Coursework Discussion 2 - 16th November

After giving our initial theme, being Romance, serious thought inside and outside of school we came to the conclusion that it was a little too advanced for us and that we may not enjoy it a great deal when it comes to filming, therefore we improvised and looked into different genres that we all shared interest in, this being a gangster film. We found that this theme would be much more beneficial when it comes to editing and creating a film poster etc and we were already flowing with creative ideas and found that we were able to explore the breadth of our imagination more so regarding this specific genre. We realized that thinking ahead about how we are going to write about our specific choices such as Mise-en-scene, music and location etc. would come together a lot better if we offered something a little different as well as enjoyable and upbeat. We agreed that the location wouldn’t be a problem if we were to do a gangster film as they are usually set in gritty places such as ally ways and garages so this was appropriately accessible. We came to the agreement that a Gangster & Crime genre would be easier to write about such as the lighting, stereotypes, costume and props etc. Overall I am confident that this genre will be a lot more beneficially to us as a group as we are all determined and inspired to excel and succeed.

 Today we chose to divide the different tasks as it would be a lot less time consuming if we undertook the task we had most expertise in. In my opinion our communication was exceptionally good in terms of asking one another their opinions asking for advice and sharing ideas to ensure there would be no disagreements in the long run. We looked into different film posters such as:

'Casino Royale' - To me this poster is incredibly effective as it sums up the genre and narrative of the film.

I am particularly draw to the dim lighting of the poster as it almost foreshadows ‘Bonds’ characteristics which isn’t the typical conventions of a Bond film which challenges the audiences knowledge. The attractive male on the front cover almost steers away from the target audience, being men, and attracts the women to go and see the film this is a technique I am particularly fond of as it ensures all types of audience can feel involved. I admire the way the background id blurred emphasising the main character yet the Mise-en-scene remains obvious as the props are still visible in order for the genre of the theme to continue to be obvious. The positioning of James Bonds hand resting on the gun also suggests that he is ready for action, looking fierce.  I like the way the use of the diluted colours is consistent and there is no need for bright colours to make it appealing. Although the title is relatively subtle in regards to the choice of colour, the editing techniques adds a sense of movement which I am fond of.

 'Reservoir Dogs' - Is my favourite poster as I am hugely inspired by the use of  silhouettes in this specific film poster as the black and white block colours create a film noir style and juxtapose fantastically well with the splash of vivid red behind the title, not only does this use of colour immediately symbolise blood, hate and vengeance drawing attention to the title in order for the audience to remember it but also has elements of action and thriller. Although this poster is very plain i feel as if it is massively effective and would love to reflect this in my own work as it is incredibly striking, i also feel as if we have the ability to achieve a poster like this when it comes to taking the picture and editing it.

'Snatch' - We had the idea of giving each one of our 'gangsters' a nick name to conform with the typical Gangster & Crime genre as well as create a sense of dark humour, we were able to relate our idea with this poster in particular as you can see each actor has their nick name written above them. I really liked the way the nicknames looked as if they had been written on instead of the use of computerised font. The colour palette used for the actors is a sepia tone which contrasts well with the white background. I love the way the decaying colours identify the specific genre of the film being, action and would very much like to portray this in my work by experimenting with a variety of colours and effects.

'The Godfather' - This was particularly appealing to me as again I am incredibly fond of juxtaposing the colours black and white as I think the outcome is a success. What really caught my eye in this poster is the red rose in 'Donny's' pocket as again the colour red is incredibly symbolic in relation to death, vengeance and also love. Again the use of the silhouette in this poster particularly interests me as it is typical for a gangster film. I found the puppet effect on the title to be extremely interesting as it almost foreshadows oncoming events as well adding to the decorative side of things.

‘This is England’- As this is one of my favourite films I find it to be extremely inspirational, although this film isn’t the genre we are going for the poster still caught my eye. I was particularly a fan of how all the actors are positioned in a line each pulling a different pose to portray their own individual personalities, I also like the way the Mise-en-scene relates to the time era it is set in. I liked the way the bright colours were used in contrast with the dark mood that is set throughout the film and how the colours match the costumes used.

‘Trainspotting’ – I like the use of the bright orange in contrast with the black and white images of the characters. What inspired me most about this particular image was how the actors are positioned as each one is pulling a different pose, like This is England, it says a lot about the character and certain attributes shine through, I was also a fan of how each character was numbered with their names also almost as if they were criminals.

By looking at proficient posters it has enabled us to grasp inspiration from all different kinds of posters ans a small variety of genres. As well as film posters we also looked into magazine covers specifically 'Empire' and 'Rolling Stone' so we were able to build upon our knowledge of what we should be aiming for. Specifically what we should be including on our front cover and ensuring the title and font is relevant to our theme.

Not only am i really impressed with the work we have done so far such as choosing an appropriate theme, looking into film posters and magazines to gain inspiration but also learning how and where to approach copyright free music. We were also taught how to create our own unique sounds using 'Garage Band' this enabled us to create an appropriate sound in relation to our film.