Ancillary - FINAL POSTER

Ancillary DPS - FINAL DPS

I am really happy with my final outcome. I feel it has the codes and conventions of a film double page spread.

Film Drafts

This is the first draft I have put together of Katie and I's film. After I posted it on YoutTube and shared it on social media and with our cast/crew directly I started to get a lot of useful audience feedback.

Everyone agreed that the first scene was really professional and that the lighting/mise-en-scene made it look like an actual crime genre film as it followed a lot of the professional conventions I had researched closely to get this right. However non-media people in the audience thought the scene dragged on to long, this was something we had not noticed as we were really drawn to our shot types, angles and movements. When we got this feedback it made sense when we looked at it again so Katie and I decided to add more sound and shorten the scene a bit. Also, we thought that another reason why the non media viewer, might find the the first scene of the autopsy boring was due to the lack of sound. We are thinking of adding non-diegetic music which would help create tension.

Editing wise, I did not need to, or want to, make many changes on the initial morgue scene as even on this draft I had worked really hard to get the continuity editing right and smooth with techniques like, movement and graphic matches and not breaking the 180 degree rule line.

However, we were not completely happy with the parallel editing as the cutting to a from the murder scene made the edit too clumsy and too long. This was something I knew we needed to improve on the second edit. Obviously, we also still needed to add the credits like the actors names and our production/distribution logos to fit professional conventions of the short film genre.

In terms of sound, we decided we might need to add more ambient sound to add tension and realism.

Overall with the morgue scene, looking at the first edit, I feel that the mies-en-scene, namely the lighting effect i created onset and in Premiere Pro, is really suitable in the morgue scene. Also, I think the first edit shows our costume and casting choices match genre conventions as we have the right aged actor wearing a full medical suit using a range of props that make this scene look real.

Regarding our other scenes, the train station scene was too light, I think we might try black and white or Super 8 effects to make it more tense and creepy in the next edit. The crime scene tent scene that was really hard to get right because of the high wind and rain on the day, looks good in terms of props and costumes but may need some audio work to get the wind levels down a bit.

This is the second edited draft for the film. I have added the institutions, age certificate and end credits to this. Even though I thought this was going to be my final edit, I still gathered feedback from the audience. This proved useful as they said 'The end credits look to comical for the genre.' I knew from this they referred to the 'Written and Directed By Katie Price.' It appears with soft edges when a crime/drama is sharp edges. Also, my audience said the sound was still not right in places - being too loud in parts of the morgue scene and to quite at the station - this meant more editing improvements before the final draft.

Ancillary DPS - Draft DPS

I like the idea of what we have done with the whiten background. I also have my poster image in the bottom right. From class feedback, they also like the image but think there is too much space on the left. Someone suggested adding a second main image to fill the space. I will look into this concept as the posters I analyised only had 1 main image. They would prefer the article on one page and not spread over two.

Ancillary DPS - Photoshoot reflection

For my double page spread, I was very happy with the outcome of my images and article layout. The images I got from the film shoots as it was easier doing it that way then setting up a new photoshoot day.

One of the main images is actually a shot I took during filming - I took the time to do this as I wanted to follow the conventions of a behind the scenes style shoot for my magazines as I had seen this worked well for magazines like Empire who want to attract readers in the audience with an exclusive behind the scenes story.

I took a range of images on set as I wanted lighting, set and costume continuity between the film and ancillary.

With the editing of the images, I experimented in Photoshop with changing opacity and blend modes as I wanted to follow creative conventions of mixes text and image to sell the film.

Ancillary DPS - Original Images

Ancillary DPS - Equipment List

* Canon 5D D-SLR
* Tripod
* 64GB car
* Charger
* Battery
* 3 Point light kit
* blue gels
* Mac
* Photoshop

Ancillary DPS - Flat Plan

Here is my final flat plan design for my double page spread, I have worked hard to follow conventions I researched in real film magazines. 

Ancillary DPS & Poster - Heading and Font ideas

Helvetica was the font for the title I used on my poster and double page spread. Katie and I decided on this because how professional it looks. I have also found it matches many crime/drama double page spreads and posters.

With the Heading, I spread it over both pages but had them slightly jolted. I did this because it links to the jolted storyline.

I did experiment with other fonts but my audience and I both agreed the Helvetica looked the most professional and effective.

Ancillary DPS - Copy of Article

Take article from DPS and insert here

Malefaction is so good it would be a ‘crime’ to miss it. This is the first crime drama to come out of Cornwall since Wycliffe and wow have things improved since the 80s. This spine chilling short film, by up-and-coming director Katie Price & editor Sam Scott, with Luke Howe’s creepy behaviour with a heart is more Silence of the Lambs than a cosy midday murder.

Luke’s facial expressions when it comes to dismantling the poor victims body certainly created a performance like no other and the lighting of this scene sends chills to your soul. The on screen chemistry between Luke and film newcoming Bella Jefferies is tense and gripping to watch, commenting about film Bella told Focus; “I actually was scared of him at times, he was terrifying in the role.”

Luke’s excellent acting is almost eclipsed by a show stopping performance from Poldark actor Rory Wilton who plays Detective Paul Church; his overall mannerism connotes a world-weary character weighed down by the stresses of being a murder detective. His performance is so good it wouldn’t surprise me if he went on to do more roles like this as his performance was easily as good, if not better, than other great detectives like Cracker, Rebus or Frost. Supporting Rory’s was other local favourite Richard Mann who plays a very likable Coroner, but can they figure out who the killer is?

Ancillary DPS- Survey monkey

The answer with the most votes is 'A half and half dps'. Doing a half a side image and the other half article was my initial idea as it would create something that isn't boring. The audience survey concretes that idea as it is the most selected. 

A review of the film won the survey. I feel the audience chose this because if they wanted a read that allows them know if the film is for them before they watch it. 

Even thought the acting won, I will try to interpreting most of them in. However due to the majority being acting, I will do most of it based on that. 

Ancillary DPS - Codes and Conventions

Main image- This can take up 1/2 the page or go across both pages

Article that is put over text 

A quote - either from an interview or a review 

Headline larger then all other text 

Small side images 

Drop capital are often used however I never used one

Consistent colour scheme

Ancillary DPS - Analysis of DPS -

I picked these two double page spreads to analyse because I knew for my audience research that my target wanted busy creative layouts that used looks of images from the film and both these double page spreads did this really well making them good case studies. 

The Spider-Man double page spread from Empire uses a dark colour pallet that makes the superhero genre look more violent and relevant to a modern male audience than bright red and blue of the original comic. These colours still connote USA hero stereotypes to represent the audience because they link to the USA flag following Higson’s theory. The darker colours connote that this film will have sci-fi elements because of the blue city lighting and violent elements because of the dark black filter effect. 

 The main image is a high angle, almost a birds eye, medium shot of spider-man in costume a the tip of a modern sky scraper, it is an iconic action shot associated with the character that represents the target audience because he looks heroic and like he is embracing danger ready for action. This fits two theories, Gauntlett’s 2002 masculine identity theory because he is an alpha male controlling the action and Hall’s 1904 theory because the character is rebellious and looking for excitement breaking rules in a dangerous position. The minor images represent older people and women in the target audience while giving an insight, into the film as it shows more of the potential plot lines, family and love, which involves more of the audience. 

The actual article is written in an informative but chatty tone making it fit Blumer and Katz 1973 theory because it entertains the audience but also gives them information about, narrative, casting and directing on this film. The font type is modern and this works for the modern male audience

The Avatar Empire double page spread is not as dark, it visually appeal because of the white space that makes the blue aliens look friendly while also showing the sci-fi genre. This works because the target audience of this double page is wider, families and people of all ages who want a hybrid genre that has something for everyone. The bright red text boxes look eye catching but also connote there could be some violence to the film to represent males. The yellow shows this too but also that it will be entertaining. 

The film title is in a friendly ‘bubble style font’ this again represents a family audience showing the film will not be too scary and suitable for all. The word means manifestation or released soul, this is an intriguing title because the images do not make it obvious how this fits the narrative making the audience want to see it. 

The main image is a low angle close up of a male and female alien. The mise-en-scene shows the sci-fi genre because of the blue colour of alien’s skin, eyes and ears but they also look quite human making them more relatable and suitable for a family audience. The male looks stereotypically strong fitting Guantlett’s 2002 theory of males controlling the action representing males in the audience who want to identify with a stereotypical hero. The couple connote romance which represents women in the target audience as the female character could be considered an object of desire for males following Mulvey’s 1975 theory. Like on the Spider-Man double the minor images represent older people and women in the target audience while giving an insight into the film as it shows more of the potential plot lines which in this case look like science and sci-fi action because of the shot choices. 

The actual article, like the Spider-Man one, is written in an informative but chatty tone making it fit Blumer and Katz 1973 theory because it entertains the audience but also gives them information about, narrative, casting and directing on this film. The font type is modern and this works for the modern male audience. A similar article style is not surprising as it fits the house style of Empire.

Ancillary - Draft Poster

This is my draft poster. I like the image used. Feedback from the class also agree with this. They do however think that layout of the titles are not right. You cannot see the credits on the bottom, they also pointed out that the title 'Malefaction' would look better aligned to the left which I also agree on.

Here is the shot as I developed it:



Here are some of my earlier draft ideas that I moved away from because my audience and I liked the idea of the morgue shot more: 

Ancillary - Photoshoot reflection

Instead of setting up a separate photoshoot day for my poster pictures, I taken photos on the filming set. I was able to do this because it included the photo i had on my mind which was the picture on the feet with the toe tag.

At the time of the shooting, I wasn't feeling to confident as we had some interruptions from the lighting. We were situated in a class room which had blinds covering the windows, however natural light made its way in. This mixed with light from the classroom made it difficult to take a good picture.
Although firstly unsuccessful, I managed to adjust the lighting so that I would get the right mood in the picture. Mainly by turning off the lights and sticking a blue gel over the camera lens. This was the  only picture I needed for my poster and I feel the outcome of it is very good.

Ancillary - Flat Plan

Ancillary - Institutions

Bauer is a German Based institution which is a media company. It is in charge of over '600 magazines, 400 digital products and tv stations around the world'. They are a massive conglomerate company which would benefit our film if it was in one of the magazines. The portfolio of Bauer includes; 'print shops, postal, distribution and marketing research'. However, this would not be a realistic institution due to our film not getting a lot of money.

Ancillary - Codes and Conventions

Dark Colours (Blues, Blacks, Reds ...)
1 main image (usually of the victim, the hero or the villain)
Crime/Drama's usually have a font with sharp edges as they have a lot of tension and atmosphere.
They are usually quite simple posters so that people can understand the situation which is being shown or understand the characters emotions.

Ancillary - Analysis film posters

There are two main images of this poster. Both shots are of a medium close up of two characters. There are two Hollywood A-Listers which are recognisable to almost everyone. Brad Pitt here is a middle aged man. He has a moustache and goatee however the lighting of the photo doesn't allow you to see the hair style of him. He also represents the target audience being in the middle age and male. He represents an older target audience and an African American. In most films he's in, he plays a likeable character who is knowledgeable. For example; Batman- The Dark Knight, Bruce Almighty etc... What the characters are wearing is not fully visible which creates a sense of mystery. The whole poster is mysterious as the facial expressions of the characters differ from Morgans Freeman's scared look to Brad Pitt's confident look. He doesn't look worried about anything. A convention of a crime/drama is mystery. More mysteries on this poster is the colours used. They are the colours of fire with yellow orange and red being used a lot. They also connoting with danger. As stated on the bottom of the poster, the seven deadly sins are listed. The red lines which could be someone crossing them out as if they have been done, is also a mystery. Why have they been crossed out?
 The fire like colours connote with the genre of horror or crime. As the reds and oranges are like the blood of victims. This attracts the target audience because it clearly shows theres action and danger in the film.
The poster has a simple layout of which there are two main images with their name on the heads. There is a list of the 'seven deadly sins' with have all been crossed out with a blood red line.
The title of the film is 'seven'. It clearly connotes the seven deadly sins as it states it below the title name. It also list them down the middle of the poster making it obvious that this is a key part of the film. The typography looks hand written almost as if its been scratched at. Connoting with the thriller the film is.

'Seven deadly sins. Seven ways to die' is the slogan. This makes the title clear on what it means. It also tells you what the film could be about. Death links with the genre thriller meaning it attracts the target audience.

To conclude, I feel this poster is successful in terms of it marketing to the right audience.

This poster is for the short film Logan a crime drama with a male social grade to B-E audience.  

The colour follows crime drama conventions using blue, white, black and red. The colour pallet is very dark, except from the one strip on light illuminating the subject. These colours connote crime themes like good v evil fitting Barthes binary opposition theory, police v criminal and a dark foreboding violent plot line. The shadows in the bottom third of the poster are also intriguing because you cannot work out what they are and your eyes play tricks, one minute they look like bard wire, then hands, then brambles next they could be demons all of which works with the crime drama. The colour pallet represents youths as it fits Hall’s 1904 theory that youths are depressed. 

The main image is intriguing and mysterious as it is a high angle medium shot of a male character tied in a chair not wearing many clothes and not showing his face. The mise-en-scene, lighting, pose of the actor and props, connotes he could be a victim caught or the antagonist after he has been caught. This leaves the audience with lots of questions and this fits the crime drama genre which in turn attracts the target audience. He fits Gauntlett’s 2002 theory because of his costume, gender and muscles make him look strong but breaks it as it has been tied up making him less of an alpha male. 

The title is in almost a horror font as it is in a times font that looks old, this makes the narrative look frightening. The word Logan means rocking stone and is also a Gaelic name that could link to old connotations as Galic names had started to die out.  

The web address is shown at the bottom in a blood coloured font connoting the possibility of violence and death fitting the genre to attract the audience. 

Logo

The logo I made is a still image. I originally started with it being white but this I felt was to bright for a dark crime genre so i changed it to black.

Katies 'Price Productions' logo is moving made to look like an old film reel.