Poster Ideas

Poster Ideas
This example is one of the first. We wanted to portray a significant change from one Spanish culture to another British culture as a mean of indicating a drastic difference. This first idea therefore includes to wide screen shots at either side of the page with the title and tagline being placed in the middle to separate the differences. The top image includes the Spanish side, with the main female protagonist placed centrally surrounded by her Spanish identity. The bottom image includes the male protagonist again in the middle, with quiet a comedic facial expression again surrounded by a British environment. The title and tagline here creates a sort of barrier which we wished to create to match the theme of the short film. It is good that we have the title included the word 'barrier' used as a physical barrier in the poster.

The second idea we used using the first title idea, as this produced a more comedic theme. However we  have also included a thick black line that forms a physical barrier between the two protagonists. The protagonists have also been placed on a sofa, where they are able to promote the sense of relationship between them yet sill including a barrier. 

This third example, indicates the importance of the black line which plays a very important role in showing a barrier. Without it, it appears to lack this barrier element and therefore would appear more of a romantic situation without and sense of difficult which is not what we want to portray especially in relation to our film title and tagline.

The last example, will positively relate to our film poster as it includes all of the desired elements that have been mentioned in our previous examples. For instance, we have kept the thick black line, as it creates the barrier and separates the different identities which is what we want to portray. We have also wanted to keep with the idea of showing the main protagonist, however they shall be either side of the barrier so that it shows the difference, whereas if they had stayed on the sofa this effect would not have been shown and more comedic one would have been shown instead. Therefore by having them stand at either side can still create a sense of comedy but not leaving space for the elements of the content of the film to come through. 

Planning the Film Poster

Target Audience

Our short film is concerned with romantic and comedic elements that feature two young protagonist from different backgrounds that want to but fail to communicate with each other. Therefore, with regard to these themes it appears that our target audience will relate to young people of both genders between the ages of 15-25. However our initial audience was aimed at more middle aged female viewers, however due to the light content of the short and what it involves and through research evidence, it showed that younger audiences appeal to it, plus it is possible that the comedic theme attracts male audiences too, plus the use of football that emerges also appeal to male audiences. Adding to this, our poster will most likely appeal to a more female audiences as the romantic element may be more evident.

Film Poster

As we are concerned with British Rom-Coms it is importance that we attempt to follow similar rom-com film poster conventions. Therefore we have decided to have our background as a plain white background, this is that the audience focuses mainly on the two main protagonist. We intend on having the two main characters on the poster to display that there is a romantic interest. Having the main characters on the front of a film poster tends to be a common convention for romantic comedies. If we take some examples such as from The Proposal, 27 Dresses ...etc these also share the common themes that we wish to involve in our short film. It clearly indicates some form of relation involved with these characters, plus the clear view of the protagonist facial expression can portray certain comedic elements. Such as that in 'The Proposal' where the the male protagonist face expresses funny features. 

Film Title 

As our film includes a Spanish girl and British male that have difficulty communicating with each other. Ideally we wanted to attempt to feature this language inability in our movie poster, therefore we used words that were associated with the word 'language'. Moreover it is important that we include some form of language related word involved as it that forms the basis of the film. Some example of our ideas included 'Que?' which is the spanish word for 'what'. This is because people would be able to associate that this word is unfamiliar in the english language and most would be able to identify that 'que' is a spanish word.

 Another example is 'The Language Barrier' this promotes the difficult use of language. The word 'barrier' insinuates a form of trouble and this linked with 'language' infers that there is trouble involved in language. Therefore a title that emits the ideas we wish the audience to have. Plus the use of 'The' at the start makes the short film sounds more official and professional as it is also commonly used with feature films for instance 'THE break-up', 'THE ugly truth' etc. This would also therefore attract to our more older audience that move out of adolescence. We made numerous attempts to produce similar film title names, however these two were the most popular and liked. In order to correctly chose a film title we need to assure that the film tagline correctly links to the name of the film and see which match and sound better.

Film Taglines

Film taglines are very much dependent on the name of film that have chosen as they run parallel to eachother in order to sell to the audience. Again, we wished to remain as closely linked to the film as possible. Therefore we have invented taglines including 'love in the perfect tense'. This appears appropriate and the use of 'perfect tense' relating back to language and linguistics, plus would be best to use with the 'Que' title. However this does portray a more comedic element to the film and so we may want to produce a more mature sound. Using this tagline would perhaps focus on the more younger side of our audience.

Therefore we also considered 'when love needs no language...' this is more simplistic but effective tagline that would be suited with our second title choice as it focuses more on the barrier element of the film. This tagline also directly links to the theme of love that is also presented in our short movie with a slight comedic twist. This compared to the first leaves it open to imagination as the first is a rather closed statement. We have also included an ellipses, which again would leave the audience in thought, and again promotes the comedic theme as it could leave the audience wondering what is involved on our film. Plus this tagline may also appeal more to an adult audience, considering our short is aimed at 15-25 year old this would fit.

The Result

As a result we have decided to go for the last choice title and tagline, as we believe that it enforces a more mature approach to our short film and produces a more professional sounding film. Yet still able to relate to the younger audience. Therefore we wish that this message is promoted on the film poster and will invite audiences to watch the film. 

Images and colour

As previously stated, we will have images of the two main protagonists that are facing back to back to each other. Therefore there shan't be any images that come from the movie directly yet designed for the poster purpose. The female protagonist shall be on the left hand side where she would be seen leaning on the barrier. The male protagonist will be on the other side of the barrier again leaning, with perhaps a language dictionary prop, for him to read so that it adds to the language difficaulty atmosphere that it produced.

With concerns to colour, a plain white background is ideal, so that the main interest is focused on the two characters and the barrier. The barrier will clearly be in a thick black so that it is bold and stands out from the background and the protagonists. The tagline shall be in black aswell as it will stand out clearly from the background so that it is  visible for the audiences and grabs their attention. The colour for the main title shall be in either black or red or both, as red  provides the colour of love and so would portray these connotations. If we chose to show both colours the red will be used for 'language'. The word 'language' may also be crafted in a different font from the standard that will be used, this is so that it provides more emphasis on the word to show its important in the role of the short film. Again this will stand out to the audiences. Plus the words either side of this word would also stand due to this.

Conclusion

Although the title and tagline do match with eachother, there is a slight possibility that it may be too feminine. Our film contains many elements of it being gender neutral, as it is a male protagonist with the aim of 'pulling' a female, plus contains a football match, which is stereotypically a more male related topic. 

Market Research

Kevin Market Research

The numbers ended up with ¿Que? coming out on top and even though we asked more men than women it was clear that there was a big interest in our new film. We would have liked to ask for more help in our decision making but then it wouldn't have been our film and work.

Storyboard

Crstina storyboard
This is our storyboard that should resemble what our film will be about and what will be inlcuded, plus how long it should be. We have a maximum target of five minuets however this short film measures to around four and a half minuets. 

Shooting Schedule

We will shoot all the interior scenes (Shots 13, 14, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 44, 45, 46 and 47) and the letterbox scene (Shot 33) on the 5th of February. Noramy and Myself will meet at 11 O'Clock at Hammersmith Broadway and get as much done as we can.

On the 12th of February we will shoot the remaining scenes that are needed (Shots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 52, 54 and 55). As I have work I will have to miss out on shooting. 

As we have two weeks I will request some time off and if any shots need to be re-shot I'll do my best to help but as of now the future weather forecasts look good and we can do some work in the weekdays if needed.

5th Feb

12th Feb

Production Reccie

We will use a house in Shepherds Bush with full access to the inside. It looks like a nice area and where filming will hopefully be uninterrupted. Our main issues will be light and the weather, but after looking at the BBC forecast the weather is likely to hold out for us, and if we get there nice and early the light will too.

The area looks relatively friendly and everything looks realistic.

EDIT

The original house that was going to be used for the interior shooting is now unavailable, however it is still needed for the exterior shots. To combat this my house will be used for the interior shots as it is relatively close and I can have use of it whenever the six nations isn’t on. The living room of the new house seems more affordable, and therefore more believable for the main character to be living there. The exterior doesn't affect anyone in the original house so that is why it is usable. We are using it because it has two front doors and that gives the impression of two houses right next to each other.

The doors we will use, as we have access to both

A view of the street

A view of the street

The living room we will use

Character Information

Character Information 

In short films, it is important that we select actors that fit the characters the description. Our short consists of seuley two main protagonist, Carmen (the Spanish Girl) and Alex (British boy).Therefore by involving a Spanish Girl and a British boy in our story it is vital that we find actors that can play these roles, especially as multiple languages are involved and thus a Spanish-speaking actress is essential. Plus for British Boy we will then need to have a clearly English-speaking voice as he will attempt to speak in the other languages need as well. It is important that we take into consideration the main focuses and point of this shirt film when selecting the actors, including multiculturalism. 

Leading male protagonist 

The male protagonist needs to be able to speak English clearly. Therefore by starring Noramy Kipoto in the cast acts perfectly for the specified role. Having a London background enables him to be very well in speaking English, plus having an interest in foreign languages demonstrates his ability in attempting to speak the languages in the short film. Selecting a black male, Noramy can therefore fit in with the theme of British multiculturalism involved in the short film. His further interaction with Carmen will then add to this point as possible friendship between different cultures. 

Female role

For the role of Carmen, the Spanish Neighbour moving into the neighbourhood, we have selected a Natural Spanish-Speaking Girl, Hannah Tagulao. Coming from a Spanish background and speaking Spanish fluently, she would be ideal to play the role. Moreover her dark complexion and tanned skin would identify her as typically coming from abroad as oppose to a lighter complexion. This form of mise-en-scene is important in order for the audience to be able to associate her given role as foreigner. Taking this example from well-known Spanish actresses such as Penelope Cruz, who also provides a dark complexion and accent, which audiences always associate as Hispanic, playing Hannah in the cast would fit ideally.

Both of these characters should show the audience the influence of multiculturalism, and the positives associated with this. The interaction between these two protagonists portrays a possible real life situation in which may persuade audiences to communicate with their neighbors. 

Other Characters

We also have a couple extra characters, such as James Baldock who plays the role of Alex's friend. A typically english character which would again add to the stereotypical english male and be very much involved in showing the different types of characters included in the British culture.

Our Film Synopsis

The film opens with a young women shown strugelling with carrying boxes before cutting to a man hearing her strugle from his sofa, he then goes to help her asking if she requires help to which the women replies in a foreign language that the man does not understand, none the less he helps her with the boxes during which their eyes meet and it becomes evident there is a clear attraction between them.
the man the decides that he will ask the woman out and is determined to tell her how he feels and so decides to learn a number of different languages to show how he feels, he therefore is seen learning a number of languages and wearing clothes accustomed to that nationality to win her over, each time failing to speak to her in her actual language but still developing a relationship through their contact.
when he seems to have given up he puts on the football and watches the game, during which Spain score and he hears his neighbour cheer, he realises she's spanish and goes round to talk to her, they finally have a conversation and we see their romance blossum and the film ends there

When new girl, Carmen moves in next door, Alex is infatuated, never before had he seen such a woman. Then he decides to step up to the plate, and declare his love. In six different languages!!! Follow the new and fresh cast and crew featuring Noramy Kipoto as Alex, as he attempts to vault the language barrier and get the girl in The Language Barrier, watch Alex as his crush develops for the fair foreign maiden in this lovable rom-com that touches our hearts as their relationship develops and love begins to bloom. 

This film is aimed at middle-aged women. By applying genre theory we can understand that our film will gain relatively big success because Rom-Coms so successful. Anyone and his dog can make a Rom-Com and they should cover the cost of the budget with ease because of the success they have has in the past 15 years. We also tackle the theme of multi-culturalism in the UK by showing 6 different languages being displayed.

Script

Scene 1

EXT. ON STREET

GIRL emptying car boot due to her moving in. She attempts to lift a heavy one and struggles. BOY comes over and helps her with it.

BOY
Let me help you with that

BOY Smiles

GIRL
¡Ten cuidado, pesa mucho!

Look and confused smiles are exchanged. BOY then takes box to her door

BOY
Well, erm... Welcome to London!

GIRL
¿Como? No te entiendo

Gestures her lack of understanding

BOY
Oh, okay. You should pop round for a cup of tea when you’re done unpacking

GIRL
A lo major ¿Podemos coger una bebida cuando termino con estas cajas?

BOY sighs

BOY
Alright, see you later I guess

INT. BOYS HOUSE

Walks into own house sadly then leans against door

BOY (Voice Over)
I think I kinda like her. What should I do?

Fade to black

Scene 2

INT. GIRLS house

Mid shot of front door. A knock is heard, the girl opens the door revealing the boy, dressed in stereotypical French clothing.

BOY
Bonjour!

GIRL gives him odd look

BOY
Vouler vous coucher avec moi c’est soir?

GIRL gives him another odd look

GIRL
¿Que?

BOY
I brought you some sugar

BOY smiles

GIRL
¿Como?, ¡No te entiendo! Lo Siento

BOY (Voice over)
So she’s not French

BOY
Never mind

Walks off sadly

Scene 3

INT. BOYS HOUSE

BOY leans out window, GIRL is putting rubbish in the bins

BOY
Czesh, Vodka?

BOY waves bottle of Vodka whilst smiling, GIRL laughs

BOY (in polish)
Do you want to go out sometime?

GIRL shrugs and acts confused, BOY apologises and goes back inside

INT. BOYS ROOM

BOY
Maybe she’s Arabic?

Scene 4

INT. BOYS KITCHEN

Montage of BOY writing letter in Arabic, it says (Hi, its your neighbour, do you fancy grabbing a drink some time?)

EXT. FRONT GARDEN

BOY
I hope this works

BOY puts letter in letterbox

Scene 5

INT. BOYS HOUSE

Montage of boy doing nothing

Scene 6

INT. BOYS HOUSE

TEXT ON SCREEN
A few weeks later

BOY
So she isn’t Arabic 

BOY sighs 

BOY

Maybe she’s deaf?

BOY searches on internet for tutorials on sign language

Scene 7

EXT. FRONT GARDEN

BOY knocks on door and the GIRL answers. The BOY signs “Hey, do you want to go out some time?” Girl still acts confused, boy smiles, apologies and leaves

Scene 8

INT. BOYS LIVING ROOM

BOY is watching World Cup Final where Spain is playing. He looks depressed and is sipping on a beer. Spain scores and he hears a huge roar from upstairs. He jumps up.

BOY
SHES SPANISH!

BOY grabs a Spanish to English dictionary and runs frantically to the door

EXT. FRONT GARDEN

BOY knocks and tries to learn a few words and phrases quickly

BOY
¡Hola!

GIRL smiles

GIRL
Hola

Boy flicks through pages as he speaks

BOY (In Spanish)
I know I’ve been annoying, but do you want to go out some time?

GIRL (In Spanish)
Sure. Why don’t you come in?

BOY translates what she said, then smiles

BOY
Oh, Okay

BOY walks in and the door closes, Screen fades to black, Credits.

Audience

In considering the potential audiences for short films, they can be viewed as perhaps restricted and limited in opportunities for potential audiences to view their films. However, Short-films do aim to set the film at a certain audience within the film industry in order to promote their name and product. They tend to focus on niche audiences within the film industry in targeting those who are interested in alternative films. However, those whose films get noticed i.e. Fede Alvarez, who had his own niche audience however; his film got 6 million views on Youtube and got noticed by the film making community. Therefore, although he had very limited funding available for him to produce the film, it was recognised globally, which to an extent increased the distribution of the film worldwide.

Within the short-film making community, there is a huge issue surrounding funding issues which prevent Short-film makers to target a wider audience within the film industry and therefore not making much success. However, also Fede Alvarez’s film of “Ataque de Panico”, he was given a limited budget of $300 to make his film in what proved to be a huge success attracting audiences from Hollywood. By distributing the film on Youtube, film-makers have an opportunity to attract a wider community in which to promote their film, as before they only has film festivals as an opportunity to attract audiences. In contrast, bigger films (well funded) seem to have more of an opportunity to distribute their film to more of a global scale therefore being successful. These "Hollywood" films are therefore able to reach well reknown cinemas such as "Vue" and "Cineworld" and are distributed to a wider audience in the film industry and appeal to others.

The BBFC certificates would affect Short films negatively in that they are limited in a target audience. Short-films would mainly target their product at PG or around the ages of 12+. Targeting the audience in this area would gain difference types of audiences instead of aiming it at one particular age groups. If they were to target another age group their film would be much more limited in aiming their film at wider audiences. Most of the films I have seen have all contained limited content keeping in which is seen to target the ages of 15 with themes such as Rom-coms and social realism in attempt to reach different audiences.

Moreover, in relation to our film, factors such as; limited funds and perhaps distribution issues we wouldn’t be able to make a film that is seen as the highest quality by viewers, this would explain the reasons for our distribution of our film. However, according to BBFC we do intend to target our audience at the ages of 12+ in which would help us reach bigger and wider audiences.

Different audiences for film magazines

There are different magazines that take their own individual approach towards aiming at a  particular set of audience that will take their interest. Film magazines are merely to persuade the adueince to watch the film or to give the audience an insight to the film to see if it is suited to their taste. For example, the likes of Sight & Sound take a more serious and professional approach in advertising a film to set an interest to a more formal audience, perhaps the upper-middle class or an audience with a well educated background. Even based on the layout of the article you can tell its very "business" like, perhaps giving an impression similar to those newspapers such as; "The Independent" or "The Guardian". There isn't any fancy imagery or graphics, therefore attracting a certain niche market.

One the other hand their are film magazines that take a contrasting approach with a more informal take, in which they target their audience at an audience more associated with "popular culture" with less complicated grammar. I.e. Empire set their audience at an audience of a less educated background giving an impression it's target audience is the younger people of 16+. Empire is merely based on "opinion" and "criticism" by critics giving an opinion that will either persuade the audience to see the film or simply put them off, which therefore film magazines can be viewed as an important aspect on the promotion side. 

"Totalfilm" takes a relatively similar approach to "Empire", with a very subjective theme used in most film based magazines, giving a opinion based reception, rather than an descriptive and objective view of the film. I.e. the example below gives a more "stand out" theme showing the bright colours, and a subjunctive insight to the films background.

Themes

Themes

Short film themes tend to be generally, on the common themes that are in today's society and sometimes concerning things that are in the news. If we take the example of Fede Alavarez then we can see how it deals with the common fears of today's society and what is happening in the world. The fear of an invasion is emitted through this short and therefore it feeds of this to create a certain reaction from audience watching this. The audience should therefore be able to relate to the theme that comes across in the short film. A similar issue is dealt with in Tom Harper's 'Cherries' were today's society is fixated on the constant negative views given to male youth of today's, therefore by focusing on this in a boys school, as seen in the film, then it provides a dystopian possibility for the near future to come.

There have been films concerning multiculturalism, social realism which could include crime and off course everyday life. Moreover some examples of these short films include 'Sign Language' by Oscar Sharpe using a more documentary style approach into the daily life of a sign post holder, this uses specific techniques such as breaking the 4th wall to make it more personal. Another example is that by Tom Harper in the short film 'Cherries' which again focuses on the common aspect of a boys school, such as the boy fights and the need to rebel against one another and teachers. These short films all include, and have links to, the themes dealing with what is common in the society in which people live in today.

As we are concerned with British Identity our short films need to include some elements of British identity, whether it be as a theme or a the way that is constructed. If we take the example of 'Veronique' by Patrick Bergh which contains elements of a Rom-com which can be connected to some well known British Rom-Com's such as Notting Hill, where they both deal with a another culture mixing in with the British culture. Therefore by trying to introduce multiculturalism in a short film can possibly be a theme for which to include in our on film.

Any Given Sunday Poster

The pictures of the stars indicate who will be in the film. Usually its easier for the public to recognise a face rather than a name. While Al Pacino is a recognisable name Dennis Quaid may not be, so this good to attract an audience in.

The iconic background images show what you should expect in the film. On our poster it shows some on the field action with the main character doing something shocking

The tagline is used to draw in the crowd and question what the film is about

As with the Tagline, the titles are in white, bold font and are rather plain. I believe this was to simply convey the meaning of the name. It has no distractions so you can apreciate it.

The billing blocks are used to credit those who helped fund and make the film, and they are seen on almost every poster in the world.

Purpose of a Magazine Film Review

The purpose of a magazine film review is to provide information and a professional opinion on a film. The audience which are seeking an expert third party opinion on the suitability of the film for their needs and to make an informal decision on whether it is something they will enjoy or their family will enjoy as well as it's suitability to their family. Another purpose is to market the film in a similar way to the poster, to sell the film to the audience, but the audience is aware that a poster is bias and that it has been designed to promote the film and convince the audience to see it, a review is an expert 3rd party opinion and film producers know and understand that people are not willing to spend their money on a film unless it has a good review from someone who understands what makes a good film and what people will like.

Therefore the purpose of a film review is to inform the reader of what the film is about wotihout giving away to much detail, to tell the reader the suitability of the film in terms of content and value and in some ways help to promote the film depending on whether the critic enjoys what they have seen,it's also important to note that different magazines will have different opinions, for example sight and sound is unlikely to review The Expendables as it is'nt a very cultured film whereas Empire magazine would have because it's a very mainstream Hollywood film with a lot of a list celbrities.

Magazines

Empire is undoubtedly largest selling film magazine in the UK, if not the world and according to its website is marketed at (and I quote) Audience Profile: 76% Male, Affluent ABC1 movie fans and cinema hounds. This shows the reason why Empire comes with a rather hefty price tag and why it offers a free game when you subscribe. Their description of a target audience is confusing unless we look deeper into what it means. Obviously their style of big pictures and funny captions is a big reason as to why men are attracted to it and the coverage of blockbusters rather than art house films helps support this too, but the fact that this product is marketed to affluent ABC1 males mean that they are targeting rich men (so they can afford the magazine/subscription). An A male is regarded as a Higher managerial and professional, a B male is classed as an Intermediate managerial and professional and a C1 male is classed as a Supervisory, clerical, junior managerial. The other classifications (C2, D and E) are considered as those who are less affluent and less likely to be interested in film.




Empires style however, does lack in any serious content. There are a lot of micky takes and the advertising inside is really aimed at the readers, so Jaguars and sunglasses can be seen at the flick of a page. But we mustn’t judge Empire for this as it sells big and that’s what it’s all about. Total Film and Empire are basically the same and that’s why I shall be moving on to Sight and Sound.




Sight and Sound is a magazine that at first glance is clearly targeting a niece audience due to the language, films discussed, and the style of the magazine. It’s also clearly the only one that true media academics write in and this is proved by the fact that it’s supported by the BFI (British Film Institute) and the films it reviews. You will be able to see the analysis and comparisons of two different independent film review magazines somewhere in this blog.




Prevue is a completely different type of magazine and really should not be discussed when looking at independent magazines like Empire, Total Film and Sight and Sound. Prevue is an above-the-line marketing tool used by the UK’s second largest cinema chain Vue. This isn’t exclusive to Vue however, everyone is at like Cineworld and Odeon. The reason that these magazines are so different is because they are used to clearly advertise the film and show no negatives in regards to them. This shallow marketing may be unethical but it is what happens and that’s why everything in these magazines should be taken with a grain of salt. The layout is also rather similar although these magazines rely heavily on huge pictures and massive breakout boxes filled with trivia and advertising for other films they may or will have.

The films discussed in these magazines are very different, in Empire and Total Film we see big, Hollywood blockbusters and films that will draw in movie-goers. The content inside Prevue is positive and appealing, this is purley marketing an should not draw anyserious movie fans in. They too show blockbusters because of their high demand. Finally sight and sound is a targeted at a niech audience. The film review we analysed was called the witnesses and was intended for people who go out of their way to watch films like this one, we would never see it advertised in Prevue or Empire because they have a small target audience.

Film Magazine Review

How film magazines are constructed

Every film magazine are different from each other and are individual on their own, however it is essential that they all follow a certain structure in order to make it successful. Film magazines attract audiences as they wish to be further informed by a third audience which may ultimately finalise their decision to watch a film. Therefore reviews need to contain structure including technical codes, written codes and symbolic codes. Each are vitally important to fulfill the purpose of a film magazine.

Technical Codes

These are displayed through the layout of the film magazine.

Taken from totalfilm magazine, we can identify the main technical codes located in this layout. This includes the-section title-usually found at the top of magazine to label what section the film review has come under. We are then faced with a picture, which is evident in almost reviews no matter how small, in this case it tends to be a rather large image which can be a screen shot or a publicity shot that tend to be focused a section of the film. There is no real location of where the image should be, however it does tend to be at the top and/or on the right hand side as that is the way people read thus attracting the audience in this way. Every main picture includes an image caption that provide anchorage about the specific shot taken, this is sometimes made to be humours, such as the one shown above. Headlines are clearly identified in the large, bold title where commonly, the film name is the headline but this is not always the case. This is so that it can stand out from the review and attract readers in. Straplines tend to follow after the headlines, they usually lie underneath. They consist of a brief sentence, sometimes humorous or a question to make it a little more interesting, again not all reviews include them. As the review begins, it often starts with a brief introduction a one line phrase to introduce the film. Some reviews don't include them as they be seen as unnecessary and other times it my just be one line that is either bold, larger font then the rest of the article or in italics, all done to differentiate from the main body of writing. Subheadings and breakout paragraphs are almost certainly included in most reviews, breakout paragraphs are a main quote taken from the article that are highlighted and made larger. Subheadings are commonly used either as apart of the article or sometimes used in breakout boxes, such as in the example used above. Reviews are always written in columns, sometimes two columns like the one featured above but it is most common to use the 4 column structure. Another technical code sometimes taken for granted, is graphics and logos , these include the mini icons that are located all over the article whether it be stars, logos or any other kind of added feature, making it more pleasant for audiences. Font focuses on the style of the letter such as heading being used in a sans-serif font to make it bolder and attractive for the audience as using a serif font can be easily confusing. Serif font is used for the main body of the text. Breakout boxes are added sections of information concerning any part of the film, actors or director and are commonly used to 'fill in the space' it also provides more interaction for those reading the review. The-call to action-is an action in which the audience can do in order to find out further information, therefore it consists of, for example, visiting a website as shown above. Finally the article ends with a byline, the writer of the review, this is commonly given as a full name, although initials can also be used or sometimes the byline is not included. However some reviews may also include the byline at the beginning, if the writer is of importance or well-known. Lastly, issue information is also a technical code, where it provides information such as the page number and usually the name of the magazine.


Written Codes
With this we can clearly identify who the audience is, by looking at the specific language they use. If we look particularly at the example from 'Light and Sound Magazine' it presents a formal in-depth review, evidently aimed at the educated middle class with a dry sense of humor. This informs the audience of how detailed and well researched the review is, indicated its higher status over other review magazines. Its review on the french film ' The Witness' (Les Temoins) uses the above criteria, for example 'aids memoir' portrays their form of dry humour. Due to it seen as such an intellectual review for its educated audience it assumes that the audience is familiar with Techine (the director of the film) and French Cinema and Film. Introducing the review as rather cultured and non-inclusive.

Comparing this to another such review magazine such as Prevue, an inhouse cinema review magazine, we can see a very different audience type as it uses a significantly different use of language. Although the language is not colloquial, it does not use the same level of depth or formality that is used on 'Light and Sound'. Instead it deals with interacting more with the audience in a language that possibly younger audiences could also read as it does not use grand words such as 'verisimilitude' in which may require a dictionary for the average person. Moreover, the reviews do not go into excessive detail about the film and in the review about ' Did you hear about the Morgans?' focuses mainly on the characters and their actors. However this could be forming a slightly biased review as Prevue wishes to attract audiences in watching films rather then stirring them away. For this reason, there is hardly negative elements of films mentioned. Criticism is left at a minimal level.




Symbolic Codes
This deals with the visual elements of a review, including images, fonts and colours. All are important as they express a certain connotation to the audience. When looking at images, it is important to focus on framing, cropping, selection and point of view as they are important in producing a certain outlook. Selection is where a shot is selected to use, preferably one that will look more intriguing for audiences. Cropping images so that no unnecessary parts of the shot are involved that are not needed, therefore the focus will remain more on the main protagonist rather than any other background distraction. Framing focuses on the main element being taken, such as how far away the subject is and how it is presented. This works closely with the rule of thirds, where the frame of the image and the positioning is key. Point of view takes a look into a background as location can change the way that the audience perceive it.

Therefore if we take for instance the above examples from Prevue, we can see these in motion. Prevue uses almost a whole page worth in size for an image. The image focuses on the two main protagonist in which they excessively talk about. However without reading the article the audience will be able to identify this couple as the main characters as they are positioned in the middle, this is therefore looking at framing techniques. With concerns to selection, this shot may have been chosen due to the fact that it is unheard of for those actors to be wearing cowboy hats, when the audience sees them dressed in this way it would be evident that there is some form of comedy element contained in the film. This also links in with point of view as the location of where there shot is given identifies that they are in the country and not a city. Also the position in which the characters are looking portrays certain connotations to the audience. Cropping has most likely been use to avoid the extra characters seen in the background, so that there is only a main focus on the two main characters. Moreover a break out box has been placed on top of the image on the far right, replacing an insignificant section of the shot. However this does not detach the audience away from the main image.

Moving on to the 'Sight and Sound' magazine review, we can see that there is a main image located in the middle that fills half a page. Again, the audience can see the main protagonists in the central part of the image. Here it is noticeable that this image has been selected as it shows how the character are all enjoying themselves despite it being a negative film, this may result in the audience anticipating how this picture-perfect lifestyle changes. Linking in with point of view, it indicates location at home introducing the connotations of being comfortable. With reference to framing, it is evident that the shot includes all the main characters showing the lifestyle that they live, plus cropping has been used to keep all these characters in the shot.

Conventions of a Film Poster

A film poster is designed to be intriguing and eye catching, to have a focal point that will draw the audience in.
it must display a large title that is easy to read and can be seen from a long way away so it can recognised by the audience.
it may suggest the film genre using the poster to attract a specific type of audience, such as using certain picutres or font to brng in the desired audience.

It may use famous actors to draw in the auidence as well, a big hollywood name can help to promote a film as good as any ad campaign.

There is usually a tagline on the poster to give the audience reading the poster an idea of the film they are watching

As well as famous actors the name of the director is also displayed on the poster, in some cases the directors name is highlighter above all others, usually when there is a relativly unknown cast.

It also has the age rating on the poster to show people who can watch it and what the film might be like.

Film posters usually contain a number of basic elements:
1) A picture of the star in the film with an inconic image of the film.
2) The title of the film, in a large font that is easy to be seen
3) A tag line with a quote which suggest the narrative in a very vaugue form
4) The stars name to further draw the audience in
5) A background behind the iconic image of the star, to further show part of the film
6) A billing block that all posters have
7) A call to action
8) A BBFC rating

As well as this there are countless semiotics in film posters, such as the images, colours used in the poster, the titles and fonts and the layout.
there are also codes:

1) Technical codes- techniques used in the construction of a of a text
2) Wrtitten codes- the range of contexts in which words are used in the text itself
3) Symbolic codes- the system of signs embedded within the text itself.

Posters have a number of different options to them to create a peice of advertising which sells the film to the audience whether it is through the font used to represent a sci fi film or an actor to sell the film.

Classic examples of film posters.

Through the years it has been evident that film posters have changed progressively in which film posters from 40 years ago was seemingly different to those film posters in a more contemporary period. As the film industry first started out, film poster first started to be drawn out, rather than being computerized However with the development of computers, film posters have been able to be used via computer in which has led more of a technological side. Classical film posters such as:

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

                                                        The Clockwork Orange(1962)

                                                             The GodFather (1972),                                                                 

                                         And Die Hard (1988) can all be defined as classical film posters.

As technology has become more advanced and progressive over the years, with the use of Photo-shop and high quality pictures, film posters in the contemporary media have been able to produce much more sophisticated posters and attractive that are able to give a more appealing image to the audience that become interested. Now, there are 3D, holograms and digital moving pictures amongst other digital elements of the promotion side. This also can be seen on the likes of websites. Furthermore, with the use of technology with posters, posters have therefore become a crucial factor in the advertisement of films within the media industry. Technology has provided a more "glamorous" look to the side of film posters, e.g. the use of bright contrasting colours perhaps portraying the mood of the film which could enlighten the audience to see the film. Contemporary film posters that portray a more technological aspect to the film poster industry include:

                                                            I, Robot (2004)

                                                          40 Year old virgin (2005)

                                                                      

                                                            Inception (2010)

   Following the recent development of technology, it has enabled a wider distribution of film posters in which would attract a bigger and wider community of audiences. Rather than limited distribution of film posters in the early developmental stages, production has become increased as well as the distribution being avaiable in more unique places, with the use of technology.

Analysis of Goodfellas poster (1990)

The centre of the poster has the title of the film, it uses an old fashioned style font that looks simmilar to what was used in the 30's when the Mafia rose to prominence, which links to what the film is about, as well as the revealing its part of the gangster genre.

it has a tagline below the main title which says ''three decades of life in the Mafia'' which doesent leave any member of the audience in doubt as to what the film is about.

the images are of the three main characters, Joey, Henry and Jimmy, with the names of the actors emblazoned above their heads, the images are important as the actors are very well known and in one case iconic, Joey Peschi, and Ray Liotta are well known for their roles as gansgters portraying the mafia, and Robert De Nero is a cult actor who is iconic as his role as both an actor and an actor portraying a member of the mafia.

The way they are dressed shows the audience the stereotype of how the public belive the Mafia dress and act, it also slightly resembles how someone would attend a funeral, suggesting that the film could depict the fall of the Mafia.

It also shows violence could be in the film, this is further backed up by the actors in the way they are standing with serious looks on their face, the background shows a man who has been shot with a derby hat on suggesting that more violence is in the film, it also depicts a stereotype homage of the 1930's New York underwold where scenes like this were common especially as a result of hits by the Mafia.

It uses the simple black and white colour scheme as it is most well associated with the gangster genre, with films such as Casino (1993) and more notably the Godfather (1972) used a very simmilar colour scheme and genreal poster scheme.

I belive it creates a target audience of mainly males aged between 18-70 as the film can appeal to all ages but it doesent appear to have any particular interests for girls, there are no elements of romance on the poster, only violence and crime which are more aimed at men then women.

the big selling point for the audience is the image used along with the rolling block, the three actors are very well known especially for their roles as members of the mob, and the director Martin Scorcesse, who is a world renowned director with critical accliam, also the partership between robert de nero and martin scorcesse is world renowned with classic films such as Raging Bull(1988) and Taxi Driver(1976) the poster is an extrwmly well known and iconic poster and is sunonimus with the gangster genre.

The Importance of film Taglines

The importance of Taglines



As previously explained, film poster provide actors/director name, indicate the genre of the film, include background images and usually a main images of the portagonist. Plus they include the classification, title of the film, the 'call on action' which gives further information such as the release date and providing a website etc. Film poster also provide a Tagline, one of the most imporant things to have on a poster.



Each film uses a tagline so that it generate a little more information concerning the narrative of the film and reinforce what the film is about. Taglines is a basic short line/phrase that summarise the plot and theme of the film. They are catchy, and sometimes play on words that will result in the audience knowing exaclty what they film includes. If we take, for example, some classic film taglines :



-Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement.

The robocop tagline uses the rule of three making it short, punchy and balanced to entice the audience. This also indicates the genre of the film, a genre hyprid by the use of 'future law enforcement' as well as 'part machine'.

-He's quite engaging. She's otherwise engaged.

The classic Four Weddings and a Funeral uses a clever twist on words in its tagline. They play on the word 'engaged' providing numerous different meanings. This again links in with the title of the film to indicate the genre of the film as a romantic film, which would attrack a more female audience.

- Every second chance begins with the first step.

Taken from the film Step Up shows how the tagline is very much linked in with the name of the film and they run parrell with eachother in order be effective. Therefore, this tagline emphasises on the word 'step' due to the name of the film.



Overall these examples indicate how the tagline can be vital in portraying the film to the audience. All these show how it can sum up the film in a sentance or phrase, it is this that is sometimes intriguing to the audience and will convice them to watch it. They a cleverly placed words that are relvent to the film, making it seem very interesting and something that the targeted audience would wan to watch.

The purpose of a film poster

Purpose of a film poster

Film posters are viewed by audiences in all locations. From a very early date, they have been usually found in all underground stations as it can then gain access to mass audiences. The number of people that travel to and from work and school on a daily bases mean that film posters of all genres are bound to be located to access all audiences of all ages. Moreover, these poster can also be found in newsaper, magazines, billboards and wherever it can gain viewers eyes. Therefore it is vital that the poster meets the purpose in order to attract the traget specific audience into wacthing the film.

Other than the need to meet the target specif audiences, the second main purpose in producing a fillm poster is to promote, as a form of advertising. This too is linked with the the main reason, to reach target specific audience. Using the correct positive information will indicate to the wide audience exactly what the film genre is and give an insight into the narrative of the film. This is essential, as wrong or misleading infomation may put foward the wrong message and gather the incorrect audience.

What film posters provide

From the film poster, audience should be informed about the genre of the film. The genre is evidentally important to portray as this will be a reason for why audiences would see a film. Therefore by indicating this in the poster would help bring this across. They should also be able to recieve infomation on the actors and directors involved in the film, the release date and the suitability of the film. These are all import to include in a film poster. For instance classification would identify to parents whether the film is suitable for their children to watch, whether it is too graphic or advanced. However this should also be evident by the visual elements that the poster emits. Including actors names may also intregue audience into watching their film. If the film inlcudes a well known actor then it is more likely to attract audiences. For example a film including heart-throb Taylor Lautnor will most likely gain the attention of many young teenage girls wherease a film starring the beautiful Megan Fox would not appeal to the same audience but attract a more older male audience.

If we take this example of The Proposal:

We can clearly idicate that this film is a rom-com by the way that it is the femal protagonist kneeling down to propose. Going against the common conventions of the male asking for a ladys hand in marrige indicates that this film involves some kind of comedy element. Moreover, considering that the film is named 'The Proposal' is also a main indicator that it includes romantic issues. Therefore this is how the audience is decoding the narrative. By also taking a close looker into the main characters we can see that there facial expression also produce a some what funny outlook, that again reveals the genre of the film. Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds star in the film, these are well known comedy actors that, not only indicate a funny film, but may also persuade the audience to watch the film. The tagline is also cleverly used here, 'Here comes the bribe' the word 'bribe' is a spin on word for the original saying 'here comes the birde'. By cleverly using this it gives the audience a closer insight into the narrative of the film yet still keeping connecting with the marrigal theme of the film.

Differences between Feature films and Short films

The biggest and most obvious difference between short films and feature films is of course, the length. For a film to be classified as short it must be less than 40 minutes in duration.
Another point we need to consider is budget. It's more than likely that a successful feature film will have a considerably larger budget than an short film. This is due to the need to pay the cast and crew, rent or purchase of equipment and props, land rent, studio rent, marketing and so much more. I hope that our film will cost nothing because we do not have tha backing of a big studio behind us, but some money may need to be spent here and there.
Feature length films are usually closed ended and tie up any loose ends of the story unless there is a sequel to come. This is because people pay lots of money to watch films and don't want to be robbed of an ending. Short films don't have to do this because of their length and people don't usually have to pay for them.
Feature films are shown in cinemas to generate revenuewhereas Short films are intended for dvd/tv because they are made to convey a message, not make money usually.
Also Short films usually have a lesser known cast and crew, the reason for this is discussed in purposes, there are more purposes, all of which can be seen in the purposes section.
Finally, when seeing a feature film people will expect to see an ending so that the studio releasing it can justify the cost of seeing it. You can't feel cheated out of money if you didn't pay for it and you can understand why there is no ending if there was not enough time to tie up every loose end.

Analysis of 'Alive in Jo'burg'

The film is very objective because it covers a whole cities view of the occurrence. Also the audience is recieving a very restricted telling of the story at the start beause these thongs that are out of the ordinary have not been explained, the seem to have been accepted. This restricted theme continues when we see a small battle wage between South African troops and these alien things.



Soon we see these things treated as humans, but not humans like we would know. They are treated worse even by those living in third world condidions, they are looked down upon those who have it worst in Johannesburg. when we view this it has an underlying message that beople wont realise about social status and the treatment of those beneath us.



The film is shot like a current day news story to give it a gritty feel, but soon we realise that its more of a documentary with the story being told in the past tense by a man in a very sombre mood with a regretful tone. This documentary style is backed up with clips from old reports on the Zimbabweian population decided to seek asylum in South Africa.



The titles for this film are very long. This is different to most short films because typically the cast and crew are minimised to keep costs managable, however the firector of 'Alive in Jo'burg' is Neill Bolmkampf. He was alrady an established director and he wanted to used alot of money to help advertise his idea for the film 'District 9'. This film was used to pitch the idea of 'District 9' to producers and studios, and it did the job required.

In comparison to feature films the narrative structure is very different in regards to the endings. Feature films demand payment when going to the cinema and if you leave the cinema confused and unsatisfied you will feel robbed of around £8 and will think twice when going to see another film by the director or containing someone from the cast. Short films are 'allowed' to leave you guessing because the audience recognizes the fact that a whole film has the time, money and well established writers to tie up loose ends whereas short films may not.

To conclude, I believe that 'Alive in Jo'burg' is a bad film to use to get ideas for our groups film because the motives and finnancial power behind it are so different to ours. We can however take plenty of help from the narrative structure of the film. When a short film has no real ending its okay because we didn't invest time and money into watching it, whereas with a feature film if someone pays upwards of £8 and spends two and a half hours watching a film they expect some form of resolution.