Evaluation Question 2

I have already mentioned many ways in which my poster and magazine cover are effective in terms of drawing in an audience and promoting my film here. In this post I will continue to talk about the ways in which my ancillary products sell my movie, but with a focus on branding, narrative images and connections in my work.

One of the most startling connections between my finished product and ancillary tasks is the use of colour, as I have taken special care in ensuring that all three include very feminine shades of pink, cream and purple. This sells the film to my target audience (females aged 16-24) as it emphasises the femininity and youth in my movie, which would appeal to them.

The consistency of my tagline, “She’ll break you”, also works at selling my movie, as it presents a constant challenge to the audience, which invites them to come and watch the film to see if they will indeed break under Constance’s pressure. My recurring tagline, which focuses on seriously damaging a young girl, also emphasises to the audience that the movie will be action-based and dramatic, which will excite them and hopefully entice them too.

The considerable presence of my web address is another way I show promotion across my products. It is there on both my teaser trailer and my movie poster, and encourages the audience to find out more information about Porcelain and form some kind of connection with it, which would hopefully make them more likely to go and watch the film in the real world. As it is present on more than one of my products, it also means that, if a member of the audience doesn’t catch the web address the first time, they have another opportunity to see it (there is no way a viewer can miss it, which means I am maximising my chances of a big viewing audience).

This may seem like a no brainer, but I have made sure to include the name of my movie on all three of my products. This way my target audience will remember the name, and in turn the film, well, which makes them more likely to go and see it. Similarly to this, the release date of Porcelain is repeated, which means it is probable that more people will go and see the movie, as they are assured of when they can go and see it, and are also made to remember this fact.

Finally, the narrative image of a young girl being mentally destroyed reoccurs - it is implied in the trailer, but then literally shown on both the poster and the magazine cover - which sells my film as it is the most dramatic image/idea from my movie, setting the audience up for an amazing ride (which, incidentally, might not actually be fulfilled as the audience are given the best image/idea from the movie to look up to falsely). The recurrence of my narrative image in different ways (sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorical) also shows the convergence between my pieces, as the poster and magazine are enhancing the teaser trailer, offering a visually appealing interpretation of Shelly’s breakdown, which will work for members of the audience who are not satisfied with the metaphorical interpretation the trailer shows (the trailer shows Shelly in mental discomfort, but does not actually show Shelly breaking).

Evaluation Question 1

Psychological Thriller

Note: Most of this is written with a view to a complete film.

Used

One key character (Shelly): I believe it is of vital importance to focus on one character and one character alone during a psychological thriller, as that way, it is possible to get into their deepest and darkest thoughts, resulting in an overwhelming flow of both disgust and sympathy from the audience, which is a very interesting atmosphere to create. This convention is very special, and sets psychological thrillers way apart from other film genres, as it has the power to create a totally unbreakable bond between audience and character. For these reasons and more, I created Shelly, the main and for the most part only character.

Mind games: Constance “plays” a number of tricks on Shelly (this is all in Shelly’s head), which test her sanity, patience and family relationships. As the tricks/unexplainable events go on, Shelly is pushed further and further into madness, which is vital to the final act of insanity (the smashing of Constance). These mind games also provide a visual pageant for the audience (cheap thrills).

Obsession: There is no special reason for my inclusion of obsession, other than it being the next step after paranoia for Shelly.

Developed

In psychological thrillers, the protagonist’s feelings will often manifest in actions. I have developed this idea by showing my protagonist’s feelings through an object: porcelain. For example, at the end of the film, Shelly smashes Constance, the porcelain doll, which reflects her complete and utter loss of mental control (breakdown). I have developed this convention in my own way as I feel objects are a subtle and clever way of presenting emotion, as opposed to obvious and straightforward actions which do not give a second level to a film.

Challenged

At the end of a psychological thriller, the protagonist will usually triumph over their enemy due to some sort of advanced knowledge, but in Porcelain, Shelly wins against Constance because of her brute force (she smashes the doll, which gives her a feeling of victory). My reasoning for this is rather simple - Shelly cannot possibly win against Constance in a battle of wits as dolls cannot think, talk or move. I also feel the imagery of a young, crazy girl totally demolishing a doll in a fit of rage is much more appealing and powerful as an ending to a film than two characters trying to mentally outsmart each other (in this instance anyway).

I have also challenged the ever-present convention of death for the “crazy person” (see Black Swan and Obsessed), making Porcelain a far more sympathetic psychological thriller. Shelly is indeed left in an inferior position (she is consumed by insanity), but, as she is not dead, there is something hopeful about the ending, as it shows the audience that mentally ill people are out there, and instead of pushing them aside and overlooking them, we should provide help.

Teaser Trailer

Used

Very few scenes/shots: I have decided to follow this teaser trailer convention by using only two scenes from my movie, therefore making my trailer very realistic.

Close ups and mid shots: Many of my shots are focused around heads and faces, to emphasise my genre and also the fact that most of my story is based around the fragility and wickedness of the mind. These shots are additionally good for familiarising the audience with the main character(s).

No voiceover: Voiceovers are used less frequently nowadays, and I have kept to this convention by steering clear of one in my own trailer. I did this not only to be realistic, but also to avoid a cheesy influence over my psychological thriller, making it appear more stylish and artistic.

Challenged

An extremely common feature of trailers and teaser trailers is an increase in pace towards the end. I have challenged this convention by creating a slow teaser trailer (aside from the fast music at the end) that skulks along gently, in order to generate a mysterious and chilling atmosphere. When a character is in a state of emotional turmoil, we expect a speedy and outrageous trailer to reflect this, but I have tried to subvert this, instead focusing on an uncomfortable calm that emphasises the fact that Shelly is just on the verge of breaking.

Evaluation Questions

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Final Poster and Magazine Cover

After looking at my film poster, my teacher felt that I needed to make a few improvements, so I have added a rating for realism (so that my poster fits in with usual poster codes and conventions) and also some short reviews, to draw in the audience (they will see that my film is worth watching).

 

Analysis of my magazine cover

The main image provides a very literal representation of my tagline and the pink glow around the edges (Picnik.com) shows the dominance of females in Porcelain and also the pink and pretty nature of dolls. The photo of the shattered glass covers almost the entire page, so that it creates an aesthetically pleasing effect and is very attention grabbing.

Additional Info on Poster

The hammer is very big whilst the image depicting Shelly is very small, showing that Shelly is the victim in a clear manner, and that she will face huge problems during the course of the storyline. As the hammer is just resting above Shelly’s head, it is also implied that she is just on the verge of breaking, which poses an intriguing question to the audience – is she going to break or not? This would hopefully result in more box office sales, due to the audience’s curiosity.

As Shelly is represented by a sign usually associated with normal, average, day-to-day females (female toilet sign), it creates a nice ironic effect, as Shelly is far from regular (she is crazy). The girl is also faceless and dull, suggesting that Shelly has lost all identity, as her life is now consumed by Constance.

The simplistic design is very mysterious and leaves much to the audience’s imagination, as there are no actual photos from the film included. This would build excitement tenfold as the viewers still have so much to find out – they are only being given a taste of what they are in for.

As Shelly and the hammer are the same menacing colour (black), it is suggested that Shelly will end up just as evil and corrupt as the doll she fears is against her.

Analysis of my poster

Magazine Analysis

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Black Swan Poster Analysis

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Web Address

Quick note: I have added my wed address to the end of the teaser trailer. I’m not too sure why I overlooked this previously, but now that it’s present, it makes my trailer seem far more current and realistic. The web address also aligns my trailer with the branding I have been applying to my work.

Editing Update

Sepia: I have now decided on the colour technique I want to use for my clips, and that is sepia, layered with a decrease in brightness. This will give my teaser trailer a professional look and a feminine vibe, hinting to the audience that this is a film dominated by females.

For my final clip (Constance hanging), I am going to use a beautiful, jewel-like red sepia. I feel this will represent Shelly’s anger, Constance’s “pain” and again, the dominance females have. It will also show that this shot has nothing to do with the previous ones (change of scene).

Pan shot: I filmed a panning motion, but it fluctuates between fast and slow movements, leaving the shot looking awkward, so I have decided to cut it from my trailer. I am going to cover the free space with an intertitle.

Pitch

Couple of mistakes with this:

On the music slide, I say that “Porcelain” is my final intertitle, when it is actually not.  

On the layout slide, I talk about one scene that is intercut with dialogue, music and intertitles, when I should actually mention two scenes (the kitchen scene and the hanging scene). I think I made this mistake because the kitchen scene forms the majority of my trailer, and therefore I sometimes forget about the hanging scene.

Intertitle Animations

To make it absolutely clear, these are the animations I am going to be using for my intertitles:

Fade in/fade out: This will be used for all of my intertitles except the very last one (“She’ll break you”), and I like it because it’s spooky yet simple.

Quick zoom: This will be used for my very last intertitle, in order to complement the shock About to Detonate delivers.

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Increase in size: This is not necessarily an animation, but I am going to make my intertitles increase in size as they go along, to give a sense of something lurking and creeping up.