Mad Max : Fury Road - Poster (Analysed)

The poster for "Mad Max:Fury Road" successfully represents it's film in many different ways that can tease viewers but also to help them easily recognise the story,tone and genre.

Within the poster, text has been included to reveal the title and other promotional content. In regards to the text's typography, viewers can learn a lot about the film's tone. From the typography within the tile, it is written in all bold capital letters implying aggression and rage; connoting that the story will be aimed at a mature audience but will also contain an extremely gritty tone. The representation of the film's tone is enforced through the location of the environment shown in the poster; indicating that the film's story is held within a desert. This decision to include the desert helps justify to the viewer the gritty and savage nature of the story. 

The viewers are also teased as to what they can expect to see in the film as the poster reveals a glimpse of story's protagonist who viewer can infer that his name is Max which is evident from the film's title "Mad Max". Max can be seen in the foreground by his old rusty car as he looks out into the far distance, witnessing an army of vehicles travelling to him. Therefore suggesting that he is involved in an enormous rally across the desert with reasons yet to be discovered.

As for the film's tagline "What a lovely day", this acts as clever piece of marketing for the film as it is a humorous pun towards the film and it's overall tone. This is all because the phrase 'a lovely day' is associated with happiness and serenity where as for the story of "Mad Max" offers a contradictory , presenting a world of rage and savagery; ultimately making a underlining joke about it's own product to humour the viewers therefore making it memorable.

The Hobbit : the battle of five armies - Poster (Analysed)

This poster has presented many aspects of the film which viewers can infer about the media product. The most noticeable factor about this poster is the presentation of the film's genre; the poster has done so by including a large dragon in the background, this symbolical sign signifies to the audience that this is a fantasy story due to the conventional signs associated with the genre incorporate dragons. 

In regards to the film's tone, the poster has included the indexical  sign of fire; inferring that the film's tone will be dark and heavily revolved around an in pending doom. This is justified as both the fire and the dragon destroys a town, connoting to the viewers that the story will witness the lose of many innocent lives.  The poster also teases exciting plot points that circulate around an intense battle between good and evil; a lone man can be seen in the foreground holding a bow facing eye to eye with the gigantic dragon. Ultimately luring the attention of their viewers as they contemplate whether the hero of the story can defeat the dragon and save the town.

Another engaging factor of the poster is it's tagline "The defining chapter" this use of marketing creates a sense of anticipation due to the use of the adjective "defining" implying the shear importance of the story which has to be witnessed. 

Ruby Sparks - Poster (Analysed)

The poster for "Ruby Sparks" is creative in regards to how it teases  the film's plot and presents the characters. What makes this poster so effective is that it's design allows viewers to identify who the characters are as well as teasing their background.

By incorporating a young man holding a young woman over his shoulder; this suggests to the audience that they can expect to see a romantic story unfold. In regards to the story, the tagline "She's out of his mind" suggests both symbolical and indexical signs. The indexical sign suggests elements of passion as the use of the word "She's" along with the pronoun "his" implies that the woman is beyond the man's dream. The symbolical sign is that the she is 'out of his mind' connoting that she is a creation of his imagination who has be brought to life; therefore he can have the woman of his dreams. This symbolical sign is enforced by the inclusion of imagery along the left side of the poster; Showing text that seems to be from a book but with a missing  words on the page that make a sort of silhouette in the shape of a woman. Ultimately connoting that his woman is a character from a book which the man wrote, giving us the background of the leads.

The title "Ruby Sparks" is an interesting choice, viewers can infer that no only that this is the name of the woman in the poster but signifies her importance to the story. Particularly through the typography of the title, the large and red words alludes to a romantic story filled with excitement and youth due to the inclusion of all the words being in capitals. Ultimately presenting a light hearted tone filled with passion and energy.      

Audience Survey (Analysed)

This piece of data, states that a majority of the information gathered from this survey was from young adults; a factor that must be taken seriously as an extensive part of my analysis due to them being a significant part of our potential target audience.

From this response we can learn that on average, people watch from 4-15 films a month. Reasons as to why this piece of information is of value to our market research is because this will help me understand the likely chances of audiences seeking out the opportunity to watch my product; if the amount of films watched within a month is high then the chances of my media product being viewed is greater, however if those figures are low then I must ensure that I market this film to appeal to as many people possible.

This is one of the most important pieces of information gathered from this survey, as it presents how people gain access to films. The reason as to why this is so important to my investigation is because this will dictate where I will be making my media product available to the consumer market, all based upon where I believe is the best place to gain access to my potential target audience. 

As seen from the data, the most common access of media products are in fact the cinema and the online streaming site 'Netflix'. This information has a huge impact on the marketing and distribution on our product as this will determine whether our film is appropriate to be accessible within either markets. 

This data represents data on the various genre films the users have watched over the past 6 months, this information is of relevance to my investigation on the product potential market. This is due to the that there are so many different genres for audiences to choose from; some are preferred more than others. From this data, it states that 'Action/Adventure' and 'Comedy' are the most common selections as they have received round 25-30 responses. 'Crime & Thriller' has received a fairly positive amount of responses at 15. This overall sums that there is a relatively sizeable audience that will favour my product of the thriller genre, now I must ensure that my product caters the demands and expectations the viewers have.   

From the results shown in this data, I have learnt that people expect a product of the thriller genre to have a mature age rating of 15, this has quite an impact of the overall final product as this means that audiences have a fixed expectations in regards to the mature content, themes and ideas shown within a thriller story. This ultimately meant that the outcome of this information will lead me to re-evalutate my project and decide whether the film will contain codes and conventions typically associated with it's genre; but most importantly, whether it will meet the audiences expectations at a state of satisfactory. 

This question from the survey had me very curious as this would the affect the general popularity of my project. From the responses gathered on this question, the market was in my favour as the most preferred thriller sub-genre was 'Psychological'; this is extremely pleasing as my project will incorporate many conventions and ideas within it's narrative that will play a toll both on the minds of the characters and the audience.

This question's purpose was merely to evaluate whether or not our potential market would be willing to pay for extra services surrounding our media product. Services that creative team and marketing department must consider, as studios in the past have tend to market films to incorporate additional features such as releasing their products in 3D and/or in IMAX; in order to widen it's release with the goals of increasing it's chances of gaining revenue and appealing to a broader audience. 

Gathered from the survey, people favour short films with a fairly lengthy runtime of 8-15 mins; followed by the shorter runtime of 1-7 mins. In regards to my project, the runtime is a major factor as it relates to the audiences attention span. Audience seem the prefer a decent runtime up to a point that won't consume too much of their valuable time but will keep them entertained. A concept that I must be aware of during my production and will have a significant influence over the runtime within my product's final cut.

For the data presented here, focuses heavily on the audience's expectations of a thriller. From this information, tension within the story is a key factor surrounding their expectations within a media product of the thriller genre. As this is an expectation that is highly demanded amongst the people; this will inform the narrative of the film to ensure that our audience are satisfied with the product.

Overall the data gathered from the survey was highly informative in regards as to how we can ensure that our product not only has a market but also how to appeal the media product to our target market. All of this data will have major implications as to how the production of the project is taken.

Short Film Analysis (Summary)

From the ten short films I have analysed, I have studied the various technique the film-makers as well as the actors have used in order to present their stories. Theses techniques regarding the ways the creative team behind their short films utilises cinematography,sound and mise en scene in order to uniquely present their world and characters.

After reviewing these short films, my vision for my own product will be inspired by some creative choices other film-makers have made on their media products. In particular "Lights Out" regarding the ways the director has chosen to hide the identity of the threat within the narrative in order to create suspense and build ambiguity throughout the story; this will influence the mindset I should bare throughout all of the stages of production, delving deep into what it is I desire within my execution of my media product. I aim to create an immersive world by utilising specific colours within my cinematography and infuse specific sounds within the sound mix.

A Lost Soul - 1st Script draft COMPLETED!

Script 1st Draft

FADE IN.

TITLE SEQUENCE.

Sinister music featuring vocals and a piano; playing through the background.

Production logo for "BRD.Ganesan Pictures" is revealed on screen.

Throughout this title sequence, the credits of the cast and crew are shown in red font against a black background.

After the key names have been credited; the title "A Lost Soul" is revealed against a growling musical track.

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - BED AREA - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

The scene is introduced with the inclusion of a 'bass sound effect' to provide a sudden shock and awe to the introduction to this new location.

ROTATING PULL BACK SHOT: THE SHOT STARTS WITH AN UPSIDE DOWN (CU),WITH THE CAMERA FACING THE RIGHT SIDE OF A YOUNG MAN'S FACE; HE WAKES UP SUDDENLY AS HE GASPS FOR AIR. THE SHOT CONTINUES AS IT PULLS BACK WHILST ROTATING TO AN UPRIGHT POSITION; ENDING WITH A MEDIUM SHOT OF THE YOUNG MAN IN AN UP RIGHT POSTURE, SITTING ON THE DIRTY FLOOR OF A DARKLY LIGHT BASEMENT.

The man has awaken to a dark and gloomy basement in a place he doesn't know.

His ears begin to ring.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP: CAMERA IS FACING THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE MAN.

He covers his ears with his hands at an attempt to block out the ringing.But the ringing continues, he feels something dripping out from his ears. The young man removes his hands away from his ear, dragging his hands across his cheeks and smearing a trail of thick red blood across his face.

He places his hands in front of him so he can see what is coming from his ears; only to find out that it is blood.

He responds in a shock.

The young man begins to react in a panic by smacking his hands against his ears at an attempt to regain his hearing.

But he still can't hear anything except for the ringing from his ears and the thumping like sound created as he bashes his hands against his ears.

Shortly after, the ringing begins to fade and his hearing comes back ; causing a very unsettling musical track to fade in from the background.

The young man looks over to the left to where he hears the music coming from; finding out that the song is being played from an old cassette stereo player placed on the floor besides him, surrounded by shrouds tools as well as texts written in blood by the wall behind it. 

He picks up the stereo from floor; the song is causing him to feel a sensation of discomfort and fear.

As he holds the stereo in his hands; trying to figure out how to turn the song off, he presses a button on the stereo causing the track to mute.

He places the stereo down and rests against the wall behind him. Taking a deep breathe in , he closes his eyes as a sign of temporary relief.

All of the sudden, the chilling song continues to play which immediately Startles the young man.

WHIP PAN: SHOT COMMENCES WITH THE CAMERA LOOKING AT THE YOUNG MAN AS HE SITS BY THE WALL AND THEN WHIPS TO A SHOT PUSHING IN ON ANOTHER STEREO.

The young man is filled with rage and leaps up for floor and paces towards this secondary stereo.

The chilling song continues to play through the stereo; the young man grabs the stereo and throws it towards the ground causing the device to shatter across the floor.

CUT-IN: A (MCU) SLOW-MOTION SHOT AT 60-120FPS OF THE STEREO SHATTERING ACROSS THE FLOOR.

After he has let out his anger on the stereo, the man stands by his mess created by the floor and breathes in heavily.

'KNOCK,KNOCK,KNOCK!'

A loud knocking against a door can be heard, startling the young man.

PUSH IN:CAMERA IS PLACE BEHIND THE YOUNG MAN AS HE LOOKS OVER HIS SHOULDER TOWARDS THE DIRECTION OF WHERE THE KNOCKING IS COMING FROM.

The young man makes his way towards to origin of the sound, exploring the rest of the basement.

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - STAIRS - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

He comes across a set of stairs that lead up to a door.

The young man slowly makes his way to the top of the stairs,only to find a sandwich by the door resting on a plate with a card that reads "Enjoy the sandwich! :)"

He picks up the sandwich and gobbles it up.

After taking a bit or two, he stops to munch at the sandwich as he finds that the sandwich has quite a vile taste.

Scattering noises can be heard coming from the sandwich.

The young man looks down at the sandwich to see what is in between the bread.

PULL BACK SHOT: SHOT BEGINS WITH A CLOSE UP OF THE YOUNG MAN'S FACE, THE CAMERA QUICKLY PULLING BACK TO SHOW THE SANDWICH IN HIS HAND.

CUT-IN:(ECU) SHOWING INSECTS MOVING AROUND BETWEEN THE BREAD.

MEDIUM SHOT:HE DROPS THE SANDWICH IS UTTER SHOCK AND DISGUSTING.

EXTREME CLOSE UP:OF THE SANDWICH HITTING THE GROUND.

The young man stumbles down the stair cast to a wall and vomits as a result of consuming a sandwich filled with insects.

A phone begins to ring.

Frightened as to where it may be coming from; he looks around thinking someone else is with him. He then feels a phone vibrating in his pocket, he picks it out from his pocket and looks at the caller ID titled "Lucifer".

He answers the call.

The caller speaks with a deep and muffled voice.

CALLER

Did you enjoy the sandwich Max?

Max ignores the caller's question only to ask a question of his own.

 MAX

(He asks with aggression)

Who the fuck is this?

CALLER

(responds in a humorous tone)

Didn't you read the caller ID?

 MAX

listen here you prick, I'm done with your little games! now...

Max is interrupted.

CALLER

But I'm not done with you.

(brief pause)

What you don't realise Max is that you must be punished for your crimes against humanity.

    (pause)

Whether you like it or not, you are here for a reason. And in time... you'll find out why.

Max appears to flushed with rage.

CALLER

Now Max, go and open up the briefcase I've left behind for you.

Max is lost at the sudden knowledge of a briefcase.

 MAX

     What briefcase?

CALLER

    One moment please.

Growing impatient, Max lets out a brief outburst of frustration as the caller leaves the call momentarily.

CALLER

Check the place where you woke up.

Max listens and follows the command given by the caller , he walks to where he woke up.

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - BED AREA - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

As Max reaches the door frame into the area which he awoke; he suddenly freezes and lowers the phone down till his hand is by his side.

Max mutters a brief sentence that reflects his shear shock and disbelief.

 MAX

      Jesus Christ!

PUSH-PULL SHOT: REVEALING THE BRIEFCASE LYING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM.

Max brings the phone back up to his ear with the expressions of disbelief radiating from his face as his eyes lay wide open as he glares at the briefcase.

 MAX

    How are you doing this?

CALLER

I have a helping hand...

Max laughs.

MAX

(He boasts with confidence)

By that, you mean there's a secret door.

CALLER

(responses with emphasis)

By that, I mean I've got someone down there with you...

Max's boastful nerve shrivels and grows into pure fear for the unknown presents of someone living amongst.

MAX

    I say bullshit!

The caller responds with complete disregard for whether Max believes it or not.

CALLER

If you truly think so , then why don't I call my helper out from the shadows. Then you'll see if I'm really bullshitting.

MAX

     Nah, I'm cool. 

CALLER

Then open the briefcase.

MEDIUM SHOT: SHOWING THE BRIEF CASE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE FRAME; MAX KNEELS DOWN INTO THE FRAME ON THE LEFT SIDE.

Max places the phone on the floor and activates the speaker mode.

Max grabs the briefcase and unlocks it.

He lays the opened briefcase back down onto the floor and notices that there is nothing but documents inside. Max examines the content in order to see the information held within them.

All of the documents contain records of various students.

Max is seen swiping through the piles of student records but is unable to see the relevance of these documents.

MAX

Why am I looking at records of people that go to my school?

CALLER

Your ticket out of this place, rests on you finding out the connection between you and these people. Only then will you understand why you where condemned here in the first place.

Max stands up as he hold the records in his hands.

Max walks around the room in circles as he continues to glare at the student records; dropping them one after another and unable to find a link.

MAX

(he shouts with frustration)

I don't know any of them!

Out of frustration, Max tosses the pile of records in the open air around him; floating down swiftly surround Max as it were the first sight of snowfall.

CUT-IN: A MEDIUM SHOT IN SLOW-MOTION SHOT OF THE PAPER FALLING AROUND MAX.

CUT-IN: A CLOSE UP IN SLOW-MOTION SHOWING MAX'S FRUSTRATION AS HIS HAND ARE PLACED BY THE BACK OF HIS HEAD, DIGGING HIS FINGERS IN HIS HAIR WHILST THE PAPER CONTINUES TO FALL AROUND HIM.

Max's attention gets caught on a particular record.

PUSH-IN: ON ONE INDIVIDUAL RECORD LYING AMONGST OTHERS AROUND IT.

Max picks this specific record that caught his attention.

 MAX

(he speaks with certainty)

     I know this him.

CUT-IN: (ECU) CAMERA SHOWING THE PERSON'S NAME ON THE RECORD "KEVIN MCDONALD".

 MAX

      Kevin McDonald

CALLER

And what did you know about him?

 MAX

(he responds with sympathy)

Nothing, just his name and that he had a fetish Anime. 

An anime themed track begins to fade in, building towards a transition.

CUT TO.

INT. MEDIA CLASSROOM - MIDDAY

The anime themed track continues through to this scene.

A Caucasian boy is seen facing a computer watching an anime cartoon, listening to the audio through his head phones.

DOLLY SHOT: CAMERA PUSHES IN ON THE BOY AS HIS BACK FACES THE CAMERA.

Max walks in to the frame and begins to insult Kevin by mocking his obsession with anime.

Max's dialogue begins to fade out, and the sound of an ear ringing gradually fades in. Signifying the pain Max's words are in fact hurting Kevin.

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - BED AREA - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

Max realises the reason as to why he is here.

 MAX

Oh my god, Kevin I'm so sorry.

CALLER

  Don't apologise to me!

 MAX

No, Kevin if only I knew how much it hurt you then I'd...

CALLER

      I'm not Kevin!

Max is in disbelief.

CALLER

Kevin killed himself 2 days ago.

Max is paralyzed with shock.

CALLER

His parents found him dead in his bed with a packet of rat poison in his hand. Kevin left them a suicide note that simply read "I can't take it anymore"

 MAX

I can't believe this is happening.

CALLER

Believe it Max! So don't start apologising to me, you think Kevin's life is the only one you ruined.

  (brief pause)

What about Kevin's parents? their only child is gone. His best friends; Andy,Micheal and Steven.

CUT-IN:CLOSE UPS OF THE RECORDS FOR ANDY, MICHEAL AND STEVEN.

CALLER

    What about me Max? 

CUT TO.

INT. MEDIA CLASSROOM - MIDDAY

CALLER V.O

Everyday I had to listen all the horrible things you said to that poor boy. Day by day I'd pray, hoping that you'd see the wrong in what you were doing; but you never did.

Max's rant at Kevin continues;nothing is heard but through Max's body language expressing his pleasure as he torments Kevin.

PULL BACK SHOT: CAMERA SLOWLY PULLS BACK AWAY FROM MAX AND KEVIN, WIDENING THE FRAME. TILL THE FRAME REVEALS A WOMAN SITTING THERE WATCHING MAX'S ENTIRE TORMENT .

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - BED AREA - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

Max is still consumed with unsettling sensation of guilty as he is the sole blame for all their pain and suffering.

CALLER V.O

For a while I blamed myself for what happened to Kevin, you see if I'd just went up to you that day and told you to stop; then maybe he'd see that you're nothing more than a fucking coward.

    (long pause)

But its too late to ask for forgiveness; maybe if you were such a heartless bully,then Kevin would still be here

And now you are going to rot in here for the rest of your pathetic excuse for a life; then you'll know what it feels like to be a lost soul.

PUSH-PULL SHOT: WIDE SHOT OF MAX KNEELING DOWN TO THE FLOOR.

As Max is seen kneeling down in complete sorrow, behind him a ghostly figure emerges from the corner.

DIP TO BLACK.

    THE END.

Summary

I have now made progress in regards to the development of my project as I have now completed the first draft of my media products script; this version contains the entire outline of the short film. This draft is simply for me as the writer to have my ideas written down, now that the difficult part has been complete; I can now work on perfecting the script for the second draft which I will want to the gain feedback from friends and family as well as my teachers.

Film Magazines

My collection of "EMPIRE Magazine" since 2008

As apart my research, I have looked at various issues of film magazines that I have collected over the years. This is to inform my understanding as to how films are promoted through various images and articles regarding production,as well as interviews with the cast and crew. All of this to lure the attention of the film's target audience, this knowledge and understanding will have a major influence in later stages of my coursework as part of my work involves me producing a film review of my media product for a magazine. By studying various issues of "EMPIRE Magazine" I will gain access to a range of reviews for films of all sorts of genres; offering me the chance to analyse the structure and techniques of different writers in addition to how the editor has assembled the content with images and text.

Target Audience (Survey)

Create your own user feedback survey


This is a survey I created in order to gather data and find out about people and their subjective thoughts regarding film. The data from this survey will help inform my decision as to what my film will be; due to the fact that the survey will present data to me that will ultimately help me determine whether or not there is a market for my short-film as well as inform my approach regarding where and how I should choose to present my media product.

Lights Out - Short Film (Analysed)

"Lights Out" is a very short horror film that centres it's story around the commonly know fear of the darkness.

The film-makers excellently opened audiences to the mythological and rules behind the supernatural threat within this story as the character within the narrative uncovers it for the first time; acting as the audiences window into this world. The director utilises lighting and shadows to present the story's antagonist within the darkness, a clever technique as the entity is visible only within the darkness but lacks any real identity due to the outline of the character can only be seen. This makes the threat for more horrifying as both the character and the audience's perception of the entity is amplified due to the fear of the unknown is far worse as the antagonist's appearance is left to the imagination.

However, this film-makers contradicts their initial notion of the fear of the known towards the last act; the identity of the supernatural entity is revealed and despite the shock of it yes striking fear into the audience, I found that the horrific concept of not knowing the identity of the threat was far more terrifying as this led to great build of tension as the camera uses wide angles and close ups to limit the visibility of the entity as the director was very selective as to what could be seen.

I found the overall execution of the media product very engaging and was pleased with the director's decisions to a point as he then contradicted himself and took the story in a direction that didn't seem logical to the story. 

Awake - Short Film (Analysed)

"Awake" is a drama that deals with the ideas behind morality, the afterlife and what it means to be alone, exploring the emotional struggles that surface when dealing with such lack of interaction with anyone. The short film is fundamentally about a young man who wakes up and realises that he is all alone and the struggle he must endure facing such loneliness.

The film-makers do a creative job at hinting the reasons as to his isolation throughout the sequence through various visual metaphors involving the young man wanting to drive a car must they're always filled with water; the character's lines of dialogue. The uses of both the cinematography and sound design to emphasise the notion of loneliness was well executed through it's use of natural sounds and a lack of score that makes the sequence feel bland and dull, reflecting the character's mindset as he is engulfed by the emptiness of his world.

Overall the film-makers have executed an excellent media product which is cohesive as it consists of various visual and literal metaphors that foreshadow the reasons as to why the young man is in this unfortunate situation.

Alone - Short Film (Analysed)

"Alone" is a short film that takes place within a post-apocalypic world, the story is told through the perspective of the last known living man within this world. He spends his days gathering food and supplies, recollecting memories from the old world; a time when everything was normal. 

This short film that effectively immersed it's audience within the world it is depicting through its use of characters and exposition in order to present the fundamental rule that the lead character follows in his daily routines. The lead character in the media product doesn't speak throughout the entire sequence other than through the film's sound design by having the character express his thoughts through a voice over; an interesting decision made by the film-makers as this infers that the character is addressing the audience as if we are apart of his subconscious, emphasising on the film's main theme of loneliness as the film itself is containing its ideas within the mind of the character.

Overall the direction with this film was extremely effective as it allowed me to be fully immersed within the world the director is presenting as we the lead character allows a window for the audiences to look through and learn the infrastructure of the way the world works all supported through the exposition delivered through the character's voice over. 

A Lost Soul - Casting Jennifer

Avril Tricker as (Claire) in "Downfall 2"

When I envisioned the character of Jennifer, I had one actress in my mind who I use to picture what she'd act and sound like. The actress who I used as my creative reference is "Avril Tricker".She is the person I have offered the role to as I have worked with her before on a short-film, making me familiar with her acting style. 

The entire role consists of Avril performing through her voice as her character only engages with Max over the phone throughout the whole film. Which is why I believe Avril is a excellent fit as she is also a singer, enabling her to express various emotions through her voice alone. This is ultimately why I have decided to cast Avril for the role of Jennifer. 

The Candidate - Short Film (Analysed)

"The Candidate" is a remarkable piece of media, this short film was deeply compeling in regards to how the director approached the story's tone,look and characters dealing with the ideas of beliefs, morality and fate. The story circulates around a man called "Mr Grunzer" who envies his work colleagues and seeks more out his stature, till he is later approached by a gentlemen representing a secret organisation that could be the answer to all his problems.

What intrigued me about the film and it's direction is the sense of pace the film has throughout it's runtime; through the use of it's editing and score, the sequence feels as if its fighting against time which then adds a thrilling tone to the story and supporting the dark nature of the story.

The most compelling aspect of "The Candidate" is the topic the script addresses, elaborating on playing god and deciding on who lives and dies; that inhuman thought we have all given about wishing someone dead. We may not admit it, but we have all done it and this film executes this idea brilliantly. This idea was creatively adapted through it's embodied within the story as a secret organisation formed create for that purpose; to remove people who don't deserve to live. 

"The Candidate" is a well crafted film as it understands how to engage and immerse the audience within it's story through its script and direction as we follow the story of "Mr Grunzer" watching the story through his perspective and learning new plot points as if we were living his life.

A Lost Soul - Jennifer

Jennifer is a supporting character with the story of "A Lost Soul" , Jennifer is a very important character to the story as she plays a major factor on my idea on playing with narrative and perspective. As I will be using the character of "Jennifer" to play with the audience as to who they perceive the story's antagonist to be. 

I have written her character to have a sense of mystery regarding her overall presents in the story; within the story we never truly get a full look at her appearance. This is a quality that may change as development progresses but I intend to keep it this way, simply because it opens the audiences mind to the ideas behind people we may not notice but who in fact notice us. 

Ultimately I believe that Jennifer is a character that will help me achieve my aim of challenging the conventions regarding the protagonist and antagonist.

Film Classification and Age rating

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an organisation that classifies the age ratings for film,television and games. How they do this is by examining each product and classifying them based on regularly updated guidelines to help them determine what age certificate should be allocated based on the content seen in the product.

"U" Rating

The "U" age rating stands for universal meaning that a film that has this classification is suitable for audiences of all ages.

Films that have this rating have various restriction regarding violence, sexual behaviour and bad language. U rated films are restricted to mild acts of violence within brief action sequences but nothing that the hero couldn't resolve without too much emotional destress. Sexual behaviour in U rated films can simply be referenced or limited to cuddling and kissing; bad language is limited to unfrequent use of mild terminology such as "damn".

"PG" Rating

This age rating stands for "Parental Guidance" meaning that the film baring this age rating is suitable for the general audience to view; however some scenes might be unsuitable for young children.

Within a PG rated film, there is still a few restrictions in terms of the content that is allowed to be shown. In regards to themes and  sex, PG rated films are allowing to delve into challenging issues such as bullying and racism without containing material that are inappropriate for children. As for sex, PG films are restricted to unfrequent references. Drugs and violence are used to mild extents, acts of violence can contain blood so long as the actions that was inflicted would not be seen. As for drugs, this is merely implied use and not seen by. Bad language can be permitted but the context and delivery are important factors as this may cause it to deserve a higher rating. 

"12/12A" Rating

12/12A are very similar in terms of what content is permitted to be shown. However the only slight difference is that a film classified as 12A asks that an adult must viewer under the age of 12.
Within a film rated 12/12A can contain violent content so long as they don't glamorise the action. This is similar to bad language, within 12/12A rated films, bad language is permitted depending on the way it is used. Dark thematic ideas can be incorporated into a 12/12A rated film; such as rape,drug abuse and assault can be implied but never seen in detail.

"15" Rating

15 rated films allow a great deal of content to be present such as sexual activity, drug taking and strong violence. This is all due to the mature mentality of the audience consisting of 15 years old and above meaning that they're mature enough to recognise that the content seen before them is appropriate. Within a 15 rated film, frequent uses of strong language can be heard and there is not limits as to what can be said. Likewise with acting of violence that  15 rated films can reveal blood.

"18" Rating

There are no restrictions as to what content can be shown on an 18 rated film so long as it is legal. What distinguishes an 18 from a 15 rated film, is the strong detail that is allowed to be shown regarding violence and sexual activity. For violence, there are absolutely no limits regard the amount of detail that can be shown during action sequences and the brutality of the pain inflicted. As for sex and nudity, films with an 18 rating can content full nudity as well as the extreme detail that can be revealed within scenes that involve sexual activity. Another prime factor of an 18 rating is the use of very strong language e.g(C***) as well as discriminatory language relating to racism or homosexuality.

Conclusion

As I have gathered information regarding age rating and the criteria associated with them. This has informed me on the development of my short-film "A Lost Soul" as I now must allocate the appropriate age rating for my project based on the criteria from the BBFC. This will all be based on what content I intend on including in my project and its relevance to the story.   

The Black Hole - Short Film (Analysed)

"The Black Hole" is an very short but effective short film that addresses the ideas behind greed. The film revolves around an office worker who is borer with his dull life and career, until he stumbles across a piece of paper with a black hole printed on it. With this hole, he is able to open a form of gateway into any object he encounters simply by placing the paper beside it.

The film itself is an allegory for greed and power by addressing the nature by the mental implications it can have on our well being, destroying the mind as more is never enough. This is a pivotal theme that has been heavily presented by the film makers through the product's script as the lead grows arrogant with the power his posses and elevates his greed as he progresses from stealing a candy bar to stealing money from his business; however his actions then lead to his downfall as he gets himself locked within the very safe he tried to steal.

I found this film very effective as the film-makers were able to keep my attention throughout its short runtime and yet I found myself seeking more due to the concepts and situations both the character faced through the story.

The Dark Knight Rises - Poster (Analysed)

From this poster, I can learn that is a superhero film due to the symbolic sign of the mask placed down in the foreground of the poster; connoting that the protagonist of the story is a vigilante known as 'Batman'. The reason I can identify that the vigilante in this film is in fact 'Batman' is due to the iconography of the mask's design and the logo behind the title that is only associated with the batman brand.

In regards to the story teased from this poster, I can infer that due to the mask's placement in the foreground as it rests there all broken. Because batman's mask seems to be damaged, this is connoting that we will see the hero get hurt as well potentially concluding the legacy behind the character and his story. This is justified by the poster's tagline "The Legend ends" implying that this film is in fact concluding chapter in the franchise ; it also suggests that we may possibly see batman's downfall as he is faces a new threat to gotham. The poster teases a glimpse at the antagonist who is place in the background with his back towards the camera.

As the antagonist stands with his fists clenched in the background, he appears far superior to batman; due to the placements to the two icons , this can imply that the villain is physically dominant of the hero as the batman's mask is all that seems to be left of him we where the antagonist seems untouched.

The tone of the film is also suggested through the colour palate of the poster, as it mostly black and white implying a dark tone for the film. This enforced with the inclusion of rain acting as a symbolical sign for sorrow and pain.

Buried - Poster (Analysed)

The poster for "Buried" is a very effective one as it does an interesting job at teasing the plot as well as what type of film it is. From this poster I can immediately recognise that this is a thriller as the captions on the poster state "His phone is dying, flashing is fading, oxygen is running out, but Paul Conroy isn't ready to die". The use of listing the limited resources Paul has and the fact that they're almost gone ; is alluding to a story of tension as the protagonist is fighting for survival against time.

The way in which the plot is teased with this poster is by the placement of Paul in the poster. I can recognise that the poster suggests that Paul is buried alive with the items listed in the caption. This premise in enforced with Paul's position at the bottom of the poster trapped inside the coffin, as the tagline is places upon layers above him; connoting how far beneath the ground the coffin is place. Ultimately emphasising the shire horror of the story that is yet to unfold. All of this is justified through the sheer simplicity of the title "Buried" implying all that is needed to know about the story.

Tuck Me In - Short film (Analysed)

            

"TUCK ME IN" is a minute long short-film based on a comment from the social network 'reddit'. The film is based on the relatable phobia children have of believing that monsters live under their bed; it is the parent's duty to check their child's bed every night before they sleep to ensure them that there are no monsters under their bed so they can sleep peacefully. However this thrilling short-film hints as a chilling notion that their child my in fact have a monster in their room.

Within the story of "TUCK ME IN" Alex asks his father to check under his bed for monsters, his father indulges his son and looks under his bed only to find Alex, another Alex hiding under the bed stating that there is someone in his bed.

I found this product simple yet engaging as it utilised very simple shots to tell a tense idea that is relatable amongst a universal audience. The director has used shots to give the audience insight into the character, examples of this is with the opening shot of the boys door revealing his name "Alex" strung across the door. Informing the audience of the boy's name as well as the location the story will be taking place; causing the audience to has an idea on the mise en scene of the location as it takes place in a little boy's bedroom.

Another creative aspects about the direction of the short-film as it does hint that there is another presents already in Alex's room before his father entered the room. As his father walks into Alex's bedroom, we get a shot taken from under Alex's bed. Connoting that there is something lurking under the bed. Later in the sequence , as the father leave the room ; there is a shot that reveals a family photo of Alex with his mother and father. This is an important piece of information that the director wanted the audience to know , as it states that Alex is an only child. Some have speculated that the "monster" in Alex's bed in merely his twin brother. However this is highly unlikely as this shot justifies that Alex has no siblings and that the father would have logically known if his wife gave birth to twins.  

Comment from 'Reddit' which the film is based on.

Overall I found "TUCK ME IN" to be a very engaging short-film with very interesting choices for direction and is something I hope to achieve with my own project.