Introduction-
[Ana and Charley both introduce ourselves and their film ' Bitter Twisted Lies']
Ana- Hello my name is Ana De- Jesus
Charley- Hi my name is Charley Johnson and we are the creators of Bitter Twisted Lies our Romantic Drama genred film.
- talk about use of camera angles/shots composition/
- special effects/ editing/ stylism
-talk about all these factors in relation to our film poster and magazine
- e.g. Use of capturing particular facial expressions were used to symbolise each character e.g. me looking worried/shocked/upset which was reinforced in both the poster and the magazine.
I then created a proper script, to coincide with the voice-over as I felt the script would be effective in establishing the differences and the similarities between all of the ancillary products.
Script
We have chosen to include the conventional green trailer preview screen, containing the rating of the film in order to explicitly show exactly which target audience we are aiming for, so that the viewer may be clearly aware of this fact. To maintain this authenticity we also used an introductory logo production company ' Film 4' because of the fact that it is an independent film maker institution of British origin and as we do not have any special effects or CGI so we felt this would be most appropriate, as well as for the genre as well. One of the most famous film 4 romance genre films is Elizabeth which made nearly 83 million and Enduring Love directed by Rodger Michael.One of the key features of our teaser trailer is our use of shots. For example quick montage shots set up the fast paced narrative , that reflects the dangerous nature of their passionate affair and this is contrasted against isolated shots of me, usually by myself disconnected from society and the people I love, which allows the audience to empathise with my character conforming to the Uses and Gratification model which allows the audience to feel maternal towards me. Another interesting shot to note is the use of the juxtaposed screen split 4 ways both me and Amiee doing almost the same thing, in one rubbing our stomachs and the other holding a pregnancy test both looking worried, and the movements are synchronised to appear as one,as though we are both controlled by the dominance of Chris's love but also to find out as to whether or not we are pregnant and which one is. So why you ask did we place this at the front, why start with a shot that is enigmatic yet gives it all away. Because we wanted to create something different, something unique, something has never tried before. After all as Keith Barry Grant said audiences enjoy repetition vs variation. Although you should replicate some generic conventions there should be a degree of difference in order for the audience to fully engage with the media text . This is exactly what we did with ours... who wants a film that has been repeated over and over again, you should not have to waste you time spending money on a film that you will only watch passively like the hypodermic syringe model, instead you want to be involved with the film and I feel that we have a balance of both. To make this even more effective we used the time stretch tool to slow down the shot slightly, in order for each frame to disappear at a different time, as though it was scheduled to do so. Despite having a diverse range of shots, there was many shots which we wanted to include but were unable to film successfully. For example a birds eye angle shot of Amiee and Chris in bed was tried using the tripod held at a high angle but was not executed correctly as well as a point of view shot of the camera looking through my eyes as I ' walk upstairs'. However this again was taken out from our final piece since the footage was blurry and stilted, a mistake we made in our foundation portfolio and of course would not have liked to do again. The film ends with a two shot of Amiee and Chris surprisingly in the domestic setting of a kitchen which shows that their affair is serious and is further shown through the use of the lexical dialogue ' when are you going to tell her its over' to which Chris replies 'I will I promise' and they slowly embrace each other in an act of love rather than passion as we are so accustomed to. This then fades in and fades out into the title sequence bitter twisted lies which interestingly uses a red and black font suggesting that love is dead. The music abruptly stops here which allows the audience many different interpretations. What would you think? will I seek revenge or will I make my way in the world fighting for what I believe in, creating an independent persona. I don't need anybody, why should I when the people I loved were my betrayers. As the poster tagline title rightly said lust, love, greed. Its up to you to figure out whom is the embodiment of which word. In terms of our main location we chose Charley's house for practicability reasons since it was the easiest to access and therefore meant that we would be able to film more frequently and on a regular basis. We also used it because it was a conventionally feminine household i.e. Charley's bedroom consisted of a flowery white and pink duvet and matching curtains which implemented my role as a traditional housewife, an important factor to get across to the audience. It also created an authentic romantic drama stylismdiegetic sound to an extreme closeup of the clock ticking using asynchronous Youtube sound to create a slow ticking effect to emphasise the dread that I am feeling in this situation. To implement this we also used an establishing shot of Leatherhead's doctors surgery before zooming into the places name to inform the audience. Mise-en scene was another important feature of the film. in order to portray certain media stereotypes the use of costume props was essential in providing an authentic replica. For example as Amiee is what would be classed as a scarlet woman stereotype, her use of clothing consists of tight bright clothing, in order for her to stand out against my character who although is more liked by the audience because of exposed vulnerability, Amiee is the one that matters to Chris. My costume however despite being fashionable is well covered in order to present me as a prim and proper respectable submissive yet stands up for what she believes in stereotype. The use of makeup contrasts greatly as well, whereas mine is natural and light, Amiee has heavily accentuated eyes in order to stand out and as a cry for attention conforming to the Maslows hierarchy of needs. A key feature which establishes the film is lighting and sound. Primarily sound was used recording the composition on a music programme named cubase which allowed as to layer sound. The music was titled 'love story' and was specifically chosen to replicate the ups and downs of love, denoted in the rise and fall of pitch done deliberately at certain moments. For example at the beginning the non-diegetic sound begins slow as though introducing the audience to the film before alternating in pace and pitch, almost quite jagged and morbid in a sense reflecting the narrative. The lighting also contributes to certain moods and atmospheres. For example a mixture of dark and soft lighting is used for the montage shots and the alternation of the two is dependent on the pace of the shot. For example and over the shoulder shot of Chris and Aimee is drawn out and uses very dim lighting in order to convey a more serious effect whereas the softer more brighter lighting shows them teasing each other and messing around as though they are not taking this affair seriously. In my shots however the lighting alternates between normal day time lighting i.e. the centred mirror over the shoulder shot to reflect the authentic nature of the frame in comparison to harsh lighting shots for example the wide shot of the waiting room which suggests that it connotes the severity of the situation and my feelings of animosity towards the situation in question. As the overall construction of the film it is fair to say that we have played around with a fair range of diverse shots, that have been out of our comfort zone.This is because we wanted to move away from the basic editing ability of our foundation portfolio and create a sophisticated interesting media text that looked authentic. However have we actually done this, created a film which shows our full potential? The honest answer is no, with timing and difficulties with adobe, our final piece did not work as an overall media text, yes it had diverse shots an interesting storyline, but when there is inconsistency of continuity, creating jolty incomprehensible transitions, the piece does not come together well.
To find out as to whether all of our ancillary texts, the film magazine and poster contributed to the overall film teaser trailer, I needed to have an in-depth analysis, explaining choices as to why we created our products in a certain manner.
Running theme- Throughout our ancillary texts and our film teaser trailer, there is a continuum of a scenic woodland environment, which conforms to the conventions of a romantic drama, in terms of the Mise-en- scene used i.e. Location. Below is our film poster, film magazine and a teaser trailer shot in order to express how the woodland has been used in conjunction.
Teaser trailer shot- In this shot me and Amiee are sitting on a bench in the centre of the shot drinking Costa Coffee. The use of woodland background here, is to show us talking in a typical environment rather than to reinforce the narrative.
This is our film magazine which shows me turned away from the camera looking over my shoulder in a mix of disgust and sadness. The use of the background here was used to play with generic magazine conventions since Empire Europe's biggest film magazine( in terms of profit and publishing) mainly features action/thriller/horror, which I found from my extensive magazine research. It was this which made me conclude that we should create our own film magazine.The use of 'Fusion'was emboldened in a feminine purple colour to celebrate femininity and the title was chosen to represent it being the first woman's film weekly. The use of the background woodland also subverts traditional black and white backgrounds, which is why we chose it in order to be different.
The use of the background within our poster was for the characters to contrast against it, almost as though they are disconnected from it. For example I appear as though I belong within the background which suggests that I seek and find solace in it, whereas Amiee and Chris appear as they don't belong there, implying that I am isolated from them, that when they betrayed me all ties were cut, and there is nothing they can do to have their places back in my heart again, since there crimes are so unforgivable.
Our first step in our marketing campaign would be to release two key pictures in order to create a sense of enigma, making the audience want to go watch it since they want to find out what will happen in the film. I have deliberately chosen these pictures because they give enough away to keep them intrigued but there is also a layer of mystery which surrounds it. For example the use of Amiee and Chris at the front are both enveloped around each other, implying that they are in a relationship. However Amiee is looking out towards me, whom is looking dominant and strong yet cut off from the rest of the cast. This may suggest to the audience that we may hate each other or that we have a complex relationship, but it is unlikely that they will gain the whole narrative from this picture which is why I have chosen it.
Then we would release the film poster :
The effect of the film poster being released after the ambiguous pictures forms interest. For example, the title is released 'Bitter Twisted Lies' which conveys to the audience that the narrative will be a web of deceit, the words literally conveying the themes within the teaser trailer.
Then the teaser trailer will be released, and below I have included frames which replicate similarly positioning/ emotions and feelings of characters.The effect of the correlation between the two, gives the audience more of a desire or want to go see the film when it is released.
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| For example this shot here shows Aimee and Chris wrapped around each other, clinging on desperately as passion succumbs which differentiates to the film poster, since there the two characters seem more loving towards each other, giving the two juxtaposing contrasts; they are not what the seem in the poster. You get a clear idea when you watch the teaser that they are selfish and vindictive. |
This shot of me looking shocked, shows me in a similar standing position where I am looking directly at the camera breaking the fourth wall, a concept usually associated with postmodernism. However our film is definitely conventional Romantic Drama, but we have tweaked certain aspects in order to fulfil Keith Barry's Grant's theory of repetition and variation.This denotes that although you want to keep certain elements the same, there has to be an element of difference. Therefore the audience are kept engaged.
All of these elements contribute to the overall poster and links in as it reveals the content of the teaser trailer with similar use of poster shots.This also introduces main characters, so the audience can identify with certain characters dependent on the situation and scenario. The Film poster then attracts attention for the upcoming film.
The next step is to show the trailer, this of course we have not created, but if we had to make one, we would include more information such as revealing that I have cancer, that I find out that Chris and Amiee have cheated on me ect. The effect of this further informs them about the film and it also allows them to get more excited, as at this point the release date would have been printed. Since it is a summer film, it should be released on the 5th of August, where as it is a school holiday, younger citizens can also go to see it. This would be good for generating financial income since the age group of 15-24 have the most disposable income. Incidentally it also the main predominant target audience for a romantic drama.
Then finally in the month of July, just before the film comes out magazine is published.
This shot from the film magazine is very similar to the film poster i.e iconic scenic background but the positioning is different since I am not breaking the fourth wall and therefore conforming to the conventions of a typical romantic drama stereotype. For example here it is clear to see that I can be seen as the submissive housewife or the other woman. This again promotes the theme of conflicting characterisations.
This can relates to the film teaser trailer in the frame where I am in the waiting room anxiously for the news I am about to receive i.e.as this shot shows same positioning/facial expressions. On the other hand the scenic background has not been used here but that is because it would not have been appropriate in our film.
Film magazine
Title font and styles
Here you can see there isn't a continuous theme through the fonts and stylism used which is perhaps something that have linked our ancillary texts together better.
Genre
As the first shot this immediately sets the genre, it is easy to hazard from this split screen shot is a Romance genre film, shown through the use of pregnancy icons i.e. the rubbing of stomachs and the pregnancy tests.
Our voiceover...
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