Practice Film Posters

Eat Pray Love

1. Describe the film including the genre, the style of film, the actors, the storyline (include synopsis if you can find one)

The film could be either a romance or a drama. Julia Roberts plays Liz Gilbert and other actors include James Franco, Richard Jenkins, Viola Davis, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem. The film is about a woman, Liz Gilbert, who seems to have it all – a husband, house and successful career – however, she finds that she is lost and searching for what she really wants in life, so embarks on a journey around the world to find her true self.

2. Separately discuss the overall feel developed for the film’s promotional material. Be as descriptive as possible, you could discuss the colours, textures, tone and use of movement in the website to create interest in the film.

The film’s promotional material is quite clean, crisp and bright. The colours are those of spring – bright pink, green, orange and blue with some white. There are lots of pictures which are set up in a slide-show format on the home screen which are of the different places that Liz visits in each of her journeys. Italy for ‘Eat’, India for ‘Pray’ and Bali for ‘Love’. All of these elements create interest in the film.

3. Reflect on how the film’s website is laid out. (Look at the links, font and how the information or promotional materials are presented).

The film’s website seems simple but in contrast is actually slightly confusing when you first visit it. First of all you go to an opening page, which you have to press the button, “Enter Site”. Then you are taken to the film’s site, which has a slideshow taking up most of the page. There are three tabs along the side of the slideshow, labeled eat, pray and love. Each tab had related pictures and quotes that played in a slideshow. Down the bottom are the links to video, about, downloads, photos, tweet your town, interactive trailer, scrapbook, word search and Sudoku. When clicked, a pop-up box covers the slideshow, which you then have to cross out of when finished. There is also music that plays when you enter the site.

4. Identify the Target Audience (who are they? What age, interests, etc.) and discuss whether you feel the website is effective in appealing to this intended audience.

The Target Audience is most likely middle aged women. They are probably feeling a little like the main character, Liz, and this film will make them feel better and help them find their feet again. The target audience could also be single women still in this age group. The target audience also likes a good romance film, that isn’t filled with much action or comedy. I feel the website is effective in appealing to this intended audience, however I think that the website also appeals to a younger audience than intended.

5. Talk about what you like/dislike about the promotional material. Why?

I really like the bright colours of the promotional material. They appeal to me and to a lot of other girls and women, I can imagine. I think that the photos from different parts of the world are amazing and very interesting and really create interest in the film. They make the audience wonder why Liz is in those places and what she does whilst she is there. I also like the pretty symbols used to represent eat, pray and love. I dislike the music that automatically plays when you enter the site. It isn’t very good music in my opinion, and it took me quite a while to figure out how to stop it, which was very annoying!

6. Find a Poster or Advertisement, save the images in to your folder and insert here. In as much detail as possible discuss the following:

• The colour scheme ; cool, warm, analogous, complementary, sensitive, calming, exciting, vibrant, simple, etc. and how it makes you feel

The colour scheme, even though composed of pink and orange as well as green and blue, is quite cool and calming. It makes me feel relaxed and fairly happy.
• The focal point: where do your eyes focus and why
My eyes first focus on the faces of the two people in the image at the bottom, then at the name of the film, then the face of Julia Roberts in the top image. This is because of the dark space in the bottom image, with the lines between the character’s faces leading me to the title of the film. The orange of the word ‘pray’ then leads me into the brown of Julia’s jacket and then the blue spoon draws my attention which leads me to her face, which stands out against the slightly blurred, unfocused background.
• Sense of Balance: Is the advertisement balanced in terms of line, tone, layout?
The advertisement is balanced. There is a balanced mix of natural and geometric lines within the poster and there is a mix of darker colours in the images with the light blues of the banners on the poster. The image on the bottom is balanced, with the two characters being centered. All of the text on the poster has been centered and Julia’s body on the left is balanced with the fountain on the right in the top image. The poster is balanced on the top and bottom with the title of the film in the middle, with an image on either side and then another banner above and below the top and bottom images.
• Harmony: Do all of the advertisements elements (line, tone, colour, texture etc.) work well together to create harmony or a sense of completion
All of the advertisements elements do work well together to create harmony and a sense of completion as they create a clean, crisp feeling when put together.
• Unity: which elements unite or make the advertisement effective eg. Use of a dominant colour scheme and high contrast to create unity.
The colours make the advertisement effective. They are quite bright in contrast to the natural, almost dark coloured images and appeal to women. The images are also effective as the bottom one gives a sense of love and romance while the top almost gives a feeling of freedom and enjoyment. Furthermore, the printing of ‘Julia Roberts’ across the top of the poster is effective because she is a well-known and liked actress, and some people will immediately want to see the film simply because she is in it.

Johnny English Reborn

1. Describe the film including the genre, the style of film, the actors, the storyline (include synopsis if you can find one)

Johnny English Reborn is a comedy and seems to be an action film also. Rowan Atkinson is the lead actor, playing Johnny English, and his co-stars are Gillian Anderson, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike, Daniel Kaluuya and Richard Schiff. The film is about an improbable secret agent, Johnny English, who is assigned the mission to stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos. Even though disaster may occur, Johnny English never fails.

2. Separately discuss the overall feel developed for the films promotional materials (is it clean, crisp and bright or dark, moody and grungy etc.)? Be as descriptive as possible, you could discuss the colours, textures, tone and use of movement in the website to create interest in the film.

The background is of an explosion, it is bright orange coloured fire. On the side of every page on the website, there is a mid-long shot of one of the characters. Johnny English is on the first page, dressed in a suit and holding a gun with a comical expression on his face that seems to be saying, “Oh no, what just happened?” as his mouth is slightly open and his eyes are wide with shock. All of these characters on the side of the page create comedy, such as Pamela Thornton. She is wearing a suit with a serious expression on her face and hair styled neatly, but the she is clutching a cat in her arms. It is so random that it becomes funny and therefore creates interest in the film.

3. Reflect on how the film’s website is laid out. (Look at the links, font and how the information or promotional materials are presented).
The film’s website is quite simple. There is a banner across the top with links to home, trailer, photos, clips, about, and downloads. Most of the left side of the page on each of these links is taken up with a photo of one of the films characters. The right hand side of the page contains information such as photos, film synopsis and film clips (depending on which link was clicked to get on that page) within a box. The font is simple – perhaps Calibri or Arial – and is white on a black background.

4. Identify the Target Audience (who are they? What age, interests, etc.) and discuss whether you feel the website is effective in appealing to this intended audience.
The Target Audience seems to be quite broad. They would most likely be anywhere between an older teenager and a middle aged adult. The target audience would be interested in having a good time as well as a good laugh and probably aren’t too sensitive. They would probably have an interest in action and enjoy having a lot of things going on around them.

5. Talk about what you like/dislike about the promotional material. Why?
I like most of the promotional material because it appeals to me and makes me want to go see the film. This is because of the vibrant background that gives a sense of action and the characters and their expressions which give a sense of comedy about the film. The way the film synopsis was written (simply, without giving away too much detail, but also creating interest and a desire to know what happens) also makes the film appealing. I also like the way that the website is set up – it is very easy to use and find what you want.

6. Find a Poster or Advertisement, save the images in to your folder and insert here. In as much detail as possible discuss the following:

• The colour scheme ; cool, warm, analogous, complementary, sensitive, calming, exciting, vibrant, simple, etc. and how it makes you feel
The colour scheme is warm, vibrant and exciting. It makes the adrenaline in my body begin to pump and it makes me feel a sense of danger but also comedy.
• The focal point: where do your eyes focus and why
The focal point would be Rowan Atkinson’s face, in particular his nose, then his eyes. This is because the white of his shirt leads the eyes to this point and then they stay focused on this point, taking in the odd expression in his eyes.
• Sense of Balance: Is the advertisement balanced in terms of line, tone, layout?
The advertisement is balanced in terms of layout as Rowan Atkinson is mostly in the center of the poster, however the text in the bottom right is balanced with the hands and body of Rowan’s body which is predominantly in the bottom left. The tone of the poster is balanced as the vibrant colours of the fire are balanced with the dull blacks of the suit. There is also a balance of line as there is a mixture of natural and geometric shapes.
• Harmony: Do all of the advertisements elements (line, tone, colour, texture etc.) work well together to create harmony or a sense of completion.
The advertisements elements do work well together to create harmony and a sense of completion as they look appealing and all seem to complement each other.
• Unity: which elements unite or make the advertisement effective eg. Use of a dominant colour scheme and high contrast to create unity.
The contrast between the natural shapes of the fire and Rowan’s body and suit between the geometric shapes of the text make both elements stand out in order to create an effective advertisement. In addition, the bright colours of the fire in the background create a sense of action, danger and suspense which also makes the advertisement effective.

Need to Know

• elements of film
• mise en scene
• cinematography
• editing
• genre
• camera angles
• lighting
• shot types
• pre-production
• post-production
• production
• EDL - editing decision list
• video transition
• rendering
  

Post Production Reflection/Evaluation

• Justify whether your film clearly depicts the intended genre and describe some specific editing techniques you have used to achieve this;

I believe that my film does clearly depict the intended genre as it is quite suspenseful and a little scary in my opinion. In order to achieve this, I have made the lighting in a lot of the scenes quite dark and gloomy. In the scenes where the murderer is sitting at the desk, the lighting has been made a cool blue colour to give a sense of isolation and coldness. In the scenes where the people get murdered and when the murderer looks out of the window to see the next victim, the lighting has been made more of a red colour to create a sense of danger and bloodshed. The music in the desk scenes is thoughtful but scary plotting music which indicates the murderer is thinking about her previous murders and planning new ones and the music in the murder scenes is rather scary and foreboding, creating a sense of fear and panic.

• Explain whether you used Final Cut Pro effectively to organise your project (through the use of appropriate clip names, bins, sequences) and what you could improve for future projects;

I didn’t use Final Cut Pro effectively to organize my project because I had no idea that you could use clip names, bins or sequences or how to use them. In order to improve for future projects, I could learn what these things are and learn how to use them effectively.

• Describe any problems or difficulties you encountered during post-production and editing. These may include; technical difficulties, corrupt or missing files, difficulty using the editing software etc;

I didn’t have too much trouble during post-production and editing. However, I did have quite a bit of trouble finding appropriate music and sound effects (especially a good scream) for my film, but in the end I managed to find some that was pretty good. I also had some trouble with some parts of my film disappearing in Final Cut Pro, however I was able to fix this by locating these parts elsewhere on my USB. I also didn’t really know how to use the software and kind of learnt how to use it as I went, so it took me a lot longer to do things than it probably should have. In addition, I found it very annoying and time consuming to render parts of my film as I edited it on Final Cut Pro.

• Explain whether you made use of devices such as storyboards, shot-lists and the rough edit to streamline the editing process;

I did occasionally refer back to my planning in order to make difficult decisions in the editing process or if I didn’t know what to do next. I definitely used my rough edit, because I just made the changes I needed to it and continued editing from there instead of starting over again and simply referring back to it. I believe that this saved me a lot of time.

• Discuss whether you made effective use of the EDL and Sound Design templates to support the editing and decision making process;

I did not make effective use of the EDL and Sound Design templates to support the editing and decision making process because I have no idea what these are! But they sound like they could have helped a great deal because I had quite a bit of trouble with choosing sound, so in the future I would source these templates and use them.

• Clarify any time-management issues you encountered during the editing process and describe the steps you could implement to improve in this area;

I could have managed my time a lot better because I had only a couple of days to find and add in my music and sound effects at the end. This was because I had spent so much time editing the footage and playing around with effects and different cuts that I didn’t leave much time for music and sound effects. In the future, in order to improve in this area, I would make a time plan of what had to be done and when it should be completed, which would make me much more organised and able to complete it without stressing about not having enough time.

• Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection throughout your project. Have you provided enough evidence to support your work? (Look back at your blogs/journals and think about whether it looks like a whole terms worth of work);

I believe that I have undertaken adequate and detailed reflection throughout my project. This is because I have written a reflection after nearly every lesson throughout the editing process which included what I did that day, my plans for the following lessons and my thoughts on different things.

• List any software skills, techniques, tricks or shortcuts you have learned during the project.

During the project, I have learnt the basics of Final Cut Pro and iMovie as well as how to do some more complex things on these programs. I have also learnt how to use Garage Band and the process of exporting music from this program and importing it into Final Cut Pro in order to use it in my film.

Discuss your feelings about the production task:

• Are you satisfied with the final result?

I am quite satisfied with the final result of my film. I think it tells the story pretty well and is a bit scary and quite suspenseful, which is what I was aiming for. I am really quite happy with the way the footage, editing and sounds all came together in order to produce what I think is a pretty good film.

• Did the editing require more/less time than you had thought?

The editing required a lot more time than I had thought. I had thought that it would only take me a couple of weeks, not a whole term, to finish editing my film. I think that this is because I didn’t realise how much went into editing a film and how many different effects you could put in.

• Would like to change any aspects of your final edit (music, editing techniques etc)?

There are a couple of things that I would like to change about my final edit. First of all, there is a tiny section in the first murder scene where the music isn't quite right – there is a little pause in the music. I would like to fix this part up. In hindsight, I also would have like to included sound effects such as heavy breathing and heartbeats to make the film a bit more scarier. I also would have liked to have less exposure, so that there is less light on the settings in order to only have the audience see what I want them to such as the characters faces, in order to make my film inflict more fear on the audience and create more suspense.

• If you could start the project again what would you do differently?

There wouldn't be too much that I would do differently if I could start the project again. I guess I would create a time plan so that I could remain on top of the project and not have to do a lot of things at the last minute and I would make sure that I knew how to use the software a lot better.

Wednesday 7 September

Today I continued to edit my film. I made quite a few little adjustments to it, such as adding in transitions and slowing down some of the footage for added suspense effect. In the library this afternoon I searched for sound effects and found some really good ones that will fit into my film nicely. Hopefully I will have enough time in tomorrow's lesson to add them all in!

Tuesday 6/9/11

Today I continued to edit my film. I spent a lot of time rendering my film throughout the lesson which was quite annoying. I managed to get quite a lot of work done on my film this lesson. First of all I fixed the bit where the light gets turned off and it goes brighter, so it now goes darker when the light turns off. Yay! I then adjusted the colour and brightness of a part of the desk scene which hadn't been adjusted yet for some reason. Following this, I added in a target over the victim in the final scene. I added it in but wasn't happy with it, so asked Ms Makin for some help. She helped me and made this part of my film look really good. I wasn't quite sure about the idea of putting the target in at first, but now that it is in, I think I quite like it.