RESEARCH: Audience Feedback

EDITING: My Trailer So Far

This is my trailer so far, in order to progress I now need to add a voiceover and some background music. This will then make the trailer easier to identify as the genre of dance. I also need to incorporate transitions to make the trailer run smoother and look professional.

This is the main base of my trailer so far. I also need to research a suitable production company, as this is another conventional feature, and maybe think about awards that my trailer could have won.


This is an annotated screenshot of my storyboard trailer so far. I have also commented on how I need to improve it.

PLANNING: What We Did In Class Today

The Purpose of A Film Poster

In todays lesson we talked through the purpose of a film poster and the different types. We listed the key conventions along with the language, colour, layout and visual representation of a film poster.

Questions to Ask When Designing a Film Poster

LAYOUT

• Images of the key settings and the main characters.
• What is the title of the film?
• What can you say about the way in which the title graphics have been written?
• Who is starring in the film? Where are the stars' names placed on the poster? Why?
• Why have the images been chosen?
• What do the pictures signify?
• What are the most important colours on the poster?
• WHat do you think the film will be about?
• Who is the target market?
• What clues are there to the narrative?
• What can you tell about the genre of the film and the types of characters from their facial expression, body language, stance, appearance and position on the poster?
• Is there an enigma being presented?
• Is the poster composed of a series of images?
• Is the key image a still from the film?

COLOUR

• What colours are used in the posters?
• Are they relevant to the genre?
• What clues do they give about the genre?
• How do they attract the target audience?

LAYOUT

• Are the images blended in without any concern for real perspective or size relationships between people and setting?
• How are the images laid out?
• Why are they laid out like this?
• Do you know the plot, genre, theme of the film?
• What shape is the poster?
• What style is the font, typeface and graphics?

USP

• What is the unique selling point in the poster?
• What makes it different from other posters?

RESEARCH: Analysing A Film Poster

This is the main poster for the film Street Dance 3D. It contains all of the information about the product personnel.

RESEARCH: Analysing A Film Poster

This is the original film poster for a documentary film called First Position. I really like how everything is centered between the two buildings, as along with the lighting this helps to focus the viewer's attention to the important parts of the poster. It also makes the eye follow down between the two buildings. The two buildings either side look like stereotypical American buildings. This conveys a sense that the film is set in America.

Analysis of The Features Included in this Film Poster

How Does this Poster Follow the Codes and Conventions of a Film Poster

• It includes the title of the film, which stands out against the brown/gold background. This is an important feature of the poster, as it tells the audience the name of the film before they go and see it. It also gives some indication as to what the film is about.
• It includes the script at the bottom, which is usually in capital letters. This gives information about the production company the writer etc.
• The image is the main feature, as it takes up the whole of the poster. The image also helps to imply what the film is about if the audience has not seen the trailer. The audience can decide from the image what type of film it is and whether they would enjoy it.

How Does this Poster Not Follow the Codes and Conventions of a Film Poster

• The poster does not include the names of the cast. Therefore the audience does not know what actors/actresses are in the film. Sometimes this helps the audience decide if they will go and see the film depending on if a certain person is starring in it.
• The poster includes a slogan, which gives an outline of the films narrative.
• It also includes film reviews and the awards that it has won.

EDITING: Editing an image

Before Editing

This is the original photograph that I took at my first photo shoot with Darcey. I am considering using this photo as a possibility for my poster, as I really like the positioning and the pose that Darcey is in. However, I am not very happy with this image, as it is very dark and there are a number of shadows due to the lighting that was used. 

To edit this photo I used Iphoto. I lightened the photo several times, as this made the background white so that Darcey stood out. I also used the warmer tool, which warmed up her skin tone.  Next I changed the level of exposure from 0.43 to 1.99, as this adjusts the overall lightness of the image. Then I enhanced that contrast from 0 to 46, which adjusts the difference between the light and dark tones. I also lowered the saturation of the image from 55 to 3, as this alters the colour intensity. I increased the definition to 9 but I lowered the shadows to 14, as when I brightened the image shadows appeared around Darcey. I increased the sharpness to 3, as this sharpens the focus. I also increased the de-noise tool to 9, which smoothed out the grainy quality of the image.

These are screenshots of the levels that I altered in order to improve the quality of the image and make it brighter.

After Editing

This is the result of the image after editing it using Iphoto. The image is now much brighter and Darcey is more visible. However, I now need to get rid of the shadows which have appeared around Darcey in Photoshop. This will improve the quality of the photo even further.

Editing The Shadows

The next stage of the editing process was to remove the shadows in Photoshop. I did not really know how to do this so I looked on YouTube for a video, which explained step by step how to remove the shadows. This video was really detailed and helped my to achieve a solution.

After removing the background shadows I then went on to remove the shadows around Darcey. I did this by using the quick selection tool in photo shop to select the entire picture. I then used the brush tool to go over the red areas, which I wanted to get rid of. This enabled me to be more precise and accurate around Darcey in order to create a clean line.

This is the finished result after using the quick selection tool in Photoshop. It has completely got rid of the shadows that were behind Darcey. I have also adding a background colour in order to make it brighter.

PLANNING: Images

I arranged  a small photo shoot with Darcey in order to take pictures for my poster and magazine front cover. I took a selection of photos at a dance studio, as this is a conventional setting for the genre of dance, therefore it will be obvious to the audience what this film is about. I then decided to take a selection of photographs against a white wall, as this gave the images a professional finish. I asked Darcey to wear a black leotard and pink ballet tights along with her ballet shoes and her hair in a bun, as this mise en scene also helps to signify to the audience the genre of the film.

In some of the photos the lighting is too dark or there is a shadow. Therefore this will have to be edited in order to give the image a high quality and professional finish.

Here are the photos that I took at the photo shoot.

RESEARCH: Moodboard

FILMING: Shooting on Location

Location 1

In order to film the majority of my footage for my trailer I used one of the dance studios at my dance school. The reason I chose this location is because a dance studio is a conventional setting for a film, which has a genre of dance. The facilities at this dance studio enable the mise en scene to also signify the genre of dance, as it includes mirrors and a ballet bar. The studio lighting made the footage bright and clear, therefore resulting in a professional finish. I asked Darcey to wear a purple leotard along with black ballet leggings and her pointe shoes, although for some of the footage Darcey changed into her soft ballet shoes. I decided on this costume due to the fact that a leotard and soft or pointe ballet shoes are a stereotypically conventional feature of any ballet film, as this immediately connotes what genre of film it is. Therefore the audience will know whether or not the film is for them. I also asked Darcey to have her hair in a bun as this is another conventional characteristic.

Below is a picture of the studio that I used.

This is a map view of the location.

Location 2

Whilst making a shot list of the extra footage which I needed to film, I made the decision of filming this at a different location. Using several locations is common in a dance film or trailer as this stops it from becoming boring by using just one location. Changing locations also conveys a sense that Darcey trains regular in different studios implying her dedication. I still filmed in the stereotypical setting of a dance studio but this time it was at Darcey's dance school. I also made the judgement of changing Darcey's costume, as this suggests that time has progressed throughout the trailer. I still asked her to wear pointe and soft ballet shoes along with her hair in a bun but I changed her outfit to a black leotard and pink ballet tights. The reason I changed to this look is because this is often seen on ballet film posters, as the colours signify ballet. This will also help to give my trailer a traditional feel.

Below is a picture of the studio.

This is a map view of the location.

Editing: More Rushes

During half term I filmed at a different location. Here are the rushes of everything that I filmed.



This footage contains all of the rushes that I may incorporate into my trailer.

PLANNING: Shot List

This is my shot list for all of the shot type and locations that I need to film during half term, as this is what is missing from my trailer at the moment.

EDITING: Starting the Editing Process

These are the 'rushes' - unedited footage - which I filmed in my first location. The next stage is to pick which 'rushes' I will edit and use in my trailer.

These are the 'rushes' that I have selected to use in my trailer. It is still in its unedited form and is not in any order.

This is a screenshot of my Imovie screen so far. It shows that I have started to pick the shots that I like out of all of my footage. These 'rushes' can be seen in the above clip.

RESEARCH: Focus Group

PRODUCTION: Storyboard

PLANNING: What We Did In Class Today

Today in class we revised what things we should add to our blog in order to keep it up to date. I also made a To Do List of things to research and blog posts to upload. We then went on to discuss film trailers and images for our print based media.

As a class we then looked at the Examiner's report for June 2012 in order to find out what could be improved upon this year. It also enabled us to discover what had been constructed well.

Below is what the Examiner's report said about Film Trailers:

"The best film trailers clearly demonstrated excellent understanding of the genre and the ways the texts work to intrigue audiences and entice them to watch the whole film. These made use of a variety of shot types which made for effectively paced trailers in the edit; centres seem to have finally realised that a trailer should be maximum two minutes and should try to act as a tease for the film’s story. More candidates made use of intertitles and did this well but there was a marked lack of voice overs for trailers (although this might be down to issues of equipment). However, far too many trailers submitted followed the narrative sequence of the film they were promoting, including giving away major plot points or twists, and used few camera shots with little variety of shot types and mise-en-scene, which demonstrated weak understanding of the genre. In these cases, more focused analytical research would have been more beneficial prior to the planning stage." 

Below is what the Examiner's report said about the construction of the main tasks:

"Lighting was an issue for many centres; sound recording on video a problem for others. Such issues either need to be addressed or other briefs chosen in order to maximise candidate marks. Expensive equipment isn’t necessary in that research properly applied to planning combined with technical confidence generally results in pleasing outcomes. However, the move to DSLRs is bringing with it a new aesthetic, with candidates less likely to move the camera (the more unforgiving depth of field perhaps being the reason?) but experimenting much more with focus, resulting in pieces which made greater use of the foreground and background as well as the left/right top/bottom of the frame. A number of centres are still carrying out their production work in the school/ college surroundings, when it is not appropriate for the mise en scène. The availability of locations should also be considered in choosing production tasks." 

RESEARCH: Concept - Media Language

From this lesson I have learnt about Semi-otics, which is the study of signs. I also learnt about how denotations is what you see in the picture or frame but the word conotation relates to what is actually happening. In film media langauge defined by how the camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene all create meaning. However, for printed media the language is defined by fonts, layout, the combination of text and images and the actual words used all create meaning.

Useful Theorists
Roland Barthes
Bordwelland Thompson



This is a clip that was shown in class about how media langauage can be applied to our own films. For instance the choice of editing can can make our footage smoother and connote  meaning.

RESEARCH: Concept - Audience

Audience is an important concept throughout different types of media, as every media product needs an audience. When planning and constructing my trailer the target audience should be kept in mind. Also the use of a focus group will help to make sure that my trailer stays on track and will be accepted by the audience.

The Effects Theory
The Effects Theory, otherwise know as the hypodermic needle theory, looks at how media texts influence those who consume them; particularly how negative messages can affect audience groups. This theory was developed in the 1920's and sees the audience as passive, as they play no role in interacting with the media texts.
However, recent theorists see The Effects Theory as outdated and have also identified problems with it. Some see it as underestimating the audience, which has led to the development of complexed theories about active audience participation.

The Uses and Gratification Model
This model identifies how media consumers use the media to gratify their needs. This theory places more focus on the consumer or audience rather than the actual message of the media text. It assumes that the audience is not passive but instead takes an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives.
Theorists Blumler and Katz state that there are five main reasons why audiences consume media texts:

1. To be informed or educated.
2. To identify with characters or situations.
3. To be entertained.
4. To enable themselves to be socially interacted with others.
5. To escape from their daily troubles.

The Influence Model

This theory recognises that people respond to other influences who may mediate the message of the media. This theory is researched by Stuart Hall who found that audiences share certain frameworks or interpretation and that they work at decoding media texts within these frameworks.

Stuart Hall proposed three types of audience readings:

1. Dominant - the reader recognises what the text's preferred meaning is and broadly agrees with it.
2. Oppositional - where the dominant meaning is recognised but rejected for cultural or ideological reasons.
3. Negotiated - where the reader accepts, rejects or refines elements of the text in the light of previously held views.

RESEARCH: Concept - Genre

Genre definition - When films are categorized according to there setting, theme topic or mood etc. However, recently sub-genres and hybrids have been created due to a film fitting into more than one category.

Genres were developed as a way of film markers categorising films so that they could traget specific audiences. This means that now audiences expect to see certain conventions within films. The use of genre can also help audiences decide if they are going to like a certain type of film without seeing it, as they know what conventions and things they expect to see. This also helps to aim the film at a specific group of people rather than a mass audience, as that particular target audience is more likely to enjoy it.

This video shows clips from differnt films within a certain genre and how some of the clips can appear twice due to the fact that they are hybrids.

RESEARCH: Concept - Narrative

Propp's Theory
This theory was established by a Russian critic and literacy theorist called Vladimir Propp. He analysed over 100 Russian fairtales in the 1920s and proposed that it is possible to classify the characters and their actions into eight clearly defined roles and functions. Films such as Star Wars fit Propp's model precisely however, more recent films do not.

The eight character roles:

1. The Hero 
2. The Villain
3. The Donor
4. The Dispatcher
5. The False Hero
6. The Helper
7. The Princess
8. Her Father

Todorov's Theory 

This theory suggest that most narratives start with a state of equilibrium in which life is normal and the protagonist is happy. The state of normality is then disrupted by an outside force, which then has to be fought against in order to return to a state of equilibrium. 

Equilibrium - Disequilibium - New Equilibium

Roland Barthes Theory
Barthes is a French semiologist who suggested that narrative works with five different codes, which activate the reader to make sense of it. He also uses the terms denotation and connotation to analyse images.

Codes:

• Action - a narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action.
• Enigma - a narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved.
• Symbolic - connotation
• Semic - denotation
• Cultural - a narrative device which the audience can recognise as being part of a culture.

Levi-Strauss
This theorist examines how stories unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture. They are usually expressed in the form of binary oppositions.

RESEARCH: Concept - Representation

Representation is the constructed and mediated presentation of people, things and ideas. The media often represents different types of people to the audience in a way which results in the audience feeling like they know what this group of people are like. The audience often takes these representationa for granted, as represenation is the process by which the media presents the 'real world'. 

You can represent:

• Individuals
• Groups
• Places
• Nations
• Ideas
• Regions/Locations

Important questions to ask:

• Who or What is being represented?
• How is the representation created?
• Who has created the representation?
• Why is the represenation created in that way?
• What is the effect of the representation?

Mediation
Meaning is created in the construction of that representation and the combination of all the chioces coming together. Mediation always ends up with the audience being pushed towards concentrating on one aspect of the text and ignoring others.

• Representations as reflections - sometimes represenations are assumed by an audience to simply replicate the real world.
• Represenations as Deliberate Constructions - sometimes representations are seem to be a deliberate attempt to create associations and ideas for the audience.
• The Constructionist Approach - meanings are created by the realtionship between the producers, the text and the audience.

PLANNING: Template Trailer

Using the software Imovie I made a trailer with a template that they had already made. This allowed me to find out about the pace of a trailer along with what type of shots I needed more of. I have also decided to included words in my trailer in order to help the viewer pick up the narrative. Due to the fact that I used a sports trailer it was really fast paced as it included mainly action shots. Therefore when I make my trailer I am going to include longer clips in order to make it less jumpy.



After making a sports trailer using the Imovie template I decided to make a documentary style trailer also using the  same software. This made the pace a lot slower, which is how I want mine to be. It also includes quotes and words relating to this film. As I have planned on doing this in mine it allowed me to see what it would look like and the affect it has. I should also think about incorporating awards which my trailer has won. I like the simplicity of this style of trailer and feel that I should base mine on one similar to this. Also the words help to form a narrative therefore I should think about making a narrative for my trailer.

After making the trailer I have decided that I need to film more close up and medium shots. I should also film some more action shots as well as long shots, as this will give me a variety of shot types and make my trailer more interesting. Both these trailers have made me realise that I need to film in another location.

RESEARCH: Focus Group Questions

The purpose of my focus group is to draw upon respondent's attitudes, feeling, beliefs, experiences and reactions to my trailer. This will allow me to collect in-depth information from a group of people, which will then enable me to create a trailer that is suited to my target demographic. I need to refer to them throughout the planning and construction process inorder to find out what they like and dislike about the trailer.

How old are you?
What are your hobbies/interest?
What subjects are you currently studying?
What is your favourite film?
What is your favourite genre of film?
Where do you mainly watch films?
How do you watch films? ie. on dvd, in the cinema, on the computer etc?
How many films do you watch in a week?
How do you find out about films? ie. social networking sites, tv adverts, posters etc?
How many magazines do you buy every month?
What is your favourite magazine?
Do you every buy film magazines? If yes which ones and how often?
How much would you spend on a magazine?
What attracts you to buying a magazine?
What is your favourite feature on the front cover?
Do you collect posters? If yes what type of posters do you collect?
Where do you mainly see posters?
What is your favourite feature on a poster?
What part of a film poster makes you want to go and see the film?

My film is based on the genre of dance. Would you every watch a film of this genre?
Where would you expect to see a film like this? ie. independent cinema, blanket distribution etc?
Is there a gap in the market for this type of film?
What could be my unique selling point?

PLANNING: My 25 Word Treatment

My trailer is based on a dancer's journey to success. I am not going to make it stereotypical. It will include training and being on stage.

RESEARCH: Street Dance Movie Trailer

StreetDance

• This is more of a stereotypical movie trailer, which focuses on Streetdance.
• Sparks fly as the worlds of street-dance and ballet collide in the film streetdance.
• It is a 3D feature film from Vertigo Films.
• While training for the UK Streetdance Championships, a streetdance crew are forced to work with Royal ballet dancers in return for rehearsal space. With no common ground and with passions riding high, they realise they need to find a way to join forces to win.
• The film includes performances from Britains Got Talent dance sensations Flawless, Diversity and George Sampson, as well as from Matthew Bourne protégé Richard Winsor and breakthrough Brit actress Nicholas Burley.
• It was filmed in London.

Screenshots

The trailer starts with an establishing shot of London, as this sets the scene and it also reinforces to the audience that this movie saw filmed in London.

It then cuts between several shots of other groups competing at the competition. The shots are a mixture of long shots and overhead shots. The scene is dark and it lit by spotlights. In-between some of the clips it cuts to black before cutting to the next shot.

In this trailer it also shows  a wide shot of the audience, which has also been a common feature in other dance trailers.

The trailer features the official logo of Vertigo Films, which is the production company for Streetdance. This seems to be a conventional feature in all of the movie trailers that i have researched.

The trailer introduces the two groups of dancers using medium shots.

There is an aerial view of the training room. Followed by long shots showing the two separate groups of dancers and them dancing.

Another convention of dance trailers is using words or narration of the story. Each time this is seen it is in the same style and uses the same colours. This creates a house style and also makes the trailer flow. I should consider using this idea in my trailer.

The trailer also shows a variety of environments and scenes where they train. Instead of just seeing one training room.

The use of mirrors in this trailer creates an interesting effect. It allows the audience to see the front and the back of the actor.

There are also clips of the dancers training and using conventional equipment. This is usually a medium shots.

Finally, the trailer shows the dancers at the competition after all of their training. This allows the audience to get an idea of their goal throughout the achievement.

TO DO: Planning Guide

Checklist

RESEARCH: First Position Movie Trailer

First Position

• First Position is an award winning dance documentary.
• The movie features some of the most talented young dancers in the world and their journey towards competing for a ballet scholarship. It is about a love of dance and a drive to succeed.
• First Position takes audiences on a yearlong journey around the world.  
• Based in a time when art, music and dance for children are severely under-funded, the film reveals the struggles and success, the pain and extraordinary beauty of an art form.
• With exclusive access to the Youth America Grand Prix, the largest competition that awards full scholarships to top ballet schools.
• First Position had its World Premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.
• It was named the audience choice’s 1st runner-up for Best Documentary. 
• It also won the Jury Prize at the San Francisco Doc Festival.
•  It won the audience award for Best Documentary at the Dallas International Film Festival, the audience award for Best Documentary at the Portland International Film Festival and the audience award for Best Documentary at DOC NYC.
• First Position is currently playing in North American movie theaters. 
• In fall 2012 it will be released internationally.

Screenshots 

It starts off showing a boy in his bedroom before introducing that he is a central character in the documentary.

A transition is used in the editing process, which is used when they spin. The clip starts of but showing them practicing spinning before fading into them spinning on stage.

 The trailer shows them practicing as a group in the training room and on stage. These are normally show as long shots.

It also shows clips of the dancers stretching.

The trailer introduces the dancers that are featured in the documentary by showing them individually with their name and age appearing on the screen.

 Their are also clips of the dancers preparing before they take to the stage. These are usually medium shots.

The trailer also shows clips of the theatre along with shots of the audience in order to change the environment. I should consider having a few locations in my trailer.

 There are close ups, medium shots, and long shots of the dancers on stage. This shows what their training has all been for. I should consider the contrast between footage in the training room and dancing on stage.

I also like this close up of the dancers feet. 

The clip contains the title of the documentary at the end of the film along with the awards that it has won and information about its production. This writing is in gold and shines before it can be read clearly. I should consider making the text that I include in the trailer more of a feature.

Like other dancing trailers it includes phrases and words of inspiration. This text is also in the same font and format as the title, as this creates a house style and gives the trailer a sense of continuity.

The trailer also included comments and reviews from magazines and critics.