Evaluation of form and genre in our products

TRAILER

 

• 1. Title 
• Dark or black background with the words "Anonymous X"
• In typewriter font, to set 'hacking theme'.
• Follows the theme of blogging because it has a typewriting effect on
• Dark background follows theme of "action thriller" which tends to have dark background

• 2. Ratings card
• This should be the standard ratings card for a UK trailer
• Normally shows what the film rating is, and then states the trailers approved for all audience
• Helps convey sense of more violent action which can't be shown in this case

• 3. Production ident
• Image of an astronaut floating through space 
• Theme of a light-hearted animated logo
• Dosen't relate to the film as it is used for all of the company's films
• Also adds institutional credibility

• 4. Credits
• Black background with film billing block in front
• Simple credit to fit the darker mood.
• This is a feature of the trailer form.

Standard billing block

• 5. + 6. Character
• Establishes the main characters and their roles
• "Anonymous X" in a dark room on a computer
• Photographer is shown with camera which establishes his job
• Scenes of the characters at computers, conveys the type of theme it is and establishes genre
• Having a hacker character is typical of an "action thriller" set in the themes of (secrets, espionage, truths and hidden files)
• We also convey the typical buddy cop scenario, in these film, there is normally two characters who begin hating each ofter then grow to become friends. (Hacker and blogger) Girl with The Dragon Tattoo follows this 'unlikely pairing' convention also.

Unlikely pairing

• 6. + 7. Mise-en-scene 
• Typically in action thrillers they are set in dark rooms with computer screens and backstreet alleyways. as here in Tinker Tailor:

Backstreet location

• We use props such as the camera to create atmosphere that something important is happening which needs to be documented (taking photo of something he shouldn't)
• Clothing conveys the type of characters, they are, dark hoodies on the characters who are sneaking around (undercover). We use costume as a way of telling information such as the same character is in a room with hood up, you know he's not meant to be there or when they are wearing brighter clothing they are usually safe.
• Coats were an important piece of clothing in our trailer, (represents the detective genre overcoat) as we tried to show lots of shots of them hanging around gloomy places, where they shouldn't be. Here is a use of the classic long coat in Tinker Tailor:

Coat as indicator of genre

• We cast younger people for our trailer because they fit the roles more. You would expect a teenager to have a blog, and it makes sense why they wouldn't be allowed in places. Our genres tend to depend on older actors for the main characters so this breaks conventions a little; our younger cast adds a new dimension to the genre as the problems they face are likely to vary. However, the teenage hacker is a staple character in spy drama and action thrillers as here in War Games:

Teenage hacker in War Games

• 8. + 9. Editing 
• We overlayed, on different layers images to make scenes look more professional, on the news report, we overlayed news images to make it look like a real report.
• Our opening shots are edited slow which shows progression, and the final half is quick edited with lots of shots and a action montage sequences. 
• We turned down the saturation on our CCTV shots so it looked more like that low quality, no colour CCTV.
• We also added a red dot, which blinks so that you get the idea that we want you to know its the camera.
• This added the kind of verisimilitude that is needed in dramas with a spy element to the genre hybrid. This kind of footage is used often in "Spooks":

CCTV surveillance shot from Spooks

• 10. + 11. Camera work
• We used long (wide angle shots), for the action fight scenes to get a sense of a lot of action taking place in a secluded small areas.
• We used different camera angles to convey the emotions of the characters, such as a low angled tilt shot, so that we get the hero shot, or high up looking down on jess in a corner.
• We also used close ups to establish the main characters and extreme close up on the bloggers eyes when he is blogging to create a scene of intelligence, because he is focused.
• We use 'over the shoulder' shots for the conversation between the " hacker and the blogger", used in all genre which creates fluid idea of conversation.
• Most of our camera work you could apply to most genres, except for the POV shots of CCTV which is very specific to our genre.

• 12. Sound
• We have the main track which is a suspension building drum beat which gets louder and faster as the trailer moves on.
• For some conversation scenes, we have recorded the dialog separately because there was too much ambient/ background noise
• During the action montage the beat is much faster and there is extra sound effects added for (punches etc.)

POSTER

 

• 1. Title
• This is the name of our film and needs to stand out and be the first thing your eyes read off the poster.
• This needs to be in the same style and font as all the other products so that people will associate are other products such as trailer.

• 2. Computer
• This is the computer screen which is behind the main character, it is used to fill space and to relate our film's story, as our main character is a blogger, so a lot of the film will be of him at different computers, blogging information.
• Similar to a lot of posters there is usually information. Plot points or teasers about the actual film. so we have included an image of 'someone dead for the audience to discover' in the style of a blog post, this is an element of the tease campaign. We took inspiration for the overall construction of our poster from this one for Tinker Tailor - the close up, looking directly at the audience. However, we decided to add more genre details in a background image as Tinker Tailor is based on a  well-known book and our film needed more clarity.

Close up, direct gaze

• 3. Billing block
• This is in the style of the normal conventions of a poster.
• This includes credits of director, producer, actor, and company etc. and everything you would see in a real poster.
• it also includes important information such as the release date, poster usually have this information or at least 'coming soon' 
• We have included logos of e.g. sound mastering companies as well, following the conventional layout as below:

Poster billing block

• 4. Main image
• Like most posters we have a close up of our main character, it is expected that he is a known actor that will draw attention.
• His face will have a blue glow as if the light from the computer is shining on him, which fits our theme, lit face hints at secrecy as in this poster below:

Atmospheric lighting

• 5. Layout 
• The layout is very similar to conventional posters. It shows off the film without revealing any footage
• Let's people know only the important information.

MAGAZINE

 

• 1. Masthead
• We tried to follow the conventions of a magazine by having the main image overlap the masthead slightly.
• We included a strapline... "The most exclusive reviews in London" which is common on magazines we used exclusive so that the reader would feel important for purchasing. (Creating consumer pride)
• Masthead will be red so that it stands out to the reader which you can expect from a real magazine.

• 2.Cover lines
• This is the information about the major articles on the front of the magazine
• We tried to make it in the style of a 'right click menu' so that it fits the theme of our film so that the products link. (Hacker/blogger theme)
• Magazines do change the overall look to match the style of the film if it's a big new release, also particularly if it's a special edition as ours is.
• We also tried to follow the left hand bias so more information is on the side you will see if the on a magazine rack, even if the magazines are stacked. 

• 3. Puff for film
• This is the name of our film which is the main article the magazine is covering.
• Typical to see this in the middle overlaying the main image
• The font is the same as the trailer and poster so that it can be associated with our other products

• 4. Smaller Images
• This is a collection of other films articles in this magazine you expect to see at least 3 or 4 of these.
• They normally have a still frame from the film and show the mag has a lot of content to offer.

• 5. Main Image
• We tried to make sure the layout resembled that of a real magazine. so everything is in the place you would expect to see it.
• The background image is of a keyboard this again is us trying to replicate the similar theme to our trailer and other products. Also reasonably dark and plain background to allow the text to stand out. 
• Our characters are posed conventionally for an action thriller and also for a group of three characters with the hero in the middle and his sidekicks on each side, slightly behind. We felt that despite following conventions, our genre wasn't represented clearly enough by this main image which is why we paid so much attention to the other details to create the techno-thriller feel.
• We noticed when we looked at the Empire cover for "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" that it relied on audience knowledge - the overall cover realy didn't convey the genre at all. We decided we needed to be more careful with our cover as our film won't be that well-known already:

Non-film specific cover