Target Audience Presentation.

Target Audience from wbsmediagroup4

Post By:
Metehan Hizli
Josh Shea
Josh Barrett

Target audience survey.

To find out some information about our target audience we conducted a survey to get an idea on what our audiences' interests are. We asked questions about age, gender, social status and occupation as well as film, music and TV interests. We also asked about what social media sites that our audience use. Below we compiled a mood bored showing some images signifying what answers we got from our survey.

Our mood bored is just a general outline showing what the main responses were from the survey. 90% of the people that participated in our questionnaire use either/or Facebook and Twitter while only around 50% use Instagram. The vast majority of the people that said that they use these sites were between 15-18, but out of all the people we asked that were over the age of 30 only 2 said that these sites were used. A large amount of the surveys completed were from males and that is why we have put a male sign that is bigger than the female one at the top of the mood bored to signify this. The most popular films that appeared the most times in our surveys were Inception and The Lion King. As mentioned before most of our candidates were between 15-18 and The Lion King is a film from these peoples childhoods so that is why it has appeared numerous times. A lot of action films, mainly Inception, showed up in our survey as we aimed at action lovers because our film is going to fall in to this category. 100% of candidates said that they are middle class and this is what we wanted to hear as that is one of our main target audiences also. A vast amount of favourite foods that we got in the survey would all be considered as "fatty foods" that re not overly healthy. We feel this is because the younger generation care much less about the foods they eat and how it effects them. About 80% of the aged 30+ candidates mentioned rock music as their preferred music genre. With our aged 15-18 candidates the biggest response was electronic music genres such as dubstep and house. The next most common genre was hip-hop, all of these music taste opinions were expected as these are the most common musical preferences of this generation of teenagers due to being brought up in an electronic age.

Post By:
Josh Barrett
Metehan Hizli
Josh Shea

Production Companies Ident Analysis.

Universal Media Group.

This is Universal media group’s ident that is used as the start of the films that they produce/distribute. Universal media group is a subsidiary of Vivendi which is a Paris based mass media company. The image used in the background behind the super imposed text is a 3D model of earth. This, along with the company name connotes to us that this is a company that operates all around the world. The ident starts with a camera orbiting around the globe with rays of light beaming from all of the countries and continents, this also adds on to the idea that this company is a global company that works in all four corners of the world. The epic non diegetic trumpets playing in the background along with the dramatic camera track help make this ident feel like it is one of a big company. The 3D text used is gold and white. Gold usually represents power, class and success and we think as universal has all of these things this is why they used it.

Paramount Pictures.

This is Paramount Pictures' ident that is used as the start of the films that they produce/distribute. It is a unit of American media conglomerate Viacom. The ident starts with 22 stars flying through the clouds and eventually forming in a circle around the super imposed 3D text of the company name. The logo originally started out with 24 stars, each star represented the 24 different movie stars that were contracted to work with Paramount when the ident was originally made. The mountain is a 3D model that is the main centre piece of this 3D animation. The mountain was added by the original creator as it reminded them of their childhood. In 1920, the number of stars was cut from the original 24 stars to the now used 22 for an unknown reason. The very advanced 3D graphics in this ident signifies to us that this is owned by a large company as this type of 3D animation is only used by companies that create the Hollywood blockbusters on the scale that paramount do. Paramount means more important than anything else (supreme).

BBC Films.

This is BBC Films' ident that is used as the start of the films that they produce/distribute. BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. The BBC Films ident begins a burst of blue in the center of the fame with particles coming out of it. Out of the blue section comes the three letters that spin and form together to make the "BBC". The word "films" then comes past the camera and stops under the "BBC". This ident intro is much more low key compared to the other two that we have analysed. BBC Films is not part of a big conglomerate and isn't as well off so this is reflected in their ident. The non-diegetic music playing is a lot more epic and dramatic than the animation suggests, this is done to try and add dramatic effect to the very one dimensional intro. The color blue is used in this ident as it is often associated with depth and stability and the BBC has both of these things. It also symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, intelligence. While creating the ident for our group this BBC Films ident is one that we should draw inspiration from as the other two intros that we analysed are very specialist and a little far fetched for us to be aiming to create something on the scale of them. This BBC Films ident has more realistic elements that we could create such as the 2D text with no blockbuster style 3D animation.

Post By:

Josh Barrett

Metehan Hizli

London Shoot Date Scheduled.

As a group we have planned and eventually decided when we want to do our shoot in London. To get an exact date we took into account the availability of the actor and our group members as well as the weather. For our shoot we want it to get an early light feel so we will have to go early in the morning as you can't beat some good natural lighting. After looking at the weather reports for the next couple of days we have come to the conclusion that Monday 18th February 2013 would be the ideal day. We have decided this because all of our group members plus the actor are available and the weather is looking perfect for how we want it.

Weather forecast:

A mostly cloudy start to the day, but becoming clearer with only thin hazy cloud. A light breeze, but feeling surprisingly cool. 

Max Temp. 5.3c, Min Temp. 0.5c at around 04:00.

8-12 mph winds.

Humidity peaking at 88% around 06:00.

Chance of rain 0%.

Looking at this forecast it looks perfect for the look that we want to get. We will arrive in London just as the sun rises at around 6-7am so we have enough time to set up and plan our shoots by the time the light is how we want it. The cold weather was expected so we will have to make sure our actor and crew bring warm clothes. We will get the train from Windsor to Vauxhall as we plan to film in Vauxhall and it is very handy for us with this direct train.

Post By:

Josh Barrett

Metehan Hizli

Josh Shea

London Shoot: Risk Assessment (Final Draft)

This is a final draft of our risk assessment showing the risks that may occur when filming in London. We have identified and narrowed down the main risks and put them on to this sheet.

Post By:
Metehan Hizli
Josh Barrett
Josh Shea

London shoot: Risk Assessment (First Draft)

This is our first draft risk assessment for our shoot around London and the hazards that may occur when filming around London.

Post By:
Metehan Hizli
Josh Barrett
Josh Shea

Film Location Update.

As we are filtering through the ideas we have come up with a new idea for where we could shoot our footage for our spy film, this place is the Secret Intelligence Service building. Shooting there would be the perfect thing to add to the MES of our opening and it would also help set up the character and narrative more.


Looking on Google maps we identified where we would want to shoot our main protagonist walking towards the building from and we decided that Vauxhall bridge would be the best place to shoot from as there is clear sight lines of the building from there and the bridge is open to the public.

This image is from Googles maps street view mode. The angle is from the Vauxhall bridge where we want to shoot from. From this image we can see the potential in this setting for some good shots and camera positions we could shoot from.

Post By:
Josh Barrett

Name Decision.

Today within our group we proposed possible name ideas to each other and then narrowed them down to a few of our favourites.

These names were:

SEVEN7

SIS

SIS: Secret Intelligence Service

7/7

Secret Intelligence Service

These names are all quite similar to each other but we couldn't originally decide on the one that we wanted to use. After much discussion we came to the conclusion that it needed to be something that is right to the point. We decided that we didn't want to use one of the names that were aimed at the whole 7/7 aspect of our film so we ruled them out. We thought that the SIS based names are much better as they instantly get the idea across to the audience that this film is a spy film that it is based around events that happen within MI6/The SIS. Eventually we decided that the simple name of Secret Inelegance Service was the best option as it is simple and to the point. 

Post By:

Josh Barrett

Metehan Hizli

Josh Shea

Props: Ideas.

We plan for our props to include:

Replica Gun:

We plan to use a replica Glock-17 in our opening sequence as this is the firearm of choice for the Specialist Firearms Command of the London Metropolitan Police Service and as our opening is based in London we want it to be as authentic as possible. The gun will be used by our main protagonist but we don't plan for it to be fired in our sequence as there is no action that requires the use of this gun. The gun will only be visible for about 5 seconds as we will only see the protagonist mounting it in a hip holster.

Alarm Clock:

An alarm clock is key to our opening sequence as it will be the first thing that we see in the house as it is what wakes the protagonist up in the morning and starts his day and in turn signalling the start of the sequence.

Hip Holster:

Hip holsters are mainly used by special forces and spies because when wearing a suit jacket, as they often do, they are very discrete. We plan for our protagonist to use a holster to try and give him an authentic spy look as the mes en scene of our opening is key to getting a realistic feel.

Picture Frame:

A picture frame is one of the most important props for our opening sequence as it will contain a picture of a family. This will be used as the first signal to the audience that the main protagonist is a family man. The frame will be involved in the first shot in the house also as it will be situated next to the alarm clock.

Treadmill:

We plan to use a treadmill in our opening sequence to be used as one of the first hints to the audience that the protagonist is involved in something that requires him to be physically fit and it also shows he is dedicated.

Post By:

Josh Barrett

Josh Shea

Metehan Hizli

Character and Costume: Ideas.

We want our character to be a male that is around 35-40 years of age for the lead role as the spy genre films have a tendency to use this type of character as they are more experienced. Senior spy's normally work alone and that is what we wanted our main character to do. Our spy is a family man also but he is a very good professional when it comes to his job as he is quite high up within the secret intelligence service (SIS). He has been in the job for a long time but he also has been out of it for a while as he got discharged from active duty due to a botched job, that was involved with the 7/7 bombings, for quite an extended amount of time. Our film is set just as he is getting back into the swing of things after being reinstated back in to the SIS.

Costume ideas:

For our costume we want to go for the stereotypical spy look with the suit and an ear piece We aim to make it obvious to the audience that this film is based around a spy and one of the main ways we can portray this is through costume. We are currently thinking about whether we want to use the ear piece or not as it is very large and it doesn't look discreet like a spy's ear piece would. We are also planing to use a hip holster for the gun as well if we are able to get hold of one but this is nothing more than a possibility.

Post By:
Josh Barrett

Josh Shea
Metehan Hizli

Textual Analysis on the opening of Mission Impossible II by Josh Shea.

Mission Impossible II is an action spy movie directed by John Woo. The cast of Mission Impossible II include Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames and Richard Roxburgh.

Mission Impossible II is an action spy movie directed by John Woo. The cast of Mission Impossible II include Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames and Richard Roxburgh.

The opening shot of the extract is an establishing ariel shot of some of Sydney’s monuments like the Sydney opera house and so on. There is use of superimposed writing saying Sydney, Australia. The scene cross dissolves to show a large corporate buildings. There is more superimposed writing saying Biocyte Pharmaceuticals. The next shot cuts to a scientist inside a dark laboratory.  There is a voiceover saying “Well, Dimitri. Every search for a hero must begin with something that every hero requires, a villain. Therefore, in our search for a hero, Belairiform, we created the monster, Chimera.” he then injects himself with a syringe gun. This creates a narrative enigma to to the audience to what this scientist is talking about and makes the audience think about what he has just injected himself with. The scientist leaves the lobby with a briefcase and checks his watch which is counting down. This voice over starts speaking again and says “I must arrive at my destination within twenty hours of departure.”

This creates another narrative enigma to whats inside the briefcase and why he has to get somewhere before 24 hours making the audience again think what has he just injected himself with.

The scientist leaves the building to see children playing and singing around a strange sculpture. The sculpture distorts and the children look like mirrors in a fun house. The scientist wipes his eyes. This again makes the audience ask what has he injected himself with, what is it doing to him and why he has injected himself with it. The next shot shows him on a plane. The antagonist is shown for the first time sitting next to the scientist. This makes you think that this scientist is a protagonist as it seems like the antagonist has tried to track him down. They start talking and the antagonist says “After you have been infected with Chimera, for twenty hours, nothing can save you.” The captain says “This is your captain again. We've experienced a slight, but abrupt drop in cabin pressure.” and releases the oxygen masks. The pilot watches his two co-pilots put the masks on and pass out. The pilot sets the plane to autopilot and sets the plane to crash into the oncoming mountain. This creates a narrative enigma to why he is crashing the plane. Everyone in the plane who has an oxygen mask on starts to pass out apart from the scientist making the audience think he is responsible. He starts to grab his suit case as the pilot and some other antagonist start putting parachutes on. Who we think is the protagonist kills the scientist and takes the suit case and rips of a face mask reviling him to be an antagonist. The antagonists jump of the plane as the co-pilots awaken but not in time before the plane crashes into the mountain.

Post By:

Josh Shea

Textual Analysis on the opening of Taken 2 by Josh Barrett.

Taken 2 is an action thriller film directed by Olivier Megaton which stars a wide international cast including Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen and Rade Šerbedžija. It is the sequel to the 2008 film Taken. The narrative revolves around retired CIA operative Bryan Mills. The narrative of the film is based around Bryan, his daughter Kim and his ex-wife Lenore getting abducted by a group of Albanese human traffickers, but Kim escapes and is the only hope that Bryan has to escape and save Lenore.

The purpose of the opening sequence is to: 

1. Introduce the audience to the antagonist and to communicate his motives.
2. Communicate some narrative enigmas to the audience that they want answers for.

The opening shot of the extract is a high angle bird’s eye view shot of a truck that acts as an establishing shot. There are also super imposed titles in the bottom right corner telling us that the film is set in Albania. This instantly creates narrative enigmas as Albania is not a particularly well known and developed country nor are films normally set there. 

The editing at this point is very slow paced with numerous high angle long shots clearly shot from a helicopter along with some ground level tracking shots following the truck as it drives through the mountain. As the truck drives through the isolated mountains that are clearly far from civilisation an early narrative enigma is created for the audience as you want to know what is in the back of the truck underneath the cover and where they could be going with this as it looks as if it is not a very populated area.

There is a hard cut to a new scene and the music stops at this point clearly where the truck was heading. You know this as the funeral that is happening is at the top of a mountain and the truck was driving up a mountain previously. A number of techniques are combined to signify to the target audience that this film is not set in a location that we are used to as the, language, clothing and rituals all are very unusual for the people that would be watching this film. 

As one of the men at the funeral goes to pick up from dirt from the ground there is a close up off a tattoo on his hand, this connotes to the audience that he is most likely to be part of some sort of gang. The significance of this is that it is a hint to the audience that this gang is most likely going to play a big part in the film and also that there is going to be a lot of violence throughout. 

As the mourning people are conducting the funeral there is a side on close up of one of the men. The camera then pans to the left of frame to reveal a new character. After this man has been revealed the camera starts to complement him as he increasingly starts do dominate the screen time signifying his importance. The man then starts to explain to us through a temporal manipulation of clips from the previous film what happened in that film and how he wants to have his revenge on the protagonist Bryan Mills. The dialogue explaining how he wants to have revenge connotes to us that he is clearly the main antagonist. 

The main narrative enigma that the opening sequence presents to the audience is how the antagonist plans to execute his revenge and if he will succeed or not.

Post By:
Josh Barrett

Textual Analysis on the opening of Mission Impossible II by Metehan Hizli.

Mission Impossible 2

Mission impossible 2 is an espionage styled thriller directed by John Woo and Starring Tom Cruise as the main character
Ethan Hunt. The film is based around a manufactured virus named 'Chimera' which then is injected into the creator of the virus
as an enigma which is then told later on in the film as why the creator injected himself with the deadly virus.

The purpose of this opening scene of the film though is
1. To make the audience want to find out more about the virus and its creator
2. To set the scene of the film and give overall visual style
3. To establish main characters throughout the film

The film opens with a far away establishing  shot over the whole city of Sydney, Australia (as shown). This shot gives a description to the audience that the
opening of the film was set in Australia. Then the helicopter shot of Sydney is then dissolved into another shot of a pharmaceuticals building (as shown) this is communicating to the audience that what's about to happen in the next scene is taking place in a pharmaceuticals building in Sydney, Australia.

The superimposed text on the screen also saying “Biocyte Pharmaceuticals” The text is also in a square and robotic manor symbolising that the first scene will be set in a laboratory. Throughout the two shots there is non diegetic music being played in the background connoting the espionage feel throughout the starting scenes of the film. This is also the theme tune that is associated with the Mission Impossible films and the TV series although it has been updated for a contemporary audience. There is then a voiceover of the creator of the virus speaking to himself about the Virus and why he injects it into his own bod, This sets a lot of narrative enigmas for the audience for example who is this villain and why did he create this virus and why is he taking so much care over it with the protective equipment over his arms. The creator of the virus then injects himself with this virus and again sets another narrative enigma at why did he inject it into himself. After he injects the virus the screen then fades to black and we see the creator walking out with a brown leather bag while the voiceover is saying ‘We must have a meeting in Atlanta but i must be there within 20 hours of departure’, This is another narrative enigma that the audience are curious to find out before the end of the film at why he needs to attend this meeting. We then see the creator get out his timer to let the audience know the time before his departure. We then see the creator leaving the building and seeing children opposite the road playing a game. The creator has a moment where he stands still and does not show any expression whatsoever and then all the children shout ‘Then they all fall down’, The audience want to know at why he had a moment where he just stood still looking at these children. The line ‘all fall down’ may foreshadow that the creator may be close to his death or in danger and the fact that the kids said ‘all’ sets another narrative enigma because does it mean everyone in the film. Then we are introduced to a hard cut of a plane soaring through the air and then we see the creator sat in a seat of the plane and we are shown his face from the outside window looking in, The audience at this point are presuming that he is on his flight to Atlanta to have this meeting with the person that we still don't know who is. Then we are lastly showed the creator staring at his watch and what seems to be the protagonist or the antagonist (which has not been established yet) sat next to him and say ‘You keep looking at that watch like your life depended on it’ Giving an incentive to the viewer that his life does depend on what time it is.

Post By:

Metehan Hizli

FIlm Opening: Initial Ideas.

This mind map contains our brainstormed initial ideas for our two minute film opening. we split our initial ideas into 6 sub-categories:

Costume.

Props.

Lighting.

Location/setting.

Character.

Spy/Espionage conventions.

From these sub categories we came up with some general ideas that we think that we want to incorporate in to our two minute film opening at this point in our planning process. These ideas may be changed further down the line if it becomes clear that a prop/element of the costume etc. wont be needed/wont be accessible.

Post By:

Josh Barrett

Josh Shea

Metehan Hizli

Opening Ideas.

For our film intro as we are setting our film in London we want there to be some cinematic shots of London towards the end of the 2 minutes. We have gone over all the possible locations and subject buildings that we could use within London and we have narrowed it down to three iconic buildings that we want to include in our 2 minute film intro.

The three iconic sites that we have chosen are:

The Gherkin.

St Paul's Cathedral.

The Houses of Parliament.

We plan to film a few shots for each site and incorporate them in to the opening at some point in a cinematic montage style to signify to the audience where to film is going to be set. We chose these three locations as they are all easily distinguishable to the audience as places in london and that is what our aim is.

Post By:

Josh Barrett

Metehan Hizli

Josh Shea

First Draft Storyboard.

These are our initial first draft storyboards for our 2 minute film introduction.The genre for the film is an espionage/spy thriller. We plan to Create a counter typical spy that actually has a family/something to lose. Normal sterotypical Spys are on there own with no family or friends to lose. If one of the antagonist's becomes aware of his family conections they would have a massive black mailing technique over the protagonist so it is a massive risk for the protagonist to have family commitments.

Post By:

Josh Barrett

Josh Shea

Metehan Hizli

Organisational Calender.

These calenders have been made as an outline to try and keep our group as organised as possible. We have planned what dates we want to do tasks but these will not necessarily stick due to things changing all the time. The key to a successful project is time management and we are going to use this outline to help us with that.

Post By:

Josh Barrett

Josh Shea
Metehan Hizli