Target Demographic Brainstorm

This brainstorm is a visual representation of the type of things our demographic is interested in. We predicted relevant aspects of our target audience such as their age and gender, the clothes they wear, hobbies, holiday wish list, how they would describe themselves their food preferences and their ambitions. This will help us narrow down who we should interview.

Film Magazine Case Study: Little White Lies

I was most intrigued by the independent magazine, Little  White Lies because initially it appears to be a film magazine disguised as a comic book. 

According to Google, the definition of a white lie is "A harmless fib or small untruth, often done to spare someone's feelings or for some other diplomatic reason" Although the name of the magazine doesn't sound remotely like it relates to the film genre, when you actually read the content you realise that 'Little White Lies' is quite fitting because essentially it is a magazine made up of writers' opinions as the majority of the content in the magazine are film reviews, notions, and questions about the film industry. 

The magazine's slogan is "Truth & Movies", it is thought provoking because when put together with the title, it becomes an oxymoron. However, the content does reflect the slogan because the magazine hardly has any adverts and the adverts in the magazine are mostly film related. This is a clear subversion of the magazine conventions because most magazines rely on the money given to them by the advertising companies to fund their publications.  

There are virtually no sell lines on the front cover of Little White Lies which is one of the main ways it subverts the conventions of a magazine. To compensate for the lack of sell lines, the magazine puts heavy emphasis on the aesthetic aspect of the front cover, hence the pop-art cartoon sketch of Matt Damon in his latest movie, Elysium). However, there is a heading at the very bottom of the page which is only visible if you tilt the magazine towards the light as the glossy texture contrasts the otherwise matte texture of the whole magazine. The design of the magazine seems dependent on the feature film; in this case, Elysium is a dystopian sci-fi action thriller. Elements of sci-fi are the most prevalent design features of the magazine because the robotic, mechanical illustrations dominate the contents of the magazine. The colour scheme consists of vibrant colours such as neon green, white, black and blue which reflects the sci-fi and dystopian aspect of the film. 

Throughout the magazine, the fonts alternate between serif and sans serif although I established that the pattern is that reviews are written in a serif font. Little White Lies embraces all film genres and even discusses black and white films; this displays the variety of the magazine. The institution that publishes Little White Lies is TCOLondon. They also publish the DIY Culture magazine and and Huck Magazine. Little White Lies major competitor would be So Film magazine because it is also an independent film magazine.  

The target demographic for this magazine seems to be young adults because the written content is quite opinionated yet mature. The graphic design is not for someone who prefers traditional magazine conventions because Little White Lies is quite modern and almost completely subverts conventions aesthetic wise; therefore the design aspect could reflect the likes of the target demographic who like vibrant, vivid, neon colours (colours that may be an eyesore to those who prefer traditional mags).   

Magazine Case Studies: Empire and Sight & Sound

 

Research/Analysis into influential Gangster film examples

Case Study: American Gangster

American Gangster is a perfect example for our film trailer because the plot does not revolve around the typical Italian Mafia; ultimately the perspective from an African-American mafia is the unique selling point of this film. The importance of family and integrity is a key theme in this film which has transferred to our film trailer. 

New York City is clearly identified as the location because of the establishing shot; Denzel Washington's first line enhances the effect of the establishing shot for he states the name of the city. The audience are immediately informed that he is the protagonist because of the way he is walking in the middle of the group while the other characters surround him eagerly listening to his words. Some gangster iconography include: the first walking sequence and the shooting. When the narrative references keywords such as 'business', the scene cuts to a matching scene like the note-counter counting a stack of dollar bills - money is also an iconography of the gangster genre. 

As the narrative progresses, the jump-cuts between the police's perspective and the gangster's perspective divide the audience because we see two sides of the story. The contrasting attitudes of the gangster and the police displays the conflict between these two opposing sides. The police view these actions as crimes whereas the gangsters' warped view is that these crimes are justified as hard work. The luxury and wealth of the gangster is a typical convention of gangster films and in this trailer it is portrayed by the large mansion and stylish suits. The protagonist is most likely described as an anti-hero and is said to be the "most dangerous man" because he commits crimes like murder but for the good of his family, therefore he does not possess the typical attributes of a hero. 

A problem arises when the police begin to investigate the gangster and his family is threatened. A police car interrupts the gangster's peace as it appears in a shot with the mansion. Overall, this trailer ends ambiguously because he drops the gun in the last scene which could mean many things. The hip hop music in the middle of the trailer suits the African-American perspective as hip hop originated from people of colour. The intertitles entice the audience to watch the film as they reveal that this film is based on a true story, the famous director and celebrity actors, highlighting their awards and achievements in smaller text.The click of a gun closes the trailer with credits that include the distribution and production companies which conforms to the conventions of a trailer and sustains the gangster theme throughout.  

Case Study: 'Gangster Squad'

As with the majority of movie trailers, Gangster Squad begins with the green MPAA (Motion Pictures Association of America) trailer ID. The ID informs the viewer of whether the film is appropriate for them to watch. MPAA have rated Gangster Squad 'RESTRICTED' and have stated that 'under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian'. 

The first scene is a pan of LA at night; this immediately introduces an ominous atmosphere

and is supported by the crescendo of discordant sound effects that follow after. A pleading and apologetic voice then begins to beg for forgiveness which displays the contrast in power, status and authority with the scene of a man striking a punching bag. The audience is given the impression that this man is an antagonistic and vindictive character when his response to the grovelling man is "You're talking to God, so you might as well swear to me". His iconic attire is attributed to the era of the Great Depression when gangsters exploited people suffering from financial difficulty. The cross-cutting displays brief shots of sinister actions, synonymous with gang crimes such as kidnapping, and a spectrum of murder methods; in this case fire, explosions and gun crime dominate. The sound effects are amplified in sync with these sinister actions to emphasise their severity. 

The beginning therefore sets the atmosphere effectively in order to contextualise the following information.

"It's Mickey Cohen's town. You're not gonna change anything around here sarge" at this point, the audience are presented with the problem so they can assume that the plot will be to find a solution to this seemingly impossible task. As a new, casual voice over begins to tell the story, the atmosphere lightens; the setting also changes to a more accommodating bar. The opposing side (like any gangster movie) aka law enforcement, is introduced as the protagonists, "we're losing Los Angeles to an Eastern crook", one liners such as this tie the scenes together as it clarifies the story and continues to entice the viewers. The sound effects remain in sync with the voice over throughout despite the voices changing and alternating. They are especially effective after the voiceover announces that he will be forming a squad of 6 people where the sound of a gun shot is heard exactly 6 times and cuts to show all 6 members individually. There are also various group shots to emphasise the idea of the gangster squad. The theme of love enters the narrative but appears to be an issue as it conflicts with the idea of possession and ownership associated with women.   

Towards the end the sound effects cease and is replaced by a rap song; the phrase "American Dream" is the most prevalent line in the rap song which juxtaposes the calamitous events in the movie. The intertitles are only featured towards the end of the trailer where the preview is at a climax "To save the law" "Break it" connotes the notion of a good cop going against the law in order to take back LA from the hands of the Eastern mobster. Finally, the actors names are revealed along with a brief shot of them looking directly at the camera as if they are answering to their name being called. Before the title shows, the scenes appear in slow motion to maximise the conflict between the two opposing parties.  

Mood Board

Below is a compilation of all the things that have inspired me thus far and the themes I intend to incorporate. This project is quite dependent on the cultural elements so I want to use the Japanese culture intertwined with British culture, both of which are rich in tradition to make our film trailer seem genuine. Our plot subverts the basic gangster crime plot and can also be considered as a hybrid between gangster crime and action thriller because the story still revolves around the affiliation with organised crime however is not about an American mafia/mob. Our unique selling point is our female lead. 

LOCATION
In terms of location, my team and I have decided that high rise buildings, offices and modern, sleek rooms would be the best place to film indoor scenes. 

As for the outdoor scenes, we intend to use the busy streets of central London for our advantage. China Town in Leicester Square would be the ideal place to film because it is one of the most culturally appropriate places to film. We have made the conscious decision to wait for Chinese New  Year to film scenes because at that time we will be able to witness China Town come to life with festivities. Below are images of China Town during the day and during the night.