Audience Research

Whilst deciding our target audience we took into account the storyline, character type and props used. I would instantly put our film under a 18+ certificate because of the content it will include down from the dialogue to the props in scenes. For example, props such as drugs and weapons may be present. These are more suited to an adult audience because they are the most suitable audience in terms of understanding the effects of them in film and are at an age (18+) where these are not likely to have an impact on them. For example, a young child say the age of 12 may feel frightened if he sees everyday stereotypical people with weapons and he may be harmed by being exposed to drug and crime cultures. An adult audience is also more suited in terms of understanding the plot and being able to link certain things in the plot together as they are more mature.
Research also shows which demographic group of people are most likely to watch
our films and we found middle-working class to be the most popular, although
there is some interest from higher class regions. This helps use to decide how and where to promote our film in advertising stages.Research into crime thrillers on the internet also shows that people more interested in watching these types of films are usually males around the age range of 18-30. This then inspired us to do our own research including classmates, school friends, work colleagues and relatives outside of the school and this is what we found. We asked people the question:
“Would you be interested in watching our production if it was in the style of a
crime thriller”. This graph represents the results we gathered.

The columns on the graph represent the total number of responses and the two colours divide the age range. This shows the split in which age range would be most interested in the film. As the majority is below 30 years of age, we can market our film in places such as universities and in clubs on posters. The results support general research into the crime thriller genre as the graph shows a distinctive difference in the numbers of people who would like to watch our production. Although this study was on a relatively small scale the results give us reassurance of our audience and who is likely to watch our production. This will then allow us to plan our marketing and
advertising more carefully and we can be more specific in the way we do so.

Risk Assessment

Media A2 Risk Assessment Table: Higher

Editing ideas

This is where we have stored ideas we have thought of along the way that we might use when we edit the video. We will be using Pinnacle Studio which has lots of built in effects, transitions, sound effects and titles but there are websites where you can download and make custom ones which we may use.

-Fast editing and cuts
-Fade to black
-Fade to white
-Low key High contrast, "chiaroscuro" lighting effects
-Colour filter effects
-Slow motion on certain clips, points in clips or scenes
-Animated Titles
-Split screen editing
-Tracking shots sped up

Sound

Diegetic sounds
For diegetic sounds in our trailer we will download uncopyrighted sound effects from websites such as "freesound.org" to make events such as a car door being slammed much more dramatic and intense for the audience.

Non-Diegetic Sounds

We wil record a non-diegetic voiceover for the film ourselves. We will use Logic Pro 9 to edit sounds, record our own samples and manipulate sounds we use from copyright-free sample packs. We can add reverb, distortion and other effects to make them suit the mood and at the same time provide the desired atmosphere. For example we could add lots of reverb to aa pen hitting cup to give a distorted, eerie feel to the setting.

Soundtrack

We will make the soundtrack on Logic Pro 9 using plugins, effects units and samplers. This allows us to have the freedom of matching the piece perfectly to the trailer, changing it wherever we want. We can also change the key, change chords and add notes whenever in order to correspond with the scenes on screen and level of energy present. This freedom is something that will benefit our trailer on the whole. We plan to produce an urban, "grime" soundtrack, of which is found in films such as "Kidulthood" and "Attack The Block", this will help establish our film genre of a "brit-flick", and also sets a tone and mood for the film.

Shot list

1)Bird's eye shot of teenager tied to chair
2)Medium close up of teenager's side profile
3)Overhead shot of teenager sat at desk
4)Close up of teenager writing
5)Long shot of teenager sat at desk with back turned to the camera
6)Side profile of teenager
7)Medium-long shot of teenager swivelling on chair to right
8)Close up of phone vibrating, teenager reaches for phone
9)Over the shoulder shot of teenager looking at the phone
10)Medium close up of teenager speaking on phone
11)Jump cuts of teenager putting coat on
12)Medium close up of teenager speaking on phone
13)Elliptical fade to long shot of teenager walking towards friends
14)Over the shoulder shot of teenager's friend pointing to market stall
15)Medium close up of teenager sat in chair
16)Medium shot of teenager being pushed towards the stall
17)Medium shot of teenager sat in chair
18)Shot of car driving towards camera
19)Medium long shot of teenager stealing clothing
20)Over the shoulder shot of two gangsters in car pointing
21)Shot of teenager looking at car
22)Shot of gangster leaving car
23)Shot of teenager beginning to run
24)Shot of Gangster running across street
25)Tracking shot of teenager and gangster in alleyway
26)ground level shot of second gangster coming and pinning teenager to ground
27)Ground level shot of car approaching gangster and teenager
28)over the shoulder shot of gangster waljing towards teenager putting glove on
29)ground level shot of teenager being dragged into car
30)Medium over the shoulder shot of teenager getting ready in mirror
31)Shot of teenager strapped to chair smoke billowing
32)Two shot of teenager and gangster sat at table
33)Shot of teenager looking at phone

Synopsis

Our production is going to be based on the genre of ‘crime thriller’. The story involves two opposing groups of people, one group of youths and one group of adult gangsters. The story begins with one of the youths, he is seen to be the runt of the group as he doesn’t agree with their stereotypical yobbish behaviour, he just wants to study, but peer pressure is seen to get the better of him. This is apparent when they have congregated at a marketplace. They see a stall and the runt is dared to steal something, little does he know, in the background are two gangsters in a car who happen to own the stall the youths are eyeing up. The runt is defeated by peer pressure and he goes for it, stealing a simple piece of clothing. The youths then flee the scene with the gangsters not far behind them. When the gangsters finally get hold of the runt youth, he is woken in a garage setting with fog and lights intensifying the mood. He comes face to face with the gangsters and dialogue is traded between the few characters involved. The runt chav is given the ultimatum; he either stays in the garage unknown to anyone else and beaten, or he works for the gangsters. He chooses the gangster path and the shot which shows this is when we see him return home and replace all his studying equipment with things associated with crime such as weapons and wads of cash.

Our Distribution company

Handmade films are a British film production and distribution company. One of their biggest and most successful releases was ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ which is a film we have been influenced by whilst making our production. After finding out that they were affiliated with the film we did some research into the company to see if they would be a suitable distribution company for our production. They have also released films such as Monty Python's Life of Brian
which shows that they are a diverse company with a very varied back catalogue. This would make it suitable for our film because it has the seriousness of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ and other similar “gangsterish”/crime genre connotations but it is also quite unique in the way that it is modern and involves modern issues and modern day teenage characters. This is a selling point which I believe would interest a diverse label. They also released ‘127
hours’ which is based on a true story, this could relate to the real life, imaginable situation of Callum in our production.
In July 2010, Handmade was purchased for $6.1 million by a syndicate of Jersey based businessmen David Francis. This relatively low price for an entire company suggests that it is quite independent and it shows it isn’t as big as Warner Brothers or Miramax. For example, Disney tried to buy Miramax in 2010 for $700 million which shows just how big and powerful it is. However this is another factor that appeals to us and it would also appeal to a company investing in a film with no background as they would be unsure whether they would make any
money.

Evaluation of Final Font

We have chosen the title 'Higher' as it represents different aspects and
attributions of the trailer. Higher can represent someones mind state, it can
represent the hierarchy of the characters which is a key underlying concept as
the runt youth is bossed around by a higher status and therefore leads himself
into trouble. It also represents and relates to a key piece of dialogue we plan
to have, when the runt youth is given an ultimatum, when he decides to work for
the gangsters, the gangsters response is "your hired", obviously it has a
different spelling and meaning but it will still be a clear relation. We
also like this font because it is simple, but gritty and descrete and requires
the audience to look into it that little bit more to understand it. This is
something which represents our ideas and the idea of the criminal world beause
criminals are always trying to hide something. As our production is not a comedy
we want to avoid the idea of anything being humorous and this font avoids that
by being edgy and mature. It can also relate to the personality of the
characters as it is bold. We can edit the font in Adobe Photoshop to make it
more unique or match it to a picture or theme we decide when designing a cover.
We can use tints of other colours and maybe intertwine pictures with
it.We believe that it appeals to our demographic audience as it is
simple and easy to understand. It doesnt defer attention from our genre either
so people won't question it, they will understand it and think it is fitting. We
asked several of our classmates and friends outside the classroom what their
thoughts on this font were and these were some of the responses we
recieved:
"Personally I like the font because it reminds me Inception and other fims like that"
"The font looks scary like it's covering something up"
"I can imagine the font on a poster or advert at a bus stop"
These comments were very useful to the group as they showed us other things
it represents outside of the production which we also aim for in the long run
such as using it in an advertising manner. This reassured us that we had chosen
the perfect font.


Our title can also compare to influential films of a similar genre such as "Snatch". As you can see the logo is very simplistic and easy to read. The simple design around the logo against a black background also looks very simple but very effective at the same time as it gives it a signiture look. This is an idea we can use to inspire our final title design.


Reservoir Dogs is also another film commonly associated with the genre which takes a different design idea but on a simple background and font. After looking at these two logos it is clearer to us we made a good choice with the font we have chosen.

Final Font

After narrowing down our font choices to the 5 previous, we then discovered
a more suiting and appropriate font which we all think looks much better suited
to our production. It is more simplistic but this is more effective and relates
to other films from a similar genre, such as "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking
Barrels" where the title is very bold and simple.

Possible Font 5 "Salty" Font

This block like font is a bit more design
heavy as it involves a heavy use of shadowing and tilt on the lettering. This
makes it slightly tricky to understand but a few simple editing processes could
eradicate this problem. As it is very simple however, there is lots of scope for
a design and particular, recognisable design to be used on it. For example
‘Layer Cake” is spelt like “L4YER CAK3”. The digits relate to a feature of the
film as they are car registration digits. It is now recognisable and that font
idea reminds people of that particular film.

Possible Font 4:"Square One Grunge" Font

"Square One Grunge" Font

This sans serif font is quite interesting as it is
similar, and influenced by the computer game “Grand Theft Auto”. The game itself
has a storyline which involves drugs, crime, police and car chases. all of these
are connotations of productions we have looked at and we intend to use some of
them in our own production. The fact that this neutral looking font is so
fitting for that game, it will be fitting for our own production. We could
further edit it in Photoshop to give it a unique and distinctive font, relating
to, and reminding people of our own production. The font is also very edgy and
we intend to produce some edgy, thrilling scenes.

Possible Font 3 "Hexagon" Font

This sans serif font is quite interesting
as it uses a minimal, mysterious looking design to fill the letters. It looks
very ‘crime’ and is very modern. It relates to simplicity of other films similar
to our genre such as ‘Snatch’. Some letters, however are a bit tricky to see we
would further edit and enhance the lettering in Photoshop when designing the
full title if we were to use this font, but I think it could be very effective
as it looks very similar. You would never see a font like this used on a chick
flick for example.

Possible Font 2"Awesome Java" Font

This font has a simple, but very effective
design in terms of what we are trying to portray. It is quite neutral in terms
of connotations but it has a retro, 80’s/90’s vibe to it. The extra lines add
depth to it which makes it stand out and be that little bit more distinctive
than others. I would say this font would relate to other films such as ‘Starsky
and Hutch’ which is also a crime thriller. Therefore it suggests and shows where
some of our influence has come from. ‘Lock Stock has a straight forward text but
lightens it up by slanting it, this is straight forward but lightens it up with
the extra lines and design.

Possible Fonts 1 "Bright young things" Font

This font is very modern and simple so it relates to
our production as we want am modern take on an old idea. It also relates to
older films of the similar genre, for example films such as ‘Snatch’, ‘Layer
cake’ and ‘Lock, Stock’ have very straight forward sans-serif fonts. We were
influenced by this as you can see by the lettering. The flickers that the font
has give it an arty and creative edge and looks like smoke. Smoke comes from
fire, cigarettes and other burning objects so it relates to fire and danger,
another reason why it is appropriate for our genre.

Titles

There were numerous titles that we brainstormed when setting about planning our production.

We considered the title: "Gangs of North West" as it coincided with the theme of our production and reflects the plotline and premise of our film. We decided against using this title as we had superior alternatives and it did not sound impressive phonetically.
We also thought about using the title "Second Hand" as it reflected our original concept of a borrowed car.
"Dust" was also a title we considered. We thought about using this title as it reflects our original idea for the plot, which centred around the hiring of a car. This was considered as it is symbolic of a car that is travelling very fast, and we also thought that a brief, short title would be a good idea as it would reflect the "cool" nature of the film.
"Smoke" was a title that we considered for similar reasons, as it is also associated with cars.
"Mantle

Title Suggestions

Our Top 3 Film Titles – Explained.

1) ‘HIGHER’ – this is a play on the word ‘hire’ as our film is based around a hire car company. It fits the genre because it is quite inconspicuous and it will be clear to the audience that it has relevance once they watch it. As the word itself has several dictionary definitions, it leaves the reader thinking at a first glance.

After asking several people what they thought about it after first hearing it, they gave us several suggestions as a reply. They guessed that the film would include:
-A hierarchy or characters, one main villain or main ‘gangster’.
This relates to our film as their will actually be a distinctive powerful character which will stand out from the rest.
-Drug related
This also relates to our film as gangsters and crime thrillers usually have drugs as a centre point for storylines so we thought it would be important to involve this, it is also an easy and simple prop to use.

2) ‘MANTLE’ – this name began with the idea of crossing over two words and ideas. As our film is going to be British and northern we always had the idea of involving the word ‘Manchester/Madchester’ thus the part ‘Man-‘. When we were generating title ideas we also had the suggestion ‘Metal’, therefore we combined the two to produce ‘MANTLE’. This word, we feel is very fitting because of the way it has been designed and it also has its own connotations.
For example, ‘Mantle’ sounds and looks like ‘Mental’ which is a characteristic of the stereotypical gangster. It also sounds identical to ‘Mantle’ as in the earth’s mantle, this could connote that situations will heat up and there will be fire explosions or fast, sweaty chase scenes.

3) ‘NORTHERN SOUL’ – This name has lots of connotations and is very fitting for our film. It fits the industry, our location and the characters. We know it is from a retro era so we would make it modernised, but nowadays the idea of ‘Northern Soul’ is very much back to life with clothes shops and music events, therefore many people could relate to it.
Northern soul emerged from the 60’s in a mod era, in the mod era there was lots of conflict between other gangs such as punks, which can relate to the tension between groups of people in our own production.
Northern will clearly be relating to our location of the Northwest.
Soul itself is a very mysterious and eerie word, this gives off negative connotations which gangster life may bring. The soul is seen as the centre of the body so is a prized possession of any human therefore would be something you want to protect, protection is a massive theme with the gangster scene so it can link to our production in that way.