PROMO PACK BRIEF

 JESS FOSTER 1820

I worked with Charlotte Coppellotti 1812, Ellie Smart 1859 and Millie Wyatt 1874.

We produced a promotion package for a comedy/crime film 'Dodging A Bullet'. This package includes trailers, official social media pages (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and a film poster. 

Please find my minor work pieces under the appropriate convergent links tabs at the top of this blog. My Creative Critical Reflection has a dedicated page at the top of my blog.

OFFICIAL DODGING A BULLET TRAILER:

OFFICIAL DODGING A BULLET TEASER TRAILER:

FILM POSTER:

Camera Work

I took on camera work responsibility when filming establishing shots of the mansion and did so using a Canon 650 D camera. I made sure to use a manfrotto tripod in order to get a steady and balanced panning shot and it also came in handy when we all had to be in a scene as we had no extra bodies to film for us. When I was behind the camera, I would guide actors where to stand in order to get the best angle and lighting. When the Canon was unavailable, we used an iPhone 12 as it was the next best option due to its high quality camera. When not in shots herself, Ellie took on prime videographer most significantly during the briefing room scene. However, we made sure everyone in the group had an opportunity to use the camera and film different scenes. 

Editing

Millie took on the main role of editing the trailer and used Final Cut Pro and iMovie after taking the memory card from the camera to upload footage onto the school iMacs. Millie had the best editing skills and so our editing process went quicker and smoother when I would give Millie ideas and she would implement them. However, once we believed we had finished the trailer, I then acted as a pair of second eyes and went through, editing things that we either wanted to tweak or add. Throughout the whole editing process, we imported multiple voice notes (of the voice over and of recorded music) which we wanted to accompany the action on screen. The iMacs made this very easy as we could use AirDrop to gain quick access to footage and clips needed during the editing procedure. One issue we faced was to make sure our trailer did not include continuity as we acknowledged this is not a convention of a trailer. Millie was able to solve this issue by including short cuts and intertitles to break up the scenes. 

Lighting

During the briefing scene, I helped to get the lighting right by making sure the black drama curtains blocked out any natural light and so the background was simply black rather than the educational posters on the walls. Charlotte and Ellie then played around with the spotlights, experimenting with different colours and brightness to see what would give off the best atmosphere. During the ending phone call scene, Charlotte envisioned having the actor face the spotlight and then film from behind in order to create rim lighting. This was extremely effective as the actors face was hidden in the shadows but her silhouette was highlighted, giving a sinister effect and creating enigma of their identity. 

Directing

Throughout the whole process of producing our trailer, we all put forward ideas and concepts such as certain shot types, plots and locations. This was effective as we then had a greater creative input and bouncing ideas off each other gave us the best shot at making our trailer as successful as possible. Charlotte was helpful in that she stated what props were necessary for certain scenes and then proceeded to supply them. Due to being in several drama productions, I was able to best help on set by directing and giving feedback to actors. I also helped script write for the voice over. 

Sound

Due to music taking up a lot of my spare time, I had lots of suggestions for songs that could be used as background music. These ideas were followed through and we included Grieg Morning Mood and Black Eyed Peas Pump It. Equally, my singing meant that I had a TONOR USB Microphone that we used to record the voice over and the music. I used Audacity on my laptop to record this clips and then uploaded them onto the iMac. 

Social Media

Each member of our group took responsibility for setting up and posting film updates on a certain social media platform. We chose Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok as we felt these mainstream platforms would successfully reach our target audience. I was in charge of Instagram.

Press here for my social media page

PLANNING: CASTING

CONSTRUCTION: MERCHANDISE

Our promotional package includes the film merchandise which was promoted via our social media platforms. Merchandising is a useful marketing technique as it gives additional opportunity to promote a film, generate profits and create a sense of branding surrounding the product as a whole. Not only this, but it also helps to encourage excitement about a film's release and on average at least 40% of film merch is sold before the release of the film. 

MERCHANDISE FOR DODGING A BULLET:

Our merchandise consists of t-shirts and mugs due to the fact that they are the most popular selling items and have a broad demographic meaning customers for these products are wide-spread. We chose photos that had significant connections to the film - for example, the painting, the main characters and the mansion of Sebastian Windsor. These pictures also feature in other areas of our marketing such as the posters, trailers and on social media, creating cohesion and continuity. 

We chose plain neutral colours, white and black for our mugs and t-shirts as they do not link to any specific gender and allow for the bright colour schemes in the pictures to pop and stand out. Our pictures are scaled so they fit the majority of the front of the t-shirts and fill the height of the mugs in order to draw attention to our brand and so the consumer can feel fully immersed in the film and its products. 

SOCIAL MEDIA: INSTAGRAM

 Social media is an incredibly effective (and free!) way in reaching audiences and spreading word about a film. Our group decided to use all platforms available to us in order to reach out to the biggest audience possible. The 4 platforms we set up accounts for were Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. I took responsibility for the Instagram.

Link to social media page

LOCATION RECCES

PLANNING: RISK ASSESSMENT

During the construction phase, it was important to take into account the various risks we might have come across. Risks could be caused by factors such as transport, weather, hazards on set, general public as well as any major public incidents that would effect our filming. In order to anticipate this and put in place control measures to reduce any risks, we laid out all the potential risks we might have faced. 

• Hazard to Health and Safety
• Risk posed and to whom
• Risk Level (H/M/L)
• Control measure to reduce risk
• Further action needed to reduce risk

Transport: All our footage was taken at school and so there was no need to transport anywhere

Weather: On the 26th, it rained, the outside floor became slippery, there was a danger of getting clothing wet and becoming too cold. Wet camera when filming outside, we were unable to use the tripod, as it was raining. Students bring appropriate clothing suitable for all weather and be cautious when walking on slippery surfaces.

First Aid Issues: Trips/Falls – could trip over in darkened rooms. Possibility of tripping when running. Accidents when performing mild stunts e.g. falling down stairs, jumping out windows. Carry a first aid kit at all times, aim to have a first-aider on stand-by, close car doors carefully, identify areas of danger.

General Public (e.g. theft or assault): Low risk of potential assault or kind of incident as we are filming on school premises. Students causing incident with member of public. Students stay in groups when in public spaces (with mobile phones), do not approach members of public or respond to provoking comments, students to remain in supervised conditions, do not film late at night, follow guidance of emergency personnel.

Accommodation (e.g. risk assessment from centre): No overnight accommodation so n/a

Major Public Incident (e.g. terrorism): Not applicable as there is minor chance of a terrorist attack in a school. In the case of one: Ensure venue has assembly point and pupils know where it is, as well as giving pupils assembly points whilst on public transport. Ensure pupils know the national advice to run if possible and hide if not. Ensure pupils know to always follow police instruction. Issue pupils with printed emergency contact card detailing school landline and school mobile – instruct them to call if they become lost (as well as alerting security official). Ensure trip leader has a school mobile and also contact details for both the school and all pupils + families

FILM POSTER