Typography in film posters

This is the poster for the film '300' about the Spartans defending their land. The film features many battle scenes and blood and this is shown by the typography used for the title. The typography has been made to look like blood and with pointed edges so that it looks like it is a battle scar or blood that has been splattered on a wall in the shape of '300'. This is really effective as we know exactly what to expect from the film just by looking at the titles or poster. The red is effective as it symbolises passion and violence in the film and contrasts well against the silouetted cliff in behind.

This is the typography used on the film 'last house on the left' which is a horror film in which two girls are abducted. The typopgraphy is white with the main word in red to look like a wound or something similar and there is scratches across the word to show there will be a struggle involved in the film. This idea of using violent styles for the typography is interesting and could work well with our film as it shows violence and a struggle is going to happen.

This poster is for the film 'The Unborn' about a child who dies and tries to come back. The typography used is quite simple but has been made to look ghostly by bluring the edges of the lettering. The title refers to the ghost which haunts the girl in the film and the refelction in the mirror in the image helps to show us that this film is going to be about the dead trying to come back. I really think that the typography we use needs to link obviously to the story so that the audience knows what to expect just from the opening.

Shooting Schedule - Monday 28th November

Crew Required: Beth, Chloe, Estelle, Summer
Cast Required: Guil

Arrive for set up:11:00AM
Start Filming:12:00PM
Latest Finish: 3:00PM
Location of Filming: Dungeon

Preparation Location: Common Room
Kit Needed: Tripod, Camera, Boom, Microphone.
Lighting: is already set in the room with a bright lamp used during the scene. Blue tint will be also used during the scene to set the mood towards the end of the film opening.
Costume: White vest, red belt, blue shirt and jeans
Mise-en-Scene: Dog Bowl, chain with cuffs

Make-up & Hair on Actor: Pale make-up with roughed up hair and a little bit of blood on the wrist where the cuffs will be placed

Sound in Suckerpunch

The beginning of Suckerpunch starts with a a non-diegetic voiceover. The feminine soft tone, almost a whisper, feels like she is telling a story to a child before bed. This voiceover creates a sense of calm and comfort in her soft tones. However, the use of pathetic fallacy in the sound of thunder is used to forshadow that something bad is going to happen. Fade in of sound is used for the non-diegetic soundtrack. First enters with just the voice, then bass and drum build up, which also build up tension.
Then the bass and drum stop and the voice continues for one line which creates a moment of silence which is used to rapidly increase the suspense. The use of long eerie notes also adds to the tension. The low echoing bass drum is used when the girl dropping to the floor on her knees. Which shows how emphasis on her actions. The deepest to the tone also shows that its her whole body weight falling the floor which shows how she's lost control or doesnt care about her body anymore. A bass drum is often used in horror movies as it creates a sense of suspense when used  on it's own, this is because the long echo the drum creates suggests that you are alone  and isolated. The famous use of echos in films is 'Hello' that echos down long dark passageways which creates a sense of fear as not knowing what it in the dark.
The non-diegetic sound also continues into the funeral scene, but the drums start to speed up the tempo. Until another significant moment, when the man reads the will, the music fades out to silence to show build up tension and show his anger. The sound of him throwing alcohol into the fire is heard, the sound of the fire intensiving suggests that his anger is increasing. The pathetic fallacy of the thunder is also heard again to show something bad is happening. When the man pushes the door, the thuds are emphasised to show that he has to use a lot of force against the door which the girl is trying to close. This creates suspense and fear as the girl is physically under attack.

Typography: examples

Typography is 'the art or process of setting and arranging types and printing from them.' Basically it is the use of words in artistic ways.

Typography can be used to create images linked to the words. This picture of a zebra is made up of the word zebra in different sizes and fonts; the words are visible so that we can understand what is happening but when we step away there is an interesting overall effect. I think it would be interesting to see how this could work for our project.

This image is also made up of words related to the image. The word 'bang' coming out of the gun is interesting and really makes us think about violence - this image would, for example, work well in a poster for a crime/mystery drama or a gritty street drama.

Some typography can have an interesting effect without being complicated or by having lots of words. This image is made up of words made out of candy. This technique is quite easy to create effectively as you can either actually make the words out of other objects or add an effect to the lettering on photoshop or another design site.

Make-up research

I have already researched how to do some of the make-up required for our film (as shown in the earlier blog) and now I have had a chance to try some of the effects.
I have used face paints to try and create a 'dead' look on my hands and face. to see the effect i only painted one hand and half my face so that I could see how the painted side contrasted to the normal side.

As you can see the colouring on the hands went well but when I do this makeup for real i will have to use a brush as well as a sponge so that i can add a bit more detail around the nails and maybe add some darker marks. I was happy though with how the purple looked with the grey and black paint as they all contrasted against the white well to create a rotting look. When we make the film we need to focus on making dark shadows around bones and where blood would have been.






The make up on the face came out reasonably well I thought considering i was doing it for the first time on myself. Making most of the face grey and white with purple around the eyes, nose and mouth worked well i thought as, with eyes closed as shown in the bottom photo, the overall effect was quite good. When people die their bodies start to decay and I think, with fake blood, this make up could be quite effective.
Luckily the shot in which the dead bodies will be shown is a long shot and so the look will be even more effective as the audience can't really see how it's done.

Sound

• This is a clip from 'Paranormal activity 3' (2011). This clip is quite important in the film as this is the first time any of the characters is physically harmed by 'Toby' the ghost.
• The sound in this clip is quite clever as it goes from almost silent to very loud. At the beginning of the clip we can not see anything and this combined with the lack of sound puts the audience on edge as we really can not understand what is going on - horror films often have villains sneaking around in the dark and this clip is particularly effective as they are meant to be playing a game.
• The film plays on the idea of childrens games which require silence (such as this and hide and seek) to lure the audience in to a situation when they do not expect bad things to happen.
• When the lights are turned out for the second time we are left in the dark and silence for a while and this unnerves the audience- not knowing or understanding situations is used a lot in horror as it makes people uncomfortable and insecure.
• The whispering diegetic noise puts us on edge and when we finally hear another sound before the lights are turned back on, it sounds like an animal scuffling on the floor and we hear the man yell.
• After the lights are turned back on the energy in the room changes. We still do not understand the situation (though we understand more than the characters) but now we are made to panic as the mans voice is shaking with fear (the man is the only adult and who the girl is looking to for protection) and the girl is screaming.
• The screaming girl is the dominant sound and it panics the audience.
• The silence before a loud noise (like the table being moved) is effective as it builds up suspense and then makes us jump as it is not what we expect. In our film we need to look at how using quiet and loud noises contrasted can make an audience uneasy and scared.

Costume Research (for antagonist)

This is one of the main costumes worn by Christian Bale in 'American psycho'. It is an unusual costume to be worn by someone preparing  murder but it does fit the role very well; the character is someone who acts heartlessly and sees what he is doing as his job and right. The suit shows that the character is civilised and doesn't see what he is doing as bad. Its a very clean and clean cut suit which reflects the characters OCD and precision in life - he doesn't look as if he is concerned he might get messy as this is quite an expensive costume which implies that he will have the same precision and control in the murder as he does with everything else in his life.

His costume reflects the souless atmosphere of the setting. His detachment from what he is doing is also shown by the plastic cover he later adds over the suit to make sure he doesn't get marked by the blood.

This is the costume worn by the character Esther in 'Orphan'. It really plays on the contrast of good and evil, what the girl looks like and what she is really doing. The costume is very innocent and very grily in an old fashioned way. The hair brushed neatly into bunches done up with ribbon shows that the girl is quite precise and knows what she is doing. The same ribbon is used in the girls hair, necklace and bracelet which shows consitancy in character- she has decided to do something and it is unlikely she will be swayed.

The costume worn at the end of 'Psycho' (1960) by the character Norman Bates is misleading. He is wearing a shirt and trousers typical of normal 60s fashion and so appears normal and not dangerous. The blanket wrapped around his shoulders gives the impression that he is a victim as victims are usually given a blanket after a traumatic experience. His Smile constrasts the the costume well as the costume does not imply that he is harmeful but his smile shows us that he is not what he appears- the violence is unexpected when he (earlier) attacks the girl.

I think we need to follow the examples shown to make our villain believable. The character is supposed to be unassuming and the violence is unexpected and so I think we should stick to simple, reasonably smart, pale costumes for the main girl. The costumes need to be innocent so that the audience can not guess what is going to happen.

Rough Storyboard

This is our rough copy of our storyboard, it shows the different camera angles and what is happening during the scene. It also shows a couple of the expressions the main character is making during the film opening. For the final storyboard, more detail is needed regarding mise-en-scene and whether the characters are speaking or not.

Make up - looking dead and creating wounds

If we are making a film we need to know how to make the actors look the way we need to fit the story; this could include just looking natural or creating grusome effects.

Using make up to make someone look dead or injured is not as difficult as it may first appear. 'Dead' people can be made by using powder, pale with hints of grey, all over the visible parts of their body. Dead people get a yellow tint to their skin due to lack of oxygen in the blood and adding yellow powder in the creases of the face can contribute to giving an overall  look. Shadows under the eyes, nose and lips can be used to help the effect. it is, of course, better if the 'dead' actors are not shown in close-ups and definately not extreme close-ups as this can ruin the effect because the audience might see how the look is made.

Wounds can also be made easily using make up but it helps if you can use 'gag wounds' from a joke shop- these can look suprisingly realistic when blended into the skin using make up and covered with 'blood'. Blood can be made using some type of tomato sauce- when watered down and added to something to make it darker (eg. brown sauce) it can look reasonably realistic with the rest of the make-up. Alternatively we could buy some fake blood from a joke shop; its good to have an alternatie though as this can be expensive and is often only sold in small quantities. Food colouring can be used to alter the colour of blood and cornflour can be used to make the blood thicker - this thicker blood can be used around the actual wound to make it look like it's dried .

sound

This is a clip from 'The Shining' when Wendy finds out that Jack is being affected by the house. There is a lack of sound at the beginning which is unnerving as the audience anticipate what is going to happen- silence is usually followed by a shock/surprise. The non diegetic music which accompanies Wendy's discovery is made up of high pitched, screeching noises; its unnatural and puts the audience on edge. The noise gets louder and made up of shorter notes as Wendy panics and then is suprised by Jack.

Music fades out as Jack appears from the corridor- fading out music usually suggests that danger is moving away but in this scene that is reversed as it is when Jack comes into the room that Wendy is really in danger. In this way the sound is quite contapuntal as it is loud and unnerving when Wendy finds a stack of paper but goes quiet when a real danger comes into the situation.

We hope to use sound to create an unnerving atmsphere in our film; if we use unnatural sounds and contrapuntal music we will be able to make the audience uneasy - psychological horror relies on making the audience uncomfortable.

Sound

This is the ending to the 1960 'psycho' by Alfred Hitchcock. We have looked at this

 short clip as it is really clever for sound and our survey showed that most people would like voiceovers and diegetic sound in the film. The sound for this clip is clever as it allows us to know what the character is thinking; by the point in the film the man has become entirely taken over by the belief that he is his dead mother and it is her voice we hear speaking. The sound is juxtaposed against the image shown as it is an old lady telling us that people see her as harmless but we are seeing a young man who is in a prison and looks happy in a ungeneric way. We will be using this type of binary opposition in our film to show the difference between the good and the evil.

Ideas of photos of locations

These pictures of apartment blocks were some of the ideas of flats that could be used for the setting of the location for the film introduction.

1) The first picture shows that the flat is above a shop, this could show that the woman may not have the best standard of living which is good because it could show how the breaking up between her mother and father may of affected her present life.
Yet we need to make sure that the shop below the apartment is not a chain store and that the shop is a more depressing shop to relate it to the film (for example a tattoo shop)

2) The second picture shows a block of flats which are in an area where there are a numerous amount of apartment blocks. This could be good as it may show how she may feel vulnerable to be lonely from the split up of her parents and the communal vibe of the numerous amout of blocks of apartments could make her feel better from her past experiences.
Yet this may be quite hard to film because there are a numerous amount of apartment blocks and we need to focus on only one of the apartment blocks so it may be quite hard to find the right camera angle for that one apartment block. 

3) The third picture shows a luxury block of flats, this could be good as it can show how on the outside the splitting up of her parents has made her stronger and hence why she has made herself a good deal of money to give herself a more luxurious life so she can try and forget about her past life.
Yet this may be hard to film because there may be more security over the block of apartments than other ones and the residents may get suspicious from our filming of the apartment.

Actor applications - Woman

She is flirty and sassy, with a certain disregard for other people. Actress may be needed to be seen in underwear, but no further nudity is required. Must be comfortable with kissing on camera.

Females, aged 18 to 30 from London, United Kingdom(nudity may be required)

Deborah fits the character description very well, she is local and experienced, and contrasts to all applicants for the mother.

          She looks older than mother which wasn't what we were looking for.

Emma is young, she fits the description well and is local.  She contrasts to the mother well.

          She looks quite innocent and doesn't have a lot of training or experience so may not be able to show the emotions needed

Lucinda is young and very pretty, she fits the description well, is local, experienced and talented.

          She looks very innocent and doesn't contrast to the mother a lot.

Actor applications - Shortlist - Father

He is a confident, self obsessed man, attractive and he knows it. He loves his children but isn't particularly interested or attracted to his wife. He is shown with another women, and the actor may need to be shown just in boxers, but he will definitely be shirtless. Must be comfortable kissing on camera.

Males, aged 20 to 36 from London, United Kingdom(nudity may be required)

Alan fits the description very well, he is old enough to be considered a dad but still young enough to be shown as a player.  He is experienced and local.

          He may perhaps have a 'too perfect' figure, which could seem unrealistic and break the illusion.

Andy is experienced in acting in films, he is local and matches with the looks of other characters.

          He doesn't look like he could neccassarily play a father.

Julian is well suited to the other applicants, he is local and experienced and fits the description well.

          He looks quite young and naive which isn't good for portraying the father figure.

Luca, is mature and fatherlike, he fits the character well. He is local and experienced.

          He may not match the actors playing the characters children.

Ricardo fits the character very well and could easily play an arrogant character, as he is skilled and experienced in acting.

          He is quite young and so possibly wouldn't be suitable to play a father.

Kevin looks the part and is experienced, local and fits the character description.

          He may not match with some of the actors playing the characters children.

Actor applications - Shortlist - Mother

She is a youthful, beautiful and strong mother, will be mostly shown in family photographs but will feature in some scenes. She is kind, funny and very much in love with her husband.

Females, aged 20 to 99 from London, United Kingdom

Barbora fits the description quite well.  She is local and has film experience.

           She doesn't look motherly and wouldn't fit with some of the applicants for this characters children.

Hannah looks motherly and is still youthful. She is youthful and experienced.

           She doesn't visually match many of the other actor applicants for family roles.

Layla fits the role perfectly, she is youthful and extremely motherly.  She is a talented an experienced actress and matches the applicants for the children of this role very well.

          ......

Actor applications - Shortlist - Boy (adolescent)

He is a protective older brother, strong, independant and yet quite fragile. The actor needs to be able to show emotions well.

Males, aged 16 to 20 from London, United Kingdom

 Marc fits the description, he would easily be able to play on of the applicants elder brother.  He is local.

          He wouldn't match very well with the applicants for the younger boy.

Alex is an experienced actor and would fit in well with actors applying for the family.

           He lives a long way away which would be inconvenient with filming dates.

Will has a lot of experience in acting, he is local and would match with other actors playing family.

           He does not fit an older protective brother stereotype as he seems quite young.

Louis is quite local, he is a talented and experienced actor and fits the description well.  He would match the younger actor well.

          He looks quite old and his mature look could conflict with the youthful look of the father.

Manoah fits the character description extremely well, he is experienced, local and in the correct age bracket.  He matches well with actors who have applied for family roles as well as the younger boy.

         ......

Actor applications - Shortlist - Girl (adolescent)

She is featured quite a lot in the opening as she is the main character. She is mentally unhinged with the idea in her head that all men who cheat on their partners should be killed. This actress needs to be able to show emotion well.

Females, aged 14 to 18 from London, United Kingdom

Amanda fits the description well, she lives quite locally and would be able to portray emotion well.

          She is quite young and does not clearly match any of the younger girl applicants.

Sophie also fits the description quite well and could match some of the applicants for the family.

          She is not local and her acting profile does not suggest that she would be able to portray the emotions needed.

Stephanie fits the character description extremely well, and would be capable of the acting skill required.  She is local and experienced in film acting.

          She does not match very well with other applicants for family or the younger girl.
Tania fits the character description well and is very experienced and local.
          She looks quite young and doesn't match with other applicants for family roles.
Tegan brings the perfect look, is highly trained and matches with applicants for the younger girl.
          She lives a long way away and this would be inconvenient for more than one filming day with no pay.

Actor applications - Shortlist Boy (young)

The little boy will be used in scenes to show childlike innocence, such s playing in a park and laughing with his sister. He is a happy boy, who likes to look after his little sister.

Males, aged 5 to 9 from London, United Kingdom

Finnlay fits the description very well and resembles both shortlisted actors applying for family and the older boy.

          He lives far away and quite young so limits film time.

Actor applications - Shortlist - Girl (young)

She will be shown in scenes which portray an innocent normal little girl such as playing in the park and laughing with her older brother. She is sweet, kind and funny. Will also need to be able to act shocked/scared.

Females, aged 5 to 8 from London, United Kingdom

Claira fits the character description well, she is innocent looking and resembles an ordinary friendly child.

            She lives quite far away and her acting profile does not show that she would be able to show             the emotions neccassary.

Faith would be good at showing the emotion neccassary and lives locally.

          She does not match very well with any of the shortlisted cast to play her family.
Francesca fits the description well and would match extremely well with some of the shortlisted actors to play the girl at an older age.
           She lives quite far away and perhaps would not match the shortlisted actors to play her        parents.

Yoanna fits the description extremely well and she matches the other shortlisted actors playing family very well.

           She doesn't closely match any applicants for the older girl.

Survey Results

Psychological - Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons of supernatural Films

 Pros

—You can shoot a basic shot and then add effects (sound, visual) after to make the scene look more professional

—Can be done on a low budget if a villain character is not shown in the film. E.g. Paranormal activity

—The film can play of peoples’ fear that they don’t understand

Cons

—Production can be quite expensive; visual effects and CGI are expensive to use.

—Requires, often, quite a lot of equipment to create effects.

—If you show the villain, it has to be visually scary.

—There must be a believable reason why the supernatural being is preying on the hero. E.g. A reason why the girl is being haunted.

—Can be quite time consuming  as shots will possibly need to be heavily edited or CGI added.

Deconstruction of Opening - The Shining

Gothika - Deconstruction

Sounds

•      In the trailer, the music is quiet at first, showing how there may be a shock event happening in the next scene with the silent tension.

•      You are then hit by a sound of lightning which breaks the sound of the soft music to show the next scene.

•      The music then changes to the type of music you would hear in an investigation documentary, this could illustrate that an incident is about to be investigated with non diegetic  sound being said “You have a brilliant mind”, this could show what happens in the narrative later and how the mind messes with even a psychiatrist.

•      The beat of the music gets faster as the shots get faster throughout the trailer which then draws to a climax with a last quote of “you should be” which is whispered to draw the silence of the climax at the end of the trailer.

Shots

•      At the start of the trailer is behind a metal fence, this could show how serious the conversation is and how isolated these two characters are.

•      In the scene of the car crash, there is a low angle which shows the sense of the speeded motion (the psychiatrist driving) and the pace of the shots are quicker to intrigue the audience who the girl in the middle of the road is. An extreme close up shot is then shown but quickly after a jump cut is used so the identity of the “ghost” is not revealed during the trailer  to persuade the audience to watch the film.

Quite a lot of the shots are at eye level just like a normal human being observing a conversation. This could show the reality of the film like a criminal being investigated for a murder and none of the witnesses believe her observations.

Deconstruction of Opening - The Omen

Paranormal Activity - Deconstruction

• The trailer starts with sudden, deep noise to set the audience on edge; this noise sets the film up as a horror.
• The anchorage tells us that the scenes shown are of one of the first audiences to ever see the film and by showing us how other audiences reacted to the film warns us that it is a horror that will keep us on edge and be unpredictable.
• The scenes show that the film is a supernatural horror: the characters tell us that they think ‘something’ is in the house; we see parts of mise en scene be moved apparently by an unseen character. Other parts of mise en scene are used to signify supernatural activity e.g. we see a ouiji board in one scene to show that a spirit or demon will be involved in the film.
• There is a backing track to the trailer but, other than this, there are only diegetic sounds; the film is made in a documentary style and the lack of non-diegetic sound makes the idea that the film is a documentary much more plausible. 
• There is some voice over towards the end of the trailer. The non-diegetic sound used is taken from another part of the film and tells us that the couple we are watching are in danger more so for recoding the film we are watching; the voice is foreboding as it is most likely taken from a scene earlier in the film than the short clip they show.
• Though the scenes on the screen start calmly and seem to be ordinary life we are made aware from the conversation that the situation is darker than it appears; the couple talk of something being in the house that they can’t see and this plays on people’s fear of what we can’t see or understand. The scenes in the trailer develop from ordinary ‘home video’ scenes to more violent and dark situations.
• The camera angles are quite limited as the camera is either being hand held or set on a tri-pod. This hand held camera movement at times creates canted angles which helps the audience feel confused and unsure of what is really happening – this is how the characters are feeling and this camera movement allows the viewer to empathise with the characters and puts us in there place. The hand held camera also keeps a  eye line match as we really are seeing what the characters are seeing.
• The audience is made to believe that the camera is being controlled by the characters (mainly the man) we see; because we are being controlled by the man we are, both when being hand held and when on the tripod, looking down on the characters – especially the girl. This can tell us that the girl is going to be the target of the villain in the film and she is the one who feels the most powerless.

Jacob's Ladder - Deconstruction of a shot

Camera Angles
·         Long shot, shows how the conversation is in reality and lifesize
·         The man is looking down to the physic (a high angle), this could symbolise how he may not believe what she tells him about his future. This could illustrate how the man is wanting to maintain a dominant position because he may feel threatened by her.
·         The shot is taken behind his back, this could show how his life could be turning back on him in a bad way and how the psychic could tell him the bad news about the future of his life.
Mise-En-Scene
·         The colours in the picture are brown and green which could show how the conversation is more down-to-earth and could be setting the mood for a big shock in store.
·         The psychic who is sitting on the stairs is wearing a red headband, compared to the green and brown background stands out and could show a warning to the man’s future later in the narrative.
·         Setting on the stairs which is a peculiar situation, it could show how informal the conversation is but could also symbolise how important this fortune telling could be for the man’s future as the
Lighting
·         Quite a dark room, the only artificial light is the middle of where the conversation is taking place which could show the enigma of the man’s future
·         There is low-key lighting in the scene, this could show how the dominant light is on the psychic which could show how she is going to be a big part in the man's future and may show the next part of the narrative. The darkness in the room (especially the shadows) could also show tension between the psychic and the man as the man may be nervous about the psychic telling him about his future.