Wednesday 23 March 2011
Research - Analysis of "Twelve" Trailer.
Above is the trailer for "Twelve", a film that I touched upon in my website research; I mentioned "Twelve"'s similar target audience/nature to our film, hence have chosen to look into its trailer in more detail.
I think this trailer is excellent, its pace and use of music being engaging in particular.
The start has a retrospective feel, with the film's protagonist, White Mike, at a low point, whilst flashing back to memories of his late mother. I like this as a start to a trailer; the mysterious element to his misery draws an audience in, whilst the flashbacks begin to reveal his story. The slow, tired music emphasizes the sequence's emotion, as does the washed out color filter.
This moves into a sequence of scenes set against a backing track of MGMT's "Kids".
(Analysis.)
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Research - Analysis of Film Websites.
As well as our trailer and poster, we will be creating a website as part of our film's promotional package. Before we start designing our website, I have looked into the websites for other fashion media products targeted towards our demographic to draw inspiration from.
The first that I looked at was the website for the film documentary that I have mentioned in previous posts, "Picture Me".
The first that I looked at was the website for the film documentary that I have mentioned in previous posts, "Picture Me".
This website is very minimalistic, with a clean layout that makes the information available easy for the audience to consume. The homepage features the film's title, summary and background, release dates, and promotional posters. I like that all of the vital information for the audience is available upon first entering the website, and, thanks to the clean layout, can be consumed even subconsciously. Should one want to find out more, there are tabs at the top leading to content specific pages such as "Press" and "Bios", and at the bottom are links to the international release posters for the film. Whilst I like the minimalism for its ease of navigation and information consumption, I do wonder whether it could be a little plain which, despite their having all the information about it, may not not entice our audience to come and see our film.
The above screenshots are from the website for the film "The Social Network", which differs quite a lot to the website for "Picture Me". "The Social Network" is another film that targets our demographic in terms of age, but with less gender specific targeting; the website's much darker theme could even suggest more of a male gaze. However, the darker theme of the website could also be a reflection of the darker themes within the film, such as those that our group has in our film.
The first page one is directed to is not the homepage; it is a long list of awards the film has won and its positive reviews. This is a quite effective technique for interesting an audience IF one's film has a plethora of awards and reviews to post; in our case, our film is a new film using unheard of actors etc, hence, this is not a technique we can draw any inspiration from.
Clicking through to the homepage presents a tiled layout, with each tile linking to a section on the actor shown or the area of production shown (e.g. filming locations, editing, etc.), and hovering over the tile before clicking brings up a brief summary of the section. I do quite like the tiled layout; it's almost like a mood board, hence gives the audience an overall "image" of the film. Its main downfall is that it doesn't make vital information like the film's/the film's DVD's release date clear, the audience has to click through the tiles or the tabs at the top to find everything.
I think this is an excellent website for a film which has a star studded cast and an anticipated release without as much need for promotion. I like the use of the tiled layout, and could see it incorporated into our website somewhere, but not covering the entire homepage for our site; as less well known filmmakers, we need to use an approach more similar to the "Picture Me" website, making our film's vital information very clear on the homepage and easy to consume.
This website is for the film "Twelve". "Twelve" targets our demographic both in terms of age and gender, and approaches many of the same deglamorizing themes that we will be representing in our film/trailer. "Twelve", based on a book of the same name, is about a group of privileged teenagers in Manhattan who's obsessive focus on outward appearance and reputation, and the resulting reliance on party drugs like Twelve, has horrifying consequences. The film's dark themes have been reflected with the website's color scheme; black background, blood red detailing, and a stark white font that contrasts and stands out. After seeing a dark theme used on both this website and the website for "The Social Network", I think it could be used on our own; but, with a more minimal aesthetic, as we are not making a borderline horror film like "Twelve" or a male targeted film like "The Social Network".
As with the website for "Picture Me", this website includes all of the vital information information on the homepage, which I think is something that we definitely need to do on our film's website. Unlike the "Picture Me" website and more like the "The Social Network" website, this website uses a collage effect with cast pictures and the trailer in the middle; I like the use of the trailer as part of the collage, and think this could be a good idea for our website as, of course, our trailer will be the main component of our promotional package and we should feature it as much as possible.
This website is a little less disorganized to the eye than the "Picture Me" and "The Social Network" websites, which is something that I would like our group to avoid as much as possible as it does make information more difficult to consume.
Monday 14 March 2011
Production - Final Plot.
Our group has now settled on our final plot for the full theme. After each of us writing one based on the themes and their links that we had discussed before, we came together to compare them; and chose Phoebe's as the one that we will use. Both Ollie and I inputed a few ideas from our own plots which were incorporated within Phoebe's;
"An 18 year old girl has been influenced by magazines and music videos to become a model. She becomes inspired by a certain photographer and model and starts looking up modelling agencies on the internet to start her modelling career. She finds a website that requires a portfolio of photos so she asks her long term boyfriend to take the pictures for her. He knows how hard it is to get into a modelling industry but is supportive enough to take the pictures; he doesn’t quite take her seriously but likes the novelty of having a model as a girlfriend.
The pictures are sent off to the agency she waits anxiously for 3 weeks before she eventually gets a reply saying she is not the right build and the agency’s models are a size 6 or lower, this affects her confidence but she is determined and starts to diet and go to the gym. From a size 12 she gets down to a size 10 in a month, she gives up through frustration and decides that food is the problem so starts to eat less and less. Her family notice and confront her, when she tells them they don’t support her and they tell her to concentrate on something more productive because modelling is unhealthy and won’t give her a future. She refuses to give up on her dream and looks to the internet for more answers.
She comes across an online chat service and meets a girl who tells her she has recently got into an agency and is working as a model. The main girl is in awe of the chat girl and asks for advice, the chat girl tells her that stopping eating only bloats her and that eating then bringing it back up makes you slimmer. The main girl doesn’t like this idea but as she has stopped dieting and is having to eat normally in front of her parents it has been harder for her to lose weight. She starts being sick after meals and she notices she has gone down to a size 8 in less than a month. However, this affects her mood and her boyfriend notices their relationship suffering as she keeps more secrets from him and chooses to exercise rather than meet up with him. He goes round to her house without her knowing and is let into her room, he sees her magazines all around the room and then notices a log she has kept showing how many calories she may have digested during the day and the amount of hours she is been exercising. He confronts her and she shouts at him telling him to keep out of her business, he tells her he is worried about her and that she has to stop and he won’t let her carry on. He convinces her to start eating again. The main girl confides in her online friend telling her she cannot lose weight because of the people around her. The girl tells her that the other option is cocaine and gives her details of a dealer in her area. It takes a couple of days before she makes the decision to go buy some cocaine she meets the dealer and nervously tells him why she is buying it he replies telling her she is really attractive and will definitely make it, this encourages her further to reach her modelling career. She holds off using the drug for a long time as she knows it is wrong but is torn between her passion for modelling and what is the best thing to do. She makes a line of the drug on her desk and goes to snort it the camera focuses on surrounded by pictures of her friends and boyfriend.
Her boyfriend is then seen reading an email saying he has been offered a job in London; he is excited but concerned for his girlfriend it then cuts to her weighing herself and looking at herself in the mirror sucking in her stomach. She then has an email from an agency arranging a meeting to have some practise shots in London she is very excited. Both boyfriend and girlfriend travel to London together however the girl tells her boyfriend she will be shopping while the boyfriend has told her he will be meeting up with some old friends. It then double screens to the boyfriend shaking meeting a man for his meeting and the girl meeting the photographer it then shows the boyfriend sitting down at a desk and the girl standing in front of a backdrop. Fades to blackout still split screen shows the boyfriend leaving smiling and the girl leaving looking worried and upset.
They both meet in the car and hardly speak to each other. Blackout. Girl is seen on the floor of her room crying with an envelope from the agency on the floor in front of her. Her boyfriend walks in also with an envelope in his hand and smiling. He sees her crying on the floor and runs to her he asks what is wrong but she says nothing, he takes the envelope off the floor and opens it, she grabs it shocking her boyfriend who then starts to fight for the envelope there is a struggle and he manages to open the envelope and see the photos inside, he is shocked and destroyed at the nude images of her obviously looking uncomfortable. He tells her she has gone too far and that he was worried to tell her he had got a job in London and he was moving away but that her decision had made his a lot easier, he storms out the room and the girl is left to cry on the floor.
The main girl to talk to her online friend and continues to take cocaine and get skinnier. Her parents notice but her relationship with them is ruined she no longer listens to them and shuts herself in her room. She is a little more cautious about other agency’s but she is getting more offers than ever and now sees her 1st shoot as experience her attitude has changed and she becomes numb. She is seen going to another photo shoot involving other people her dressing room consists of two other women who hardly to talk each other, she goes over to talk thinking because they are modelling they have something in common, they look her up and down laugh and ignore her. So the girl goes to the toilets and snorts more cocaine showing she has become reliant on cocaine for her emotions also. The shoot is about girls in their pyjamas having a pillow fight due to her unsuccessful attempt to talk to the girls she finds it hard to act as if she knows them and is having fun, she is thrown off the photo shoot which makes her extremely angry she goes back to her room rips up all her magazines but stops at one from her favourite photographer.
She is seen having many pictures taken but none are successful she realises that there is more to modelling than being skinny there is technique as well she starts taking more cocaine and losing more weight. She turns up to a photo shoot looking tired and ill she is taken to make up and the woman tells her she looks awful the girl snaps at her and the woman refuses to do her make up telling her she will never get anywhere with such a bad attitude. The girl does her own make up and goes in for the shoot he tells her she looks fabulous and takes the photos enthusiastically telling her she is exactly what they wanted. After shaking hands with the photographer she leaves happy, a week after the photos are printed in magazines and on billboards as the girl who is in need of mental help new makeup and products and even one showing her as a woman suffering from a sexual disease reading ‘if you could see aids would you still take her home?’. She is horrified to see the pictures everywhere her parents throw her out of the house and she is left to live on the streets.
Her boyfriend is then seen leaving a building in a suit and tie he is catching a bus when he gets given a leaflet by a girl wearing a t-shirt saying aids awareness it has his girlfriend’s picture of her looking terrible. He instantly starts to worry about her and tries to call her there is no answer. He then calls her parents they answer but tell him they do not know who the girl is, this worries him more and he sets off to try and find her.
While walking through the subway to her house he sees a homeless person on the floor he walks straight past them and she looks up after him it’s the girl. He tires all night to find her but fails. He walks back the homeless person is missing but as he gets to his car he sees the homeless person standing by his car, he then realises it is his girlfriend. He runs up to her as she faints into his arms he starts to cry and there is a blackout. She is seen in a hospital environment with her boyfriend by her side she wakes up and he starts to tell her that her organs had started to fail she may have brain damage from lack of food and the cocaine use he tells her he never wanted to leave her on her own but he lost it and he will be there from now on. She spends days and days in hospital recovering and her boyfriend is there every day. Her parents eventually turn up her mum in tears and they are happy she is getting better. She says she still wants to model but she has learnt from her lesson, it then cuts to a couple of years on both her and her boyfriend are hand in hand looking up at a billboard for a lead brand with the girl on it."
Of course, this is a plot for a full theme, and we are creating a trailer. Hence, our group sat together and worked through the plot, scrutinizing it and considering which scenes are best for us to show in our trailer. Conventions of trailers for all genres command that a trailer present the film's most important themes without giving too much of the story away. Hence, we wanted to work in a chronological order as our film's themes interconnect and flow into one another, but we had to pick a point at which to stop our telling of the story.
Below are a few snapshots of the process we went through; highlighting key scenes and annotating certain with ideas that struck us of how we could manipulate them to show just enough but not too much.
"An 18 year old girl has been influenced by magazines and music videos to become a model. She becomes inspired by a certain photographer and model and starts looking up modelling agencies on the internet to start her modelling career. She finds a website that requires a portfolio of photos so she asks her long term boyfriend to take the pictures for her. He knows how hard it is to get into a modelling industry but is supportive enough to take the pictures; he doesn’t quite take her seriously but likes the novelty of having a model as a girlfriend.
The pictures are sent off to the agency she waits anxiously for 3 weeks before she eventually gets a reply saying she is not the right build and the agency’s models are a size 6 or lower, this affects her confidence but she is determined and starts to diet and go to the gym. From a size 12 she gets down to a size 10 in a month, she gives up through frustration and decides that food is the problem so starts to eat less and less. Her family notice and confront her, when she tells them they don’t support her and they tell her to concentrate on something more productive because modelling is unhealthy and won’t give her a future. She refuses to give up on her dream and looks to the internet for more answers.
She comes across an online chat service and meets a girl who tells her she has recently got into an agency and is working as a model. The main girl is in awe of the chat girl and asks for advice, the chat girl tells her that stopping eating only bloats her and that eating then bringing it back up makes you slimmer. The main girl doesn’t like this idea but as she has stopped dieting and is having to eat normally in front of her parents it has been harder for her to lose weight. She starts being sick after meals and she notices she has gone down to a size 8 in less than a month. However, this affects her mood and her boyfriend notices their relationship suffering as she keeps more secrets from him and chooses to exercise rather than meet up with him. He goes round to her house without her knowing and is let into her room, he sees her magazines all around the room and then notices a log she has kept showing how many calories she may have digested during the day and the amount of hours she is been exercising. He confronts her and she shouts at him telling him to keep out of her business, he tells her he is worried about her and that she has to stop and he won’t let her carry on. He convinces her to start eating again. The main girl confides in her online friend telling her she cannot lose weight because of the people around her. The girl tells her that the other option is cocaine and gives her details of a dealer in her area. It takes a couple of days before she makes the decision to go buy some cocaine she meets the dealer and nervously tells him why she is buying it he replies telling her she is really attractive and will definitely make it, this encourages her further to reach her modelling career. She holds off using the drug for a long time as she knows it is wrong but is torn between her passion for modelling and what is the best thing to do. She makes a line of the drug on her desk and goes to snort it the camera focuses on surrounded by pictures of her friends and boyfriend.
Her boyfriend is then seen reading an email saying he has been offered a job in London; he is excited but concerned for his girlfriend it then cuts to her weighing herself and looking at herself in the mirror sucking in her stomach. She then has an email from an agency arranging a meeting to have some practise shots in London she is very excited. Both boyfriend and girlfriend travel to London together however the girl tells her boyfriend she will be shopping while the boyfriend has told her he will be meeting up with some old friends. It then double screens to the boyfriend shaking meeting a man for his meeting and the girl meeting the photographer it then shows the boyfriend sitting down at a desk and the girl standing in front of a backdrop. Fades to blackout still split screen shows the boyfriend leaving smiling and the girl leaving looking worried and upset.
They both meet in the car and hardly speak to each other. Blackout. Girl is seen on the floor of her room crying with an envelope from the agency on the floor in front of her. Her boyfriend walks in also with an envelope in his hand and smiling. He sees her crying on the floor and runs to her he asks what is wrong but she says nothing, he takes the envelope off the floor and opens it, she grabs it shocking her boyfriend who then starts to fight for the envelope there is a struggle and he manages to open the envelope and see the photos inside, he is shocked and destroyed at the nude images of her obviously looking uncomfortable. He tells her she has gone too far and that he was worried to tell her he had got a job in London and he was moving away but that her decision had made his a lot easier, he storms out the room and the girl is left to cry on the floor.
The main girl to talk to her online friend and continues to take cocaine and get skinnier. Her parents notice but her relationship with them is ruined she no longer listens to them and shuts herself in her room. She is a little more cautious about other agency’s but she is getting more offers than ever and now sees her 1st shoot as experience her attitude has changed and she becomes numb. She is seen going to another photo shoot involving other people her dressing room consists of two other women who hardly to talk each other, she goes over to talk thinking because they are modelling they have something in common, they look her up and down laugh and ignore her. So the girl goes to the toilets and snorts more cocaine showing she has become reliant on cocaine for her emotions also. The shoot is about girls in their pyjamas having a pillow fight due to her unsuccessful attempt to talk to the girls she finds it hard to act as if she knows them and is having fun, she is thrown off the photo shoot which makes her extremely angry she goes back to her room rips up all her magazines but stops at one from her favourite photographer.
She is seen having many pictures taken but none are successful she realises that there is more to modelling than being skinny there is technique as well she starts taking more cocaine and losing more weight. She turns up to a photo shoot looking tired and ill she is taken to make up and the woman tells her she looks awful the girl snaps at her and the woman refuses to do her make up telling her she will never get anywhere with such a bad attitude. The girl does her own make up and goes in for the shoot he tells her she looks fabulous and takes the photos enthusiastically telling her she is exactly what they wanted. After shaking hands with the photographer she leaves happy, a week after the photos are printed in magazines and on billboards as the girl who is in need of mental help new makeup and products and even one showing her as a woman suffering from a sexual disease reading ‘if you could see aids would you still take her home?’. She is horrified to see the pictures everywhere her parents throw her out of the house and she is left to live on the streets.
Her boyfriend is then seen leaving a building in a suit and tie he is catching a bus when he gets given a leaflet by a girl wearing a t-shirt saying aids awareness it has his girlfriend’s picture of her looking terrible. He instantly starts to worry about her and tries to call her there is no answer. He then calls her parents they answer but tell him they do not know who the girl is, this worries him more and he sets off to try and find her.
While walking through the subway to her house he sees a homeless person on the floor he walks straight past them and she looks up after him it’s the girl. He tires all night to find her but fails. He walks back the homeless person is missing but as he gets to his car he sees the homeless person standing by his car, he then realises it is his girlfriend. He runs up to her as she faints into his arms he starts to cry and there is a blackout. She is seen in a hospital environment with her boyfriend by her side she wakes up and he starts to tell her that her organs had started to fail she may have brain damage from lack of food and the cocaine use he tells her he never wanted to leave her on her own but he lost it and he will be there from now on. She spends days and days in hospital recovering and her boyfriend is there every day. Her parents eventually turn up her mum in tears and they are happy she is getting better. She says she still wants to model but she has learnt from her lesson, it then cuts to a couple of years on both her and her boyfriend are hand in hand looking up at a billboard for a lead brand with the girl on it."
Of course, this is a plot for a full theme, and we are creating a trailer. Hence, our group sat together and worked through the plot, scrutinizing it and considering which scenes are best for us to show in our trailer. Conventions of trailers for all genres command that a trailer present the film's most important themes without giving too much of the story away. Hence, we wanted to work in a chronological order as our film's themes interconnect and flow into one another, but we had to pick a point at which to stop our telling of the story.
Below are a few snapshots of the process we went through; highlighting key scenes and annotating certain with ideas that struck us of how we could manipulate them to show just enough but not too much.
With the scenes that we will be using in our trailer selected, we will now have to do some more focussed research into how trailers for films of our genre are constructed and write a "trailer script" for the construction of our own trailer.
Planning - Poster Design Ideas.
I have started drafting a few ideas for our poster's potential layout. All three are very basic sketches, as their primary purpose is for our group to gain an idea of the composition options for our poster, and for us to start planning which one would be best to promote our film and how we could shoot and edit it.
This first option shows our an extreme close up of our protagonist's face and neckline, with her being "strangled" by a tape measure. This composition suggests the pressure that our protagonist is under as an aspiring model, in particular due to weight issues. However, it could have more of a horror genre connotation.
This second option is also an extreme close up, this time of our protagonist's waist, and also utilizes a tape measure as the main focal point. I have used the tape measure again as I think it is a good symbol for our film; weight issues will be prevalent, and will be the cause of our protagonist's downward spiral into other issues. Setting it against her waist rather than her face took away the horror connotation the previous poster could have had, and also stops the audience from being distracted between two focal points (the actress's face and the tape measure). With the former poster, we would have had no visible clothing on our model, as only her face and shoulders were on view, similar to the "The Beautiful Life: TBL" nude shots, however with this poster we would have her in simple blue jeans and a white vest (which we would offset the title); still keeping her a blank canvas, vulnerable to corruption.
This third option takes a different direction to the previous two posters. We have our protagonist dressed in the same blue jeans and white vest as in the former poster, for the same reasons, but we have her in a long shot showing her full body rather than an extreme close up of a specific area. In the foreground, there is a camera showing a retouched, clichéd "model-esque" image of our protagonist, in full hair and make up, on the display screen. The camera is pointing towards the "real" depiction of our protagonist; a very vulnerable looking girl, in plain clothes, with invisible hair and make up. The use of composition and contrasts in styling are to symbolize our film's exposing the real model, not the one the camera creates. However, unlike the former two drafts with their use of the tape measure, this poster does not pick up on particular themes or the downward spiral our protagonist will experience, and the more detailed layout may be more difficult for passing audiences to read messages from.
This second option is also an extreme close up, this time of our protagonist's waist, and also utilizes a tape measure as the main focal point. I have used the tape measure again as I think it is a good symbol for our film; weight issues will be prevalent, and will be the cause of our protagonist's downward spiral into other issues. Setting it against her waist rather than her face took away the horror connotation the previous poster could have had, and also stops the audience from being distracted between two focal points (the actress's face and the tape measure). With the former poster, we would have had no visible clothing on our model, as only her face and shoulders were on view, similar to the "The Beautiful Life: TBL" nude shots, however with this poster we would have her in simple blue jeans and a white vest (which we would offset the title); still keeping her a blank canvas, vulnerable to corruption.
This third option takes a different direction to the previous two posters. We have our protagonist dressed in the same blue jeans and white vest as in the former poster, for the same reasons, but we have her in a long shot showing her full body rather than an extreme close up of a specific area. In the foreground, there is a camera showing a retouched, clichéd "model-esque" image of our protagonist, in full hair and make up, on the display screen. The camera is pointing towards the "real" depiction of our protagonist; a very vulnerable looking girl, in plain clothes, with invisible hair and make up. The use of composition and contrasts in styling are to symbolize our film's exposing the real model, not the one the camera creates. However, unlike the former two drafts with their use of the tape measure, this poster does not pick up on particular themes or the downward spiral our protagonist will experience, and the more detailed layout may be more difficult for passing audiences to read messages from.
Research - Analysis of "The Beautiful Life : TBL"'s Advertising Campaign and Others.
With our plot themes finalized and the writing of our plot underway, it is now time for our group to start shifting some focus onto our supporting products; we will be making a poster to advertise our film and a website to complete our promotional package.
Before we start drafting ideas for our poster, I have done some research into posters for other films which also target our female 18-34 demographic and/or are of our genre. As this article on Empire Online highlights, particular genres have particular clichéd conventions in the way that their posters are constructed; hence, I will be looking out for conventions that I can spot within the posters I will be looking at.
The first, and main, advertising campaign that I will be looking at is the one for the television show "The Beautiful Life : TBL", as, despite the show's eventual failings, it was a successful, well targeted campaign for a show which explores similar themes to our own film and was produced for a television network which targets the same demographic as our group.
"The Beautiful Life : TBL" utilized both print and online media for its promotional campaign; as we will be with our poster and website. The show was promoted through the acclaimed cast's Twitter feeds, attaching to each Tweet a TwitPic of one of the show's posters bearing the tagline "What are you looking at?", to reach a mainstream audience, and during New York Fashion Week through New York Magazine, with the event's 4000 well connected attendees receiving an edition of New York Magazine featuring an ad spread for the show, to pique the interest of their more specific target audience.
Above are the four posters that were used for the show's main campaign, featuring nude shots of the four principal cast members, shielded by a banner containing the show's title and tag line.
The first message that these posters convey is that the life of a model is going to be stripped bare; as represented with a literal visual metaphor. I like the way that these posters have conveyed this message, as it is simple, eye-catching, and the message is easy to interpret - even at a glance. As we will be attempting to strip the falsehoods of the modeling industry away with our film/trailer, the message that these posters are attempting to convey and the way that they convey them could be of inspiration to our group.
The second message that these posters convey is more of a statement about the characters; all three of the characters who are established models (top left, Ashley Medekwe as Marissa; bottom right, Sara Paxton as Raina; bottom left, Corbin Bleu as Isaac) are facing the camera in a full body long shot, which, combined with their body language, symbolizes their confidence. The character who is an aspiring model, new to the industry (top right, Ben Hollingsworth as Chris), is facing away from the camera and has a far more timid and unsure body language. As our protagonist is an aspiring model, our group can draw more inspiration from the representation of Ben Hollingsworth's character Chris and "his" poster.
In summary, things that I liked/think our group could draw inspiration from :
The literal metaphor used to convey the "stripped bear" message.
The simplicity of the campaign; it's eye-catching and makes it easier for an audience to consume information at a glance.
The composure of the top right, Ben Hollingsworth as Chris, "aspiring model" poster, and the actor's body language.
Things that I didn't like/don't think our group can draw inspiration from :
The "confidence" of the composure of and body language used in the other three posters; connotes a model with more experience and industry knowledge than our own protagonist.
The "retouched" look of the posters; the aim of our film is to show a less glamorous side to the modeling industry, a more realistic and relatable take, hence we should convey this within our poster.
Some other posters which target our demographic that I have looked at, based on previous research, include:
Before we start drafting ideas for our poster, I have done some research into posters for other films which also target our female 18-34 demographic and/or are of our genre. As this article on Empire Online highlights, particular genres have particular clichéd conventions in the way that their posters are constructed; hence, I will be looking out for conventions that I can spot within the posters I will be looking at.
The first, and main, advertising campaign that I will be looking at is the one for the television show "The Beautiful Life : TBL", as, despite the show's eventual failings, it was a successful, well targeted campaign for a show which explores similar themes to our own film and was produced for a television network which targets the same demographic as our group.
"The Beautiful Life : TBL" utilized both print and online media for its promotional campaign; as we will be with our poster and website. The show was promoted through the acclaimed cast's Twitter feeds, attaching to each Tweet a TwitPic of one of the show's posters bearing the tagline "What are you looking at?", to reach a mainstream audience, and during New York Fashion Week through New York Magazine, with the event's 4000 well connected attendees receiving an edition of New York Magazine featuring an ad spread for the show, to pique the interest of their more specific target audience.
Above are the four posters that were used for the show's main campaign, featuring nude shots of the four principal cast members, shielded by a banner containing the show's title and tag line.
The first message that these posters convey is that the life of a model is going to be stripped bare; as represented with a literal visual metaphor. I like the way that these posters have conveyed this message, as it is simple, eye-catching, and the message is easy to interpret - even at a glance. As we will be attempting to strip the falsehoods of the modeling industry away with our film/trailer, the message that these posters are attempting to convey and the way that they convey them could be of inspiration to our group.
The second message that these posters convey is more of a statement about the characters; all three of the characters who are established models (top left, Ashley Medekwe as Marissa; bottom right, Sara Paxton as Raina; bottom left, Corbin Bleu as Isaac) are facing the camera in a full body long shot, which, combined with their body language, symbolizes their confidence. The character who is an aspiring model, new to the industry (top right, Ben Hollingsworth as Chris), is facing away from the camera and has a far more timid and unsure body language. As our protagonist is an aspiring model, our group can draw more inspiration from the representation of Ben Hollingsworth's character Chris and "his" poster.
In summary, things that I liked/think our group could draw inspiration from :
The literal metaphor used to convey the "stripped bear" message.
The simplicity of the campaign; it's eye-catching and makes it easier for an audience to consume information at a glance.
The composure of the top right, Ben Hollingsworth as Chris, "aspiring model" poster, and the actor's body language.
Things that I didn't like/don't think our group can draw inspiration from :
The "confidence" of the composure of and body language used in the other three posters; connotes a model with more experience and industry knowledge than our own protagonist.
The "retouched" look of the posters; the aim of our film is to show a less glamorous side to the modeling industry, a more realistic and relatable take, hence we should convey this within our poster.
Some other posters which target our demographic that I have looked at, based on previous research, include:
This poster for ABC family's television series "Beautiful People". Like the posters for "The Beautiful Life: TBL", this poster is very simple and, to a lesser extent, eye-catching. What I like about/can draw inspiration from this poster over the posters for "The Beautiful Life: TBL" is the less retouched look, the less glamorous aesthetic. "Beautiful People" was about a family moving to Manhattan from New Mexico, hence their uncertainty about their new environment is not dissimilar to the uncertainty our character would be feeling, and has been represented in a similar way in this poster to the way that we could in our poster. The less glamorous/less confident approach this poster has taken contrasts with:
This poster for The CW's television series Gossip Girl. Whereas "Beautiful People" was showing the lives of a less glamorous family living in NYC, as we will be showing a less glamorous side to modeling, "Gossip Girl" heightens the glamor in all of its themes; and this is represented with its poster. All of the characters in the "Gossip Girl" poster look confident and comfortable in their environment; aside from Penn Badgely as Dan and Taylor Momsen as Jenny, who's characters are new to the Manhattan high society environment and have this uncertainty represented with a similar turned away/less confident body language to the "The Beautiful Life: TBL" poster with Ben Hollingsworth.
Sunday 13 March 2011
Planning - Plot Ideas.
Having completed a lot of research towards our film's plot, our group now feels at a stage where we can start to piece our plot together. To start, we looked at the themes which have arisen from our research; a development on the basic themes of our genre (for the general aesthetic of our film/trailer) which I mind mapped for us before.
As we did find that mind map so useful for organizing our ideas, I have produced another with these new, plot-centric themes, and included straight line links between each theme to show where we could build story lines. (Made with Photo Layout on the Apple iPad.)
As we did find that mind map so useful for organizing our ideas, I have produced another with these new, plot-centric themes, and included straight line links between each theme to show where we could build story lines. (Made with Photo Layout on the Apple iPad.)
Our themes are quite serious, as we are aiming to show the darker side to the modeling industry. We are targeting a mainstream female 18-34 demographic, not just the fashion obsessed niche, hence have chosen themes that are both associated with the fashion/modeling industry and relatable for our audience; such as eating disorders, relationship issues, and feelings of naivety and vulnerability.
With this as our basis to work from, each member of our group is now going to work independently on a plot line that represents all of these themes and works with the connections drawn between them. We will then come together, compare plots, choose one as the "main", and incorporate a few strong ideas from the other two to finalize it.
Research - Analysis of Past and Current News Stories.
As mentioned in my previous research post, about documentary "Picture Me : A Model's Story", it's important for our group to be looking at factual media as well as fictional to ensure that the plot line for our film has a high level of verisimilitude and accuracy. Hence, I have researched the three biggest news stories in fashion from 2010 for our group to use when constructing our film's plot.
I drew these stories from mainstream media sources that would appeal to our target demographic of females 18-34 (magazines such as Grazia and Look, and online magazines/blogs such as Vogue.co.uk, New York Magazine's "The Cut", and Fashionista.com) to ensure that these stories will be familiar as well as accurate. I have summarized them below.
Nothing shook the fashion world quite as much during 2010 than the suicide of designer Lee "Alexander" McQueen on February 11th. He was one of the most creative and innovative designers of our time, having had his technical skills honed at the prestigious London fashion school Central St Martins and on Savile Row. His decision to take his own life at the height of his career highlights the pressure the fashion world, with its fast pace and constant scrutiny, places upon those who work within it.
In March, Danish model Rie Ramussen came forward to confront acclaimed fashion photographer Terry Richardson, who once worked with her on a Gucci campaign, at a party in Paris. She accused him of using his clout to sexually harass young women aspiring to be models. "They are too afraid to say no because their agency booked them on the job and are too young to stand up for themselves. I told him, 'What you do is completely degrading to women. I hope you know you only f*ck girls because you have a camera, lots of fashion contacts and get your pictures in Vogue.'"
Days later, another model named Jamie Peck came forward and detailed her two shoots with Terry Richardson. She quoted him as saying (about breaking into modeling), "It's not who you know, it's who you blow. I don't have a hole in my jeans for nothing."
Over the weeks and months that followed, several more models came forward, adding fuel to the fire of rumors that had been circulating about Terry Richardson's lewd behavior, in particular towards young models, within the industry for years.
Stories like the Terry Richardson scandal and the release of the "Picture Me" documentary raised awareness of the issues young models face, leading to the first ever fashion week to proceed under a collective agreement between models and designers. (London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011.) The UK model union reached an agreement with the British Fashion Council to govern working hours, break times, minimum rates for fashion shows (most shows used to pay "in trade"; e.g. in clothes), etc. These provisions sound basic, and they are. The modeling industry at present lacks almost any regulations whatsoever, and models, as independent contractors and often minors, are very vulnerable to exploitation.
These stories have enabled our group to pull together more themes which we could represent in our film/trailer. The emphasis of these stories is on the pressures of the fashion/modeling industry and the vulnerability of new models, and the Terry Richardson story in particular brings up the sexual harassment theme that was touched upon in the "Piture Me" documentary.
I drew these stories from mainstream media sources that would appeal to our target demographic of females 18-34 (magazines such as Grazia and Look, and online magazines/blogs such as Vogue.co.uk, New York Magazine's "The Cut", and Fashionista.com) to ensure that these stories will be familiar as well as accurate. I have summarized them below.
- Lee McQueen (of Alexander McQueen)'s suicide :
Nothing shook the fashion world quite as much during 2010 than the suicide of designer Lee "Alexander" McQueen on February 11th. He was one of the most creative and innovative designers of our time, having had his technical skills honed at the prestigious London fashion school Central St Martins and on Savile Row. His decision to take his own life at the height of his career highlights the pressure the fashion world, with its fast pace and constant scrutiny, places upon those who work within it.
- Terry Richardson's sexual harrassment scandal :
In March, Danish model Rie Ramussen came forward to confront acclaimed fashion photographer Terry Richardson, who once worked with her on a Gucci campaign, at a party in Paris. She accused him of using his clout to sexually harass young women aspiring to be models. "They are too afraid to say no because their agency booked them on the job and are too young to stand up for themselves. I told him, 'What you do is completely degrading to women. I hope you know you only f*ck girls because you have a camera, lots of fashion contacts and get your pictures in Vogue.'"
Days later, another model named Jamie Peck came forward and detailed her two shoots with Terry Richardson. She quoted him as saying (about breaking into modeling), "It's not who you know, it's who you blow. I don't have a hole in my jeans for nothing."
Over the weeks and months that followed, several more models came forward, adding fuel to the fire of rumors that had been circulating about Terry Richardson's lewd behavior, in particular towards young models, within the industry for years.
- London Fashion Week models unionized :
Stories like the Terry Richardson scandal and the release of the "Picture Me" documentary raised awareness of the issues young models face, leading to the first ever fashion week to proceed under a collective agreement between models and designers. (London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011.) The UK model union reached an agreement with the British Fashion Council to govern working hours, break times, minimum rates for fashion shows (most shows used to pay "in trade"; e.g. in clothes), etc. These provisions sound basic, and they are. The modeling industry at present lacks almost any regulations whatsoever, and models, as independent contractors and often minors, are very vulnerable to exploitation.
These stories have enabled our group to pull together more themes which we could represent in our film/trailer. The emphasis of these stories is on the pressures of the fashion/modeling industry and the vulnerability of new models, and the Terry Richardson story in particular brings up the sexual harassment theme that was touched upon in the "Piture Me" documentary.
Friday 11 March 2011
Planning - Mood Board.
As our group have now settled on our target demographic and the theme for our film/trailer, we have started looking at various sources of media for ideas and inspirational content that will be useful to us during our production. I have looked at examples from three forms; advertising, television, and film, to gain as much information about how our genre should be targeted as possible. As a group, we have been looking at the print media that our demographic would be interested in reading; being a fashion conscious female between the ages of 18-34, these have included the "younger" fashion and lifestyle magazines such as Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Teen Vogue. Whilst we have studied traditional Vogue and other higher brow fashion publications such as Harper's Bazaar and Tatler, this has been more so for detailed insight into the fashion and modeling industry rather than for insight into how to target our audience. The more traditional, high brow print fashion publications tend to target a wealthier, more intellectual, fashion niche, whereas, producing a film for general release, we need to be more open.
Below is the mood board that I have created for us to use, based upon the group's and my own research. Our target demographic being quite social media and fashion conscious, I have been using the internet (fashion blogs in particular) and magazines as my primary source for content. I constructed the mood board using Adobe's Photoshop CS5.
I have attempted to represent the direction that we, as a group, see our film going in. I have used an organized, tiled layout with all of our themes, major and minor, mixed in with each other to be able to glean a clear idea of what sort of image we and our film/trailer will be depicting.
Below is the mood board that I have created for us to use, based upon the group's and my own research. Our target demographic being quite social media and fashion conscious, I have been using the internet (fashion blogs in particular) and magazines as my primary source for content. I constructed the mood board using Adobe's Photoshop CS5.
I have attempted to represent the direction that we, as a group, see our film going in. I have used an organized, tiled layout with all of our themes, major and minor, mixed in with each other to be able to glean a clear idea of what sort of image we and our film/trailer will be depicting.
Research - Analysis of "Picture Me : A Model's Diary".
"Picture Me : A Mode's Diary" is a documentary made by (now) former model Sara Ziff and director Ole Schell, which charts Ziff's rise to acclaim and discusses well and lesser known controversies associated with the modeling industry. It was released to audiences in late 2010, and won several prestigious awards, including "Best Fashion Film" at the Milan International Film Festival.
It's interesting for our group to look at, as it touches on and gives examples of the themes we will be representing in our fictional film/trailer, but in a non-fictional context. It is essential that we look at documentaries like this to find factual inspiration, as we would like our film/trailer to have as high a level of realism and verisimilitude as possible.
Themes from the film that we are discussing showing in our own include:
We have also looked at the film's trailer, to learn from its construction and the editing of those scenes which present similar/the same themes as those that we will be exploring.
(Trailer analysis.)
US Release Poster for "Picture Me".
As the poster above suggests, the movie looks behind the scenes at the lives of the models featured in the glamorous advertisements we come into contact with every day, exposing both the highs of the career (representing and walking for some of the world's top fashion houses, the Fashion Week after parties, and a six figure salary) and the lows (maintaining an abnormal shape to suit the industry's unrealistic demands, the degradation, the exhaustion, and the more common low salary - making it hard to cover even the rent alone in one of the world's fashion capitals).
It's interesting for our group to look at, as it touches on and gives examples of the themes we will be representing in our fictional film/trailer, but in a non-fictional context. It is essential that we look at documentaries like this to find factual inspiration, as we would like our film/trailer to have as high a level of realism and verisimilitude as possible.
Themes from the film that we are discussing showing in our own include:
- Differences between the lives of the few top models and an aspiring model.
- Issues with image.
- Sexual harassment.
We have also looked at the film's trailer, to learn from its construction and the editing of those scenes which present similar/the same themes as those that we will be exploring.
(Trailer analysis.)
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Research - Analysis of "The Beautiful Life : TBL".
"The Beautiful Life : TBL" was a television drama centered around models living and working together in New York City, which was produced for and aired on The CW network in the US during September 2009 and was due to be aired on Channel 4 in the UK, as announced prior to the show's cancellation.
("The Beautiful Life : TBL"'s show title card.)
As "The Beautiful Life : TBL", overall, is an example of a media product of our genre which wasn't a success, there's little from its actual production that we have been looking at with the intention to imitate or draw inspiration from (though we have looked at a few episodes to attempt to pinpoint where they went wrong and learn from their mistakes); however, certain aspects are proving useful to us to look at and draw inspiration from.
For example, the show's advertising campaign. Somewhat surprising considering the show's almost immediate cancellation, the advertising campaign was considered a success. The campaign generated a buzz about the show, to the extent that (ironically) after the Pilot was presented, The CW ordered a full season of episodes for the show, and several iconic figures were confirmed as guest stars; including coveted designers Zac Posen (New York-based), Erin Fetherston (New York-based), and Matthew Williamson (London-based), who's transatlantic bases (and Channel 4's picking the show up before it's airing) suggests that anticipation for the show managed to spread from the US to the UK.
I believe the show's marketing's one downfall was that it was too well targeted, creating a niche audience that resulted in the show's low viewer numbers. For The CW network, this would seldom be an issue - the entire network is targeted towards females 18-34 (the same demographic to which we are targeting our film), with each show fitting certain niches.
For example, The CW's current "big hit", "Gossip Girl", still fails to pull in viewer numbers greater than "The Beautiful Life : TBL" did each week, supporting itself through the buzz it receives from its cult following - the fashion crowd and their impressive media - and, somewhat therefore, product placement.
However, "The Beautiful Life : TBL" was launched during an inevitable cut causing recession, and, as it was targeted towards the fashionable audience that "Gossip Girl" had already attracted, The CW may have made the decision to cut a new show without offering it a chance rather than to cut one of their established shows.
However, "The Beautiful Life : TBL" was launched during an inevitable cut causing recession, and, as it was targeted towards the fashionable audience that "Gossip Girl" had already attracted, The CW may have made the decision to cut a new show without offering it a chance rather than to cut one of their established shows.
As our group will be working on promotional ancillary tasks to compliment our film trailer, we will be looking at "The Beautiful Life : TBL" and its advertising campaign, having been a success with our target audience despite the show being a failure on its network, in greater detail in the near future.
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