Final Poster

 

I felt that something extra has to be added to the poster to make it look more professional and realistic. There was also a fairly big space at the bottom which may have been distracting to some viewers, therefore I added a quote at the bottom to fill the space and create more of a focus point as opposed to just a black space. 

I know that mark Kermode is a popular film director so I thought it would be appropriate to have a small quote from him. I made it the same font as the title but in white to it would be see against the black background.

By Rebecca Archer

Director's Commentary

Evaluation

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
  
  
  Real media products played a big part in the creation of 'Decay' as Surrealism was a topic that we knew little about. We wanted a challenge and we believed that there was enough existing product to allow us to create our own version.
  
  
  As for the film, we used many different medias to get inspiration for various elements, for example, for symbolisms and imagery we mainly looked on YouTube for classic surrealism films and came across classic characters such as Dali. Among these videos, we found 'unexplained' props and strange, besides-the-plot scenes that were confusing but at the same time were prominent features in the clip. We found that by using these elements as a starting point for the whole project, we could create something new in surreal without straying too far from the original idea. 
  
  
  The sound was an interesting element as we were unsure as to whether we should include it as many films, such as Dali's "Un Chien Andalou" has no sound at all, but instead used written dialogue to convey the story to the viewer. This was an interesting lead however we found that it would sometimes be off-putting when you are trying to watch the film. 
  
  
  The poster was primarily based on a simplicity and as many films are based on action and therefore there is a lot of information and highly produced imagery across the poster. The theme of surrealism is seemingly simple and uncomplicated, but with a hidden meaning or truth behind the items the feature and this is what really makes this poster work. The titles are typical of a film poster and this allows the viewer to feel a familiarity and also allows them to be more open-minded to this new genre.
  The title is off-centre, which creates an interesting viewpoint, as it is not in line with the credits, as usually seen in most posters. This may in some ways disorientate the viewer, creating a strange surreal-like feel. Other than this one element, the poster is fairly similar to most posters, as you don't have to change every element to create a completely new poster. It challenges the forms and conventions, as it does not follow the 'rules' that are usually followed. This allows it to stand out but also be influential to people not only interested in surrealism but many genres.
  
  
  
  
  The article is made up of many interesting elements that equally push the boundaries of editorial design. It is not as simple as the cover however it has many similar features to a typical double page spread. For example, the images have been tilted to show a more personal approach to the project and it otherwise would have looked too conservative. It also conveys a ‘photo album’ style that is popular at the moment. We saw this used in many sources such as in Empire magazine. Many different articles were looked at and analysed and we found that a more structured approach was the most engaging with the audience as opposed to one where information was spread out and fragmented across the pages. It is clear that the different paragraphs are relating to without even reading them because of the clear titling at the beginning of each section e.g. Plot and the reviewer’s details.

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

It was always very important for all of the marketing features linked in appropriately to one-another, as they are all selling points for the film. They would all need to link in together and be coherent throughout. There are many elements that follow through out such as the main theme - Decay so particular symbolisms were used throughout the film such as dead leaves, petals, an apple etc, so these were clearly going to play a big part in the ancillary tasks. In the poster, the leaves have been kept very raw and have also been made to look very dramatic to draw attention to themselves. This will stay in the viewers mind while they are watching the film and they will therefore be also to follow the plot easier, picking up the relation between the cover and symbolisms in the film. In this sense, it proves a very effective source to link and promote the film. This is also a similar idea with the DPS as there are subtle symbolisms that link back to both the poster and the film. Also, the colours all link in well together and ensure that the viewer knows what they are reading and what themes etc the film relates to.

As you can see in this image, the green from the trees in the film has been eye-dropped and used in both ancillary texts. As for the double page spread, the main title and sub-text is a dark green to reflect the rawness and earthiness that decay is primarily based upon. This is highlighted by the two images on the right page that both show a lot of greenery in the background. The poster has less green on it, however there is a small element of it on a few of the leaves, which helps to bring the three tasks together.

 

This image highlights the use of brown; which, similarly to green, represents a rawness, however it shows sense of dead/dying or decaying, which is obviously a very important element to show throughout the final products. We can see that leaves have been used as the main imagery on the poster, in many scenes in the film and also with a transparency on the DPS.

Space is an interesting subject because when it used properly in a film, poster or magazine, it can look really effective and can help enhance the themes of the story. Being a surrealist film, everything in the shot had to be considered and therefore space was thought about throughout. The arrows show the areas of space in the film so more attention is on the subject or symbolism in the centre. This follows through into the credits where the simple text is always subtly placed is either corner, to allow the space around to speak for itself. Obviously in the poster, the leaves are the main element and the text and extra sections have been placed around them to both compliment but also to follow through the feeling of space as well as distance from the conventional storyline.

The font should be that first thing you think about when you think about continuity and it was therefore used for the main title on the poster, the extra text and also on the credits of the film. I was not used for the title on the DPS, as we believed that the article font should primarily reflect the themes and conventions of the magazine as opposed to the individual review.

•              What have you learned from your audience feedback?

The audience feedback has been extremely helpful, mainly because the theme of surrealism is so subjective and you really have to have an open mind when watching it. However some elements still have to confide with filming standards and many of the points that were raised were very valid, such as the issue of sound and whether people would be able to follow and understand the plot, which resulted in us creating a poem and minimalistic music that related back to previous surrealism films. 


The target audience was anyone inbetween the ages of 25 and 50 which was difficult decision to make, as surrealism does not necessarily interest one age group. We kept the theme of surrealism strong throughout to ensure that it did not subtly evolve into a more common theme. From the audience feedback, we have learnt that, although many people had not heard or seen a surrealist film, they enjoyed watching it and would see another one if they had the chance. 



The questionnaire was very useful as a few points were raised that we had not fully addressed such as the sound and whether a soundtrack or theme tune should be used, which we looked into and added.

One of the strongest elements of the short film was the plot because it was very simple which allowed the surrealist elements to be more prominent, and making it easier to follow meanings. The weakest element at the time that the questionnaire was conducted was the sound because there wasn’t any. The feedback received was useful as it made it clear what we needed to add to make it work not only as a surrealist film but also equally as a short film. One of the suggestions was to add a ‘spoken element” which we responded to and found that it greatly improved the film as a whole.



If anything were to change in this project it would be the filming techniques as we were inexperienced and if we were to do it again, we would defiantly experiment more with filming techniques and this would prevent any unwanted shots, such as the ones where the sun is shining onto the camera, highlighting the dust on the lens.

People would see ‘Decay’ shown in small cinemas across the country and also in select viewings in London venues. It would not be seen as a blockbuster film but the poster would be widely distributed and the article would be in a high profile film magazine.  This means it would get wide coverage and allow the showing dates to be extended, depending on the interest.

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

The cameras that were used for the filming were the best quality that we could find as we wanted the focus to be more on the content and meanings as opposed to the camera work. It also allowed us to experience a high quality camera and get used to the settings etc if we ever wanted to use one again.

We did try using a tripod and track for the road scenes to make the shots smoother but it didn’t work very well on the uneven ground so we decided to film handheld for all of it, which proved more practical, but the scenes were not entirely strait. This was later corrected using Final Cut.   

Blogger was used to store all of the work that had been done and also worked as an ongoing track of progress. It has been very easy to use and was useful when you need to quickly note down developments in the project etc. It was used throughout the project from the first lesson to the final piece. I believe that it helped me in the project greatly as I was able to complete work at home and it was much more accessible and was very easy to use. 


Final Cut was used to create the film itself, although it was not the easiest program to use, with the help of some YouTube tutorials, we soon found it easy enough to get the results we wanted. Icapture was also used to photograph some sheets and draft drawings quickly. 


We attempted to upload 'Decay' onto youtube but unfortunately something went wrong with Final Cut so when we did upload it, there were shots of the film that had been deleted in editing. Therefore we were unable to upload our film and also had no opportunity to gain useful feedback from a wider range of medias.

Photoshop is a programme that I was very familiar with so I felt much more comfortable with this software. I used it to create the poster, using many layers to make it look as if the leaves had fallen onto the spotlight effect in the centre. I found the two main fonts on 'DaFont', a font website which was very useful.


Word is commonly used an a lot of the written work was produced on it, I was also used to write up some our blogs before putting them onto blogger. The Internet was a useful tool when looking for secondary sources, in particular, we used YouTube and Google. QuickTime Player allowed us to create short or longer screen films to show the development of our project.

See in the post above - Director's Commentary

Poster Production Analysis

Anematic storyboard

Questionnaire Results Analysis 4

4. Would you be more likely to watch a surrealist film after watching 'Decay'?


From the results, we can see that 80% of people would watch a surrealist film after watching 'Decay'. Not only has 'Decay' proved to be popular on it's own, it has also made surrealism more popular and has encouraged it's audience to watch similar films and explore a different genre of film. This can only be a good thing and 'Decay' has clearly filled a gap in the market and has opened a gap for more surrealist films to be made. 


Here are some of the comments on this question -


"I would definitely see a similar film do 'Decay'. It has opened my mind to other genres and I just want to see more!"


"Surrealism is great, it's something completely different to what I would have chosen to watch and I will certainly see more of them"


"'Decay' was a one off for me, I though it was good but I don't think I like the genre enough to see any more"


The results are mainly positive so 'Decay' has clearly has an impact on the film market and allowed people to see past the more mainstream genres.

Questionnaire Results Analysis 3

3. Did you understand / follow the plot and meanings?

This question follows on from the question before and although 80% of people could follow the plot, those that didn't had valid points that we thought were very true. 


"It was a little hard to follow but you know it is surreal so it all adds mystery and 'unknowing' to the film in general"


"I found it very easy to follow, it's surreal so you are not ment to understand or pick up on every point"


"I couldn't follow it at all as there were far too many elements to think about, the poem, the plot, the surreal meanings... couldn't follow at all"


There was some good feedback from this question, we knew that it would not be understood by everyone which was why we had a large target audience. It is very much based on taste and personal preference as it is so different to any other films, but this adds an individual spin on it that we were hoping to achieve.


Here are some points that we could have improved upon in hindsight-


- Make the plot tighter so all of the separate elements link in and are much tighter 
- Have more scenes to help link the two main story lines / characters

Questionnaire Results Analysis 2

2. Were there any elements you thought we could have improved upon?


Most people that I asked believed that the sound was the weakest element. We did not see the sound as the most important element, however, we found that some people found it difficult to follow the plot and therefore we did look into different means of telling the story in a surrealist way and found that a poem was the best way of doing it. The poem is poetic and reflects the plot in a suitable way. We also added a subtle piano sound in the background to help add some more tension to the whole film and it also helps to lift it and gives it some personality that it lacked before. Here are some of the quotes - 


"I think it lacks some atmosphere as some scenes, such as when the man is in the car, the meaning could be made clearer in one way or another"


"There is something interesting about there being no sound what so ever however, as surrealism is not known by the majority of people, it may help to have an extra element to make it look more professional"


"I would suggest adding a spoken element to add something different to the story"




From these results we - 
   - Added a spoken poem to compliment the plot 
   - Created a subtle soundtrack to go alongside it.

Questionnaire Results Analysis

1. Did you like the short film?


I made the first question very direct to what we wanted to find out and it is generally the first thing you would ask someone. The majority, 90%, liked it which was pleasing and 10% did not. This shows that we have taken all of right steps along the way to ensure that the theme of surrealism would be understood and liked by as many people as possible.
I also asked 'Why?' and here are some of the results from that...


"It was well produced with some very good elements however the filming could have been better, such as using a hood to prevent the dust showing up."


"I loved it, it was great, I liked the fast editing particularly when the two main characters collided. The acting was amazing and you could clearly see all of the expressions and found it very easy to follow."


"I liked this film but I thought the plot could have been clearer. Although the sound and the poem helped, I think there could have been more explanation in the meaning." 




These reaults have been very valuable and if we were to create a whole now short film we would make sure to address these elements closer...


- The plot - make it more clear and easier to understand
- Techincal - Pay more attention to smaller technical details.

Analysis of Final Piece - Short Film

After completing the editing for the whole of the film, we were both very pleased with the final result and felt confident that we had been able to achieve all of the effects that we wanted to. Final cut was not the easiest programme to use but with trial and error, I managed to find a suitable solution for each issue. However, there was a problem with exporting the final rendered footage and found that when it was played back as a Quicktime movie, various 'ghost' clips were cropping up throughout the playback. These were clips that I had deleted and it was completely unexplainable why they were showing up, however, without re-editing the whole film it was not going to be fixed, so please pretend those clips don't exist!
  Overall it was a great experience and we enjoyed learning about all of the different elements involved in creating a short film. 


By Rebecca Archer

EVALUATION - Questionnaire Graphs

 




Did you like our short film?
















Were there any element you thought we could have improved upon?


















Did you understand / follow the plot and meanings?











Would you be more likely to watch a surrealist film after watching 'Decay'?















By Rebecca Archer

EVALUATION - Questionnaire

By Rebecca Archer

Double Page Spread

Initially I started writing out the article, I started by describing the plot of the film, so that this introduces the film to the audience/reader. I then described other critical views of our film. Within the article I described and explained all the main symbolic scenes and analysed the film. Also I wrote the overall opinion of  “the writer” after writing this I realised that it would be good to have some opinions from “the readers” and added them to the page.

I then added a title in the font called destrukt. I felt this was a unusual style of font which would fit with the unusual style of our film. I used century gothic font for the subheadings and the article, this font is professional in style and clear to read for the reader.

I added some star ratings from “the writer” and “the reader” to make the page look more professional and also gives the page a little colour.

Here I have added Rebecca’s poster.

I have added a box which talks about the magazines website and also what “the writer” will be reviewing next week for his article.

I then took some screen shots from the film and added to the page.

After sitting back and talking to Rebecca we felt the page was missing something. Rebecca then suggested we could add a picture behind the text faintly. She cut out some leaves from the poster and added to the page. 

I then played around with the screen shots, by moving the angle of them and also adding a white border to make them almost look like photos.

Overall I am happy with the article and appreciate Rebecca’s input.

By Amy Greenaway

Poster Analysis Film

By Rebecca Archer

Decay Poem - Sound

Decay poem

The house stands with a friend

This is the beginning but will be the end

The life survives by the man

But he will wish he could have ran

He stumbles out the door

He will be questioned by the law

His expression is somewhat bored

He will one day be judged by the lord

The car he now posses' and drives

Will now be a weapon to take lives

The life drains from her soul

The meeting will take a large toll

His eye are fixed on the concrete

Her life is falling to her feet

The petals fall and blow in the airstream

And disappear with girl and dream

The warning is in the spades

Holding on as she fades

As the petals wilt and wane

So will she feel their pain

Traveling at a high speed

It will starve rather than feed

As there bodies collide

The act of violence cannot be denied

 Her body takes to the air

All he can do is sit and stare

The twisted body lay

The man left with nothing to say

Car and girl disappear

Looking up, heaven is near

Looking at his blood stained hands

She still lays where she lands

One crawl’s and the other creeps

Whilst the blood still seeps

Preparing for the afterlife beyond this ground

All she needs, she has found

Picking the fruit of healing

She regains all her feeling

Taking just one bite

She no longer needs to fight

She finds her heart, still alive

Her emotions and soul seem to survive

The candle is lit and fills the air with hope

The warmth holds her and helps her cope

The dead will be laid to rest

This will be an emotional test

The girl mourns his passing away

But the girl will have her day

She places flowers on his frame

Waiting until death came 

The poem will be read and played over the film


By Amy Greenaway

Final Poster

Poster Developments - final

This is the final poster that I have created. I had to re-do the last on because the images were not mine and I felt that there were a few elements that needed changing. I have used a very similar method, using the 'spotlight' background with leaves around the outside. I thought this reflected the woodland shots from out short film and primarily the idea of death and decay. The falling leaf in the bottom left corner of the poster also connotes falling or loss.

  I then added the text which I kept it simple so more attention is drawn towards the imagery. The font is '((((o)))) Brush' and looks as if someone has written the words in chalk, giving a raw, textured effect. I used this font for the rating names and also for the sub-heading which I added on later.

  I used a great font for the credits called 'Universal Accreditation' which makes the text look really realistic and effective on this poster. I placed both the credits and ratings at the top of the page and also centred to use the limited space to it's advantage. 

  Finally, I made the centre text black as I thought it made it much more eye-catching than it was in white. I decided to add more leaves to fill out the space a little more and added shading to them, adding a dramatic feel to the poster as a whole. 

By Rebecca Archer

Rough Double Page Spread Plan

This is a rough guide to how our article will include be set out. it will include a lot of screen grabs of the finish film and the poster we are designing. Another feature we want to is a section for the readers to have there opinion, this will include a picture of them, their star rating and their review. 


By Amy Greenaway

Shooting Script

Internal. House, Hallway Morning

Establishing shot

The scene is filled with a house and its surroundings the house doesn’t overwhelm. It is a conventional home and ensures safety.

Zoom

The house now only fills the shot the surrounding are now out of shot.

Zoom

The door is the main feature of the shot.

The door slowly opens in a accidental way

The inside of the house is exposed

A man appears beyond the doorway, he is wearing a premium quality suit he is not a threat and wears a smile. He eyes are tired, tired of the usual 9 to 5. He picks up his keys.

External. Garden, Road. Morning

Cut

Reverse shot

The man is standing in the doorway of his home his car can be seen within the background of the shot

Cut

The man is now walking towards his car in a routinely fashion

Cut

Mid shot

He is now opening the car door reluctantly

Cut

Mid shot

Man enters the car

Internal. Car. Morning

Cut

Eye line shot

Man sitting in drivers seat, his eyes are fixed on the road

Cut

Wide shot

The two front seats and driver can be seen in the shot

Cut

Wide shot

The man can be seen reversing in a cautious fashion

Cut

Long shot

A shot of the car with the man inside concentrating on the road in front of him

Cut

Pan

The car drives across the screen leisurely

Cut

Long shot

Another shot of the car moving

Cross cutting between the following two scenes

Cut

Mid shot

Man sitting in driving seat

Cut

Extreme close up

The mans face is in profile

Zoom

The mans face is in profile, same expression

Pan

His face is slightly more exposed

Pan

His entire face is now revealed

Zoom

Close up

The shot is focused on his open right eye

Zoom

Close up

The shot is focused on his right eye, closer than the first shot. His has the same expression throughout the scene

External. Estate. Morning

Long shot

The shot contains a typical brick wall

Pan slowly to the right

The wall is now seen from a slightly different angle

Pan continues

Woman’s feet walk into the shot

Pan continues

Woman’s feet now walk out of the shot casually

Cut

Long take

The woman is walking casually. Her torso fills the shot. The woman is wearing rosary beads around her neck; this can be seen moving from side to side.

Cut

Long take

The woman is now being shown from a different angle, her lower back a legs are in shot. Within the grip of her hand is a playing card, the ace of spades. She is walking on a path.

Cut

The woman is still holding the card in her hand, with her back to the camera

Cut

She raises the card to her chest; the front of her body is on the camera

Cut

A shot is taken from the back of her head; she is looking to the card

Point of view shot

The ace of spades card is in her hands

Cut

Close up

She is now facing away from the camera; her hair is long and full of flowers

Long take

The girl walks away with her hair dancing in the breeze, petals float to the ground and create a path of flowers. She drops the ace of spades card, which then floats to the ground along with the petals

Cut

Close up

Long take

The back of the girl’s head is shown

She turns her head to the left and back to the centre

Cut

Zoom out

Cut

Girl is in same positions

Cut

Tracking shot

The girl is standing in the middle of the road, her facial expressions remains calm until towards the end of the shot her expression changes to show she is shocked or scared

Cut

Mid shot

Girl seems to be floating, petals are floating and she is almost dancing

Fade to white

Fade in

Extreme close up

Long take

Man’s eye is closed

Man’s eyes gradually open

Zoom out

Man’s face gradually is revealed

Long take

A shocked expression is written on his face, his hands cover his face and mouth.

Once his hands fall from his face revealing blood on his face and hands  

Cut

Mid shot

Back of man’s head. Background of shot a dress is on the road with petals scattered, a puddle of blood is on the floor where the head would be situated

Mid shot

High angle shot

The dress is lying on the floor wearing rosary beads and smothered in petals

Tilt downwards

This reveals the bottom of the dress

Continues to tilt downwards

Reveals more of the dress, ace of spades is on the floor along with petals

Cut

Wide shot

An angle from the side of the road looking at the dress

Cut

Man is sitting on chair in the middle of the road seen from behind the man. The girl lay where the empty dress once was along with the petals and rosary beads

Transition to black

High angle

The girl body is misshaped and motionless. Her face is out of shot

Transition to black

High angle

Her body is shown from the top of her body and includes her legs, again she lays motionless

Cut

Extreme close up

The shot shows half of her face. Her eyes are tightly closed

Cut

Extreme close up

Face is in same position her eyes suddenly open

Cut

Long take

Time lapse

Her distorted body starts to slowly move and rise from the blood stained road. She rises from the road and starts to walk towards the car where the man remains sitting in the drivers seat. The girl then places her arm into the car and takes a key.

Cut

Point of view shot

Her hand is shown hold a key

Cut

Close up

Girls face. Tongue is stuck out the key is then placed on her tongue. Her tongue along with the key retract back into her mouth

Cut

Wide shot

Long take

The girl is standing in the middle of the road

Wide shot

An empty road

Cut

Wide shot

A basket appears in the middle of the road

Cut

Long take

Man gets out of car, stands and looks for the girl with a confused expression. Brakes down and falls to the floor.

Fade to black

Man in the church kneeling on the floor

Camera moves forward and backwards track and dolly

Flickers between two shots

Man kneeling, man kneeling with blood on the back of his shirt

Mid shot

Long take

Girl walks towards camera, kneels down to pick the basket up and reappears into the shot

Cut

Long shot

Girl walks into shot, a candle is not lit and in the middle of the road

Cut

Extreme close up

The girls face fills the shot; the candle is directly under her nose

The girl exhales smoke falls to the candle

The candle is now lit

Cut

Mid shot

The girl puts the lit candle in her basket

Cut

The girl picks the apple from a tree

Cut

Mid shot

The girl then bites into the apple

Long shot

After she has bit the apple, her lips have bright red lipstick on them

The girl puts the apple into her basket   

Cut

Time lapse

Man is in forest crawling, two doctor walk beside the man

Cut

Long shot

Girl walks over to tree, finds a box covered with leaves. She moves the leaves of the box and opens. Inside the box a heart is revealed with the key she swallowed on the heart. She picks up the heart cautiously, looks at it and puts in her basket.

Cut

The man is lying down on the floor of the forest. Dead petals and leaves are falling on the man

Cut

Time lapse

Girl walking dreamily

Cut

Man is lying on the ground leaves covering his entire body

Girl takes a bunch of flowers off his chest and starts to rip off the petals

Cut

Time lapse

Girl walks away

Fade out

Flash of light extreme

Black screen

Credits 

By Amy Greenaway