Character Summery

Today we have managed to cover a massive ground of work by completeing all our character personalities and appearances. I feel like we have made good steady progress and found that the extra research on Zombies helped us in two ways, first to give us some core information on Zombies and then secondly as a wind down and a break from the work as searching for zombies on the internet can produce some fairly amusing short term entertainment.

Overall so far I feel like we are on the ball and moving on swiftly.

Hermokrates

There were really no boundaries with our villain as he could be whatever we wanted, as a fictional being there are no limits! The personality itself was easy. All villains are evil, dark, spiteful and so on. We also wanted to make him very protective and cunning as he is trying to protect his treasure and capture the three friends.

Hermokrates role in the plot is to do his best to kidnap or scare away the characters. He wants to protect his treasure and throw off anyone on its trail. During the story he rises from the dead to do this.

Appearance wise Hermokrates is going to be fairly shabby. We decided he would be dirty and old with bones on show as he's a zombie. We also decided to add a pirate like quality to him to add more character and make his costume more distinctive.

Costumes

The final stage for the creation of our characters is the costumes. We had already decided roughly how they would dress but have now chosen to further illustrate it to show our intentions. Kimi is dressed fairly plain with her few character quirks such as a printed T-Shirt. Steve is just plain and scruffy, not taking too much care on his appearance, he's wearing just a plain T-Shirt and jeans. Lilah is the most adventurous out of the three when it comes to clothing, she also wears jeans and a T-shirt but smartens it with a fitted coat and heels.

Steve

Steve was a little bit more difficult because we wanted him to be fairly ordinary but with a few attractive perks. We had already decided between us he had to be the strong, brave character who looks out for the two girls but we also decided to throw in a scientific edge to him, also being logical like Lilah but more equiped at formulating plans and saying what to do next rather than solving the actual problems at hand.

Steve's role in the plot is to keep the girls out of as much trouble as possible while still trying to formulate plans to find the treasure and capture the monster that's chasing after them. He, like Lilah does not start off believing in magic but as events unfold he finds it very difficult not to.

Appearance wise, Steve is a typical messy haired, casual teenage boy. He is fairly tall and doesnt especially dress up, he just wears plain jeans and T-shirts. He doesn't care if he looks a bit scruffy, its all part of his persona.

Lilah

Lilah was fairly easy to piece together, being the smarter of the two girls she was obviously going to be the most logical character who gets carried away with her own thoughts and ideas. We also decided she would be the best at problem solving and playing by the rules. She doesn't believe in magic and can be very stubborn but loves her friends and sticks by them.

Her plot in the story is to be the brains behind the adventure, she looks out for the other two and solves most the problems that head their way. However she does not believe in magic and although being the one who mainly reads from the map she finds it hard to believe theres any kind of treasure or zombie out there.

As for her appearance we figured being a very smart girl Lilah would both dress smart and look fairly modern. She doesn't stand out much from the crowd with average qualities but her sharper edge identifies her in her dress.

Kimi

Now we've moved onto looking at the individual characters and their personalities, roles and appearances. We have already decided Kimi is going to be the more fun of the two girls and adding to this we have also decided on making her rather naive, curious, shy and adventurous!

Kimi's role in the story is to be the one who finds all the magical objects and be the only one who really believes in them. She is quite clumsy and relies on her friends a lot as she isn't as sharp and is scared of being alone.

Appearance wise we've decided that Kimi is going to look quite ordinary, not really belonging to any set stereotype. She will also be fairly girly in her own way. We wanted to make Kimi her own person to further accentuate her qualities.

Name Ideas

Our next step was to look at different names so we've put aside a fair bit of time to produce a mind map of different names we all like for the two female leads and one male lead and then we looked at different names we liked for our villain. To do this we split the characters up into catagories so we could find names that would match the characters personality. From the girls we decided we needed one fun, care free character and another smarter more organised one. For the fun and care free character we came up with names such as Rosie, Kimi, Sophie and Milly and ended up choosing Kimi. For the smart girl we looked at names such as Victoria, Olivia, Lilah and Scarlette, there was a bit of a debate here but in the end we settled on Lilah. For our male lead we wanted something fairly ordinary and looked at names such as Steve, Greg, Matt and Andrew, for this we all chose Steve.

Finally we needed to look at the names for our villain, for this we used inspiration from mythology and legends. Our four favourite names were Remus, Oberon, Hermokrates and Romulus, we ended up choosing Hermokrates as it seemed the most original out of the four although still linking back to Greek History.

Zombie Research

Zombies

First published Mon Sep 8, 2003; substantive revision Mon Oct 9, 2006
Zombies are exactly like us in all physical respects but have no conscious experiences: by definition there is ‘nothing it is like’ to be a zombie. Yet zombies behave like us, and some even spend a lot of time discussing consciousness. This disconcerting fantasy helps to make the problem of phenomenal consciousness vivid, especially as a problem for physicalism.
Few people think zombies actually exist. But many hold they are at least conceivable, and some that they are ‘logically’ or ‘metaphysically’ possible. It is argued that if zombies are so much as a bare possibility, then physicalism is false and some kind of dualism must be accepted. For many philosophers that is the chief importance of the zombie idea. But the idea is also of interest for its presuppositions about the nature of consciousness and how the physical and the phenomenal are related. Use of the zombie idea against physicalism also raises more general questions about relations between imaginability, conceivability, and possibility. Finally, zombies raise epistemological difficulties: they reinstate the ‘other minds’ problem.

Kirk, R. (2006) Zombies [online] , Available: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zombies/ 30/01/2010

Favorite Idea

We have now finally managed to narrow down our ideas and come up with a plot, some props and some characters. We have decided that the main part of our plot will be a hunt for some kinda of treasure. To aid this we have chosen two key props that urge the characters on, a map to find the trease and a key to unlock it. We then decided we wanted three main characters who will symbolise different personal traits such as strength, wisdom, knowledge and so on. Then finally we will have our monster who we are still considering to be a zombie. First however more research into zombies maybe needed.

Further Considerations

We narrowed down our plans by... making bigger more vast open plans! This was not a total waste however because we this time we looked more into the idea of using magic in an adventure story. We came up with several different objects and places that could be considered magically and the talked further about the use of spells. We considered all of this because we are most fond of the idea of using a zombie as our villain and to have a zombie in exist there maybe some form of magic needed.

Adventure Ideas

We have decided to brain storm some simple ideas and themes that link to the adventure genre referring back to our research on genre. We mainly focused on possible events, locations and characters for this part.

The next stage is to try and narrow down our ideas from the thought process we have begun.

Treatment

Working Title

The Title of my main and ancillary texts is ‘The Power of the Key’.

Format

In order to create my teaser trailer I will be filming with a Sony A1E camera and I will use a tripod. After filming I will edit the teaser trailer on ‘iMovie’. When creating my magazine front cover and film poster I will use a DSLR camera with 10.1 Megapixels to take photographs for my image and create the magazine front cover and poster on ‘Photoshop’.

Estimated Duration

The estimated duration of my teaser trailer will be two minutes long.

Intended Audience

The intended audience of my teaser trailer, magazine front cover and poster is people aged between under eighteen and thirty years old.

Synopsis

I have been influenced by the adventure teaser trailers that I have looked at. Therefore my teaser trailer, magazine front cover and poster will reflect the texts that I have viewed. There will be a magical object, which is a key, there will be three good people (two female, one male) and there will be a monster. The story line will be about three people who find a magical key that with the help of a map leads them to treasure that has been hidden for centuries. But by finding the key they release a monster who prevents their task of locating the treasure from being quite so simple.

Style

The genre of my teaser trailer will be adventure as this was the most preferred genre from my questionnaire and I have analysed existing products of this genre to work out the key aspects.

Rationale

My teaser trailer will interest a variety of people as the three characters are of different genders and have different personalities. Two of the characters are female, which would interest the female audience as females being involved in adventure. The other character is male, therefore would interest male audiences. There will be some sort of chase scene and adventure which from my questionnaire I found out would interest both male and female audiences.

Budget

The creation of my texts will be financed by me. The camera will be borrowed from college and I will use my own tripod. After costume planning the costumes for the character the actual costumes will have to found by me and the actors.

Cross Media Advertising

The three sections I am looking a within my project are film trailers, magazine front covers and posters, all three of which are a form of advertising. Together they form this process of cross media advertising which is particularly effective because it links together different forms of media so that a wider range of people will be attracted and informed of the product.

Evaluating A Front Cover

I will now look at another Empire magazine front cover and evaluate and analyse the effects created by the features, colours and images used on the cover.

I personally found this front cover very visually appealing. The neon green stands out and catches the eye from a distance and contrasts well against the red title and purple graffiti. it also creates a very dark ominious effect which suits as it is highlighting the villan of a film. The sub title is also extremely effective in the way it is presented as it creates an abstract effect against the rest of the cover. This adds contrast and mess to the cover without it actually looking "messy" or unappealing.

Magazine Front Covers

For one of my ancillary texts I need to create a film magazine front cover featuring my film. To aid this I am going to research different magazine front covers and point out the key features used, why they are used, and the effect given through using them.

The first magazine I am going to look at is Empire Magazine.

The key features I found were -

• Magazine Title
• Magazine tag line
• Publish Date
• Price
• Bar code
• Website
• Sub Titles
• Main Image
• Sub Images
• Main Article Info
• Sub Article Info

The first feature was the magazine title which is fairly simple to understand, it is the feature that identifies the magazine from other magazines and holds the licensing and ownership of all articles and products sold as a package within the magazine. This is followed by the magazine tag line which is a saying or phrase to back up the title about content or style. Sometimes a website is listed below the main title so that readers can also access other information, videos or exclusive articles on the Internet throughout the month without having to wait for the next magazine issue.

Each magazine needs to list the publish date so its readers can identify when the magazine came out to verify the reliability of the information and also to help stores keep on top of new shipments and which magazines are to be currently sold or shipped back. This information usually corresponds with the bar code which holds the individual product information. When scanned into a system at a store this bar code can then be attached a price or special offers which will then correspond with the tills every time the magazine is scanned in. How ever on magazines this is a feature that remains unused as the prices are usually set by the magazine's company and is then printed upon the magazine. The price will then only be changed if special vouchers or discounts have been cleared and allowed for the current issue. The bar code also sources vital information to the stores main system.

The most visually appealing part of the magazine front cover is usually the main image used. This will most often be an image from the main article the magazine has chosen to feature. This image will usually set the colour scheme for the whole cover as while magazines usually keep the same style for their main title, it is very common to then change the colours to blend in with and match the images and articles used so not to cause an unattractive clash of colour. Along side this main image you find sub titles that will name the featured article or make comment about it. Besides the main image and sub title there are also small bits of information on other articles within the magazine and sometimes pictures to back up the pieces of information.

Our Genre

For our film trailer we have decided to focus on the action/adventure genres.
To prepare for this I have researched both genres more in depth to help understand the key fetaures and conventions while also seraching out inspiration for our final product.

" Action-Adventure MovieNo one does action-adventure as well as Indiana Jones or The Mummy. These movies may feature some explosions, chases, and fights, but they’re more focused on recovering the lost item. They often feature the hero, or sometimes a ragtag band of heroes, swinging from ropes and running from danger he’s bungled into. There’s also usually a female love interest who holds her own amidst the action. "
- Anon, (2010) Subgenres of Action Film Genre, [Online], Available: http://new-actionmovie.com/action-film-genre/ [16 Jan 2010].


" Stories of an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger involving spies, assassins and more "
- Anon, (2008-2010) Action/Adventure, [Online], Available: http://www.epubbooks.com/genre/adventure [16 Jan 2010]

" As noted, there are many different ways of labeling and defining fiction genres. Following are some of the main genres as they are used in contemporary publishing: Genre fiction - Action-adventure. These stories, appealing mainly to male readers, feature physical action and violence, often around a quest or military-style mission set in exotic or forbidding locales such as jungles, deserts, or mountains. The conflict typically involves commandos, mercenaries, terrorists, smugglers, pirates, and the like. Stories include elements of courage, male bonding, and betrayal. "
- Anon, (2010) Genre fiction - Genre conventions:Encyclopedia II - Genre fiction - The genres of genre fiction , [Online], Available: http://www.experiencefestival.com/genre_fiction_-_genre_conventions [16 Jan 2010]

Popular Film Genre

To aid the production side of my project I am going to research into different types of film genre and their key features and conventions. I have used the website http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html to aid this research.

ACTION FILMS
Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and adventurous, often two-dimensional 'good-guy' heroes (or recently, heroines) battling 'bad guys' - all designed for pure audience escapism.

ADVENTURE FILMS
Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. They can include traditional swashbucklers, serialized films, and historical spectacles (similar to the epics film genre), searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle" and "desert" epics, treasure hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown.

COMEDY FILMS
Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse and provoke laughter (with one-liners, jokes, etc.) by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. It uses various forms of comedy through cinematic history, including slapstick, screwball, spoofs and parodies, romantic comedies, black comedy (dark satirical comedy), and more.

CRIME AND GANGSTER FILMS
Crime (gangster) films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or mobsters, particularly bankrobbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life. Criminal and gangster films are often categorized as film noir or detective-mystery films - because of underlying similarities between these cinematic forms.

DRAMA FILMS
Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. Usually, they are not focused on special-effects, comedy, or action, Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets. Dramatic biographical films (or "biopics") are a major sub-genre, as are 'adult' films (with mature subject content).

EPICS/HISTORICAL FILMS
Epics include costume dramas, historical dramas, war films, medieval romps, or 'period pictures' that often cover a large expanse of time set against a vast, panoramic backdrop. Epics often share elements of the elaborate adventure films genre. Epics take an historical or imagined event, mythic, legendary, or heroic figure, and add an extravagant setting and lavish costumes, accompanied by grandeur and spectacle, dramatic scope, high production values, and a sweeping musical score. Epics are often a more spectacular, lavish version of a biopic film. Some 'sword and sandal' films (Biblical epics or films occuring during antiquity) qualify as a sub-genre.

HORROR FILMS
Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged humans. They are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not usually synonymous with the horror genre. There are many sub-genres of horror: slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.

MUSICAL FILMS
Musical/dance films are cinematic forms that emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routines in a significant way (usually with a musical or dance performance integrated as part of the film narrative), or they are films that are centered on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography. Major subgenres include the musical comedy or the concert film.

SCIENCE FICTION FILMS
Sci-fi films are often quasi-scientific, visionary and imaginative - complete with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary monsters ('things or creatures from space'), either created by mad scientists or by nuclear havoc. They are sometimes an offshoot of fantasy films, or they share some similarities with action/adventure films. Science fiction often expresses the potential of technology to destroy humankind and easily overlaps with horror films, particularly when technology or alien life forms become malevolent, as in the "Atomic Age" of sci-fi films in the 1950s.

WAR FILMS
War films acknowledge the horror and heartbreak of war, letting the actual combat fighting (against nations or humankind) on land, sea, or in the air provide the primary plot or background for the action of the film. War films are often paired with other genres, such as action, adventure, drama, romance, comedy (black), suspense, and even epics and westerns, and they often take a denunciatory approach toward warfare. They may include POW tales, stories of military operations, and training.

WESTERNS
Westerns are the major defining genre of the American film industry - a eulogy to the early days of the expansive American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most enduring genres with very recognizable plots, elements, and characters (six-guns, horses, dusty towns and trails, cowboys, Indians, etc.). Over time, westerns have been re-defined, re-invented and expanded, dismissed, re-discovered, and spoofed.


Dirks, T. (2009) Main Film Genres, [online], available: http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html [5th January 2010]

Questionnaire

To begin my product I first want to approach people and find out the key importance of each form of media I need to explore (teaser trailer, magazine front cover and poster). To do this I am going to send out questionnaires to 50 different people and analyse their responces.
Here are a copy of the questions I will be asking -

Please cirlce your responce, if a question is non-applicable due to a previous answer please move onto the next question

Are you - Male or Female ?
Are you - -15 or 16-21 or 22-30 or 31+ ?
Do you - Work or Study or Both or Neither ?
Do you watch teaser trailers? Yes or No
Where do you watch teaser trailers? TV or Cinema or YouTube or Other _______
Do you judge films by the teaser trailer? Yes or No
Does more content attract your interest more? Yes or No
Name a film you remember the teaser trailer from
What made it memerable?
Do you read film magazines? Yes or No
What attracts you most to film magazines? Images or Title or Featured Pieces
Do you purchase film posters? Yes or No
Do you find film posters a good advertising technique? Yes or No