Film Poster Complete!

Haven't posted a blog in ages, and we've got so much done!

Well as the title clearly indicated we have completed the poster for our film Faces Of Evil.

It started out a bit dreary, looking like this;

I know, awful isn't it? Back when we did this we knew it was pretty poor., but we used this a base idea to build upon.

We loved our image; it's simple yet intriguing and powerful. It conveys the idea of the school massacres through the school logo on the student's blazer and the blood; the hand is quite delicately placed giving a sense of vulnerability, and the blood really stands out from the pale hand and dark clothing.

Apart from knowing that we'd have to add credits etc to our trailer, we weren't too crazy about the font we'd chosen; at the time we were looking for a font that looked like a child's handwriting, but now (as you'll see) we've gone in a different direction.

And now for the good bit, the final product; we're really proud of it and I think looking back you'll agree we've really come on leaps and bounds. Here it is, *insert drum roll*:

TADA! haha. We're so proud of the final product, and have had several comments from friends saying it looks like a real film poster :)!

Our image's colour/shading etc has had a hell of a lot done to it; the blood now looks more authentic, and the hand looks dirty and in a way, more 'freshly dead' than the previous. Also the blazer has a lot more depth through the different colours, thereby giving it some texture aswell.

The font we went with for our title in the end reminded us of writing on a chalk board; something you'd nearly only see in school. The scratches and breaks in the lettering makes it more sinister. We also added in our slogan "another reason to hate school" which is relatable to teens, as well as the main credits, the film's production company, website and certificate, and a 'quote' from The Guardian.

Theory

There are two main theories that can be applied to films and their trailers;

Todorov (1969): Todorov's theory suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium, and equilibrium again. An equilibruim is a stable situation, which in this situation could be the scene setting and happy ending of a film. Therefore disequilibrium is the opposite of this; it is the loss of control and stability in the equilibrium, such as things going wrong for the characters. A lot of films will follow this theory, such as Back To The Future and The Number 23. However both our film and trailer do not follow this theory; we end both without a second equilibrium. Our trailer is left to end in disequilibrium to keep it thrilling through to the end, which will keep the audience's attention and make the film more exciting and desirable to watch. Our film is also left in disequilibrium because a sequal is to follow, so the audience is left wanting more and will therefore want to watch the follow up film.

Propp (1969): Propp's 'theory of character' suggests that there are certain types of character, and these characters crop up most in film narratives. The most important of these are the hero, the villain, and the doner. A complex example of this theory is The Dark Knight; while Batman is the main hero and The Joker is the main villain, the character Harvey Dent starts out in the film as a hero, but slowly progresses into a villain throughout. Both our film and trailer follow this theory. They both feature the 'main characters' most often and have specific and obvious character types.

Representation

The Queen (2006) is the perfect example of how representation is a major factor in the film industry. I look at two different trailers for the film, one American and one British, and there are vast differences in what the trailers portray.

Trailer 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS3bX3umi0M
The American trailer features a lot of bright shots of the countryside, people drinking tea and other stereotypical British symbols. It also features a lot of close up to capture the emotions of the Queen and the Prime Minister. This trailer depicts England as a nation mourning the death of Princess Diana side by side as opposed to people's individual greif. Also text flashes up in golden writing which could represent the crown, and this writing is on a black background which could represent the mourning.

Trailer 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1Wu0qGEev4
The British trailer however, depicts the Queen a lot more isolated from the nation and focuses on her as an individual person. She is portrayed very much as I think the people of England like to see her; as a strong woman full of pride and good intentions, even though it shows her feeling sorrow and confusion, which makes her relatable. The setting is a lot more realistic than that shown in the American trailer; the colours aren't as bright and a lot less stereotypical.

Production and Distribution

We have chosen Pathé to be both the production and distribution company for our film.

Pathé is a company that have helped to produce and distribute many successful films including The Queen (2006) which won over 20 awards including a BAFTA for Best Film. We thought this company would be suitable for our film because it's a large corporation made up of lots of little companies, and even though their British Film Company is smaller than e.g. Working Title they have had a lot of marked success.

The Start of Filming

Last week we began filming our trailer.

We filmed a shot in which the audience are put into the caretaker's perspective when he is being intimidated by the students of the school he is working at.

To film this we had a group of school students stand in a circle surrounding one of my team who was sitting on an office chair. Then as the scene was recorded the one filming would spin slowly as the students all jeered abuse at them.

This creates a feel of vulnerability as the audience is surrounded and the students are filmed at a low angle which makes them seem empowered.

Inspiration

In 2002 Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were murdered by their school caretaker Ian Huntley. As our film features a caretaker suspected of murdering students at his school this real life tragedy could be seen as an inspiration for our film.

Update

Here's a list of what my group has done recently to contribute to our film trailer making:

Filming practice;

We started to practice different filming techniques by making a few short films, one of which I have uploaded above. All the short films had different themes, such as the one above which is a two person perspective.

Cast recruiting for the trailer;

Although some of our actors are yet to be confirmed, we have the following people in mind:

- Steve Wood - Caretaker (confirmed)

- Mr. Casebourne - Teacher (confirmed)

- Mr. Davies - News Reporter (confirmed)

- Mel, Chris & others - Students (confirmed)

Poster Inspiration;

Our poster idea is mainly influenced by the posters for the 2008 film The Dark Knight.

We like that these posters are so simple in design yet very effective and eye-catching. Both posters are distorted in some way which could reflect how the villains have 'lost their way' and become insane. We want to try to incorporate this into our own film poster to reflect the distorted reality the school children seem to be in. We also like the use of dark colors, particularly red, as the makes the poster look more sinister, which again will be used in our poster. We like the idea of these posters being quite easy and predictable but they are made to be very unique to the film and it's theme, which is another thing we would like to incorporate into our work.

The Pitch

Even though we tried getting a few laughs out of our presentation I feel we still maintained an informative and well structured film pitch. We included a lot of information about our inspiration and ideas, as well as giving examples of directors that have produced work we would like to incorporate into our own piece. If we had to do the pitch again I think we could have made it more serious and mature to come across professionally.

Genre

What is genre?
'Genre' derives from the french meaning of 'kind' or 'sort'; it's the name given to catagories films, music etc are put into according to certain criterias they meet.

Why do audiences, producers and distributors need to know the genre of a film?
The audience would like to know the genre of a film before seeing it so that they know whether the film is their taste and therefore not a waste of time and money. Producers need a clear idea of the film's genre so that they know what direction they need to go in in order to make their film a success and what techniques to use in order to make this possible. Finally, the distributors might need to know the genre of the film so that they have an idea of what sort of success it is going to have in their particular, and more importantly, they would then know how to advertise the film efficiently and effectively.

***

We looked at several horror trailers from decades ranging from the 60s to modern day. Their structures differed but their effectiveness tended to stay quite powerful. My examples are Psycho (1960) and The Hills Have Eyes (2006).

Psycho (1960): the trailer for this film is over 6 minutes long, which is easliy double the time of a modern-day trailer, and filmed in black and white. Also, there are no scenes from the film featured in the trailer at all; Alfred Hitchcock, the director of the film, escorts us round the set of the film and almost tells us the story line, every now and again dropping little hints to us then moving swiftly on. Although this is cheesey and probably wouldn't be effective today, back in the 60s this might have been effective because people would want to know what they should be expecting to see when they watch this film and would want to know what happens in the end.

The Hills Have Eyes (2006): this full-length trailer is only just over 2 and a half minutes long, and yet it is packed with ten times the action and thrill of the Psycho trailer; it's bright vivid colours in the desert reflect the harsh heat on the sand, and the vast wasteland surrounding them reinforces their isolation from civilization. It gives you a clear idea of what the film is about, but at the same time doesn't give too much away, and uses lots of fades and crossfades.

***

Battle Royale

Above left is a trailer for the 2001 film Battle Royale. This trailer shows a group of teenage school students depicted as 'players' in a viscious game of survival of the fittest. The pace is fast and the repetitive music creates tention as the panic amoungst the students mounts, particularly when the adult in the tracksuit tells them the prize for winning the game is their life.
The adult in the tracksuit is portrayed as being in charge; this is reinforced with close up shots of him smiling at the chaos around him and the teenagers scream and try to escape. Usually there would be low angled shots of the villain, however this convention is not followed in this trailer, as we are eye-level with this man. This is because the audience is in just as powerful position as he is, as we oversee the island as he does in the film.
Audiences will be able to sympathise with the teenager's desperation to live but the painful dilema of knowing that in this situation, living means killing your friends. The bond between these students is particularly highlighted when just before one of the boys' necklaces blows up he and his best friend reach out to each other in desperation knowing there is no way of saving him now. At the start of the trailer the shots are cross-faded into one another, which could put emphasis on them traveling. We never get to know the teens individually which makes them seem more like the 'game-pieces' they are rather than actual people; they're more 'robotic' this way.