Poster Research

For our film to debut we need to have a poster something that can be put around public places and can entice our audience to come watch our film in cinemas or on other forms of media.
Before i can design a poster i'm going to look at some existing posters analyse one or two to see whats featured on those and what i can use on ours.

Alice in Wonderland

This movie poster is just featuring the character named 'The Mad Hatter' and the main focus is on him. It has a green patterned background that has hats on it to fit in with the theme of the character which i think is clever. The green also ties in with the fact that the character has bright green eyes this makes it stand out even more. The contrast between the red orange and green really does catch the eye this is something we need to take into consideration for our film is the colours used.

Gangster Squad
The next poster i chose is from a crime thriller and was shown in cinemas world wide making it a mainstream production. The poster from the film features Emma Stone who is a main character and is plays the lead woman in this film. She is facing the camera so her face is fully exposed this is because they want the audience to see who is in the film because she is a big star and will attract a lot of attention from her fans. Like the first poster she is dressed in a deep red colour against a blue green background showing a contrast to catch peoples eye. Her name is featured in big thin letters at the top and the name 'Gangster Squad' is featured in the bottom right hand corner so people know exactly what the film is called and what to search for if they want more information. With this poster i like how they've kept it clean and not bombarded it with writing and just got the main things on like the date its due to be released.

The theatre bizarre
The final poster i chose to analyse is the one for the horror film called the theatre bizarre. I chose this one because its very different to the other one. It has more graphics used in it to create a scary obscene image of an eyeball in someones mouth. This film poster unlike the rest has opinions and ratings from newspapers and critics round the edges to show if the films any good or not. This would be something we could look into with our film being independent and not mainstream it will definitely boost the chances of it selling more if we did this for our poster. I like how they've also used the conventional colours of black and red to display that its a horror film. They've also used the effect of blood coming out the mouth to add fear even before the audience has seen the film but just by looking at the poster they know what to expect. This poster gives a lot away about the film and you kind of know what to expect unlike the other two which don't as much.

What i've found 
I have found out that posters mostly change due to the genre of a film and you can choose to give as little away as possible depending on if the film is going to be released in cinemas or straight to DVD. There are things we also need to consider if it is a mainstream or independent film it will need to feature different things. To add to this there are things such as the layout and where we are going to put the title of the film and if were going to stick to certain fonts, colours and what pictures we want to use on the poster. All in all we aim to please our target audience and try to sell our film as much as we possibly can with it only having a low production budget.

Props for day 4 of filming

Props list 

We needed to carefully use props to create certain scenes on day four of filming. We left everyday objects around the house to give out a sense of realism so for example we had mugs, sandwiches and a kettle.


On day four we will be filming the drug scene with Agnes' mother and father. To create an authentic look we will be using fake syringes so that it looks like they are injecting something.
We will be using a coffee table to spread out paracetamols so they look like pills and have cigarettes out on the table to add to the look. Agnes' Father will also be shot separately smoking a fake bong that we made from a plastic bottle and a roll up cigarette. This will be shot in the garden so the smoke from it will look better and add to the scary atmosphere.

The second part of our filming will be Agnes and her father and Mother in the woods where they will hang Agnes. To make this scene come to life the prop that we really need would be a fake noose. We used a bit of old rope that we found in Alice's house and tied the two ends together so it was long enough to go around the tree.

Theories Of Representation: Signs

Signs

(in relation to semiotics)

Semioticians believe that:

• Everything is a sign in films

• The formula for a sign is SIGNIFIER + SIGNIFIED= SIGN

• For example, red= danger and black= evil.

We particularly focused on using signs in our film when concerned with the makeup. For example, black smudged liner on the character Agnes' mother to signify that she was a character with a dark personality due to the fact that she murdered her own daughter.

We also dressed her and Jack (the two antagonists) in dark clothing to further cement the fact that they were evil characters.

Semiotics

Theories of Representation: Semiotics

Semiotics in relation to media is the study of signs and sign systems. 

They were developed by Ferndinand De Saussure.

Some possible examples of semiotics used in a film can be:

• Odours (bad smells to signify something sinister in a film)

• Flavours (nice flavours to signify a happy moment)

• Colours (e.g red to represent danger, the film 'Sin City' uses semiotics in this way by dressing a character in a red dress and red lipstick to foreshadow the fact she is about to get murdered)

• Objects (knifes or blood particularly in horror, again, to signify danger)

• Clothes (mise-en-scene)

We have used semiotics in our own film through the use of scattering cigarettes, pills and fake needles around on a table and filming a close shot and shallow-focus shot of them in order to mirror Agnes' mum and dad's drug addiction. Our 'behind the scenes' video below shows our set up for the scene which we used this.

We also took inspiration from the particular scene in the film 'Sin City' (as linked above) with the woman wearing red to signify danger when considering the makeup for the character Agnes' mother: I applied red lipstick to her to reflect the dangerous aspect to her character. I further emphasised this by smudging the lipstick on her face; this represented the fact she had lost control of her life due to her severe drug addiction.

   

Risk Assessment for the fourth day of filming

Video diary 27-11-14 Agnes' mum scene

Ghost Boy's Makeup: Day Four Of Filming

To begin, I applied a pale concealer and a thick white face powder to Connor's face in order to give the illusion of a drip-white face as his character was a ghost and was therefore supposed to look deathly pale. However, when looking into the deeper semiotics, the colour white is also a symbolism of innocence and virtue; therefore, reflecting the fact that this character is not actually an antagonist as the audience may believe at first, he is simply a protagonist who has innocently moved into his new property which is- unknowingly to him- haunted by the spirit of a young girl: Agnes.

I then contoured Connor's face using a mixture of dark brown and grey shadows, applying to his cheekbones, temples, the sides of his nose and jawline; this was in order to give the illusion of a gnawed, skeletally thin appearance as I thought this would add to his overall scary, ghostly look of this character. Also, the dark colours signify the sinister aspects of this particular character when perceived through Agnes' point of view, especially in the living-room scene when he creepily walks past the doors. Popular films such as 'Dark Shadows' also use this technique when trying to portray a male character in a sinister way without applying too much drastic makeup as that will scare the audience and defeat the point of the particular character being a protagonist as the makeup would inflict fear on the audience and oppose the persona; contrasting with the entire significance of the character.

I applied a red substance underneath the eyes and slowly blended in brown shadows to create dark under-eye circles which, again, relates to the fact that he is supposed to be a ghost as it suggests death and decay. To add a finishing touch to the look, I applied a drip of fake blood to Connor's nose to not only add to the overall shock factor of his ghostly appearance, but to use the blood as a semiotic to signify danger and so that his face looked particularly striking when on camera.  

Agnes' Mother's Makeup: Day Four of Filming

To begin, I used a concealer a few shades lighter than Charlotte's natural skin tone in her T-zone area to create a substructure for the entirety of the makeup and a white pressed powder all over her face to create a paler complexion as she was supposed to appear washed out and ill due to her severe drug addiction.

Next, I contoured Charlotte's face using a mixture of brown and earthy-toned powders; applying this to her temples, jaw line, the sides of her nose and cheekbones to create the elusion of a thinner face as I wanted to make her look gnawed and frail, relating to her drug addiction but also to create a shocking appearance to inflict fear on the audience as she is one of the two antagonists.

Using a small blending brush, I applied a small amount of light brown powder in various areas of her face such as the creases in her cheeks and some wrinkles on her forehead to create an "aged" look as Charlotte was supposed to be portraying a character who is twice the age of herself.

I secondly applied a red colour underneath Charlotte's eyes to create a base for some under-eye circles, then slowly blended in various brown powders to add to the verisimilitude. I did this to add to the fear factor of Charlotte's overall frightful appearance as, since we are producing a horror film, a scary character is what the audience will expect to see and is therefore a typical convention.

To complete the look, I smudged some black mascara on her eyelids to give a rugged and un-kempt look as black is a semiotic that connotes danger and death; this not only mirrors the dark personality of Charlotte's character when she hangs her own daughter, but also foreshadows the sinister plot of the film, (such as Agnes' death). I also applied a coat of bright red lipstick to her lips to reflect the dangerous personality of her character since this makeup was for the scene where she hangs Agnes. 

My own Youtube tutorial for this makeup look:

  

Agnes' Father's Makeup For Day Four Of Filming

To begin this look, I applied a pale concealer in Jack's T-zone area. This was in order to create a base for the makeup and to give the illusion of a washed-out, pale completion as we were trying to portray him as a severe drug addict; I applied a white pressed powder all over Jack's face and neck to add to this effect afterwards.

I then used several dark brown shades of powder to contour Jack's face, applying this to his jaw line, cheekbones, temples and the sides of his nose in order to create the illusion of a slimmer face which adds to the persona of his character- a severe drug addict- as the stereotype the audience would expect from this type of character would be to appear very frail and skinny.

Next, I applied a mixture of warm brown tones in various areas of Jack's face, (such as around his eye area to give the illusion of 'crows-feet') in order to make him appear aged as his character was supposed to be aged between 40-50. Also, the ageing shown on Jacks face (such as the wrinkles on his forehead) could be believed to be a side effect of his dangerous drug habit.

To give the illusion of dark under-eye circles, I firstly applied a red substance under Jack's eyes which connotes danger and mirrors his villainous character, then slowly built up the look using several brown shades and then blended them together making sure there were no harsh lines. I gave him dark under-eye circles to simply make him appear haggard because of his unhealthy, distributive lifestyle and to have an overall frightful appearance as he is one of the two antagonists.

I applied a white powder onto Jack's lips to completely overrule the natural pink-ness of them as this disrupted the overall washed-out and ill look I was trying to create for him; I then asked him to tightly purse his lips as I used a deep shade of brown to fill in the creases in them which, when relaxed, gave the illusion of them being dry, chapped and cracked. 

To finish of the look, I used a deep grey powder to create the illusion of a large bruise on the right side of his head which inflicts fear on the audience as it suggests something threatening about his character since it makes him look like a 'thug'; a clear goal when making him appear as an antagonist who murders his own daughter.

My own youtube tutorial for this makeup look: 

      

Risk Assessment for the third day of filming

Day Three Filming - B-Roll

We decided to make a B-Roll of our third day filming to show how we created some of the mise-en scene, how we achieved some shots and the discussions we had about changing and altering ideas.

Agnes' Hair

We recorded Agnes doing her hair so that we could refer back to the video when we need to use the same hairstyle, as this will help stop continuity errors. We discussed as a group what hairstyle Agnes should have, and we decided 'plaits.' This would give our protagonist a childish appearance and we wanted to create the look that represented that she never really grew up. The colours she wears, her bedroom and her hairstyle represents that she is still a child at heart.

Risk Assessment for the second day of filming

Filming pack for day 3

Day 3 
For our filming pack on day 3 we have decided to only film with Emma in it who plays Agnes due to the availability of the other characters. We will be filming in the bedroom, hallway, bathroom, kitchen and the living room. Emma will be filmed washing up, seeing her parents do drugs, seeing a ghost and the news scene where she's reported as being missing. To add to our characters though we are going to use Ellisha to play the ghost that Agnes sees in her bathroom.

Props
On day 3 we have decided to film the drug scene with Agnes' mum and dad. Props will be needed to be used for this such as fake syringes, flour for powder and cigarettes may be included if we can get hold of all of them. We will also need a car, boxes and a rope for other parts of the scenes that happen in various parts of the house.

Hair and make-up 
On this day hair and make-up is going to be a big factor used and we will include some make-up tutorials in the shooting as well to add to our blog. We will need to really put emphasis on Ellisha's make-up because she is playing the ghost and needs to look extra scary in order for the film to work and scare the audience which is our main aim.

Filming pack for day 4

Day 4

For day 4 of filming we will need to travel out of college and go to Chapel town, we will be travelling by car so we can fit all our equipment easily and won't have trouble carrying it all or forgetting anything. We have decided to film the Garden scenes which will be the beginning of our film and all details of that first scene can be found in our shooting script. We think shooting the garden scene may be difficult because of unpredictable weather and we've got to fake someone hanging themselves and make it look real using the camera at different angles.

Characters 
The only characters we will need in our film are going to be Agnes, Agnes' mum and then Agnes' dad. So we need to make sure all these people who are playing these characters will be available and can film on this day to avoid having to put our film back another day.

Props
For this scene we will need a good tree in the garden so we can successfully get the hanging scene right and make it look very realistic. We also need to make sure we have a piece of material that can act as a noose for the part where it will go round Agnes' neck. To add to this we need to make sure we pick a good patch of grass with leaves so Agnes can get dragged along it to add to the fear factor it needs to look cold and damp in the Garden this can be easily achieved.


Hair and Make-up

For the hair and make-up we need to make Agnes look dishevelled we plan to do this by messing up her hair and putting dark make-up under the eyes and on patches on her face especially when she goes to hang herself. We are also going to add some fake blood to add a little bit of gore to the scene, i think this will look good because it will add colour to the scene and we want to shock the audience.

Mainstream or independent?

For our film we need to look at what companies would possibly want to produce our film if we made a full version of the 5 minute one. 

There are normally two types of production companies mainstream and independent.

Mainstream- 
If a production company has major funding either through earnings, studio investors, or private investors, and has done or been involved with big budget productions in the past, it is considered to be a major production company. These companies often work with well-known and expensive talent. They have a budget from their bosses which they can spend on anything they want to make the film look as good as possible and they are usually broadcast worldwide to everyone so they make more money than they have to spend. Massive companies that own most of the media industry such as Time warner are called conglomerates. 

Independent-
These companies are known for just basing themselves in one country like the UK and don't have enough money to broadcast their film worldwide. Through my research i have found that these kind of companies rely on regional identity to help sell their films and rely on certain themes. Independent companies don't rely on using other peoples money to fund their productions and are known for using actors that aren't that well known to help propel them into the filming industry. Independent films can be known for making indie films and using up and coming stars that eventually get to appear in the mainstream films of hollywood. 

Verdict- 
I think that our film will definitely be needed to sold by independent company because it is more suited to our brief. I think that it is appropriate because we don't have big stars being featured into our film and we don't have the money or technology to really use any special effects unlike the mainstream companies like Time Warner that can use them in nearly every film to excite the audience. In an independent film were just going to have to use other methods to try and make our film look professional. 

Day 1 shooting pack

To make our project easier to film we decided to shoot the scenes where we wouldn't need to travel to a location and can film these parts at college this would be our first day of shooting to get all the easy parts out of the way.

The scenes were are going to shoot-
Police interrogation scene, Agnes in a closet and the news report scenes can all be filmed in college.
These scenes will need an office type looking location which can be easily found in college we can use a classroom and store room can be used for the scene with Agnes in a closet.

Props we would need-
We would need a lamp, posters, a desk and a chair.

Make-up we need to include- 
We are thinking about doing some make-up tutorials because we want Agnes' mum and dad to look dishevelled and bruised. We want Agnes' mum to have her red lipstick smudged and mascara down her eyes.

Agnes' mum - Make Up for the interrogation scene

Agnes' dad - Make Up for the interrogation scene

Filming the closet scene

When we were recording the scene where Agnes is in the closet, we experimented with the night vision setting on the camera. We are using the Sony HD 1000 as we used it last year, so are familiar with the settings. We also knew that the picture quality was good and looked like a film. We decided, when filming to shoot multiple shots. We used shots that had normal lighting, and we also used night vision. The normal shots were very dark to begin with, so we used an IPhone torch to brighten the shot. We found that this was very helpful as it created a very

eerie affect as there were shadows cast by the lighting on the wall. It made the scene look creepy and like she was alone. We then used the night vision setting as we had seen this done before on films such as 'Rec' and it created a creepy look. It showed a lot more in the scene compared to the other setting, and created the look that someone was watching the protagonist. We liked the style and thought it was different, but we were not sure that it looked like someone was watching Agnes. The idea of the scene was that Agnes' parents had dragged

her into the cupboard and had forgotten about her. The fact that this shot made it look like someone was watching her, created the wrong affect for our film we believed. We did like the style of the cinematography, but we thought that the other shots worked better for that particular scene, as it created a creepier look, and made it appear that Agnes was truly alone and terrified.

Filming Diary - Day Two

When? - Wednesday 19th November 2014.
What? - 13A to 13D
Who will be in it? - Police officer and Agnes' mum and dad.
What are the props used? - Lamp, files.
What is the location? - Classroom/office.

Props for the second day of filming

To add to the mise-en scene of the film, we wanted to use some props to create the suspension of disbelief. We printed off these pictures to stick on the wall in the police interrogation scene to represent that they are in a police station. We printed off a photo of the protagonist to include in a file. This will help the plot develop.

Agnes' Mother's Makeup For Day Two of Filming

Firstly, I applied a concealer a few shades lighter than Charlotte's natural skin tone in her t-zone area; this was in order to pale out her face and create a base for the white pressed powder which I applied after. Both products gave the illusion of a washed-out face, insinuating Charlotte was ill- an obvious goal when attempting to make her appearance live up to the expectations of what a severe drug addict would look like.

Secondly, I used a dark brown powder to contour her face. I applied this to her cheekbones, jaw line, the sides of her nose and her temples to give the illusion of a slimmer face in order to make her look frail and malnourished, again, living up to the stereotype of what the audience would expect a severe drug addict to look like. The contouring also accentuated some of Charlotte's sharp features (such as her cheekbones) creating a fearful appearance which would inflict terror on the audience as this presents her as an antagonist. I took my inspiration for this idea from the contouring used on the actress Angelina Jolie in the recent production of Disney's 'Maleficent'.

I took the brown powder down underneath her eyes to give the illusion of some under eye circles which made her appear tired after her character was supposed to have spent the previous night in a prison cell as a result of being arrested for the murder of her daughter; all adding to the verisimilitude.

To make it appear that Charlotte had been crying due to being distraught over being arrested, I smudged mascara around her eye area. I also smudged red lipstick across her face, all to give her a bedraggled and unkempt appearance to suggest something sinister about her character. Also, both colours used in this process (black and red) are colours regularly used in successful films like 'Sin City' ,where the actress in the clip is dressed in a red dress to foreshadow the fact she is going to die, in order to connote death and danger, relating to the villainous persona of this character and highlighting her as one of the antagonists.

 

Agnes' Fathers Makeup For Day Two of Filming

Since Agnes' father is one of the two antagonists, I decided to give him a 'thug' look by creating a large bruise on the right side of his face using a mixture of dark eyeshadows and blending them outwards; this immediately suggests something sinister about his character. In addition to this, I applied brown eyeshadow underneath his eyes in order to give the elusion of eye bags which would be a typical feature of his character since he would have spent a restless night in a police cell as a result of being arrested under suspicion for the murder of his daughter. 

In order to tie the entire look together, I used a white face powder all over his face in order to make him look drip white and ill- an obvious feature expected of a drug addicts appearance- as well as making his appearance look frightening overall which is an obvious goal when considering he is an antagonist who is supposed to inflict fear into the audience.

Since he is a drug addict, I also contoured his cheek bones, the sides of his nose and temples to give the illusion of a slimmer face and to make him look frail which would be expected if he was a severe drug addict. This technique was also used on several characters in the film 'Trainspotting' as it adds to the verisimilitude of the stereotype of a drug addicts appearance that the audience expect to see. 

To finish off the look, I firstly applied white powder then secondly brown powder to his lips to create the appearance of them being chapped and blistered. I felt this added to the overall look of him being run down and un-kempt. 

Theories of representation - Semiotics

Semiotics are signs and sign systems - basically a symbol that represents something. This theory was developed by Ferdinand de Saussure. His idea was that different signs (for example words, images, sounds, colours, flavours etc) represented something else in films and everyday life. He said that everything was/is a sign, and many people use signs in media products without even realising what they are representing; but they work.

He said that the SIGNIFIER (the symbol such as an object or icon for example) and the SIGNIFIED (the meaning that the symbol is representing/the concept it represents) = the SIGN.

Example:

This sign/symbol of stop represents that you should stop. It also represents danger and that there is something unsafe up ahead. The SIGNIFIER is the stop sign and the SIGNIFIED is the stop or the danger that there is something up ahead.

How we have used this theory in our film:

-The noose: this fore shadows the hanging and the plot twist in the story. There will be constant flashbacks to the hanging to help the audience realise this.

-Use of red: the use of red for example the mother's lipstick will represent danger and death.

-White clothes: the ghosts will wear white clothes as it is a common colour that ghosts are associated with and it also suggests that they are really innocent.

-Syringes: the syringes will be scattered on the floor at the beginning of the film to represent the parents drug use.

Risk Assessment for the first day of filming

Production Company Logos

One of the production companies I looked into was, Studio Canal. I found that this companies logo involved a lot of monotonous colours and was very straight forward. I interpreted ideas by using black and white shades, and making the layout/style look professional and proper.
The logos are very similar, but different in their own ways. This particular logo looks rather like a chess board which gives the audience the assumption that the film could be about a game of some sort. This would be good as it could confuse the audience, and make the film appear creepier with the use of a game. But it could create a wrong tone/mood for the film which we would not want to do.



Another production company that I researched was, Cross Creek Pictures. This logo is very much like the previous one as it uses monotonous shades/colours. I used 'Picmonkey' to create a logo that was similar to theirs.

Our logo is very similar with the shapes and colours used. This would help the audience identify with the similar style and perhaps recall what movies that company has produced. We have used our own name for the logo, but the font is different. This gives our logo a bit of diversity, but the audience are still able to associate with the other company. That is a positive about using this production logo, however it is very similar to Cross Creek Pictures. To avoid making the logos too similar, we could use different colours, for example reds, as they represent danger and blood.

Film 4 have produced (and distributed) many films. It is a very iconic logo and because of the colours used it is very bright and bold. I incorporated ideas from the logo by using red and white. The red in the background has been made to represent blood which suggests what genre the film would be. This would be helpful to the audience and set the tone.

We looked into Columbia as the logo represented liberty and the use of the statue also represented that it was a good company. It gave off the impression that it was a large, conglomerate company. I took ideas and made a logo using a statue of liberty to give off the same feel for the company and for it to appear professional. Unlike Columbia however, I used dark black and red colours to foreshadow the genre of the film and to set a creepy atmosphere. When creating this logo on Picmonkey, I experimented with different ways we could use our company name; instead of using 'EA AE,' we could use 'EA².'

Here are some other logos I have designed that are similar to the ones I have researched:
Now that we have researched and created some ideas, we can start working on our final production logo. I understand I would not be able to use these particular logos as the pictures on them have been taken from the internet, plus these were made on 'Picmonkey.' When we make the real logo, we will create it on 'Adobe Photoshop' and use our own creations/pictures/drawings.

Production Company Logos Research

A production logo is what helps the company become recognised. They are used before (and sometimes after) the film to show who produced it. We are making a horror film so looked at production companies, who have made similar films to the one we are wanting to create. The films that are similar to the one we are creating are, 'The others' and 'The woman in black.'

The others:
This was produced by Studio Canal. 

The production logo for this company is very straightforward. The only use of colour, are the shades black and white. This makes the production company appear to be mature and well-organised. For a horror film also, it could foreshadow that bad things will happen by the use of the dark shading. We could incorporate ideas for our production logo by using monotonous colours, and making it appear as if we are a sophisticated production company.

The woman in black:

This was produced by Cross Creek Pictures.

This logo is very similar to the previous. Again, the shading/colours are very monotonous and are mainly black, grey and white. It too appears to be a sophisticated company. We again could incorporate ideas by using dark colours to create the tone of the film, and use easy to understand fonts and styles.

Some more production companies that have produced horror films have taken a different approach to how they will represent their companies.

Companies such as Film 4 and Dark Castle use red colours in their logos. I believe these give the films a sinister tone, before the film has started. Twisted Pictures includes a steak and thorns for its logo which suggests that there will be violence in the film and that it will be disturbing; this has been proven by films such as 'Saw' which it has produced. Companies such as, 20th Centure Fox, Warner Bros, Columbia and Paramount are conglomerate companies. Their logos involve a lot of colour which can make the film appeal to the audience, and because of what the logo consists of e.g. a mountain, a symbol of liberty, a medal like symbol, and a stadium, it represents that the company is successful and making good films. The other companies in the collage above include dark colours such as blacks and blues which help create the appropriate atmosphere for a horror film. We can adapt ideas from these logos, that we could use for our own production logo.