PLANNING: CASTING

 

Casting from BenRichardson55

PLANNING: PROPS AND COSTUMES

Alan Cork

• fishing rod
• fishing overall
• bucket hat
• boots

Kieran Tucker

• beer
• England shirt
• jeans
• trainers

Herbert Crafts

• briefcase
• glasses
• full suit

Inspector Thorne

• landline phone
• cigar
• envelope
• full suit

PLANNING: MY TARGET AUDIENCE

 1. Who is my primary target audience?

My primary target audience is unisex 15 - 35 year olds, ideally from Britain as they would familiar with the location of London, but audiences could be from anywhere in the world.

2. What kind of films and television are they likely to prefer?

The audience demographic for our film are likely to enjoy watching exciting film and television that involves action and high tension. Films and TV shows they could enjoy consist of: Blade Runner, Elysium, The Revenant and The Walking Dead. Audiences may also like films about crime and crime-stopping for example Die Hard.

3. What platforms do they choose to watch films and where are they likely to see information about films?

Our target audience are likely to watch films in a variety of ways. Primarily, they would watch films in the comfort of their own home on streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, however, it is not say that they do not enjoy seeing big releases in the cinema, possibly with their friends.

4. What brands do they prefer?

Our audience are likely to enjoy relatively mainstream brands such as popular streaming services; Netflix and Amazon Prime. Our audience is also likely to be avid users of social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram. 

5. What makes my film stand out from the competition?

Our film stands out from others as it is an original idea. Furthermore, the plot if enticing and interesting as well as being action packed.

6 . Why should my audience watch my film? For example:  Total Film / Empire / Cinema Scope / Slant / Sight 1. 

Audiences would want to watch our film because it is exciting and original, unlike many other modern films in the current day.

PLANNING: AUDIENCE PROFILE

 I have attempted to identify a wide variety of brands and films that my target audience are likely to use or enjoy. The brands and films I have selected range across a wide variation of products and services and the films are genuinely the same genre of crime and action. Creating an audience profile is a very useful way to establish a target audience. By highlighting brands that your target audience enjoys, you can establish how to make your film appeal to your target audience.

PLANNING: AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

I have constructed an audience questionnaire in order to better understand the needs of my target audience demographic.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUOwndA7_3OqHExoK3sis3NZ1-Z-a7i4xsc1ClaN-VuT5gyw/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

PLANNING: TREATMENT

A murder has been committed in a quiet London park and it is down to Inspector Thorne to find out which of the 3 suspects are guilty. The three suspects are:

• 
  Kieran Tucker - a young working-class man who spends most of his time in the pub and the park.
  

• Herbert Crafts - a young middle-class inner city businessman.

• Alan Cork - a fisherman who has some mental health issues.

Top Line and Big Question

Top Line: "A murder has been committed in a quiet Surrey town and it is down to Inspector Thorne to find out which of the 3 suspects are guilty.

Big Question: "Who is guilty?"

Storyline

Our story is based on the murder of Lottie Wilson in Munns Park, London. Lottie was just an ordinary female who enjoyed frequent runs through the park. Although there is no evidence, the blame is placed on three main suspects: Kieran Tucker, Herbert Crafts and Alan Cork who are all under investigation by Detective Superintended Thorne. Kieran Tucker is a young man who spends most of his day in the pub or in the park. Herbert Crafts is a young successful businessman who thinks he is superior to everyone he encounters, coincidently on the day of the murder Kieran and Herbert have a confrontational interaction. Alan Cork is an old fisherman who no one would expect to be linked with any types of crime, however, as he spends all his time in Munns Park, he is seen as a suspect and has a history of mental health issues. Therefore, this creates an idea to the audience that only three suspects are involved. However, as we don’t show the girl’s dead body or any crime scene it means that the girl is possibly still alive.

SEMIOTICS

This post will cover information that I picked up from Roland Barthes video where he analysed semiotics.

What is semiotics?

• The semiotics theory refers to the study of signs e.g. logos, symbols, camera angles and colours. A sign can be anything around us that we can infer meaning from.
• In other words, it is the study of the way we make sense of everything around us.
• Signs can give off two meanings; a denotation (the literal meaning) and a connotation (the signified meaning).

The video focuses on the Apple logo, which is a simplistic image of an apple. The logo is very recognisable and most people will instantly make the connection between the brand and the logo. However, the connotations of the logo may differ between each person. For example, the denotation the logo is the literal brand behind it; an expensive, global brand, whereas the connotation of the logo is what can be related to the logo e.g. the production of apple products in sweatshops. 

Definitions

• Misc-en-scnene - This covers what we see on screen, including the set. In the video, he shows us an extract, going through and breaking down how it uses semiotics. He brought attention to the corridors being small and cramped, this sign demonstrates anxiety and stress.
• Sounds - The tone of characters can be used to establish their intentions and personality, this can be supported through ambient sounds, in the extract the man behind the door has a high, shrill voice connoting a villainous ambience, while in the background chimes are playing to send a shiver down the viewers spine.
• Camerawork - The camera can be used to establish setting or a character's position within the scene. The extract used wide angles as to make the girl seem small in the room.
• Editing - This can be used to influence the audience by choosing where their attention is held, by using sharp cuts to a door handle accompanied by intense music, this alerts the audience about something threatening that lies on the other side of the door.

VENOM and BLACK PANTHER - TITLE SEQUENCE

Venom

• Production Company = Marvel Studios
  
• Director = Ruben Fleischer
• Creative Lead = Ben Conrad
• Writers  = Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenburg 
• Producer = Micky Briggs
• Title Designers = General Population
• Animator = Fons Schiedon
• Designer = Paul Cayrol
• Music = Jay Hart
• Lead = Tom Hardy

Black Panther

• Production Company = Marvel Studios
  
• Director = Ryan Coogler
• Creative Lead = Victoria Alonso
• Writers = Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole
• Producer = Eric Daly
• Title Designer = Joseph Hiura
• Animator = Justin Molush
• Music = Ludwig Goransson
• Lead = Chadwick Boseman

STORYTELLING WITH FRANK ASH

 In class we watched a Future Learn Course led by Frank Ash who is creative consultant at the BBC. In this video, I learnt about digital storytelling and how to emotionally attach an audience to a cast of characters and a storyline. This was very helpful as it has given me a stronger idea on how to plan my coursework by making me ask question such as 'what is the story' and 'what is in it for the audience', ultimately allowing me and my group to plan a storyline more clearly and help to engage certain audiences.

DISTRIBUTION COLLAGE

In class we watched a presentation led by Kezia Williams, who is head of theatrical distribution at Pathe. She discussed how distributors create marketing campaigns for each new film that is released. Chris Besseling, who is director of marketing at Pathe also explained how distributors market a films USP (unique selling point) such as the awards it has won and the reviews its received to bring positive attention to the film.

I researched the distribution of the film Tenet which I recently watched in the cinema. As the film was released in the UK during lockdown, I was curious to see how much of the marketing would be digital due to the inability of people to meet in public. I found that Tenet had pages on every major social media platform i.e. facebook, twitter, intagram etc...

 

FILM OPENING CODES AND CONVENTIONS

 

Film opening codes and conventions from BenRichardson55

ART OF THE TITLE - AQUAMAN

The sequence begins with a birds eye view of a lighthouse with its glaring light shining over the ocean. This looks mysterious and intrigues the viewer. There is also a soothing song playing which sets the mood. The camera then plunges beneath the water and reveals a mysterious symbol on the ocean floor.

Beneath this, a spooky magical underwater kingdom is revealed with large statues of golden intimidating knights guarding the entrance. The camera then focuses on all the colourful coral at the bottom of the ocean. This made me as a viewer feel respectful for the beaty of the ocean and nature. When the camera zooms in you can see that there are small stone or metal figures that somewhat resemble people. This makes the viewer wonder how they got down there and whether they were once alive.

Towards the end there is a scene where lots of these small figures are all fighting against what looks like a giant crab. This interests me and makes me want to view the film so I can know what is happening and why. Finally, the last scene shows some sort of expolsion where you can see some of the figures being flung backwards and possibly getting injured. This also makes me want to see the film so I can see what happened to them.

ART OF THE TITLE - CONTROL

The sequence begins by showing a poorly lit office with nobody in sight, yet the fan on the ceiling and on the desk continue to spin. This creates an eery effect and makes the viewer uneased and suggests that maybe paranormal activity is occuring. A chilling sound is played throughout the sequence and the next scenes show different things found in an office e.g. paper clips.

The sequence then cuts to a document with the 'Federal Burea of Control' written on it, this allows the reader to know that the office is important as it helps run the country. The following scenes show a person's mugshot and fingerprints, so this indicates that maybe he is the villian of the story. There is then a scene were the evidence lockers are shown to have been tampered with, therefore we know that somebody is doing something they shouldn't be and creates a sense of tension and makes the viewer want to know why this has been done and what is going to happen.

Suddenly, all the glasses and items on the desk begin to levitate into the air and ink is randomly smuged across the paper. It is now revealed that there is a thunderstorm outside and that there must be some paranormal activitng occuring as it cuts the the evidence lockers and peices of paper are flying about. This is unsettling for the viewer and makes them want to play the game to find out what is going on.

ART OF THE TITLE - SAINT JUDY

I have chosen to analyse 'Saint Judy' as immediately the image of the title sequence appears to look interesting to me. The sequence begins with a black screen and music which says 'raise up for the weak'. This already has me as a viewer interested as I know the show will be about people overcoming greater problems.

The first scene shows a prison with inmates in a group walking. This is captivating as it makes me wonder what these people have done to end up in prison and makes me want to continue watching to find out. The next scene shows a protest in the USA involving many people with signs wanting to 'reform' immigration. This tells me that the show will tackle real life modern day issues such as immigration. There is also a scene with people protesting outside the US customs with signs against the Muslim ban. The sequence then cuts to a video showing the US border with Mexico where there are armed guards in watch towers and many people waiting by a fence. This makes me wonder why there would need to be such protection of the US border and what the people waiting are going to do.

There is then an over the shoulder shot of a woman leading a protest who is waving an American flag and it makes the viewer wonder what this protest is about. Finally, the sequence ends with a shot of the Statue of Liberty in New York. This represents that the people of the USA must come together to defeat the racist attitude to many foreigners.

The video is also slightly blurred which creates a mysterious effect and leads the viewer to wonder what will develop in the show.