Poster: Fourth Draft

Poster: Third Draft

Poster: Second Draft

Poster: Title font experiments

Poster: Pencil sketches

Poster: First Draft

Poster: Photo Analysis

Magazine Front Cover: First Draft

Magazine Front Cover: Photo Analysis

Poster: Preliminary picture analysis

The Pitch: Update

During a production meeting, we decided to have a prologue in our trailer in Polish. The conversation will be a flashback between the "godfather" and his father which will have a considerable impact on the audience understanding his background and why he is why he is.

We have also brainstormed several other movie title names and have pondered on having a title as a Bible reference because of it's religious effect which we missed out in our initial pitch although it being an important convention in gangster movies. 

The names we have contemplated are;

Sons of Adam

Covet

Poster: Inspirations

I plan to take and infuse elements from the following 2 posters. I thought the split between 2 characters was extremely effective and a good visual concept. I plan to do something similar to this with Jason on the top split with his brother Jake on the bottom.

I thought pictures inside words was very different and unlike anything I had researched and would be a unique element to add to my poster. I plan to have the title of the movie in the middle of the two characters with the head boss or "godfather" character inside that text. This will show how the "godfather" has split the siblings apart.

Magazine Front Cover: Masthead Experiments

I wanted to use basic 'sans serif' fonts for my magazine masthead as I think the aesthetics in these basic, classic fonts used in Empire Magazine and TotalFilm and very appealing and is suitable for a movie magazine. My favourite out of the 6 fonts is the 'Breamcatcher' font as it is similar to art deco front and reminds me of the luxury and opulence of the 1920s and old hollywood films. This relates to my film as I am trying to represent this exact opulence in the lifestyle of mob members in gangster films.

Magazine Front Cover: Inspirations

I was inspired by the following 2 Empire Magazine covers. I took a liking to these as they were mid shots with the character looking face with a black or bare background so the attention is specifically on the character. I thought it was interesting that the shots were able to convey the sort of character they are without giving too much away.

The cover implied the character is very destructive, possibly extremely violent and loathsome character due to the masthead being in flames, the character completely red and glaring at the camera.

Although this isn't a movie cover, it is simply to the 'Hellboy 2' cover in giving us an insight into the main character.

I want to use this concept of portraying a character without giving too much of them away.

Magazine Front Cover: Pencil sketches

I am considering having a mid shot of our main character Jason in professional "wall street wear" with a cigar in his mouth and a stack of money in his breast pocket. In order to differentiate from a business man I have placed a gun in his trouser band to show that the kind of business he gets up to isn't legal and is highly corrupted and potentially dangerous. I have kept the layout fairly conventional and simple.

Magazine Front Cover: Planning Sheet

Audience Research: Vox Pops

Audience Research: Questionnaire Analysis

I first began by stated in my questionnaire that it intended to accumulate audience opinions on certain narratives and conventions as well as finding my target audience and tailoring my final products to them.

I attempted to gather information equally between males and females but the majority of feedback actually received was from females. This information already shows that my information gathered may be biased as females are the most unlikely demographic to watch gangster films and are usually not the main target audience for most films in this genre.

The feedback from the second questions also posed a challenge as a staggering 69.23% from my audience research do not watch gangster movies as it didn't appeal to most. Looking at individual responses I can that females mostly didn't watch these types of movies. 2 respondents in particular noted that the violence wasn't to their liking which is something to consider when making my final product.

No respondent provided an answer for any of their choices however too very famous gangster movies were mentioned (The Godfather & Goodfellas) which are one of the many films we will try to channel in our final products.

Cinematic techniques such as point-of-view, pan and slow motion shots are preferred amongst my respondents which are all technically aspects we plan to incorporate into our trailer.

We considered having a black and white only trailer but this idea may be reconsidered upon analysing this genre research as 66.67% of my respondents would prefer a contemporary film over era or black and white.

The feedback from this question confirms the need for the tumultuous relationship between the brothers in our final product as 100% of respondents feel this would interest them.

My respondents feel a male dominated cast will not exclude female viewers but some have raised that it would if sexism is portrayed or if it comes across "too masculine" then the female audience would find it hard to relate. The respondents would commented on the looks of the male cast cannot be overlooked as many male dominated films do include actors that would bring in female audiences because of their looks which I believe is important to remember. 

The trailer had the highest average rating as the marketing feature that would attract them to the film and is the reason why the main emphasis must be on the trailer and perhaps leave the ambiguity to the magazine front cover and poster as this research is evidence it doesn't hold the same magnitude as the trailer does in drawing in an audience. 

Audience Profile: Mood Board

Film Marketing Analysis: Gangster Squad

Film Marketing Analysis: Johnny Depp and Public Enemies

Although trailers, posters and magazines are the most common ways of marketing a film, there are a multitude of ways this could happen and the film industry are taking advantage of this. One form of this is television. As it is one of the most widely watched mediums, it will guarantee a huge audience watching and hearing about the movie from their favourite actors or directors and are more likely to go out and watch it.

An example of this is Johnny Depp on David Letterman which is a very popular Late Night show and therefore is a good way of marketing (skip to 2:17).

And although in some parts of the interview the film is only brushed upon briefly, the sole reason for the interview is for the promotion of the film which continues to be mentioned throughout. Additionally, David Letterman telling the audience to watch the movie on the release date is the closing statement made at the end of the interview.

This sort of promotion not only appeals to fans of the big stars themselves but also fans of the television show who didn't initially plan on watching but then decide to upon watching the interview.

Magazine Analysis: Empire

Magazine Analysis: Empire

What is the name of the magazine? Why do you think it is called that?

The name is 'Empire' and this word connotes power, control or domination. The magazine could be called this to establish itself as 'the next big thing' which it now is.

What can you say about the sell lines? 

As this is the 'crime edition' of the magazine all the sell lines are features on other gangster, heist and crime films including mentions of the Coen brother Fargo and No Country for Old Men, Scarface and Eastern Promises. 

What can you say about the layout design (fonts, colour scheme)?

The layout is slightly unconventional but all the components of the magazine are very conventional as Empire is known for changing the layout and look of their magazines for special feature issues. Instead of the sell lines being on the sides of the magazine framing the main image, the are centre bottom of the cover which leads your eyes to the sell lines after reading the headline in order to get the audience interested in this issue. 

Empire's general colour scheme is white, black and red but with this issue they used accents of gold taken from the actual image like the tan, but gold-looking, Russell Crowe is wearing as well as slight hints of gold from the background.

What genre of film does it cover?

This issue is a crime edition and therefore covers crime and the appropriate sub-genres under that.

Who is the target audience?

As Empire commonly features sic-fi, comic and sometimes dystopian films the target audience would be as follows especially with promotion of free posters inside from The Blade Runner and so on which is a futuristic, dystopian film. However, with this edition it would obviously be targeted at those with are fans or crime movies whether it be a thriller, gangster or heist through the main image story and sell lines. 

Who are the major competitors of the magazine?

It's competitors are the other monthly film magazine's such as Total Film and Uncut which received roughly the same circulation however Empire is steadfastly the top film magazine.

What is the magazine's mission statement or slogan?

The slogan is 'The World's Biggest Movie Magazine'. This with the title 'Empire' solidifies the magazine as a 'great power' within the movie magazine industry.

What sort of film stars or directors are featured?

The Coen brothers are mentioned who are Academy Award winning directors of Fargo and No Country for Old Men and Michael Man credited with such thrillers as Thief and Manhunter.

Poster Analysis: The Departed

Poster Analysis: Infernal Affairs

Trailer Analysis: The Long Good Friday

Poster Analysis: Casino

Movie Analysis: Goodfellas (video)

Movie Analysis: Goodfellas

Goodfellas in the 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese who co-wrote the screenplay with Nicholas Pileggi. The film was based in New York and based on the true events of the Lucchese crime family. 

From my research I concluded that Goodfellas conforms to almost all conventions of gangster movies. It is based in a urban city with the main character building there way up just to have it taken away again. Traditional values and faith and family are distinct as well as extreme violence.

There were elements of faith during this film (particularly Catholicism for the majority of the mob members) and Scorsese uses this trademark as a way of portraying guilt through religion. Henry (Ray Liotta) wears a cross necklace around his neck through the duration of the film to portray this.

The fancy gangster lifestyle was heavily emphasised through the mise-en-scene. Every mob member was extremely well dressed in suits with expensive jewellery. They would dine in the fanciest restaurant and were served the finest wine without having to ask.

The mob members also conformed to the stereotype of gangsters playing poker, smoking cigars and having a large amount of disposable money.

The cinematography also to an extent conforms to the conventions of gangster movies - although there isn't many. When digging up the body of a "made man" of another crime family, the scene has a dark, murky red hue to set the atmosphere of a situation that is very dangerous and potentially life threatening.

Scorsese has a trademark of using long tracking shots in his films. Although this isn't a convention of gangster films its effective in showing the magnitude of the luxurious lifestyle and respect given to members of this mob. They know virtually everyone and are respected by everyone and that is why they were able to get away with so much throughout this film.

Director Analysis: Martin Scorsese

Conventions of Gangster Films

History of Gangster/Mob Crime Films

Click this or the link below to be sent to my timeline!

http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/347177/History-of-Gangster-Crime-Films/

The Departed Film Trailer Analysis

Are the director/producer/stars name given to us? If so why or why not?
Martin Scorsese is given to us to let fans of his films and the audience know the style of movie if they are familiar with his work. Towards the end of the trailer the most familiar actors of the film such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg to, again, entice fans of these actors and attract them to go and see the movie in cinemas.

What can you say about the voice of the person delivering the voiceover?
The voice is only present in the first few seconds of the trailer and is given by presumably the head of the gang/mob. It sets the scene for the audience and let's us know that the cop doesn't act much different to a criminal when put in a particular situation. It let's us know the genre of the film of a police crime movie.

What can you say about the use of music?
The music in this trailer isn't consistent as different types of music and moods are set. The music towards the end of the trailer is a ballad over action scenes compared to the music towards the beginning which builds tension captures the audience.

What can be said about the editing and therefore the narrative?
There are continuously short, quick snippets of clips are rarely long takes however the shots selected manage to portray the narrative through dialogue and the voice over.

What dialogue from the film do we hear and why?
The genre of a police crime is recognised through the dialogue through phrases like "state police", "elite unit"and "special investigations unit". There is dialogue throughout to keep the audience engaged and help them understand the story as the short clips do not give much away.

Who is the film's target audience? Explain why?
Males 15+ who are interested in action and crime movie. It would mostly draw in fans of both the well known actors and director.

Does the film have a unique selling point?
The USP in this trailer is cop being the mole in a gang/mob and working from the inside instead of trying to take the gang/mob out through a private investigation. The cop falls too deep before he's given the chance to take them down with his life on the line.

Group Profile

This is our group profile which consists of Favour (left), Farida (centre) and Filip (right). We are known as 'F Studios'.

Favour is the costume and props director. His role includes organising the miss-en-scene and making sure it's appropriate to our trailer as well as providing fitting locations. 

I (Farida) am the director or cinematography. This role consists of supervising the actors and staff in the film to ensure the shots that I take will be well-suited for our trailer.

Filip is the head editor. He will provide the essential editing for our trailer and will aid and oversee any editing made by staff. His role involves picking sound that will give the desired effect and putting together the shots I take to convey the narrative of our trailer.

The Pitch

Name of film:
Covet

Tagline of film:

"How far would you go to be at the top?"

“No one stays on top forever”

Basic plot synopsis:

The Godfather is being investigated by the chief police inspector (Jake) after committing his biggest crime yet and needs a way to "get rid" of him. Jason longs to join the mob but is held back by his older brother who doesn't want him to get involved in a life of crime. When Jake begins getting friendly with the Godfather's girlfriend, the Godfather find a way to both initiate Jason into the mob and get rid of Jake at the same time. A series of violent and merciless events within the mob finally turns Jason insane with both power and revenge to get to the top.

What type of characterisation will you have?:

Jason – Main characters name is Jason; he is a teen who just dropped out of college at the age of 18. He is a violent character who doesn't like to speak much.  Grew up in a single parent household and was always seen as second best to his brother Jake. Has never had a father so therefore looks up to "godfather" and can relate to him as they have had a similar past and upbringing.

Jake – He’s Jason’s older brother and works as a chief police inspector and investigating the crimes committed by the mob in an attempt to take the "godfather" out.  Although he is considered as the “good guy” he can show his rough side due to his short temper.

Mob members – The gang consists of many members of different ranks and main characters such as;

“Counsellor” - the "godfathers" go-to guy and second in rank 

“Godfather” - Unwanted child growing up and always had to fend for himself. Killed his family in a house fire as a result of his mistreatment and contempt by them which shows his barbarous and merciless behavior. Uses Jason to solve his problems at first but takes a liking to him as he sees Jason's traits in himself

Vanessa – Jake’s girlfriend that eventually joins the gang as “godfathers girlfriend”. A good looking girl that’s very flirtatious and can be seductive.

           

Describe mise-en-scene to be used or any visual motifs?:

Professional suits, drugs, weapons (guns, baseball bats, chains, crowbars), cars

Lounge, alleyways, torture place, cards (mobsters playing poker)

What are your ideas about cinematography/photography?:

Close ups on main characters, wide shots or location to show wealth and power, low angle shots to represent status. A long shot of the mobsters in the lounge to show what they do in their free time. Point of view shots to allow the audience to relate with the main character (Jason). Slow motion shots for interesting cinematography.

Conventions of trailers/posters/film mags you plan to reinforce or reinvent?

Most trailers show the boss, by showing a scene where he shows no mercy on his enemies. This could be reinforced in our trailer to show his dominance over everyone else in the story.  Most also show a action scene where the two sides have a standoff and shoot out, and although recreating the gun scene may be hard, a standoff between the two sides could be recreated. Thirdly the dramatic close ups on the face of the people who are faced with the problem, in this case when they wage war against the mob.

Also on most posters you can see that the main colours are dark, mainly black with some contrast of white and details of red, if not a darkly coloured image is also included. Most posters show the protagonist in the front, and a shadow of the main boss who is the antagonist in the background “lurking” at the main character. This is a convention which should be reinforced to suggest that it is a gangster film.

What resources will you need? (include actors, props, costumes and settings)

We will need a lot of actors, including at least 6 more important roles along with several extras that will be part of the mob, props will include a car, weapons such as fake guns, baseball bats, crowbars, crushed tablets (fake cocaine) duffle/barrel bags. Settings will include a lounge (possibly a shisha lounge) alleyways for standoff.

Justification of ideas in relation to genre and recognisable film influences, also what is your Unique Selling Point?

The brutality and the plot twists are most likely to surprise the audience which will make them want to see the film. The story line is the unique selling point because we’re not aware of films with similar sort of stories.

Mood Board

My mood board shows a complications of themes and conventions I believed are associated with gangster/police crime and that my group plan to incorporate into our final products. I included common stereotypes of gangster movies such as a head boss or "godfather", the luxurious life style gang members seem to have as a result of their criminal activity, violent weapons and professional wear. I also added the police crime conventions like a crime scene, police badge and weapons.

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Project X Movie Poster Analysis

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Film Trailer Analysis

Are the director/producer/stars name given to us? If so why or why not?
None are mentioned as the franchise is the star of the film therefore a list of actors are not needed.

What can you say about the voice of the person delivering the voiceover?
There isn't a voice over as, again, the franchise is well recognised therefore the story doesn't necessarily have to be told through a voice over but from the few pieces of dialogue. Lack of a voiceover also let's the actor concentrate on the scenes and putting together the narrative of the trailer.

What can you say about the use of music?
The music in this trailer is an essential way of setting the mood and translating the mood of the movie. The slow piano in the first roughly 30 seconds is quite tranquil however slightly eerie so the viewers know this is the 'calm before the storm'. As the trailer progresses, the music builds up to a crescendo and sets a sense of foreboding just as the war is mentioned.

What can be said about the editing and therefore the narrative?
Oddly, this trailer consists of mostly long shots and hardly any short takes. This could be because the trailer lacks much action and is solely used to bring across the story and tempt fans of the franchise to see the next movie or similarly to the voice over, it's letting the audience fully put together the small snippet of the movie that they are given.

What dialogue from the film do we hear and why?
Throughout the entirety of the trailer the apes have used words such as "together", "family" and "home". This suggests the apes have come to know the forest as home and have bonded over the tragedy they have faced. We hear buzz words such as "virus", "survivors" and "war" which lets the audience know this is a post-apoloclypic world and other words suggest its a war between humans and apes but do not give away why. This could be perhaps because fans of the franchise may already know and understand the hostility between the humans and the apes or not to give to much away in the trailer.

Who is the film's target audience? Explain why?
The target audience could be males from 13 onwards that enjoy action packed movies and are a fan of the franchise.

Does the film have a unique selling point?
That it is a post-apoloclypic word in which apes are anthropomorphised and in order to  live in harmony away from humans they must fight.