Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Monday, 7 May 2012
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary text?
The combination of the three products we have created are very closely connected with each other and reflective of our film.
The poster (ancillary text) was made in Photoshop using still images captured from scenes of the film in Final Cut.The poster is very simplistic and shows two significant pictures - an image of one of the main characters (Brad) expressing distress through his position and an image of the rioters in our film. These pictures in our film are significant as the storyline revolves around these two different groups of people - the working class poverty-stricken people, and the lower middle class, wealthier person. If our film was to actually be produced and showcased on the big screens this is the poster we would use to visually communicate our film to the audience.
The colours we use in our poster are very important. For instance, the font 'Ariel Black' which we made bold, is significant because we want the font to reflect the harsh reality of society today, when you look at the poster the font is very direct, there is no bright colours or designed fonts, making it clear that there is a problem which we can't ignore.
The title of our film is written in capitals with an ellipses at the end. The reason behind the capital letters was to again enforce that idea that in society there will always be the problem of two differing groups. The ellipses is a very important element in the title because it reflects the political ideology behind our film - the idea of a split society between the richer and poorer people but most importantly it resembles the fact that the split/problem will never be resolved, there is and never will be a resolution to this.
We also illustrate our political ideology as in the ending of our film we do not have a state of equilibrium/resolution. In addition, we created a split screen scene of the rioters lighting the fire and the main character(Brad) calling the police.
On the bottom right hand corner is our tagline, we wanted to keep this particular area very simple and with just the BBFC rating in the corner. The writing is not enlarged, it is relatively small and each word starts with a capital letter. This was to mirror the isolation of Brad.
We decided to use a split on the poster because we want to emphasise our ideology and hint to the audience what our film is about. Again it reinstates the idea of a split society and in some sense, suggests a theory behind the actual riots to the audience, even though it started out as a protest concerning the death of Mark Duggan, it later escalated with many motives behind it, one of which is portrayed in our film.
Typically, at the bottom of the poster we have the release date and the phrase 'coming soon'. These elements are vital in a film poster as not only all film posters include this, it also creates a strong link to the film and gets the audience excited about it.
What really makes our poster effective is the two pictures on each corner. One is of the main character Brad, with his hands on his head looking down (a typical expression of pain, worry or grief), the lighting is dim and his shadow is visible.This would appear intriguing to an audience as they would question why he is in this state. Furthermore, some or many will be able to engage with it because when the riots happened very many people were affected in terrible ways.The other picture is of the rioters speaking about what they plan to do next (after the incident of setting Brad's house on fire), the colours in the picture are very dark with just a light sky above creating a silhouette of the rioters, they are shot from a low angle. All these elements are deliberately done to make the rioters appear very intimidating and in some sense, powerful as in the actual riots they were exactly this. Also, the pictures depict the main characters which we want to hint to the audience.
For the radio trailer we used Audacity. We imported audio clips from the film of the rioters laughing and arguing with sirens in the background and of Brad screaming Emily's name. We also imported poignant music from 'Royalty Free Sounds'. Our trailer is very effective in promoting our film. We used a male speaker who had a very dramatic voice thus, when the audience first hear his voice they will immediately be able to recognise that it's a drama film. The speaker uses emotive language such as 'they took away his soul' and speaks at a pace where it is not too fast or not too slow. The phrase is metaphorical, by 'soul' we mean the Brad's daughter (Emily), and we tell the audience this as straight after we hear Brad screaming Emily's name. We did this because we want to let the audience know that Brad's daughter is in effect, his soul as he has no one else. In the actual riots there were family losses, for instance the father's who lost each of their sons in Birmingham. We use the phrase to make an impact on the audience so they can really feel what the riots did to those who lost loved ones. Also it reinforces the idea that our film is a drama film as drama film trailers include emotive language.
We also use the chaotic sound of police and ambulance sirens after the phrase 'anarchy invaded' to resemble the commotion in the actual riots.We also have the speaker say 'Join us on June 15th when we'll retell his story', this is said at a slow but dramatic pace and reels in the audience, getting them excited about watching this film.
Overall, creating the poster and radio trailer for our film was very effective because it allows two different ways in which the film could be heard about, so it would reach out to a wider audience. Also the elements in each product link with each other in terms of emphasising our idea behind the film. The three products together are very strong in making our film successful.
The poster (ancillary text) was made in Photoshop using still images captured from scenes of the film in Final Cut.The poster is very simplistic and shows two significant pictures - an image of one of the main characters (Brad) expressing distress through his position and an image of the rioters in our film. These pictures in our film are significant as the storyline revolves around these two different groups of people - the working class poverty-stricken people, and the lower middle class, wealthier person. If our film was to actually be produced and showcased on the big screens this is the poster we would use to visually communicate our film to the audience.
The colours we use in our poster are very important. For instance, the font 'Ariel Black' which we made bold, is significant because we want the font to reflect the harsh reality of society today, when you look at the poster the font is very direct, there is no bright colours or designed fonts, making it clear that there is a problem which we can't ignore.
The title of our film is written in capitals with an ellipses at the end. The reason behind the capital letters was to again enforce that idea that in society there will always be the problem of two differing groups. The ellipses is a very important element in the title because it reflects the political ideology behind our film - the idea of a split society between the richer and poorer people but most importantly it resembles the fact that the split/problem will never be resolved, there is and never will be a resolution to this.We also illustrate our political ideology as in the ending of our film we do not have a state of equilibrium/resolution. In addition, we created a split screen scene of the rioters lighting the fire and the main character(Brad) calling the police.
On the bottom right hand corner is our tagline, we wanted to keep this particular area very simple and with just the BBFC rating in the corner. The writing is not enlarged, it is relatively small and each word starts with a capital letter. This was to mirror the isolation of Brad.
We decided to use a split on the poster because we want to emphasise our ideology and hint to the audience what our film is about. Again it reinstates the idea of a split society and in some sense, suggests a theory behind the actual riots to the audience, even though it started out as a protest concerning the death of Mark Duggan, it later escalated with many motives behind it, one of which is portrayed in our film.
Typically, at the bottom of the poster we have the release date and the phrase 'coming soon'. These elements are vital in a film poster as not only all film posters include this, it also creates a strong link to the film and gets the audience excited about it.
For the radio trailer we used Audacity. We imported audio clips from the film of the rioters laughing and arguing with sirens in the background and of Brad screaming Emily's name. We also imported poignant music from 'Royalty Free Sounds'. Our trailer is very effective in promoting our film. We used a male speaker who had a very dramatic voice thus, when the audience first hear his voice they will immediately be able to recognise that it's a drama film. The speaker uses emotive language such as 'they took away his soul' and speaks at a pace where it is not too fast or not too slow. The phrase is metaphorical, by 'soul' we mean the Brad's daughter (Emily), and we tell the audience this as straight after we hear Brad screaming Emily's name. We did this because we want to let the audience know that Brad's daughter is in effect, his soul as he has no one else. In the actual riots there were family losses, for instance the father's who lost each of their sons in Birmingham. We use the phrase to make an impact on the audience so they can really feel what the riots did to those who lost loved ones. Also it reinforces the idea that our film is a drama film as drama film trailers include emotive language.
We also use the chaotic sound of police and ambulance sirens after the phrase 'anarchy invaded' to resemble the commotion in the actual riots.We also have the speaker say 'Join us on June 15th when we'll retell his story', this is said at a slow but dramatic pace and reels in the audience, getting them excited about watching this film.
Overall, creating the poster and radio trailer for our film was very effective because it allows two different ways in which the film could be heard about, so it would reach out to a wider audience. Also the elements in each product link with each other in terms of emphasising our idea behind the film. The three products together are very strong in making our film successful.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
During the beginning of our research stage, we used Survey monkey to learn about our audience viewing preferences for drama films. Most participants of the questionnaire indicated that they like drama films to follow the conventions and not subvert any traditional drama elements. 'During the Riots' mostly follows the conventions as our audience wanted twists, intense emotions and arguments. Our film is based on conflict and binary opposition. This is especially depicted between the split groups in society – the youth (demographic group E - unemployed, psycho-graphic - Aspirer's and definitely strugglers) and adults/the rich and the poor, including internal conflict and distress within the main character.
However, what the audience least wanted to view was death, and our media product includes the death of Emily (Brad's daughter). This is to exemplify the seriousness of the situation and depict a realistic version of the actual riots where there were a number of deaths and injuries for instance, the three fathers who lost each of their sons in the Birmingham riots. One of the answers in our survey was that people wanted to watch 'thought provoking issues about real life human issues', therefore we decided to build a story regarding a issue faced in real life that caused anarchy all over Britain.
Regarding the opening of our film, our audience wanted the tension to gradually build or begin with flashbacks. We have certainly achieved this as 'During the Riots' begins with a pre-title sequence, which includes a montage of discontinuity showing flashbacks of different shots of Brad in distressed positions and a television shot of David Cameron speaking. We wanted to create an atmosphere of tragedy, isolation and frustration which we wanted the audience to feel. The ambiguity of this montage reeled in the audience as they would question, what is happeneing or why he is in that particular state. After watching the completed film our audience reported that they would like to view more violence and display more of the rowdiness of the rioters. However, this was impossible due to the content they required, we simply would not have been able to carry out such activities. But more importantly, we didn't want to portray the violence of the riots in our film, we wanted to focus more on our political message (two opposing groups in society). In many films, the political message becomes lost in the violence and gore, and we ensured our message was clear throughout the film, expressing it also through the conversation between Brad and the rioters.
Regarding what our audience wanted, they wished to see more scenes of the rioters and Brad arguing, if we were to film again then we would definitely take this on board by creating more deep emotive speech for the actors to say. Also, if we did have a second chance, then we would make sure the scenes filmed in the kitchen and living room with Brad and Emily is different. This is because when our audience watched it, they pointed out that the camera work was unsteady and the speech could not be heard properly, it was unclear. This is a very important issue as it could possibly affect the audience's viewing of the film, so if we were to film again we would ensure the camera is steady and the voice's are spoken loudly.
Overall, our audience, despite some problems they did enjoy the film, what was common amongst the people who watched our film was that it was very unique in terms of the storyline.
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