Research and Planning - Selecting a Background

After cutting out and editing my photo that will feature on the front cover of my film magazine I decided that instead of having a plain background (as intended on my draft) have something that relates to our trailer. The murder is set in a forrest/field I have decided to add this element on to the cover to convey more connotations of the film that the audience can relate it with. Below are two photos that I think suit my magazine best. Both are black and white, continuing this dark/grim theme. The first photo has less lighting and is a slightly better quality. The light from the woods is only in the centre of the page so if I were to add the text (such as a banner and the magazine title) in white it would easily show up. However, the second photo might make that transition a little more difficult as it much more bright. This is also makes it look a little more unrealistic. 

Despite my opinion, I am going to hand the photographs out and ask my target audience for their opinion, using their feedback to guide my project.

Research and Planning - Editing Magazine Photo 5

To make the facial features harder to recognise I used the lasso tool to highlight and select that area of the photo, as shown below. Once I had finished the circuit I adjusted the brightness, contrast and saturation further to make the feature under the hood look darker and more mysterious, making the audience try to guess which character it is, as well as feel on edge.

Research and Planning - Editing Magazine Photo 4

To continue this spooky and mysterious theme (portraying our trailer genre) I then went on to adjust the saturation of the photo. By making it slightly less colourful and more grey tinted it makes the model look un-human and unrealistic, suggesting that this person is the murderer. Overall this will make the photo more grim looking which is exactly the purpose.

Research and Planning - Editing Magazine Photo 3

To make my magazine photo more realistic to the genre (spooky and mysterious) I edited both the brightness and contrast of the photo to make it more fitting.

Research and Planning - Editing Magazine Photo 2

Next thing I did was use the blemish tool to smooth out and get ready of any spots/blemishes on my models skin, just as professionals would do. However, since I will be editing that part of the photo (like in my film magazine draft - so the face is less visible) it's not as important to put further effects over the face to make it more model like. Below are my before and after pictures of the blemish tool in use.

 

Research and Planning - Editing Magazine Photo 1

Today I have started to edit the photo I want to feature on the front cover of my film magazine. Firstly, I used the lasso tool to crop my photo so I don't have the pale yellow background the photo was taken on.  

However, I did leave the natural shadow my model made when I took the original photograph in. This will hopefully make the photo look more realistic against it's new background. I next used the rubber tool to go around what I had cropped to smooth out some of the rough edges. One thing I might change when I transfer this over to my front cover is the shadow - I might have to make it darker and slightly transparent to fit the new background.

Research and Planning - Update on Magazine

This is an up to date version of my magazine. I have started to add a banner across the bottom of the page saying what else will be featured in my film magazine. Once I have edited the photo and background, I might alter this slightly (fitting a coloured box behind the lettering) so it stands out and looks more banner like.

Research and Planning - Last Production Company Logo

Me and Elise have already created two production company names and logos (Fourth Planet Productions and Flashlight Productions) however have decided to create another one to possibly include in both our trailer and film poster. The majority of films have multiple collaborating production/distribution companies so I think this will make ours more realistic. The film tape conveys the idea of film, and the word motion suggest positive connotations that we are an up-and-running company.  

Research and Planning - Update On Trailer

Despite not having all of our footage, me and Elise have started editing our trailer, placing the footage we have into our storyboard so we know how it will layout. This includes the majority of the first 30 seconds of our trailer. We have also decided to edit (crop and place) all of our trailer into iMovie then (once completed) export and transfer it over to Final Cut Pro to add special editing features not available on iMovie such as the camera recording effect and night vision effect.

Research and Planning - Update On Magazine

This is my up to date version of my magazine so far after my original copy deleted itself from my desktop. I have set up guidelines for the text and borders for the page to help the layout stay neat and tidy. I have also added some of the text including the title and featuring film. I next intend to add the remaining of the text and start editing my photo (so it's more suited to the genre) to complete my magazine. 

Research and Planning - Weather 31/01/15

Me and Elise will most likely be filming the remaining footage for our trailer this Saturday - the weather will be cold and partly cloudy but there are no signs of snow or rain which is good. We will have to warn our actors/actresses that the weather will be cold so they will have to wrap up warm for the scenes outside. Furthermore, because elements such the location and actors will be the same we won't need to re-fill in any release forms.

Research and Planning - Film Magazine First Draft

In last weeks lesson I started playing around with the fonts and the way they would be displayed on the page. I originally wanted to have final cut displayed in one line across the top of the page, but instead like this version more. I plan on stretching the cut so it reaches the top of the L; this will make the layout look much neater and more professional. I also added a bar code to make the magazine look more realistic, as well as continuing the box layout.  

Research and Planning - Font Decisions

After getting my audience response back (the magazine name) I started playing around with some of the fonts I had previously downloaded. I really like the first and last font - they're bold and eye catching as well as easy to read. They are also similar to 'Empire' and 'Total Film's fonts which are both film magazines. 

Research and Planning - Additional Audience Feedback

Before I added the title of my film magazine to my photoshop draft I wanted to make sure it was appropriate and the name related well to its genre. I therefore asked for some audience feedback via twitter and received a positive response to 'Final Cut'. 

Research and Planning - Finding Fonts

I have recently started the process of making my film magazine and poster so have been researching and downloading fonts via 'dafont'. These include fonts such as 'bandoengsche' - I think this font is similar to magazines such as empire and total film - it is bold and highly recognisable.

Research and Planning - Example Poster Analysis

This is an example poster created by one of our actors in their free time. By covering three of the main characters mug-shots with the title 'Identity' it leaves the audience unable to identify them, hence the narrative of the trailer. Also, the black and white/sepia colour further portrays a detective theme. One of the final things I really like about this poster is the caption 'Murder has many faces.' Alongside the photographs, it presents the genre and running themes clearly to the audience which is exactly what a film poster should do.

Research and Planning - Footage From 17/01/15

Below is short video of all our usable footage (not including the actual footage recorded on the webcam) combined:

Research and Planning - Shooting 17/01/15

These are all behind the scenes photographs of filming today (Danny/teenager one confessing to the webcam and the finding of the dead body in the field). The webcam scene went very well, Danny fit the role perfectly. The only problem we encountered today was the weather/aftermath - therefore we had to place a protective sheet under Danny to ensure that he didn't ruin any of his clothes whilst filming outside in the field. We camouflaged the sheet with leaves and sticks to make it more realistic, as well as making sure none of the remaining sheet was in shot whilst filming. 

  

  

  

Research and Planning - Make-up Shots 17/01/15

In our trailer, we wanted to use straight cut editing showing different parts of the dead body, everything except his face - this way when watching the trailer the audience wouldn't know the 'Identity' of who had died - meaning we could use an existing actor; Danny. In preparation for filming the dead body we had to make Danny more realistic. We used a Halloween make-up set and an eyeshadow palette to 'bloody' him up. We painted a white base over both of Danny's hands then added multiple eyeshadow shades (green, black, purple, maroon) to make it look like he had large bruises covering the back of his hands. Next we added fake blood from the Halloween set to bloody up Danny's knuckles, making it look as though the boy had been in a desperate/strange struggle or fight with someone before his death. We also painted a large bruise over the surface of his neck, as well as a hand print to suggest to the audience that the boy might've died from being strangled.

He has clearly been fighting with someone, but who?

   

  

 

 

Research and Planning - Scene Selection 17/01/15

Today (17/01/15) we had limited time as well as not all the cast members/equipment/props to film our main scenes in our trailer. Therefore, we had to decide what scenes were the easiest to film in this situation. We have decided to film all the dead body scenes (close ups, ext), the finding of the body (a passing dog-walker) and the webcam scene (boy confessing?) at the start of the trailer. All these scenes are related so we now have a firm grounding for editing the first 30 seconds (roughly) of our trailer.

Research and Planning - Model Head Shots

From the auditions we have now casted our trailer 'Identity' - these are our model head shots for our actors/actresses: 

Danny Hart - Teenager one

Lauren Entwistle - Teenager two

 

Isaac Lainton - Teenager three 

David Ogden - Detective

Barney - Dog who senses body on field