CONSTRUCTION: POSTER TITLE

I have been looking at how to present my film title on my poster, I created this effect on the font which I like as it is eye catching and adds dimension to the image:

I created this as a teaser poster, and a practice for the title. 

However once placing that on the top of the poster, it does not work due to the colour of the background of the poster. I then began experimenting with different types of designs and colours for the title.
In the end I had the title copied twice, once in a dark grey, and once in the light grey font I created (see above image). I then used the dark grey and put it behind the light grey text slightly to the left of the light grey text. This then created a 3D effect and made the light grey easy to read. Here are some screenshots of the different variations.

CONSTRUCTION: POSTER

Here are some screenshots to show my progression on my poster for A Question of Identity.

RESEARCH: VLADIMIR PROPP'S NARRATIVE THEORY

Vladimir Propp's Narrative Theory

Vladimir Propp's narrative theory was created in the early twentieth Century. It involved the analysis of Russian folk tales, breaking them down into their simplest and irreducible narrative forms. After analysing 100 folk tales, he discovered that all of the evident characters could be categorised into 8 broad types of different characters:

1. The Villain - Struggles against the hero.
2. The Dispatcher - Character who informs the hero on lack and sends him on his quest.
3. The (magical) Helper - Helps hero during quest.
4. The Princess/Prize - Hero deserves to marry her, but cannot throughout the film because of the villain, often the quest is ended with the Hero and the Princess getting married.
5. Her Father - Gives Hero task and identifies False Hero, Propp noted that the Princess and the Father cannot be clearly distinguished.
6. The Donor - Prepares the Hero
7. The Hero or Victim/ Seeker Hero - Reacts to the donor and gets married to the Princess
8. False Hero - In order to marry the Princess, he takes credit for the Heroes actions to impress her.

Despite clearly stating the different categories of characters found in tales, Propp did not state that these had to apply to every one separate character; the villain could also be the father etc. Using Propp's theory, when a character has been correctly identified within a story, it is always predictable to what that character will do throughout, as each character has a sphere of action. After the initial situation is depicted, any story can be broken down into 31 different functional sections that supposedly incorporated all of the plot components that a story needed. According to Propp, a cohesive story can be created by the use of these 31 functional sections.

1. Absentation
- This section usually includes a member of a family to leave the security of their home. The instant division of family/lack of security at such an early stage in the film immediately injects the storyline with tension. This particular character usually ends up being the hero/heroin of the story, and usually returns to rescue a member of their family. The hero will be shown as an ordinary person in this section but will be perceived in a different way after they overcome a courageous situation and prove everyone they are the rightful heroes.
2. Interdiction
- The hero or main character is given an interdiction and warned against doing something. An example of this would be where there is a sign prohibiting access to a particular place, and at this point the hero has to decide whether to carry on in his quest or not. The hero always ends up taking the prohibited/dangerous route, this helps arise suspense for the viewers.
3. Violation of Interdiction
- When the hero has entered the prohibited place, the villain is introduced. This usually results in misfortune and involves many obstacles for them to overcome. The whereabouts of the villain is not always clear to the hero; this is because usually the villain is lurking around without hero knowing. Another probable situation is to place the villain at the heroes’ family home threatening to cause harm to the family members.
4. Reconnaissance
- The villain attempts to reconnaissance. Usually, the villain tries to find valuable family possessions or even take the children or young family members to obtain desired information. Children are often taken because they are perceived to be vulnerable and helpless, which may be the villains’ tactful thinking as he can obtain the desired information with ease. This also gives the chance for the hero to shine as he can save them from the evil grasp of the villain. However, this technique is often undertaken by the villain to lure the hero into confrontation and result in the meeting of the two vital characters.
5. Delivery
-Villain seeks to meet hero, already knowing why he is special. At this point the villain receives some of the acquired information, usually through the innocent and frightened family member.
6. Trickery
-Often at this particular point the villain and hero/victim have yet to meet, or have only briefly met prior to this point. Tricking takes place in this section, usually this includes gaining the confidence of the hero/victim by using tactful tricks and disguises. This is done to fool the hero/victim into the villain is in actual fact a friend. At this point the villain has also taken somebody close to the hero/victim as a hostage and requires the hero to supply the villain with certain information or possessions.
7. Complicity
-Hero/victim is taken in by the villains’ disguises and deception. Due to the false confidence that has been provided by the villain they naively help him without knowing that the information he is obtaining from them is working against the good.
8. Villainy or Lack
-Either friend of hero or family member desire or lack something that can be provided by the villain. Villain usually offers what is desired in exchange of some important information on the hero. An alternative to this is that usually the villain inflicts pain onto one of the characters closest to the hero. This can range from forced marriage to death.
9. Mediation
- Villainy or lack is discovered or made known to the hero.
10. Beginning Counter-action
-At this point, the ordinary person needs to make an important decision which will set out a course of strenuous obstacles that will define the mantle of heroism.
11. Departure
- Hero leaves home.
12. First Function of Donor
- The donor tests, interrogates and attacks the hero which allows preparation to defeat the villain.
13. Hero's Reaction
-Hero reacts to what is being inflicted by future donor/helper; this could be by failing tests presented to the hero or even refusal to submit entirely.
14. Receipt of Magical Element
- Hero acquired consumption of a magical element.
15. Guidance
- Heroes location changed to lead onto whereabouts of an object of the search.
16. Struggle
- The hero rebels and forms situation that leads to a confrontation with the villain, which usually results in direct combat.
17. Branding
- The hero is 'branded' by the villain during the combat; this is usually a serious wound that leads the audience to believe that the villain may win the battle. This helps arise suspense and tension for the audience.
18. Victory
- After 'branding' the hero somehow finds it within him to gather enough strength to defeat the villain and claim his rightful victory.
19. Liquidation
- The villainy or lack is resolved or overcome by the defeat of the villain and normality is replaced.
20. Return
- After the quest is over, the hero returns to his family home.
21. Pursuit
- On the way back to his home, the hero is pursued. The pursuer usually intends on killing or seriously harming the hero.
22. Rescue
- The hero is rescued from the pursuer; this is sometimes done by using obstacles and delaying the pursuer or by the hero going into hiding.
23. Unrecognised Arrival
- Hero is placed in an unfamiliar place, usually in another country, where he is unrecognised.
24. Unfounded Claims
- The false hero is now introduced, interpreting original heroes’ acts.
25. Difficult Task
- The hero is proposed with difficult tasks to prove that he is who he claims to be. This can be done through various tests and riddles.
26. Solution
-The tasks and riddles proposed to the hero are successfully overcome and his identity is reclaimed.
27. Recognition
- The hero is recognised, usually through the 'branding' earlier inflicted by villain.
28. Exposure
- False hero is finally exposed by the real hero.
29. Transfiguration
- The hero is given a new appearance; this is usually done by the use of new garments resulting from his courageous act.
30. Punishment
- Villain/False Hero is punished. This is usually done by imprisonment or banishment.
31. Wedding
- Hero marries and is rewarded for completing the torturous quest and overcoming the villain and other evil characters.
Despite being so detailed, Propp's theory remains heavily criticised. This is partially because it fails to take into account the fact that there are many contributions to change functions and character types within a narrative. Despite the fact that folk tales are usually oral, it removes all verbal considerations alongside tone, mood, character and anything that comprehends one story to another. However, his task was not to find elements which made each storyline different, but to find the typical basis that built up a suspense-filled narrative structure.

Despite being so detailed, Propp's theory remains heavily criticised. This is partially because it fails to take into account the fact that there are many contributions to change functions and character types within a narrative. Despite the fact that folk tales are usually oral, it removes all verbal considerations alongside tone, mood, character and anything that comprehends one story to another. However, his task was not to find elements which made each storyline different, but to find the typical basis that built up a suspense-filled narrative structure.

Information reference

RESEARCH: SEMIOTICS AND BINARY OPPOSITIONS

Semiotics Semiotics suggests how an idea or concept is portrayed through signs, symbols and motifs. A semantic field shows how many words are linked together through a semantic field, which all suggest a recurring theme throughout the text or film. The Cohen brothers used a lot of motifs and symbols to suggest a hidden topic or theme through the film. Often the words in the semantic field are binary opposites and for example a semantic field of money might have (wealth, poverty and capital), where wealth and poverty are binary opposites.

Binary opposition

Binary opposition is the way a word has meaning, and how these meaning are associated with them, the positive and negative connotations evoke how a word is understood. It is used in the media and in literature and is often used in poems to demonstrate controversy and conflict in ideas, a theory introduced by Claude Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes.
In filming, it is a common dramatic technique used to bring 2 ideas together and using the difference to suggest possibility or conflict.
The meaning assigned to a word is ‘culturally constructed’ and so a word has more meaning when you consider its opposite, and the connotations of the word, brings more meaning than the word itself. For example ‘hero’ and ‘coward’ these words are binary opposites and using one with the other provides some of the core meaning, and each meaning is ‘shaped’ by the opposite lexis, for example the way the youth is viewed and represented in a film, changes dramatically through how the idea of old age. A poor person might be judged and looked down upon and the negative stereotypes associated with the poor are reinforced and maintained through the ideas associated with being wealthy, and how everyone would rather be wealthy than poor. Masculinity is often more valued than femininity. And this is an example of how 1 side of the opposition tends to be viewed slightly higher than the other. Jacques Derride recognized why we judge one side of the opposition more than the other, finding that one of the words is more culturally ‘marked’ as being positive and one can be ‘unmarked’ so has less positivity or can be ‘marked’ negatively. For example, one word can be more privileged, shown in the table.

This shows how they represent reality but labels represent the directors version of reality, and what they want to portray, showing they’re ideological, they act to reinforce judgments.

Strong Weak

Dominant Submissive

Active Passive

Truth Lies

Calm Moody

Tough Gentle

Logical Emotional

Peaceful Aggressive

Examples

Hot fuzz uses binary opposition between old and young, the children cling onto what the policeman is saying, showing his authority over them.

In the ugly truth, binary opposition between male and female is evident, showing how Gerand Butler feels he is superior and manipulates women.

In the freedom writers, the binary opposition of black against white shows the battle against racism and the freedom and justice that they deserve, which white people just acquire.

In our film, we are using binary opposition through masculinity and femininity, we see this with both the migrant and The Ghost as he threatens her, showing he feels more superior. We also see this with The Ghost and Sydney, as he is portrayed much stronger as he kills her.


information reference

CONSTRUCTION: POSTER

After seeing this poster for The Target posted on Instagram by actress Hailee Steinfeld, I looked at the title presentation for the poster. I thought something along the same lines would work for my poster as well:

I loved how they presented the title of the film with the slice through it, I then began experimenting with my own poster title: 

I then posted them all to twitter to get feedback on the best one:

RESEARCH: TRAILER CREDITS

When editing my trailer, as I was going to put in the trailer credits. I realised all the  recent trailers I had watched such as Allegiant, Mockingjay and Deadpool, did not have all the trailer credits and just had a page showing their social media sites, the release of their film and a hashtag for the film. As this seemed to be the more modern and up to date thing to do, I suggested this idea to my group, and I began researching trailers and the end credits.

                                                                                                                                                                 I then compared it to older trailers such as We Brought a Zoo| (2011), Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and Catwomen (2004).

After watching the Allegiant trailer, I was so intrigued by their social media pages that I added them on snapchat, a photo below is me looking at the snapchat for The Divergent Series, along with some screenshots from the films Snapchat. Belong is both an animation and still image collage, created on the app Fuzel. 

The still collage

EDITING: BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION

Today I added the BBFC mark to our trailer.

The BBFC was set up to regulate moving image such as; film, DVD, video and some video games. Regulating the moving images gives potential viewers information about it prior to viewing the content, this can protect vulnerable viewers from viewing unsuitable content for them. The regulation is done on an age limit, there are a set of guidelines, which are updated every four years, that help the BBFC make appropriate classification decisions. These guidelines are accumulated by extensive public research, consultation and experience. They question issues such as language, discrimination, violence, sex and drugs.

I decided that A Question of Identity was a 15, due to the strong violence of Sydney being killed.

RESEARCH: CREATING SUSPENSE IN THRILLER FILMS

Thrillers are a well established popular genre of film, which aims to keep the audience on edge with the use of cliff hangers and twisted plotlines, building towards the climax. Thriller and suspense films tend to promote intense excitement, tension and establish a high level of anticipation. They all consist of a main character that is put in a life threatening situation, which seams un-escapable.

Thrillers are when “ordinary people in extraordinary situations”

Some thrillers, for example the work of the Cohen brothers, use semantics which is using signs, symbols and motifs to produce meaning, often used in a montage, linking these semantics to demonstrate something mysteriously, often a characters qualities or a past.

Sub genres:

•             Conspiracy
•             Crime
•             Disaster
• Erotic
• Legal
• Medical
• Mystery
• Political
• Psychological
• Rape and revenge
• Religious
• Supernatural
• Techno

Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock is a well known English filmmaker, who specialised in suspense and psychological thrillers. He began his career with silent films and early talking films. He has a recognizable directing style, making viewers identify with the ‘normal’ character, by using certain camera angles, mimicking a person’s gaze and view. He used innovative editing to establish the point of view and framed shots to maximise the anxiety and manipulate the feelings of the audience creating suspense ad tension and the audience feel fear and empathy. He often incorporated an icy blonde female character and usually had twisted ending with violence, crime and murder and through his time, directed more than 50 films, with the daily telegraph awarding him with greatest ever film maker in 2007.

Today I looked at Hitchcock's film theories in 'Rope' which look at how directors create suspense and tension in order for the viewer to ensure the movie is engaging. Some of the best thriller directors such as Alfred Hitchcock uses techniques such s specific and specially selected camera angles to keep the viewer interested in the film.
For example, a classic theory that Hitchcock used and that we have adopted for our thriller movie, is the pull focus technique. In Hitchcock's film 'Rope' he constantly switch focus between the chest and dinner party proceeding behind it, to continuously remind the viewer that one of the main characters has been murdered in the box. This technique could be used if I was creating a full feature film, in the trailer we see Sydney handing The Ghost a bag which is filled with money. Although, they are not discussing the money, they are discussing how Sydney let people come to the warehouse, potentially running the whole operation. We then see her being killed, making the audience feel sympathy for this young girl, the pull focus technique could move the focus to the bag and remind the audience that she got herself into this mess.  The below shows how this has been done, by using the pull focus technique Hitchcock has combined the aspect of a formal dinner party and a murder.



Another theory that Hitchcock adopted within his films was the Auteur theory. This suggests that when a director is filming, the content of the movie reflects that of the directors creative vision. If the author (Auteur) of the film is a strong director, he portrays his own visions and creative ideas within the production. However if weak , they use outside inspiration and ideas to influence the content of the movie. Hitchcock is seen as a ‘strong’ director and he uses this style in many ways throughout his productions. His views could be seen clearly by both the way in which his stories were told , and by the mise en scene throughout his pictures. For example, Hitchcock uses the reoccurring theme of building tension within a film slowly , until it is expected by the viewer. However, Hitchcock does not release the tension at this point, yet waits until a further place in the movie where the release of tension is not expected. In ‘Rope’ Hitchcock’s murderous characters Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan begin to be questioned by Rupert Cadell. Following Hitchcock’s build of tension then the suspended release of it , Rupert questions the pair intensely and it seems as though he will find out the secret they have been hiding for the duration of the dinner party. Just as the viewer feels Rupert has unearthed the murder, the tension is released and saved until a further place in the film.

The formalist theory is the technical elements of a film , for example the lighting , soundscape and set design. The formalist theory is closely linked with mise en scène of a film. This theory further breaks down into ‘Hitchcockian themes’ which Hitchcock used regularly in his films to convey his creative visions (Auteur theory). For example, Hitchcock uses Hitchcockian themes such as violence when unexpected, and the ‘cool blonde’ character such as in ‘Rear Window’ (Grace Kelly). Hitchcock uses the lighting in his films to convey his creative ideas. In ‘Rope’ the apartment the movie takes place in has dim lighting , whilst the background (city skyline) is bright and vibrant.  This gives the effect that although everything seems well and good on the surface, darkness and suspense lies below. The image shown previously illustrates the dull and soft colours used on the props, whilst the sky scrapers lights span across the background. In my trailer, the colours tend to be quite dark, in order to create tension and an eerie feeling that creates suspension and makes the viewer want to watch the movie.

Hitchcock also uses a film theory called the ‘Macguffin’ in his productions. This technique is a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of the movie forward. The Macguffin is an aspect of the film (e.g an object or conclusion) to which the characters will sacrifice anything to obtain. In ‘Rope’ Brandon and Phillip are trying to obtain victory and survival throughout their hosted dinner party. The pair have placed David Kently in the chest and invited others to their apartment in an attempt to challenge the ‘perfection of their crime. Their ‘Macguffin’ is therefore to survive the night and prove to themselves that they have created the perfect crime, therefore feeling victorious. The Macguffin of A Question of Identity is that The Ghost has killed Sydney and believes he has gotten away with it as he frames her brother, Aaron.

Alfred Hitchcock also uses a lot of cinematic experimentation within his films. In ‘Rope’ he experimented with the camera shots to make the film appear as one long take to the audience. This gives the production a more flowing feel and creates tension as it tricks the viewer into believing the chest is in every shot. In our film we use a lot of small camera shots in order to hype tension, an example is when Sydney is killed, I used 4 still images, however they went in a semi-circle around Sydney and flashed very quickly in the trailer.

Another theme used is Hitchcock’s ability to blur the distinctions between the innocent and the guilty. Although , Brandon and Phillip are the murderers within the film , the viewer finds themselves developing an emotion attachment to the pair, and a willingness for them to succeed is felt toward them. This therefore creates a haze into who is the hero or villain of the film. The images first shows the two placing David into the chest and then later in the film , being interrogated by Rupert. The two show the distinct change in emotion felt by the viewer as by the second shot, the viewers have learnt more about the characters and changed their perspective on the film:

In my trailer, we know the murder of Sydney is The Ghost, however we see him framing Aaron, by forging emails to The Ghost through Aaron. Therefore the audience cannot help but admire the cleverness of The Ghost, as he states his name in the crime however throws it under the radar by adding Aaron in. We also see in our trailer Aaron talking to someone saying "Someone is trying to set me up!" The audience do not know who this is so are unsure whether he is good or bad.

I found this information from THIS WEBSITE.

CONSTRUCTION: POSTER FEEDBACK

Upon creating two experimental, practice posters (view posts HERE and HERE), I have decided to change my initial poster idea. Upon getting feedback from the following people:
Sarah Collins, 46, female, Greater London, England:
"I like the dissolving image as it looks like his identity is dissolving and is no longer going to exist"
Joanne Conway, 23, female, Surrey, England:
"I think the smoke works better as it looks more professional"
Jenny Conway, 36, female, Surrey, England:
"The smoke defiantly flows smoother than the dissolving image"
Jordi Skilbeck, 18, male, London, England:
"The dissolving is good, however not enough. I personally think the smoke looks more professional and slicker. Although if you did want to continue with the dissolving effect you would need to add more to it and make more of him fade away, especially by the feet."

The majority said they thought the smoke looked more professional, and flowed smoothly. The 18 year old male said how the dissolving effect is good, however not enough, if I was to follow it through I showed make it fade away more of him.

Upon this feedback, I have decided to change my initial idea and follow through the smoke poster, I will still have my idea of using a scenes from the movie going across the poster in a diagonal line.

RESEARCH: QR

Today I looked at QR codes on posters.

I found this website http://www.qrstuff.com which allows you to make an online product into a QR code. Many modern film posters have QR codes, such as Indiana Jones, Insidious and Iron Man 2. This collage was made on befunky.com to show the posters with the QR codes:

QR code with movie poster advertising from Chris Ong

Below you can see a short video showing how QR codes work on the Iron Man 2 poster.

Due to the increasing popularity of QR codes, I am going to add one to my poster which will link to my trailer. However, this will have to be done after the trailer has been distributed as it already has to be a product on the internet from one of these data types: 

CONSTRUCTION: POSTER

I was trying different ideas and techniques for my poster idea, I decided to try and fade Aaron with smoke this time. To do this I roughly followed these two tutorials, click HERE and HERE to see them. I switches between the two and made Aaron turn into the smoke that made up the right side of the background. Here are a few screenshots of my process throughout making this, this collage was made on befunky.com:

I started by using the gradient tool, I then duplicated that layer and clicked filter, render, clouds. Then using an eraser tool I got rid of any clouds I did not want. I then duplicated the picture of Aaron, and stretched him to the right, I then used the eraser tool again to fade the right side of him. I then distorted that layer by linking filter, distort, wave. Then, as I did not want to download the smoke brushes, I looked at the youtube tutorial (second link). To create the smoke I selected a brush size of 47%, hardness of 0, opacity of 67% and a low flow of 15%. I then drew a series of lines where I wanted the smoke to be, I then went to the filter tab, then other, maximum. I made the radius of 6 pixels. I then inverted the smoke, and opened the liquify tool. In liquify I selected the twirl tool, a brush size of 76, both the brush density and pressure at 100, and my brush rate was 80. I then used circular motions around the smoke, I then faded the liquify by going to edit, fade liquify, I set the opacity to 50%. I then inverted the smoke again, so it returned the the white smokey colour. I then used the eraser tool to rub away the first layer of Aaron, this left the waved duplicate underneath which fades into the smoke.