Evaluation Question 4

How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Arcane Evaluation Question 4

Website Ideas - Awards

After researching a number of official film websites, we are currently considering featuring awards which our film ‘Arcane’ has won on our own homepage.  After researching the official websites of popular films such as ‘The Artist’, ‘Argo’ and ‘Life of Pi’, we discovered that they all display their achievements in cinema to promote themselves.   If a film has received multiple accolades from recognized and trustworthy sources, then it triggers curiosity in the public as to why they are so highly recommended. 

 We are currently thinking about choosing an award from the Academy Awards, BAFTAs or Cannes Film Festival for our film, as these are often considered the grandest honors to receive in terms of cinematic recognition.  

Below is an image of how we will present our film's awards on the website homepage if we do go through with the concept.

DECONSTRUCTION: Haywire Website

First Draft Trailer Feedback

Upon finishing the first draft of our trailer, we decided to publish it on YouTube.  This would act as a useful service for receiving constructive criticism from the public, allowing us to improve our product further.  We have also shown our trailer to our media teachers for the same reasons.

After receiving audience feedback and reviewing the draft ourselves, we have created a list of the trailer's strengths and weaknesses to work from.

Strengths

• Sticks to the conventions of a teaser trailer:  1 minute and 24 seconds in length, begins with showing the film’s production companies,  has been created intentionally for marketing/to build anticipation for the film’s release, ‘teases’ the audience with short snippets from the film (establishing the concept and genre of the film but without revealing too much of the plot), ends conventionally by informing the audience of the film’s title and stating that it is 'coming soon' rather than providing a specific date.

• Sticks to the conventions of the 'Action-Thriller' genre: has the concept of a male protagonist fighting for survive, a government body act as an adversary, use of enigmas, striking establishing shots, multiple chase scenes which use tracking/panning shots, urban setting, effective use of both high key and low key lighting, fast paced editing, variety of transitions (mainly jump cuts), dramatic climaxing music, use of a tag line, edgy typography.

Weaknesses 

• The trailer does not contain any reviews or awards it has received, a missing feature which would generate more interest in our impressionable target audience.

• The trailer does not include a 'billing block' of film credits at the end, with only the words 'coming soon' being shown.  This is unconventional for any teaser trailer, as it is often considered an essential feature.   

• The footage used forms too much of a coherent whole, potentially spoiling the film's plot by being too chronological.

Current Action-Thriller Film Research

In order to understand the modern market for action-thriller style films, we have researched any new releases of this genre.  By analysing the main themes in these films, we have established a trending concept that we can subsequently integrate into our own teaser trailer.

Here are a number of the films we have researched, and a small break down of their key themes next to each:

‘Resident Evil: Retribution’ (2012) - Action, Adventure, Horror, Thriller – virus attacks Earth’s population/ heroine is the human race's last and only hope/ hunts for those responsible for the outbreak/ must fight to survive.

‘The Bourne Legacy’ (2012) - Action, Adventure, Thriller – top secret government program/ intends to wipe out all the genetically modified killers it created/ protagonist must flee in order to save his life.

‘Haywire’ (2012) – Action, Thriller - female covert ops specialist/ hunted down/ discovers she has been double-crossed by someone close to her in the agency/ strikes back.

‘Safe House’ (2012) - Thriller, Action, Adventure - young CIA agent/ tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house/ safe house is attacked/ forced to go on the run with his charge.

‘Act of Valor’ (2012) - War, Action, Adventure, Thriller - mission to recover a kidnapped CIA operative/ unexpectedly discovers imminent global threat/ elite team of Navy SEALs must embark on a secret operation.

‘Premium Rush’ (2012) – Action, Thriller - bike messenger picks up an envelope/ attracts the interest of a dirty cop/ pursues the cyclist through Manhattan.

‘Jack Reacher’ (2012) – Action, Thriller – gunman takes five lives/ evidence points to the suspect in custody/ suspect blames the man Jack Reacher/ Jack Reacher investigates the case himself.

‘Contraband’ (2012) – Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller – former drug smuggler/ needs to protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord/ sets out to bring back some counterfeit currency.

‘Man on a Ledge’ (2012) – Action, Crime, Thriller - police psychologist/ tries to talk down an ex-con who is threatening to jump from a Manhattan hotel rooftop/ the biggest diamond heist ever committed is in motion.

‘Now You See Me’ (2013) – Action, Thriller - FBI agents/ track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances/ reward their audiences with the money.

‘Alex Cross’ (2012) – Action, Crime, Mystery, Thriller - homicide detective/ pushed to the brink of his moral and physical limits/ attempting to track down a serial killer who specializes in torture and pain.

‘Taken 2’ (2012) – Action, Thriller - retired CIA operative Mills/ he and his ex-wife taken hostage/ culprit is the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.

‘The Company You Keep’ (2012) – Political, Action, Thriller - former Weather Underground activist/ journalist discovers his identity/ forced to go on the run.

‘Assassin’s Bullet' (2012) – Action, Drama, Thriller - unknown vigilante/ begins killing high-priority terrorists/ former FBI field agent brought in/ ordered to discover the identity of the assassin.

‘Cleanskin’ (2012) – Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller - British secret service agent/ ordered to kill a British-born suicide bomber and his terrorist cell.

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ (2012) – Action, Drama, History, Thriller - female CIA operative/ pursues leads to uncover the whereabouts of Al Qaeda's leader/ in 2011 U.S. Navy SEAL team is sent to kill or capture Bin Laden.

‘Riddick’ (2013) - Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller – Riddick betrayed and left for dead/ fights for survival against alien predators/ bounty hunters try to find him/ Riddick unleashes an attack of vengeance.

‘Welcome to the Punch’ (2013) – Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller - former criminal/ forced to return to London/ gives detective one last chance to catch him/ uncover a deeper conspiracy they both need to solve in order to survive.

‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’ (2013) - Action, Comedy, Horror, Thriller - Hansel and Gretel/ vigilantes/ hell bent on retribution/ unknowingly become the hunted.

‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ (2013) - Action, Adventure, Thriller - Katniss Everdeen/ returns home after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games/ must embark on a Victor's Tour/ senses that a rebellion is simmering/ the 75th Annual Hunger Games is about to begin.

‘Safe’ (2012) - Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller – former elite agent/ Russian Mafia murders his family/ he rescues a Chinese girl/ they are pursued by the same gangsters, corrupt New York Police and the Triads.

The main concept that we wish to adopt from these current action-thrillers, is the idea that our protagonist has to fight to survive.  Just like in the films ‘Premium Rush’ and ‘Safe’, our main character is forced to go on the run, when he is pursued for something in his possession.  Then similarly to films such as ‘Haywire’ and ‘The Bourne Legacy’, our protagonist’s adversary is the government itself.  This consequently sparks debate in the audience about the morality of the authority's actions.

Tunbridge Wells Location Shots

Before filming our trailer, we had to determine where the majority of our chase and fight scenes would take place.  To do this we searched locally, sourcing locations that would keep within our budget but still appear to be in urban London.  These places had to be relatively secluded, ensuring that no members of the public would interrupt filming, and needed to provide an open space for our actors to work with.  We eventually decided upon a select few areas in Tunbridge Wells, all of which fitted our criteria.  

The first location was the lower floor of an underground car park.  Our favourite characteristic of this location was the overhead artificial lighting, which provided a harsh and gritty atmosphere and emphasised the idea of danger surrounding our main character.

The next location was the car park’s staircase, a grungy and unkempt area which provided many dynamic angles for shooting.

The third location was the open top floor of the car park.  We chose this area for it’s impressive skyline, one which we could use to mimic the view from a tall London building.

The fourth location used was a derelict alleyway between two old buildings which had a rusty fire exit staircase, where our character could sit.  We thought this would be helpful for creating a pause between any action scenes, allowing the audience to refocus on the main character.

The final location we chose was a similar alleyway for where our main character would be attacked.