British Film Posters

This is a recent British film; Tony London Serial Killer. The use of the blood on the clean white is very striking. We can tell that the main character is the one holding the bloodied hammer; his name is in the film title. The title itself is unglamorous, no allegories, it's very straightforward. The presentation of the poster is unusual. It is landscape, and the title occupies half of the poster. The picture of the Tony himself reflects a lot about his character. He finds the blood and gore quite normal, his nonchalance is unsettling, and his vacant, almost resigned expression on his face suggests this is normal for him.

The Trainspotting poster is an inventive, bold poster. The use of black and white imagery, mixed with the stark orange complements the whole madness of the film. It also introduces the main characters and says a lot about their separate personalities. Each character is depicted in an unceremonious honesty. Begbie has the attitude of a thug, Diane seems like a tough, alienating woman, Sick Boy is dressed smart, but his gun hand suggests he is not that different from the others. Spud has the look of a crazy, eccentric but unstable young man. Renton seems like the only normal one depicted, but judging by his company, he is far from it.

These 2 posters both introduce the characters well, without taking away the need to see them in the film. They also make use of bold colours to catch the eye, without making the whole thing to garish.

Posted by Michael McGroarty

Film Reviews

Film magazines such as Total Film and Empire review hundreds of films a year. They review the Hollywood mainstream to the little known foreign productions. There is a team of reviewers, who although have a personal opinion, aren't too opinionated. They are complex but easy reading. More complex reviews are available at Variety or newspapers like the Guardian or the New York Times. These reviews are more complicated, delving deeper into the dynamics of the film, questioning sub-texts and reacting to the whole film in it's entirety. While these reviews can be alienating to people looking for a linear review, one they can read, understand and comprehend without problem. However, these critics are highly regarded, much like how critics work in the theatre and book industry. I have chosen a film to be reviewed by the NY Times Vincent Canby and by an lesser known critic. The links are posted below.

NY Times Review - http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C06E6D71238F937A25752C1A966948260&scp=3&sq=raging%20bull&st=cse

Posted by Michael McGroarty

Further Ideas

Collectively, we have decided to go down a more innovative route and make it cartoony. Although this is not a finalised idea, it is a definite maybe. Here are some examples of cartoony movie posters. The Vertigo poster is strange in that the perspective is warped, which makes it strangely hard to comprehend. The Life Aquatic poster is a good example of graphiced realism. We can tell who the actors are, as they are essentially visually graphiced versions of themselves. North by Northwest is a bizarre film poster. The use of Cary Grant diving suggests a drmatic tone, but the way the title rolls up and down suggests there may be a comedic element to it. It also uses great colouring. The black and white images contrasts perfectly with the blazing orange.

There are other routes we can go down. The complete black and white film poster. Although these aren't as predominant in the modern era, they can be extremely effective. Take this one for example. The film is called Angel A. The illumination and silhouetted frames of the two people contrasts stylishly and sharply with the misty dread created by the lights in the background. The way the shadows cascade on the ground leading to the title is sublime. Another great example of an all black and white poster is Eraserhead. The way the image is lit highlights the madness in the man's eyes, and his eccentric, bizarre hair is illuminated by the harsh light from behind. This single image is pretty reflective of the strange madness the film inhibits. Any colour would destroy the oddity of the poster.

Posted by Michael McGroarty

Initial Ideas for our Movie Poster

Following the ideas of our film; post-apocalypse, the unknown, darkness, desperation, I feel a relevant image concerning our location made in InDesign or Photoshop would work well. Looking at film posters with our theme, the images are normally quite drained and empty. While this is reflective of films such as The Road (2010), our film has a mystery element I think should be played up. We also need to take into account our film title; Lock In. The poster above has obvious connections with the film title, but ours may not need be so simplistic. We can either lean towards a realistic approach, showing the deprivation post-apocalypse, or we can go in the other direction and play on one thing. Candles, cans, kegs, locked doors etc.

Posted by Michael McGroarty

Movie Poster Research

Making a movie poster is another part of our overall A2 portfolio, so I decided to start researching movie posters in a general way, to see what worked over all genres. One thing that was evident was that the best movie posters were simple ones. Premiere voted Alfred Hitchcock's Anatomy Of A Murder as their number 1 movie poster of all time. The poster design itself is extremely simple. A human body split into the limbs, with the title spread over them. The use of bold colours make the image more striking too.

A convention of many posters is 'floating heads', here evident in Gangs Of New York. Although in this example, it is saved by an inventive skyline on the American flag, films such as Race To Witch Mountain look tired and cliched just from the poster. I feel it is important to veer away from the whole 'floating heads' idea.

Many films use a single image, usually with the main character in it, to convey the emotion of the film through the background, font, stance, facial expression and colouring. A great example of a single image on a poster is Taxi Driver. The lone image of Travis Bickle on the street, a wary, deadly look in his eye perfectly conveys the emotions of loneliness and vigilantism shown in the film. The fact that there is no one else in the background, and the buildings are swathed in dark shadows further emphasise the dark nature of the story.

Specifically concentrating on our genre of film, post apocalyptic film posters do have some common conventions. I have also decided to cross over into dystopian films also, as these films often follow similar lines. A brilliant example of a movie poster is Brazil (1985). The striking image of the figure bursting from the gigantic filing cabinet and spreading their wings is a perfect allegory of the film. The main character, Sam Lowry yearns to break free from the futuristic system that holds his dreams prisoner. Also, the way the poster art depicts the flight of freedom suggests that although he will burst into the light, ultimately, he will fall into oblivion. The poster is a rare example of one symbol summing up a whole film perfectly.

Posted by Michael McGroarty

Filming in the Cellar

Our filming proved difficult considering the camera shots were blurry and the white balance destroyed any kind of colour in the shots. We also had a hard time making 2 worklights look like a single candle light. Obviously this task is impossible, and some of the shots had light in them which was out of place and forced. Also, some of the shots from the storyboard were too hard to pull off. Particularly the shot of James replacing the checkers pieces. It was too difficult to get the board and his head in frame. Also, the lighting during this proved to be too hard a task. We couldn't illuminate his face and the chess board without being able to see the light on the wall behind him. The work lights made our task extremely hard.

We were going to use a chess board, but on arrival, I found out that in fact we had no pieces, so we improvised using bottle tops. They doubled as checkers pieces. We also couldn't fit a table down into the cellar, so again we improvised by using crates stacked on each other. After some re-shuffling, we got a pretty even surface for the checkers board to go on.

Another difficulty was the cramped environment we were shooting in. The room we were shooting in had only 1 entrance, so the lighting could only come from that entrance. This made our use of lighting very limited, as we could only manipulate it in certain ways. Also, the layout of the room meant that we couldn't manoeuvre the camera very well. Often the cramped conditions meant that some shots had to be scrapped completely. Another fault was our shot schedule. There were numerous shots where the camera was situated in the same place, but we chose not to do these shots one after the other. While shooting in sequence means that you definitely know you've got all the shots, it can be very time consuming, so when we film this coming weekend, I will have formulated a shot schedule that will hopefully cut down our shooting time and increase our efficiency.

However, now we are re-shooting with the XM2 camera and redheads with gels, we can light each shot properly. Also we will hopefully not have to contend with blurry shots or a colour draining white balance. Using the red and white gels will hopefully give a homely glow and spread the light evenly. We will also be able to set up the lighting in the room itself, which will make our lighting options wider, hence making our lighting much better.

Posted by Michael McGroarty

Screenshots from filming - Tom & Michael

Although we were unable to get a huge amount of footage, we have got some screen shots to show. These shots show our location whilst fully made up, so it can give a more accurate representation of our location.

Half Term Filming - Thomas Brown

Well, Were back after half term after a stress-filled week of not being able to film due to actors not being able to make dates they originally could, ect. On Sunday we managed to finally get some filming done. We had a late start, planning to start just after 9 and actually beginning more around 10 o clock. We did manage to film some good shots, However complications with lighting and the camera ment that a lot of our footage was unusable. Lighting this was going to be a difficult job, Since it required 100 % lighting with no natural lighting in the cellar, This was not helped by the lack of redheads and the use of worklights, Which proved too bright and we could not use the filter paper. We had to use a makeshift reflector, in order to make the light appropriate. We were also delayed twice by people willing to Use the cellar, Due to them requiring the cellar lighting we could not shoot during this time, this made it very difficult to film sometimes, as we were interrupted mid shot twice.

The plan so far is to re shoot what we can on Saturday, Since we can then hopefully plan ahead more, and due to more filming equipment being around outside of half term hopefully get the XM2 and a Red head light kit with some gels, This should make it a lot easier to manipulate the light to our advantage.

Children Of Men - Trailer - Click here for more home videos

Children of Men is a grim drama set in 2027. The world is in chaos because humans can no longer create offspring. The basic plot revolves around Theo, a reluctant hero, who transports a pregnant young woman to a sanctuary. it is set in London. Immigrants are kept in cages and trains have gridiron protection as they are vandalised by people on the tracks. There are numerous 'terrorist' organisations, although in the future world of the film, these 'terrorist' cells are merely groups who offer radical changes, but the government sees them as a threat. Alfonso Cuaron uses a lot of extended tracking shots to keep the action free-flowing and realistic. One sequence near the end is a battle scene in a ruined city. It is all shot in one take, with the few minutes its occupying travelling hundreds of metres through various battles and deaths.

London is presented as a grimy, grey landscape, colourless and lifeless. The cinematography creates a grey, almost deadening tinge to each shot, adding a sense of depression. The use of Steadicam in violent, shocking situations creates an ultra-realistic feel, which makes the film all the more shocking.

Posted by Michael McGroarty

The Road Trailer

The Road, which came out in 2009, is a post-apocalyptic thriller. After an unknown catastrophe, a father and son try to find civilisation again. This mirrors our own project as our apocalypse is also mysterious. The film uses bleak lighting and colour palette to highlight the apocalypse' destruction. The film also uses an unusual character naming method. Nobody has an actual name, but are referred to as Father, Boy, Old Man etc. This adds to the grim mystery of the film.

Posted by Tom and Michael

Post Apocalyptic Genre

In nearly every post-apocalyptic films, the future world is broken and extremely dangerous. In films such as I Am Legend, Last Man On Earth and The Omega Man, the lone man on Earth plot device is used. Generally, the main character is not alone, and there is a hidden threat that always outnumber and outgun the hero. As it is post-apocalypse, the world is in a massive disarray, with gangs and murderers commonplace in each films 'New World'. New post-apocalyptic films such as The Road or Children of Men use harsh, bleak lighting and colourless worlds to achieve the hopeless despair of the characters. Children of Men is especially convincing with it's use of extended tracking shots and realistic, torn characters who are simultaneously disillusioned, but they also indifferent. They know they can do nothing about it. Their disillusionment turns into indifference.

The modern post-apocalyptic thrillers are generally quite bloody, dirty and grim. After World War Three or some similar nuclear fallout, surviving humans turn to the very depths of their primal nature to survive. It's 'natural selection' under unnatural circumstances. These films have affected our own short film, because we are filing our drama under the post-apocalyptic sub-genre. There are obvious conventions such as the lack of gas, electricity, running water, harsh lighting, hardened characters etc. These are logical differences between the current world and a broken one. The tone of the films are bleak, despairing and hopeless. Lighting, make up and setting are generally the most recognized traits of such films. The settings are destroyed cities, destitute and crippled families. The make up gives a look of unwashed and dirtied faces and clothes, which are complemented by the low-key lighting, and drained colours.

Use of lighting and colour will be key in our project, as we are aiming for the de-saturated palette of colours. If we light it poorly, the shadows will create no effect in highlighting characters feelings and the overall emotion of the film. Although we can de-saturate the colours during editing, we must do half the job during filming. We must also make our actors look like they've been in a cellar for a few weeks. They can't have a washed, clean shaven appearance. Their clothes must be dishevelled, dirty, their attitude; depressing and honest.

Posted by Michael McGroarty

Shot Inspirations for our Storyboard

There were numerous shots while I was storyboarding that were inspired by films I've watched. One shot in particular was the shot where James has pushed aside the chess board, and is leaning on the wall facing away from Johanne. Recently I have watched Elia Kazan's 1955 film East of Eden, which starred James Dean. This was James Dean's first feature film major role, and he captured the pent up angst of his character brilliantly. One shot in particular he is talking with a judge, and is acting unhelpful and short with the judge whom is questioning him. He is hugging a telephone unit, and mumbling. My shot has the characters in the same positions, but from a different angle. You can see James' facial expression in close up, and see Johanne's reaction through her body language.

Another shot which I took inspiration from was Fight Club. The shot sequence in particular is when narrator is going to his support groups for illnesses he doesn't have. During one part, there are shots of coffee, doughnuts, papers and other items associated with these groups. I took inspiration from this and made up the first few shots. They are of the beans, from different shot lengths. It's designed to show the scale of the beans, that they have a lot of them.

For the voiceover of Lucy, I decided on having a slow zoom in to her face, to show it's her thoughts. I took inspiration from the David Lean classic Brief Encounter, where the audience can hear Laura's thoughts, while she occupies the screen. The whole voiceover is spread over 2 shots, the first one being of Lucy, and the second one being of James and Johanne. This means the audience is not confused about the source of the voiceover, and is also not puzzled about who she is talking about.

For the shot where James goes to the store room, he is lit from behind, and as he is shot from the front, he is swathed in shadows. I took inspiration from this shot from the graphic novel Watchmen, where Rorsasch has found the badge with blood on it, the streetlights create a murky, noirish atmosphere.

A further shot I took inspiration from was Equilibrium. During an interrogation scene, there is an overhead shot of Christian Bale's character and Emily Watson's character. Although in ours the characters are in different situations, the overall situation is the same. I feel it works well with James with his head on the desk and Johanne's arms outstretched, comforting him.

Posted by Michael McGroarty

Conversation piece funding

This short film ( ) was commissioned by the BBC for their new drama shorts collection. It was produced by Enrico Tessarin and Junior Quartey. It was premiered at the brief encounters festival in bristol. Shot in either on location or in a studio set.

The film was marketed through fliers / postcards handed out on streets and at cinemas, They kept with the Album sleeve idea of vinyl in order to keep their designs consistent.

Refined Script

The main focus of the script is on the disappearance of the Dad. The mum is trying to keep faith, whereas her son is being defeatist about it. The mother is called Johanne, the son, James, and the daughter, Lucy.

James: (head in hands) 4 days now. We have no idea what's out there -
Johanne: Please don't... (sighs) please don't start again.
J: He said he was just gonna see what was outside, then he was coming -
JH: Straight back! I heard just as well as you did James!
J: So where the hell is he then? He's not gonna endanger his own life for nothing, we both know -
JH: You don't know what happened to him! He could've found survivors, he could be coming back right now, he -
J: (he sweeps away the chess pieces from the board in anger – and walks away, facing away from Johanne) I just want to know where he is…

JH: (quietly) James… (slightly louder) James..?

J: Yes...

JH: He’s coming back James, he’s coming back. You know what he’s like...impulsive...there must be other people out their, survivors... (pauses for a few seconds) anyone...

J: Yeah...he... (slumps) (softly) yeah...

JH: Come and sit down...

J: (distant) Yeah. (turns around, sees chess pieces on the floor, begins clearing them up, he looks under the table and sees Lucy, he walks over to her)

J: (crouches in front of her) (conversation can’t be heard, POV of Johanne, he returns to the table)

JH: Here... (helps James set up the board)

J: Listen... Mum... I'm really sorry.

JH: You don’t need to be sorry, we’re as worried as you are, but just try to keep strong...for Lucy.

J: (nods, and they both look at her) Yeah... we can’t let her worry; it’d be too much for her.

JH: (after a few seconds) Beans?

J: Sure, I’ll just... (gets up and walks to the cupboard)

JH: (upon seeing James) Can openers on the side there.

J: Thanks (picks up the can opener, starts to open it, the can opener doesn't work, he exhales deeply) This...doesn't (slumps and tries again) why is everything... (gets climactically louder) it just (throws can on the ground furiously)

Lucy provides a retrospective narrative. It is over the top of the argument, although both can be heard.

Lucy: For a lot of the time after Dad left, this thing happened a lot. Of course Dad never came back to us... I guess I didn't really understand at the time, the grief, the uncertainty, I was too young to realize the confusion. For me, my world was now a dingy cellar, not exactly the kind of fantasy you read about in books. I had no idea what was going on above the cellar door, a young child’s imagination can run wild though. The idea of a sudden vacation to the cellar was a strange one, it had never settled right in my mind, but I never questioned it. I couldn't help my naivety; I was young, smart for my age, but the world was still a giant riddle my mind couldn't then comprehend. For weeks we sat in the cellar, our hideaway, our little slice of life. I never complained about the dust, cobwebs, arguments. They became their own rhythm, their own routine. Sure I missed my friends, good food, and a comfortable bed, but I trusted my parents. Like they always said - they had my best interests at heart. My parents were my life - and if I knew where my Dad's footsteps ever went, I surely would have followed. Confinement can eat away at a person, and for my Dad, his makeshift prison was as close to hell on earth as he could get. And so one day, he persuaded my Mum that venturing outside was the best thing to do. It wasn’t easy. He had convinced himself that a walk beyond the cellar would help us, that he would find help and bring it back. Although he never came back through those doors, I like to think it’s because he was courageous enough to go out and find whatever he could, even if it meant his life was the penalty. A caged animal always claws at its bars, and sometimes its eventual freedom makes everything else pale into comparison. He said he missed the bite of the wind, the soft glow of the Sun, the satisfying feel of the rain. No one could have convinced my dad not to leave; it’s one of life’s injustices you can’t change. He wasn’t selfish, far from it, he just needed that final breath on the outside, and the more I think about it, the more I think he knew he wasn’t coming back. His final words were not of a man absolute in his future, but of a man confined to his own fate. They say peoples eyes are the windows to their souls, and if this is true, then there was never a more distressed and broken soul as my dad’s. He didn’t cry, but his eyes betrayed him. If I wasn’t so young, my heart would have been broken the moment I saw the hatch shut.

The last bit of the film is a radio broadcast, a staple of the disaster film.

Radio Message (looped): If you can hear this, you are not alone. Do not go outside (static) Armed forces are attempting rescue of survivors. I repeat, Armed forces are attempting Rescue of survivors, Sit tight. (Static)

Posted by Michael McGroarty

Group Colours

Top distinguish our separate work, Tom and I will write in 2 separate colours. Tom will write in BLUE letters, and I will write in BLACK letters.

Posted by Michael McGroarty