Developments in Cinematic Advertising

The advertising of films has come a long way in terms of aesthetics since the days of hand-drawn posters but hasn't changed much in what they feature . For example comparing the posters accompanying the trailers mentioned in my history of action trailers its clear to see how they have changed graphically with the use of better computers etc. but haven't changed much in terms of content amd representation of heroic characters.



Shown above is the poster for Dirty Harry. The poster features an artist impression instead of photos or stills from the film. This is possibly due to lack of computers which facilitate editing programs (e.g photoshop.)The poster features a simple white background with the main character as the main image. The films title is in red to stand out and is in the largest font size, however the second largest font is the name of the actor, Clint Eastwood. This enforces the idea that the film company are relying on Clint Eastwood's popularity to sell the film. The character is shown to be holding a gun, one of the conventions of the action genre. From looking at posters of action genre films its clear that they almost always feature a gun/guns, this means that over time audiences have become accustomed to the idea that a gun in a film poster means its probably an action film.



The poster for Scarface shown above also enforces my previous point about guns as the character is holding one too. The poster uses almost exclusively only black and white, playing on the idea of good and bad,with just the film title in red to stand out. The poster is still very simplistic and features a detailed "tease" of the plot. It is significant that in contempary film posters, teases are reduced to sound bites and give little of the plot away. Compared to the Dirty Harry poster it seems to be a step backwards, however it doesn't try and sell the film on its star actor so the use of more text to intrigue the viewer was possibly necessary.



The above poster for Die Hard features a still from the film. The large image of Bruce Willis along with his name being in the second largest font shows that they too are trying to exploit the actor's popularity, in the same way as they do on the Dirty Harry poster. It also has some text explaining the plot slightly and also describes the main character, similar to the Scarface poster.



The poster for Transporter 3 shows the biggest change. It clearly relies heavily on photo editing software that designers in the 70s and 80s didn't have access to in order to create posters. It also features many conventions of the action genre: guns, subservient women, fast cars and explosions. The whole image connotes action with Jason Statham's character diving across the screen and the previously mentioned conventions. The poster is also headed in bright blue with Jason Statham's name which stands out against the white back ground. The poster uses all the techniques from the previous posters, such as the main actor's name is clearly visible to sell it on his popularity. It clearly defines itself as an action film with the guns and the character actually midway through a dive and features a short tagline explaining the plot in the briefest way possible. This may reflect the idea that we are moving from a text based communication culture towards a computer based one.

Its clear that posters leave more to the imagination of the audience today but also give a clear picture of what type of film it is and what to expect. The amount of text on the modern day poster has become shorter and shorter, and now is usually just a short sentence giving a very basic impression eg "if you need it to arrive safe and in one piece- Hire a professional" This gives a hint that the character will have to protect someone or something, and that the object may be in danger.

Films today don't just rely on posters for promotion but the internet too. This new method of cinematic advertising is a far cry from just using posters and trailers and offers the audience a new level of interactivity. It often offers very little information on the films plot but immerses you into the film's world/fiction. Numerous films like The Dark Knight and Cloverfield have used viral campaigns. This method of promotion relies on the audience getting intrigued by either video clips, flash games or various other promotions. The Dark Knight is possibly one of the best example of a viral campaign. The campaign resulted in gatherings of fans wearing joker make up or championing their faith in Harvey Dent, a fictional character in the Batman universe. This occurred through the use of numerous websites, word of mouth, and projections of the "bat-signal" onto public buildings and even news readers wearing Harvey Dent pins. This method can often be cheaper then paying for TV spots and poster/billboard space and can often create additional interest in the film or even attract audiences who may have not engaged in this kind of activity before. However its also a big risk as the whole promotion could fall through. A good example of putting a lot at risk is shown again by the Dark Knight, where they created a real life joker army,a full example of the viral is given http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/12/05/the-dark-knights-viral-marketing-gets-very-real-cakes-cell-phones-and-all/

Camera maps

click to enlarge


The above images are examples of camera maps. These allow the film crew to know exactly where to place equipment. It also shows the actor where the cameras are allowing them to get into the best postion to achieve the desired shot.

Shooting schedule

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This is an example of a Shooting Schedule. Using a shooting schedule allows everybody involved in the filmmaking process to know exactly when and where to be. It also lists the props needed (if any) so that the team can be fully prepared and filming can run as smoothly as possible.

Freedom Script

(NOTE: format changed due to bloggers auto formating)

FREEDOM (TRAILER)- Rev. 08/10/09


FADE IN:

1 EXT. PATH IN FOREST (CHICAGO) - DAY 1


A man is seen running down a narrow forest path and can be heard breathing heavily. He seems agitated as he begins to slow to catch his breath. Suddenly from the shadows a figure leaps out, the scene cuts prior to contact between the two being made.

CUT TO:


SUPER: Crazy Lady Films

SUPER: Mechabear Productions

FADE IN:

2 INT. FRONT SEAT OF CAR (PORTLAND, OREGON) - DAY 2

The shot takes place from the point of view of A (the main character) as he is driven down a road lined with trees.

A (V.O)
I was normal once. Just a cop from Portland. Nothing special.

3 EXT. PACTO BUILDING (CHICAGO) – DAY 3

Establishing shots of the secret research facility fronted by the PACTO Company.

LT. KENNETH (V.O)
Keep him alive! He’s the only one in this god damn country this can work on.

4 INT. A IN A HOSPITAL LIKE BED/ ROOM (CHICAGO) - DAY 4

We see A waking up in hospital, as he brings his arm up to rub his eyes we see the nanotech arm. A opens his eyes to see the new arm and freezes, staring at the arm in horror and bewilderment.

A (V.O)
But one day that all changed.





5 INT. MAFIA HIDEOUT (CHICAGO) – NIGHT 5

Over the shoulder shot of A looking at the mafia boss and crime lord Don DeVici. A is talking to Don DeVici about making a deal to get out of the city.

DON DEVICI
So you want outta here,eh? Ill make you a deal.
Your FREEDOM for your arm.

A
Deal

A leaves the room and heads out of the building.

DON DEVICI
Boys, you know what to do. I want him dead!

6 EXT. MAFIA HIDEOUT (CHICAGO) – NIGHT 6

As A leaves he finds himself surrounded by Don DeVici’s men. We hear them load their guns. The scene keeps fading in and out to the sound of a heart beat before all sound stops and we see a black screen. We hear A scream in pain then as the footage fades back in the gun fire begins, a quickly stands up from his crouching position and we see that A now has a shield in place of his arm with bullets reflecting off.



7 EXT. IN A FOREST (CHICAGO) – DAY 7

A, LT Kenneth and Don DeVici can be seen fighting with swords. We hear the noise of the swords hitting each other as the fight progresses and also the sound of the participants of the fight grunting aggressively.



8 EXT. IN AN ALLEY WAY (CHICAGO) - DAY 8

A, can be seen shooting a laser beam down an alley way. We hear the noise of the laser beam rushing down the alley, as it nears towards the camera.


9 INT. BAR (CHICAGO) - NIGHT 9

Hector can be heard talking to A about how A can escape and get back to his family
in Portland, Oregon.

HECTOR
If you want to escape, you have to trust me.


A
I guess I have no choice.

10 EXT. FIELD (CHICAGO) - DAY 10

A can be seen conversing with Lt Kenneth, they are discussing A’s purpose and his past. Both are out of breath from fighting and Lt. Kenneth’s blade is covered in blood. The scene is done subtly to hide the fact that Don DeVici is dead.

LT KENNETH
You can’t escape your fate, you’re military property, we created you!

A
My path is for me to choose and no body else, I won’t let you get in my way.

The scene fades out and the freedom title comes in.

SUPER: Freedom title screen.


END.

Storyboards

Storyboarding as we know it today was first used by Walt Disney in the early 1930’s, and was created to help the whole production team to visualize scenes and find potential problems with filming before they happen.

Music research

We looked at numerous action trailers and discovered that music plays a vital role in creating the atmosphere and emphasizing the action. For example we watched the trailer for Gamer. The trailer incorporates diegetic sound of sound effects like sirens and music from artists such as “Marilyn Manson.” The first thirty seconds of the trailer rely on the various sound effects and voiceovers. After a brief build up the titles come in and the song “Sweet Dreams” by Marilyn Manson begins playing. At first it is a slow, soft acoustic melody with the titles fading in and out over the top. As soon as the action starts the guitar turns into a heavy fast paced track. As the voiceovers come in explaining the background story the song goes fades slightly and goes back to the slow acoustic riff, but kicks back in with the heavy guitar riff when the action picks up. This method means that the music perfectly compliments the on screen action.

However not all films rely on a song by a famous artist. Inglorious Basterds starts with a non diagetic soundtrack playing softly in the background while diegetic speech can be heard. Sounds effects can be heard to compliment the writing on screen as well. However when the action picks up later in the trailer the musical score adds some upbeat drums and distorted guitar. It seems that many action films featured a soundtrack or score with rock music for example : The matrix, transformers, crank and ironman.As we watched more and more trailers we learnt just how key music is to a film. We knew that any music in our trailer would have to be copyright free music so we looked on the Internet to see what options we had. First of all we looked on www.royaltyfreemusic.com. There were a few songs here that we thought would fit well with our trailer,particularly Final Goal. The problem with the song was that the sponsors kept saying their name over the top of the song every 5 seconds so we quickly disregarded it. It quickly became apparent that this was the case on all song from this website so we decided to try a different website. after trying several other site with no luck we tried www.freeplaymusic.com. This was by far the best website we had tried. The first song we found was called Bouncing. But after all of the group had heard it we decided it wouldn't be suitable for our film. The next three we found were exactly what we were looking for. These were titled "Eliminator", "Mugshot" and "Apocalypse". We then listened to each song as a group and decided which bits from each track would sound good in our trailer and really compliment the piece. These tracks all have the hard rock sound that many action films use, however they didn't really have any softer parts. Another look on Freeplaymusic brought up some tracks that had an almost espionage sound to them which we felt would fit perfectly with our trailer and the rock music we had already found. These tracks were "Only Human" and "On the Trigger."

My film treatment

The films dominant genre is action however it has elements of sci-fi. With technology constantly advancing in the 21^st century the film explores the lengths that technology is used to keep a superpower on top.

The film follows one man attempting to get back to his family, control his new abilities and find out what happened, however the mafia and the military have different ideas for him.

The film begins with A, our main character, waking up in hospital to find his arm replaced and remembering nothing. He shortly finds out that the arm is new nanotechnology, as he looks at it he has a flashback of his first day as a cop revealing his home town on his badge. When he snaps out of his trance he finds himself surrounded by the military who are trying to get him to train to become the ultimate solider. Being a fairly gentle soul he dislikes this and just wants to have a normal life with his family. The military refuse to let him go and a fight kicks out. He successfully escapes and resorts to hiding around town whilst trying to piece together his past and where the airport is. Expecting him to leave town the military place men inside the airport, who spot A on his arrival. A tries to run but the military corner him, as rage takes over his fist turns into a giant hammer like appendage, which he slams into the ground sending the military flying. Confused and distressed A heads for a bar; here he hears an announcement about the military shutting the airport.

In the bar he meets a man named Hector who consoles him and offers to help. Hector apologizes that he must leave and A shortly follows. An intense pain fills A’s body causing him to pass out in a nearby alley. He then has a flashback showing us his family, thus making him more determined to get home. When he comes too he finds himself in the office of mafia boss Don DeVici. Seeing a private plane A asks if DeVici can help him get home, DeVici says he can, if he can take A’s arm. Desperate to see his family and still struggling to come to terms with the strange abilities of his arm, A agrees. He leaves the mafia building only to be surrounded by Devici’s men. They open fire on him as his arm turns into giant shield. Using his skills learnt as a cop he takes them out.

He runs to Hectors home, where they quickly discuss leaving before Hector sends him off saying it’s not safe here. With the skies opening A takes shelter under a bridge, another flashback occurs, this time of the accident where he lost his arm.

Waking up and remembering about meeting Hector he heads to the meeting point, forgetting that the military are everywhere. He gets spotted and is forced into fighting them, leading away from the meeting point with Hector. The mafia see the news reports and want in on the action.

Cornered by Don Devici and Lt. Kenneth ( who felt his men were failing and so took up the job of destroying A himself) A finds himself in a two on one battle to the death. During the fight Lt. Kenneth reveals why they chose A, who they knew had not only potential but tolerance for the nanotech. Feeling that Don Devici is getting in the way Lt. Kenneth pushes his sword through DeVici’s back before pulling it out and cutting his head off. A turns his arm into a giant blade like weapon and the two fight it out for a while before Lt. Kenneth cuts a deep gash in A’s leg. A falls to the ground in agony, Lt. Kenneth pushes his blade into A’s nanotech shoulder, rendering his arm useless.

Lt. Kenneth tells A he could have been the ultimate solider and would have kept America as the leading super power, currently under pressure from a rapidly advancing China. About to deliver the final blow to A using his gun, Lt. Kenneth has his arm knocked back by Hector, the resulting muzzle flash blinding Lt. Kenneth. Hector then tells A that he has been trying to protect him since the military picked up on A’s unique tolerance to nanotech. The film ends with A returning to home, his arm patched working again and thanks to Hector having a better understanding of how to control it.