Poster 3

We selected another scene from our film, where our character is swinging at her local park.

This is our other poster option, depicting our character using the swing at her local park. I like the images used for this poster and poster 4 because they relate directly to the title and hold metaphorical meaning, the highs and lows of the characters unstable life. Numerous images showing the character advancing froward on the swing have been layered on top of one another to give the effect of motion, as the layers become closer to the screen they become more opaque. As mentioned before the layers of the character represent her spilt personality, and the fact that she has many sides to her personality, experiencing a range of emotions.

We chose to brighten the image near the edges with a bright white light prominant in the right hand corner. This creates a surreal, dreamlike effect centred around the characters head. We chose to do this for a number of reasons, it implys mental unbalance, creates an almost angelic effect suggesting innocence.

The light also hightlights a series of grey chains, which have literal and metaphorical meaning. The chains show the progression of the swing, and as the chains rise higher into the light it represents the characters burdens lifting, as she only feels relief and calm when swinging. The chains also represent the physical and emotion burdens she bares, that trap the character. Also visible is the metal bars, which like the previous image represent the characters imprisionment, and create a sense of doom as the character has no chance of escaping.

One of the layers, the character is scarcely visible and instead the seat is shown alone. This represents the fact that swinging is part of her, as the swing can be viewed inside the character and represents the large role her past time escapism plays.

The colours we chose for this poster are very gentle, pale pastel green, whites and soft greys. We soften the colours of this image to depict how the character feels, as when shes swinging she feels calm and serene, its her form of escapsim and we wanted to create a pastoral, gentle atmosphere that shows what the character is seeing.

The copy is filled in with a similar gentle green to the grass, which we did not only to make it stand out against the grey background but also to create a link between the copy and the grass, suggesting that its natural and earthy, and that the swinging lifestyle is natural to the character. We gently blurred the edges of the copy to again create a surreal effect.

The character appears to be swinging into the distance which cannot be seen, which we did to show that the characters future is uncertain and also that when she is swinging, she enters her own world with no attachments to everyday life.

I would rate this my favourite of the posters for all the reasons described above, as I feel a lot of meaning can be drawn from this poster.

Poster 2

We created the same poster as the previous, but this time did not use black and white, instead using the green tint and highlighting the red jacket.

 

I don't like this poster as much as our previous, the colour distracts from the meaning and complicates the image. Against the copy the colour prevents the same hazy blur that occured previously, and I feel this looks less effective, as it appears dull and doesn't connect to the character.

I don't like the highlight of the red jacket either, as my attention is immediatelty drawn to this one feature, rather than viewing the image as a whole and understanding the meaning. The red is too obvious, and distracts from understanding the character as the background door is overpowered by the foreground red. In this poster I do however like the green tint used on the door but most obviously on the hair. This gives the impression of a night vision camera, which has multiple meanings. It gives the impression that our character is being watched or stalked making her appear more vulnerable, it puts the audience in a privalledged position as they are being allowed to observe the character, and it makes the audience feel more involved for doing so, as they are witnessing her darkest secrets.

I would rate this poster my fourth favourite of the selection, I prefer the other photograph used on posters 3 & 4 and I feel this poster is much more effective in black and white.

Poster 1

As a group we have created four posters, enabling us to chose which one we find to be most effective.

This is our first poster design, using on of our images depicting our character walking toward her house. We chose black and white for this image as we wanted to emphasise her motion and journey, as through black and white only the character and destination (door in distance) are visible. The use of dense, black background surrounding the door really enhances the light illuminating from behind the glass, which creates a surreal effect, and could be misleading implying a place of saftey. It also emphasises the actual glass pane itself, with its criss-cross pattern similar to that of bars of a prision, suggesting that character is trapped both literally and metaphorically.

Two images of our character have been used in this image, the foreground image blurring at the edges and becoming opaque, allowing us to see the character again further forward. This represents our characters spilt, unstable personality, as she constantly flips between highs and lows. It also highlights her progression towards the house, this movement is not fluid and shows the character standing rigid, showing her discomfort and awkward nature. The blur we have used creates a surreal effect, almost dreamlike as she appears to 'float' forwards.

We chose to use a sans serif font for the copy, allowing easier reading and keeping it simple to allow the image to speak for itself. A grey blur has been placed around the edge of the text, creating a fuzzy effect that I like because not only does it blend with the character showing the connection between the words and herself, but it again implys the lack of stability in her life, as her edges are always blurred.

Out of all of our posters I would rate this my third favourite, simply because I like the actual image used on the other two more.

Posters

Here I have added images of posters I like and find effective, for inspiration.

  

 
 


MORE TO BE ADDED

Sound possibilities

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Sound inspiration

Whilst thinking about sound for our film, I have chosen to look at a film I enjoy and find its use of sound extremely effective, 'The shining'. The film often uses obscure, composed pieces of music using sounds from un-identifiable instruments. I love the opening credits use of bizzare sound as shown below.




The strange wailing sounds are so haunting and memorable, almost narrating the journey to the secluded hotel. The composition is called 'Rocky Mountains'  Another scene I particularly enjoy that cleverly uses sound is the scene where is first becomes apparant that the male character 'Jack' is not mentally stable. It took 127 takes to get this scene perfect and I find its use of sound really enhances the tense atmosphere.



 I find the sound used in this film very inspiring, as it has encouraged me to be more creative and experimental as sound can be a major factor in creating a certain atmosphere. In our short film I hope to experiment with sound, pherhaps producing our own and trying things we haven't before.

Stop motion analysis Vincent

I have analysed one of Tim Burtons earliest stop motion animations, 'Vincent' due to the atmosphere it creates, of misery and uttter dispair. 

The very first scene creates this gloomy atmosphere, partly due to Burtons choice of colours. Shot in black and white, the whole scene is black with various tones of grey that immediately create a dark, depressing atmoshere. The silhouette of the tree is effective because its dense black, emphasising the dull lifelessness. The fact that its a silhouette clearly depicts the spindly branches left completely bare again emphasising the lack of life and vibrancy. A black cat is shown as iconic imagery for bad luck and misfortune, which could foreshadow latter events to the audience and gives the impression immediately that this is no happy tale. Black cats are also associated with dark arts and witchcraft, creating an uneasy, foreboading effect as theres almost something mythical about the black cat lurking behind the tree. The brick wall could also be symbolism, as a common saying goes 'hitting a brick wall' which means reaching the end. A sense of no hope is immediately created, and we can imagine that the character will not overcome his issues. Gentle wind instruments are being played throughout this scene, almost in a sorrowful manner as the simply melody is isolated and low pitched, again adding to the atmosphere created.
On first seeing the character if Vincent, we follow the black cat into the room Vincent is playing his instrument in, suggesting that Vincent is going to encounter mis-fortune as the superstition is that black cats bring bad luck to those who cross their path. The fact that the cat is approaching Vincent makes his bad luck seem all the more likely and unfortunate, as 'bad luck' approaches him. A silhouette can be seen in the background behind the character, in the vast empty room, of the window with its panes. The panes look almost like bars, which could symbolise the entrapment of the character, and how he cannot escape his bad luck. This kind of symbolism is something we could use in our short film, to foreshadow latter events and imply to the audience that the character is permanently trapped.
Thre character of Vincent appears very guant, pale and wide eyed with wild black hair. This visual imagery tells the audience a lot about the characters personality and the emotions hes feeling, as he looks distressed and worn out. In our short film the characters face is never fully shown, so we will need to use surroundings to create an atmosphere that reflects how the character feels instead, as through projecting her emotions we can make her more relatable and believable.
Lighting is used clevery throughout this sequence to create an uncomfortable, eerie effect. Vincent is often highlighted by key lighting, leaving everything around him in darkness and projecting shadows all around him. This could reflect the constant scruntiny hes under, and his personal demons that surround him. After we are told he is seven years old the audience also sympathises with the character, as for a boy so young he should be living a care free life yet he is weighed down by heavy burdens.
The whole narrative relatives very much to our film idea, with good stories of a kind boy being told, and then contradicted by how he really feels 'Vincents nice to his aunt when she comes to see him....but dreams of dipping her in wax for his waxwork muesum'. This is something we are planning to do in our short film, potraying a sense of denial and false reality contradicted by the truth and showing that everything is not as it first appears. Our characters can also relate because they come across initially to the outside world as content, but deep down they both know the disatisfaction and upset they feel. The idea of spilt personality is something we are going to use in our short film, as kind Vincent is shown as an innocent young boy in comparrison to the frightening, wild Vincent that he really is.

Short film analysis 'ShadowPlay'

I have analysed a short film that works primarily through shadows and silhouettes, as I found it to be effective and useful due to our new silhouette idea.

'A group of children get more than they bargained for when watching

a peculiar shadow play in a circus tent.'

I thoroughly enjoyed this short film, as I found the use of lighting very effective, its used cleverly to highlight certain aspects of the children, illuminated by the strange shadow show. On first entering the tent the children are illuminated brightly with back lighting as they descend into the dark tent, therefore they appear as silhouettes. This could be foreshadowing latter events, depecting the over whelming power of the show as the children are immediately absorbed by it the minute they enter. This also sets the tone for the rest of the short film and creates an eerie atmosphere, as immediately we feel concerned for the child audience as they appear to be entering the unknown. Key lighting is also used within this sequence, highlighting certain features of the child as they watch, particularly their faces. This works of the idea of personalisation, as the audience will feel a stronger connection to the characters and be reminded of their vulnerabilty through being able to see their faces and expressions and being able to imagine what the characters are thinking and feeling. The illuminations of the childrens faces also allows the audience to see their fixation on the shadow show, as they appear trance like, looking much more vulnerable and helpless. This could represent the tendencies of small children, as they become engrossed and silent when watching something they find unsual or interesting. The smoke and strobe lights used in the very beginning appear very stereotypical theatrical, and suggest vibrance and fun. However this film immediately makes it clear all is not as it seems, as the music has a tinny, echo effect and the strobe lights are flashed against a dense black background, creating a foreboading effect.

Whilst the children are paying to view the show inside the tent, a spotlight effect is cast over them which appears to quickly cut amoungst the children, darting and highlighting quick features of them. The spotlight appears very intense and almost as though the children are being silently scruntisnised and searched on arrival as it illuminates clothing, shoes etc.

I found the silhouettes used very effective, as they appear on what looks like a very old cinema screen, giving a flickering effect. The silhouettes appear very unusual, presented in way that makes the show appear as an old fashioned freak show with echoey paino music. As an audience member this immediately made me feel uncomfortable, as theres a sense of uncertainty and no boundaries that puts the viewers on edge. The silhouette itself is of a hand with numerous fingers, slowly rising upward. It very much mirrors the motion of a flower blooming, which could represent the story unfolding. The fact that a human hand is used for the silhouette personifys it, as we see no person connected to the hand but instead watch it 'bloom'. Using a hand for the silhouette could arguably make it more or less relatable. More relatable because its a sign of humanity, and although we cannot see the person we know a living being is controlling the hands movement, almost portraying a sense of vulnerabilty as the hand appears frail and uncertain. On the other hand, because the hand is detached it could almost appear as its own being, creating a sense of discomfort as the child audience is watching something we are uncertain about, fear of the unknown. When creating our own silhouette, I want to ensure it shows small details of the character, eyelashes, lips moving etc because I feel this creates a sense of vulnerability and makes the silhouette much more relatable, as we don't have visual appearance or expression to rely on.
Another silhouette within this sequence I found particularly effective is the rabbit, shown frolicking forward. Rabbit shadow puppets are commonly re-created because they are so instantly recognisable, its almost an iconic symbol when projecting your own shadow puppets, so this creates a link to something you might have done in your childhood and allows the audience to connect. The actions of the rabbit could be foreshadowing latter events, it unknownly and almost innocently bounds forward, unaware of the danger awaiting it in the form of the crocodile. This could link to the children, unknowingly and innocently going to watch a shadow show being unaware of the danger awaiting them.