Poster creation

To create our poster we started with an A3 document. We added a white frame, an idea that was influenced by the 'Easy A' poster. We then added text using the 'dodge' font. We chose a purple and pink colour scheme to appeal to our target audience of teenage females.
We imported the pictures of our models and positioned them either side of the text. We also added subtle shadows to give the impression that the actresses are actually stood on the purple floor. After this, we added text to further replicate the style of other film posters. We added the 5 star rating by Premiere magazine as a large focus as this is a common convention of existing posters.
We then added logos of the production company and other associated businesses, which is consistent amongst existing posters. We decided to change the image for the poster as we didn't think the actress' facial expression and body languange appropriately conveyed her character within our movie. Additionally, her clothing was not representative of the character and did not provide a strong enough juxtaposition with the character on the right. Furthermore, we tried to mirror the pose of the models to make the poster more aesthetically pleasing.
We added the actresses names to the poster and also added a more pronounced shadow. We used the font and styling from the text on the trailer to create a consistency across our publications. The final stage of production was to add more text. The 'spring 2012' is an idea influenced by the poster for 'Wild Child', a commercially successful film also aimed at teen girls. We added the text, 'the hit teen comedy of the year' to get the audience interested in the film. Originally, we tried the tag line 'the claws are out', however this didn't fit well within the space, and instead drew attention away from the actresses and the film title.

Music changes

After putting together large parts of our footage we feel that the music we hve chosen is not appropriate. The pace, tune and themes within the songs do not suit our scenes and so we have decided to pick different songs. We chose two songs by Lady Gaga, 'Vanity' and 'Fashion'. This artist is famous, particularly with the teen girl demographic. This collaboration between two different companies is an example of synergy.








We emailed Lady Gaga's record label to request permission to use the song within our teaser trailer.

We have still recieved no response from the other record labels we contacted.

Initial stages of film trailer creation

To create our teaser trailer we used Adobe Premiere Pro. We started by importing our footage as shown below.

We used the source preview window to watch our footage before positioning the 'set in' and 'set out' points. We then dragged the footage down onto the timeline.



Unsuccesful footage 2

This is a screenshot from one of our filming sessions. We intended for this to be the scene where Nikki (the protagonist) was expelled by the principal of a posh, private school. However, the mise-en-scene was not appropriate for the environment we wanted. As a result of this we have decided to change some of the scenes in our trailer. We particularly want to change the order of the scenes and the content of the opening clips. Instead of showing Nikki walking down the corridor and then being expelled in her principle's office we want to film her outside of the school. Then, in a seperate scene, she'll recieve a letter through the post saying she has been expelled. We feel this will be more succesful because it reveals less about the plot, something we learned from our audience research earlier in the project.

Unsuccessful footage

After viewing our footage we think that it is not of a high enough standard to be used in our teaser trailer. In the particular example below, we had some trouble with the tripod, making it difficult to achieve a smooth pan shot. As you can see, the camera jerks across the scene, and although we did try to include a segment of the footage in our coursework, we felt it was still not of a high enough standard.

Photoshoot 4

We decided that we were not satisfied with the images we took in Photoshoot 3. This is because we thought the actress' outfit, facial expression and body language were not suited for the purpose we needed. We therefore decided to redo this photoshoot and change the look of our actress and position her more appropriately for use of the image on the poster.

We then used Adobe Bridge to create a contact sheet. After this we uploaded the PDF to Google Docs, making use of more modern multimedia technology. This can be viewed by clicking here.

Filming part 4

Today we filmed all of the scenes with our main actor and actresses. We have now gathered footage for all of the scenes that we needed for our teaser trailer and we will now continue editing our teaser trailer using Adobe Premiere pro.


We are still yet to recieve a response from Sony and Roxy recordings concerning the music we intend on using for our coursework.

Film poster font and composition analysis

The majority of these films use a simple, sans-serif font. We have been influenced by this trend and have decided to use a similar type of font for our own poster. All of the actors and actresses are looking directly at the camera, which is important to make the audience feel more emotionally connected to the film. In addition to this, they are full body shots in most of the images. This shows the actor/actress' outfit, which tells the audience a lot about the characters. We also intend to follow some of these typical conventions of the genre for our own movie poster.

Film poster colour analysis

We picked out this selection of teen movie posters which appeal to a similar target audience as our film. The majority of them feature stereotypically feminine colours such as pink and purple, so we made the decision that our poster should feature a similar colour scheme.

Filming part 3

Today we filmed our main actress. We gathered footage of some of the most important corridor scenes. Additionally, we filmed the scene set in the teacher’s office. This means we only have a small amount of footage left to film. Therefore, we can start editing our footage using Adobe Premiere pro.

We have still not received a response from Sony or Roxy recordings.  

Poster - font choice

For our movie poster we need to pick a font that will stand out amongst the colours and images. Also, after looking at the posters we researched at the beginning of the project we picked out simple, mostly sans-serif typefaces for use in our work. We also decided to include some handwritten designs to represent the school-focused nature of the film. However, these are less iconic and more difficult to read. Our poster will be displayed in busy environments such as cinemas and in magazines. As a result we need it to stand out and be easily recognisable so that it creates an impression on our target audience.

Music copyright request

We have emailed the record companies of the music we wish to use in a coursework.

Photoshoot 3

In our third photoshoot we photographed one of our lead actresses, Orianna, for use in our print works. We took both portrait and full-length shots. The portrait pictures can be used on our magazine cover and the full length shots will be good for use on the promotional poster.

Again we used Adobe Bridge to create a contact sheet. After this we uploaded the PDF to Google Docs, making use of more modern multimedia technology. This can be viewed by clicking here.

Photoshoot 2

On our second filming session we wanted to take more images that can be used throughout our print work. We photographed the church building with a focus on images that showcased the building as posh and formal to contrast with the rough and dirty exterior of the school from shoot 1.

We then used Adobe Bridge to create a contact sheet. After this we uploaded the PDF to Google Docs, making use of more modern multimedia technology. This can be viewed by clicking here.

Filming part 2

We intended to film the exterior shots of the 'posh school' at Haigh hall in Wigan. However we had to change these plans at the last minute when we arrived in Wigan due to transport difficulties. We made the decision to film the establishing shots of the exterior of a local church, which ordinarily wouldn’t look like a school, so we decided to just film the main body of the church without the steeple in shot to make it look more realistic.

MPAA Screen

Our research showed that a common convention of existing movie trailers is the inclusion of an MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) ratings screen. These are shown in several succesful movies  that relate to a similar target audience as ours: the teenage girl demographic.

Just My Luck


Legally Blonde 2


Mean Girls 2


John Tucker Must Die

Music

We are looking for a song that is fast-paced, modern pop music (to help us appeal to our target audience) that will go well with our footage. Because our trailer will be between 60 and 90 seconds long we need songs that stand out and help to promote the ideology of the film. As a result, we have chosen 'Vanity' by Chrsitina Aguilera and 'Popular' by Eric Saade.

These two songs are appropriate because they are fast-paced and modern and we think they will help us to appeal to our target audience.

Revised filming locations

Scene	Filming Location
Posh school establishing shot	Haigh Hall
Posh school corridor	Manchester Town Hall
Principal’s office	Manchester Town Hall
New school establishing shot	The Byrchall High School
New school corridor	Winstanley College corridor
School public place	Winstanley College corridor

Due to unfortunate circumstances we have had to rethink our filming locations. Croxteth Hall, which we initially planned to use as the exterior of the posh school, is undergoing renovation work and as a result has scaffolding blocking the entire facade. We have decided to replace this with Haigh Hall which is closer (and therefore easier to get to) however we do not think it will be as effective as a school exterior.

Preliminary music research

We want to feature modern pop music in our teaser trailer to appeal best to our target audience of younger teenage girls. We've spent today's lesson considering many female pop stars such as Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Ke$ha. We also considered male stars because these would also appeal to the audience, however we struggled to find any pop stars who sing the correct style of music.

By featuring a star on our soundtrack we are displaying synergy as the film and song mutually promote each other for additional success.

Christina Aguilera - Vanity



The Plastiscines - Bitch



Cher Lloyd - Swagger Jagger



Katy Perry - California Gurls



Ke$ha - Blah blah blah


Eric Saade - Popular


These are the songs we have researched. We intend to do further research and continue thinking about the impact music will have on our trailer.

Technology used during shoot 1

During our first filming session we used a Panasonic AG-HMC41e video camera along with a tripod. This enabled us to keep a steady shot during shooting and smooth pan shots. We didn't use a microphone because we intend to play music over the top of the footage.

In addition to this, we used a Sony Alpha 200 SLR to take stills images for use in our print work.

Photoshoot 1

During our first session of filming we also took some still photographs for use throughout our print work. We used a Sony Alpha 200 DSLR with the hope that it would provide us with high quality images that can be printed to large sizes. We focused on taking wide-angle landscape images so that we would then be able to superimpose our actresses at a later date.

We then used Adobe Bridge to create a contact sheet. After this we uploaded the PDF to Google Docs, making use of more modern multimedia technology. This can be viewed by clicking here.

Filming part 1

Over half term we visited a local high school to film establishing shots for our trailer. We tried to pick camera angles that gave the buildings a sense of scale- suggesting that this school was huge in comparison to the one our protagonist is originally from. We also wanted to emphasise the difference in styles between the buildings, suggesting the school was constructed over  a period of time with poor planning. We did this with the hope of creating the impression that this is a rough, working-class school which would further add to the feeling of contrast between this school and the protagonist's old one.

We originally intended to use pathetic fallacy to convey a feeling of despondency within these shots. However, due to time limnitations we were unable to wait any longer before we filmed this scene and so had no choice but to use the footage of the school on a sunny day.

In our print work we intend to use Adobe Photoshop to edit our still images. We will darken the tones, reduce the contrast and superimpose our actresses. This will hopefully further emphasise the contrast.

Final scene list

Click to view full size

Here is our modified scene list. We made some changes to the original scene order and added extra information explaining our thought processes.