Poster Analysis 3: The Wolverine

• This poster is a combination of a trailer poster and a character poster. It features the main character of the film in the centre at the front so the image is the most prominent feature and stands out to the audience. 
• The star system is used particularly in this poster as the actor Hugh Jackman, who is well-known and associated with these type of fantasy/adventure films, is clearly included in a large image in the foreground to attract an audience who may know the actor and therefore associate his talent with the film. His name is the only name that appears on the poster, proving that his inclusion in the film is important and that the institution wants to clearly link him with this film. The better the cast of a film seems to people, the more interested and persuaded to watch it they will be. Also this actor appeared in the X-Men films which link into the Wolverine films and therefore the target audience will be likely to recognise this actor and associate him with the genre they are interested in and therefore this will interest and appeal to them and grab their attention. 
• The position the main character is knelt in along with other mis en scene features such as his hair and the fact that he is topless and muscular all add the representation that the poster is trying to get across of him being animal-like. The hair and beard are symbolic of fur to make him look more wolf/canine-like which links strongly to the film title "The Wolverine". The animal-like ness gives connotations of danger and being out of control which hints slightly at the narrative. 
• The metal claws are an icon of the film and are shown clearly here to attract an audience and play on their desires. They will be interested to know why the character has these metal claws. These claws again give codes of being an animal/dangerous creature as claws are often stereotyped as sharp and dangerous. The character is holding the claws out and spreading his arms out widely, this stance makes him look powerful and quite dominant and his muscles are clearly shown as he is topless, this emphasises his strength. 
• The typography is in a silver, metallic font and the shape is sharply cut like a blade. This font is meant to link with and symbolise the metal claws and therefore it ties in with the genre and continually hints at the narrative. There are several small narrative hints but none big enough to give away any of the films key elements or any key part of the storyline, which is not what a poster aims to do. 
• There is a city location appearing in the background of the poster, we can tell it is a city from how busy it is and the number of tall glass buildings it features. Buildings like these are stereotypical of city locations. Often fantasy or disaster films are set in city locations as there is always a lot going on and therefore this means more action scenes such as buildings exploding or transport/buildings collapsing. Therefore this location is stereotypical of the films genre and it will interest a target audience who enjoy films set in locations like this, or an audience that live in locations like this as they can relate to many of the characters/places included and therefore the film will appeal to them. 
• Rubble and bits of rock flying are flying around in the background of the poster. This links to the action/adventure genre as explosions or eruptions are often included to excite the audience and keep them on the edge of their seat. It also hints at the plot and the idea that parts of the city may be blown up or destroyed as the result of some sort of action scene, a fight scene maybe.
•  There are cracks in the ground where the main character is knelt showing his strength and emphasising his masculinity. This will appeal to both a female and male audience. It will appeal to females as the male is portrayed as muscular and masculine and therefore many might find him attractive, however it will also appeal to a male audience as he is shown to be strong and powerful and therefore many male teenagers could see him as an idol. 
• The weather is rainy and cloudy which adds to the tone of the poster and makes it seem more dangerous and scary, the colour scheme ties in with this effect as many of the colours used are dark shades such as black or blue to link to the action genre and the idea that something bad or scary will happen and the protagonist will have to resolve it. Black gives connotations of darkness and mystery which are both associated with certain action/adventure and even some fantasy films.
• The poster uses low-key lighting to create an eerie tone however the main character is lit up and outlined from behind to make him stand out. The idea that he has been included in the foreground also helps him stand out and makes him seem important as he is the largest image on the poster and he is the furthest forward indicating that he will play the main part in the narrative. 
• The film title is in the middle of the screen and appears at the bottom which is conventional of a lot of film posters. It is bold and the silver font stands out well on a darker background so that the audience are attracted to the title and know what to look out for. The release date appears on the poster which is conventional of almost all posters that are released before the film appears in cinemas as a way of promoting and persuading the target audience to watch the film when it is released in theatres. 
• I think the audience would be fairly tent-pole for this film. Teenagers to adults, predominantly male as they are the group that are stereotyped to enjoy action films the most. However, many females could also be interested in this as the narrative and location aren't gender specific and therefore the film could appeal to any gender, just depending on the individual and their interests. 

Poster Analysis 2: Life of Pi

• This poster contains basic information about the film in order to interest the audience but not give too much of the narrative away. This type of poster is a teaser/full trailer poster as it gives basic information but doesn't list many details e.g. it doesn't mention the stars or the distributors. 
• The main image on this poster is not the main character but the shipwreck in the centre of the poster. This image has been used to attract the audience and play on their desires as it is a powerful and exciting image that instantly grabs the audiences attention. Immediately it persuades the audience to ask questions such as what will happen to the ship, what was onboard the ship etc. They will want to find out the answers to these questions and they are therefore enticed and more likely to watch the full film. 
• Genre is slightly harder to identify on this poster than on many others as it doesn't have that many clear and undeniable genre specific icons. The shipwreck indicates that the film may be of the action adventure genre as this is stereotypical of films of this genre type e.g. many pirate films are action adventure genre films and involve shipwrecks of some sort. The smaller image of the boy and the tiger in the boat gives the idea that the film might be of the drama genre as it could be about the relationship and struggles between the boy and this animal. 
• The image of the boy and the tiger in the boat is smaller however it is further forward (in the foreground) in the poster than the other image. This could be because the characters are more important or play a key role in the narrative. The male is the only human character that appears on the poster therefore we can imply that he is the main protagonist and he potentially builds some relationship with this tiger, however this is not certain just from this one image. Tigers are usually stereotyped as being antagonists or a threat to the protagonists because they give connotations of danger and of strength. Their teeth and claws are often emphasised as being sharp and dangerous, therefore many see them as scary. In this the tiger could play the role of the antagonist, however in the image the tiger is sat calmly opposite the boy and it looks peaceful rather than dangerous. Therefore the stereotype could be converted in this film and the tiger could turn out to be more of a hero or helper than a villain. 
• The main two colours used in the colour scheme of this poster are blue and white. These are used because they represent the colours stereotyped with the ocean and are iconic of it. From this poster we can see that the sea clearly plays a very important role in the film's narrative and blue and white are used as a way of representing and emphasising this to the audience. Blues can often be used in films of the adventure genre, especially those with predominantly sea locations, therefore the adventure aspect of the genre is shown even further by the colour scheme.  
• In the smaller image of the male and the tiger in the boat, the male is knelt in a stance and it looks like an animals stance. This hints at the narrative with the idea that the male is trying to mimic the tiger. The tiger is sat calmly and it looks almost like the position a human would sit in. This again reinforces elements within the narrative and the idea that the male and the animal are learning from each other and building a relationship. 
• The title is the largest text that appears on the poster which is conventional of film posters in every genre as the film producers want the audience to remember the title because that is the key thing that will make the film memorable and when they see the title or hear the title they should hopefully associate it with the films narrative and remember the poster. 
• At the top there is just a one word slogan "Adventure". This word appears boldly at the top of the poster and is effective as it links closely and is symbolic of the genre yet again, and it sounds exciting. It will instantly attract a target audience of people who like adventure films as they will see this word and be drawn to the poster. 
• The release date appears at the bottom of the poster. This is conventional of many posters and it shows that the poster was made before the films release as it says "In Theatres" above the release date so the audience know when they will be able to watch the film. 
• This film poster doesn't use the star system to promote the film in terms of actors as the main character appears on the poster but only in a small image and you cannot see their face. However it does use the star system in terms of the director as it uses his name and the phrase "from the academy award winning" showing off his talent and skill to the audience so they will have high expectations of the film and will be more likely to want to watch it. 

Poster Analysis 1: Casino Royale

• This poster is used to whet the audiences appetite for the film, by this I mean that it is used to attract their attention and get them interested in the film, but it doesn't actually give much of the narrative away. This technique is commonly used in film posters as the company in charge of promoting the film doesn't want to give too much of the storyline away in case the audience lose interest as the plot becomes too predictable. Also, people are attracted to mystery and always want to learn more about a film they are interested in, and in order to do this they will watch it, therefore showing a few key elements from a film, but not enough to give away much of the actual narrative, has proven successful in encouraging an audience to watch a film. 
• The genre can easily be identified by the presence of the gun as part of the films mis en scene in this poster. Guns and weapons in general indicate the action genre as many action films involve fight scenes or gun/violence scenes. Therefore it is conventional of action films to use guns or weapons in their posters to grab the attention and interest of their target audience, who have been proven to enjoy this genre in the past. 
• This poster is a character because it includes the main character of the film on the front, positioned in the centre. It successfully uses the star system as a way to interest the targeted audience and play on their desire. The actor used, Daniel Craig, is a well known actor and therefore the audience will recognise that he is respected and skilled and that this will hopefully be reflected in the film. They will be more persuaded to watch if the film has a good cast as they know that they can trust the actors to deliver a good performance as they have in the past. 
• 'Casino Royale' is the title of the film. Casino's are often used as locations for action films and this therefore represents the link to the genre further. In the background of the poster there is a building called Casino Royale, this links closely to the title and most likely the narrative, so is used to give the audience a slight insight into it and to therefore provoke curiosity and interest in them. Throughout the poster there are continuous links to the genre in order to attract a wide and assured audience. 
• The graphics for the film's title are hugely effective as the 'O's' in each word are used to spell out '007'. This gives connotations of the genre and is a symbol used to represent the Bond films as a collection (saga). The use of the 007 reference as a symbol will attract the fairly niche audience of people who watch Bond films and then the use of the gun to spell out the number '7' will attract the more tent-pole audience of anyone who enjoys action films in general. 
• In the background there is a silhouette of a female, the long hair and the way she is positioned, facing away from the camera with her shoulders and bum clearly outlined, is used to emphasise her sexuality and therefore appeal to a more male target audience. Also, the bond girls play a key role in the narrative of Bond films and therefore they are symbolic and used in the poster here to represent the film and grab the interest of the audience as they will hopefully see the numerous icons used and recognise the film. 
• Another use of mis en scene in this particular poster is the use of the fancy car as an icon. Fancy/expensive cars are iconic and give conventions of action films as the main protagonists or villains usually have them, especially if they play the wealthy and powerful character type. 
• The main character's stance and positioning on the poster makes him look very masculine as he is the main protagonist, this is to appeal to a female audience and a male audience as he could almost be seen as a role model or an aspirational goal for the male audience as they may want to be like him and have what he has. The way he is holding a gun and walking shows off his abilities as he looks confident and powerful with the gun, showing his experience and skill set. 
• The colours in this poster play an important part, the stock colours in the poster are white and black. The male characters costume is black and so it clearly stands out on and is emphasised on the white background colour. This symbolises the characters importance to the audience and focuses on the idea that he is wearing a suit which gives connotations of professionalism. White is quite a neutral colour to use on posters and can be used for almost every genre, it has been used here to emphasise the importance of the other aspects/colours in the poster. For example the female silhouette and the building inside is emphasised because it is in front of a simple background. 
• The layout of the poster is representative of the film's narrative. The main character is positioned directly in the middle and at the very front (further forward than anything/anyone else). The female character is sightly behind and is facing away from the audience indicating that she may be important to the narrative but not as important as the male. The car and the casino are also further back showing that they are still key in the plot but the male character is the most important in the film. 

Letter of Consent to Actors Parents

Lighting Research

 Most of my trailer will be filmed in outdoor locations such as parks and rivers and therefore I will probably rely on natural lighting a lot to emphasise my characters and their features. On the left are two screenshots of images which demonstrate the type of natural looking lighting that I want to be displayed in many of my shots. If I'm going to use solely natural lighting in a lot of my shots then I need to make sure that I plan effectively and take factors such as the weather and the time of day into account. For example, if I'm planning        
to film during the night then I cannot rely on sunlight to light my shots as it gets dark around 5ish or earlier for a lot of the winter.

If I include indoor locations such as bedrooms or clubs/restaurants then I will have to consider using internal lighting. If I decide not to then my shots could risk being blurry or out of focus or not emphasise the characters in a way that I intend to. However, in terms of practicality using advanced lighting rigs and systems may not be possible as I don't have the budget to afford equipment like this and even if I managed to borrow some there would be an issue in transporting it and setting it up in certain locations that I have looked at. Therefore I will have to consider the lighting I want to use carefully and decide whether natural lighting is effective enough in making my shots look professional and appealing.

I intend to go for a high-key lighting theme throughout most of my trailer as this will instantly indicate the genre to the audience as it will make the tone of the film positive and emphasise the characters happiness (happy relationship). On a few occasions I may decide that low-key lighting is more appropriate for the mood of the shot. For example, when the characters have an argument because this will instantly give the shot a more dim and unhappy vibe to emphasise the importance/significance of the argument. Also, if I include a scene of the characters drinking or taking drugs then I might use low-key lighting for these shots as I think they will add to the drama/realism element of the genre and emphasise the rebellious and non-caring lifestyle stereotyped with teenagers.

Lighting Exercise

My A2 media class and I worked together and participated in an exercise to research into the best angles and positioning of lighting in order to make camera shots and filming in general look more advanced. This exercise was very useful in relation to my pre-production activities. Before I start filming I need to consider what type of lighting will be involved in my trailer and whether I will need equipment to achieve the high-key lighting that I'm hoping to achieve in the majority of my shots as my trailer is of the romance genre and therefore I want the mood to be mostly positive and excited and these are themes often shown through high-key or natural lighting.

In the above two images we have 3 lighting rigs; two of these are positioned either side of the camera at the front, but are out of shot and the final light is behind the subject to highlight certain features and give the shot an overall brighter feel so that the image is clearer and the models face is displayed clearly. The model has fairly dark hair and is wearing dark clothing on her top half, the light at the back exaggerates these and makes them stand out more so they don't get lost in the shot because of their dark shade. As you can see from the shot on the right, the model's hair stands out and is very clear so that it's whole shape and detail is displayed in the camera shots. If my actors have dark hair or are wearing dark clothing or if I want to exaggerate a certain feature that may otherwise blend into the shot and get lost in it, then I might want to consider positioning a light behind the actor and out of shot.

If I did decide to use proper internal lighting in my film then I would aim for the lighting to be similar to the lighting set-up in the image on the left. The image shows a male and a female character, likely to be the two protagonists of the film. The lighting is used very successfully here as it is subtle but it lights up the characters fully and exaggerates features that may have been hidden without it. For example the male character has very dark hair and the blue/night-time background colour is very dark also, therefore the characters hair would have been lost in the background without the internal lighting to make it stand out. The male is also dressed in very dark clothing which too could have been lost amongst the dark background colour without the lighting to exaggerate it. The female is dressed in bright clothing so this wouldn't have been lost too much in the dark background, however her facial features and hair highlights are shown more clearly and crisply due to the lighting in place. The extra lighting behind is included as part of the shots and the audience are deliberately meant to see them, however they still add to the shot and give the shot a more positive and high-key atmosphere, which is what many romance films aim to achieve. The shot is inside a building and would have been very dim if it wasn't for the extra internal lighting used.

Call Sheet

Date	Actors and Resources	Location and Shots
Saturday 3rd January	Actors: -Kate -Theo Props: -Alcohol -Drugs Resources: -Camera -Tripod -Towels -Warm drinks -Umbrella?	Park Location: -Establishing shot -LS of swings -Over shoulder of female -CU of female -Shot rev shot male and female -CU of male -MS of male -LS two shot of both -Track shot of male -CU of female smiling Field Location: -XLS of both -CU of hand holding -LS of hugging/dancing -CU female -CU male -Medium shot male -Two shot Graffiti Hut Location: -LS of hut -CU of graffiti on hut -Two shot of characters sat inside -CU of alcohol bottle -MS of female drinking -Medium two shot Stream Location: -XLS of two in stream -CU of characters kissing -Medium shot of both -XLS of splashing -Medium shot of reflection in water
Sunday 4th January	Actors: -Kate -Theo Props: -Food -Phone Resources: -Camera -Tripod	Kitchen Location: -Over Shoulder of characters cooking -CU smiley face/heart in food e.g. pancakes -Medium shot of male character giving food to female -CU of female smiling Bedroom Location: -LS of characters lying in bed -Track of male getting up -Medium shot of female -CU of phone -LS of characters arguing -Medium shot of female -Medium shot of male -CU female crying -Track of female running off

Storyboard for Trailer-Video

Mindmap on Key Features of Trailer

This mind map just gives a basic overview of what my trailer will include and summarises the key ideas I have come up with. It talks about the basic narrative structure and some of the mise en scene I will include in order to give connotations of the romance genre to the audience. This mind map was useful as it allowed me to visually plan out and summarise all of my ideas so that I then had a clear picture of what I want to achieve and what I need to think about and do to achieve it.

Storyboard

Above are shots of all the different pages from my storyboard. This storyboard is fairly basic and gives only a basic outline of the types of shots I will include, because I know that when I arrive at the designated filming location, I will change the shots I want to film anyway due to lighting and conditions.Therefore this storyboard gives me a useful guide of which shot types to include and of what locations will be used, however I won't stick to it entirely. 

Risk Assessment

Production Schedule

Pre-Production

• Script= 1 hour
• Storyboard= 2 hours
• Location Recce= 2 hours
• Health and Safety/Risk Assessment= 1 hour
• Photo Stills (during filming, for potential use in ancillary products)= 30 mins 
• Make-up Planning= 10 mins
• Costume Planning= 1 hour
• Logistics e.g. power sources= 30 mins

Production

• Equipment List/Check= 30 mins
• Actor List and Shot List= 1 hour
• Transport (most of my locations are within walking distance)=15 mins
• Lighting= 1 hour
• Script Run Through= 20 mins
• Production Run Through= 45 mins
• Costume and Props= 2 hours
• Actual Filming= 1 or 2 days 
• Editing= 1 week
• Sound= 1 day
• Titles/Transitions= 2 hours