Soundtrack Research (from non copyright music sites)

I will either use slow beat or upbeat contrasting music for the opening. I want a song to draw the audience in to the story. It has to be a song that I can picture being used to listen to for comfort and well as partying, since the song will be played in the flashbacks.

Songs I considered:

This song was slow but wouldn't draw the music in, instead it's too relaxing so I'm not using this one.

I decided I want a more upbeat song to contrast the mundane actions in the film.

However this did not suit the genre. 

Song I chose:

I chose this licensed free song since it is upbeat yet has a psychedelic, suburban which suits the genre and emotion I want to create the the start of my film. I will cut down the song during editing from 7 to 2 minutes and add other sounds over the top.

I will also use some generic club music to use in the background of one of the shots. The different music can draw in a range of audiences such as reformers and mainstreamers.

Typical Audience member

This is a typical female teenage audience member who would watch my film. She enjoys British and American films such as dramas and thrillers. She's also interested in psychology and artistic films such as Sin City.

My typical audience like to see films that create meaning as well as have a mixture of excitement and drama. They may enjoy some original and weird storyline, so they enjoy both independent and hollywood films. Many would enjoy directors such as Danny Boyle and Wes Anderson. Audiences would not watch my film as a family but either by themselves or with a partner. Groups of friends may also see this for shock factor.

18/20 Blog and how I can reflect

Kamini earned 18/20 for their research and planning. This is because they did lots of analysing and planning. However they lost marks for posts that did not aid them in their own idea such as looking at a director of a different genre to theirs. From this I can learn that I need to add some more to my posts for detail and focus my posts on my film to get top marks which I am aiming for.

Prop Ideas

These are the key props that will be shown. Some are used as enigma codes whilst others lead to context of the film. Most of these are everyday household items so the audience can relate to the characters. They also imply to the audience the type of characters that are shown as well as their wealth. For instance, each item is of an average price and are very basic. This is apart from the drugs which are seen in a flashback, which will strongly imply the character's identities without revealing too much about them. They also link to the drama genre. When filming, I have to make sure any expensive or out-of-place item is not seen.

Certificate Research

My film will most likely be a 15 but by looking at films similar to mine I can see what the most common certificate is:
American Beauty-18
Hard Candy-18
Trainspotting-18
Requiem for a Dream-18

From looking at what makes an 18 and 15 I can see my film will actually be an 18 unlike I thought. This is due to the strong language that would be in my film(not the beginning however). There will also be used of drugs and abuse in the beginning that is shown.

Instituation Research

For a drama film I need to find an institution that funds the same kind of films that mine is like.

 

I looked at various film institutions and their most popular films. By doing this I could see which of each companies films were most similar to my idea. Each of these companies have films similar to mine and films which are very different.

I will most likely use Liongate Entertainment for my inter titles since their films are most similar to mine, especially Hard Candy. However I may change to focus features since their film Hanna is also fairly similar. Both of these companies experiment with style and genres and aren't too 'Hollywood'. I want my film to appear as if it's a semi-independent film so this is why I'm not choosing Paramount; their movies are overall too family friendly and follow cliche genre conventions.

 

Font Research

From looking at other film fonts it easy to see that many drama films use bold, outgoing fonts, most of the time in capital letters

From looking the Dafont website, I have found several fonts that I could use for my inter titles

I will most likely use the first font because it fits in with my psychological drama theme more than the other two. This font has an edgy look which isn't too simple. They also appeal to young adults more than children or audiences which my film is trying to do. The other fonts are too sharp and connote horror or crime films.

 

Similar Films and Audience

From looking at similar films to what I want to make I have found that a good mixed demographic of genders saw the films(apart from Shaun of the Dead due to the gore and violence). As for age the films were all rated a 15  and people ranged from 15-34 mostly saw the films. High and middle class were also most likely to see these films too.
Using this information I can target my film to both genders of a young to middle age. I want to target my film to a middle to lower class due to my main character who is of a lower class. Drama films are most likely to be viewed in couples or groups of friends so I will take this into consideration.

Flow Chart of Drama films (click to view bigger)

Not every drama or pyschological dramas follow this structure but similar themes and clichés are found throughout dramatic movies; they will always have a dilemma.

My film will follow some of these conventions but will try to break some rules by bringing in different elements from other genres such as thriller.

Diary Post-Split Screen Test(No Sound)

I took too different films of my boyfriend rolling a cigarette and, with help, edited them on Sony Vegas 11. I was only aiming to achieve the split screen effect so I took away sound and didn't try to alter the colour or sharpness of the shots. I found the technique to work well which I am pleased with. However I aim to have the video fill more of the screen and to perhaps have a border between the two shots. For my film I will be filming one action twice from two different shots unlike this clip where there's two different times shown.

When I do my final film I will try to edit the split screen in a more presentable way by adding a border.

Generic Conventions of a Drama

By looking at conventions of a drama, this helps me plan out my film and what or who to include. I have to reflect on each convention and apply them to my opening to establish it's genre.

Mise-En-Scene- Dull Lighting (Portrays gritty and bleak nature). Close ups of characters. Low Angle and High angle shots- to portray strength and weakness amongst characters. Clear shots and angles show different groups within the cast (Teen Drama)

Typical Props- Alcohol. Drugs. Guns. Knifes. Mobile Phones

Typical Characters- Focus on the one character, whether it be Male or Female. Follows character with issues that they must face.

Typical Settings- Council Estates.Flats.Ghetto’s School.Streets.Run Down Houses.Flats.Estates. Workplace

Typical Costumes-Worn out.Torn dirty hand-me-down clothing.Teen Drama: Hoodies.Tracksuits.Caps.Bandanna.Chains.Trainers.T-shirts.School Uniform’s


Typical Actors/Actresses- Noel Clarke. Kevin Spacey. Gabe Nevins. Tom Hanks. Alex Frost. Sean Penn. Ellen Burstyn. Kate Winslet. Red Madrell.Amanda Seyfried.