Thursday, 31 March 2011
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Storyboard and shot list
Shyam Shot List and Storyboard
Sorry about page 5, but scribd edited the format, and I tried to re-upload it but it did not work
Sorry about page 5, but scribd edited the format, and I tried to re-upload it but it did not work
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Film Marketing Research : Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2, a much awaited movie after the well recieved Iron Man, had a lot of exposure in popular media to ensure that it created a hype about the movie and attracted the audience to come and watch it. Over $100 million had been spent on the marketing campaign, which shows that they invested a lot in order to market the movie. There are many different techniques used in their campaign, in order to persuade the audience in various styles.
Poster:
Both these posters have the iconic '2' sign in the Iron Man font, which shows synergy with their campaign, but also with the first movie, which helps it feel like a series. Although these characters were not in the first film, the are kind of enigmatic as it makes the audience think 'who are they?'. Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson are both well-known celebrities so it helps the movie if they use stars that are known to the public as it brings in more fans of these actors. They both also have the release date which informs audiences when it will arrive in cinemas. The both are slightly plain, in order to give mystery to these characters, but also to make it look sinister.
Website
Iron Man 2 Website
The Iron Man 2 website is a very slick and sophisticated website which immerses the audience. As you first enter the website you can see the trailer playing, although some may find this a bit annoying, it is a good technique in order to keep refreshing the audience about the movie and the atmosphere of watching it in a cinema. I like the fact that you can choose which suit you can have as the background, and when you switch from page to page there are buttons on the suit which talk about that part of the suit. The theme and background is very much related to inside the Iron Man suit, which helps create synergy but also give the audience a more involved feel. The website has many things to do on it, for example LG have a link so that you can fly the Iron Man suit in 1st person by using the LG smartphone. The games include the audience, it helps the sponsors gain money from this. Also being able to listen to the soundtrack and look at awesome clips and pics, it makes it more of an enjoyable experience for the audience, encouraging them to see it.
Iron Man 2 google skins
This shows that a connection with google helps the movie, as you can set it as your google theme, which makes it seem pretty cool plus it makes you feel included in the experience.
Trailer
They release an official trailer, and a TV spot as well premiering the trailer at the cinema before other movies, e.g before Sherlock Holmes movie because Robert Downey Jr. stars in both of these films, so it increases publicity. It gives the audience an idea of what will happen in the film, but it will not give away the story otherwise it will defeat the point of going to the cinema and the point of a trailer. A preview like this excites audiences as they want to see it in the near future, so they released these around 5 months before release and increased the exposure over a few months in order to create a hype about the film. Plus it also sets up the genre of superhero, comedy and action adventure with the select clips used in the trailer.
Mechandise, Spin-offs and Sponsors
Iron Man 2 had 12 or more sponsors for the movie. Examples of the sponsors are:
Audi has placed their R8 car in Iron Man, so it being in Iron Man 2 keeps but also adds to the coolness of the character and the car. It shows an aspirational lifestyle which all men want to have.
There was also a viral video released to show a history of Stark Expo, it adds to the story of Iron Man but also helps promote their own product. Also it looks very authentic and for the younger audiences slightly believable.
Merchandise
Since Iron Man was a marvel comic hero they played upon this and made an Iron Man action figurine. This is a large market including the likes of Action Man, G.I Joe and Spiderman. Superheroes are there to inspire young kids, and bringing out a toy will not only make them money, but also make sure it can compete with other superhero movies like Spiderman 3.
Spin-Offs
Since the release of Iron Man 2, they have released a game as well as a special edition comic book. The game is an obvious idea as now most movies have games on all format, sometimes the game is released before the movie. Examples of movie games are Pirates of the Carribean, The Simpsons Movie game and Star Wars. Although they may not be the best in the gaming world, as a marketing tool they are genius as they allow the audience to experience the story but also it generates hype about not only the movie but also the game. The comic book came with some speical editions of the DVD, which you had to pre-order. I feel this is an innovative way of promoting their film because Marvel have actually used the comic book idea. They are re-known worldwide for their comic books, but they released the special editions for this movie. It will attract serious comic book collectors as it is part of their hobby, but it could attract new audiences as it may bring them more into the story.
Overall
In my opinion I feel their marketing plan was immense as they pulled out all the stops in order to attract a large audience. Despite spending alot of money on marketing the film still grossed alot of money. I feel it may not have been cost-efficient but it made sure that they sent across the message that they wanted to plus they used alot of CGI to show future technology, interesting the audience. I believe they have tried some new ways of promting their film and overall it has worked very effectively.
Poster:
Both these posters have the iconic '2' sign in the Iron Man font, which shows synergy with their campaign, but also with the first movie, which helps it feel like a series. Although these characters were not in the first film, the are kind of enigmatic as it makes the audience think 'who are they?'. Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson are both well-known celebrities so it helps the movie if they use stars that are known to the public as it brings in more fans of these actors. They both also have the release date which informs audiences when it will arrive in cinemas. The both are slightly plain, in order to give mystery to these characters, but also to make it look sinister.
Website
Iron Man 2 Website
The Iron Man 2 website is a very slick and sophisticated website which immerses the audience. As you first enter the website you can see the trailer playing, although some may find this a bit annoying, it is a good technique in order to keep refreshing the audience about the movie and the atmosphere of watching it in a cinema. I like the fact that you can choose which suit you can have as the background, and when you switch from page to page there are buttons on the suit which talk about that part of the suit. The theme and background is very much related to inside the Iron Man suit, which helps create synergy but also give the audience a more involved feel. The website has many things to do on it, for example LG have a link so that you can fly the Iron Man suit in 1st person by using the LG smartphone. The games include the audience, it helps the sponsors gain money from this. Also being able to listen to the soundtrack and look at awesome clips and pics, it makes it more of an enjoyable experience for the audience, encouraging them to see it.
Iron Man 2 google skins
This shows that a connection with google helps the movie, as you can set it as your google theme, which makes it seem pretty cool plus it makes you feel included in the experience.
Trailer
They release an official trailer, and a TV spot as well premiering the trailer at the cinema before other movies, e.g before Sherlock Holmes movie because Robert Downey Jr. stars in both of these films, so it increases publicity. It gives the audience an idea of what will happen in the film, but it will not give away the story otherwise it will defeat the point of going to the cinema and the point of a trailer. A preview like this excites audiences as they want to see it in the near future, so they released these around 5 months before release and increased the exposure over a few months in order to create a hype about the film. Plus it also sets up the genre of superhero, comedy and action adventure with the select clips used in the trailer.
Mechandise, Spin-offs and Sponsors
Iron Man 2 had 12 or more sponsors for the movie. Examples of the sponsors are:
- Audi
- Royal Purple
- 7-Eleven
- Land O'Frost
- Reese's
- Oracle
- Burger King
- Sony Music
- Symantec
- LG
- Dr. Pepper
- Diesel
Audi has placed their R8 car in Iron Man, so it being in Iron Man 2 keeps but also adds to the coolness of the character and the car. It shows an aspirational lifestyle which all men want to have.
There was also a viral video released to show a history of Stark Expo, it adds to the story of Iron Man but also helps promote their own product. Also it looks very authentic and for the younger audiences slightly believable.
Merchandise
Since Iron Man was a marvel comic hero they played upon this and made an Iron Man action figurine. This is a large market including the likes of Action Man, G.I Joe and Spiderman. Superheroes are there to inspire young kids, and bringing out a toy will not only make them money, but also make sure it can compete with other superhero movies like Spiderman 3.
Spin-Offs
Since the release of Iron Man 2, they have released a game as well as a special edition comic book. The game is an obvious idea as now most movies have games on all format, sometimes the game is released before the movie. Examples of movie games are Pirates of the Carribean, The Simpsons Movie game and Star Wars. Although they may not be the best in the gaming world, as a marketing tool they are genius as they allow the audience to experience the story but also it generates hype about not only the movie but also the game. The comic book came with some speical editions of the DVD, which you had to pre-order. I feel this is an innovative way of promoting their film because Marvel have actually used the comic book idea. They are re-known worldwide for their comic books, but they released the special editions for this movie. It will attract serious comic book collectors as it is part of their hobby, but it could attract new audiences as it may bring them more into the story.
Overall
In my opinion I feel their marketing plan was immense as they pulled out all the stops in order to attract a large audience. Despite spending alot of money on marketing the film still grossed alot of money. I feel it may not have been cost-efficient but it made sure that they sent across the message that they wanted to plus they used alot of CGI to show future technology, interesting the audience. I believe they have tried some new ways of promting their film and overall it has worked very effectively.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Representation: Men and Women
Male Heroes:
There are a variety of male heroes which represent the different stereotypes within society. Arnold Schwarzenegger represents the strong, powerful and dominant hero in the Terminator series. He is a conventional hero as he uses his strength to overpower enemies. Sylvester Stallone is another hero like this as he has the physical presence, as seen in Rocky. But we also see his leadership skills (as a hero) when he leads the expendables. Ethan Hunt ( Tom Cruise , M.I.) and James Bond (Daniel Craig, James Bond) both portray a typical spy. Ethan Hunt uses the gadgets and does impossible stunts which shows how good a spy he is. James Bond is a suave and sophisticated spy, he lives the luxurious life of a spy and every new Bond has their own persona. Daniel Craig is playing the spy who can let his emotions run a bit loose. It is different to the cold hearted spy, and adds more of a motif when he is on his missions. Luke Skywalker represents the young teenage male who lives a 'magical' life. From a deserted planet, Tatooine, he flies through the universe fighting off the Sith. He is still young so the younger audience can aspire to be like him. From movie 4 to 6 we see his character grow from a child (carefree) to a mature and level headed adult. Harry Potter is an odd wizard, because we normally expect to see an old man with a beard, but with him just being a normal teenage boy it connects better with the younger audience and makes it more family friendly. Although he may not have the physique he makes up for it in skill. When you first see him he looks a bit geeky, but he becomes more of a cool leader later on. He is also very compassionate inside his friends circle, which is different from the cold male hero. All the male heroes are dominant and positive stereotypes, the variety of heroes is immense, and that what makes the hero a bit unpredictable (unless it is a series).
Female Heroines:
The female heroines I found out about don't have a lot of variety but instead have a lot of character. The Bride (Kill Bill), Lara Croft, Elektra, Aeon Flux and Violet (Ultraviolet) are all heroines and the main character of their film . Although they are the lead roles, there are some male back-up or friends within the movie who are not dominant and have no authority. So, we see a world where women are dominant. Each of the charcters have their own personality, but I think that there is no variety in the roles they get. All of these heroines are all lone-wolves (in a sense) and I think there is not an equal male counterpart which can highlight the heroines' authority as well. I feel, since it is targetted at a female audience, a romance is normally there (also in male orientated films), but there is more of an insight to the relationship. All of these heroines have a strong presence, and they all bring emotion to the character, but I think there could be more done to stretch he female heroine stereotype e.g. a female boxer or spy, although there is not a strong market, a development of unstereotypical female heroines will stretch the character variety.
V for Vendetta is an odd movie because although it seems as if V is the main hero, it turns out to be the female lead. This makes it unique, but also makes it interesting because we see her develop into the heroine, and we see him willing to lose the spotlight. It is a new way of bringing in heroes, and I think it should be explored.
Male Villains:
Every male villain has a trademark about them which defines their character, like Darth Vader has the black armour and the fact that we mainly just hear him breathe in and out. The Joker has the crazy smile, The Green Goblin has the armour and the flying board, Blofeld stroked the cat, Le Chiffre has the scar and Voldermort doesn't have a nose and he has the massive anaconda, nagini. Also most male villains want power and are slightly driven crazy. All the have killed people in order to gain status, fear and to also lure the hero. The Joker is one of the few villains who creates situations the hero must react to, and he has power over the hero because he knows what is happening but no-one else does. Darth Vader wears black as it connotes evil, there are many low angle shots of him to make him look menacing but since he is only the 'apprentice' it makes the true villain, the emporer, look extremely cruel and dark. Le Chiffre is a secretive villain and everything he does is behind closed doors, he face is paled out to make him look slightly ghost like, although he loses to Bond, he relies on his henchmen to do his dirty work. This is different to the other villains where they plan and do the plan as they want the glory. I feel all male villains' are portrayed negatively but also dominant. Although we may not see a postive side of them, we see how they can control lots of henchmen to carry out order, or to join them in their fight against good.
Female Villains:
Female villains are virtually unheard of in films, it was a struggle to find them when I was researching. Most of these villains (apart from Proffesor Umbridge) try and seduct people, in order to help them. For example Catwoman (although the Halle Berry version was when she is a heroine) is a villain who usually wears leather and seducts people e.g. Bank guards and Batman. Seerlena (Men in Black 2) uses attracts males in the Men in black headquarters in order to help her get weapons for her plan. Miranda Frost, is a double agent who turns on James Bond, although she was a hero at the start, when we find out she is a villain we don't like her as she is colder than Bond and betrayed his trust. Proffesor Umbridge abuses her power in order to help Lord Voldermort, she is like a teacher from hell whom most of the students fear. Bellatrix is like a female and evil version of Captain Jack Sparrow, and when she was first introduced she was a slight comic element but now she is portrayed as scarier and more evil. Poison Ivy is sly character and she is a villain who has her own mind but still works for the 'lead' villain. I feel female villains are represented as seductresses or people who normally help the main male villain. Catwoman is an exception, and I feel her character needs to be alone as it adds to the mystery.
Overall I feel the male half is represented as the more dominant half, although some may be cliches, they manage to introduce a difference about the character to make it unique. I feel the female half can be dominant and authoritative, but there aren't any equal counterparts who help their character blossom. I feel the female hero and villain area can be stretched and new characters can be made.
There are a variety of male heroes which represent the different stereotypes within society. Arnold Schwarzenegger represents the strong, powerful and dominant hero in the Terminator series. He is a conventional hero as he uses his strength to overpower enemies. Sylvester Stallone is another hero like this as he has the physical presence, as seen in Rocky. But we also see his leadership skills (as a hero) when he leads the expendables. Ethan Hunt ( Tom Cruise , M.I.) and James Bond (Daniel Craig, James Bond) both portray a typical spy. Ethan Hunt uses the gadgets and does impossible stunts which shows how good a spy he is. James Bond is a suave and sophisticated spy, he lives the luxurious life of a spy and every new Bond has their own persona. Daniel Craig is playing the spy who can let his emotions run a bit loose. It is different to the cold hearted spy, and adds more of a motif when he is on his missions. Luke Skywalker represents the young teenage male who lives a 'magical' life. From a deserted planet, Tatooine, he flies through the universe fighting off the Sith. He is still young so the younger audience can aspire to be like him. From movie 4 to 6 we see his character grow from a child (carefree) to a mature and level headed adult. Harry Potter is an odd wizard, because we normally expect to see an old man with a beard, but with him just being a normal teenage boy it connects better with the younger audience and makes it more family friendly. Although he may not have the physique he makes up for it in skill. When you first see him he looks a bit geeky, but he becomes more of a cool leader later on. He is also very compassionate inside his friends circle, which is different from the cold male hero. All the male heroes are dominant and positive stereotypes, the variety of heroes is immense, and that what makes the hero a bit unpredictable (unless it is a series).
Female Heroines:
The female heroines I found out about don't have a lot of variety but instead have a lot of character. The Bride (Kill Bill), Lara Croft, Elektra, Aeon Flux and Violet (Ultraviolet) are all heroines and the main character of their film . Although they are the lead roles, there are some male back-up or friends within the movie who are not dominant and have no authority. So, we see a world where women are dominant. Each of the charcters have their own personality, but I think that there is no variety in the roles they get. All of these heroines are all lone-wolves (in a sense) and I think there is not an equal male counterpart which can highlight the heroines' authority as well. I feel, since it is targetted at a female audience, a romance is normally there (also in male orientated films), but there is more of an insight to the relationship. All of these heroines have a strong presence, and they all bring emotion to the character, but I think there could be more done to stretch he female heroine stereotype e.g. a female boxer or spy, although there is not a strong market, a development of unstereotypical female heroines will stretch the character variety.
V for Vendetta is an odd movie because although it seems as if V is the main hero, it turns out to be the female lead. This makes it unique, but also makes it interesting because we see her develop into the heroine, and we see him willing to lose the spotlight. It is a new way of bringing in heroes, and I think it should be explored.
Male Villains:
Every male villain has a trademark about them which defines their character, like Darth Vader has the black armour and the fact that we mainly just hear him breathe in and out. The Joker has the crazy smile, The Green Goblin has the armour and the flying board, Blofeld stroked the cat, Le Chiffre has the scar and Voldermort doesn't have a nose and he has the massive anaconda, nagini. Also most male villains want power and are slightly driven crazy. All the have killed people in order to gain status, fear and to also lure the hero. The Joker is one of the few villains who creates situations the hero must react to, and he has power over the hero because he knows what is happening but no-one else does. Darth Vader wears black as it connotes evil, there are many low angle shots of him to make him look menacing but since he is only the 'apprentice' it makes the true villain, the emporer, look extremely cruel and dark. Le Chiffre is a secretive villain and everything he does is behind closed doors, he face is paled out to make him look slightly ghost like, although he loses to Bond, he relies on his henchmen to do his dirty work. This is different to the other villains where they plan and do the plan as they want the glory. I feel all male villains' are portrayed negatively but also dominant. Although we may not see a postive side of them, we see how they can control lots of henchmen to carry out order, or to join them in their fight against good.
Female Villains:
Female villains are virtually unheard of in films, it was a struggle to find them when I was researching. Most of these villains (apart from Proffesor Umbridge) try and seduct people, in order to help them. For example Catwoman (although the Halle Berry version was when she is a heroine) is a villain who usually wears leather and seducts people e.g. Bank guards and Batman. Seerlena (Men in Black 2) uses attracts males in the Men in black headquarters in order to help her get weapons for her plan. Miranda Frost, is a double agent who turns on James Bond, although she was a hero at the start, when we find out she is a villain we don't like her as she is colder than Bond and betrayed his trust. Proffesor Umbridge abuses her power in order to help Lord Voldermort, she is like a teacher from hell whom most of the students fear. Bellatrix is like a female and evil version of Captain Jack Sparrow, and when she was first introduced she was a slight comic element but now she is portrayed as scarier and more evil. Poison Ivy is sly character and she is a villain who has her own mind but still works for the 'lead' villain. I feel female villains are represented as seductresses or people who normally help the main male villain. Catwoman is an exception, and I feel her character needs to be alone as it adds to the mystery.
Overall I feel the male half is represented as the more dominant half, although some may be cliches, they manage to introduce a difference about the character to make it unique. I feel the female half can be dominant and authoritative, but there aren't any equal counterparts who help their character blossom. I feel the female hero and villain area can be stretched and new characters can be made.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Monday, 7 March 2011
Homework: My Film pitch (updated)
Working Title : Mystery/ M for Mystery
Plot: It first starts off by seeing Mystery leaving MI6 headquarters towards her flat in central London overlooking the River Thames. Then we hear a bullet being shot, and we see Mystery lose consciousness(inside her flat) and pass out. Then a flashback occurs.The movie is focused upon Mystery when she was younger and was on an important mission when she started out at MI6. The mission was to prevent Volita, a wealthy female Argentinian Business tycoon, from arming nuclear weapons in Argentina, which would have helped them defeat England. Volita does this so that if Argentina win the war she is promised land in the Falklands, which contain valuable resources such as oil and coal. In Argentina she works with the JC, of that time, to defeat Volita. She ends up falling in love with JC, but he always question her about her name, and she never tells him (always replying mystery). Both JC and Mystery fight off the evil henchman, with gadgets supplied from G-man, and end up in the heart of Volita's lair. The lair is upon Cerro Aconcagua, the highest mountain peak in Argentina. She manages to, with hidden henchmen, to tie up Mystery and JC on chairs back to back. Volita then explains the reason for arming the weapons, Mystery tries to reason with her but Volita straightaway disregards its, and we see her memory come up on screen if how she became so ruthless. It was because when she was young her village, in the Falklands, was attacked by the British and they killled everyone and left her alone as she was only 5. This led to her hatred of the british, as well as a reason to have land on the Falkland Island. Volita then leaves to get her plan fully under way. JC and Mystery will then escape from the lair and kill Volita and prevent the launch of the nuclear missile. But Volita was not dead and her last act was to shoot JC in the heart. Mystery is torn - emotionally - and wanted to leave MI6. But JC asks, as his dying wish, for her to stay at MI6 and leave him to die there. Slowly the screen turns sepia, and crinckles up to look old fashioned and tattered. Mystery then wakes up from the flashback - everything looks blurry currently - the doctor appears and looks very familiar to JC but we cannot see as he is blurred out. The movie then ends with a fade to black.
The show the difference between the flashback and current day, at the flashback a bright light appears and as it fades away the flashback starts to occur. From the flashback back to current day it willl go from sepia to black and then the current day events will start to happen.
Cast
Current Mystery - Dame Helen Mirren or Barbara Hershey
John Crayton - Jason Statham or Tom Cruise or (for younger audiences) Leonardo DiCaprio or Matt Damon or Channing Tatum
Young Mystery - Isabel Lucas
G-man - David Koechner
Volita - Adrianne Palicki
Producer - Albert R. Brocoli
Director - Michael Apted or Christopher Nolan
Audience
I feel younger people, around the age of 25 will be more into the movie as it is a niche idea, which young people may appreciate more as well as they are the main target audience for action adventure films. They also are the most predominant cinema goers which means it is better to focus the movie upon them. I feel the idea of a female idea will appeal to the female audience more as they will connect with the heroine better. However, the strong association with the spy genre will also attract the male audience.
Marketing
For my marketing plan I will have a trailer, poster and website. The poster will have Mystery at a desk reading through her papers, but in the top right a bit of sepia starts to seep in. The trailer will contain important clips from the movie which will help give the audience an idea of the story as well setting the atmosphere. The website will have the usual pages , from videos to pictures to synopsis. A competition on the website could be trying to find Mystery behind a letter in the alphabet (one guess only) and the winner will get tickets to the premier. The movie will be released in either summertime or near halloween time, therefore the marketing elements would have to be released to the general public around 2 to 3 months before release. The total film budget will be around $100,000,000 (£62,000,000) and the marketing budget would be around a fifth of this ($20,000,000).
(the highlighted sections are the changes made to the pitch)
Plot: It first starts off by seeing Mystery leaving MI6 headquarters towards her flat in central London overlooking the River Thames. Then we hear a bullet being shot, and we see Mystery lose consciousness(inside her flat) and pass out. Then a flashback occurs.The movie is focused upon Mystery when she was younger and was on an important mission when she started out at MI6. The mission was to prevent Volita, a wealthy female Argentinian Business tycoon, from arming nuclear weapons in Argentina, which would have helped them defeat England. Volita does this so that if Argentina win the war she is promised land in the Falklands, which contain valuable resources such as oil and coal. In Argentina she works with the JC, of that time, to defeat Volita. She ends up falling in love with JC, but he always question her about her name, and she never tells him (always replying mystery). Both JC and Mystery fight off the evil henchman, with gadgets supplied from G-man, and end up in the heart of Volita's lair. The lair is upon Cerro Aconcagua, the highest mountain peak in Argentina. She manages to, with hidden henchmen, to tie up Mystery and JC on chairs back to back. Volita then explains the reason for arming the weapons, Mystery tries to reason with her but Volita straightaway disregards its, and we see her memory come up on screen if how she became so ruthless. It was because when she was young her village, in the Falklands, was attacked by the British and they killled everyone and left her alone as she was only 5. This led to her hatred of the british, as well as a reason to have land on the Falkland Island. Volita then leaves to get her plan fully under way. JC and Mystery will then escape from the lair and kill Volita and prevent the launch of the nuclear missile. But Volita was not dead and her last act was to shoot JC in the heart. Mystery is torn - emotionally - and wanted to leave MI6. But JC asks, as his dying wish, for her to stay at MI6 and leave him to die there. Slowly the screen turns sepia, and crinckles up to look old fashioned and tattered. Mystery then wakes up from the flashback - everything looks blurry currently - the doctor appears and looks very familiar to JC but we cannot see as he is blurred out. The movie then ends with a fade to black.
The show the difference between the flashback and current day, at the flashback a bright light appears and as it fades away the flashback starts to occur. From the flashback back to current day it willl go from sepia to black and then the current day events will start to happen.
Cast
Current Mystery - Dame Helen Mirren or Barbara Hershey
John Crayton - Jason Statham or Tom Cruise or (for younger audiences) Leonardo DiCaprio or Matt Damon or Channing Tatum
Young Mystery - Isabel Lucas
G-man - David Koechner
Volita - Adrianne Palicki
Producer - Albert R. Brocoli
Director - Michael Apted or Christopher Nolan
Audience
I feel younger people, around the age of 25 will be more into the movie as it is a niche idea, which young people may appreciate more as well as they are the main target audience for action adventure films. They also are the most predominant cinema goers which means it is better to focus the movie upon them. I feel the idea of a female idea will appeal to the female audience more as they will connect with the heroine better. However, the strong association with the spy genre will also attract the male audience.
Marketing
For my marketing plan I will have a trailer, poster and website. The poster will have Mystery at a desk reading through her papers, but in the top right a bit of sepia starts to seep in. The trailer will contain important clips from the movie which will help give the audience an idea of the story as well setting the atmosphere. The website will have the usual pages , from videos to pictures to synopsis. A competition on the website could be trying to find Mystery behind a letter in the alphabet (one guess only) and the winner will get tickets to the premier. The movie will be released in either summertime or near halloween time, therefore the marketing elements would have to be released to the general public around 2 to 3 months before release. The total film budget will be around $100,000,000 (£62,000,000) and the marketing budget would be around a fifth of this ($20,000,000).
(the highlighted sections are the changes made to the pitch)
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
My Film's USP
I believe the USP of my film is that it is set in the Falkland War period. This war has not been fully used in cinema, and I feel it allows the movie to be more creative and push boundaries of the AA genre. Considering my film is based within the spy sub-genre, I feel the the use of an old case gives more creative freedom as well as giving the audience a new experience at the cinema. I feel that we should not overplay the Falkland war, but just use it as a background to the story. Another different thing about my movie is that we have replaced the male spy with a strong, authoritative female spy. The change can stretch the boundaries of the sub-genre as well as including a whole new target market.
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
A-A clip genre analysis
Narrative
Most Bond stories have a similar plot to them. It involves seeing Bond in mission in the opening half of the movie. It then progresses and links it to the next big mission Bond is assigned to. At the end when Bond seems to be losing, he then kills the bad guys and everything happens in his favour. However, in Casino Royale diverts slightly from this set structure to include more disruptions to show Bond's life is not as easy as it seems. The main shock is that the Vesper Lynd betrays Bond. A main challenge faced by Bond is facing the lower down villains in the hierarchy to get to the main target, also he has to fight off the henchmen who are after him. The typical scenarios we see Bond in are when he gets his mission brief by M, the confrontation between Bond and the Villain and also when Bond is with the Bond girl. Each Bond movie uses music to create tension or add to the atmosphere in key scenes. Most Bond movies incorporate explosions, guns and a car chase.
Iconography
James Bond is a very long running movie series, this is due to not only the loyal fans but the icons and branding within the James Bond movies. Key props in James Bond movies are the Aston Martin, Vodka Martini, either the Golden Gun or a silenced pistol and the gadgets e.g. the Sony ericcson used in Casino Royale. Another way of creating the James Bond brand is the tuxedo Bond always wears. The suit always looks custom built for each bond but have the same colour scheme. The Bond theme song is must have for every Bond film. From iconic songs like 'Diamonds Are Forever' to 'You Know My Name', these not only help set the mood but it is a vital part of the Bond brand. Another key feature within Bond is the Bond girl. She helps develop James Bond character, especially emotionally as we see him connect with the Bond girl. Every Bond has a saying which sets the tone of every Bond film "The name's Bond, James Bond." The hype created around the Bond brand helps the franchise grow, also the familiarity of Bond makes the audience feel comfortable in his presence.
Characters
Hero: James Bond, all James Bonds have a clinical spy attitude about them, but the different actors who have played Bond add something different to his persona
Princess: In this movie it is Vesper Lynd - always the Bond girl (even if they are evil)
Villain: Mr White and Le Chiffre
Donor: Felix Leiter - the CIA operative who gives James Bond the money to continue playing poker
Another key figure in every Bond film is M, he/she always briefs Bond about his mission but also deals with him in a cold clinical manner, however whenever Bond is in danger she is very worried about him.
Settings
Casino: it connotes a exotic and exuberant lifestyle. It is associated with high risk but also high rewards. With him in the Casino, with Vesper, drinking a Vodka Martini and winning a $115 million it seems like his life is perfect. It makes the audience - especially male - to aspire to have a life like him.
The Island: The last scene is set on a beautiful island. It is quite different to the casino as it is less enclosed and there is much more bright light -compared with the Casino scenes. It is in keeping with his exotic lifestyle and adds to the glamour of James Bond.
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Another Few A-A movie Titles (BTW there are more movies on the list) ->
- 300
- The World Is Not Enough
- Star Trek
- Die Hard
- Transformers
- The Green Hornet
- RED
- The A-Team
- The Expendables
- Lara Croft
- Superman
- Spiderman
- Zombieland
- Rush Hour
- Pirates of the Carribean
- The Terminator
- The Matrix
- Transpoter
- The Mechanic
- Inception
- Goldfinger
- Lord of the Rings
- Narnia
- Robin Hood
- King Arthur
- Kick-Ass
- Clash of the Titans
- Knight and Day
- Iron Man 2
- Sherlock Holmes
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Homework : Genre and Narrative (brief)
Characters
Hero: Scott Pilgrim
Villain: 7 Evil Exs'
Princess: Ramona Flowers
Narrative
Equilibirum: Scott meets Ramona at party and we see him perform with his band
Diruption: The league of 7 evil ex's try to attack him
Restoration: Scott beats all the evil ex's and goes out with Ramona
Sorry for the briefness of this post, but I felt I had to do another movie as I felt Iron Man did not fully fill the brief.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Genre and Narrative Analysis
The Characters
Hero: Tony Stark AKA Iron Man - Runs Stark Industries which supply weapons to armies. After being captured he feels the need to help protect society from the weapons he has created. He is shown as a very popular and cool character, who the press focus their attention on.
Villain: Obadiah Stane and the terrorist group 'The Ten Rings'. Obadiah Stane worked with Tony Stark but he sold weapons to the terrorists as well as trying to kick out Tony Stark from his own company. In the end he tries to kill him in his own mock up of the iron man suit. The Ten Rings kidnapped Tony Stark early on, forcing him to make weapons for them.
Princess: Pepper Potts - Works as his assistant/secretary but as movie develops we see them fall in love with each other. She has worked for Tony Stark for many years and is not afraid of telling him the truth.
The Helper: There are 2 helpers within Iron Man, one is the human like robots at Tony Stark's house who help him with making the Iron Man suit. The other helper is Yinsen, he helped Tony Stark whilst he was kidnapped by effectively saving his life - by doing some stuff on his heart - plus he helped build the small arc reactor which powered Tony Stark and a prototype of the Iron Man suit.
The Narrative
Equilibrium: The movie starts off by introducing the life of Tony Stark and sets up his character as a cool, popular and composed figure. He seems relaxed and can handle the press well. It also introduces the other main characters to introduce us to his environment.
Disruption: There are 2 main points of disruption. The first is when Tony Stark is kidnapped by a terrorist group. We see how gets the 'metal heart' and it shows from his perspective how he feels that his weapons have done wrong. This makes him want to stop weapons production to save civilian lives. The second point of disruption is when Obadiah Stane almost kills Tony Stark. This surprised Tony, but it builds up some anger within him.
Restoration: Tony kills off most of the terrorist group that tried to kill him, which brought peace to the local area and a sense of justice to Tony Stark. In the end, when he kills Obadiah Stane, the villain has been killed and seems like a happy ever after. The idea of destroying evil to keep peace is used in many stories but it is an effective technique.
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