By looking at other media products I have seen what sort of shots to use and what sort of techniques that I could use to make my product look more authentic.
I saw that handheld shots are used quite frequently, I found that this makes you fell as if you are in the action and also makes it more suspense and fast paced.
Close-up shots are also used regularly as they allow the audience to see the facial expressions of the character(s) in shot.
Also by looking at other media products I noticed many different filming techniques and editing techniques that I could use when making my product.
I noticed that there was a lot of use of handheld shots, I think this is because it makes the shots less stable and wobbly, which gives it the effect that what is happening in the scene is also effecting the audience as it is not a clean and stable image.
I also noticed that in a majority of war films that are set in WW2, it has been edited so that the film looks darker and murky. This gives it the effect that the audience is with the actors in all of the mud, blood and gore.
Some of the media products I have looked at was Band of Brothers, Fury and Saving Private Ryan
In Band of Brothers there is a lot of use of shots that are very distorted and shaking, this may have been achieved by attaching a camera to a drill or shaking surface and filmed so that it gives the audience the feeling as though they are being shook by the explosions and gunfire that are happening within the scene. A good clip that shows this is the one below.
My chosen genre is war, there are many conventions in the war genre, these are:
Costume:
In the war genre, characters are usually shown to be wearing a military uniform with helmets, gear and often camouflage or dull colours that sort of blend in with the terrain. Also with the uniform there may be patches and insignia which allows the audience to determine where the characters are from and what unit they are from.
An example of costume in Saving Private Ryan
This example of costume in Saving Private Ryan shows what the soldiers in WW2 would've worn, along with the equipment such as shovel, webbing and helmet. They chose to use this costume to show the nationality of the soldiers and also to distinguish their unit with the different insignia, an example in this screen shot is the ranking of the soldier on the right and the insignia of their unit.
Make up:
Within the war genre there is some make-up which can be seen, this may be mud, blood or face camouflage. with having mud and blood on the character it makes it seem as though the character has seen action before and can also make the character seem tough and hardy.
An example of make up in Band of Brothers
This example of make up shows that make up can be added heavily as to make the product look more realistic and blend the character in with the scenery, making it realistic. Using make up in this way allows the audience to see what soldiers would've actually had to apply in order to blend in.
Props:
Props that are usually seen within war films are guns, tanks, planes, medical supplies, grenades and in some cases horses, depending on what era the film is based. Guns allow the audience to tell what genre the film is and it also tells them that there will be some form of conflict within the film, it also gives the characters a sense of power and superiority.
An example of props and costume in Fury
This example of props shows the difference and variation in the size and weapon props used in products, this image shows the difference in props as it shows the large prop of the tank and yet the smaller scale props of the guns and other equipment that is being held by the actors.
Target Audience:
The usual target audience for war films are young to old adults who may already have an interest in war or like action. The target audience is typically male as men are more likely to have an interest in the action within the film rather then women.
Setting:
War films are usually set on a 'battlefield' where battles take place and may include ruined buildings, bunkers and trenches. These often add to make the scene and add a atmosphere, it can also add to the realism of the film and scene.
An example of setting in Kelly's Heroes
This example of setting shows the stereotypes of the war genre as it has destroyed buildings and a destroyed tank in the shot, this shows the destruction of war and makes the product more realistic. There is also smoke and fire in the shot as well, this conforms to the convention as explosions and fire has a connotation of war.
Sound:
Sounds within war films are mostly diegetic sounds such as gunfire, explosions, voices and other sounds that may be heard in a war. there is some non-diegetic music that may be used, and this is usually low and deep music that plays as the scene continues to give an added effect to the film.
Plots:
War films are usually about battles that take place on land, air or sea and typically focus on soldiers and sometimes the victims of war. sometimes war films show life while at war or society as the war is happening and will not show scenes of battles. Films that show the true horrors of war are called 'anti-war' films. the stories that are portrayed can be historical stories, fictional stories, biographical or documentary.
-The
genre that my product will be is a war genre as I have seen a lot of war films
and I also have many props and costumes so that I would be able to make a
realistic and accurate product,
-The storylines I have chosen are typical storylines to expect from war genre films, this means that I am
going to stick to the conventions of the war genre. By doing this it will make
the genre of my product more apparent:
Idea 1- Trailer or short film:
Genre
– War
Setting
– Forest/woods
Plot
– A soldier gets left behind and has to find his way back to his troops but
gets into trouble and has to escape. This then ends on a cliff-hanger.
Mis-en-scene – woodland/forest, mid-day
Costume
– U.S. army style clothing, along with a German uniform, both will have guns.
Camera
– I will use a range of shots so that I am able to show the reactions and
setting within the scenes. By using close-ups it allows the audience to see the
facial expressions of the actor(s) and get a better feeling for the scene. I am
also going to try a variety of different camera shots to make an object seem
bigger than it is.
Idea 2 - Short film:
Genre
– War/thriller
Setting
– Modern, woodland and industrial
Plot
– A soldier on a secret mission has to take out an enemy officer and escape
back to a safe area.
Mis-en-scene – woodland and industrial
areas with a mixture of highly lit and low-lit areas.
Costume
– modern army uniform and equipment, camouflage and officers cap.
Camera – a mixture between close and
longer shots to get the most out of the scene and also to show the audience
what is happening within the scene, also what the actors are doing.
Idea 3 - Short film:
Genre
– War/thriller
Setting
– Modern, woodland/industrial
Plot
– A special forces soldier has to rescue a hostage being held by enemy soldiers
at a farm, he then has to use stealth to save the hostage.
Mis-en-scene – farm with machinery and
some shots that are in a wooded area.
Costume
– modern army uniform, casual/military clothing for the people holding the
hostage, normal clothes for the hostage.
Camera
– I will use a variety of shots, but I will use more closer shots to show all
of the different reactions of the characters in the trailer.
Evaluation / Feedback:
After i had presented my 3 pitches, i got feedback on my ideas and what they thought would work
well and which one of hem seems more appealing. The idea which was not as successful was my
second idea as it was too basic and did not have much to the plot, this was apparent as i got feedback
that suggested that this was not my strongest idea.
Out of my 3 ideas, the one that was most successful was my first idea, which was the idea of a soldier
getting left behind and having to make his way back to his troops, but encounters enemy soldiers and
has to escape. I was told that this idea was more emotional and more personal than the rest of my
ideas as they were more mission based instead of an event having an impact on people. I think that
my first idea will be more effective as it would work well cinematically and the storyline is different
to it being just a basic plot. My personal preference was the third idea as i thought with doing it in the
second world war, it would have a historical meaning behind it because ww2 was a terrible war in
which many people died. Also it would work better cinematically because of the difference in the
uniforms and tactics that were used, compared to the other ideas as they not work as well
cinematically because the uniforms would not be as diverse and noticeable.
I think that my first idea was more successful because it has more meaning to it and has more inter
linked genres. This could make it more appealing to my audience as it may not directly conform to
the typical plots of a war genre film, i would also be able to use a wider range of shots to convey a
different mood, as i could use a close up shot to show how my character is feeling by showing his
facial expression, this would make the audience connect with my film on an emotional level and give
For my idea I have chosen to do a trailer or short film of the war genre, I have been looking at trailers and short films so that I can see how they are done and how I can make my product effective and gripping.
With the ones I have looked at I have noticed that they get into the action fairly quickly as things grabs the audiences attention and keeps them interested in what is happening. For example in the trailer for 13 hours: the secret soldiers of Benghazi it gets into the action which keeps the audience hooked to it and wanting more, the use of shots and angles as well lead to create more suspense and further interesting the audience, for my product I will have now ear the budget that this film had but u will be able to use some of the shots I have seen and use them to try and replicate the same effect on the audience that the trailer did.
For another trailer I saw, which was the trailer for Dunkirk, I saw that it was a short trailer and did not use complex shots, however the way they were shot and the mid en scene within the shot is what created the suspension, and also the use of sound as it had the sound of a clock ticking which is really effective in creating a sense of danger and fear as it could signify that time is running out.
I watched a short film that was made by a YouTube film maker, however the editing and effects that were added made it seem like a much higher budget short film, the narrative was simple but the use of shots and editing made it stand out. In the short film they used a wide range of shots, varying from close up to long shots and these allowed you to see the characters and also get a sense of the surroundings as the longer shots were outside which made you eel like there was more room and when the characters went inside the shits were much closer which gave it a sense of being claustrophobic and almost with the characters. Two shots that caught my eye was the use of a birds eye shot which made it feel as if you were watching them move from above, almost like from a drone and directing their movement, and the other shot was a first-person view shot which took you to the centre of the action and gave you the feeling that you were actually there, it also makes you feel like you have some sort of momentary control of the character.
While watching other media products it became apparent to em that if the film/trailer was set in a historical war, such as ww2 the mise en scene was much darker and film than if it was set in a modern day war, such as Iraq, This is probably due to the geographical locating that these are as ww2 was in Europe and Iraq is brighter. This made me think that by changing the mise en scene it also gives you the ability to predict which era the film is set because if you see that it is dull and muddy then it seems as if it might be a ww2 film. However some films subvert this and change them around, for example Behind Enemy Lines is set in a modern war but the mise en scene is rather dark and dull which subverts both the mise en scene and where you would originally think it would be set, as you might think it would be set in the desert, but it is set in Eastern Europe.
I am either going to choose between a short film or a film trailer for my final product.
Short Film
A short film is a film that lasts between a minute and 15 minutes. A short film is any movie not long enough to be considered a feature film (movie). The official definition of a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits". However, the term is used by many as a catchall for anything less than 90 minutes in length. A feature film or movie often runs from between 90 to 120 minutes but can sometimes be as long as 180 minutes. short films do not usually have a large budget and are often made by amateur film makers to gain experience. short films also follow a narrative and aim to tell that narrative within a short amount of time, which is what i will be aiming to do when I make my product.
Trailer
A trailer is a sort of preview to a film that is also a form of marketing, trailers usually last between 1 to 3 minutes and allow the audience to see a basic and very simplified narrative of the film and show the best parts of the film to entice the audience. Trailers do not give much of the plot away but just enough so that the general idea is stating to get figured out. Nearly every film has a trailer as it allows the audience to see a preview of the product, by doing this it can lead the audience to get excited and see the finished film when it is released. If I decide to make a trailer I will make it short and make it so that the audience's attention is grabbed, making them want to see more. Trailers usually follow a non-linear narrative and uses a montage of shots to show it based more on Russian cinema ideology of visual colliding together to create meaning.
There are multiple types of promoting media as it could be by audio or visual, however visual is the most common style of promotion as it allows you to actually see what is being promoted rather than just listening to what is being promoted. films need to be promoted in order to gain an audience because if the movie is not well promoted then it will not be as successful, for example the Marvel films such as Captain America: Civil War was very well marketed which allowed it to gain a large audience, whereas Dredd (2012) was not successful at gaining a large audience and this was put down to the film not being promoted on a large enough scale and it was also said that nobody really knew about the movie until it was being sold on DVD, this shows just how crucial marketing and promoting a film is to gaining a large enough audience.
Types of promotion
Trailers are the most common as they allow the audience to get a sort of small 'sneak peek' of the media product, trailers are also short and usually last between 1-3 minutes, the shorter the trailer, the less it gives away to the audience - for example the Dunkirk movie trailer which does not reveal much at all, whereas if the trailer is longer it usually reveals more of the plot and the characters - for example the Wonder Woman trailer reveals more about the character and the narrative of the film.
Posters are also widely used as they can be put up all over the place which increases the amount of people who will see it, whereas trailers can only be seen via the Internet or television which can restrict the amount of people who will be able to see it. Posters do not reveal much about the film as they usually only show the main character(s) with some sort of backdrop, the backdrop may reveal some things about the film but not much.
products such as toys and other merchandise is a good way of promotion as they are more interactive than posters or trailers, they also allow a wider audience as if they are sold in shops that means that a lot of people will see the merchandise and possibly get interested in the film.
innovative marketing technique
when promoting The Dark Knight Rises, an unusual form of marketing took place as there was 'bat graffiti' in numerous countries in cities and the Warner Bros. marketing team would give the location of the 'graffiti' which would in turn reveal a frame from a new trailer of The Dark Knight Rises. The people would then have to submit what they found to a website which would then start to piece together the next trailer frame-by-frame, this allowed audiences worldwide to participate in this activity, and also by doing this it encouraged more people to go out and find this, which would have allowed them to see more marketing of the film instead of having just one form of marketing.
Proliferation of hardware and synergy's affect on marketing The promotion of films has been forced to change over the recent years to keep up with ever-changing society. Now there is more technology a large amount of companies have made the change from traditional forms of marketing to more Internet and web based forms of marketing. The proliferation of hardware has lead to a higher demand for this, as there is an ever-growing amount of devices that you can watch films on, for example a laptop, as many films are marketed online which allows a wider audience to view it and for less cost than going to the cinema. Google is a search engine and Internet giant that has formed synergistic links with conglomerates to promote films. An example of synergy is Fury (2014) who teamed up with the game, World of Tanks who released an in-game version of the 'fury' tank from the film that you were able to purchase, it also featured a specialised crew to go with the tank which mirrored the cast in the film.
