Thursday, 16 December 2010
Research- Costume
I wanted to look at different costume designers of films that were related to our action film genre. The first designer I researched into was Louis Mingenbach. She was a costume designer for many famous films including 'The Hangover' and 'X-Men'. But the main reason that I researched into her was because she was the costume designer for the film 'Starsky and Hutch', which was a film we had looked at for inspiration. Through looking at her style, I could get my own ideas on how to base my costume ideas. She is very maticulous and careful, but very sure in her approach to designing costumes, as is shown in this interview about how she designed the costumes for the famous film, Superman:
http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=interview-louise
Even though this wasn't a film that was in our genre and focus, I could look at what she does in order to design and choose the costumes for such an iconic and particular kind of film, with costumes being quite extravagent and individual, which is what I want for my film trailer.
Another costume designer I researched was Rosie Hackett, who designed the costume for a very famous television programme 'Ashes to Ashes'. She was relatively inexperienced at this stage of her career when given this role, which gave me inspiration as she was thrown in at the deep end and given a tough job of developing these characters through their costumes, but in a very awkward and specialist era, such as the 1980s. Her experience of this role and how she created these costumes can be found here:
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2008/03/14/dressing-up-the-ashes-to-ashes-cops-65233-20624024/
Through this research, I have a definitive idea of what costumes will work well within this genre, storyline and era. I will now develop these costumes and distribute my ideas to each character in order for them to purchase their costumes for the trailer ready for filming. Although I may have not followed these practitioners directly, they have greatly influenced my decisions and helped to develop my knowledge on the process of designing costumes.
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Filming Locations
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Character Profiles
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
All Characters
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Mike Leigh-Research Post
This a clip from the film that we have researched before from Mike Leigh, Life is Sweet:
I think that his style would work well with what we are trying to create as the action genre traditionally is more actions than words, and we feel that the improvising of the scenes in the trailer would work best.
Friday, 26 November 2010
Questionnaire Results
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Questionnaire Construction

Sunday, 31 October 2010
Film Magazine Deconstruction

I have chosen the magazine of 'Empire' to deconstruct because it is similiar to the genre of magazine that we plan to create (action) and it I have taken a lot of inspiration from it because of the quality and quantity that has been incorporated in it to make it a successful cover and persuade people to find out more about 'Watchmen'.
The whole of the magazine cover is aimed at trying to make the viewers read on and find out more about the films and watch them when they are released. The title may seem like it is just to introduce the magazine, but if made correctly, can have a lot of significance towards attracting the audience. For this magazine, the title is very big, bold and bright which attracts the audience straight away. It relates to the picture and the rest of the page well because the colour represents danger and action which is also what the picture shows. It also mixes well with the colour of the sub-titles as it is so much stronger and brighter than them so it stands out more and that representation of danger is important to get across straight away to the audience. The mixture of the two subtitles also helps when the red mixes with the red over the 'm' of 'watchmen' to represent blood which makes the audience know what kind of film it is.
As it is a magazine, pictures are always a main part of one to draw the reader in. As it is an action film, the characters are made to look very dangerous and scary in order to make the audience want to find out more about them. If the characters did not have the outfits that they had on, the audience wouldn't find it as interesting as they are not extreme or different in any way and they wouldn't want to know why they are dressed as that.
At the top of the magazine, there is a caption that reads 'The Year's Most Essential Exclusive!'. This is a big feature of a magazine cover as it makes the reader want to find out why it is so good. Even if it is over-hyping the particular subject, it makes the reader think this is an extremely good magazine and that this magazine has the biggest and best features in it.
At the bottom of the cover, there is a small section of films recently out as well as the main film shown. This is an effective part of a cover as it gives an idea of other information inside the main magazine and the reader will want to know of other films apart from the one broadcast mainly on the front cover.
All throughout the magazine, a range of different colours is used. This is used very well as it catches the audiences attention straight away. The audience will want to look at all different parts of the magazine and are not drawn to one particular part of it which is what they wanted to achieve. If the magazine was bland, a lot of people would automatically not want to read it. The colours also relate to the action film genre as it is exciting and action-filled.
This magazine cover has had a huge influence on me as I have learnt a lot about what needs to be included in order to create a successful magazine cover. Through what I and the rest of my group have learned from their individual deconstructions, I am very confident of creating a creative and enticing magazine.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Group Magazine Deconstruction
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Poster Deconstruction

Beverly Hills Cop
I have decided to deconstruct a poster of ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ which was a film directed my Martin Brest and included famous actor Eddie Murphy. It was a famous police comedy in the 1980s and I chose this on the basis of what we wanted to base our action trailer on and the era we wanted to do.
His character in this is a reformed criminal who is a successful police detective for Detroit. This attitude of his is shown in the poster with him in a relaxed stance on the bonnet of the car. This explains a lot about his character to the audience and they want to find out more about him and why he is holding a gun. He looks really relaxed and has casual clothing which isn’t usual for a police officer. The audience therefore get the perception of him not being a model officer and something of a character. The audience will want to know why he is so casual, what happened in the past and what he is going to do. His facial expression is cleverly used as it lures the audience to find out more about him. The way in which he raises his eyebrows shows that he is confident,
There are also an abundance of cars surrounding him which excite the audience because of their high cost and quality for that era. This tells the audience that cars will be a big part of the film and car-lovers are immediately drawn to this film. The cars are also very bright and attract the audience's attention as soon as you look at the poster.
There is also a caption on top of the main picture which leaves the audience wondering more about the film and wanting to watch it to discover what it means. "He's been chased, thrown through a window and arrested. Eddie Murphy is a Detroit cop on vacation in Beverly Hils". The word 'vacation' adds a lot to the poster because it adds to the excitement of it. The audience will think that the film will be an exciting journey and have an upbeat atmosphere along with a lot of action when it is said that he has been chased, thrown through a window and arrested.
An effect used in the poster is that Eddie Murphy has his foot on top of the 'Hills' part of the title. This gives off the impression of a dominant character who is 'stamping down' on crime in Beverly Hills. The audience will want to know what he is planning to do in Beverly Hills and if he succeeds in his mission.
The poster has very distinctly mainly used the mix of black, white and red. The idea of using red gives the idea of danger which is an effective connotation, especially for the word 'cop' in the title. The way in which he is sat on top of the car gives a connotation of confidence and relaxation, but with his foot on top of the sign, it also shows the dominance and the colours therefore affect the atmosphere of the poster.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Film Trailer Deconstruction
This trailer emphasises clearly what is needed in a trailer of a horror film and how to persuade the people who are interested in films of this nature to watch the whole movie.
During the start of the trailer, there is a background voice immediately giving a warning to the audience about what had already happened at the the lake "Did you know a young boy drowned here? He was my son...and today, is his birthday". This immediately leaves the audience in suspense, until the loud sound of the truck strikes the audience out of their slumber.
It then continues with different angles of different locations which could give clues about where the main action of the movie is going to take place. The shots then fade which indicates a peaceful opening. This is a good tactic for a start of a horror film because the audience will not know when something will spring out and surprise them.
There are then a series of mid-shots which show some of the characters in the car on the way to their location. It shows a relaxed attitude from the characters and they have no idea of what is going to happen to them in the future, unlike the audience who are keenly and patiently waiting for when the change of emotion and reaction would eventually happen.
After the woman on the board falls off her board when being pulled by the boat, there is a huge pause with a black screen for about three seconds which immediately symbolises to the audience that something is wrong and that this is where the trailer shows the start of the 'horror' element. The music up to this point symbolises peace and enjoyment. As soon as the woman falls off the board, the music grinds to a halt and the audience immediately sit up and take notice of this. The low angle shot of the woman in the water is extremely effective because the camera looks like something is in the water and because of the sudden stop of background music, the audience will find this quite mysterious. There is a lot of low key beats after this point which puts the audience on the edge of their seat, which is where they see the man on the side of the lake, which the audience will know is one of the 'badder characters' by the character's expression of 'oh my god!'. For the rest of the trailer, they mostly use sound effects to create tension and fear for the watching audience.
After this sudden hairrasing moment, the trailer continues by going more in-depth and explaining to the audience what just happened. The characters go around after the woman is reported missing and are told that she is dead. After this, there is another big pause. These moments symbolise the most important and key moments in the film trailer and they are supposed to affect the audience.
The trailer hasn't really properly exploded into life until after the pause, where it shows people screaming which is definitely the catalyst for the main sections of horror throughout the film. There are then a lot of successive close-up angle shots which are effective expecially from now on because the characters are now showing that they are scared and afraid of what is going on around them. The pace of the trailer suddendly picks up as well after this point with an average of two seconds per shot and this builds up the tension as well as the music's pitch going higher and higher with the audience getting more on the edge of their seats and waiting for the moment that something is going to suddendly break out and scare them. The moment that this happens is when one of the characters opens a curtain and the bad character is seen lurking behind her. After this, they use sound effects and the character's voices to create the tension and fear. They then use the title in a very offensive way to help to capture strong emotion out of the characters. For every number, something terrifying happens and the use of special effects with the numbers helped to bring an extra dimension. The pace of it then increases even further with pictures and actions that jump out of the screen one after another until the very end where the screams and shouting suddendly comes to an abrupt halt. The line that was said at the start is then repeated at the end as the narrator says '"Did you know a young boy drowned here? He was my son...and today, is his birthday".
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Starsky and Hutch Group Deconstruction
For our group deconstruction we chose the starsky and hutch 2004 remake. We chose this film because it is an action film and includes some themes and ideas we may include in our trailer.
In the beginning of the trailer we see the green notification message. This shows the audience that the film will be appropriate for all ages.
The trailer opens on an establishing shot of the Bay City police station. This shows the audience the genre of the film before they even know the title. The scene then takes the audience inside the building to the office of one of the senior officers, two people come in, they are not wearing official uniforms so the audience can tell that they are either part of a separate unit e.g. detectives or that they are criminals however the way in which they come in with smiling jokey looks tells the audience that they are not criminals. This helps to set a time for the film as now all police have to wear uniforms.
They sit down and start talking. One of the two men asks the other to touch his hair. This tells the audience that they are friends and makes them think they are partners. The senior officer talks to them with a sharp tone and the two other men stop playing about and sit up straight. The Warner brother’s logo then zooms in in many different boxes which then merge into one. This helps with the setting and time of the film as this is typical of films of this genre from the 1970's.
This effect is used again in the next shot where the audience can see an old red ford gran Torino; this is an iconic image of the early 70's TV show of starsky and hutch. The car is shown from different angles doing different stunts; this is symbolic of a police car chase. The dimension films logo then swings on in front of a black background, this swing effect mirrors the car as it swings around into a U-turn. This is followed by a short clip of starsky and hutch chasing down a street on foot this is also shot with the same multi screen shot towards the end of the clip. This is followed by another quick shot of the car followed by a shot of starsky showing some karate down an empty corridor, this helps determine the genre of the film.
The scene then changes to a shot of an interrogation room with starsky throwing a chair at a wall and then pulling a cigarette out of the suspect’s mouth and crushing it in his hands. This shows the audience the film is set in the time when police violence was allowed.
This is followed by a scene with both starsky and hutch outside starsky seems to be getting worked up and angry whereas hutch seems calmer. This tells the audience tat the two characters are very different. It also helps to create an idea of the relationship between the two of them.
The next shot is of hutch in a strip club. This helps the audience to get a better understanding of his character.
This scene quickly changes to them in the office. Whilst starsky is typing up his paperwork hutch is talking to him. This shows hutch as being less responsible and as not doing his paperwork.
This is followed by a couple of shots of starsky running on a rooftop and jumping off, landing on another rooftop and rolling along it. This is followed by a short close up shot of the police captain who tells them they deserve each other in a sarcastic, mocking tone. This shows the audience that the captain does not like them very much.
This is followed by a clip of the famous car crashing out of a wooden fence and zooming down the street, sliding round and stopping just next to hutch, which still seems calm. This tells the audience about both characters.
This is followed by a slow motion scene of starsky and hutch walking away from the car towards the camera. This is quickly followed by the appearance of a man walking through a purple bead curtain. The audience who have previously seen starsky and hutch will automatically recognise him as huggy bear by the clothes he is wearing. The members of the audience who do not recognise him may think he is the main antagonist due to the way he walks in and the low camera angle. This view will be changed by the sight of hutch hugging huggy.
The scene then changes again to the main antagonist sitting in a deck chair, the large sunglasses and odd moustache will identify this to the audience.
The next shot is of money in a suitcase being opened the shot is taken as a point of view shot but it is unclear as to whose view this is. This shot helps the audience to identify the plot of the movie.
This is quickly followed by another scene of the main antagonist, on a boat, holding a man up on the side of the boat at gun point. He shoots him and we see a panic stricken woman duck to the floor. This shows the audience that he is an evil uncaring man and makes the audience happy to know that he will be brought to justice
This scene fades to black and the next one fades in, starsky and hutch are talking to huggy outside, by their cars. They ask him some questions and he answers them, the scene then changes again to their car flying through the air and the titles of other movies made by the same company slide on to the screen. As the first one hits the car the image behind the red writing changes to sepia.
The next title is already behind the car and the camera has zoomed round to the back of the car as it lands.
The scene then shrinks into the centre of the next one as starsky and hutch are now on motorbikes and are driving together down a dusty highway. Starsky is applying a moustache as they go and they are both disguised as bikers. The scene then quickly changes to a fight in a bar with starsky and hutch taking on all the other people in the bar. This shows the audience that they are both able to fight which may insinuate that their will be a fight later on in the film.
The next shot is of starsky running towards the camera on a street and like with the car titles his name is shown in big red letters telling the audience who the actor is and who the character is. The shot then changes to a group of cheerleaders practicing on a football field, starsky and hutch are their talking. Then the scene changes again to them both in a small kitchen drying dishes and still talking this shows that they are more than partners in the police team and helps the audience to better understand the relationship between them.
The camera flicks to a shot of their girlfriends talking in the other room and then back.
The next shot is of hutch holding his badge up and looking angry as he turns on the spot the red letters then come over his face and state the actors name and the characters name.
The next scene shows both of them sitting in the talking room of a prison holding phones up to talk to a criminal. he comes out wearing a blue shirt with two symmetrical dragons embroided on the back and a hair net on this shows that he is working in the kitchens and he does not have to wear a prison outfit, they talk to him and he makes hutch show hi belly to him this shows the audience that he is a comic character and helps to back up the idea of this film being an action comedy.
The next shot is of huggy bear and the titles slide in telling the audience the actors name and the characters name.
The next scene is huggy dressed as a golfer walking on to the green to play golf with Reece feldman (the main antagonist) the camera then zooms up to a satellite dish on top of a nearby house. The shot then changes to starsky and hutch listening to what huggy and Reece are saying as huggy is bugged. This shows the audience that huggy is good and that starsky and hutch have thought up a plan.
The next scene is of them both driving at night in the car with the cherry on this shows they are going to arrest someone.
This quickly changes to them in a club dancing and then to a close up of hutch laughing. This is followed by starsky crashing through a door and rolling to the ground which is quickly followed by a shot of Reece getting away on his boat. The audience think he has gotten away but then the car is seen to be driving off of an open bridge into the boat.
The title of the film then flashes up behind lots of the clips already seen playing out through different coloured filters behind the words as they spin round.
The next scene is of starsky and hutch dressed as mimes at a party, starsky shoots through a garage door thinking he has just shot into an empty garage. Hutch has Reece in handcuffs and the guests at the part are all running away.
The garage door is then opened to reveal that starsky has actually just shot a horse. This makes the audience see starsky as a bit headstrong, building his character. All the guests look at him and scream as the horse dies; he asks the pony if it is ok and then the titles flick up again. This is followed by the release date in red on a black background to make sure the audience know who this is aimed at. This is followed by a quick flicker of the credits and website for the movie.
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Target Audience
In terms of gender, we are aiming towards the male category because of certain scenes we are aiming to create. Explosions, chases and a strong male presence is to be included in our film trailer and we feel that these elements will respond to a male audience instead of female. The fast pace and suspense that we aim to create will also attract a male orientated audience over a female one.
We imagine our target audience in particular to be between the ages of 14-21. This type of age group is what we feel would enjoy this type of film genre as it action-filled, exciting and tense, which is what this age group through research and questioning, enjoys to see in a film.
Our Target Audience
-Our target audience would enjoy tv and films consisting of: Starsky and Hutch, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes
-Our target audience would be between the ages of 15-25.
- Our target audience would like fast-paced, action-filled films with a gripping storyline.
-Our target audience would enjoy music from both an older era and a modern era as well (80s- now)
-Our target audience would wear very casual clothing and have a typical teenager/young adult look like our example audience member.
This is an image of a person we would consider to be part of our target audience. He aged 17, therefore fitting into the bracket of a teenger, who we are aiming this product at. This is what we based our product on as we are aiming our product at what he wants and what he will enjoy. He is an average teenager and through what he enjoys and likes, the action film genre links to him and we hope when completing our trailer and ancillary texts, that he will enjoy watching and so will others in the same age bracket.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Use of Editing Software
Saturday, 2 October 2010
All scenes for trailer
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Genre Choice for Trailer
We then researched into different action film genres from the 1980s, like Starsky and Hutch to get inspiration for our trailer. We feel that we now know what we need to do to create a successful trailer for this genre and era.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Change of Genre Decision
Friday, 17 September 2010
Start of Project and Brief
. A film magazine front cover, featuring the film
. A poster for the film
We have decided on the group that we will be working with on this product. This will be:
Harry Booth
Robin Hutchinson
Michael Kuhn
Jack Jenkins
We have decided to go with a horror film genre for our trailer because we feel that we can challenge other films in this genre and we all had a lot of ideas on what we could do to create a successful horror film trailer. We will now proceed to deconstructions and research into this genre.








