Poster Analysis #4

Title: I'm Still Here
Director: Casey Affleck
What Happened? In 2008 while rehearsing for a charity event, actor Joaquin Phoenix, with Casey Affleck's camera watching, tells people he's quitting to pursue a career in rap music. Over the next year, we watch the actor write, rehearse, and perform to an audience. He importunes Sean Combs in hopes he'll produce the record. We see the actor in his home: he parties, smokes, bawls out his two-man entourage, talks philosophy with Affleck, and comments on celebrity

This is a mockumentary film, but the story behind this film is that no one knew that this was all just a silly storyline, people actually believed Joaquin Phoenix wanted to become a rapper. Therefore, this is why the poster looks very serious. 
The character is placed in the centre of the poster, with a scruffy suit and messy hair. He has a light around his head, then the background is more grey. The light shows him becoming a star. The sunglasses convey that there is paparazzi taking photos as typically you'll see a celebrity wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes from the flash of the camera. 
The title is in the middle too, but sort of fades in and out of the image, showing that he may be taking a back seat for a while, but he is still here and will return bigger and better (or as a rap star)
The text is very simple, in white/grey tones and is in italics and this is a very simple text style. 
The first name of the director and actor is in a small sized font, but their last names are in a bigger sized font. Then right at the bottom, there is the website and the production companies. 
There is a subtle bit of humour in this poster through the general look of the character as you wouldn't expect a typical rap star to wear a shit and tie with a big beard and messy hair.

Poster Analysis #3

Title: Michael Jackson's This is It
Director: Kenny Ortega
What Happened?
Follows the weeks before Michael Jackson's death and it is about his tour 'This is it'.
The documentary talk to dancers who auditioned for the tour and has pre recorded footage of the rehearsals for the tour.

The white background of the poster, helps make the colourful and vibrant main image stand out of the whole poster.
The main image is placed in the centre of the poster and is in the shape of Michael Jackson doing one of his most famous poses or dance moves. Inside this shape of him, is a compilation for various stills from the tour he was rehearsing for. Around the main image, is a sort of glowing light around him, conveying him as an angel perhaps as this was released after his death. Or it could convey how this tour was going to light up the stage.
At the top of the page, the font is very simple and is in bold CAPITALS. The title "This is it" stands out more than the rest of the words as it is the main title of the film.
Below it has the release date in bold so that the audience won't miss it.
At the bottom there is the production companies' logos, but the listings at the bottom naming people like the director and producer and so on is missing, in order to make the film slightly more mysterious and intriguing.

I chose this poster as it is for a documentary style film, but it is more like my idea in that it is along the theme of music and my idea is a mockumentary about a musician.

Poster Analysis #2

Title: Cooking History
Director: Peter Kerekes
What Happened? 
This documentary follows the lifestyle of military cooks for different European armies and what sort of food they make for the soldiers and so on.

The main image of the poster is a dead bird ontop of a sauce pan with a herb in his beak.
You are drawn instantly to this picture as it is placed in the centre of the poster and is a large, shocking image which makes you wonder about what the film is about.
Above the picture, the title is in bold CAPITAL letters, with a very simple font, which is very similar to the last poster I analysed. This seems to be a recurring convention in all the documentary style film posters.
The background is plain white, so that it shows off the shadow of the dead bird underneath the image and also it shows the title up more and makes it stand out alot.
The information is conventionally placed at the bottom of the poster, with all the film production and sponsors and the website to find out more. These are less noticeable than the title as it is in a lighter colour with smaller print, as it is just the information that doesn't completely advertise the whole documentary.
Below the title there is the slogan "6 Wars. 10 recipes. 60 361 024 dead." This makes the audience wonder which wars? What are the recipes and what is the significance of the 60,361,024 dead? Is it the number of dead animals the cook or of the soldiers? This slogan creates so many enigma codes, it makes the audience want to watch the documentary. The numbers are also in a red colour in order for it to truly stand out to catch the audience's attention.
It should be noted that at the top of the page, above the title is a symbol which looks like a big cauldron which you would cook food in, but the lines at the side of it makes it look like two canons, which symbolizes the armies and the wars.

This poster is very simple design, but has many features in it that does capture the audiences attention, such as the main image of the dead bird, the symbol at the top of the page and the slogan beneath the title.

Poster Analysis #1

Title: Man on Wire
Director: James Marsh
Writer: Philippe Petit
What Happened? 
Aug 7th 1974, Philippe Petit, a french wire walker and street performer spent 45 minutes walking and dancing on a wire which he and his friends had strung between the twin towers in NY. The documentary has contemporary interviews, footage and a recreation of the days events.

The poster shows the dark silhouette of the main character on the wire and he is place in the centre of the frame. Although the picture is small, the audience is drawn to it because the use of the background behind him; the tall tower to the right, the city at the bottom and the sky all around him. The background shows how extreme it is what this man is doing and it looks scary as it looks like he could fall off any minute and fall thousands of feet.
So it gives you an insight into the documentary, before you've even seen it.
The title is in bold CAPITAL letters, but with a simple font, with the review placed below it in a less bold font saying the documentary is "Exhilarating" - this word excites the audience and would make them want to watch the documentary more.
Then of course at the bottom, centre of the poster is the information about who directed the film, who produced it and wrote it, who stars in it, the film production companies and a website address for more information.

This is a very conventional film poster and I chose it because it was for a documentary film, like I am doing, except the theme is very different to my idea.

Focus Group

Earlier, today I filmed my focus group's opinion on my film idea!

Generally it was all very positive feedback. They all felt that it was a good idea for a short film, instead of a full length one. Flo's point about there being other percussion grades has been noted, however I don't think it will matter too much as I don't think there is a musical grade in the Triangle.
The idea was very detailed and my focus group was confident that I knew what I was doing and they all felt the idea would be very funny. This feedback is very good and it's made me very eager to press forwards with my idea!

Questionnaire Analysis

1. Age

Overall:
Median - 18
Mode - 17
Mean - 19.7

Males:
Median - 21
Mode- 17
Mean - 21.5

Females:
Median - 17.5
Mode -  17
Mean - 20.2

2. Gender
10 Males
10 Females

3. TV or Youtube?
Youtube = 15
Tv = 5

Males:
Youtube = 7
TV = 3

Females:
Youtube = 8
TV = 2

Now that I know that youtube is much more popular to watch videos on, I will make my film more adaptable for a short film for youtube viewers, who just like to watch a funny film in their spare time to wind down and relax to.

4. Unrecognized/Insignificant Instruments 
Most instruments all my target audience had in common was the xylophone, recorder, wooden black, spoons, maracas and egg shaker. 

5. My Idea - Feedback
On a whole, every really liked it and most people said it was a dry/dark humour which they quite like.
A few ideas some people had was that maybe the character should be trying to revive the triangle and that there should be a confrontation of people with their recognized instruments VS. the people with their unrecognized instruments for a Music Off!

6. What would the main character look like?
100% of my target audience said that they think the main character would be male, not female. And that he would be a very geeky character, with a check shirt, a tweed jacket, or cardigan and glasses.

The questionnaire Analysis has confirmed my ideas for my film. 

My idea is very straight forward and clear and this was obvious to my target audience, who really enjoyed the idea and thinks it will be a good short film in the end. 

Questionnaire Produced and Justifications

Questionnaire

Age: to get an average age of my target audience

Gender: 

Would you watch videos on TV or on youtube? Please circle one

            TV                                                Youtube

What sort of viewing is most popular from my target audience.

What instruments would you consider to be insignificant/unrecognized? This is so I know which instruments is commonly considered insignificant so that I can feature these instruments in my film.

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My idea: My film is a mockumentary (which is a documentary following a very silly storyline) and it is about a man who plays the triangle and the documentary is following his life and his fight to get the triangle recognized in the music world. We also see his band, which was formed especially for people who feels their instruments are unrecognized so there is a person who plays the wooden block and a person who plays the recorder, etc.

What do you think of my idea? Would you make any improvements? Any Suggestions?
Feedback is very important so that I can adapt my idea to what my target audience prefers.

_________________________________________________________________________________
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What do you think a stereotypical triangle player looks like? (Would it be a man/woman. What would they wear?) This way the audience can identify with the character being their stereotypical person they'd imagine to be a triangle player.

_________________________________________________________________________________
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A post with the feedback will be posted shortly!

Research

This is a good example of showing the silly side to my idea. In this video, this man is dancing around playing his triangle with a wig on for comic effect, although when it comes to the interview bit, he seems dead serious about his passion for playing the triangle, which makes the video funnier. This is the angle I want to get, although it won't be as obviously jokey as this video, mine will be more subtle.

This video is a live performance. It isn't taking the documentary angle, but it is showing the humorous side of playing the triangle. This is shown through the 'orchestra' which is only 4 people...
It is also shown through them all dancing around in a silly manner and pulling silly faces while playing the triangle.

This video is taking the more documentary route, with the titles and the man talking about the triangle and how to hold it etc. It is a serious documentary, not a mockumentary. But this is an okay example of the documentary style video I want to make. It's just without the silly storyline!

Theoretical Concepts

Name: Unrecogised Musicians

Genre: Mockumentary/comedy. My film idea can definitely be classed as a mockumentary/comedy as it's story line is very silly, but because it's in the style of a documentary it'll seem like it takes a serious angle, when really it's about something very ridiculous. 

Narrative: 
There is an interview with a man who plays the triangle and as the story goes on we get to understand his fight to get into the music world and be taken seriously as a professional musician. He also introduces us to his friends who are in a similar situation to him and want their instruments to be recognised.

Audience: (look the audience profile post) 

Representation: 
*I'm trying to represent males and females in their late teens and mid twenties, who are maybe middle class/working class who live in towns and cities. And I'd represent all those people who like to watch silly videos on youtube. From personal experience, I find that me and my friend's (who match the description at the top*) like to watch funny videos and have a laugh about them and I think this is the same for a lot of people as millions use youtube everyday to watch these silly videos. So I would like to serve their need for laughter and something fun through this video.

Media Language:
Sound - Because it's a mockumentary the sound will be diegetic as it's mainly interviews where everyone is talking and can hear the sounds around them. However, there is an element of non-diegetic sound as music will be played in the background during the more serious scenes. At one point in the film, the character is talking about his horrible past where he was attacked by violinists and in the background there shall be sad music and I'll do this on garageband. I'll also do the rest of the music on garageband too, so that it's original.

Editing - As the film is in a documentary style, I've had to look at different documentaries and study the editing closely and of course, it's all mainly cuts and there is not a lot of editing done to the footage as it's about real life and so the footage should be raw and real too. Whereas in a more dramatic film, there would be more special effects added to make the story line bigger and better.

Mise-en-scene - The mise-en-scene would be quite realistic as this film is in a documentary style. For instance the props would be everyday furniture and instruments and the costumes would be normal everyday comfortable clothes. The setting would be in an everyday surrounding such as a normal living  room in a house or a music room for the character's band to play in.

Cinematography - The range of shots I'd use would be mainly close ups/medium shots as it's getting quite up close and personal to the character and you can see his facial expression very clearly. Because it's in a documentary style, I probably won't be using the tripod much as in most documentaries hand held cameras are used and they follow the person they're filming moving about their day to day life and thats the effect I want. So some shots may be a little shaky as it's a hand held camera.

Final Film Idea

Look back a few posts ago and my idea about a triangle player fighting for his place in the musical world is the spoofy documentary style idea I've decided to go with.

Name: Unrecognised Musicians

Genre: Comedy/mockumentary

General Ideas: 
It is a documentary style spoof film which follows the life of a man (name undecided) who plays the Triangle and is fighting for his place in the musical world.
He talks about his horrible past where he has been attacked by violinists because he plays the Triangle.
You also see his petition to have Musical Grades in The Triangle. E.g:
Grade 1 = how to hold it properly
Grade 4 = sing the note you play on it
Grade 8 (highest grade) = hit the triangle in a specific spot, with a certain amount of pressure to make the worlds most unrecognised note - f diminished minor (this is a made up note) this not is so rare it can make your ear bleed!!
The main character also introduces the film crew to his band, formed because they and their instruments were unrecognised. Have people playing the spoons, wooden block, and recorder.

I've come up with lots of ideas for this film but I'll have to limit it all to make it all fit into a five minute film. Also, I have to be careful as my ideas are very specific and that might affect my target audience when I come to give them my questionnaire.

Props: 
Recorder
Wooden block
Triangle
Maracas
Spoons
Petition
Fake Blood

Locations: 
House of the man who plays the Triangle
Use the music block in school maybe, where the band meets up for music practice?

Audience Profile

Name: Abbey

Age: 18
Occupation: Student studying A Levels; History, English and Music

Likes: watching comedy films and seeing comedians live on stage. Loves listening to music and seeing bands live too. Likes to play her violin and piano. Watching funny videos on youtube with her friends, when she really should be studying!! She also likes reading biography's and watching documentary's on channel 4.

Dislikes: Discrimination, vegetables and soppy love films.

General: Has a Saturday job in a music store.
               Middle Class
               White, British Female
                Atheist

This is a typical person I would aim my film at. A young student studying at either degree level or A Level who would understand the sense of humour behind my film idea.

Brain Storming Audience Research

Why do we do audience research? 

So we know WHO to aim our films at so we can keep coming back to them for more feedback on our film.

Brain Storm: 

• Do Questionnaires - open/closed questions, polls, ticking boxes. Perhaps less in-depth, but easier to ask a larger number of people.
• Focus Groups - get a group of about 4-5 people and have an in-depth discussion about your film and use probing questions to get more feedback. The only problem with this method is that there is only a small number of people. 
• Think about Audience Profile e.g. This is Amber, she is 18 years old and is studying her A Levels at sixth form...... 

Textual Analysis of The Elevator

Directed By: Greg Glienna

Narrative: This is a comedy themed short film where a man is in a lift and is slowly joined in it with lots of over weight people. He notices the sign saying the lift can’t carry more than 200lbs. So he calculates the weight of all the people in the lift and panics that it might break. He gets off, when he sees a very over weight man approaching the lift and goes into the other one, which to his relief is full of normal sized people. However, it turns out he just got into a lift full of people who all need treatment for swine flu and realises there is a good chance he’s got it too. This is a story where basically, everything goes wrong for this guy!

Enigma Codes: Can the lift keep everyone on it?
Will he end up with swine flu?

Character Establishment: The character is established as an average guy, on his way to an appointment maybe. He is unnamed and is in his mid 20s. He is joined by maybe older characters, who all have one thing in common; their weight.
He then comes across average looking people, who all turn out to have swine flu! By his facial expressions he seems worried about a lot of things, such as the lift breaking due to the weight it’s carrying.

Locations: It’s all set in this one lift and it might be within a large building. The location doesn’t really give away much, just that it might be medical related due to the swine flu treatment bit and the large number of overweight people who may be seeking health advice!

Editing: All mainly cuts with close ups on all the characters, as it’s meant to be a confined space, so long shots aren’t exactly possible. The only long shot is when the character sees a very large man making his way to the already full lift!

Sound: There is no dialogue in this film, just the typical music of the elevator in the background and the coughing from the swine flu victims. This film is mainly done through the facial expressions and acting rather than the sound giving it more meaning.

Titles: very basic titles again, which seems to be common in most of the short films I’ve watch. White colour, plain font on a black background. 

Textual Analysis of Tibs

Director: Sam Huntley

Narrative: 

The film is of a period over 3 days Monday-Wednesday. An elderly lady, who lives on her own treasures her cat and every day it brings her a dead animal; a mouse and a bird. On the third day however, it brings her something unexpected and horrific!
It’s meant to be a horror themed short film as it shows this cat, ‘Tibs’ as a killer cat!

Enigma Codes: 

What did the cat kill and bring to her on Wednesday?
Character Establishment: 

You see an elderly lady, either waking up in the morning or going about her day to day life. You can tell she is lonely as she dotes on her cat, Tibs and congratulates it whenever it brings her a ‘present’. She calls herself the cat’s ‘mummy’ which is why you can tell she is very fond of the cat.

Locations: It’s set in the elderly lady’s house, which has the characteristics of a conventional house for an elderly person living on their own as everything is very basic.

Editing: 

Mainly cuts throughout the film, with a variety of shots types. Close ups on the cat and its owner, the elderly lady. The camera has close ups on what the cat has killed and brought her. There is also a few clips, where she is doting on the cat and she is blurred into the background and the focus is pulled onto the cat. There is also a low angle shot, like it’s from the cats point of view, looking up at the elderly lady.

Sound: 

There is both diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound in this film. The non-diegetic sound is the soft piano music playing in the background. But in this film, it’s mainly diegetic as there is dialogue and the cat is purring a lot. You hear the purr of the cat and nothing else towards the end of the film, to make what the cat did more sinister and horrifying.

Titles: 

The titles are very simple and plain in the opening sequence; it’s just white coloured on a black background. 

Textual Analysis of 3x3

By: Nuno Rocha

Narrative: 

A security guard is playing basketball and seems to be the superior character as he shows off his shooting skills to the less superior cleaner. The security guard then goes back to his office and on the surveillance camera witnesses the cleaner working out the ‘math’ behind the basketball. The audience then sees the cleaner shoot the basketball into the hoop successfully, which shocks  the security guard who laughed at the cleaner’s stupidity.  

Enigma Codes:

 How is the cleaner so smart?
At the end of the film, is the cleaner inviting the security guard to play?

Character Establishment: 

The security guard is established as the superior character as he perhaps has a better job than the cleaner and is good at basketball. The cleaner looks less superior in his uniform and when he plays badly at basketball, which makes the security guard laugh. It’s like a bully  laughing at his victim scenario.
In the end, the cleaner becomes the superior character as he shows up the security guard with his knowledge and being able to play basketball better, so the roles are reversed.

Locations: 

Mainly set in the basketball court and in the security guard’s office, where all the cctv is. You get the feeling the whole place in general is set in a sports centre.

Editing: 

There are mainly cuts, but also slow pans throughout the short film. Most of the film is watched through the CCTV cameras and so some of it is in black and white coming from a tv screen.

Sound: 

there is no dialogue in this film, it is along the theme of non-diegetic sound. There is background music, which the characters can’t here. The music goes along a ‘comedy’ route as this short film is of the comic genre as the cleaner shows up the security guard. The music is fun and quirky and slightly upbeat.

Titles: 

The font is a normal white colour and is very plain and basic. It is shown on top of the video, instead of on a coloured background for instance. At the end it changes though and the credits role like they do in full length films and the titles are against a black background. 

Textual Analysis of The Black Hole

Director: Diamond Dogs
Production House: HSI London

Narrative: 

A sequence that follows a bored office worker, who discovers a black hole which is like a portal. He uses this for personal gain and uses it to get a chocolate bar and to steal money. However, karma catches up with him and when he goes into the black hole, the paper falls off the safe and falls face down on the floor so he cannot get back out.

Enigma Codes:

How did this Black Hole come about?
What is he going to do with this new discovery?
Will he ever get out of the black hole at the end of the film?

Character Establishment: 

The character is introduced as a bored office worker. He is male and perhaps late 20s/early 30s, who wants more out of life. Because he is portrayed as a bored office worker, this is the reason he uses the black hole for personal gain and you see a much greedier side to him. He is wearing smart office wear, as he is in an office environment. It looks like it’s the end of the day though as his tie is loosened slightly and his sleeves are rolled up and he looks less presentable.

Locations: 

The film is set in an office environment and normal office props are used, such as the copying machine and even the safe.

Editing: 

Cuts are mostly used for the editing and a variety of shot types are used too. There are mainly close ups, so that the audience can see how the characters facial expressions/emotions change throughout the film. At the end, there is a slow pan outwards, to show that the man is trapped in this black hole.

Sound: 

The characters doesn’t actually speak throughout the whole film, but there are sound effects for all the office props, such as the noise the copying machine makes. And there is a very quirky, distorted sound, every time the character puts his hand through the black hole, to show that this object is unnatural and strange.

Titles: 

The titles at the beginning are very basic. White font on a black background but then that fades and the title is in the same shot as the office background. 

IDEAS

After watching a spoof documentary about the cruelty to trollies, It's really made me eager to come up with original ideas for a spoofy documentary style short film, however coming up with ideas has been quite difficult.

I have come up with a few so far. One is about a 'triangle' or 'xylophone' player, fighting to get their place in the musical world and have their instruments taken seriously. 

Having thought about my target audience, I'd definitely aim it at teenagers between the ages of 13-18. As a teenager myself, me and my friends watch silly videos on youtube most of the time while we hang out, which is why I think a short film that is a spoofy style would appeal more to my target audience.


The film, 'Baby's Day Out' has give me another idea. In 'Baby's Day Out' most of the film is from the perspective of the baby. I was thinking I could do that with my short film but from the perspective of a house pet, like a cat or a dog. The pet could go on an adventure and we see it from it's perspective.