Welcome


Welcome to my A2 media coursework blog, my name is Chrystal Li (0470) and I will be working in Group 3 along with Audrey King Lassman (0397), Juliette Wileman (0875) and Brandon Poonwasie (0660).

On the right-hand side of my blog, there are labels which you can use to navigate yourself around my blog.


Thank you


Here is a live link to our group facebook page.

Website

Group 3 Music Video

Album Digipak

Album Digipak
Album Digipak (Top Left: Back Cover, Top Right: Front Cover, Bottom Left: Inside Left, Bottom Right: Inside Right)

Tuesday 17 December 2013


On the KYD facebook page.
Reaches people all over the world that has liked their pages and those who are friends with the people sharing the link.

Monday 16 December 2013


A special Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug calendar form sold in waterstones.
Attracts people who go to waterstones to buy books and have probably read the books before.


Ratings


Interview


Review

Comic Strip

These were in the metro on the day of the release of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.
Targets daily commuters of all ages.

Thursday 12 December 2013




In the Metro, on the day before the release of Kill Your Darlings, there was a full article about it, as well as a review/rating on it.
Targets everyone who reads the Metro newspaper, including those who commuted daily using the train.



Below the line advertising in the Metro newspaper comic section. 
This targets generally people who read the metro but mainly kids who like the comics.
This type of advertising raises awareness of it's release.



Took quick snaps of the trailer of The Hobbit DofS which was played before the film, 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'
Targeting all the kids that was there to watch the film.



In the cinema, outside each of the screens, there were The Hobbit posters.
Targets everyone who goes to the cinema.


Sunday 1 December 2013

The Hobbit



 

An advertisement in the Metro advertising the competition to win a holiday to New Zealand with Odeon.
This reaches daily commuters on the train.

Kill Your Darlings




Kill Your Darlings billboard poster underground at Bounds Green Station.
This is able to target everyone who passes this station on the way to somewhere.

Thursday 28 November 2013

Kill Your Darlings (Online Marketing)


Example 1)

Win TIX to see 'Kill your Darlings' with the KYD cut-up exhibition facebook event. It is a below the line example, which attracts everyone that is on facebook which is easily updateable and reaches large numbers.



Example 2)

Radio 2 BBC Interview on iPlayer Radio. This targets middle class adults who listen to Radio BBC 2 in the afternoon. This is valuable marketing opportunity since it's viral potential.




Example 3)

BFI London film festival interview on youtube. There are many examples of this but my example if from Red Carpet News TV. This is a below the line example from an above the line event and reaches everyone on youtube which means it's global and is in short-form content.






The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (Online Marketing)


Example 1)

Online article about the new trailer from the Telegraph. It is a below the line example of an above the line example (TV trailer), reaching middle class adults who read the telegraph. It uses different format to view (is able to watch the trailer online) and has a good connectivity since people can share it.



Example 2)

Facebook page specifically for the UK, this is a below the line example. This is able to reach everyone on the web that uses Facebook and is used to connect the fans to stuff about The Hobbit. It has exclusive HD photos and is easily updateable.



Example 3)

Comicon in London 2013 were giving out tickets to the worldwide Hobbit fan event. This is an example of above the line. It attracts those who attend Comicon of all ages. It involves audience involvement and has viral potential since it can be shared so more people can know about it.








Saturday 23 November 2013

Kill Your Darlings





Interview of Daniel Radcliffe at the BFI London Film Festival. There are many on youtube, here is one(above)
Audience: Everyone including those who are subscribed to the youtube channel that is uploading the video. 

Kill Your Darlings



On ITV News 6PM, Daniel Radcliffe is at the Cut up event in Waterloo to celebrate the launch of 'Kill Your Darlings'
Audience: Everyone in waterloo and people who watch ITV in the evening.

Kill Your Darlings






The Guardian behind the scene photoshoot and interview
Audience: 25-54 year old middle-class people.

The Hobbit

Magazines exposing 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'


SFX Magazine-Interview with the main actors of The Hobbit.
Audience- Sci-fi fans, middle-class young adults




 Empire Magazine- Has limited edition Hobbit Collector's set of 4 to attract the fans.
Audience: 16-30 year old middle-class people.


MyM Magazine- 'The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug' will be in the next issue of this magazine, as promoted in the images above.
Audience- Fans of movies, animes, manga, games and media. 


SciFiNow Magazine:
Audience: Key audience profile is 80% males, 20% female, ages 20-45

SciFiNow's Terms:
Heroes-
SciFiNow attactracts affluent, discerning consumers, investing early in the latest technology and the coolest new brands. They look to SciFiNow to guide them through their burgeoning fascination in genre entertainment.

Trekkies-
Immensely loyal heavy investors in their favourite brands

Hobbits-
Voracious readers of industry professionals, they are informed and aware literary enthusiasts who interact with SciFiNow as a source of knowledge.


Saturday 16 November 2013

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Brief Reseach



UK Release Date? 
13th December 2013

Institutions behind the film's production and distribution? 
Production:  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer(MGM)
                     New Line Cinema
                     WingNut Films.

Distribution: Warner Bros
                       Cocinsa
                       Forum Hungary.

Film production budget?
$250,000,000 (from MGM and New Line Cinema)

Nationality of film?
American

Any connections with other films?
It is a sequel to a three-part film series, which begins with 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' and the one after it will be 'The Hobbit: There and Back Again'. These three films are the prequel to 'The Lord of the Rings Trilogy'.

Director?
Peter Jackson

Star name in cast?
Benedict Cumberbatch- Smaug/ The Necromancer
Evangeline Lill- as Tauriel
Richard Armitage- as Thorin
Orlando Bloom- as Legolas
Hugo Weaving- as Elrond
Ian MacKellen- as Gandalf
Martin Freeman- as Bilbo

What is the film about?
The film will take Thorin and Company to Beorn's house, through Mirkwood, Laketown and eventually, into Smaug's lair

Target Audience?
Fans of 'Lord of the Rings' as well as lovers of the genre, which in this case is Fantasy, Drama, Action, Adventure and Sci-fi.

Kill You Darling Brief Research



UK Release Date? 
6th December 2013

Institutions behind the film's production and distribution? 
Production:  Killer Films
                     Benaroya Pictures
                     Outpost Studios

Distribution: Sony Pictures Classics
                      The Works UK Distribution
                      Future Film
                      Lumiere
                      Paris Filmes

Film production budget?
N/A

Nationality of film?
American

Any connections with other films?
None

Director?
John Krokidas

Star name in cast?
Daniel Radcliffe as Allen Ginsburg (main character)
Ben Foster
Jack Huston
Dane Dehaan
Michael C. Hall

What is the film about?
A murder in 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. -IMdb

Target Audience?
Fans of Daniel Radcliffe as well as fans of the genres(Drama, Romance, Thriller and Biographical films)


Tuesday 12 November 2013

What I Learnt from Marcus Markou


Marcus Markou came out our school to give us an insight of what it was like making an independent film by himself using the money he borrowed from his own co-owned internet company with his brother.

Some things he told us that i didn't know of:


  •  He was rejected by all the British distributors in UK, and his only options were to "sell" his film for free to a distributor or to distribute it himself. And that was why Double M films was created; for Marcus Markou to distribute his independent film. 
  • His main target was mainly families and greeks since the film is based on a greek family, therefore they have something relate to. The family genre can be related to by all audiences, hence that's why it was so popular among families.
  • When he marketing his film, he found areas where the greek culture was densely populated. For example, where Greek churches are is where most greek people live around. Then he would approach them, promoting his film and giving out the facebook, twitter and youtube account.
  • When he was trying to recruit cast members, he would try to personally get in contact with the actor. Like Marcus personally rang Georges Corraface to recruit him, whereas it was hard for Marcus to recruit Stephen Dillane since Marcus had to get through his agent first.
  • In the end, when Frank Dillane was hired to be an actor, Stephan Dillane decided he wanted to act with his son, hence the true father and son relationship shown in the film.
  • Since this was an independent film, he had to save as much money as possible, so he hired a line producer to sort out the finances and since Sara Butler was doing such a good job, he decided to just promote her to producer since it would save him much more money as well as keeping the job done.
  • 100 people were part of the crew of the set. Most of the money that is used to pay the cast and crew is mainly to the main characters and the other members of the crew have a set amount of money that is given to them.

Research on Paps & Sons




Papadopoulos & Sons is directed and written by Marcus Markou. The stars of this film include:

  • Stephen Dillane- Harry Papadopoulos
  • Georgie Groome- Katie Papadopoulos
  • Frank Dillane- Jame Papadopoulos
  • Georges Corraface- Spiros Papadopoulos
  • Cosima Shaw- Sophie
  • George Savvides- Hassan Ali
  • Cesare Taurasi- Mehmet Ali
  • Selina Cadell- Mrs Parrington
Synopsis

Harry Papadopoulos a wealthy rich entrepreneur who has everything. Then comes a day when he hits a financial crisis where he loses everything except a co-owned fish and chip shop called 'Three Brothers' with his brother Spiros, who he hasn't seen for many years. So Harry ends up joining Spiros to re-open 'Three Brothers' chip's shop. With the idea of bringing the chip shop back to live to make a living. While the rival neighbouring Turkish kebab shop's son has his eye on Harry's daughter, Katie. As each family member begin to accept their new life, Harry continues to have trouble regaining his lost business, however once the chip shop begins to come to life, Harry realises what he didn't have before.

Producer: Sara Butler, Andrew Markou

Sets: London, 2 shops a factory and a mansion.


Runtime: 105 minutes










Platforms they used for marketting:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Papadopoulosandsons
Twitter: https://twitter.com/papasonsfilm
Google+: https://plus.google.com/112420387227700619018/posts
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/PapadopoulosandSons
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2006810/

Trailer:


Poster:

Distributors:

Double M Films- Marcus Markou's own company.
Where he took his film to: 1) Dinard Festival of British Cinema in France
                                        2) Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece ( received Michael Cacoyannis Audience Award)
                                        3) Palm Springs Film Festival in North America
   

Reviews:

IMDb - 6.2 out of 10
Rotten Tomato - 83% with a average rating of 5.9 out of 10
The Guardian- "an ambitious attempt to rewrite Lear for laughter rather than tears. It's a throwback, but relaxed, sweet and funny with it: a first feature that makes an impression by not pushing too hard to make an impression"


Friday 25 October 2013

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Sweded


For 2 weeks, me and my group, Shani, Yssy and Abi, have been working on a sweded film project on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Here are the links to our marketing and our youtube videos:

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/harrypottersweded


Twitter:
https://twitter.com/HpSwede

Our Harry Potter Swede trailer/bloopers:






THE ACTUAL VIDEO WILL BE LIVE ON THIS LINK!


Overall, i'm quite proud of our final swede. When we were looking through the footage, i didn't expect for our final swede to turn out this good. It definitely wasn't what i expected. Although i'm not sure whether we made the characters and the plot clear enough. However as long as it entertains people and they understand roughly what is going on, i'm satisfied.




Sunday 13 October 2013

Sweded Film



A sweded film is where a famous movie/trailer is recreated as a summary with a very low or no budget. There are usually around or under 4 minutes long so they are only able to include a limited number of scenes from the actual movie; those scenes tend to be the most iconic ones. Sweded films are usually unedited with only a single take per scene; usually ending up with a very comical result.
 
My favourite sweded film is:
 



 
 
It covers all the main scenes and is very enjoyable. Despite having a very low budget, they used a very creative way to recreate the scenes. They were also very professional about it, since they did not laugh during the recordings and took it very seriously.

Friday 4 October 2013

Prelim Evaluation





Our brief was to plan, film and edit a continuity sequence of a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair to exchange dialogue with another character. In the exercise, we had to include demonstrations of match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?


The people I worked with were Yssy and Josh B, the main character is acted out by Josh and the other character is acted out by Yssy and I did most of the camera work.

How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?
We had a few problems trying to think of a plot to plan our sequence on since the initial idea we had was impossible for us to do with the limitations we had since we had to record in school. However once we got over that fuss, we decided to alter the initial idea we had of a comical spy-like sequence so it would be easier for us to film without any injuries. While we were planning out the sequence, we definitely remember to keep the continuation going throughout the whole thing. To do this, we remember the theories that were mentioned in the brief; which were match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. Before the shoot, Josh made a floor plan and finished our storyboard, however we didn't do a walkthrough or blocking in the area we were going to film in, so we had a few troubles during the shoot.

What technology did you use to complete task, and how did you use it?
For the filming, we used the Canon HV30 camera and the Senheiser HD 201 headphones to check the sound. We also had a tripod to hold the camera steady so we wouldn't have shaky framing. For editing, we used the software Adobe Premiere Pro. We captured the footage, then dragged the clips of it that we wanted into the timeline so we could edit the clips into the sequence that would work suit the brief as well as making sense.

What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
The factors we had to take into account when planning included the space in the area of the scenes, which we didn't take into account, since we didn't do a walkthrough of our sequence. Also, since the hallway was needed by other groups, we should've made a schedule for when they are able to use it and when we will be using it. However since that wasn't planned out properly, during the shoot we had clashes with the other groups. For shooting, we needed to make sure we had enough space, which we didn't do because we didn't block the area, so we didn't realise the office we used was smaller than we expected. As for the editing, we had to take into account of the time, since we ran out of time and had to have a bit more time than other people.

How successful was your sequence? Identify what worked well, and what would you improve?
In the end, I think our sequence turned out fairly good. Except we thought we were able to include music, but we weren't able to and didn't have time anyway. If we were able to include the music, the sequence would be better and the atmosphere would be built better. Surprisingly, we were able to edit the match on action pretty well, since you wouldn't notice it. And we had to use an ellipse to cover up the mismatching scenes we had

What have you learnt from this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?
I have learnt to make better judgements during the planning, otherwise it would leave me and my group in a situation where we would need more time to shoot and edit. Our organisation will also have to be better, since I wasn't that great at the organising in my group. 






Tuesday 1 October 2013

Art of the Title grid analysis



Summarise your film idea. Provide a brief synopsis and outline what happens in your film opening.

Our film idea is in the genre, psychological thriller, and is about a teenage boy who has extreme paranoia, hence the film title 'Paranoia'. In the film opening you see, at the beginning, just a normal school boy. Then as the film opening progresses, it reveals that the boy is all alone, let alone being in school and by the end, the screen cracks as well it getting darker and darker, showing his mental distortion.


What kind of information has been included in your film opening?

In our film opening, we've included the credits of the important people. For example, who it's written by, the director and music composer. Also we've included hints of what kind of person the main character is. We've included that he a very secluded person despite being in school, which is usually full of people and a place where people meet their friends.

How do the titles link to the main film idea?

The fact that our title fonts(Plane Crash) are slightly eroded gives the idea of a distorted mind. This fits the concept of our film since our film itself is about a boy with paranoia which so it shows that his mind isn't stable.

Identify three things that you included in your grid that are important in the construction of an opening sequence and explain their role in understanding the film


  • We've included a font that is able to connote the genre of the film just by the look of it. Most film openings have fonts that express the genre of the film. For example, in the opening credits of 'The Conjuring', the font used is very sinister showing that horror genre.
  • We have used long shots to express his loneliness in the shot of him in the assembly. 
  • The darkening of the shots as it progresses to the end of the opening sequence signifies that the film is going to have a sombre tone.

How effective is your film project as an opening? Explain your answer.

In my opening, I think the film idea was good. It had a really strong enigmatic ending to the opening title, which just makes the audience question why the screen cracks, even though they get a slight understanding of why, but doesn't have the whole story. 





Thursday 26 September 2013

Opening Sequence Continuity Analysis






  • Starts with a close up of the main character in a conversation, and using the 180 degree rule, we are switched between both characters points of views.
  • A mid shot is then used to introduce the next character and a straight cut is used to jump from a close up to a mid shot.
  • It zooms from a mid shot to a two shot close up is used to show the secrecy then back to a mid shot of the two characters. This is as if the audience is drawn in to the secret as well.
  • A master shot is then used to establish and how the inside of the room to the audience, the room where all the 'magic' happens.
  • The 180 degree rule plays quite a big part in this scene, since the girl is introduced to the other characters as well as the characters being introduced to us.
  • The zoom out slowing changes the perspective of the audience to the perspective of the girl.
  • As the graphics of the title start showing, it goes to the actual credits of the film.
  • The credits roll for about 1 and a half minutes, then goes back to a direct addressing close up shot of the girl to emphasise her reaction.
  • The fast pace editing after that point, fits well with the music and also expressed the feelings of the girl.
  • Then an extreme close up is used when she slowly says her lines, which links to the previous shot.

Accident Sequence




This is the accident sequence we made for our blog. In this, we specifically cut on action so that it would create a continuing action through different shots, however it was hard because we weren't able to physically film the actor falling out the tree since we didn't want any actual injuries. So we used the cut on action technique to film the actor falling from the tree to the floor, from a medium close up to a long shot.

We could've used a variety of shots instead of using a lot of close up shots. Since this causes confusion for the audience we should use a more varied shot type so the audience can focus on the things that are more important in the shot. We could've been able to make it better if we were able to have a bit more time on planning.

Thursday 19 September 2013

The Prestige




  • The film of the opening sequence I'm going to analyse is called 'The Prestige', which is a thriller drama mystery.
  • The story takes place in London 1995, as you can tell from the characters' attires as well as the accent of the narrator.
  • As the narrator talks through the three main parts of a magic trick, the clips are shown corresponding the explanation of the three parts. Until it comes to the third part, the hardest part, called 'The Prestige'. When the third part is explained, the clips show one magic trick going right and another life-threatening. Once it shows the drowning of one of the main characters, it goes on into the court scene where they debate about the death of this magician. The order of the events in the opening sequence is really significant as it is repeated again throughout the film. And the contrast between a simple magic trick that goes right according to the three parts and one that kills the magician itself, shocks the audience and allows it to be engraved in the minds of the audience so when they film progresses, the audience will start to understand how the plot unravels.
  • The events that occur in the opening sequence link together very distinctly without any further explanation needed.
  • The first character that is shown is Cutter(Michael Caine), the mastermind behind the magic tricks of the victim that drowned who was Robert Angier(Christian Bale), one of the main characters. We were also introduced to the other main character, Alfred Borden(Hugh Jackman) who was the man being accused of setting up the trap and murdering Robert Angier. All this information is shown clearly throughout the whole opening scene, especially the court scene.
  • The information provided to the audience in the opening scene is only enough for the audience to understand that a magic trick has gone wrong and it was possibly a murder. Not much of the whole plot is revealed; the whole story plot itself is a twist. No one would ever think of what the ending would be like despite knowing the genre conventions and watching the opening scene. Since it's about magic, and like a magic trick, a secret cannot be told, so they have made the opening scene very open ended, so that it could only be revealed what is happening, near the end of the film.
  • In my opinion, the audience must know that who the main characters are, even though in the opening scene, one of them dies. That scene is very significant in the film in many ways, so if you do not remember the main characters as well as that scene, then the whole film will be very confusing for the audience.

Reflection on shots


For this activity, we were split up into groups to capture stills of different genres, and my group chose horror.

The still we took above is a medium shot representing the theme 'horror'. The red low-key lighting in the still symbolises blood and death which foreshadows the deaths that is to come. As well as foreshadowing the deaths, it also connotes an ominous feeling towards the audience. The character in this shot is directly addressing the camera allowing the audience to see from the point of view of the victim; this gives the audience a better understanding of the 'horror' as well as experiencing the horror 'first-hand'. Since this is an action shot, the audience is not able to do anything but watch as the victim is able to be killed by the bat which is swung so quick, it is blurred. The blurriness also adds to the sense of shock from the character as well as the feeling of mental instability.

To achieve this shot, we were able to go into the darkroom of the art block in our school, which is where photographs are developed. And using the red light to light up our shot, we were able to create the ominous atmosphere. The actor had to wear a mask and dress in complete black, to make the character seem more mysterious and eerie. During the shots, the actor had to swing the bat as quick as possible to get the effect of the monster about to attack the victim. However it had to be blurred so that it is shown in the still that the monster is in action and not standing falsely faking to hit the victim. It had to seem realistic, so we had to have it blurred to give that effect.

In my opinion, the shot overall was fairly successful. The genre was successfully conveyed through the costume, lighting and pose of the character. If I were able to retake this specific still, I would try to get the mask to be more clearer so then there would be more focus on the monster itself as well as it's action. Also to clear away some background objects that are unnecessary for the shots. However, the stills came out better than expected.