Enter the Pitch - Research

For the research of Enter the Pitch we needed to come up with a film idea which is based off the Bible. I'm not a Christian so I didn't have a lot of knowledge on Bible stories, however I have seen a few Biblical themed films such as 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat' so I had some knowledge.

To begin with, I brainstormed about what kind of film I wanted to make and thought of some of my favourite films, which let me to 'Goodfellas'. From this I decided I wanted to make a Gangster film. This is because in Gangster films I find the stories are gripping and I like the style and tension in these films. I looked at some clips from gangster films for inspiration and found a clip from 'Goodfellas II' where somebody is given the Kiss of Death:

I then remembered the part in the Bible where Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss as this is shown in the film 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and thought that these 2 things can be linked. This is because the kiss of death is a kiss of betrayal in the mafia, similar to how Judas' kiss betrays Jesus. For further research I looked at wikipedia pages of both of these subjects:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_of_Judas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_of_death_(mafia)
After this research I was able to come up with some good ideas for me to start planning out my film. To help me with this I made a moodboard to get some ideas and themes down such as similar films, styles, and time periods.

FMP - Research/Experimentation Reflection

During the research period of my FMP I hoped to find out how the final product of my FMP should turn out and what I should include in it. I produced both primary and secondary research - primary through the form of a survey, experimentation and looking at similar products to mine, and secondary through looking online and in books about design & magazine production etc. Out of both of these methods I found primary to be more useful as you could choose what to look at specifically, as well as getting answers more related to your project. I found out a lot of new information through research but the most effective was inspiration (looking at similar products) and what to include in my magazine (survey).

After this research taking place I feel like the project is a lot more organised in my head and I have a clearer idea of what has to be done. If I had to list the three most important findings I discovered in my research they would be design skills, camera skills and what to present in my magazine. From this research my idea has become a lot more refined and focused on specific subjects.

FMP - Research Proposal

For the research section of my FMP I plan to carry out my research in two sections; Primary and Secondary. I have identified a range of areas and sources which I will use for research which are:

Primary
Survey (on magazine and advertisement) - This will help me get an idea of peoples preferred specifics relating to what's in a magazine and what's in an advert.

Reading similar magazines to mine and taking notes (Dazed & Confused, iD, Thrasher, grey, Free Skateboard Magazine) - I will read through these magazines looking for inspiration and conventions of the magazines which I can relate to mine. I will scan in parts of these magazines to show them in my blog.

Watching videos a similar style to my advert - Similar to looking at magazines, this will help me get inspiration and find film or editing techniques which I can incorporate into my project

Looking at magazine specifics - I will order samples of magazines with different bindings/papers so I can see what each one is like and decide on a paper weight, paper finish, and binding for my magazine.

Secondary
Look online to find information on design (colours and their connotations, type layout, photo editing techniques)

With this research I hope to get a clear understanding of how my final product will come out and knowledge to help me produce it to a high standard.

Experimentation

For my FMP I plan to learn and gain new experience in photography, film and design, which will involve some experimentation. Due to this, I created a spreadsheet to help me carry out experimentation during my FMP. It contains a column to list what I'm experimenting with, an overview of what I did, if it's usable and a conclusion.

This is just a template so far, as I hope to think of more things to experiment with
as I go on with my FMP. The image shows how I intend to fill out this document.

During the pre-production of my FMP I plan to experiment with:

-Camera settings (ISO & Aperture)

To experiment with these things I will take test shoots where the environment stays the same to identify how changing these affects the overall look of an image. From looking into these I can build my knowledge on camera settings and decide how I want specific images & videos look for my magazine and video advertisement.

-Different types of camera (DSLR, Film, DV Cam)

I will take test shoots with these to identify how the raw videos and pictures look on each of them. This will help me decide what styles I can incorporate into my magazine and advert.

-Design techniques (Colours, Type, Layout)

For this I will research complimentary colours and if certain colours look nice together or not & different styles of type and font. I will document my findings in a photoshop document. I will also look into photo and text layout to help me set out each page of my magazine. 

-Camera lenses (50mm, Fisheye)

I will take images using different lenses to compare and contrast how each of them look. This enables me to get an idea of which lens I should use at what time and what styles they portray.

For each of these experiments I will blog throughout to show what I'm doing and to document my findings. I will also fill in the spreadsheet I created to help the process go a lot more smoothly.

Primary Research into Film Posters

Primary Research

Poster: Blair Witch
Location: Odeon
Fonts: Serif, All Caps, Formal, Loose Tracking
Colours: Red & Black
Size: Quad
Economic: 2 Colours used, no shading
Constituent Elements: Symbolism, Slogan, Release date, Production company, Social medias
Style: Minimalistic, connotes evil
Artistic/Commercial: 30% commercial, 70% artistic
Target Audience: Under 25 as it is a horror film



Poster: Captain Fantastic
Location: Little Theatre Cinema
Title Font: Mix of serif and sans serif fonts in all caps
Other Fonts: Sans serif, capitalised, quotes in italics
Colours: Pastel colours and natrual aqua colours
Size: Quad
Economic: No, a range of colours with an image included
Constituent Elements: Presents main characters, looking at camera to create intimacy with viewer, Reviews, Star actors name
Style: Minimalistic, eye grabbing
Artistic/Commercial: 50/50
Target Audience: Appeals to all four quadrants

From this research I had a go at designing my own poster for Spirited Away:

 

Reflection on my poster design

To make this poster I used the Ellipse tool to make the clouds at the bottom of the poster and the circles, as well as the eyes for the soot creatures. Other shape tools I used are the Polygon Tool for the gold and the Rectangle Tool for the background. I had to research how to make a star shape in photoshop to draw the soot creatures, and I sourced the other characters from the internet, which I would draw myself if I had enough time. Lastly I used the text tool for the title.

In the original poster I made, it didn't look that effective to me because the colours didn't follow a specific scheme. Therefore the poster wasn't eye catching and looked jumbled. The posters I researched both had a specific colour scheme to give a certain mood/atmosphere e.g. Blair Witch was red and black for horror, so I decided to change the colours of my poster. 

I updated my poster with an orange and red colour scheme, to connote nature and warmness. It also made the poster more visually appealing. Overall I think the poster is effective and it shows the title & director which stand out, however it is missing out a lot of common features usually seen on posters that I listed in my research. Firstly it doesn't have credits at the bottom which are evident on all real film posters. I could've extended the bottom of this poster to make space for credits. Another feature missing is reviews and ratings which help to make the film more desirable to an audience. Lastly, to make the poster more realistic I could add production company logos and additional information about the film. This would make it's appearance more legitimate and professional looking. I left out the log-line and release date as I wanted to keep the posters minimalistic look.

For my next design, I aim to add all of the features which I missed out this time, especially a credits block at the bottom as this helps the poster to look real. I'm also going to make sure I add a release date as this is necessary for all films.