Research and Planning: Clown Costume Arrival

Now that the clown costume is here we can really think about setting down some shooting dates. All we need to do now is order some clown makeup online, as we can't have him bare faced or he won't look like a clown at all. And we also need to find an actor to play the clown, we have two possible candidates and we are going to look into them both. Maybe even hold another audition session as the last was unsuccessful. Our trailer is really coming together.

Research and Planning: Animatic Storyboard without Sound

Here is another progress of our Animatic Storyboard. We have just finished adding all the images to iMovie, in which we then had to crop them and take away a moving transition that is built into the system. We couldnt crop the image fully because if we did that then it was going to cut out the little 'Rec' in the corner which I think is vital to the trailer as it lets the audience see that it is filmed on a hand held camera.

Research and Planning: Storyboard Progress

Here is a progress shot of our Animatic Storyboard. We had to start another one because our last Animatic Storyboard was about our Romance film, and as we changed genre we decided that we would need to do another. We have just finished drawing out all of the shots and are ready to upload it onto the computer and start making it animatic on iMovie.

Research and Planning: Magazine Analysis 'Total Film'

Genre

The genre of this movie 'Inception' is actually quite difficult to depict from just this magazine cover. If you tie in all the different elements of colour, mise-en-scene and fonts it is quite confusing and can give off different feelings to the audience of what it is about. I think that this is a flaw in this magazine in which I will try my best not to fall into the same problem. For example, Leonardo DiCaprio's costume is that of a plain black suit, which is actually associated with the 'Spy' 'James Bond' look which might show to the audience that it could be a crime film or a spy film. I also think that by using the cool blue colour it might also cause some confusing into choosing the genre of the film as blue is normally represented with a calming atmosphere.

Representation

The representation of the protagonist of the poster is that of a positive and negative attitude. He can be seen as a very positive representation of the stereotypical strong man, as he looks focused and determined. We can also say that there is a positive representation around him from his costume of wearing a suit, which is stereotypically associated with being wealthy and co-ordinated. This is a good quality as a well dressed man is normally seen in a positive light. However we can see that there are negative attitudes towards him as well. Instead of looking focused and determined he could be seen as sinister looking, due to there being just lighting on his face. He also has some sort of device in his hand which could be a gun, which is also a negative representation as he is obviously doing some sort of crime. There is a positive representation surrounding the film through the words in which the magazine has chosen, including their positioning statement 'The Mind Blowing Issue'.

Narrative

I myself have not watched the film Inception, but I have heard that it is very complicated and difficult to keep up with. To gather some knowledge on the film I watched the trailer which was very helpful in giving me some thoughts on the film itself. I think Total film magazine has done a very clever thing with their Masthead, which is make it look like buildings when you are looking down on a birds eye view. I think that this ties in nicely with the film itself as there seems to be a lot about realism and buildings turning upside down, this is a device that only people who have watched the film will understand which is why I think that it is clever that the magazine has done this. 

Audience

From looking at the magazine as a whole, I think that this is aimed at a more male audience. By using well known actor Leonardo DiCaprio on the front cover I think it will draw in his audience who have seen him in some other films. However I do also think that by using this particular actor it will also draw in a more female audience as well, as we know DiCaprio has been in some very famous Romance films including Titanic, this also shows us that he is a very diverse actor and the magazine knows this. I don't think that this film is targeting an older audience, more an audience around 20s/30s, because the narrative is quite difficult to understand I think children would have a hard time understanding what is going on. However the age certificate for the film is in fact 12A, so this means that children accompanied by an adult will be able to see this film, it does not however suggest that they will enjoy it or know what is going on, it just means there are no scenes in which children will find appalling (sex, blood etc)

Media Language

The first thing that I notice about this magazine is the way that it stands out. I think that by using this bright cool blue colour it will make the magazine look striking and stand out from the rest. As I previously stated, I think that the way the magazine has styled its Masthead to tie in with the film is very clever and a good thing to have used. However, I think that this magazine cover has quite a large flaw in which there is a positioning statement of 'The Mind-Blowing Issue' but then also has a sub title regarding another part of the magazine which also says 'The 27 most Mind-Blowing Movies Ever', I think that by using the same phrase 'Mind Blowing' it makes the magazine look silly and repetitive. I think the colour scheme of the magazine is very solid and they stick to not using too many colours to make it look busy, instead choosing nice complimenting colours blue, red, white and black. I think that you should not use too many colours or it can make it look over worked and unprofessional.

Research and Planning: Magazine Analysis 'Empire'

Empire: The Hobbit Cover

Genre

From the image we have been given, there are a few genres that spring to mind. The first is quite obviously fantasy, which we can tell by the CGI of 'Gollum' who is a fantastical creature made from the novel by J.R.R Tolkein. We can also see Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, another made up character from the novel who is what we call a 'Hobbit'. We can see from the costumes of the two characters that it is not normal, Bilbo's outfit is bizarre, but the dark maroon colour gives off a feeling of royalty in which I think ties in nicely with the golden font that Empire have used. I think we can also get a feel of the genre being fantasy by the prop that Bilbo is holding which is a long sword, which we only see in films of such genre. Another genre that comes into mind is that of horror or thriller, I think that this is because of the facial expression that we can see Gollum pulling. Much like the Magazine Draft that I created with the girl in the front and the clown in the back, I think that this is a good way to see what it would look like.

Representation

The first thing that we notice as an audience is the fact that the two characters in the image are both male (or male creature) which suggests to the audience that it might be a male gendered film. Also suggesting that the film might be for men. The main character Bilbo who we see here at the forefront of the magazine looks quite like an un-stereotypical male 'damsel in distress'. His facial expression seems distressed, much like a damsel would be, and he looks quite scared. This could be showing the audience that he goes through some kind of trauma which makes it interesting and might also draw in a more female audience as they might feel pathos for the scared Bilbo. He is also dressed in a very regal manner, which gives off the representation that he is an important character to the film, and I also do like the way it ties in with the gold font. The representation of Gollum is that of a negative nature as we see he is in the background of the image and is pulling a sinister expression, suggesting to the audience that he is a 'bad' character, or the rival of the protagonist. He also seems to blend in with the pale blue colour that they have used which could be showing us that he is a shadowy character and not to be trusted.

Narrative

The film 'The Hobbit' is set in an old fantasy land in which the main character Bilbo goes on a quest with a wizard called Gandalf and a group of dwarves. I think that the magazine does well to create synergy around the film. The first thing we see is the large bold golden letters of 'the Hobbit' which is in a Times New Roman font which can sometimes be seen as quite posh and proper. Because the film is connected to the previous series of 'the Lord of the Rings' I think that the magazine does well to show that this film is very much connected and will be what the audience have been waiting for. The props used, Bilbo's sword, suggest to the audience the time period in which the film is set as we do not see these swords being used in modern day. The tagline 'an Unexpected Journey' gives the audience an idea on what the film is about and shows through the genre of Fantasy and Adventure, which will appeal to many audiences.

Audience

The first thing that we know as an audience which is quite obvious is that the Hobbit is connected to the film series Lord of the Rings, which is a very famous fantasy series created from a novel by J.R.R Tolkein. This in itself has already created an audience and a synergy surrounding the film as the audience from the previous films will have been waiting for this new series to come out. I think considering the front image that Empire have used, it could be suggesting to the audience that it is more of a male audience. However I believe that because the films are such a massive franchise there is quite a large audience including quite young children, taking into consideration that the first film's certificate is also PG which means that basically anyone can watch it.

Media Language

I think that the layout of the magazine is very structured and it doesn't look too busy. I think that this is because the magazine is doing a special edition considering the Hobbit. The Masthead is the same font that the magazine uses on every issue, creating a similar atmosphere and making sure that the audience knows it is the same magazine. I think that by making the Masthead's font the same golden colour as the rest of the titles and subtitles ties in nicely with the 'three colour rule' as magazines try to stick to some kind of structure to make sure that it does not look too busy and mismatched. We can see that the magazine is doing a special for the Hobbit by the positioning statement which on this issue is 'The Shire's Biggest Movie Magazine' which is ironic and amusing to the Hobbit's audience. The Shire is the land in which the Hobbits live, and it could be seen as ironic because the Shire is set in an old period and will not have Movie Magazines, I think that this is a clever device by the magazine to make it look funny, and it will show the audience that they know what they are talking about because they know some of the place names from the film.

Research and Planning: Clown Costume Update

I have just bought our Clown Costume from Amazon for £12, which Emma and I are going to split between us. I don't mind spending money on it, because it will be key to my trailer and help me gain a better mark. I think if we don't have the necessary props or costume then the trailer will fall flat and won't be what we wanted it to be at all. I will also need to buy the clown makeup, which I can either buy online, in a shop, or see if I have any old Halloween makeup which would work perfectly.

Research and Planning: My Bloody Valentine

As this is one of my favourite horror films, I thought I would look at the trailer and tell you a little bit about it. I think that the trailer perfectly portrays the film and what it is about. There is a killer who is dressed as a miner, going around and killing people with a miner's tool. I think as the killer is wearing a mask it makes it more scary because you don't know what's underneath and it leaves the audience wondering. I think that in our trailer, we will match this by using the clown's makeup and mixing it up with dirt and smudging it on their face to create the dead look. Maybe buy some fake blood. I think that this trailer is very similar to what I want mine to look like, considering the editing. I like the fast transitions and the jump cuts, which is exactly what I want my trailer to be like. I think that by looking into this trailer it has helped me and given me some inspiration.