Props & Costumes

In this PowToon presentation, I listed and explained what props I am planning to use in my trailer and why this is important, as well as this I also listed what costumes I would like both of my main protagonists to wear and why this will then be important to making my film's narrative even clearer to my targeted audience. 

Lighting: Research and Planning

Through this PowToon presentation I tried both researching into the importance and use of lighting in trailers and looked at trailers within the social realism genre to see their approach to lighting techniques and by the end of the presentation I was able to list out my aims for the way I will use lighting in my trailer. 

Trailer: Scene Order Analysis

I created this PowToon presentation in order to look at the order of which scenes are used in trailers and why. I tried also suggesting their significance and why they have been done in this way. I lastly suggesting how I would like to use this knowledge as a benefit in the construction of my own product. 

Shotlist

This is a shot list I created (using a Word Document template). I had this shot list at hand when I was filming and this was very helpful as my actors were also able to see it to get a rough idea of what they should be doing along with my directions. I'm glad I did this as it helped me a lot when I was filming because I was able to see what type of camera shots I had planned for each scenes shot and why this was fitting, along with this, I was also able to change the shots along accordingly to the scenario if I thought there was a better one suited. I was also able to tick off one at a time once I had completed me which helped with my organisational skills as nothing was then improvised or rushed.  

The only thing I didn't include on this shot list is what type of sound I was planning on using along with each one, however, I don't think this is a major issue as I was able to purely focus on the camera work. Each one of these shots, once edited together, will be followed with a piece of non-diegetic sound that fits the mood of each one and further captures what I am trying to portray to my audience members. Further details of this can be seen in my post about my music plan and research, as well as my Storyboard posts. 

Diary Post 9: Editing day 1

After a couple of problems with my filming schedule being set behind, this meant that along with that, my editing schedule was also impacted by this. 

Today is the first day which I started putting my trailer together using iMovie. I focused purely on the footage and used my animatic to remind myself the order in which I wanted each scene to go in. After I started constructing it, I realised that I wasn't entirely pleased with some of the footage so I managed to find some which I had captured from the first day of filming that I came across yesterday so as I was going along, I was able to amend things to my satisfaction. 

When I next come back to editing, I would like to focus on just adding the inter-titles to bring my trailer along nicely as so far it is missing inter-titles/text and music/sound. 

Diary Post 8: Problems with filming schedule

I was unable to stick to my precise filming schedule due to the fact that for some of the scenes where I needed both Athena and Julia they were both unavailable at the same time. Furthermore, my schedule was generally set back due to medical reasons (as I had an operation) so i had to start filming in the second week of December and because of this and it being close to the christmas period I was unable to get my filming done as early as I had aimed for.

Sound and Music Plan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JYHk_D5A44 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qliGh_BhKyI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoH8E9MlB7s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpZMRMgr-gE 

http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/sad-day

The links above demonstrate the pieces of music I am planning on using. I chose these particular ones as I think they clearly show emotion, therefore will hopefully allow me to make my audience feel the emotions I will be trying to portray through my characters. It was important for me find the right music that heavily transfers the emotions felt as I won't be including any dialogue so I am therefore relying purely on body language, sound, music and facial expressions. 

Although these pieces are effective, I'm still going to try and see if I can find any better ones to ensure it fits in with my narrative and further takes the audience members through a variety of emotions. 

Filming Day 2: Julia and Athena

As previously mentioned, I fell behind on my filming schedule, so again I managed to catch up by spending a whole day filming with my mom and her friend who play Julia and Athena. When I first starting developing my storyline, I asked my mom's friend Florina to play the role of Athena because she was actually pregnant so I though this again would add an element of authenticity. However, by the time I actually managed to get them both together after the set backs she actually gave birth but I asked her to put a pillow under her top to give the idea that she is pregnant. 

While filming with Julia and Athena, I used the following locations: 

• Athenas apartment as I thought that way it would be common ground, making her more open to the suggestion Julia gave her. 
• A charity shop on Worcester Park High Street

I included all of the locations I used while filming with them on my storyboards and I chose them because they fit with my characters backgrounds and descriptions, therefore, giving me the chance to give further insight to audience members of their role and the narrative. Most of the footage I managed to gather today is useful, however, I didn't manage to shoot the footage of Athena outside with the child (at the park, the bit where she is looking at pedestrians etc) as the weather was bad and she didn't want to take the baby outside. 

I will now therefore, need to set a date where I film the doctors scenes and the left over parts of Athena's unless I use some found footage if I don't have time to film my own. But I am hoping I will be able to only use original footage throughout my trailer. 

Filming Day 1: Steve and Julia

Because I fell behind on my filming schedule, I managed to catch up by spending a whole day filming with my mom and her partner who play Steve and Julia. I chose to have them play my characters as they are already a couple so they will be able to add an element of authenticity to my trailer, further linking it to social realism. 

While filming with Steve and Julia, I used the following locations: 

• A clinic at Harley St and Harley St
• His apartment
• A department store 

All of the locations I used while filming with them are included on my storyboards and are chosen because they fit with my characters backgrounds and descriptions, therefore, enabling me to bring my trailer together also giving further insight to audience members of their role and the narrative. Most of the footage I managed to gather today is useful, however, as I shot some of it in London and it was a very busy day, I think I may have to re film some of it. I am planning on filming with Athena and Julia in a couple of days and I will probably be spending the whole day filming to make up for lost time. 

Aside from the day I will be filming with Julia and Athena, I will need to set a date to film some extra scenes, such as the scene where a doctor delivers the bad news to Julia and Steve etc.  

The Hollywood Reporter: front cover analysis

• The main image used for this front cover is a medium shot, angled- side portrait of actor Mark Wahlberg directly looking at the audience drawing us in. The natural pose he has is a relax and friendly one further drawing us in as it makes us feel comfortable although his facial expression suggests otherwise and although he dominates most of the page, the colours and softer tones used counteract this slight feeling of intimidation. Furthermore, his pose suggests that in the article that he is featured in, he will be educating us, perhaps on a film matter. 

• The masthead is placed at the very top of the page in white font and because it is a well known magazine the creators of this magazine were easily able to overlap the main image wit the masthead, resulting in Mark Wahlberg's hair covering some of the magazine's logo, however,  this isn't an issue for the reasons mentioned so this is already served as a brand identity and the magazine's viewers already know it's name and it's genre, despite some of it being hidden. The issue date is placed underneath the "H" in white similarly to the masthead yet in smaller font.

• The text that overlaps Mark's image are the ones directly linked to him, giving us as an audience insight as to what the article written which features him is about. "The Fixer" us written in block capitals in yellow, making it stand out and the text next to it is written in white and is as long as "the fixer" in terms of height. This suggests to us that the text in yellow is a title and the text in white is a small blurb of what will be included in the extended version of the article. The things they wanted to stand out in this blurb about Mark, is either written in italics or capitals.

• There are another four small blurbs included on this front cover and these are placed on the background on each side of Mark's photograph and are placed in same colours, taking the same form as the bigger one which is about Mark Wahlberg. The titles are in yellow which is a darker shade of the one used for "the fixer" making it clearer that the main feature of this magazine's issue is that which included Mark Wahlberg and the shorter versions of the articles underneath are again written in white. 

• The colours used on this cover are very effective as they are light/bright and seem to stand out against the ombre greyish coloured background. As previously mentioned, the image dominates most of the cover and the texts placements work well with the actors composition. 

• As a whole, I really like how although it is quiet simplistic, it is highly effective as it has both a visual and written appeal to it. 

Shank: Poster Analysis

• The thing which is most eye catching on this poster is the films title as it is placed slightly off centre  in bold, bright red text right above the main photograph, behind some of the characters head giving them priority in terms of importance. Length wise the text is in the middle, but not height as it is placed above the characters. The title, followed as a brand identity, is extremely clever and effective because as part of the letter 'A' there appears to be a silhouette of a person holding out a knife, linking in with the title and the red foreshadows the amount of blood loss during the film (as re connotes blood and danger). The silhouette could further suggest to the audience that a particular character may get involved in a dangerous situation as the films story line unravels. 

• Just like Adulthood's film poster, Shank's main photograph is one of the main six characters possibly from a scene in the film. It also suggests the importance of each character through their placement as they are standing in a line. Shank features one of Adulthood's main cast members who is in fact Adam Deacon, well known for that particular role in Adulthood, Adam is standing on the far left. Along with Adam, there is another extremely familiar face on the poster and this is of Bashy (standing next to Adam) who is a rapper well known in the UK ( and as previously mentioned on my blog, Bashy's music was used on the film's soundtrack). Shank's audience members are most likely those of both Kidulthood and Adulthood and will therefore most likely be interested in getting more insight on these characters roles, expecting them to have important ones throughout the film. Their positioning is further effective because it both supports and neglects this idea because it could be argued that as they are not in the centre their roles may not be as important as other characters. However, Bashy's body language suggests that his role in particular is quiet important as it is almost suggested to us as though he is leading the rest of the characters and it further looks like he is ahead of the rest. This makes the audience members intrigued and further makes them want to watch the rest of the film to see if their roles are in fact important or not. 

• The main photograph of the six characters is an action shot and appears to capture them either running away from or even towards something, suggesting to the audience what this film will be like and what type of characters these people have. This, along with the mise-en-scene (costume and 'props') further gives insight to those looking at this poster what the themes of the film are. The costume that they are wearing captures an element of teenage life within the gang culture. We are able to see that it is a violent youth film because of their clothing (hoodies) along with the dog that is with them which is a bull/terrier which are in fact banned in the UK fir their violent nature. Behind the characters, in the background there is a big group of people dressed in all black with hoodies again showing themes of gang culture. The tagline "The gangs have taken over" further supports this and suggests to us as an audience that these characters aren't part of a gang but are however, exposed to the features of gang life.  

• Above the title, in bold fonts are written the names of each main character and next to the title is the name of the director again in bold and big enough font for it to stand out against the background. At the bottom of the poster, are the billing blocks is a convergence link of the films website which enables viewers to further gain information on the film if they want to.  The blurb on top of the tagline is put in place in order to show the audience what previous success they have contributed towards. It is especially effective because Kidulthood is another film within the same genre, therefore attracting both a wider but also an already established audience.

•  As stated on the poster, Shank is from the distributors of Kidulthood (and Adulthood) so this films poster, especially the portrait one (and this one, even though it is landscape, follows the generic conventions of film posters) has almost the same exact layout as the Adulthood poster in terms of text and photograph. Because this poster I am analysing is the landscape one as mentioned before, it does differ slightly to their portrait one as in this one they were not able to include any reviews the film got. However, this doesn't mean one is any better than the other. As a whole, I think this poster is extremely effective as it is eye catching as the colours used work well together and the information they wanted their audience members to get does in fact stand out. 

Shank: Trailer Analysis

Shank is an action packed film within the social realism genre which is set in a future London which is decaying. The targeted audience are people within the same age groups of the protagonists ( 15-22 year olds) most likely those who live in Britain as they will be able to identify with the issues captured and it will therefore be easier for them to  be attracted to watch such a film. 

The very first thing we see is a quick paced jump cut of  a male character in a boxing attire in a gym. Already this gives us as an audience an idea of what this film will be like, creating a sense of urgency due to the fast pace of footage and aggression shown from the character. It then cuts from that shot and goes to three continuous shots of a black screen which have inter-titles on them of both the distribution and production companies of this film. This is effective as it enables viewers to further gain an idea (or even support the one they had) as to what type of film this will be as these companies are well known for their involvement of such films. After the three shots of the distribution and production companies, there is another quick paced shot of a character jumping over a fence suggesting that this character may be in trouble as he is running away from something. The music at this moment increases in pace to further create tension and make the audience read between the lines as it makes them wonder what is going on that isn't being shown to us. After that shot there is again another inter-title which says "from the distributor that brought you Kidulthood" which is Revolver Entertainment. The inter-titles used in these first couple of second of the trailer are very effective as they draw in an already established audience (those who have watched Kidulthood, as they now know that Shank will also be a good film covering some very similar issues) and perhaps a new one which enjoy films like this but has not seen a film like Kidulthood. 

It then quickly cuts of a series of shots of what appears to be the same character as previously jumping over the fence and running away and then transitions to an over the shoulder shot of an older character and a younger one talking where there is dialogue added of "you know I love you right" over some shots of them boxing together in a gym, suggesting that as an audience we might witness a relationship through tough and happy times as it looks like they have a sibling bond and this idea is supported by the pace and mood the music creates. It then cuts to a shot of a red bus driving past fast, this is helpful as it sets the scene for the audience members letting us know that we will be set in London for most of the film if not all of it. We then see a group of young boys walking and the lighting then gets darker suggesting that they are perhaps trouble makers or they take up roles of villains throughout the film. An inter-title which says "London 2015" is shown which makes the audience wonder what will happen next as it is set in a futuristic time to when the film was actually released, again creating tension and suspense as it makes the audience members feel uneasy perhaps because it is an issue projected which is close to home, making them worried as already only one minute into the trailer we have been shown themes of gang culture. After that inter-title there are a variety of quick paced jump cuts which show London in a chaotic state adding to the suspense. 

We are then shown another inter-title which says "the gangs have taken over" and cuts to a series of other fast paced shots again of London in a rough and chaotic state as we are shown quick glimpses of characters dressed in all black with bandanas and other clothing such as hoodies which are often linked, stereotypically with clothing associated with gang members and some of these people shown have paint on their faces. These characters further add to the suspense as they then create a sense of fear. A variety of very fast paced shots are presented of some characters fighting where we then see one of the characters which we were introduced to at the very beginning on the floor and we see a part of a knife being held by another character in an aggressive manner and it then cuts to a scene where that same character has been stabbed and the character doing this is smiling while he is inflicting pain to the protagonists brother. We are then shown a shot of the protagonist against a wall with facial expressions which connote both anger and sadness and this could suggest to us that this could be a turning point for the protagonist in the film, especially as the films title seems so far to be revolving around this act and how this character will deal with the loss (the blood in the background could foreshadow the blood loss which will occur later on). 

 There are then four inter-titles presented to us in between a variety of quick paced shots which capture gang culture and everything which those who are a part of it go through or are involved with. The first inter-title we see in this series of shots says "this March" this is effective as it lets audience members know when the film will be released. The next three are those which say "there is one rule", "kill", "or be killed" which is clever as it makes it sound as though all of this will actually happen and that the audience members will have to go through this similarly to the characters (in 2015) creating interest as they will want to see how these characters will deal with these events and what we might be lead to do if we go through this in the future. The shots that we see in between each inter-title are captured to give us further insight into that sort of life and seem to portray aggressive, angry, violent and dangerous characters and this is shown through series of shots which capture fights and arguments. 

The next series of shots slightly lighten the mood and are put in place to introduce the main characters featured in this film. For example, after the inter-title "Adam Deacon", there are a couple of shots of his character within the film and the same occurs for the other three characters. This is effective, as it attracts audience members which like and appreciate their previous films, especially as Adam Deacon was in Kidulthood and Adulthood. As Bashy is one of the actors, the music used in some parts of the film such as the clubbing scene include his songs as he is a UK grime artist, further adding to the authenticity of the film and attracting a wider audience. 

The shot after that is of an inter-title which includes the title of the film and it then transitions to another two inter-titles which say "if you're not one of us" and "you're a victim". This is suggesting that through this film we will see numerous characters which perhaps were forced to take part in something they didn't want to in order to survive. This is supported by the next shot we see of the protagonist throwing a punch (in the background there is a character dressed in the same clothing as the previous gang members we were shown) making it look as though he is going to punch the camera and it then goes from a black screen to one with an inter-title which has the release date and their website link on it giving the audience members additional information of the film. The very last thing we see is of billing blocks and this is effective as it includes credits of everyone involved in the production and distribution of this film. 

As a whole I think that this trailer is very effective and successful as it manages to captivate and keep the audience interested through out. Even while I was watching it, although it is my type of film due to the heavy feature of violence, the quick paced editing and music had me interested the whole time. So far, out of all the film trailers I have analysed, Shank's film trailer is the only one which includes so many inter-titles and this is because it hasn't used a huge amount of dialogue so they have relied on inter-titles to deliver and make the narrative clearer to the audience members. 

Animatic Storyboard

Following up my storyboard, I then created this animatic of my storyboard in order to actually bring the pictures to life, seeing what my trailer could turn out like or how I could even improve. To create this, I used the pictures I drew my self (which are already up on my blog) and then used iMovie in order to put them together. This task helped me a lot, as I was able to actually add the institution and distribution logos, inter-titles with my chosen text music and also crop the images to show a variety of shot types. I think the music I chose works but not as well as I thought it would as where there are transitions it isn't as fluid as I wanted it to be. Furthermore, I would like to make sure all the inter-title transitions and presentations are the same throughout. 

This task was very helpful for the reasons above as it enabled me to see both the strengths and weaknesses of my editing skills. I'm aiming to try and keep this particular sequence of shots as I think it works quiet well, however, I would like to try and improve on the weaknesses I addressed. 

Dairy Post 9: Change of font.

As seen in this collage (created on www.befunky.com) the first two are screen grabs of the font I had chosen for my inter-titles from the website Dafont but as I was creating my animatic story board I didn't really like how it looked. This is because once I started adding sentences rather than just word, I didn't realise through my research that this font has lines both above and below the text and I don't think it looks as effective as I was hoping. 

Through my font research however, I narrowed it down to 5 fonts, so I went back and downloaded them all and saw which ones worked best. My final font decision is as seen in the last two images on the bottom art of the collage and this is the font called "KG Why You Gotta Be So Mean" from Dafont. I think this works a lot better than the previous one as it is also clearer to read as it stands out a lot better and further adheres to the social realism genre.After deciding that I wanted that to be my final font, I then went back and changed all my intertitles font to that particular one. 

Story Board

This is my story board, I drew out the title on the first one and then scanned it in and stuck the scenes and inter-titles on each one, in the order I would like my trailer to follow. 

I drew out the pictures myself, but didn't however, draw them to the exact shot type I would like each one to be. This is because I wanted to firstly draw them out to see what type of footage I would have. I then decided what type of shot would be effective for each scene and why ( I tried explaining this in the first box next to the drawing). In the second box, however, I described what kind of sound/music I would like to include throughout my trailer and why this would be fitting to that particular footage/ scene. 

The only thing I didn't annotate on my story board are the inter-titles and this is because I wanted to preserve the visual attraction my story board had. I believe that the inter-titles I chose are very effective and have an important role in my trailer as they further give hints and insight to the audience about the storyline and themes that may be covered throughout my trailer. 

This task helped me as it enabled me to further think about why I chose these shots and how/why they help bring my trailer together in an way which will attract my targeted audience. To create this collage of my story board I used the website PicMonkey. 

Total Film: front cover analysis

• This magazine front cover is a highly effective one because of the balance between the amount of text and imagery used, making it both visually and written appeal. 

• The majority of the font is in bold and all of the text is placed in block capitals to make it more eye catching and further make all of the text stand out, showing that all things featured on this cover are equally important as the other things. 

• The mode of address of the main image is very clever as it addresses audience members from every single angle (left, right and centre) as each character is looking in a different direction despite their body language being the opposite of their glance. The central images used are further effective as the body language and composition give hints into each character type and their role. The AI is in the centre as she is mostly the main focus of Ex - Machina.

• The main theme of this magazine issue, similarly to the film, is of a futuristic and technological aim so the taglines and pugs all address films which cover the same themes through their narrative. E.g. "50 greatest movie robots and "The terminator 30th anniversary special". The issue date of this magazine is another generic convention this magazine has managed to use in a clever way to their advantage and this is because it says 2055 which is in fact thirty years after The Terminator was set in, both linking it to the tag lines they have included and further reminding us as an audience of the futuristic feel (as  it is a futuristic themed issue, it is set in a futuristic time, forty years in the future).

• Because it is a well known and established film magazine, it's illustrators were able to make the decision of covering partially some of the letters, however because it is well known, this doesn't appear to be an issue as it also serves as a brand identity so the magazines viewers know what it is called. A more independent magazine wouldn't be able to do something like this as it probably would not have a wide recognition like a magazine such as Total Film or Empire. 
• This magazine front cover was created in a very interesting way and I really like how they used generic conventions of magazines yet still made it a lot more appealing due to their creativity and the colours used all appear to work nicely together. 

Script

• After looking at various trailers of films within the social realism genre, I have realised that most of them use dialogue to help further entice their target audience. However, for my trailer I decided that it would be most effective if I don't embed any dialogue because I will therefore, be able to direct my viewers' main focus to the content of my trailer it self rather than what my featured characters will be saying. 

• As I have decided not to include dialogue, I will be able to use music and other forms of sound to my advantage as this will further help me build up suspense. An example of diegetic sound I would like to use is crying or a heart beat as these sounds could suggest that these sounds are coming from either the child or the protagonists themselves, which will also help build tension and help the trailer flow smoothly as these sounds complement and link with my narrative. I would also like to include the sound of laughter to include both sad and happy times that could be portrayed throughout my trailer. I think this will be effective as I will be able to control the sounds and record them as many times as needed in order to capture them the precise way I want to. As well as diegetic sound, I would like to include non-diegetic sound in the form of music (which will be non copyrighted pieces) to further help my trailer come together.

• Other than the sounds previously mentioned, which I will be able to control, I would also like to add some which are out of my control. These could include the natural sounds made by people in a shopping centre, I'm planning on doing this when I film in Birmingham. 

• Other than the points mentioned above, the main reason as to why I do not want to include any dialogue in my trailer is because I feel that it isn't really needed as I don't want to give anything away to my viewers. I especially think that through the body language and facial expressions of my characters/actors, my targeted audience will be able to get an idea of my narrative and will also be able to go through my characters' journey with them. I think that along with body language and facial expression, music and sounds in general will have a huge role in this as this will also enable my targeted audience to feel a variety of emotions as the music could either make them feel tense or sad. Lastly, I think that the intertitles that I am planning on including will also help the audience get an idea of what is going on or what will happen if the intentions of the footage it self may appear unclear for some of my viewers.

Title and Font Analysis

I firstly looked at the title fonts of other films within the social realism genre. I used Easel.ly in order to create this pin board/ collage. All of these texts are quiet bold and are all in capital letters other than the one small case letter in each Adulthood and Kidulthood film as they are part of the same sequence of films.  Catfish's text is also effective due to its simplicity and is written in all lower case. All of these fonts are Sans - Serifed and are either white or black or have a pop of colour which links to the films narrative. E.g. the red in "Shank" could foreshadow the blood loss captured throughout the film. 

After trying to then further brainstorm to find a final title for my film  that will be both suitable and effective, I found that another possible title for my film could be "Invaluable" and this is because it has an identical meaning to "Priceless" which I mentioned in my synopsis post that this was a possible title. Although they are both effective, I think that "Priceless" fits a bit better with my narrative and sounds like it could be the perfect title for my film as it leaves the audience wandering what the story behind it is. 

I then used the website Canva in ordert to create this collage of all the possible font types I chose from "Dafont.com".  I chose a variety of fonts some are bolder, longer, thinner etc. but I do think that all of these fonts are effective as they stand out and the title is easily readable.  My top 3 of these fonts are the third, fourth and sixth one.  

For my final title and intertile font I chose to go with Kenteken (above) as it is bold yet has a balance of thickness and is also has an edgy feel to it and is very eye catching. The gaps missing from "P" and "R" could foreshadow the only things the characters want in their life but can't have. The colour of my text will most likely be white, similarly to Fish Tank as it will stand out against the black background that I'd like to have both my title and inter-titles on. 

Breakdown of Locations

Untitled10 from elleniapanayiotou

I firstly used PowToon in order to create the presentation of the locations I would like to include in my trailer. I chose the locations that I thought would enable the audience to get an idea of what and why the narrative and the characters included in my trailer are like. I then exported it as a SlideShare document for easier access on my blog. 

Adulthood: Poster Analysis

• The main photograph of this poster is one of all the protagonists of the film and they seem to be placed in order of importance, with the most important one (Sam) at the front in the centre. As well as their poses, their costumes also suggest a lot about their characters. This is because Kidulthood was released before Adulthood and their costumes were carefully chosen effectively in order to show which characters have in fact grown and become "adults". Furthermore, through the addition of new characters, the audience want to find out what their relevance to the narrative is making them want to watch this part of the sequel to see if it has developed further in comparison to Kidulthood. The characters' facial expressions further suggest that they may be going through something tough individually or even as a group. Slightly to Sam's left (his left) on the floor next to him there is a baseball bat which is in fact the murder weapon he used to kill another character who was in Kidulthood. This makes the audience members wonder why it has been included on the poster, wondering if anything will happen to Sam for the crime he has committed or even if the same scenario will occur again only with a different person. The location of this shot further supports the films narrative as it is a long shot which in the background has a city's skyline which is stereotypically associated with inner city working class people and crime or violence within those areas. Similarly, because these particular characters are placed in front of it, this suggests that they are most likely in a run down or council estate area of this urban area. Adulthood's already established audience members will know this, however, this will help the new audience members gain a deeper understanding of the narrative. 

• The release date of the film is key in the marketing campaign of any film so it is therefore always included on the poster. "June 20 in cinemas Nationwide" is placed towards the bottom of the poster allowing audience members to gain the last bit of information they need to know about the film which is when they can see it. It further allows audience members a chance to promote the film through word of mouth (two step flow) as this gives them a date to look forward to. 

• Above the release date is the films website where audience members can in fact access soundtracks, DVDs, pictures etc. Above the website link and opposite it are the billing blocks which include the names of all the cast and crew members and companies which helped distribute or produce the film. For example, Pathe Pictures' logo was placed there as they were involved with the distribution which gave them an advantage as Pathe Pictures is a French media company which suggests that this gave them a good opportunity for advertisement abroad.  

• Slightly below the release date however, is a text messaging service which allows viewers to download Adulthood's official trailer for free on their phones. This is very effective as it is appealing due to its easy method and its easy accessibility. Furthermore, it is effective because it is attracting the right type of audience through the use of technology as this is something their target audience is interest in. 

• The title of the film has become the brand identity and makes it easily recognisable as it is written in bold and as a result, stands out. The blurb, along with the title of the film was placed on the poster above its main photograph. This makes it look as though it is overlooking the characters which claim to be "adults" (despite some of them being young teens) making them appear very small which links in nicely with the themes covered in the film as the characters are exposed to the harsh events that can occur in life. It is composed in a very clever way as it then makes the audience wonder and ask if these characters have actually grown up since Kidulthood. Underneath "After Kidulthood comes Adulthood" (which acts as a clear link between the two films as previously mentioned they are part of the same sequel). Underneath this, in even smaller text "A Noel Clarke film" is placed in the same type of font in the colour of black in order to stand out against the background. This name is important as he wrote, directed and starred in this film so he is one of the key people which helped make this film what it is. Next to "Adulthood", in slightly bigger font than the tag lines above and beneath the title, the film's age certificate is stated which is 15 y/o. This could attract audience members who haven't seen Kidulthood and would be interested in films like this. 

• At the very top of the poster are two different reviews written by critics of UK magazines and are placed in bold white text in order to stand out. This, along with the title are initially the first things that catch our eye when looking at this poster. This is effective as it draws in viewers, telling them that this film is worth watching. Such reviews include those from "The Mirror" which has given Adulthood an exceptional rating of four stars. The reviews that are usually included on posters, just like on this one are always positive in order to create a positive buzz about the film which is being promoted. 

• As a whole, in my opinion this poster is very effective as it keeps with the theme of the film and draws the viewer in as the colour scheme along with the compositional ideas work well together. The colours used are relatively dark and have been altered in this way so it can add an extra element of drama and mysteriousness. 

Character Plan

Throughout this presentation, I mapped out the ideas for the main characters of my film. I included a picture of characters from already existing films that I think my characters look like or should be like as I think they share character features and behave in similar ways. I further included a description of who they are (name, age, gender, physical appearance social status etc.) and their past, why this is relevant to their character type and how this will further help develop my films narrative. 

Institution Research & Planning

Through my research into Institutions, I was able to find out that a company can both distribute and produce a film. Throughout this Prezi presentation, I firstly researched both privately and publicly owned film companies in order to see which one would be fitted for me to include in my film/trailer. To then further help me decide, I looked into the Institution companies of other social realism films. Some of the films I looked at included: Fish Tank and This is England. I then decided that I wanted my production company to be UK Film Council and my distribution company to be Imaginary Friend Pictures. I wanted my production company to be UK Film Council because it is a well establish Independent British company which has created successful films such as The King's Speech (and other films I included in the collage  above that I made on Picmonkey.com) and although some are of a different genre, they have also created films similar to mine (Fish Tank). This suggests it fits with my narrative and it is also useful because they already have a well established audience within this genre and films with similar themes to mine. 

Here is a link of UK Film Council's logo which I will be able to include in my films trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv2QQ3scvUY.
As mentioned before, Imaginary Friend Pictures is a made up film company we previously found on the internet so I will be able to include this picture. 

Filming Plan

 I made this plan of when I would like to be filming. This will help me stay organised because I'm relying on four people to be in my trailer so it may be difficult. These are all the dates I managed to agree on as those were the days my characters were free. 

 I have included more days of filming with Athena and Chris as they have a key role in my film and are two of my protagonists, furthermore, I did this because I think the scenes that I have sketched out with them help the narrative flow smoothly and will therefore, hopefully help my trailer flow smoothly and take the form of a professional one. 

At the end of December / beginning of January I will be in Birmingham so I have included dates for when I can film there in order to include more locations in my trailer, as well as for Birmingham, I have included dates of when I will be able to film in London to further show the contrast between the two couples. 

I have also included the date where I think we will start editing so I should be aiming to have it all filmed by then, hopefully no changes will occur with my protagonists so I will be able to carry on effectively. 

Empire front cover mock up: First try at Photoshop of Yr 13

In this lesson, I attempted creating a front cover of a magazine that my film would be featured on. Whilst creating it, I searched for a photograph that would be similar to the one I would like to use and could link to my narrative effectively. I chose Empire because I thought the colour scheme links nicely due to the picture I chose, however, I don't think Empire is going to be the magazine I will chose for a feature of my film on a front cover as I don't think it links very well with the genre of my film. For my final cover I will probably use one such as Sight & Sound and Little White Lies as they target a more niche audience, which will be fitting to my film. 

The lesson after, I changed the main image as the one I previously had wasn't exactly what I was looking for. I then chose this one, because the position and the way the lady was captured through this photograph links very well with my narrative. So I think I could therefore, be looking to capture a photograph like this when filming or even in an separate photographic shoot dedicated just for the main photograph of both my poster and front cover magazine. I then tried to emulate one of Empire's already existing issue (on the bottom left) because the composition of the main image looked similar to the one I had originally chosen. I then experimented with getting the font identical to the one already used in order to make it look as realistic and professional looking as possible. The bar-code, issue date, price and the magazine's logo are all very important features which make a magazine eye catching and professional looking so I wanted to practise these more than anything else to get used to the compositional ideas and where everything should be within the margins in order for it to look like a professional and well established magazine.  

This task was very helpful as I now know what I will need to work one when I need to create the final magazine front cover that my magazine will be featured on. As a whole, I'm quiet pleased of how it went although it isn't finished. As I mentioned before, I like the photograph I found on the internet and used, this is because it looks like it could be the protagonist from my film. So far, I now know that kind of photograph I will be using as the main image and a possibility between two front covers. I would like to try  out my ideas and see which one I prefer most or which one works best. 

Adulthood: Trailer Analysis

 The trailer begins with almost a birds eye view but a medium close up of two characters lying in bed. The lighting in this shot appears to be quiet dark in order to create mystery and the non diegetic music played above it also helps do this effectively. It then smoothly transitions to a close up of the female character where a piece of dialogue has been placed also supporting the element of mystery as it makes us wonder as an audience why she has said that. We are then presented with a long shot of a city with lights on at night, suggesting to us that similarly to Kidulthood, we are still located in London for the duration of this film. Towards the end of this particular clip of the city lights, text is added on top of it which is the logo of the distribution company "Pathe Pictures", this has been put in place in order to give an idea to new audience members, most likely those who haven't seen Kidulthood what type of film this will be. 

As the trailer continues , the non diegetic music also increases in pace, creating more suspense and excitement as it also gets louder. This is effective as it makes us wonder what will happen next. There is then a quick shot shown which is of a scene from the previous sequence Kidulthood, attracting their already established audience. This shot includes one of the protagonists Sam hitting another character (Trevor) with a baseball bat (which is included on the poster for Adulthood. It then transitions from moving footage to a more illustrative one of the same shot which says "six years locked up" (as seen on the right). In this shot the lighting is quite dark and has contrast in it creating suspense as this now seems to bring an element of disruption to the somewhat calm that was included before (at the beginning). After that, there is another medium shot of Sam with the same lighting and illustrative technique while he is putting up his hood and is walking away from the camera/audience. This is effective because it creates enigma as it makes us wander if he is in trouble again and what will happen, especially as there is diegetic sounds of police sirens in the background further adding suspense. There are then numerous jump shots of different locations in London in a series of clips which seem to have longer screening time. The lighting here appears to be slightly brighter and there is then a low angle shot of another protagonist (Jay) with the same illustration used as the ones used for Sam with an inter-title which says "time to settle the score" which is again used as an opportunity to create enigma as we are left wondering what will happen next. 

The next series of shots are quick paced in order to create more suspense and these are action packed shots so this is effectively achieved. Some shots are of scenes which include themes of violence,drugs, sex and gang culture which link in and support the themes usually covered within a film of this genre. And in between these shots are some shots which again transition with the illustrative technique with inter-titles placed on top of them in order to add suspense and build tension. This is demonstrated where there is a shot of Sam crying with an inter-title saying "nowhere to run" and another shot of him running with an inter-title saying "nothing to lose". These create suspense and interest because as an audience we don't expect to see a character like Sam in such vulnerable situations, making us want to watch  the rest of the film to see what will happen. 

The trailer ends with a series of shots which still portray themes of violence and are heavily reliant on inter-titles in order to end it with an effective way. These are shots which create buzz as they are again action packed and have written on top of them "After Kidulthood" and "comes", then transitioning to a black screen which has written on it in white text the title of the film so the main focus of it is in fact the title as there won't be any distractions. It then cuts to another low angled shot of Jay looking down at someone, suggesting that he has power over them. However this creates mystery as the person looking down at isn't visible to us as an audience so this, along with the dialogue ("think I forgot you blud?") and music makes us wander what will happen next. The very last thing we see in this trailer is a black screen with white inter-tiles that say "coming soon", creating excitement for the audience and letting them know that the film will be released in short time. 

As a whole I think this trailer is highly effective as it uses all the traditional elements such as music, editing, inter-titles and dialogue to make the audience excited and look forward to seeing the film while giving them enough hints and general idea of the narrative without giving too much away.

Average Audience Member

Untitled3 from elleniapanayiotou

Through this Slide Share presentation, I showed what a typical member of my targeted audience would be like and why they would be interested in watching a trailer like mine. Throughout this Slideshare, I have  included their interests, personality and general information about them. 

I think that a person like Maria is an accurate representation of what my target audience would look or be like. As a result of my previous research, I figured out that my target audience are females of 15-24 years old. This sort of age group has a relatively high amount of disposable income and will therefore be able to go to the cinema and participate in other activities with their family or friends in their free time. Furthermore, I feel like she will like to watch my film because she likes watching shows or films that can be applied to in real life or that she may be able to identify with at any time throughout. 


After continuing my research as well as planning, I think that a much more realistically presented target audience member would be again females, however, aged 30-45 as I think the themes covered throughout my films may be a bit more heavy/mature than what I initially thought, particularly because only women at 28+ stereotypically plan to have children or may have difficulty conceiving any. Although, I still think that the information I presented in the slide share presentation still applies to my target audience member as I think they will probably have very similar personalities due to the fact that as I mentioned before Maria is more mature than her age.  I think my film could appeal to both age groups as there are numerous themes covered throughout the whole of my film, such as family relationships, money etc. Here is a picture of what I think my audience member would look like. (picture found on Tumblr- 30 millionaires under 30 article) 

Inter-titles Analysis

Presentation from elleniapanayiotou

By researching the Inter-title sequence in my focus social realism films that I am using to get inspiration from, I have figured out what intertitles I need to include in my final trailer in order for it to be effective and professional looking. All the elements I analysed throughout this Emaze presentation are elements that help bring a trailer together effectively. 

Sight & Sound: front cover analysis

• Through the use of bright colours and text that takes a handwritten (adds a teenage or childlike feel to it) form, this tells us along with the main photograph that the film is about the character's story. The bright colours are eye catching, drawing the reader in. "21st Century Girl" could be the nick name Sight & Sound's editors/ writers have given to this character, "Modern Britain on Film" and "Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank" suggests to us as an audience that similarly to the magazine, this film is a British Independent one. Furthermore, to attract the already established audience, this is effective as independent film fans are most likely to appreciate and want to watch this film as they will have pre-existing knowledge of the work she has already directed.

•  The main image has been shown using the rule of thirds. The girl, being the only one in the shot suggests to the audience that she is the protagonist of Fish Tank (we know it's from Fish Tank because as the the main set of text is regarding this film and its size is bigger in comparison to the rest of the text). However, she is positioned off centre, to the bottom right side of the page, suggesting that as a character she may not be very powerful or important. The lighting and the angle of this shot further support this because, she appears smaller in comparison to her surroundings and the text featured about Fish Tank, The mode of address isn't direct or straight forward as the girl on the front cover is gazing to her right, looking away from the audience. This could further suggest that the girl isn't very confident. However, it could be argued that the lighting and angle contradict this because the low angle of the shot forces the audience to slightly look up at her in a way as the this is not an eye level shot of the character, putting her at a different level than the readers. The lighting which is highly contrasted on her face in comparison to the sky and the rest of her body could foreshadow what she is going through. It is put in place to possibly make it look like she has more power than in reality. In addition to this, the location presented in the image is used to set the scene and give the audience an opportunity to get a feel of the type of person the protagonist is. The location and her clothing (wearing a hoodie, t-shirt and what we can guess leggings/ tracksuit bottoms which are typical clothing items for teenagers)  also help do this effectively . This is because the photograph is set in a city/urban area such as Essex, which is in fact where Fish Tank is set in. 

• The usual convention for Sight & Sound magazine is to place their title/logo neatly in the top left hand corner. In comparison to other magazines, it is relatively small, however, as a whole (with the main image, text etc) it seems to work very well. It usually overlaps with the photograph chosen for the front cover. This has lent it self as a form of brand identity and can be recognised internationally for its bold colours. Furthermore, the tagline "The international film magazine" suggests that Sight & Sound can be bought internationally, which gives it a broader audience. The yellow box with the name of the magazine written in black and red font, makes it stand out as it is a contrasting colour. All of he colours chosen for this front cover, link nicely as they complement each other, being opposite on the colour palette.  

• The puff on the magazine just below the pugs, suggests that the main focus of the magazine is to give film reviews, this and the fact that readers can have an annual subscription gives them a more niche audience. The barcode is located at the top right hand corner of the magazines front cover and the month of the release of this magazine is directly beneath, letting readers know that Sight & Sound gets published monthly. Additionally, the pugs include other film reviews and interviews that are included in this particular months issue. This allows the reader to be able to scan the magazine to see what they may or may not be interested to read.     

• As a whole, I think this magazine front cover is very effective and interesting. This is because the central image draws people in, for its clever composition along with the way the text is displayed differently in order to redirect the viewers focus to different issues that are further included within the magazine.