Shank - Poster Analysis

 

This film poster consists of genre related colours such as red and black which reinforce the film’s bloody content and urban nature.
This poster features all six main characters pictured in a running motion with countless hooded youth behind them. This snapshot could have been staged in this way to show the existent hostility which is present amongst the youth in London and how this can escalate in the near feature (supposedly 2015 a mere 4 years away) if the government who are negatively portrayed do not act now. These characters may have been placed here so the audience can feel intimacy towards them and familiarise with them once they watch the film. The mise en scene  of their costume  is important as it suggests urban youth. They are wearing jeans, baseball caps and sportswear.  One of the youths is holding a pit-bull dog which is now iconic to urban youths.  They are a mixture of races which is typical to an urban area and appeals to a mixture of audiences. The poster itself has the title across the top in bold red writing which suggests violence and blood and is a one word title and is a slang word for a sharp object usually a knife.  It has a black banner with a slogan at the top.  Under this it has a four star rating at the top and a quote from an urban magazine.  It has another black banner at the bottom which contains a date and a website. Overall, this is an effective poster for an urban film in that it attracts a wide target audience by using a variety of ethnicity's and by using both male and female protagonists.  It adheres to the conventions of poster layout. We will use the conventions of violent contrasting colours of black, white and red when we create our own poster  and make sure that our mise en scene is carefully thought out to reflect the reality of urban life.

Attack The Block - Poster Analysis

The dominant use of the saturated colour of blue in this poster gives the piece a rather mystical tone, which in turn, reflects the urban sci-fi genre of the film. The lack of colour ultimately depicts the cold plot that this film adopts, which is depicted through the alien images behind the teenagers in the poster. The characters are standing close to each other; however fear can be clearly seen on each face of the teenagers, again, reflecting the cold genre of the film. The characters are situated in the centre of the poster, standing above the initial title of the film. This can signify the important role of the characters in advancing the films plot.

The poster is composed in a rather unusual way, as although the characters are standing above the title- ‘Attack the Block’, the title remains the dominant and therefore bold feature in the piece. The general attitude of the standing characters arguably intertwines with the words ‘attack’ and ‘block’, since the characters are from South London. This can be seen as a stereotype reflecting the ‘ghetto’ areas in London, which is together seen in the urban clothing the characters portray. Additionally, the apparent view of weapons not only adds to the stereotypical view of the characters from South London, but also allows the viewers to identify with the action and therefore, rather potentially violent genre of the film.

The fixed image of the leading characters in the poster draws the viewer’s attention away from the background city of Central London, (as apparent by the Gerkin), and thus, makes their image solid and dominant. This inferiority of Central London is aided by the only red text of the poster ‘Inner city’, which again, helps in keeping the strong idea of brand identity- South London with the film.

The unity of the characters conveys the target audience of the film- young and urban teenagers. As well as this, the cold colour of blue intertwines with the dark clothing the characters are wearing, suggesting the challenge of aliens they each face in advancing the plot.

Ultimately, I think the poster is well promoted in reflecting the general genre of the film, allowing the viewers to acknowledge the alien force that the leading characters have to overcome and challenge. The composition of the poster, in my view, is the most innovative feature of the poster, since this allows the viewers to directly acknowledge what the film contains.

Bullet Boy - Poster Analysis

The ‘Bullet Boy’ film poster makes an exceptional and widespread use of contrasting a striking image of a close up of the main male protagonist (Ashley Walters). The actor’s brain area is edited in a way to fade in the image of the two other main protagonists, which was used to cover most of the space in the poster, this could have been used to attract the audience’s attention directly to image; which suggests what is happening in the mind and the life of the main protagonist which is that violence is happening in the lives of very young people.

The main image of the poster is blended with a scene from the movie, which is highlighted red; this could have been to centre the focus on the movie, giving audiences an insight on what occurs movie.  The mise-en-scene is also very important as the iconography shows a gun; which elaborates the name of the movie.

The background of the image is a lightly washed blue that overshadows the head of the actor, while the edges of the image is blurred, this was used to allow the text of the poster to stand out, the white font played a extra role in doing so, attracting attention directly.

There is a tag line and the main actor’s name above the film title and the director’s name and the credit block and three pull quotes from reviews in a white font which contrasts with the black face of the actor and the red of the images which suggest violence.

While analysing the poster, I have noticed that the tag-line for the movie ‘You only get one shot at life’ deeply symbolises the whole term of ‘Bullet Boy’ this is due to the imagine of the two male protagonists holding a gun, which makes audiences suggest that the firearm plays a key role in the success of this movie, making it widely intrigue.

From this poster, I have learnt that contrasting colours of black, red and white are effective to suggest violence in an urban short film and that shocking iconography is also effective.  There were also guns in many other urban film posters that we looked at.

There isn’t really any brand identity with the movie, as it’s the first instalment to a new range of urban thrillers, however the poster really makes the movie a seem a reasonable, even though it’s based on a firearm, it allows audiences to reselect their opinions on urban activities related to guns and gang culture. this relates to our synopsis as we kill use violence and weapons.

LoveField - Short Film Analysis

The first thing shown on screen is the production logo which consists of a surrounding glow, this may reflect its great significance and remind the audience who the credit for this film should be awarded to.As well as this the glow may also be related to the logos star which insinuates their productions are out of this world or guide viewers (as stars do).When this is happening a loud space like sound is given off simultaniously followed by three slow piano notes.Following this is a extreme long shot which establishes the location , a deserted field and the films title is portrayed boldly in white. The area's deserted nature is not only shown visually by the limitless fields of weat in the primary shot but also by sounds such as a strong wind and that of an open mobile phone beeping (which connotes that someone tried to call for help but failed due to a lack of signal) .Even before this however it is clarified by the sign which reads 'HEDREN HILL COUNTY/ BISHOPSVILLE 13' informing us that the closest civilisation 'BISHOPSVILLE' is 13 miles away. Following this is a close up of a crow , a creature commonly assosiated with death and deserted lands that elevates the films sinister mood. The crow is also making a sound as if it is trying to call help or panicking. Close ups are used to show both the phone and an open bag with money scattered on the ground implying that some sort of resistance went on or overpowerment. At this moment in time a women is heard screaming painfully and a close up of her hand grabbing the wheat is shown. The camera then moves diagonally maintaining a close-up shot  and passes some female under wear which was once white but has now turned red due to blood. the next thing to enter the screen is the womens foot which is clenching and is also covered in blood, as it slowely stops moving and the music is similarly carmed a sharp loud noise is heard and a male hand stabs the ground aggresvily with a knife. This shocks the viewer and makes us reaffirm our initial ideas of a rape occuring. The male's blood covered hand and tattooed arm are next shown in a tracking motion . Two of the tattoos on his arm are made clear , that of a heart and another of a skull. The skull may suggest he is a pirate like outlaw, a murderer or a racist who has admiration for the ss. The heart although it usually has positive connotations may in this case (due to what judgements the audience has made already) insinuate that he is a rapist or that he needs love and will go to any length to get it. Following this the male characters appearence is divulged , he is a stereotypical killer somthing of resemblence to the chainsaw massacre protagonist and his custome (that of a farmer also confroms with these conventions). After this the crow is heard cawwing and this diverts the protagonists attention from his 'victim' causing him to run out of the field at a panicky speed looking down the road maybe frightened the crow will fly to alert someone.At this time fast pace music creates a rise in tension as he reaches a car (supposidely his) to find something to cover the body with...or so we think. In fact he is going into the womens car to find a blanket with which to hold the baby with. Although not noticed at first , the cars real possesor is revealed discretly when he opens the boot ; he uses the wrong key on his first attempt which is seemingly done out of panic. It is fully revealed at the end when an establishing shot unveils the tractor on the field which we now acknowledge belongs to the farmer.After failing to find a blanket and instead retreiving a black plastic bag (commonly used in homosides to transport bodies) which reinforces his intention to expose of the evidence. As he runs back and an a climax is reached his movement then slows down and suddenly the atmosphere is transformed as the screen brighens up and a babies cry is heard. This comes across as a pleasent shock to the audience and gives us a sense of satisfaction and relief. The music and use of color's synergy creates a unawaited and impressive twist.

The way in which this short film inspired us was through its dramatic twist and use of saturation to create an atmosphere they wished the audience to feel. Another element we chose to enhance within our film was the use of sound and how the diagetic movement of objects creates suspense such as the wooden sign. This we though we could do through the squeking sound of a swing moving forward and back due to wind.The use of tattoos is also somthing we wish to include and as was the crow. Instead of a crow however we decided to use a more common creature found in the urban enviroment ; a pigeon. A bird frowned upon (like many youth today) and assosiated with the negativity of disease. Also a peasent like creature which also reflects poverty.

Strangers - Short Film Analysis

In this short film there are two males of different ethnicities and religions (one supposedly an Arab Muslim and the other an Israeli Jew) which at first creates tension between them but later they are forced to unite because of a larger oppressive force; a group of white racists . Because they share this common enemy they also share a common struggle and this destructs the stereotypical views they have of one another. This scene occurs on a train, which reflects the journey of change both characters have experienced in the short sequence. Conventional conflicts and stereotypical views are therefore subverted in this film. One shot which is used effectively to divulge the Israeli characters religious beliefs is the close up of his pendant (the Star of David). This not only shows the Arab character which religion the person believes in but also simplifies what is happening to the audience and why there is tension between the characters. The second shot close to the end is a long shot taken from in-between the train tracks which places each character on one side. This is effective because it shows the audience how they are now equal in status unlike at the beginning; this is also further reinforced by a simultaneous matching eye line effect which also portrays that both characters are of equal status.The Star of David pendant helps to unveil the character’s roles in the scene and where he is from. This also creates immediate tension both between the characters and in the audience as the conflict between Arabs and Israelis is a world affair and is globally acknowledged or heard of. An additional prop which is used effectively to show the change in perspective both characters experience are the bags i.e. how one’s view of the other has changed is symbolised by this prop, one is left with the other’s bag so therefore it is like stepping into the other characters shoes in a sense. Throughout the sequence there is an absence of music and non diegetic sound. This may have been done to show the realism of the situation and that this occurs in real life and it is not just necessarily a fictional event. From this short film we experienced first hand the effect/influence a film can have on the audience. Now we understand that a film can have morals behind it and even be a lesson for the audience to take away once they depart from their cinema seats and this be something we will consider to include in our film.

'The Return' Short Film Analysis

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The film begins with the production logo which helps the audience familiarise with who has created this film and give due credit to those who have .The primary shot is a medium long shot of the protagonist walking alongside an empty road as if he has been abandoned or is hitch hiking in search of a new life. At this moment in time a desaturated effect is maintained which insinuates the character is disheartened and feeling down for a reason not yet known to the audience. After this a close up panning shot of the protagonists feet are shown as he walks towards us suggesting he is on a journey or he now stands on his own two feet. A close up divulges his facial expression which seem to express feelings of sorrow and remorse. Throughout this whole time non diegetic piano is heard playing which reinforces the sorrow within the production and allows us to sympathise with the character though we still are not aware of what he has done.  Diegetic sound and dialogue is used minimally through out , this may have been done to elevate the films realness and to make it heart felt but it has also been done to ease the audiences understanding of what is occurring. Flash backs are used effectively and frequently to unveil this and to allow the audience to acknowledge that he was on a journey of redemption in which he seeks to be forgiven by the boy who’s mother he accidently ran over while being distracted by the handset. The film is effective not only because of its timing of events but it also emits a positive message; that forgiveness helps people live and is something we should all look to do .The film ends with a shot of the characters smile connoting he feels relieved to have had this burden which clearly affected him throughout the production dropped of his shoulders. 

Evaluation of previous years magazine review

This is one of the previous years magazine reviews that our group chose to analysis and take any good notes to give us an insight of what ours would be like as this was the group that recieved top marks in their blogs and magazine.
To begin with, the layout of the film is very clear and easy to read in terms of the font used. they use the same colours throught the magazine to keep the brand identity throughout their media work. Our group decided that this magazine was one of the best and wanted to incorporate the same thing in our magazine revew as a group. The colors and orbes we see scattered around the page make this magazine review coherant to their brand identity as these colors and illuminated orbes are also frequent in their blog and the film. The main image invades the page and shows one of the key shots in the film which intrigues the sci-fi audience and arouses curiousity and excitement. Aswell as this it also shows off their ability and gives the audience a sneak preview of what they have to offer. The font is a strong white which is  against a contrasting black , this makes it easy to read . The font also contains a sci-fi glow which also reinforces the genre and keeps the target audience hooked in. At the bottom right a verdict has been made, this is vital to informing the audience about the film and how good it is.

'Salt' Magazine Review

The two page film magazine review on SALT fulfils its purpose of informing the people about the film and highlighting the productions selling points and intriguing the readers into watching it. The first thing which catches the eye immediately is the colossal image of Angelina Jolie in action invading the two pages. This was done purposely because of Angelina jolie’s renowned reputation and immediately raises awareness and interest for the film; some readers may even go and watch the film just because they are fans of Angelina Jolie. This is a form of celebrity endorsement however it is more effective in this case because the celebrity Angelina Jolie is part of the production and the actual protagonist in the film. Another smaller image to the left shows her two co-characters (Liev shriber and Chiwetel ejiofor) that are also globally recognised as successful actors and raise awareness for the film in a similar way. This has purposely been done to highlight the influential and extraordinary cast within the film and this is also an appealing factor to readers. Another unique element of this magazine review which stood out was the statement in which contempary action films are used; ‘Bourne ultimatum meets no way out’ to emphasise this film’s elite and action packed storyline. The word SALT is in bold capital letters and thus reminds the reader of the films name, this name is also memorable due to its length and peoples familiarity with it (everyone is aware of the word salt unlike a film name such as ‘the matrix’). On the left of this is a yellow strip of colour which brings our attention to some essential information such as the release date, the certificate, the director, the duration of the film and the plot. These are all important aspects of any production and USP’s (unique selling points) which encourage the reader to go view the film because they now know more about it. If for instance the plot sounds action packed and the film is a decent length then people will look to go view it in their spare time whereas if the film is too long they may not have time to or if it is too short they may not feel they are getting enough for their money. At the top there are a range of star ratings from 1-5 which reflect what the magazine thought about the film overall. This particular film received a 5 star ‘UNMISSABLE’ rating, the stars are coloured in an eye catchy strong red and this unmissable suggests to the reader it cannot be missed. Finally the title ‘spoiler alert’ to the top left suggests the readers are privileged to have read this review and that they are being given a gift of information about the film. All in all this magazine review is very effective in the way it endorses the film , this is achieved through the large images of famous actors , the film rating as well as the actual content of the review which gives us a privileged insight. With this being said I think the colours (blue and yellow) lacked relevance and did not reflect the films serious action/thriller genre. This may have been done however to keep the empire magazine reviews coherent so people familiarise with them rather than the film so it is understandable.