Poster Analysis- Sam

Ill Manors 

Ill Manors is a British Independent film written and directed by Ben Drew (famous musician 'Plan B').

• The image included on the movie poster is some what 'raw' and 'rough' looking, this indicates what the film is going to be about, and educates the audience of what kind of genre it'll be allowing the film to bring in the right audience. 
• The tagline 'we are all products of our environment... just some environments are harder to survive in' furthermore indicates that this film could be quite violent. In addition it is backed up by one of the reviews on the  poster using the word 'bullet', the choice of words is very much so relevant to the image on the poster and educates the audience of what to expect before watching the film.
• The film poster has both 'PLAN B' and 'A BEN DREW FILM' presented on the poster who are both the same person however, using his well-known band name Plan B on the poster may be done to increase popularity of the film as he is using his musical fan base to generate a bigger audience. 
• Having all of the positive reviews on the poster in crystal clear capitals allows the audience to read these full of praise reviews, resulting in them being left impressed; leaving them wanting to watch the film.
• Having the name of the film in such a visible location is done due to the film producers/distributors wanting the audience to be able to see clearly what the name of the film is if they are intrigued and want to watch it. However having it in such a bold character may suggest that the film may not be as popular as other films for example, in an extreme case such a Avatar which had hundreds of millions of pounds in advertisement. it had such a small title due to them not needing to publicize the name of the much anticipated film as they had a bigger budget.

Genre

• The films genre for this British film is thriller/crime. This is suggested through the posters gloomy and dull color combinations of grey and a yellow/green tint. 
• There is an empty and dark space behind the character in the poster which looks exceptionally empty and eerie, but made to look intimidating by the primary dominance of the darkened colors which makes the audience think what lays ahead for this character?
• The rough outlook of the stereotypical 'council estate flats' in the sides of the posters marks the film to maybe be in a somewhat poor location, as well as confirming it for the audience.
• The man holding the gun suggests the fact that the film is going to be violent and include 'crime' in one way or another, not to mention the fact that he is dressed up in stereotypical dark clothes for these kind of events, (also backed up by one of the reviews saying 'bullet paced and unforgettable').

Representation 

• In concept with representation a lot has been given away about one of the presumably main characters of the movie, suggesting the fact that he commits crime. This is all carried out through mise en scene with the lighting being darkened near the character, and a gloomy and miserable sky's above possibly suggesting the fact that it's gloom/daunting times all round for everybody in this film?
•  Predominantly the main factor is the fact that he is holding a dangerous prop in form of a weapon, the gun. The gun suggests the fact that there will be shootings/crime committed in this film.
• This is furthermore backed up by the fact that the character is wearing dark clothing which is usually used on characters who aren't up to any good, which suggests that he will also be committing crime in the film.

Audience

• In terms of audience and who it is targeted for, this film could have a wide range of targets.
• In first terms the films emphasizes the fact that the film is written and directed by that of Plan B (Ben Drew). In doing this it suggests the fact that they are trying to boots the popularity of the film by bringing up some of his loyal fans over from music into cinema, they're making them spend their leisure pound on the cinema rather than his music on this occasion. 
• For a wider yet more accurate viewpoint of who the target audience for this film would be for, it is clear to see that it is dominantly aiming to bring in fans of crime movies. Having such a wide and open portrayal of the character on the poster holding a gun in what looks like a 'run down' and 'rough' location; it ticks all the boxes of a stereotypical genre codes associated with crime.
• As for age the movie is clearly aimed at an older audience maybe younger adults/older teens due to the fact that the film is certificated at an 18. Having to make the film and 18 cements the fact that the film will contain violence, and backs up the point that is would be enjoyed by those who are fans of the genre 'crime'.
• If this film were to be non-violent at rated at an PG for example then the colors on the poster suggests a lot about the audience. The colors on the poster are very dark/gloomy and daunting. Where as if they were to be bright and happy such as yellow and a shot of a blue sky then the film would be given off a different impression, therefore the colors used make it point towards an older audience.

Media Language

• The characters positioning in the frame and use of a medium-long shot is key in the poster, it allows the audience to see the element of unknown laying behind him and see how empty the shot is. This also educates the audience in where the film will be set.
• The dark colors used in the photo suggests the fact that the film is going to have a 'darkened' atmosphere and will be criminal related.

Tower Block

Tower block is a British thriller film directed by both James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson, and written by James Morgan.

• Image used in the movie poster is clever in the way in which it blends in with the title 'tower block' in the style of an actual tower block. Having this as both the image and the name of the film suggests the fact that the 'tower block' is an extremely important factor in the film
• The tagline used 'no-one gets out alive' immediately suggests the fact that nobody will be getting out of the tower block alive. Having both of these on screen allows the audience to put points together and give a rough underlining of what the film is about, and wanting to know more... why does nobody get out alive, how did they get in that position in the first place? Not to mention the fact the font color is red which means that their is danger as red, is commonly known to be the color of danger.
• Having the actors/actresses names clearly visible in large characters on the poster clearly suggests that they are either up and coming or popular actors, this also suggests the fact that they may be trying to tempt fans of individual actors/actresses in to watching this film as they may have liked them in previous films. However in contrast the directors name is not advertised as much; this suggests that he isn't as well known possibly trying to prevent 'putting off'' potential naive audiences who are judgmental of non-established directors.
• Once again the title of the film is the dominant figure of the poster in line with the image of tower block. This could be due to them trying to emphasize the importance of the tower block in the film as well as them informing the audience of the films name so that if audiences are interested, then they are fully informed of what the film is and what the film would be set on.

Genre

• The films genre is thriller, which is implemented and suggested in many ways on the poster, such as...
• In classic thrillers there is always the element of unknown, and with this posters design it leaves the audience asking many questions: Why's the tower so important, whats going to happen in the tower?
• The tagline 'no-one gets out alive' confirms the fact that there should be death in this film like the case with many thrillers and sticking to generic codes, as well as leaving the audience wanting to know if anybody beats the odds and gets out the tower block... alive.
• The people on top of the tower block are overshadowed by an intimidating dangerous red. This red color confirms the fact that these people are in danger and leaving the audience wanting to know why.
• The tagline highlights the key events and focus of the film, and like with most thrillers it will be around that of death.

Representation

• Not a lot has been given away in terms of representation and any of the main characters involved in the film, as there isn't a clear character from the film shown on the poster. 
• However the shades people on top of the building on the character appears to be an outline of a male. This man is standing with a strong and confident posture which could mean that their could be a strong male character in this film.
• Having no character on screen makes it hard to interpret any ideas of characters as it would be made easier by costume/hair and makeup (Mise en scene) .
• However the main point of the poster being a tower block, it indicates that this will be the location and play an important role in the film. Tower blocks can be seen to be fairly working class conditions, therefore the people represented in this film could be working class people.

Audience

• On the poster the name of the actors/actresses in the film are clearly presented along the top line of the poster. This could have been done due to them being popular and trying to lure fans of specific actors to watch this film as they are starring in it.
• The genre of this film is outright thriller therefore meaning that this film would obviously be one for thriller fans. The typical mystery and questions left by thrillers is what makes a thriller, a thriller in my opinion... and in this case its no different! The poster gives nothing away and leaves the audience wanting to watch the film and find out more for example, will anybody beat the odds and get out alive?
• Age wise, the movie is certificated at a 15. Having the movie at this certification concludes the fact that this movie wouldn't really suit a younger audience due to the presumption of there being violent/killing scenes. 
• As for a more specific audience I feel this is aimed at for older teens/adults. The main/key characters used in the film are in general at an average of 30 years or older; this could suggest that the director wants adults to be able to relate to the characters due to them possibly sharing the some similar characteristics, but this could be sparked off by their age relation.

Media Language

• The extreme long shot of the tower block in the poster could suggest that the location is fairly isolated  and there isn't really an escape?
• I feel the technique of pathetic fallacy has also been used on the poster. For example, the stormy weather surrounding the building could mean sorrow/bad times ahead as rain has been widely known to represent saddened moods. I feel this because if I were to picture the weather around the tower block to be that of sunny it wouldn't have the same negative mood surrounding it.
• In terms of the lighting around the poster it is that of a somewhat neon blue, the same color of police/ambulance sirens! This could indicate the fact they are both needed in the film, which must mean crime/violence... it's a sub-consciously links the two. 

Poster Analysis By Curtis

Berberian Sound Studio 

Berberian Sound Studio is a 2012 British Independent film which had 8 Nominations and 4 wins including Best Achievement in Production & Best Actor. 

It is Directed and written by Peter Strickland, as well as starring Toby Jones. 

• The poster has a slogan underneath the Main Title "A NEW WORLD OF SOUND AWAITS YOU", this connotes an idea that the film is about 'Sound', there is a change of events and something bad happens to do with a new sound? This slogan is really indirect and a great device as it makes the audience question it. 
• "A FILM BY PETER STRICKLAND" is displayed above the title to notify an Peter Strickland fans that this is his film. A device used to advertise the film through his fan-base. 
• On the right of the poster is the festivals that it as selected for in terms of film 2012, this is done in white on black to to help it stand out. 
• The actors names appear on the poster, the majority of which are in the credit block, however the main character "Toby Jones" is places just above this is a larger font.
• At the bottom is the films social pages as well as the films website, followed by the films distribution company 'Artificial Eye'.
• The title is obviously the largest text on the page in order for this to be the first thing that the audience reads when they first look at it, the font for this title is slightly slanted, connoting that this film is a 'crooked' journey. 

Genre

• The Genre for this particular British Independent film is Horror, this is portrayed through the poster by the colours, black and red are typically used to create a dark eerie visual look as well as implementing fear, the dark background which shadows around the characters on the poster could connote a dark theme for the film. Also the imagery is used in a very symbolic way, the closeup of a very serious man is almost without emotions as if he is portrayed to be a cold hearted man and appears to be splitting in half with of what it seems to be a females head who is looking very worried almost to indicate something dangerous and fearful has happened to hear. "Nightmarish" as quoted from the review from the Empire magazine review in the top right of the newspaper which shows that this film is what you would imagine in your nightmares. 

Representation

• In terms of representation i believe they have left a lot to the imagination as the images are closeup of the characters, as a result this does not give away much Mis en scene of which i would usually use to connote an idea. However from what is being displayed on the poster it seems that the man represents a more upper class background as he seems to have a suit, white shirt and tie maybe indicating he has a higher power job.
• Being a horror and the male character being the main, it is quite easy to form the conception that the male character or character's dominate the film in terms of gender. 

Audience 

• Overall the main audience that this film is aimed at are fans of horror movies, I would say a more mature audience type due to the review type at the top of the poster, one from the Empire Magazine & one from the Telegraph newspaper. Both these newspaper and magazine are more aimed at knowledge and they go more in depth into the news story's, as a result meaning more well educated upper class citizens is the target audience. 

Media Language

• The use of lighting in this poster produces a very dark, dramatic atmosphere towards the film. The black background provides an element of unknown, this mixed with the shadowing on the male characters head connotes an illusion that he is fading into the darkness or he is a dark, mysterious man who is hiding something. 
• Facial expression plays a vital part in this poster, the contrast of his very serious face with the very terrified look on the females breaking through creates mixed emotions. Almost indicating that these to have some sort of meeting point or relationship in the movie, the female probably being the victim.

Cleanskin

Cleanskin is a British Thriller set in London about a secret service agent who has been assigned a task to eliminate a british born terrorist. (2012)

I have picked this film because like our short film we are producing, it is a thriller, so it would be good to analyse the techniques used. 

• The poster has a tagline "FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE" this is in red font to indicate danger and violence, in terms of meaning it provides an understanding that in order to fight against something you must fight it with the same thing, in this instance murder. 
• A release date has been included to provide the date it is out at the cinema, you will find a lot of posters do not have the exact date if they are really big mainstream films because they have to be released at different time worldwide, however in this circumstance this is a british film so this is the time it came out in the UK. The font is red also to stand out and to match the colour scheme. 
• "Sean Bean" the main actors name who is displayed on the poster is in relatively large font just below the shoulder causing an almost white on black appearance to stand out, this shows people who do not know who he is an indication that's him. As for the other actors, they are positioned in the content block at the bottom along with the production company, distribution company and all the main people who were involved in the film. 
• Just below the big caption of "Sean Bean" is a title saying "A film by Hadi Hajaig" which is reaching out to any audience who are fans of some of his work in the past who may be interested in seeing some more material from this director. 
• Along the bottom of the poster there is a Facebook name for anyone who wants to like the page on there (a device used to spread the word) along with the Warner Bros. Production company logo in the corner.
• The main images works really well with the background, the imagery blended into the mans torso could indicate that this crime which is going on is 'burning him inside' (explosion/destruction and murder) which is merged with a dark jacket, this then contrasts to a very bright almost cloudy background meaning that there is a brighter future ahead, 
• All the text is perfectly in line which makes the poster look very formal and professional, the text is very direct and in a centre alignment.

Genre

• The Genre for this film is thriller, this is determined through colouring, imagery and text. The colouring consists mainly of whites, black and reds indicating that all though there is normality, along the way there is violent events. The Main image is a seriously expressed man on his own with a gun in his hand, again linking with the genre of a thriller, an event is occurring within the blended imagery of the mans torso showing an exciting event of which seems to be an act of murder. The slogan "FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE" expresses a vey action orientated film almost indicating a missionary based theme.

Representation 

• From this poster i can see that this film is representing an upper class secret agent through the use of props (gun) and the costuming (leather gloves, smart black trousers, expensive jacket & scarf) also representing city London through the use of the stereotypical buildings we as the audience generally associate with London on the poster.

Audience

• From this poster you can determine that this film is aimed at the more male adult market, you can derive this from the poster as it is clear it had a lot of violence in it (man shooting another in the image) which would not be suitable for the younger generation as well as a more complex crime/thriller storyline through the formal layout and the imagery used. Furthermore is also has an audience for any fans of the crime/thriller genre, the director and/or the main actor Sean bean. 

Media Language

• Using a long shot for the main image of Sean Bean gives us a full frontal view of the kind of character he is (agent), displays him as the main character, shows he is going after someone or something. It also leave much to the imagination as we don't know if he is playing the good or the bad guy. 
• The prop in this post being the gun plays a vital part in this poster, this provide the audience with the information that he is involved in some sort of crime, he looks like he can use it, it seems to be silenced which means he is going to kill someone but doesn't want to get caught? 
• In terms of clothing he seems very well dressed, formal yet intimidating. In all black to conclude he may be on a dark journey or he does his business in the dark so he may not want to be seen. 
• The characters body language is very calm, he is comfortable with the gun in his hand, almost as if he has done it before. In terms of facial expression he seems very calm also, slightly serious and determined to finish business. 

Meeting editing deadline - Curtis and Meg

As a group we had trouble meeting the deadline for the editing for our short film, this was due to needing to re-shoot a few shots which we were not happy with i.e :

This is a shot we had to re shoot as our actors trousers were not pulled up properly, at the time we were not aware of this which was a frustrating moment.

Another reason why we did not meet the editing deadline was because we needed to change all the shots colouring so it looks like it was in the evening rather than the daytime. Obviously this would take a while due to getting the contrast of the evening effect correctly to ensure it actually looks like it occurred in evening for every clip using Final Cut Pro. 

Making the Titles - Meg

we want the perfect title for our piece, so i have been trying to use different effects on final cut pro to make the title for our piece. we need at least three titles for our piece, the title and the characters names, so they all need to be the same and very good. i have tried out many different fonts, and decided on one, and now i'm trying to make the title move from one side to the other, while blurring in the middle.

i also tried to make the title have different effects, such as blurring it halfway through and changing the speed. i used an effect called blur distort and although i liked it, i didnt think it was as good as my original try (first picture)

Proof Of Editing - Dani

To find our sound we have been looking at websites which are copyright free or royalty free. I found the most useful has been FreeSound which has collaborative database of Creative Commons Licensed sounds. 

We are looking for suspense music as it cuts between the female and male character as the audience is unaware that they actually know each other and that there heading to the same place. 

In the end we used our sound from the website called incompetech and downloaded the music called conspiracy part two. 

Animatic- Dani Sam

This is the animatic:

Problems we have come across when filming - Dani

We had to film in a small office and had limited space therefore we had to ensure that we did not get the tripod or camera case in the shots. Also, we had to ensure we did not break the 180degree rule.

( Short Film to Show)




All of Us - when filming Curtis for the second time in the conservatory we were not excatly sure whether he had his hood up when entering the house so we had to film the shot twice including him taking down the hood. Also, as we were in the conservatory we had to make sure that we did not film ourselves in the background of the windows.

( Show pictures of shots)



When we first got to my house with the equipment the tripod was slightly tilted and appeared to have had a bit snapped of it therefore it was harder for us to get the camera straight. However, we got round this by extending the tripod legs and changing the angle of the camera. We did not have time to return back to the college once we had reached our destenation.