Film Magazine Research

I have some knowledge about magazine layouts from AS media studies as we focused on the conventions of music magazines therefore I think that many features will be similar, however this year we are looking at film magazines so there may be slight differences. Firstly, there is a masthead at the top of the page which is either red on 'Empire' or white on 'Total Film' both of these fonts are bold and clear also it is the largest text on the page so the audience is drawn to it first which contributes to the visual syntax. This is also very strategic as magazines are often overlapped in shops therefore it is important that the title can be seen so the potential purchaser can identify it quickly. There are cover lines down the sides of the page which give the audience an insight into what is included in that particular issue, these house colours are used so that it looks professional and links together so those colours become associated with the film magazine. Bold, capitalisation and italic fonts are varied so that it adds more definition to the cover and makes certain points of interest stand out from the background which is eye catching. There is a main title which is often placed in the centre towards the bottom of the page which is in bold, large text as it is another main feature so the audience can identify and recognise the genre and name of the film which is extremely important for advertising. There is a huge image which takes up the whole page and is placed behind the text which gives the audience a feel for what the film is about and how the magazine is representing this through this particular media text. The protagonist of the narrative usually features on the front cover because it can become a selling point as the audience may recognise the actor or actress and may be intrigued straight away, this is known as 'star power'. A bar code is normally placed at the side in one of the corners on the front cover which makes it look professional and it will also state the date of issue and price so the audience is aware of this information before deciding whether to purchase it. Sometimes banners are sometimes used to make the cover look more exciting and appealing by featuring smaller images or more information to give more clues about what is inside. Pugs are shapes such as circles or squares which contain more text which needs to stand out because it may be exclusive or of benefit for the reader.

Film Posters Research

Hitman crime thriller posters often use the large image as the focus therefore the photograph fills up the whole page so that the audience is attracted to the visual aspects of the film that is being advertised. It is evident that hitman films usually use a threatening protagonist with an intimidating, serious facial expression to define the genre. In the 'Hitman' movie poster the photograph is taken from a low angle to show his authority, the gun is in the foreground so it looks like it is pointing at the audience which is quite eye catching. He is wearing a dark costume which seems to be  a suit and black leather gloves to convey mystery.

 'Kill Bill' is slightly different as it uses the prop as the main focus which is a long sword with a woman's hand holding onto it, it has a symbol behind to suggest the cultural background. The colours used are orange and yellow which associates with warning and danger which is intriguing to the audience. The posters do not contain a lot of information except for the film title which is usually the largest text with a bold, clear font so that it is memorable and the first feature the audience looks at. Posters are quite minimal and simple as they just inform the audience about the genre and sometimes the names of actors involved or reviews from critics. The main purpose is to attract a wide audience by making the photography and images exciting to grab their attention to encourage people to look for it at the cinema, on DVD, in newspapers, magazines or online.

 Because these are hitman films it seems that the main protagonist who is the assassin appears on the poster on their own as they are the most important. On 'The Mechanic' poster Jason Statham is the hitman who is carrying a bag and dressed in dark, black clothing there is an explosion in the background to show chaos and drama which excites the potential viewer as they know the narrative will contain a lot of action. 

Sometimes film posters include a tag line which is catchy and unforgettable therefore it becomes associated with the film so the audience can recognise it. There is usually  an indication of when the film is going to be released, either a date or something less specific such as 'Coming Soon' to create some interest among potential   audience members. Information about the Directors and Production Company is often displayed in a billing block at the bottom of the poster to show credit.  

Key Scene 1 Props

  

In our second session of filming key scene one we introduced a new prop of a knife so that the burglar seems more threatening and dangerous as we thought that having nothing the first time did not give the effect that we wanted. Also weapons are a huge convention in hit man crime thrillers therefore it is important that we conform so that the audience feels anxious when watching it. We thought that we needed to show that the wife had been hurt emotionally and physically so we used make-up to create a look showing that she had been beaten by the burglar. We smudged her lip stick and put dark eye shadow under her eye to show she had been abused, we ensured that she screamed and shouted when she was being pushed back by the burglar because it was too quiet the first time therefore it did not show her distress. 

Research on hitman crime thriller DVD posters

These DVD covers are quite similar in a number of ways as they all seem to use the same colours such as black, orange, red or white. These colours have the connotations of violence, danger and death which is eye catching as the potential purchasers see this as mysterious and exciting. Also the use of props make the DVD covers more intriguing as each one makes use of a gun which shows the aggressive, dangerous side of each narrative. The guns suggest the film is going to be packed with plenty of action and fighting which will interest the target market as they look for these conventions. The photography is very important on the front cover as it is a visual aid that helps give the potential audience a taster of what the film will be like. Usually there is just one main character on the front to focus the attention purely on the protagonist, it is often a mid-shot, this means the viewer can see the characters body language and facial expressions to get an impression of their role. The facial expressions on each cover seem to be quite serious and moody which gives off the right message as the character needs to be seen  

as intimidating and mysterious. The masthead is also one of the main elements as it states the name of the film which needs to be clear and bold therefore it's often placed in the centre either near the top or the bottom so the potential viewer is drawn to it first. The actor and actresses names are placed on the cover as this could be a selling point especially if they have blockbuster names e.g. Tom Cruise as people may choose to watch 'Collateral' because he stars in the movie. These names are usually put in a smaller font around the title which suggests they are very associated with the film and to give them credit for their roles. DVD covers are quite minimalistic as information is printed on the back, the front cover is designed to grab the attention of a potential buyer by standing out from others on the shelf. Sometimes quotes from critics or magazines are featured on the front cover to show positive feedback and to encourage more people to buy it. The age rating is often shown in the bottom right hand corner to show which age group it is suitable for due to it's content and nature. 

Finished Key Scene 1

First draft of key scene 1

From our first filming session we managed to gather quite a lot of different shot types and angles which we uploaded to imovie to edit. We found a few weaknesses such as a few shots that we had missed out or that we needed to incorporate so the film did not cut too suddenly because it created a jumpy effect which didn't show continuity editing. At one point there is a tracking shot which follows the wife to the sink which is a very long take that needs to be separated into quicker shots to show pace and so the audience doesn't get bored. Therefore we wrote another shot list so we could go back and redo parts so the scene would flow and make sense to an audience.  We decided to use the tripod for a couple of shots to ensure there was no shakiness of the camera and we wanted to use a prop, a knife, so the burglar seems victimising and dangerous. From filming this first draft key scene we have realised that putting together a short scene is actually very difficult and takes a lot of thought and organising. For our next key scene we will ensure that we have planned the time and place of our filming so we can meet our actors and actresses and we will try to take a variety of shots to see which fits best. 

Development

After having a group meeting we have decided that because our genre of crime thrillers is very broad, we will focus on hitman crime thrillers as our narrative is based around the actions of a hired hitman. Therefore it is important that we further our research and knowledge of this specific type by watching a range of hitman films such as; Hanna, Kill Bill, Mr & Mrs Smith, The Mechanic, Nikita and Collateral. Hitman films have typical conventions which are usually followed to construct a successful movie, they often use weapons such as guns and knives for violent purposes and have a place (office, room) with their plans to target their victim by following them and watching their routine. The hitman is normally assigned a case and given information on the victim , the individual is specifically targeted and isn't random. The hitman is highly trained and is offered a huge amount of money for accepting the assignment and carrying it out. 

Planning for more filming (Key scene one)

After filming our first key scene and putting the clips in order on imovie as well as beginning to edit and add effects, it is clear that we need to redo some shots because the continuity editing isn't completely smooth and continuous which is important to ensure the scene is linked and professional. Also we have decided to add a few more camera shots/angles (which are listed below) so that we do not have too many long takes because this becomes boring to the audience. At some points more diegetic sound is needed, such as the wife screaming, so it seems more realistic. We think that we should use a tripod to film some parts so there is less shakiness of the camera, also a skateboard may be useful for the tracking shot of the feet. We may add in another prop, a knife, so the burglar seems more intimidating and will cause the audience to feel anxious. The weaknesses that we have identified has enabled us to improve our scene by writing an additional shot list so we can organise more filming to fill in gaps and redo shots. 

We had a group meeting in Monday's media lesson (10th November at 10am) to organise this filming time, we have decided that we will do more filming for key scene one on Thursday 13th November 2014 at 6.30pm  at my house. We have created a group chat on the social networking site Facebook so that we can communicate our ideas and arrange when we can meet up to film, this is a efficient and modern way to keep updated with each other. 

Animatics for KS1 and KS2

     

Strengths and weaknesses

We watched this trailer in class to try and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the filming, editing and narrative. It's clear to see that the narrative isn't very clear which makes it quite difficult and confusing to follow, therefore it is important that our audience can understand our trailer otherwise they may be discouraged to watch it. Also the sound track doesn't really match or link to the video and may be slightly loud at some points because the dialogue cannot be heard properly. The inter-titles are quite basic however it is good that they are regular to keep the audience updated and intrigued as they add extra information. This trailer makes good use  of different camera angles which keep it interesting for the audience and displays a strong understanding of what effect each camera angle has. More strengths and weaknesses are listed below;

Production Logo Ideas

We have created our production logo on www.logogarden.com as it is a free, easy website to use. 

Firstly we had to choose a symbol that would be the main focus of our logo, we actually found this star symbol under the caption 'Insignia' which we have decided to use because we want our production name to be authoritative and powerful as the word 'insignia' means a significant, distinguishable sign usually of a membership, office or dignity. We have kept the colour scheme quite basic and plain by just using the colour black as we think that this looks professional. The word 'Insignia' is above the symbol in capital letters and in a larger font to portray its importance so the viewer will see this first , then 'productions' is below the symbol in the same font however it is in a slightly smaller font. 

We also created a logo with an old fashioned video camera as it represents the filming that takes place for our production company. 'Insignia' is is a bolder font so that it stands out then 'Productions' is underneath, the logo uses the one colour of black as we think this makes it look more professional rather than using too many colours. In our other logo we have used an eagle as it has the connotations of power, vision and authority which is what we want our brand identity to portray.