Unit 15 Film Pitch

Pitch

My idea for my film is about a soldier/former mercenary who has just come back from fighting in a war and the things he has seen have taken a toll on his mental well being the genre of the film will be war/drama I believe because it shows some really important messages in it. For a title I'm thinking of the name PTSD because when this man comes home his head is currently in an apocalyptic state. 

I think my film will be aimed towards people at the age of 15 and above from all backgrounds and personality's as long as they are fans of war stories and intense things they should enjoy it. 

Disney and Pixar films don’t fall into the same genre as my film these films are primarily aimed at children however what is great about Pixar and Disney is the way they market their films that’s why I have given there work a mention as I enjoy the way they promote there movies dedicating YouTube channels to show their trailers on they have pages on social media and their new streaming platform Disney plus shows they know how to market movies and I’ve learned things by picking apart and researching into there work 

https://images.app.goo.gl/dEiFe9uuXbBCWiPZ6

I've been looking at the marketing for the new Disney and Pixar film onward that starts Tom Holland as the lead character for this specific film Disney done the usual made trailers and posters and they also advertised it heavily on the TV that it was available on Disney+ Disney's new streaming platform. The target audience is obvious for this as it's a Disney/Pixar film which are typically aimed at children from ages 4-10, Disney films also have big budgets this specific film had the budget of $175-$200 million. DreamWorks is a similar company to Disney and Pixar as they make the same types of films mostly aimed at children they have similar budgets aswell DreamWorks how to train your dragon 3 was given the budget of around $130 million to make and market.

https://images.app.goo.gl/6nekkMJfLeK774wJ9

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/yXsAcCWe3fs6DhL56

The film poster for the 2017 war film Dunkirk has loads of persuasive techniques in it the text at the bottom "When 400,000 men couldn't get home home came for them" this is a good technique as we the viewer want to know how there home could possibly come and get them when they are hundreds of miles away it makes the person seeing it interested and makes them want to see the movie. It also has loads of codes and conventions for the genre we see explosions injured men dark skies dirt and debris all over this poster is following the codes and conventions of this genre. I can learn some things from this poster as it tells a lot on how to market a film just by showing you the poster.

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/vR24JcFuvZzXhKcp7

Another film poster I'm looking at is the original 1993 Jurassic Park poster. "An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making" is a good marketing technique used by universal to market Jurassic Park as it hypes up the film it tells us the viewer that it is about dinosaurs however it goes against codes and conventions for your typical action adventure film as the poster is just black and not much else added on except the logo halls reception theory can be applied to this poster as it's lack of narrative may be confusing to the viewer as there is not a lot of stuff to see or read on this poster. I have learned a fair amount from this poster as it shows me that poster with not much detail on it can still be very effective at its job which is exactly what this poster does I also respect it as it uses 3 colours in it that I want to use in my colour scheme which is very helpful to me it gives me an idea how to set my colours out and why it’s important to plan and prepare. I firmly believe that I have taken a lot from picking apart this poster and taken stuff that I will use in my own creation.

I have briefly thought about 3 ideas that I like for my possible poster ideas. My first is my main character kneeling down on the beach with his head in the sand looking stressed or panicked. My second is my character sitting with his back on a tree and with his service pistol lying next to him on the ground. My third and final is my character standing in a black room with blue shadows creeping up behind him. 

Colour schemes for my poster I'm thinking of some dark gritty colours because I believe that this is the way to capturing an audiences attention my possible colour choices are Grey's and Black's. This is to show the horror of conflict zones 

With my secondary research I have found out that the most popular film genre aimed at my audience it’s the adventure genre this is of September 2020 they have generated a total of 65 billion since 1995 according to statista.com. This goes against my film idea as my film is not an adventure film it's a psychological film as it shows the horror of what war and conflict can do to someone's thoughts. 

Secondary research of some existing products i have looked into some other psychological movies, movies that take a deeper look into the wars a person can go through with his thoughts a film that be classed as this is the 2019 film The Lighthouse with Robert Pattinson and Willam Defoe.

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/y5PDj69RieHkbctP9

This poster shows what I would like to put in mind it has the same colour schemes and layout I like this because of its dark and dingy colour's this gives off a dark eerie feeling when looking at it as you don't know what is to come of these two people you know it's gonna be intense as most psychological films are. Most psychological films have posters like this another example is the movie hush. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hush_%282016_film%29

https://images.app.goo.gl/97WtJTirTXpgXKKu7

As you can see the film poster has similar looks to the lighthouse it very dark in colours and you have two characters on the front of the poster this is following codes and conventions because they are normally at least 1-4 people on the poster of a psychological film so my choices the lighthouse and hush are following codes and conventions. The 2 posters above have shown me a lot in their posters it’s extremely helpful as the film I’m going to be making is a similar genre to the 2 films and it’s colour scheme of Black and white is also a helpful bonus as these colours are part of the colours I intend to use this shows that it must be a convention of the genre as these 2 example are quite similar for being in genres that have little differences to each other.

Primary research, for my primary research I asked 5 people 7 question about my film and if they would be interested in watching my film or if they were interested in the genre. Everyone I asked said that they would watch my film however said that my specific genre was not their favourite. Out of all the genre action horror and comedy was the most popular with the people I asked, out of both my titles 4 people voted for PTSD they thought it was better than my other title apocalyptic state which only got 1 vote. The people I asked liked the title because it can be related to issues that real People go through everyday all over the world and it's quite a common issue when people come back from warzones or stressful situations. 

Questions 

Q1 would you watch my film 

Q2 what do you like about my films plot 

Q3 are you interested in psychological thrillers 

Q4 what is your favourite genre of movie 

Q5 why is that your favourite genre of movie 

Q6 which name for the movie do you like more PTSD or apocalyptic state 

Q7 why that name

This research has helped me in my final decision as I have received a clear picture of what my target audience would prefer to see in the movie. Which is helpful as it makes things easier as you know what to include and what to miss out. 

With the character being a mercenary In my movie I have looked into the possible costumes and I have some ideas I'm currently thinking about black jeans and a white t shirt with trainers. 

It's always important when using secondary research to give credit where due this will prevent anyone taking legal action against you for using content you do not own or have not asked permission to use that's why above I have included the links to the Google images pages where you will find my images I have used for my research. If links aren’t included copyright can be an issue you may experience if you do not give the proper credit to other people’s work it’s Best to avoid copyright at all times to make this work much smoother 

Feedback for the 3 ideas the people I asked said they liked the idea of my characters head in the sand as it shows how war has effected this man in some form and how he can't even stand and war has effected his physical well being as well as his mental health. This shows me if I was to use this idea it would have a positive outcome and it seems to popular. 

For the second idea where my character is sitting by a tree this was still given positive feedback however they preferred the other ideas as they believed that they showed a better message than this one looking at my feedback this idea is the last out of three that I might be going to use. 

For the third and final idea this was given the most positive feedback from the people I asked they said that it shows real struggle and emotion and devotion to his friends who he has lost in war and the darkness he is surrounded by is representing his pain and suffering that he has been enduring since he has come back. This seems to be the most popular out of my ideas as I got a lot of information on what makes this idea hit hard and be effective.

Pre Production

I made some changes to my posters as I was not able to create the ones I wished due to restrictions. 

Here is my feedback for my three ideas I like this feedback and I’m happy with the response I was given as it shows me what I have done right and it shows that my audience understand what I’m trying to show in my movie and my posters 

Flat plans feedback

Flat plans 

 

For my first flat plan I was thinking of going with something that catches the eye more that’s why I have the main picture bigger and having take up the majority of the poster this makes the image the main focus point as it’s what the eyes first see when they look at the poster. I wanted to go with something a little more different for this idea as it’s not what you typically see from industry standard posters as they usually have reviews attached to them hyping the movie up I wanted to leave it with less writing on it this could possibly relate to my movie symbolising warzones and empty and forgotten wastelands. My feedback is helpful as they agree with me for my image being big to draw attention and they realise that it is lacking extra pieces which they recommend adding more to.

 

Flat plan 2 I wanted to with the traditional type of poster for the second as this is what most people are used to seeing when they look at a movie poster it has the main image in the middle then had reviews from professional companies on both sides it usually has a quote at the bottom to intrigue the viewer. The person giving my feedback notices that it’s a common type of poster layout as they describe it as very direct and straight to the point and say it’s easier on the audiences eyes this suggests that they are used to seeing this type of poster and are keen to keep seeing it this makes me think they perhaps making my poster this way would be the most beneficial just by looking at the feedback 

 

Flat plan 3 I think is my least favourite as I feel like the layout wouldn’t work too well and I believe that my feedback agrees with me here they it’s very simple and there isn’t much to catch a viewers eye I agree with them in some parts I think this poster layout could come off as a bit confusing and it may have the viewer looking in the spots.

Production 

First to start off I started by getting a black background on my page just by using the paint bucket tool then I added some red text to help it stand out more on the black background. 

 

Next I downloaded some brushes off Google, the brushes I downloaded I wanted to make sure they looked like glowing orbs symbolising ghosts or lingering spirits. I then added some of these orbs with the brush I downloaded to my new layer which I thought went decently well considering my idea is supposed to be inside my characters head and the orbs are supposed to represent that the people he lost never actually left him. 

 

Next step was to add my text in like teasing the release date. I just used the text tool to accomplish this and I made sure the text was coloured red again I'm hinting at danger and destruction which is what my character has gone through when he was away fighting.

 

For this poster I wanted to show what can go through someone’s mind When they suffer from PTSD the blue orbs I used where to symbolise his fallen comrades and the memories that he can’t forget which is a crucial component of PTSD I used black and red to symbolise mystery death, blood and danger which again is things that are typically seen or thought of in a conflict zone which is what I’m trying to achieve in my poster I felt with this poster I can give the viewer a brief look into what PTSD can look like and what it symbolises 

(PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING POSTERS WERE DRAWN BY HAND DUE TO TECHNICAL MALFUNCTIONS) 

 

 

For this poster the idea was that my character would have his hands on by his side then I would have the shadows look like they are surround him this gives off the idea of death and destruction surrounding him at all times I didn’t manage to get it done due to technical faults. I would use a long shot capturing my entire characters body and showing off his emotions with this being a war/thriller type film I would take costume into consideration my character isn’t a soldier In the army however he is a mercenary looking at mercenary films I have come to a conclusion that wearing a hoodie or a t shirt as well as jeans or camo print jeans would be a good thing to use this would be using iconography because without even watching the film just by seeing my character In costume your getting the sense that’s it’s going to be military style movie I would also use dark lighting to show off that war is a dark and lonely place I think they including this gives my audience a clear picture of what I’m trying achieve and the message I’m trying to tell people with my poster. Expanding on my mise en cine I think I would include maybe a gun prop this again would be iconography because my audience will see this and think of war films when they see gun prop and the costume. This creates a sense of meaning to my project both technically and visually I would also have my character use a more disturbed facial expressions as he has been through hell and has been haunted and hunted. 

For the photos for this one I would have my characters full body in the photo and he would look further away this is giving of the hint of being distant and alone I would use the red black and white as my colours scheme as these are good colours that can tell you something just by looking at them red symbolises danger death and destruction all around and white could be used to show light and goodness and black for deceitful. I think my audience should still watch my movie even though the posters aren’t detailed enough I have included what you see of typical film posters which means I have followed the conventions as usually you will see reviews and quotes on a film poster this is to try and draw the person looking at it in.

 

For this poster I was thinking of using a close up or medium shot this is so I can capture emotion and show my story by showing the negative impacts of war however I will also show that there is always a hope for people who have fought in warzones when it comes to lighting Im going to be using a mixture of darker low key lighting and a mix of brighter lights this is to symbolise hope and death which is what often happens in a battlefield the soldiers hope for their lives and victory however they are surrounded by death with people dying around them. My mise en cine will include my costume ideas I’m thinking of going with similar as my previous idea however I think I will go with something a little bit more casual maybe a hoodie and some jeans and trainers when it comes to props I was thinking of some sort positive item that kept my character calm during the battle like a photograph of a specific object that the Audience can understand that made them have a good mind set I feel that these visual and technical codes create a sense of meaning because it shows the importance of war and how war can effect a human mind people who suffer from PTSD need to helped through their suffering and that is what I’m trying to achieve by raising awareness of the condition.

Due to them being hand drawn I can't give much feedback on how they were created which is disappointing. If my posters had gone to plan at this point we would be seeing my main character with his hands covering his face this showing that he is in extreme stress and he is haunted by his past memories of his combat experiences 

I would like to use a font that stands out with my colours I will be using which will be red white and black. I’m using the colour red because it’s a sign for danger and violence which is what my film is about with it being set in a war. The colour white because it symbolises salvation and wisdom which is what a soldier would require to survive and I’m going to be using black because it has the look of mystery which is also what a war symbolises as soldier/mercenary doesn’t know what will happen next. It would have been taken in side street in front of an old brick wall this would simulate a destroyed building one that has be swallowed by war and violence 

Feedback for drafts 

The feedback I have been given for the my poster ideas are helpful they give me a clear idea on what my audience would like to see I also like my feedback as it seems that they understand what I’m trying to show with these posters they understand that coming back from warzones usually has negative feedback on people. My feedback also respects the way I have the critics reviews on the side of each posters this shows having reviews hypes the film up for the industry and the fans. I’m happy with the feedback I have received as it gives me an idea that the things I’m Including in psychological thriller/ war movie posters seem to be drawing in my audience looking at the positive feedback. 

Print adverts/Distribution

Print adverts are a good way to market a film as they are widely available and are also the most common we are used to seeing movie posters so that is why I think it's the best as people enjoying seeing posters. I would place my posters in town centres and cinemas to get the best responses this will also be the best place people will see them social media is also a good place to upload posters as social media is a massive platform with billions of users. 

Evaluation  

I'm not pleased with my designs with them being hand drawn if I had managed to get them done digitally I think they would have looked better. To improve i will hopefully be able to make digital posters without any technical errors or issues. 

Secondary images 

https://images.app.goo.gl/pqgu8YWppMeYUghf6

https://images.app.goo.gl/jbPjuDjgnE9KgbTGA