Representation in our Trailer

Representation is “the way in which ideas, objects, people, groups and life-forms are depicted by the mass media [and] is the method used by the mass media to create meanings.” (Price)

“A stereotype is a label which involves a process of categorisation and evalua-tion… an easily grasped characteristic (usually negative) is presumed to belong toa whole group…”(O’Sullivan, Dutton & Rayner)

Perkins (1979) argues that:

1.some stereotypes are positive ( “The French are good cooks.”)

2.they are not always minority groups or the less powerful

3.they can be held about one’s own group

4.they are not rigid or unchanging

5.they are not always false

Perkins suggests that stereotypes are not always negative and sometimes contain a grain of truth. This relates to our trailer as stereotypes feature throughout. One stereotype shown in our trailer is 'teenagers', the protagonist conveys several stereotypical aspects of a teenager, such as the idea that teenagers take drugs and drink. He is conforming to these ideas of teenagers, however, the narrative of the trailer allows the audience to be empathetic towards the protagonist and understand why he is taking part in these activities. Another stereotype depicted in our trailer is Mods, a common image which represents Mods is a violent gang. However, the image illustrated in our trailer is towards to fashion aspects of the Mods, shown through clips of the boy imitating style, seen in the 'MODS!' book, by wearing a suit and parka. 

Representation of Youths

A convention which we have developed in our trailer is the common representation of youths. In our trailer we have shown the boy with his hood up in the scenes when he is misbehaving, a common impression that all teenagers wear hoods and rebel. We have conformed to this stereotype in these scenes as it represents his behaviour and hides his identity while he is taking part in the antisocial activities, such as kicking over bins and throwing things. This convention can be seen in films such as Kidulthood and 8 mile.

Film Awards (why we used them)

Founded in 2000, the East End Film Festival is one of the UK’s largest film festivals. EEFF’s mission is to discover, support, and exhibit pioneering work by global and local independent filmmakers, and to introduce viewers to innovative and challenging cinematic experiences. The festival showcases hot new talent and homegrown films alongside larger independent releases and special events.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conferences & Festivals (March 8-17, 2013) offer the unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. Fostering creative and professional growth alike, SXSW® is the premier destination for discovery.

Poster deconstruction - Submarine

1.) Title - The title is centralised however not in the middle of the poster, it is quite low down just above the billing block and actor and directors names. It being placed here works well as it means all the text is in one place and it is just below the main protagonist's face on the image. The colouring of the text (orange, white and red) is unclear why its that colour unlike This is England where the colours are linked to Engalnd. One reason they are these colours could be because they stand out against the cyan blue background.
2.) Newspaper Reviews -  The 3 reviews from well known newspapers and magazines are in a line and centralised. Each group of text is also individually centralised with the source of the quote underneath. The review text is in black and the source is in colour, which relates to the 3 colours of the title, however in a different order. This works well as it makes the bold colours of the title more relevant.
3.) Directors name - The directors name on this poster is larger than the actors which usually happens when the director is more famous than any of the actors used in the film. It goes well where it has been placed as it reads just after the title. the lettering being in white also matches with all the other text used underneath the title over the image, which keeps it all quite simple and easy on the eye.
4.) Actors names - Challenging a convention of film posters, this poster hasnt made the actors names big and bold, instead they are under the title and the directors name in a smaller less bold font. This could be due to the actors starring in the film not being very well known therefore they dont need to stand out, they just need to be included. There are 5 actor names incldued on the poster in one line, this looks aesthetically pleasing as it looks neat and fits to the edges well, however they are slightly difficult to read because they are written in one line.
5.) Image of protagonist -  The image of the protagonist is really interesting as he is alone, in other youth culture flim posters we have looked at, the main character is always central however other characters are included smaller on the poster. The expression on the boys face is very plain and innocent and he looks quite young in the photo as hes in a school uniform which is clear from the shirt and tie and his age.
6.) Producers opinion - The producers opinion which is right at the top of the poster is unusual on a film poster however gives more credit to the film and goes well with the newspaper reviews just below.
7.) Billing block - The billing blocks font is the typical small thin lettering with varies of letters in and out of capital. The block is quite thick and square looking as it hasnt been stretched right out to the edges however this may have been done so that it doesnt go wider than the protagonists body in the background image.
8.) Production company images - The amount of production company logos on a film poster varies, some only include a few however this poster has aboutn nine. All nine logos are kept together underneath the billing block which looks neat and round of the billing block well.

Poster deconstruction - This is England

1.) The title is entirely centralised in a bold font and written in capitals. It is cleverly coloured so each word is red white or blue, which is related to the Union Jack, the flag of England. The title is made out to look as though it has been graffitied onto the corrugated metal background.
The bold font makes it easy and clear to reading also matches the genre of drama as its making a statement.

2.) The image used on the poster suits the theme and genre really well, it also gives a good impression on the film. The image shows a variety of main characters and supporting ones. The main character is the young boy who in the line is central which is a convention of a film poster.Each teenager in the image is posing differently and it doesnt come accross as though it is a posed photo, it looks how you would expect that group of people to stand.

3.) The film awards are located at the very top and centralised, the 3 award logos show which awards This is England won from the British Independence and Rome Film Festival awards. They give credit to the film and show off how good it is. Therefore they have been placed where they can be seen. Also the logos are well known meaning by looking at the poster people will be able to recognise it has won awards without having to read them.

4.) Under the film award logos there are 3 review quotations. The 3 reviews quote the review, say where its from and two of the show how many stars it was rated. the reviews being at the top and central make them easy to see and by using actual stars the reviws can be uderstood without actually needing to look at them. They are also placed well on the poster as they are just below the awards which means all the opinions on the film are kept together.

5.) The billing block is in typical small, thin writing as it contains everything which has to be out of the poster, however isn't as important as the title, image, tag line and actors. There's two billing blocks on this poster, one is central and contains all the names and production companies needed to be included, as well as some of their logos. There is another smaller billing block bottom right centralised with the 'Universal Music' logo and some text about the sound track. The two billing blocks work well as it means the centralised one is smaller meaning there can be more room in the poster for more important features.

6.) This is the age certification of the minimum age allowed to watch this film. Conventionally certification is placed in a bottom corner, however on this poster it is just underneath the title which is in the middle. The certification isn't very clear as it is white text with a transparent background against a grey/white blue background.

7.) 'A film by Shane Meadows' is an important like as Shane Meadows wrote and directed the film. It is written as though it has been sprayed onto the corrugated metal which makes it authentic and closely links it to the theme of the film as its about youths and crime. It being placed underneath the title means it is read straight after, which is appropriate as it is quite important as the name of the director is a main convention of a film poster.

8.) The tag line is above the title which is challenging a convention of a film poster as they are usually under the title so they are read second. The tag line is in the same font and affect as the title but in black, so it still looks as though it is printed onto the corrugated metal. The tag line is short and is in two parts. 'Summer 1983' is a statement giving the viewer a clear idea of the time period its set in, the second part 'a time to stand out from the crowd' indicates its going to be about youths who are all trying to standout, meaning doing things they'll get in trouble for.

9.) This shows the website address (www.thisisenglandmovie.com) It is part of the billing block however at the bottom and centralised. It is also in a bigger and slightly bolder font so it is more noticed.

Audience profile

We created an audience feedback of typical people who would enjoy our trailer. We had two different people, a younger boy called Tom who would watch the film and feels it is similar to his life now and Paul who is older and would enjoy it to reminisce of when he was young and like that.

























We also looked into parts of our trailer each of our typical viewers would like:
Tom...
• Smoke being blown out
• Boy and girl falling onto bed
• Drug taking
• Running through Brighton

Paul...
• Reference to Quadrophenia
• Vesper scene
• Pictures in the mod book
• Non-diegetic sound track of 60s rock

Branigan's Theory

Branigan thought that people tend to remember stories in terms of “categories of information” and that narrative is an “activity that organises data into a special pattern which represents and explains experience”:

1.introduction of setting and characters

2.explanation of state of affairs

3.initiating event

4.emotional response or statement of a goal by the protagonist

5.complicating actions

6.outcome

7.reactions to the outcome

Our trailer applies to this theory as many of the main features are shown in our trailer. The introduction of setting and characters is shown in our trailer through shots such as the establishing shots of Sheppy and Brighton, and the medium shot of the boy and introducing shot of his friend. The explanation of state of affairs is shown is the voice over as this tells the audience about what is happening in the film. The initiating event is the boy and his father moving to Brighton and emotional response by the protagonist is shown by him misbehaving. Complicating actions include the boys actions such as taking drugs, drinking and showing violent behavior. the outcome and reaction to the outcome are not shown so that the audience are left guessing and will be more likely to want to watch the film.

Website homepage

We have recently added the film award logos and film review quotes to the homepage of our website. We were inspired to do this after looking at other film websites, such as the Electrick Children film website.

Below are images of the film reviews which are shown on our website and in our trailer.

Here is an image of our final homepage with the film awards and film reviews added.

Film reviews in the trailer

After attempting several film reviews in the film, we decided to use the banners (shown below). These provide the trailer with a 'comic book' aspect and zoom in and out when shown. We changed one of the reviews to say 'A GENUINE REPRESENTATION OF TODAYS YOUTHS' as this includes the teenage audience and the other one, 'BEST MOD FILM SINCE QUADROPHENIA', draws in the older adult audience.

Conventions of a film website

Whilst creating our film website we looked at current films of the same genres websites to see what inspiration we could get and what conventions we wanted to match or challenge. Some typical conventions of a film website are as follows;
• Film title
• Background image from the movie
• Large movie logo- usually centralised
• Release date
• Tag line
• Main actor names
• Links to other pages (extras)
• Links to social networking sites (Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram)
• Working title logo
• Link to the trailer
• Certification
• Links to review

Some examples of film websites we looked at were;
- Les Mis
- Life of Pi
- Electrick Children
- Fish Tank

Final production company

After previously researching a variety of production companies we finally decided to use Film4. This was because they are known for backing British films and films with low budgets, which would fit well with Fluoxetine Film.
Film4 is closely linked to Channel4 which is a terrestrial tv channel aimed at a middle to young generation. We did some research into channel 4 and they're target audience, some of the results we found are included below:
The images below were provided by Channel4 and are about the content shown on Channel4 and people's views on the channel and its sub channels such as Film4, E4, More4 and 4Music.
These images were really useful when helping us decide which production company to use as we need to make sure it is suitable for our trailer.

Evaluation question 4 plan:

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
-before writing my evaluation question answer I came up with a plan of all the the new media technologies we used throughout creating our trailer, which stages in the process they were used and for what reason they were used.

iMovie
- Construction, evaluation
Create trailer, website background and evaluation film.

Youtube & Vimeo
- Research, Evaluation
To look at current trailers, tutorials and to publish our drafts of our trailer for feedback.

Microsoft word
-Construction
To edit our posters, to create the pop up banners and printed book pages.

Cameras & equipment
- Construction
Slr camera to take location shots and photos for the poster back grounds. Video cameras to record the footage to be edited for the trailer.

Blogger.com
- Evaluation
To blog all our progress and decisions of our trailer progress.

Wix.com
- Construction
To create the website for our ancillary task.

Google (search engines)
- Research
To search conventions of our genre and find films of the same genre

Social networking sites
- Evaluation
To share our trailer uploaded to youtube to get feedback

Dafont.com
- Construction
To download a font which suited the era and could be used in every task.

Paint
- Construction
To create the website deconstruction and the images which went into iMovie

Todorov's Theory

Tzvetan Todorov simplified the idea of narrative theory whilst also allowing a more complex interpretation of film texts with his theory of Equilibrium and Disequilibrium.

The theory suggests:
The fictional environment begins with a state of equilibrium (everything is as it should be)
It then suffers some disruption (disequilibrium)
New equilibrium is produced at the end of the narrative

Our trailer follows some of these conventions, however, as it is a trailer, not everything in the film will be shown. The original state of equilibrium is before the mothers death, the disruption is the mothers death (disequilibrium) and the rest of the trailer shows the attempt to reinstate the original equilibrium. This is sone by the boy moving to Brighton and so on.

Film viewing feedback

We had a screening of our film and created a questionaire so that we could get feedback and see if we needed to make any last minute alterations befroe the deadline.

Good feedback included the use of the music. The audience felt that the music fitted with the genre and they could determine the genre by listening to the music.

Some people thought that the cirtification of the film was 15, but we decided to keep it as 18.

Film viewing feedback

 From the viewing of our trailer, we gained feedback about what the audience (teenagers and adults) liked and disliked. One of the main features that we found people did not like was the sound gap next to the voiceover.
An example of this is in this feedback sheet where the person has written "when the sound faded completely".

Favourite parts included: smoking, running through Brighton and the audience felt that they were left wanting more.

Creating our production title

A convention of a film trailer is a production title at the beginning, as a group we decided to create one of these ourself rather than use a ready made one. We also felt by inluding a production title it would look more professional and fit the conventions of a trailer better.

Due to our film being called Fluoxetine we decided to call our production company 'Chemical Productions' because Fluoxetine is a drug. We came up with some ideas such as using chemical structures or large quantities of tablets as the background with text ontop

Some image ideas we had were below, however we would have to develop these in post production into a moving production title.

Reviews in the trailer

Our first attempt at putting film reviews in our trailer was by using 'pop art' look reviews. To do this we converted the images of star shaped boxes with reviews in them into iMovie.

The first reviews reads "AN ATTRIBUTE TO THE 60'S" The Daily Mail

The second review reads "BEST MOD FILM SINCE QUADROPHENIA"The Guardian

Soundtrack

https://soundcloud.com/danwattsmusic/60s-rock-instrumental

https://soundcloud.com/qbba/sets/indie-rock

https://soundcloud.com/epithetmusic/indie-rock-instrumental

https://soundcloud.com/fischoffmusic/indie-rock-anthem-2

https://soundcloud.com/digitalnoisemusic/the-streets-indie-pop-rock

https://soundcloud.com/biospawn-1/indie-rock-track-early

Here are some of the potential soundtracks that we have found while trying to choose our music.

welcome to our media blog!!

Fluoxetine Instagram page

As well as a YouTube and Twitter account we decided to create another social network site for the Fluoxetine trailer. We chose to create an Instagram account because we had so many photographs which we had taken during filming at our different locations so decided to publish them. We also published some of our poster design ideas to see which had the most 'likes.' This meant Instagram was also used for audience feedback.

For each picture we uploaded, we edited them to black&white to fit in with our trailer, we also #tagged them with relevant tags so that more people would find our Instagram page.

Fluoxetine Word Cloud

This is a word cloud of all the themes and relevant language to our trailer Fluoxetine, we chose to display it this way as its more interesting and becomes a visual representation as well a written. We also edited the colours to match the mod symbol.

David Baliey (in the trailer)

Shot from our trailer

Research on David Bailey

In our trailer we have reference to the style of David Bailey, for example in the shot of the boy smoking it looks very similar to the style of Bailey's art work.

Another example of this style is the use of black and white, a specific shot with resembles Bailey's work is the boy getting dressed. The use of black and white and showing him in a suit combines to create a similar feel of his work.

Final production title

After experimentation of different production titles, we finalised with the one pictured below.
We filmed this by getting a selection of tablets of a variety of shapes and colours, we then dropped them onto a white piece of paper with a white background.
We then fast forwarded the dropping of the tablets on iMovie and then edited it so the tab.ets then elevated back to where they started.
We added an iMovie sound effect to the production title called 'jet flyby' we edited the sound effect so that it fitted to when the tablets changed from falling to elevating.

Poster Billing Block

For our poster to look more professional we decided to include a billing block. These are often included on film posters and at the end of trailers. The billing block typically consists of the companies, actors, directors, producers and other crew members involved in the film.

After looking at 4 other billing blocks on film posters of similar genres, it seems they are all placed at the centre bottom of the poster. Seeing as this is a convention we have decided to match it on our poster.