The Darkness Trailer

Our groups' trailer is available to watch here.

Evaluation

http://prezi.com/u0qfpozdztt_/a2-media-coursework-evaluation/

Which ident?

All film productions have an ident shown before a film and its trailer. It is a short clip showing the company logo, normally through an animation which reflects the foundations of a particular company. When my group started planned to create 'The Darkness', we had to decide which ident would be the most appropriate for our storyline and chosen genre. For this we decided to do some research into the existing idents which are being used by existing production companies. I will also list some basic history of the ident, and films similar to ours, which use the various idents.

20th Century Fox

The Art Deco 20th Century Fox logo, designed by landscape artist Emil Kosa, Jr., originated as the 20th Century Fox logo after the 'Pictures Inc.' was substituted with 'Fox' in 1935, after the merger of 20th Century Pictures and Fox. In 1994 after several failed attempts of creating a moving ident in 3D, Fox hired a Los Angeles based company to use CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) to redesign the ident, and create the ident which has been used ever since. The company hired, Studio Productions, had already provided facelifts for other companies such as Paramount and Universal, so it seemed natural that 20th Century Fox would do the same. The famous Fox ident soundtrack was created in 1981 and has been used ever since. Due to the nature of the films which 20th Century Fox creates, such as the Simpsons Movie, my group decided that we will not use this ident, and look for another ident from a production company which has created more appropriate films.

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures is an American film production and distribution company, which now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which itself forms part of the global conglomerate Sony; which as a result makes Columbia Pictures a member of the Big Six film production companies in the world. The company was set up in 1919, and released its first motion picture in 1922. Columbia's logo which forms the main focal point of the ident has been through five major revisions since the company first created idents. Originally the lady holding the torch signified 'Columbia' (the female personification of the United States). But before it adapted this character, the original idents in 1924 was a female Roman soldier holding a shield in her left hand and a stick of wheat in her right hand. The current revision of the ident was created in 1992, when it was digitally repainted by New Orleans artist Michael Daos, who returned the figure back to her original look before the various versions of the character. This ident was a serious contender for our ident in the planning process of the 'Darkness' but for various reasons, we decided that we would not be using it for our film.

Paramount

The Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company owned by media conglomerate Viacom, and is part of the Big Six group of production companies. Founded in 1912, it is America's oldest film studio, and is one of the last companies to still be headquartered in the Hollywood district of the city of Los Angeles, California. As a result of its prestige in the film industry due to its age, Paramount is consistently rated as one of the top grossing film studios in the world. The Paramount Pictures' mountain image has been used on the companies' ident since its inception; so as a result is the oldest surviving Hollywood film idents. Over the years, the ident has been subsequently redesigned, with the latest version of the ident featuring Mount Everest (created in 2002, as part of Paramount's 90th anniversary celebrations). The current ident was created in 2010, with a new font called 'New Viacom'. A horror film which Paramount created include the 'Friday the 13th' franchise of movies, which have been hugely successfully for the company and have been one of our inspirations for the planning of 'The Darkness'. For the same reasons, as Columbia Pictures though, we decided not to use this ident, and instead use the final ident in which we researched.

Universal

Universal Studios was created in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, and is one of the Big Six production companies in the world. It is owned by the American media conglomerate NBC Universal. It is the second oldest surviving Hollywood studio with Paramount Pictures beating it by one month to be the oldest. The company's ident has became ident and synonymous with the company even without the 'Universal' text being shown in front of the revolving globe. The first ident dates back to 1914, and has been through several revisions since the creation of the current idea, but one factor has remained the same - this being the revolving globe featuring the North American and European continents. When NBC took control of the company it was assumed that the globe would be retired in favour of a more modern brand, but wisely they decided to keep the rotating globe and integrate it into the new companies' logo (NBC Universal). It is assumed that this ident will be revised between 2014-15 as Universal reaches it's centenary. Our inspirations in the planning process including a sci-fi/horror film named War of the Worlds which was released in 2005 with the director Stephen Spielberg. As a result, we decided that we would use this ident as opposed to Paramount and Columbia, as we believe it fitted in better with the product which we are trying to create.

Final Media Products

Film Poster

Film Magazine Front Cover

Magazine Front Cover Mock Up

Before I created my magazine front cover, I decided to look at how other magazines have featured films in the past, and create a mock up so I had some guidance during the creation of my own magazine front cover. I have chosen the name 'Snapshot' for the magazine as I believe it is revelant to the film industry, and works well with the type of film which we have created. The mock up features the locations of various aspects of the front cover such as the title, the main image, various previews, and features.

Poster Mock Up

Before I created my poster using Abode Photoshop, I created a mock up to give me guidance on what features went where. On my mock up, I included features such as; a main image, the film's slogan, the billing block, and the film's title, as well as a smaller billing block featuring the two main actors who star in the film.

'The Darkness' Running Order and Shot List

Clapperboard Sheets of Mock Shots

Pitch

Storyboards

As part of the creation of our film, 'The Darkness', we decided to create storyboards to give us guidance on the filming process at our locations, and for the editing process on the various computer applications. The storyboards show a basic drawing of the snapshot from the filming, as well as a brief description of what we have done, and the audio used.

Risk Assessment

During the filming process, there were several risks which the actors were exposed to. Below are the various 'Risk Assessment Forms' which my group completed to highlight the dangers and what level these dangers were for the actors, i.e. high, medium, and low.

Venue Release Forms

During the filming process, we made sure that we gained the permission off the owner(s) where we filmed. This was important as we wanted to make sure that we would not get into trouble filming at the location, where the owner(s) did not want us to be. Below are the venue release forms from the participants used during the film process.

Analysis of Marketing Campaign for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two - Posters

The marking campaign for the final instalment of the Harry Potter franchise, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two' includes many different variations of a single poster which includes different characters, both in groups like the two posters I have analysed above, and individually which I will post below. All of the posters use the practice of synergy through the fire like balls floating at the bottom of the poster, and the rocks and stones scattered throughout the poster. Synergy is used found on the posters, film trailers, and magazine front covers, which feature the main characters, by the dark colours used, and the serious looks on the characters faces.

The poster above is an example of the posters used during the marketing campaign which featured the characters individually, as opposed to in a group which I have analysed above. The practice of syngery is still in use on the individual poster of Harry Potter above through the fire-like balls floating around towards the bottom of the poster; the dark colours; and the serious look on Harry's face.

Actors List





We decided to use actors which we thought were suitable for the characters which we created for our film. Our actor list contains three people; all three of which being main characters within both the overall storyline of the film, and the film trailer iself too. Two of our characters are central protaganists within the plot (with one being a male and the other being a female) whilst the other character is a minor character who is heavily involved in the storyline, and has a role of scaring the two central protaganists.

Comparison of a historical and modern trailer

Historic Trailer - 'Dr Strangelove or: How I learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb':-



The trailer for the film above is an example of a trailer used for a historic film. It heavily features text on the screen for the viewers to read as opposed to the modern practice of a narrator, this was because at the time of the release of 'Dr Strangelove: and How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb', silent movies were still being released into the cinemas, along with the more 'contemporary' films which use audio. Another feature of historical trailers which was evident in the trailer posted above is the length of the trailer. The average length for a trailer now-a-days is 2 minutes, this trailer as well as others created in its time, were much longer, as their creators liked to use as much dailys as possible to expose the film's synopsis to the viewer. This practice is no longer in use as the creators of trailers prefer to leave a cliffhanger and let the viewer find the plot of the film out when the film is released at the release date.

Modern Trailer - 'Green Lantern':-

History of Film Trailers

The first trailer was shown in a U.S. movie theater in November 1913, when Nils Granlund, the advertising manager for the Marcus Loew theater chain, produced a short promotional film for the musical ‘The Pleasure Seekers’.

Above - The film poster for 'The Pleasure Seekers'

Granlund was also first to introduce trailer material for an upcoming motion picture, using a slide technique to promote an upcoming film featuring Charlie Chaplin at Loew's Seventh Avenue Theatre in Harlem in 1914.

Above - The original 1964 trailer for 'Dr Stranglove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

In the early 1960s, the face of motion picture trailers changed. Textless, montage trailers and quick-editing became popular, largely due to the arrival of the "new Hollywood" and techniques that were becoming increasingly popular in television. Among the trend setters were Stanley Kubrick with his montage trailers for Lolita, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Above - Threatrical trailer for 2011 film 'Green Lantern' - an example of present day film trailers

Today, longer, more elaborate trailers and commercial advertisements have replaced other forms of pre-feature entertainment and in major multiplex chains, about the first twenty minutes after the posted show time is devoted to trailers.

Research a Marketing Campaign (Signs)

As part of the planning process, it was vital that I looked at the marketing campaign for another film in the same genre as the film which our group were creating, to see how the marking campaign manage to keep synergy between the film trailer, poster, and film magazine front covers. For my research I decided I would look at the film, 'Signs' which is part of the horror/thriller genre. This is the genre which I hope our film 'The Darkness' will be under.

In another post in my blog I will write about the film trailer more throughly, and compare it with another film trailer from the a different genre to note which codes and conventions both films adhere to.

The marketing team for this movie have used several techniques to link the film poster to the trailer, the main features which I noticed being the clear advertisement of the main actors name on the billing block. In the trailer, the viewer is made aware that the main star in this film is Mel Gibson; the same method has been used on the film trailer through Mel Gibson's name being the only name to appear on the billing block. Another method in which the marketers have connected the two media products is through the use of the same font and slogan. The slogan 'It's happening!' is noted both in the trailer and on the film poster. This has been done to reinforce the slogan, and to allow the potential viewer to instantly connect the two media products, and the connect the name and slogan.

Venue/ Location List (inc. Photographs)

Rainbow Park (Melling, Merseyside)

A large proportion of our filming was shot at a public park in the village of Melling in Merseyside. We believed this location was suitable due to its relatively remote location and quietness, which other locations during the planning process we discovered did not include. On the photograph above it shows the park's main entrance this was not the exact location of our filming. The exact location of our filming taken place towards the centre of the field through the second set of gates, shown on the photograph above. In this location we found playground equipment - which fitted in the storyline - plus, the setting in the village of Melling gave us a family location, which the storyline's plot revolved around.

Country Path (Melling, Merseyside)

One of the main scenes within the trailer is filmed on a country path on the northwestern side of the village of Melling in Merseyside. This location was chosen due to its remote location - so we could film without the distractions - and because its rural location which fits with the storyline and the other locations which we have decided to choose across east Sefton. The photograph above shows the entrance to the path from the main thoroughfare in the village; the location we choose to film the 'walk out of the shot' scene however was further down the path away from the noise of the traffic.

Balls Wood Park (Maghull, Merseyside)

The vast majority of our filming took place at our main location, Balls Wood, which is a public park on the eastern edge of the town of Maghull in Merseyside. During the planning process, there have been different locations which we have discussed for our main location, but after careful consideration looking at the storyline and characters, we have decided to use Balls Wood. In the photograph above you can see the woodland area, this is where the majority of our filming has taken place including the 'RUN' on the tree scene, as well as the 'running towards the gate' scenes which together make up a large section of our trailer. It is a quiet location, but at the same time a family location, because of its large playground as well as the houses lining the western boundary of the park. 

Production Log (inc. Prop and Costume Lists)

During the planning and filming process, we decided that we would plan when, where and what would be done on the various days which we were filming. We recorded what props, actors, costume and equipment we would use when filming. This became very useful during the filming process, as we had a guide to show us everything we were supposed to be doing. Below I have listed the various factors involved, as well as other notes which I thought were important and should include;


Friday, 21st October 2011
Props - N/A
Actors - Andrew Keller, Nicolle Abbott, Sabrina Malhotra
Costume - School Uniform, Black Coats, Dark Trousers
Equipment - Video Camera, Storyboard Notes
Other Notes - N/A

Saturday, 22nd October 2011
Props - N/A
Actors - N/A
Costume - N/A
Equipment - N/A
Other Notes - No filming taken place on this day

Sunday, 23rd October 2011
Props - N/A
Actors - Andrew Keller, Nicolle Abbott
Costume - Casual Clothing
Equipment - Video Camera, Storyboard Notes
Other Notes - N/A

Monday, 24th October 2011
Props - N/A
Actors - Andrew Keller, Nicolle Abbott, Chris Kingsbury, Sabrina Malhotra, Joseph Caldon
Costume - School Uniform, Black Coats, Dark Trousers, Cargo Pants, Short Sleeve T-Shirt
Equipment - Video Camera, Storyboard Notes
Other Notes - Our costume choice depended on what role a person was given (actor/ camera crew)

Tuesday, 25th October 2011
Props - N/A
Actors - N/A
Costume - N/A
Equipment - N/A
Other Notes - No filming taken place on this day

Wednesday, 26th October 2011
Props - N/A
Actors - Andrew Keller, Nicolle Abbott, Sabrina Malhotra
Costume - School Uniform, Dark Trousers, Black Coats
Equipment - Video Camera, Storyboard Notes
Other Notes - N/A

Thursday, 27th October 2011
Props - N/A
Actors - N/A
Costume - N/A
Equipment - N/A
Other Notes - No filming taken place on this day

Friday, 28th October 2011
Props - N/A
Actors - Andrew Keller,  Nicolle Abbott, Sabrina Malhotra
Costume - School Uniform, Dark Coats, Black Trousers, Cargo Pants, Short Sleeve T-Shirt
Equipment - Video Camera, Storyboard Notes, Timer
Other Notes - The filming of our 'walk out of the scene' shot didn't go to plan, and a timer was used to make sure that the 'walk out of the scene' took the required timing which we decided on in planning, and did not go over or under this desired time

Saturday, 29th October 2011

Props - N/A
Actors - Andrew Keller, Nicolle Abbott
Costume - Casual Clothing
Equipment - Video Camera, Supplement Storyboard
Other Notes - The last two storyboard sheets were changed, so this footage was not used

Sunday, 30th October 2011

Props - N/A
Actors - Andrew Keller, Nicolle Abbott, Sabrina Malhotra
Costume - Casual Clothing with Darker Colours
Equipment - Video Camera, Storyboards
Other Notes - N/A

Postmodernism Theory

Below is a diagram which showcases the four different threads connected to Postmodernism theory;

Postmodernism deliberately rejects the idea that there is a high and low culture. They tend to avoid rigid genre distinctions. Rathet than conforming to genre distinctions, postmodernists took a preferenve of the following formats;

• Pastiche - a mixture of different forms
• Parody - a spoof vertsion of a genre
• Bricolage - use of the materials available depsite the intended purpose
• Irony - when there is tension between what is said and what is meant