Poster Deconstructions;

I have followed the same idea as the magazine covers for my deconstructions of the posters. Doing these deconstructions has helped me to understand what should and should not be included in a poster for a new film and all the features we will need to include when designing our own poster. I noticed that in a film poster, the main feature or the main character on it, is taken from the film itself rather then like the magazine cover, which shows the actress instead, which means we should gather some images of our character or even the main setting for the poster, showing what the film will involve - advertising it that way for cinemas, rather then advertising by showing who is starring in the film like in a magazine cover.

Magazine Cover Deconstructions;

We decided to use Black Swan, Insidious and Shutter Island as example of existing magazine covers to match the deconstructions of the film trailers we did. However, we could not find any good examples of  a magazine cover for Crazy Stupid Love, so decided to use one for 'Hangover 2' which is also a comedy, so that the genre was similar to talk about. It helped me to gather ideas about how to create a magazine cover and what to include when it comes to designing our own. This was a useful task in creating a basic idea of how we should lay out the magazine cover and showed that for the main image of the magazine (which will be Sophie) should be the main attraction and based in the centre, also she should be dressed as though she is the actress (glamorous) rather then the character from our film. We do have to keep in mind that our magazine design will be based upon a magazine which is produced purely for films rather then a mixed topic magazine, but when choosing covers to deconstruct, it was difficult to find any magazine covers which did mainly focus on films - having a more niche market.

 

Costume, make-up and props

To begin with we gathered together all of our props. This gave us the chance to base our filming around the most vital props, such as; the doll and the cot. We had to try our best with the limited amount of professional make up and costumes we had and improvise to create effective characters and setting through out our filming. We had to over come some difficulties during the process, but did find that our experiences from last year helped us considerably, having giving us more skills and expectations on some of the problems which may occur.

We had to use a range of props and costumes during the filming process of our project:

• Baby Doll
• Detective outfit - big black coat,top hat and a car
• A moses basket - washing basket with baby blankets
• A white dressing gown
• A nurse outfit - blue shirt, white hat
• White stool
• A lamp
• whit sheets - for hospital bed and new born baby

Here is the doll which we used as the baby in our A2 project. We chose to use this one as it was the most realistic looking doll we could find, as it is a serious, thriller we needed to make it realistic to fit the genre and make it much more effective. In this picture you can see how we have prepared the baby for the scene of the hospital, when our main character has just given birth, to do this we wrapped it in white cloths, to make it realistic to real hospitals. This could also symbolise the purity and innocence of the baby.                                                                   

Here we can see the beginning process of the make up of the main character. This was also for the hospital scene, our aim to be that she looks like she has just given birth to her new born baby. This occurs towards the beginning of the trailer. We used bright blusher to make her look hot/blushed, smudged her eye make-up and put gel in her hair to make it seem as though she had been sweating, we hoped to create a more authentic scene.

Here is the finished result of the props, costume and make up of the hospital/new born baby scene. We thought that it worked well and that we made a successful effort when transforming our actress into a mother with her new born baby in hospital. We used white sheets and robes to show the purity/innocence but also to show how a real hospital is, hospitals tend to be white so that they can see that it is clean, which is necessary within a hospital.        

We had to compromise to make a cot for the baby for the scene where the baby has died and for the dream sequence's. We got a washing basket and used baby blankets and cushions so that it looked more like a moses' basket. We thought that this was successful and works effectively as a moses' basket. We then put this on a stool so that we could get the shots we wanted.

Here we can see the bed we used to film the hospital scene and the dream sequence. To begin with the bed was covered in decorations, this would fit in with the dream sequence as then it would look like the main characters bed room. However, this would not be fit for purpose for the hospital scene, so we covered the whole bed in white sheets, this can represent purity/innocence as well as convey the look of the hospital.     

                                                            

Here we can see the complete costume we created for the detective in our trailer, and the car we managed to use as a successful prop. We used all black, men's clothing on our group member/actress Sarah to make her look more like a man, this could be part of the media representations, as most people will expect to see a man detective in a serious scene then a woman, showing the attitudes and values of existing media and how our trailer/film follows this pursuit. We thought that it looked effective, but maybe if we were to change anything, we would have a male actor to play this role, but there is a time limit which we have to work to in this project. The car was a good prop to use, it made it feel more professional to the eye and gave us a chance to experiment with angles and camera movement in order to achieve a good shot.

 

Here is our final result of our mother; Helena. This is for the scene of her return home after having her new born baby, and walks through the front door into her house (Sarah's house). I believe that we did successfully produce an effective - believable scene where she looks as though she is the baby's mother and the baby does look quite real in this scene, which is a key aim for this project. We dressed her in 'normal' and 'average' clothes to show that she is comfortable and the situation at this moment in the story everything is 'normal' with her.

Here we can see our main character once again, but this time, she is being prepared for out last scene where she has developed her mental illness and is now meant to be frightening and more threatening then before. We dressed her in white to contrast with her evil double personality and with her purity, but also to represent what she would have to be wearing at a psychiatric ward. We smudged make-up onto her shirt and on her face, so that she looked dirty and bruised, creating the right atmosphere for this scene. Made her hair messy also, demonstrating the madness.

Location;

For our film trailer we need a range of different locations for the different scenes we are capturing for the film to put in our trailer, meaning we will need to think about how we will get the best setting and location for each scene, we started by thinking about our options and how we can make it fit in to the scene we want. we have initially decided that the following places would be suitable:

• Helena's bedroom; The Vicarage (Sarah's house)
• Psychiatric ward; School (Sir Harry Smith Community College)
• Local graveyard (Cemetery road)

These are all local places and are easy to access, making it convenient for us to travel to. We thought that Sarah's bedroom would be the best option to film the hospital bed as her room is white, the same as a hospital, making it seem more realistic. The white of a hospital can relate to the innocence to the new born baby, and the purity, setting a positive image in the audience's mind. 

We thought that the school would be an ideal place to shoot the scene of the psychiatric ward door slamming shut as the doors are big and thick, giving the seen a more 'heavy' affect and creating more tension and making the scene a more dramatic one. They also will resemble a door within a psychiatric ward better then any household door. 

We plan to film the graveyard scene in our local graveyard, this will have a more emotional effect on the audience and will be better as it is a real graveyard, rather then us making use of the resources we have, as it would not look as authentic.

 

Camera angles, Shots and Movement;

This is a very important aspect of our trailer and takes much thought and preparation before filming, so that the angles, shots and movements of the camera create the effect we want from each scene and are used in the right place at the right time. 

We decided on the following options:

 

• Birds eye view 
• Close-up shot
• Mid-shot                                           
• Match on action
• Over the shoulder shot
• Tilt
• Panning
• Low mid-shot

Birds eye view;

The birds eye shot is taken from above the central object/person and is directly overhead, it is a strange angle to use, as at first, you may not be able to see what the object is, until the camera moves lower towards it or the camera angle changes. We are going to use this shot at the beginning of our trailer, when Helena is kneeling next to the grave of her recently deceased husband. This view can sometimes put the audience in a powerful position and can give a sense that God is looking down on what is happening (making the audience be in Gods position). This links with the scene as they are in a graveyard, maybe even suggests her husband is looking down on her.

Close-up shot and extreme close-up;

A close-up shot is a very intimate shot as it focuses on one person or object, it does not show much background, and represents the importance of the person/object. It can express feeling and emotion through expressions. We plan to use this when Helena is happy with her baby, to show her emotion at this point as pleased and excited. then we will use it again when she is sleeping, to show the audience that she is not awake, as it then leads into the dream sequence. An extreme close-up is a simply a extreme form of the close-up and is zoomed in even further. This shot is normally used in a dramatic scene, often showing eyes to show expression, we are going to use this shot at the end of our trailer to show Helena's eyes, as she is at her worst, before she gets locked into the psychiatric ward, showing a dramatic part of the film and showing her distress.

Mid-shot and low mid-shot;

A mid-shot is usually taken from the waist up of a person in the shot, and shows more background then a close-up, This can be used to show more of an action rather then just focusing on a persons expression. A mid shot can involve a two-shot and a three-shot, depending on the amount of people within the shot (two-shot meaning there are two people in the shot, three-shot being three people within the shot). We are planning to use this shot when we have just seen a close-up of Helena in the hospital with her baby, it will fade into a mid-shot, showing more of her surroundings, so we gather a picture of where she is. We also plan to use this show when we see a figure next to the cot in the dream sequence. A low mid-shot means that the mid shot will be taken from a low angle, looking up at the focus of the shot, this can be used to represent power, making the audience feel lower then the person the camera angle is looking up towards, which is why we are choosing to use this show to show the police man get out of his police car, as they have authority in society, and so we can see him clearly getting out of the car. 


Over the Shoulder shot;
This is a very common shot when two characters are having a conversation. This shot is taken from behind a person and literally looks over their shoulder, focusing on the other subject/person. We are planning on using this shot in our trailer when Helena is looking into the cot at her baby, the camera will look over her shoulder into the cot. This gives the audience a different perspective of the scene, creating a mysterious effect as we can not see Helena's facial emotions or expressions.


Match-On-Action;
This is an editing technique used for continuity editing, It means that one shot cuts to another shot showing the action taking place. It gives a flowing feel as the action is carried through. It brings the attention from an overall image to the action taking place. We plan to use this twice during our film trailer, the first time being when we see Helena walking into her house, and the 'action' part will be her opening the front door, this makes the scene more interesting for the audience. The second time we will use match-on-action is when the police man gets out of the police car, for the same reasons as the previous scene.


Tilt and Panning;
A tilt angle is a camera movement taken vertically, whereas, a panning movement shows a shot horizontally. To get a successful panning movement, the camera is placed on a tripod, which theoretically is used as a stable axis point as the camera moves or follows the moving object. A tilt is exactly the same, apart from it being placed vertically rather then horizontally. We plan to use the tilt movement, for when Helena is asleep, and the camera tilts up the wall and fades into the dream sequence. This will give a flowing effect to the scene, creating a smooth transition from one part to the other. 

Invitation for Audition;

We needed to ask people to act in our trailer, as we thought that it would be more effective to have people who have done Drama, rather then someone from our group. We thought that by constructing an invitation, it would be more polite and professional; adding a personal touch rather then just asking them to come. We gave this to a selection of people within our year, giving them the option to turn up for an audition or not.

We decided to hold them in the drama department in our school as we knew it was an ideal and easy place for the people we asked to get to. This means that they are more likely to arrive compared to it being somewhere which may be out of the way for them to get to or inconvenient.

We gave them all an individual script for the trailer but also a copy of the plot so that they could get into character before hand and get a rough picture of what the film will consist of. We thought this an appropriate move in order for them to clearly understand what we want from them, so there is no confusion, making them feel more comfortable about coming along.

Age Classification

The age rating of a film is a very important aspect to consider, and needs a lot of thought in order to get it right. People can be strongly offended from the contents in a film or television programme, so the age classification must be correct in order to prevent any complaints or offend anyone.

'U'

This means universal and that the film is suitable for all ages above four. Although it is impossible to predict what will upset particular children, a 'U' film is supposed to have a positive outlook and not contain any violence, horror, drugs, imitable behaviour, bad language, nudity or sex. This is so that it can be shown to any age group above four without any threat of upsetting the audience. As our film is a thriller, which is not suitable for young children, due to it's psychological aspect and violent/upsetting nature of the death of the baby. 

PG'

This means that there must be a parental guidance with any children who are watching the film. It gives the parents an option for themselves to decide if the content of a 'PG' film is suitable for their children or not. If there is any drug use within a 'PG' it must, usually, hold a strong anti-drug message. Any horror aspects should not be long within the film and not to a very strong content. There must only be very mill bad language within a 'PG' film in order for it to be suitable. There may be some 'natural nudity' but it must not have any sexual context. If violence occurs, it must not be too detailed and must be moderate. A 'PG' rating is also not suitable for our film, as the horror and violent aspect, once again, will not fit the standards or be suitable. 

 

12/12A

This mean that the film is suitable for those 12 years and over. The content within may be upsetting for those under the age of 12, and many parents may agree with this, so therefore justifying this rating. In some circumstances however, parents may decide, that for their children, a 12 film may be suitable even if they are under 12, giving the parent a choice to show the film to their children or not in their company, although they will not be able to purchase or rent a 12A/12 if they are under 12 years of age.If there is any use of drugs, it must not occur often or be glamorised in any way. There may be some mild horror aspects, but not too frequent or disturbing. Any imitable behaviour such as suicide or self-harming, must not be in too much detail or appear harm free. Nudity is allowed, but the sexual context must be brief. Some, moderate language is permitted. violence is also permitted but should not contain too much detail. We have also decided that the thriller genre is not suitable for this age rating, and needs to be a higher rating. Some parts of our film could be considered as disturbing.

'15'

This age rating is for 15 year olds and over only, and anyone under 15 is not allowed to watch a 15 rated film.  Drug use is allowed to appear in the film, but must not promote the use of drugs in anyway. A high amount of horror can be used, but should not be sadistic or sexulised. Imitable behaviour is also allowed but must not dwell or hold too much detail.The use of strong language can be used. Nudity and sexual context is allowed, but can't be in too much detail. violence can be strong and can be used, but should not dwell on pain or infliction. We have decided that this will be the age rating we will use for our film. We feel as though it meets the needs of our content, and will be suitable for those 15 and over. Although it does have some disturbing features, it is not quite to the extent of an 18 rated film. 

'18'

This suitable for those over the age of 18 only. No one under 18 can watch, rent or see at the cinema a 18 rated film. The BBFC's public consultations and the Human Rights Act 1998, at '18' the BBFC's guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Exceptions are most likely in the following:

• Where the material is in breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence.
• Where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context.
• Where the material appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or to society.

An 18 rated film can contain reasonable amount of horror and gore, violence, sexual context, drug use and imitable behaviour (as long as it is presented in the right way). We decided that our film didn't quite fit into the 18 age rating as it is not that explicit and can be shown to the ages between 15 and 18.