I have been inspired by a few films with intriguing narratives where the film is portrayed to be a documentary, but the story is actually invented and ficitonal. This allows the producers to take more control over what happens, what the characters are like, where it is set and what props are used. This genre is often referred to as 'docu-drama'.
Two films that utilise this style are:
A Tree of Wooden Clogs
The Story of a Weeping Camel
I am also involved in many outdoor adventure sports and would love to include an extreme-sport element into the film. Some films that inspired me that I will analyse as film research are:
Vladimir Propp was a russian critic who, in the early ninteen-hundreds, examined many folk and fairy stories to find out if they had any common links. He discovered that characters in these stories had similar roles. He referred to these as spheres of action. These roles are different from, actually characters as the roles are linked directly to the actions.
He identified 8 character roles and 31 narrative functions.
The 8 character roles are:
1. The villain(s)
2. The hero
3. The donor – who provides an object with some magic property.
4. The helper who aids the hero.
5. The princess (the sought for person) – reward for the hero and object of the villain’s schemes.
6. Her father – who rewards the hero.
7. The dispatcher – who sends the hero on his way.
8. The false hero
These spheres of action are very applicable to films as many film modern films are versions of fairy tales - for example, Star Ware and Pretty Woman. Many non-fairy tale films also use some of these spheres of action.
By using this theory for breaking down films we are reminded that although on screen characters may seem very real, they are simply constructed characters who have roles to play for the sake of the story.
Open Narrative
-Open narratives have no sense of ending - they could go on forever. Television dramas are a good example of this
-Characters tend to come and go
-Prrallel editing is common with multiple, intertwining story lines
-Narrative is almost always presented in chronological order
-Audience is normally given a large amount of character info; much like TV dramas and contrasting typical films where a sense of enigma is created from not knowing a character's history or personality
Closed Narrative
-The audienceare aware they a watching a complete story, an ending is often expected
-Audience are invited to make a verdict on characters
Binary Oppositions and Characters Roles in Narratives:
-Very obvious contrasting roles are used that represent superlatives on a scale (binary oppositions)
E.g.
- Good/evil
- Silence/loudness
- Strength/weakness
- Youth/old age
- Light/dark
- Wealth/poverty
The conflict between these roles will drive the narrative until some sort of equilibrium or resolution is achieved.
Star Wars posters, presenting binary oppositions in character roles of good and evil through the use of light/dark and foreground/background
Tzvetan Todorov was a French philosopher who wrote many books and theories on media texts. Here we will be looking his theories in relevance to film.
Todorov simplified narrative theory whilst allowing for more complicated interpretations of films using his theory of equilibrium and disequilibrium. His theory states that the fictional environment starts with a state of equilibrium, i.e. everything is as it should be. It then suffers disruption, i.e. disequilibrium. Now a new equilibrium is produced at the end of the narrative.
Todorov suggested conventional narratives are constructed using these five stages:
-A state of equilibrium
-A disruption of that order due to an event
-A recognition that the disorder has occured
-An attempt to repair the disruption
-A return or restoration of a new equilibrium
The narrative is built upon attempts to restore balance and equilibrium but the equilibrium attained at the end of the narrative is non-identical the the initial one. Todorov argues that narrative involves transformation - that the situations are transformed through the progress of the distruption. The distruption usually takes place outside the expected social framework, i.e. outside or subverting normal social events. For example, a murder happens and people are terrified. Someone vanishes and the characters have to solve the mystery.
An example of this is one of my personal favourites, Shaun of the Dead.
The film begins by setting the story and showing all the characters performing their typical daily actions. Not long into the film we see the main character, Shaun, reenact exactly the same scene (walking to the local shop to buy food, passive a kid playing football, a homeless man asking him for change, etc) but this time everybody who originally interacted with him is now a zombie. Shaun, the main character, did not even notice the disequilibrium during this scene as he expects everything to have remained normal. Eventually him and his friends team up and fight off the zombies - at the end of the film zombies are either killer or used for various things, and Shaun adopts his flatmate as a household zombie-pet. This is the new equilibrium.
Todorov describes some narratives as linear or chronological, meaning the story is played out in the correct order, event after event. He also describes some narratives as non-linear or non-chronological - whilst these are less common, many films still adopt this style.
Todorov's open and closed narrative theory to come in the next post!
I came across an online article, shared on the OCR media studies blog. The article is from WordMagazine.co.uk and is on film trailers, written by David Coultas; a film trailer designed and producer. Here are some notes I made on what he wrote: - Capture the audiences attention in the first ten seconds; this hook needs to be something powerful, action-filled scandalous or relatable - The first twenty-five seconds or so is called the first act and should set the main characters up and present the diegesis they live in. The second act should show what they are doing, directly appealing the the target audience, and the third act should use elements that appeal to a wider audience - Include the film's key scenes without giving away the whole story; mystery required to hook the audience - "There is no such thing as over selling!" Represent the movie as best you can, regardless of how the film really is - Accentuate the positives, e.g. If the film is disturbing or saddening then describe it as "moving and emotional" http://ocrmediastudies.weebly.com/uploads/6/0/9/6/6096819/making_movie_trailers.pdf
Here I will be analysing the construction of film posters using "April Showers" as an example.
Film posters typically consist of a few overlayed images; occasionally screen-grabs from the film but more frequently purposely taken photographs. These photographs are often planned so the film poster can accurately convey the attitude of the film. Various text such as the film title, unique actors and producers and sometimes a sentence, like a slogan, to set the mood of the film is used.
The imagery tends to be somewhat symmetrical and composed to lead the eye from the top of the poster all the way to the bottom. In this finished poster we can see the characters line-of-sight going down; imaginary lines like this lead the viewer's eye downwards. The large, red title then catches the eye, followed by more imagery. The next piece of text consists of producer and actor names; these producers and actors however are not unique selling points and as a result they have been written in a subtle, brown font that blends in with the background. This is done so people can still read and refer to this text but it does not easily catch the eye. The final part of the poster is the contrasting white text at the bottom, displaying the date of release. Unlike some posters, this one has no need to write the release date in a large font size, as the poster has been cleverly constructed to lead the eye to it.
This poster has been constructed using five different layers; four pictures and an overlay of text.
The first picture taken is the main background; a sunset-lit sky with medium contrast and warm tones to bring to mind connotations such as heaven, sorrow, peace and the end of something.
This next picture used is from a scene in the film. It is used as the primary visual transition between imagery and text due to how it occupies horizontal space and consists of a highly-exposed top-half and an under-exposed bottom half. Using images like this with a gentle transition from light-to-dark avoids high-contrast images being used as high-contrast images will draw attention to themselves and nothing else.
This picture is of a main character in the film. Hi facial expressions suit the sad nature of the film and the background around him does not harshely interfere with his clothes - for this reason he can easily be cut-out of a picture and used as a layer for the final poster.
To cut-out parts of each image two fairly universal tools are used in many different programs. Very often a "magic tool" (1) is used by selecting the tool and simply clicking on the subject - the tool will then determine the contrast and colour values of each pixel and will select all nearby parts of the image to the subject that do to have exceptionally different contrast and colour values to their neighbour pixels. Another common tool is the "loop tool" which is used by manualling moving the mouse around the image to select an area. This process requires precision and often zooming-in is needed to ensure the user is accurate to the pixel. Editing feathering properties or using layer masks (I am using GIMP here) allows for smooth effect or crop transitions rather than rigid, accurate to-the-pixel crops.
Here the tools can be used again to use the subject's face for the final poster image.
Here is the final construction of the image before text is overlayed.
Appropriate text is add and the final poster is produced.
In Rich Altman's (cinematics professor) book, "Film/Genre" Rich talks about what he calls the "Semantic/Syntactic approach". Using this approach you need to consider genre in two ways:
Semantic
Conventions of the genre which communicate to the audience, such as characters, mise-en-scene, location, props etc. For example, in western films you would typically expect guns, hats and native Americans but in space sci-fi film you would expect to see laser-guns, space ships and maybe even computer generated aliens. In both of these genres we can stereotypically expect intense action, suspense and a major climax in the film.
Syntactic:
This approach considers the relationship between elements such as location, props and music, and the structure of narratives in the genre. For example a rom-com will typically have two characters who gradually get closer and closer to each other until they date at the end of the film after a series of hilarious events.
Rich Altman says "...a pragmatic approach to genre is to consider institutions and audiences."
Institutions:
This involves considering genre as a mode of production. Film studios will produce films categorised by genres, and will gtry to use diverse genres or many different genres to maintain varied audience interest as well as engaging many different types of audience. Some genres come in and out of fashion due to the percieved audience response as so more or less films may be made of that genre. For example there are less productions of western films in modern society compared to twenty years ago when western films would have appealed to older generations who would have lived at the end of that era.
Audiences:
Some audiences will percieve some genres differently due to their experiences. For example, some people may prefer gore-horror as others may enjoy watching shock-horror; these are sub-genres generated by audience perception and as a result institutions realise certain sub-genres are more effective than others. This causes new genres to evolv and change.
Trailers utilise unique selling points (USP) to help stand out from other film trailers in the same genre. Typical USPs may be an unexpected location, different narrative viewpoints or famous people starring or producing the film. An example of this is in One Hour Photo, a feature length thriller film, which starred Robin Williams as the main character. His tendency to be involved with comedies surprised people, and perhaps influenced comedy fans of him to watch this film.
Another example is the modern film In Darkness, set in World War Two. This particular film has two main USPs: not only is it based on a true story, but the film is mostly set in underground sewers; as opposed to your stereotypical WW2 battlefield-based film.
Abraham Lincon Vampire Hunter:
The main USP of this film is the juxtaposition between Abraham Lincon, a famous US president, and the aspect of him being a vampire hunter. This extreme contrast, created purely from the title of the film, has already created a sense of mystery and hooks the audience to watch the film. The audience want to see how the film will subvert what they would expect from Abraham Lincon as a politician, whilst appealing young vampire-craze lovers.
Anna Karenina:
Anna Kariena was produced by the same people who made Pride and Prejadice; this statement can be seen in text during the official trailer. Obviously this serves as a large USP as many people who have seen Pride and Prejudice will not associate what they thought of that film with this film. This film also features a few famous actors such as Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who are also advertised during the trailer.
Here are a few codes and conventions for film magazine covers:
-Magazine title, big and bold yet usually placed in background, behind subject
--This will require more time for the viewer to work out what the title actually is, thus drawing a lot of attention to the poster
--A slightly hidden title gives the impression the magazine producers assume you know the magazine name - which if you do then you feel slightly flattered
--having the title behind the subject helps make the subject stand out and be noticed more
-Covers are not too complex and do not contain many subjects; this ensures they control where the viewer looks and what impression is made
-Famous actors and film titles used
-Mood is created through a particular motif, often that of the film, to suit the target audience
-Font colour, shape and features are bespoke to the genre to help suit the target audience
-Tag lines, pugs and cover lines used to present and hook viewers to information
-Misc. information such as price and date of press
This magazine cover suits the visual motif the other Star Trek adverts present. It also features the two main characters who are also well-known actors. Special effects such as the circular blue imagery on the characters chest bares connotations of sci-fi, space, outer space and warping; all relevant ideas for the film that would appeal to the target audience.
Film posters share a goal and visual motif with other adverts made for the same film.
Here are codes and conventions of film posters:
-Overlayed images, often photographs
-Age certification
-Release date
-Famous actor promotion
-Directors and producers at bottom
-Tagline
-Large title, easy to read and identify, font of title suits motif of poster
-Suggestion of film genre using mise-en-scene and subject relationships -Attracts target demographic
-Eye-catching colours than contrast and stand out from where advert will be displayed
Film poster DVD case
Feature length film still
These conventions can clearly be seen in use in this poster. This particular poster has an element of symmetry; subjects are often positioned symmetrically to help lead the eye into the centre of the poster where the title typically lies. This poster, along with its other advert counterparts found above, clearly share a visual motif of sci-fi subjects, blue colours and dark elements which have connotations of mystery and leaves the viewer wanting more.
Some research behind computer graphics before I begin my project and make my own film poster.
Computers graphics software is used in the production of every single contemporary film poster, even if this process involves simply overlaying photographs on top of each other.
There are two primary categories of computer graphics; Raster (AKA Bitmap) and Vector images.
Raster Images
A raster image is made up of lots of pixels (picture elements). Pixels are individual squares that can only display one colour at a time. By grouping many different pixels together we can present an image.
If you increase the size of a bitmap image you are simply increasing the display size of each pixel within the image. Here is an example from the film Borat.
Vector Graphics
Vector graphics work by storing a set of instructions of how to draw each shape as opposed to storing static pixels. This means simple geometric shapes, logos and text are easy to create but detailed pictures like photographs loose detail in this format.
Each start and end point of a line is the same as an (x,y) coordinate on a graph; we can manipulate the position of these points easily.
Colours for both graphic types are stored as numbers, often between 0 (black) and 255 (white). We usually store three numbers to represent each colour, consisting of red green and blue.
RedValue: 0 - 255
GreenValue: 0 -
255
BlueValue: 0 - 255
For example,this colouris stored as
R: 214G: 22B: 147
The main focus of a film's advert campaign is on the film's trailer. A large budget is kept aside specifically for the production, distribution and marketing of the trailer. Often one main trailer is made however, it is becoming increasingly common for multiple trailers to be released to public for contemporary films. An example of this is Batman: The Dark Knight Rises where the production team released a few several-second long trailers that showed very little in the way of narrative, and spread these trailers across an array of months before the release of the actual film. These short trailers gave you a bite-size taste for the upcoming, grungy, film, and left you in awe. Instantly the audience is hooked.
Advert campaigns also involve the release of film posters, internet websites, social networking events and billboards. All of these mediums of advertising often have a shared visual motif and try to 'tell the same story'. The purpose these different advertising mediums serve is the same as the trailer; to hook the target demographic and fill seats in the cinema - this is best done by creating anticipation and hype for the film. Of course selling more DVDs and online copies is beneficial too but the most revenue is made through cinema viewings.
It is also common for film trailers to be released at a particular time of the year; not necessarily governed by how long the producers think the film and advert campaign will take to make.
This is called 'Tent polling'. Tent polling involves basing your film, or trailer, around a certain event or releasing it at a time so the 'tent pole' event supports the film. Classic examples of this are Christmas films and Halloween films, which will be released just before the event. This way people will begin to be engaged in the 'hype' for the tent-pole event, thus making them more likely to see the film.
Film trailers are typically around two minutes long - short enough to keep within a person's attention span whilst still being able to show enough content to hook them.
There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
material appropriate for the target audience and task;
using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Here are some notes on the A2 coursework I am starting:
Unit 3, G324, 50% of total A2 marks
-Advanced production with detailed evidence of planning, using a blog
-Prove computer literacy
-Create original film trailer, film poster and a fictional magazine cover using original and invented elements
