MEST2 Print brief

Research

1. The BFI film festival front cover has a few key conventions on it. The first key convention on the front cover is title of publication, the title of publication on the front cover is 'BFI London Film Festival'. There is no slogan or central image in this specific front cover. This differs from magazine covers as it promotes films that are going to be shown in the cinema, the front cover doesn't need to have prizes or tournaments that a usual magazine cover has. 

2.

 
One thing that stands out from this front cover is the colour scheme that has been used. It is vibrant which will be more likely to attract a larger audience. The smoke around the text itself makes the whole cover stand out.



The one key feature that appeals to me is the central image that has been chosen for this front cover, it covers majority of the page and is effective in the way it promotes BFI. It doesn't have a picture of a main character but something which is similar to a mannequin.



The central image and the black and white colour scheme both compliment each other well and is something that could be done with my front cover as it is to do with a noir film. 



The key thing that stands out with this is the multiple images to make the front cover, this is useful as it tells us the content about the leaflet itself and what other things could be included in it.


The use of no central image is effective as it just shows the name of the art house cinema. This is effective as the audience are able to identify what cinema this is once engaged with the front cover itself.

3.


This context page shows each page with a picture so the audience know what they're looking at and can also use the use of a photo to help them. This helps it stand out from others as other context pages only have the page number.

The use of the plain black on white text is also very effective as it is simple and still works well. The use of the colour scheme and the lay out itself of the leaflet makes it easier for the audience to pick what page they want to go on.


The double page layout and the headlines for each film makes it easier for the audience to find the specific film that they want and the use of the only image being smoke is also effective; it gives the leaflet a more professional look.


The yellow heading and no central image makes the leaflet more professional the audience can find what they want to read quicker and also has it in chronological order which is beneficial. The context page is also going portrait rather than landscape in this case.

Photoshoot

1. The main character that will be on the cover of my front cover for the programme will be Warren Russ who's the main character of the film, he is the undercover detective who infiltrates the gang.

2. The images that will be required for this will be a shot of the main character dressed up as a police officer(formal suit) but also as a member of the gang he has to join. This will highlight both identities of the police officer and gang member.

3. Long shot of the protagonist

    Medium shot of the protagonist 

    Close up of the protagonists face 

    Extreme close up of protagonists eyes

    Close up of hand with a weapon being held

    Worms eye shot of the protagonist 

4. The costumes that will be required will be a suit and clothing worn by gang members such as a hoodie and jogging bottoms which are black. The prop that may be used could be a weapon that the protagonist will hold.

5. We'll make sure everything is prepared as the shot list and costumes will be ready. This way the photoshoot will be able to take place as the protagonist has his clothes and the prop will be ready. Additional research and planning will be done.

Audience research focus group

Our focus group was talking about our three minute video and what the whole story would include. We discussed the title, tagine, actors, setting, props, costumes, target audience, narrative ect. We discussed all the key elements of the film and who it would promote. This was done to enable us to get feedback from our peers to help strengthen and improve our narrative and idea itself.

Key quotes:

"The ideas are very strong and the narrative is very strong...they can still get the initial idea across to the audience"

"The three minute clip seems a bit too action packed, like lots of things are happening at the same time"

"you need to build into the idea that this is a young gang, and therefore the police need a young police officer to infiltrate the gang who area similar age to the gangster"

"Simplify the storyline a little bit, so that it is easier to tell"

"if you got people who look sixteen or seventeen who are trying to play senior police officers, you run the risk of creating something that's accidentally funny which is just going to kill your noire feel"

What have you learned:

We've learned that we need to make sure that everything with the script and shot list is done properly to avoid any confusion during the production of the film. The film also needs to include the correct actors as the film is to do with a modern day gang and a police officer so having actors that are young would mean that this wouldn’t fit the genre properly. We will find actors of a decent age who fit this role properly so that it has a more realistic feel to the clip itself and have the actor to be outside of school rather than having friends in the school so it doesn't come across as being funny. The storyline that was originally created seemed a bit too packed of things, too many things were happening and it would make it hard for the audience to understand what is happening and would ruin the scene by overcomplicating it. As a result of this, we are going to remove certain things from the scene itself and keep only what is required to maximise the effect of what will happen to the audience. The storyline that we do have is strong and will work if all the planning goes well so we need to stick to our original idea and try not to make too many changes which will alter the scene itself and give it a completely different feel that it was meant to have in the first place.

Target audience:

The target audience will be spilt more favourable for males as the genre of the film is modern noire it will interest more males than females due to the criminal nature and violence that these types of films have. The spilt will be 75:25 male to female. The audience will be around the ages of 15-55 and will be working class and middle class to try and promote art house films to a wider range of audiences rather than white middle class older people. We want to promote a younger audience and an audience of a lower social status as well. The audience will be a mix of all ethnicities and will have most jobs in society such as white collar and blue collar jobs to widen the gap of art house target audience. Although the main social class of the audience would be working class as our aim is to open up the standard target audience of art house films who are mainly white middle classed people so we can widen the gap.

Mise-en-scene

Costume - The costumes that the characters will be wearing are suits if they are part of the police or any members of authority. If part of the gang then clothing that is more suited towards a younger generation such as jeans, hoodie, snapback, jogging bottoms.

Lighting – The lighting that is going to be used will be low key during the scene where the police officers are talking to make the situation more discrete and intense rather than showing their full identity. For the member of the gang it would be high key to show who they are, what they do and to identify who is the main character of the gang.

Actors – The actors are going to be of a young age around their early 20s as the film is to do with a gang and having police officers an older actor would be required for this scene.

Props – One of the props that will be used is a fake gun which the gang member will hold to show he’s part of the gang and also to highlight the power he has as being one of the main characters but also one of the main members of the gang if not the main member.

Setting – The setting between the police officers talking will be taken place in an office to make it more formal as it is a case which is being handed over to one of the officers. The other scene which has the gang member getting ready will be in someone’s house to show their daily routine where they live.

Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run has one main narrative which is to save her husband who has been kidnapped. She receives a call from her husband saying he’s in danger and that he needs her to come and rescue him from the situation that they’ve been placed in. The film has three different outcomes depending on the decisions that have been made. The first outcome is Lola trying to rescue her boyfriend but then her husband is the one who dies. The second outcome is Lola going to rescue her husband but then she goes and dies and the final outcome of the film is Lola going to rescue her husband and they both survive. The editing of the film was mainly cuts and the film was at a steady pace until an action scene which occurred building up a lot of tension therefore increasing the speed of the editing to create more of an impact. There is also a non-diegetic noise of a clock in the background for the audience to hear so they know the countdown to the next outcome of the film. This is also done to build up tension through the film for the audience so that they are more frightened by what could happen next to Lola. The lighting in the film was mainly high key as the film was mainly shot in bright areas. The camera angles that were seen the most through the film were mainly medium shots of the characters. The camera mainly focused on Lola throughout the whole film as she was the main protagonist. 

BBFC

The BBFC is there to set age restrictions on films based on guidelines created restricting those of a certain age from viewing the film. The BBFC get their funding from the distributors that pay them to review the film. It's linked with the government through their financial affairs.

The examiners would view the content, they do this on their own(solo viewing). From this they then identify the story line of the film, bad language sex and drugs references and key moments.

The issue classifying a film is depending on the content that the film contains itself and how the audience may react upon it.

The dark knight was seen to be a 15 film due to the nature of the film which was the violent scenes that were displayed and the language that was being used in the film. It was seen inappropriate for those of an age below 15.

The guidelines for a 15 film are strong language allowed and sexual references in context to the narrative, however repeated and frequent use of unnecessary language isn't allowed, some blood and gore.

Adulthood was given a 15 rating film was because it has some sexual references, strong language, some blood and gore which is part of the restrictions. The film didn't contain too much blood or gore and it linked back to the story when displayed for the audience. The language used was frequent but wasn't too strong.

Evaluation LR

WWW: A reasonably solid evaluation that reflects on some strengths and weaknesses accurately. You have used media terminology well in places – if you can make this consistent across all your work then you will move towards the higher grades.

EBI: This feels rushed. Written English (sentence structure, paragraphing) is mixed and you don’t follow the suggested structure – outlining the brief at the beginning of the evaluation. Considering the main criticism is that your production didn't meet the brief to miss it again is poor. In general, there’s just not enough depth and detail to your analysis for the higher grades. You do consider the impact on the audience in places which is a positive but I’d like much more detailed and specific discussion of certain shots, transitions etc. The reflection on the lack of effective planning is important and this is something you definitely need to address for the real coursework.

LR: Structuring the evaluation better.

       Talk more about the strengths and weaknesses rather than the weakness.

       Focus on specific things (camera shots, sound etc.).

       More depth and analysis.

Arthouse film institution research

Production: Independent film studios
1.The BBFC distributed Donnie Darko 
   
The Falling was distributed by Meterdome UK, it was first shown in the BFI and               

grossed £359,082. The budget of The falling was around $750,000, the film wasn't as successful as planned and was rather disappointing in the end.

   
Monsters was distributed by Vertigo films, it was first shown to the audience at South by Southwest Film Festival and made $4.2 million. The budget of this film was less than $500,000 highlighting the success the film has had. It made more than expected meaning the film was a success. 
  

 It Follows was distributed by RADiUS, the first screening of the film was at the Cannes Film

Festival and the film made $10.3 million. The budget of the film was originally $2 million.

    
     
 Distribution: Independent film distributors:

1.10 steps

Scene 1 
Usually aim to share experience. 

Scene 2
Distributors try and target the largest audience the film will be successful to.

Scene 3
They identify the audience

Why would the audience go and see the film
Estimate how successful the film would be
Persuade exhibitors to play the film
Plan and partnership in order to build awareness and interest
Create as much possible interest

Scene 4
Many territories, the UL and the Hollywood studios and many other independent distributors handle what is created outside major studios

Scene 5
They sell international rights to major international distributors
They use sales agents to sell the concept, script
Distributors think about the target audience and who might be interested in the movie

Getting money for the film itself is next
Distributors usually become partners and therefore split the costs

Scene 6
Making a Distribution Deal
Distributors usually want all available rights in order to spread risk and opportunity across various platforms.

Scene 7
A plan is prepared for the release of the film

Scene 8
They need to make the best possible decisions. 
What type of film is it, when shiuld it be released, where should it go, hows it going to be released.

Scene 9
Film art-websites, quote posters etc. 
Trailers-most effective marketing technique
Digital Marketing-online adverts
Online hype created to promote the movie
Awards, festivals, premiers may take place
'Search engine optimisation (SEO)' and editorial coverage and social networks helps to do this. 
Research and tracking is important for distributors to identify entertaining features of the film  

Scene 10
They have to think of cinema screeners that reach their targeted audience and leave the best impact. Print management and one shot.

BOX OFFICE RETURNS
Eg. gross receipt however the distributors usually earn less than these figures. 
THE HOLD-OVER CHALLENGE
New releases
Previews planned

2. It follows made $14,673,301, Icon Film Distribution

   Donnie Drako made $727,883, Flower films

   The falling made £359,082, This film was released theatrically

   Monsters made $237,301

3. Curzon Artificial Eye is one of the UK’s leading independent film distributors who release critically acclaimed films to UK audiences. They are quite successful and have released more Cannes Palme d’Or winners than any other UK distributor.

4. I've learnt that Arthouse films can be in any language and are usually promoted for people of a higher status usually middle class and for my clip it will be targeted for all ages and social class to promote these types of films.

Exhibition: Arthouse cinemas

1. The Electric Cinema,Notting Hill, London. 

    The Electric Cinema differs from cinemas like Vue as it shows films that are lower budget and aren't mainstream. Over the years the cinema has started to show more mainstream films.

2. Arthouse films usually attract middle class educated people, this is identifiable as the film may be in other languages and those who have studied are more likely to be interested in films like these and are middle class as they've been educated and have a job which has a high status. 

A case study in independent film production:

1.  Film London is London's film and media agency it is sustaining, promoting and developing London as a major international film-making.

2. Microwave Films is a funding scheme for UK feature films, and the purpose of Microwave Films is to fund and distribute films.

3. London Calling is a scheme in which Londoners enter a competition where they can have access to funds and training to help create a short film, encouraging in the sense that as they are creating their films, they'll be nurtured
4. to become breakthrough talents in film making in the capital.

4. lilting

This film fits in with the art house theme as it is in another language which will mainly interest those who have been educated meaning they'll be from a middle class family, this would mainly attract females as this is a romantic film about a disaster that has taken place. The cast are also not famous celebrities that are usually seen in big Hollywood films making this film more relateable just like other low budget art house films that have been showed previously. The target audience for this film is mainly those of a middle class status and explorers, they are going to be well educated. It will mainly be promoted to women who are white middle class, it will be a 75:25 female to male split.b

iLL Manors 

iLL Manors fits in with art house films as it attracts a smaller audience this would attract a younger more working class audience which aren't as educated. This is because of the story being about violence and is in urban areas which may not interest those who are middle class. Art house film usually has casts that are relatable to the audience, the film also reflects the lifestyle of some youths today which makes this film fit the art house genre as it targets a smaller audience. The target audience will be a 70:30 split male to female and predominantly those who are white working class but also other ethnic groups at the same time. 

Freestyle

The film Freestyle fits in with this as it isn't a mainstream film which attracts a wide audience, the film is youth orientated and would be a 50:50 split and would attract people from a working class family. This will attract aspires as they may want to be like some of the characters in the film. The film will target those who have a common interest in sport but also urban life. The film will be promoted to those around the ages of 10-50.

5. Having too many things going on in the script will have strain on the budget. 
    Clear idea of who you are intending your film for from the beginning.
    Know what your story is.