Monday, 28 November 2011

Poster production ideas and practice

Why have i done this ? 


I wanted practice on how i was going to design my poster, i have been doing research on poster design and production and have tried to incorporate it here into my work. This is just a quick example on how i may continue to further design my poster for my film Bad Influence







What have i done and why ?


The film is about a mans struggle to rid of alcohol. I have tried to include this cleverly into my example poster. The main object on the image is the pint, This is ideal because i want the viewers to automatically see what this entails and try to work out what its going to be about. The fact we see Charlie looking through the pint can tell us that his not looking at the camera ahead but perhaps the alcohol in between and his fixated on it. His eyes are wide open to indicate his lust for it. The writing 'Bad influences' is seen backwards here, this is to perhaps give off the suggestion that he is drunk, or planning to get drunk. Not being able to see things correctly and often double taking is a cause of drinking to much, this is what i have tried to create here. So when the viewer see's this automatically they would have to look twice at the title and why its positioned like that, for an effect.

Saturday, 26 November 2011

Magazine production ideas and practice

Why have i done this ? 


I wanted to give my self some examples of some famous and well none titles in magazine film and how to incorporate them on my magazine. I am also trying to figure which title would suit my comedy film more, for that i will have to research on popular and well known magazine film titles and find out what genre they prefer and stick to. A Niche market or mass market.



Tuesday, 22 November 2011

Further ideas that i may introduce into my trailer

  • In the first scene (Charlie is waking up from his hangover) i will include university papers and work all over the floor, this will tell the audience show them that he is at university and has proplems staying in it. There will be eviction notices' and letters from the university saying he will be chucked off the course. Now within this scene i might introduce Charlies brother Jason, who will tell him about his unversity and set him up for the scene when he trys to remember what happened the night before.
Camera                            Edit                     Props

The camera                  A straight cut           Calender
will pan in on               to the camera facing
the calender for            the bed.
a close up of it


This will be               There will be a               Letters
the begining of          fade in to reveal
the scene, their          the bedroom scene.
will be a shot of
the bedroom, then
slowly panning
across the bedroom
to reveal the uni letters
which will be zoomed
on then back out
to charlie.


Charlie will remember                  a straight cut will occur       Tutu
his night out then a medium             after we see the mid
shot of him looking                       shot of him looking
underneath the covers,               down the covers.
then a p.o.v shot to
see the tutu he is wearing




Now the props that might be included within the new script i have added are.
  • Calender
  • Letters
  • Tutu

Thursday, 17 November 2011

questions asked at the audience

Why do you watch comedy films ? 

it makes me laugh and then puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day but also because instead of like stand up comedy it actually has a story line so its easier to follow. some of the things they do in the films you can relate to events in your own life making it easy to relate to, so you find it easy to laugh at and enjoy.

what type of comedy films do you like?
  

and why ?

Things like the hangover where theres always at least one stupid person and the humor is witty and up to date, ones that arent at all serious so the atmosphere is lighter which makes it more enjoyable. Its easier to watch and is more mature than other comedy films.


do you think comedy films are more successful than other genres in film and why ?

Yes because it relates to both males and females of all ages rather than something like romance which generally appeals to younger girls more or action and sci-fi which would appeal more to men.



Monday, 14 November 2011

shot by shot


Final Set Details and photos

Set Details

I wont be using many sets during my filming, The first set that will be using is my bedroom. Now on average there will be 25 seconds of filming in my bedroom at the start and at the end. Within the set will be
  • A bed
  • Table
  • Clothes
  • Alarm
  • Charlie
The Next set will be selly oak walking towards the train station. On average there will be 10 seconds of filming, walking towards the soak  pub within selly oak. The set will include
  • Selly oak strip, (including the pubs and people within the road running through selly oak)
  • Charlie and his mates (tbd)
The next Set will be In selly oak pub, this is where i will be filming the scene when charlie drinks his first beer. On average there will be 12-15 seconds on futage in the Soak. Set include
  • The bar
  • charlie and his mates
  • pint of beer
  • people inside in the pub
  • chairs, tables
The final set will be back in my bedroom.



Here are some photo's of the sets....








Saturday, 12 November 2011

Comedy up to now

Why i have put this on my blog ?
The reason i have included this on my blog is because i wanted to research how comedy has evolved over the years. How comedy films have become more and more successful and what type of comedy films are the most successful. I wanted to know how its changed and how the audience views it. 


1895-1930

During these times it was visual comedy due to the fact there was still no sounds in films,The visual humour of many of these silent films relied on slapstick and burlesque.
A very early comedy short was Watering the Gardener (1895)



the most prominent comic actors of the silent era were Charlie Chaplin (although born in England, his success was principally in the U.S.) Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.
A popular trend during the 1920s and afterward was comedy in the form of animated cartoons. Several popular characters of the period received the cartoon treatment. Among these were Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and Betty Boop.

1930-1950

Toward the end of the 1920s, the introduction of sound into movies made possible dramatic new film styles and the use of verbal humour. During the 1930s, the silent film comedy was replaced by dialogue from film comedians such as the W. C. Fields and the Marx Brothers.
Oliver Hardy , who had made a number of very popular short silent films, used the arrival of sound to deepen their well-formed screen characterizations and enhance their visual humour, and went on to great success in talking films. The comedian Charlie Chaplin was one of the last silent film hold-outs, and his films during the 1930s were devoid of dialogue, although they did employ sound effects.
In the United Kingdom, film adaptations of stage farces were popular in the early 1930s, while the music hall tradition strongly influenced film comedy into the 1940s with Will Hay and George Formby among the top comedy stars of the time. In England in the late 1940s, Ealing Studios achieved popular success as well as critical acclaim with a series of films known collectively as the "Ealing comedies", from 1947 to 1957. They usually included a degree of social comment, and featured ensemble casts which often included Alec Guinness or Stanley Holloway. Among the most famous examples were Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955).

The post-war period was an age of reflection on the war, and the emergence of a competing medium, the television. In 1948, television began to acquire commercial momentum and by the following year there were nearly a hundred television transmitters in American cities.
By the 1950s, the television industry had become a serious competition for the movie industry. Despite the technological limitations of the TV medium at the time, more and more people chose to stay home to watch the television. The Hollywood studios at first viewed the television as a threat, and later as a commercial market. Several comic forms that had previously been a staple of movie theaters transitioned to the television. Both the short subject and the cartoon now appeared on the television rather than in the theater, and the "B" movie also found its outlet on the television.

1960-1980's

The next decade saw an increasing number of broad, star-packed comedies including It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) and The Great Race (1965). By the middle of the decade, some of the 1950s generation of American comedians, such as Jerry Lewis, went into decline, while Peter Sellers found success with international audiences in his first American film The Pink Panther. The bumbling Inspector Clouseau was a character Sellers would continue to return to over the next decade.


Toward the end of the 1950s, darker humour and more serious themes had begun to emerge, including satire and social commentary. Dr. Strangelove 1964 was a satirical comedy about Cold War paranoia, while The Apartment 1960 Alfie 1966 and The Graduate 1967 featured sexual themes in a way that would have been impossible only a few years previously.
Among the leading lights in comedy films of the next decade were Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. Both wrote, directed and appeared in their movies. Brooks' style was generally slapstick and zany in nature, often parodying film styles and genres, including Universal horror films (Young Frankenstein), westerns (Blazing Saddles) and Hitchcock films (High Anxiety). Following his success on Broadway and on film with The Odd Couple playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon would also be prominent in the 1970s, with films like The Sunshine Boys and California Suite. Other notable film comedians who appeared later in the decade were Richard Pryor, Steve Martin and Burt Reynolds.
Also popular were the films of John Hughes such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He would later become best known for the Home Alone series of the early 1990s. The latter film helped a revival in comedies aimed at a family audience, along with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and its sequels.

1990-2010's


Probably more representative of British humour were the working class comedies Brassed Off (1996) and The Full Monty (1997). Other British comedies examined the role of the Asian community in British life, including Bhaji on the Beach (1993), East Is East (1999), Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Anita and Me (2003).
Also there were "stoner" comedies, which usually involve two guys on an adventure with random things happening to them along the way. Big movies of this sub-genre would be "The Big Lebowski", Dude, Where's My Car, Big Nothing, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, and Pineapple Express. These movies usually have drug-related jokes and crude content.


Another development was the increasing use of "gross-out humour" usually aimed at a younger audience, in films like There's Something About Mary, American Pie and its sequels, and Freddy Got Fingered. In mid 2000s, the trend of "gross-out" movies is continuing, with adult-oriented comedies picking up the box office. But serious black comedies (also known as dramatic comedies or dramedies) were performing also well, such as The Weather Man, Broken Flowers and Shopgirl. In late 2006, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan blended vulgar humour with cultural satire.

Wednesday, 9 November 2011

Final analysis of Magazine front cover

Due date

I was unable to find a magazine with the film Due Date as its front cover but i found a picture within a double page spread which i can analyse


This is a very different picture to the one used in the poster, first of all we see Zack portraying to be the dominant character unlike him on the poster. His is very close to literally standing on Robert Downey Jr in this picture. He is sitting in the center of the photo arms by his side, which can reiterate my point about him being dominant. We see Robert on the floor at his knees which can be a sign to see within the film. Robert is at Zacks throughout the film. At his will. His eyes can tell us that he is being forced, dragged down by Zack within the film perhaps emotionally and physically wearing at him. This is a great represented to their characters within the film. Robert is supposed to be seen as the more dominant character, controls situation and makes the plans and ideas. This is trying to tell us through out the film Zack has being pulling him down with him, slowly wearing his thin until Zack is on top of him and in control ( shown on the picture).
The fact that Robert has his hands in a claw shape can tell us that Zack has him down like an animal. Perhaps he has replaced the dog thats in Zacks hands. Lying on the floor. 

Tuesday, 8 November 2011

final analysis of poster

Due Date



Analysis


The first we thing we notice about this poster is the postioning of the charatcters, as both of them are on other sides of the poster from each other, this could tell us that they are not the best of friends. The facial expression on each of the character tells us a lot of both of them. The angry face of Robert Downey jr and the more happy and passive face of Zack. This could tell us that within the long story of the film, Robert Downey jr is more of the miserable and agressive character and that Zack is the more laid back and happy character. Perhaps this could tell us that Robert is angry and Zack.
The fact that Roberts sun glasses are positioned on his noise and his head is on a slight tilt looking down on the camera tells us that his is being deadly serious about something. Perhaps with the picture is trying to show that he doesn't think its funny (even though its a comedy), like in a sense that his not supposed to be there.
Zack on the other hand is holding a dog, this could tell us that he is lonely and needs comfort from and animal, and perhaps trying to replace that friendship with his dog to Robert. A dog its considered to be (mans best friend) this could show that this is what Zack needs, 'a mans best friend'.
The words 'Keep pushing' are shown on the poster. Now this is related to the picture itself where we see him pushing Zacks head away from him, using a double meaning. The other could be the fact Zack is so desperate for them to be friends, so he keeps pushing to be friends.
Now the fact wee see the dog is in a neck brace and we see Robert's arm tied up tells us that they get into a bit of trouble and havoc in the film and perhaps due to this Robert is pushing Zack away.

Sunday, 6 November 2011

Sets/Props/Actors

Sets

The first set will be inside my bedroom, a close up on the top of  bed.

Here's an example




The second shot will be Either Selly oak train Station or the road outside the soak pub in Selly oak, here's an example

The soak

The third shot will be within the town center, just a random pole within the streets ( preferably by clubs ) Here's an example




The last shot will be back at my bedroom.



Props

There will be no set props in the trailer but only casual clothing and the props within the sets, such as drinks, clothing etc.

in one scene there will be a part where Charlie is tied to a pole in the town center drunk. The props and clothing that will be used here will be
  • ripped clothing
  • sick down the clothing


  • (perhaps wearing women's clothing)
  • rope

  • sign 

For the last scene, the sides of the bedroom there will be
  • clothing 
  • pills (hangover treatment) 

  • bedroom necessaries e.g. bedding



Actors 

The characters will be played by local friends



Charlie Beer: Matthew Dinsmore



 Jason Beer: Jason Dinsmore


Friends of charlie : Unkown

Thursday, 3 November 2011

Trailer scene by scene

First shot

The first shot is a panning shot slowly rises up the bed with an alarm going off, the camera slowly reveals a very hung over man obviously from the night before. It will show him struggling to remember what happened the night before. With clothes all around him, hair all messed up, sick on the blanket it will go into him trying to remember the night before. Average 12- 15 seconds

Second shot

The second shot will be Charlie trying to remember the night before, there will be a fade and then with a stedi-cam seeing Charlie and his mates walking to the pub, reminding him he will be chucked out of University but still edge him on. Average 10 -15 seconds.

Third shot
 Charlie entering a pub saying to his friends ' just the one tonight lads', with a zooming in close up of him buying and just about to drink his beverage. This shot will last at around 10 -13 seconds long.

Fourth shot
just after you see him taking the first sip of his drink there will be a cut shot showing him in a long shot then a medium shot of him tied up again a post, clothes off, sick down him, torn clothes with a sign at the top of the pole saying 'liverpool' and then a close up shot of his face. Which will show him half conscience, daydreaming. Average 6 seconds

Fifth Shot
There will then be a cut shot back to him in the bed and then the noise of 'eurghhhhh' will start. This shot will last at average 4 seconds.

Average just under a minute.

Potential shots
At the moment i am un-sure weather to add another shot or two of Charlie getting off the train with his mates going into strip. This will tell the audience in more detail what Charlies proplems are within his University and his mates peer pressure would be visualy and physically shown, i am unsure weather to add this within my trailor because it might be to long.

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Start/middle/end- Narrative

The film will be called Bad Influences 

Beginning
The film will begin by introducing us to the character Charlie Beer. It will tell us that he is studying and Birmingham Uni, his moved out of his house, how old he his. Just a general introduction to the character, this will be done by friends recognizing his decisions in life also his faults and what he needs to do to fix it. For example, one scene could open up with him in his flat/share house with his friends. With him being upset about how hard University is his friends could slip them in e.g. " Come one Charlie cheer up, i no that you got dumped by your girl friend, struggling at University etc But just have a drink with us and cheer up" This will give the audience the general realization that his friends are not helping by pushing him off track and turning to alcohol.
The begging of the film will basically show the viewer Charlies typical life style, go to uni some of the days and pretty much getting drunk every week and end up doing something ridiculous and stupid. It will show the viewer that he when he is sober is can be lazy and a 'cant be bothered attitude' pretty much cant wait to get drunk again, where his wild side comes out.   It will shows the nights Charlie goes out on, his heavy drinking and general just loving party mode until he realizes his bad ways.

Middle 
Around half way within the film Charlie is going to realize his bad ways, the university will give him a chance to chance before he is kicked out of the university. He will struggle to change, try his hardest to study and concentrate on his work. Again due to peer-pressure  from his friends he will slip from studies and continue to go and get drunk. This part of the film will see Charlie's struggles to concentrate on his work, and finally due to family he starts to go well in university.
A few months down the line he gets fed out of not going out at all and putting all his concentration in work. He falls back to his friends and back into the routine of going out and getting drunk but this time there's consequences, he gets chucked out of university due to his lack of commitment to his work and studies.   

End

With charlie been chucked out of university he falls down a deep whole and cant get out. He is out more often then normal and drinking his sorrows and any chance of a future down the drain. The last parts of the film will be charlie fighting back is obsessive party's and concentrating on making his family happy. He then starts a long recuperation, going cold turkey on partying, struggling with the new lifestyle but then with surprising encourage from his friends he finds his way and the university accept his back. The film will have a happy ending with him back at university and his friends supporting him.