Analysis of film posters/DVD covers

Here is a movie poster called 'Gamer'. It has been created in block, red capitals. This stands out against background which is a black and white, close-up photograph of a man's face. In the middle of his face, there is a crack revealing part of another face, as though it is trapped inside. There are shadows on the side of his face, showing evidence of low lighting. The part of the face that appears to be trapped in the man's face, is in colour, contrasting with the main image of the man, suggesting winner's and losers. The man has a serious face expression on his face, whereas the person who looks trapped inside the face looks helpless and lost. The audience are not able to see the trapped person's complete identity creating suspicion.The main actor's name has been written in block red capitals at the top of the poster. This also stands out against the background, which suggests this is a main focus of the whole film poster.

I chose to analyse this poster, as I liked the way the person has been illustrated to be trapped in some sort of crack, and felt it links in with our thriller concept as it creates a sense of being captured or trapped.

Here is another film poster that I feel is simple yet so effective. The title of the film 'Identity', and the main image on the poster is of a hand print that has been made up of 5 people's smudged figures. The palm of the hand print is of half a person's face looking shocked. The bottom part of the hand has been made up of a blood stain. The audience are unable to see the 5 figures, identity's which creates mystery and uncertainty. The hand print may be a victim. At the top of the poster, it has a short, simple slogan. 'Identity is a secret. Identity is a mystery.' which suggest the reason for blacking out the faces of the people.'Identity is a killer' which would explain the blood stains. The background is white, suggesting innocence.

Filming

Today we began shooting on a deserted road in our local area. We did establishing shots, and point of views. The weather wasn't great as it began to rain a little while after we got there.

New and Improved Storyboard

Initial Idea

Our initial idea for our thriller film opening was to be shot at Brent Cross Shopping Centre. We went went there a couple of times and produced some test shots of crowds. Here are some of our test shots:

The camera we used was not HD, therefore the quality of the image did not come out very well. As we got to the shopping centre quite early, there was a lack of crowds, which we needed as part of our scene/setting.Overall, the test shots did not turn our very well, and so we have decided to change the whole area in which we are going to set our story in. Instead we chose to find a more deserted area, which would have also fit in with the thriller conventions. This will also be more convenient as it will be shot in our local area.

My Group Project

Our Thriller Opening Idea

Our group project is a psychological thriller, involving a man getting revenge on his wife's killer. To be able to make a successful thriller opening sequence, me and my group had to do research on similar other products, to get a idea of what types of thriller conventions they used. For our project we researched the 1995 film 'Se7en' and 'The Bourne Ultimatum'. We also had to research the guidelines for certificate ratings. We also created questionnaire's and surveys to ask the audience what types of thrillers they enjoyed and what they thought of our synopsis for our film opening. After collecting results, we went our to do some test shoots. These weren't very successful, therefore we decided to change our idea slightly. We are currently still filming and researching different distributors. We are also trying to create a soundtrack for our opening sequence.

Thoughts and Progress

I feel our idea is good, but in order to make it successful, we need to do thorough research on similar products, and plan out our sequence properly, which I feel we need to improve on. We have done some research on products, but we have not analysed different openings in detail using screen grabs, commenting on what was successful or unsuccessful. However, we have looked at other AS coursework projects, which have helped us expand on our idea.

We also need to start getting our filming completed, so that we can start putting the sequence together and editing it. We are currently working on this.

Todorov's 5 Stage Model and Propps Theory

Todorov's 5 stage model

• Begin with an equilibrium, a state of normality, or a balance/equality between powers of any kind
• Disequilibrium - an event/character that disrupts the equilibrium
• A main protagonist recognizes the disruption 
• The protagonist sets out to restore the equilibrium 
• New Equilibrium is established - transformations have occurred 

Propp's Theory 
8 Character Types

• The hero ('saves the day', seeks something) 
• The villain (opposes hero) 
• The donor (helps the hero by providing magic) 
• The dispatcher (sends hero away) 
• The helper (helps and supports hero) 
• The princess (hero's reward, also need protecting/rescuing from villain)
• The princess' father (rewards hero) 
• The false hero

Soundtrack Research

Here is a piece of music two other members in my group researched. The piece starts of quite slow, with a slight beat. As it goes on, new instruments are introduced such as violins, creating a very unsettling atmosphere. At points in the piece, the music suddenly goes quiet, and then picks up again, becoming more upbeat and louder. A part of the piece sounds like electricity, or something breaking up. The notes used are low-pitched. The piece is very eerie, creating a very tense atmosphere. This inspired us as it was very unsettling and uneasy, in places randomly loosing beat. This ties in with our concept as the person does not know that he is going to get captured and tortured. It is all unexpected.