up our own magazine brand or adopt the name of an existing company.
The advantages of going with a well known label were that we had loads of templates to study in order to make our magazine look professional, furthermore, going with either Empire  or Total Film would allow us to place the character over the top of the title which would reinforce the professional look which we wanted to go for. On the other hand, the disadvantage which had occurred to us is that, if we did not stick to the conventional look of the professional magazine or wanted to challenge the cover conventions, then it would be clearly recognisable and errors would  be highlighted.
The advantage of creating a brand from scratch, would be that it gives us a lot more creative freedom and if for instance, we did not include a strap line then this would not be challenging the rest of the brand's repertoire of covers. Despite this, we wanted to stay along stereotypical guidelines and felt that Empire and Total Film would not allow us to deviate completely which is what we wanted.

The comparing points of these two mass market film magazines is that they are appealing to a variety of people, not just film lovers. The justification for this is that they are strong in colour and overall expression of the cover - they immerse you into the film and the thrill of the film.

We elected a mass market magazine as magazines are usually, the first impression the audience gets of a film, and with statistics saying that "52% of the readers will go to see a new film as soon as it is released", we needed to make our film stand out and put it on the front of Empire or Total Film.

This is some feedback we found on the totalfilm.com forum. The research we found was helpful, and allowed us to clarify that audiences find the two magazines on par with each other. Even in pricing, there is not a huge difference. Empire - £3.70  Total Film - £3.50.

Inspired Moodboard

Animatic Storyboard

This is our Animatic storyboard of Demise. When creating this prototype of our trailer, as a group we each contributed to the editorial process and helped each other to produce certain effects when needed. Constructing an animatic proved effective immediately as it made our group stronger, in the sense that our capabilities of using Final Cut Express were reaching a more advanced level, as opposed to last year when we were tasked with establishing the opening of a film. An example of this is when the music that our group composed was synchronized with the varied angled shots. Furthermore showing our progression from Year 12, our use of scripted dialogue in our storyboard illustrates that we had a much more intense focus on how we were going to present our thriller trailer.
Despite the storyboard being a platform for us to then bring to life, my group and I were aware that there would be advancements in our filming and that this animatic may not be representative of our end media product. However our researching and planning which we initiated before assembling any form of a trailer, widened the scope for any creative development which we may feel necessary. 

Location Scouting

Simultaneously after the researching process, we initiated the planning procedure and one of the factors we had to contemplate was the location of our thriller trailer. Among much discussion we decided that we desired to show binary opposites in terms of location, for example, the town vs the countryside. This would be effective in highlighting how throughout the trailer how isolated the girls are. The countryside is a reflection of how physically and mentally she is cut off from the rest of civilization, this would be reinforced by the battery in her phone running out and how she finds comfort in playing back footage stored in the camcorder. 

This is a slideshow of the different prospects that Queensdown Warren has to offer. 

The advantages of employing this nature reserve to exploit the characters in our trailer are as follows...

• There were a variety of spots in which we could film
• The cover of the trees may make the shots look increasingly darker than it actually is, making filming times a lot more flexible
• Allows us to use pathetic fallacy which is a convention to a thriller film, it also emphasizes heightened emotions to make the audience feel more vulnerable or in the same position of the protagonists. 

Conversely, there were disadvantages of using a nature reserve...

• Meant that there were pedestrians which could get into our shots
• There is a road running along both sides of the reserve, therefore we would get unwanted noises in our trailer and in effect would mean lack of continuity in the plot
• We would have to be careful not to get a shot that includes the farms in the background as it would make the girl's isolation less believable 

This is collective footage demonstrating the sites which we thought we may be able to include in our film. We believed that the height at which the hills reached would greatly impact on the theme we wanted in Queensdown Warren  which is fear and intimidation. These panning shots were very helpful in reflecting what parts of the nature reserve we should utilize and they gave us a panoramic view of the slopes of the landscape, whereas a static shot would have just presented one perspective of the land.

When going out and filming the aforementioned shots, we came to the conclusion that we should only shoot on the hills when the girl and the two boys are within very close proximity as the hills are very bare and open, therefore, reflecting the girl's position. The action which would take place on the hills would be toward the end of the film and act as the anticipated "showdown" moment which is extremely common with thriller/action/crime films. 

Movie Production Logos

A common feature which can be seen in every trailer is the movie production logos, for instance Lionsgate or Working Title, as well as many others... From our AS film opening project we knew that the production companies used were not random, they were chosen because the logo and company fits in with the film genre. Another fact which we picked up upon from the previous year, was that is it very unusual for two major film companies to be working together on a film, especially a thriller as they are commonly a 'one hit wonder' and therefore do not achieve the same amount of income that a franchised film would make, Harry Potter, as an example. We found that most films have a major film production companies like Universal and  Columbia backing them... However, these companies often prefer to distribute the films via independent production companies like Jerry Bruckheimer or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, for an example.
In light of this knowledge, we brainstormed and researched all of the logos which we knew: Film distributors and Film production companies -

 With a large bank of movie labels to choose from, we narrowed down our search by researching into our specific genre: thriller, from this we would have a much shorter list. Eden Lake is distributed by 'Optimum Releasing' who have been the production company for This is England and Four Lions. When evaluating whether to incorporate their logo into our trailer, we decided that in terms of them as a production company,  they are too small a label, but when we thought about how we would like our film advertised, we would consider them as a viable candidate.
Another trailer which my group and I have also been influenced by is the Blair Witch Project which was produced by Haxan Films  and distributed by Artisan Entertainment. Upon reflecting whether these were labels which we could use for our trailer, we realised that the year the film was produced was something that we would have to keep in mind as this film was made in 1999. Even though Haxan Films is a relevant production company for our trailer, when we looked at the list of films they have been linked with "Lovely Molly" and "Say Yes Quickly" were among them, films which neither of us has heard about... To conclude our research into Haxan Films, we agreed that they did not have a big repertoire, by any means, and therefore our film would not get as much recognition as it would with a more discovered company. In addition, as the Blair Witch Project was produced in 1999, we felt that they were outdated for our film and not be best suited to us.

Official Film Title

Film titles is one factor that can act as a deciding point for people as to whether they should watch a film or not, for example, the film called Gattaca starring Jude Law is one which would immediately draw the attention of anyone who has a fondness for science, and in particular, genetics. This film title is especially very effective as it is based on the initials of the four DNA nitrogenous bases - guanine, adenine, thymine and cytosine.
In order to help create an enticing, professional sounding film title, we decided to research into titles, it was then that we found films are named after places, people, something belonging to someone or an event that the film revolves around.

Films named after places which we looked at are as follows...

1. The Town
2. District 9
3. Shutter Island
4. Jurassic Park
5. Manhattan

Films named after people...

1. The Godfather
2. The Dark Knight
3. Gladiator
4. Robin Hood
5. Amelie

Films named after something belonging to someone...

1. Schindler's List
2. The King's Speech
3. Howl's Moving Castle
4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
5. Charlie's Angels

Films named after an event...

1. Finding Nemo
2. The Holiday
3. The Conjuring
4. World War Z
5. The Hunger Games

Upon a lot of thought we realise that naming our film after the place at which we are filming will be effective as the name Queensdown Warren stands out from any other thriller film title, in this sense it is unique. Furthermore, the name contains anagrams such as war, down and queen which all add to reinforce what our film is going to be about and it's themes. The only disadvantage my group and I can think of is the length of our title, it is not as short as Eden Lake.

However, we all came to a mutual decision that Queensdown Warren sounds like a thriller and sticks in the mind.

Conventions of Thrillers

This mind map includes conventional settings, narrative, main elements and conventional characters of thrillers as well as the stereotypical editing and sound elements which feature in said type of film. 

Whilst we are filming we have to keep in mind all of the elements as they are all key components to producing a well thought out, professional thriller. 

All of these elements can be seen in what some may say is the most famous thriller film of all time: Silence of the Lambs. The main element it focuses on being Hannibal who was an ordinary individual who turns psychotic...

Thriller Film Poster Collage

This collage features posters which are current as well as ones which are 'old'. It depicts how each thriller poster has one aspect about it which stands out about above all of the rest, also within each film poster there is some sort of special affect which has been included, from shadows of someone hanging (in The Conjuring) to a crack down the central character's face. Creating a thriller moodboard gave us the inspiration to analyse our own poster in depth and ask "Have we got one element in our poster that stands out?"

In addition, all of these posters have a common colour theme, there is either the use of black, red or white which has been exploited in the advertisement. This is something we aspire to as it works and they each symbolise an emotion. For example, red is the colour of blood and can build up the feeling of fear,  whereas  black is the colour of isolation or being unaware of a significant fact. In contrast, white represents that sense of awareness and knowledge or can be used to display smoke and moonlight. 

Quarantine and Queensdown Warren

                  

Well into the research process we came across the Quarantine trailer and we found that unconsciously mirrored the ending to that of the Quarantine's trailer where the girl gets dragged into the darkness...

Before we decided to shoot that scene we thought it would work really well with our genre and it displays the physical manipulation which the ordinary citizen goes through and not just the mental turmoil that they experience. I think our shot of the girl being dragged away could be improved as the lighting could be darker to show less of her surroundings and therefore evoke more intrigue as to where the psychotic men are taking her; much like the Quarantine film. Overall, we wanted to use this shot as we all felt that it directly addresses the audience, the eye-level shot puts the audience at the same height of the victim, trying to make our target audience to feel sympathetic towards her and encourage them to feel a degree of horror that she would be feeling. 

Second Survey Analysis

As we decided upon our genre being thriller our intention was to mainly hand out the survey to our target audience: 15 - 18 year olds, but also to collect data from 18+ years so we have more generalisable and not such age bias results. 

This question provided itself as a filler question, rather than one of substantial use. However, it did give us information that our answers are not gender bias and additionally that the responses given would help us to address issues which would attract both males and females in watching our film. 

What is it about thrillers that you enjoy watching?

      ·         Intense

·         On the edge of your seat

·         Like to be placed in their shoes

·         Always unexpected

·         Makes you think 

This question is of huge benefit for my group and I, as without the knowledge of what captures the audience's attention, we would have produced a film which would not be professional as it does not satisfy the expectations of a thriller.

What stereotypically do you expect to see in a thriller?

Dark setting

Victim and perpetrator

Twists

Calm and hectic moments

To find out what people expect to see in a thriller allowed my group to gain a fresh perspective, as part of the crew we pick up on the conventions of mise-en-scene and allow facts such as characters and aspects of the plot to slip away. So this question demonstrated to be very efficient.

What is your favourite thriller film? 

Eden Lake

Last House on the Left

Wrong Turn

Hide and Seek

Sorority Row

By asking participants what film they favoured most out of our chosen genre,  it allowed us to see what films gained recognition above all other thriller films and whether we had been correctly looking and taking inspiration from those aforementioned movies. Out of all of the results we mainly drew on three of them: Eden Lake, Wrong Turn and Sorority Row. This question was of advantage to us as it gave us two new film names to view.

These results depict that people who go to see thriller films at the cinema prefer to go with friends of a similar age. It is from this result which was key in forming the plot to our trailer. We knew that from the beginning we wanted to have an impact on our audience, and that we would be able to best do that if the characters in our film mirrored the age of our target audience, so they would be able to relate. 

These two options can change the tone of the film completely. Our location acts as a mid point between the City and the country so we feel that where we should film should be left to our participant's demands.With the majority expressing a desire to see a thriller set within the country we feel like we have to oblige our participant's wishes, furthermore, it is a feasible idea as we are within a short driving distance to capture footage and there are a lot of places where we can base our trailer. 

During our researching stage we stumbled upon a film called The Wrong Turn, this film focuses on the supernatural-thriller aspect as opposed to the stance that the majority of the other trailers we looked at took.  Witnessing that realistic is the favoured option of the two gave us some relief as we felt that trying to construct an unrealistic film could easily make our production look amateurish, instead of professional. 

The ratio of who prefers thrillers set in the day:night is almost 50:50. We feel that from this feedback we should film some during the day and some whilst it is night, this way it will satisfy all of our target audience's opinions, and the lighting contrast will act nicely as a way to highlight to people the severity of the situation which the girls will be launched into. 

When examining other films like to one we want to create, it is clear that we can take two different perspectives to follow throughout the film, the victim or the perpetrators. Going along with the survey's statistics, we believe that adopting the vitcim's point of view can hurl our audience more effectively into the whirlwind of chaotic rage and depseration. In contrast, the criminal's view could eliminate the element of surprise when the story turns on it's head for the girls. 

In conclusion, I believe that having carried out a second and more specific questionnaire about what cinema-goers expect and want to see, will help us to produce a media piece that will hopefully address and entice our target audience of 15 - 25 year old individuals (approximately). 

Filming Schedules

This is the filming schedule for the month of December and the green boxes indicate the dates which we will be advancing on either the poster, magazine or trailer. However, we are aware that we will have to check the weather reports as all three of our media products are based outside...

Once we had set our dates for filming, it gave us a precise amount of time for finding out if any filming permissions, script work  or props were required. We each allocated aims to each other so that we were using our time effectively and realistically. After simultaneous development in our duties we all debriefed one another and if a decision were to be made, we had to arrive at a mutual agreement.

Here are the schedules for the months following -

Evaluating Film Titles