Vodka Bottle Design Research For Prop

Most vodka bottle labels are designed to represent their price value. With Smirnoff vodka, the use of red and silver does represent a higher social class drink because of the boldness below. The use of the trademark sign at the end of the Smirnoff name does show us that it is an expensive brand because it is something that is not present in cheeper vodka bottle labels like the ones that are shown below. The use of red is also present in this, but the use is very limited and is used for effect not for the background colour. This would make Smirnoff stand out on the shelf. The information of the Smirnoff vodka bottle and also the Absolut Vodka bottle is purely information on the spirit itself, the closest sign of a slogan we get is with Smirnoff ‘Triple Distilled for purity” and Absolut Vodka’s “country of sweden.” The Absolut Vodka label stands out because of the use of the font colour being blue not red, making it seem expensive in the sense that is different and the colour blue connotes to a very royal colour. The font of the titles are always bold and plain to make them stand out and their brand name easily noticeable on the bottle. The other fonts used are usually fancy and have a calligraphy style to it to match the price tag of the product. Because the main protagonist in my film will be a student I will aim to make a bottle that would match a students price tag (like the ones shown below) than a ‘premium vodka’ price tag. These bottles below are all simplistic in their design but still deliver the necessary information that is needed by a spirit label. They all use bold colours such as red, blue and black, to aim to compete with the premium vodka’s such as Smirnoff and Absolut Vodka but it is present that they don’t have that price tag. If i use a product like the ones seen below, my target audience will be able to empathize with the protagonist because they will be behaving in the same way they might. 

Character Plan

My short film will only contain two characters, the female character who will be our protagonist, the leading character according to Goffman’s character theory. For the name of my female character I researched the most popular names from 1994 in the uk and found Lauren as the most popular girls name, which will make my character the same age as my target audience and make the character more relatable to my target audience because they could know someone from that name. I also did the same for my male character who will be my deuteragonist, or secondary character according to Goffman’s character theory, and found that the most peopular name from 1994 in the uk was James, also making this character easier for the audience to relate to. Because my film will be a drama about love I have looked into Propp’s character theory that mainly focuses into fairytales and folk tails. My protagonist Lauren will also be classed as the hero, this means she will be romantically linked to princess, but usually as a reward. However because according to Propp the hero should be a man this is adapting his theory in some way. This means my deuteragonist character James will mainly fall under the character type of the princess, however because he is a boy he will be classed as the prince, because he will be romantically linked to our female hero (lauren). An example of this could be from the film Sex And The City, with Carrie being the female hero and My Big being the princess/prince.  

Propp’s character theory is very outdated because it does only base around fairytales and to other narratives based around quests and it does not apply to all narratives. With my genre being a romantic drama it can link into props character theory with the theme of the romance between the princess and hero, however with the princess/prince dying before the film begins this means that they will not end up together going against Propp’s narrative element of the ending of the recognition, because the hero will not attain the reward of the princess/prince. I have even shown that the Propp’s character theory is outdated in the sense that in modern day film, the hero character can be a female and the reward can be a man. 

My protagonist Lauren will have the idea of the girl next door style, which is mainly represented in chick flicks, this will make her easy to relate to because she will be represented as a normal character who could be like any girl they know. I aim to break usual feminist theory with making my character a combination of both the whore stereotype and the virgin stereotype, which are both unnatural stereotypes, to make my protagonist relatable to the audience.

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer Deconstruction

We see the Warner brother’s logo at the opening automatically giving us an understanding of the institutions of the film; we can see that from this already that this film will have a degree of blockbuster codes and conventions. When we see the DC comics logo we know that we will be watching a superhero film, but which superhero isn’t made clear. The blue tinge to the screen knows we will be watching a darker and colder version of this superhero, giving this an art house effect. The trailer starts with a crowd cheering which gives the impression of a sports crowd. Next we hear the Star - Spangled Banner (the American national anthem) so the audience would know that the context of the film will have an American theme to it. In the following image we see that it is a young boy that is singing the anthem which further implies the American context. After this the camera pans the crowd revealing that the crowd we heard cheering before was in fact sports fans who’s team colours are yellow. The colour yellow to connotate to them being cowardly, giving us an impression of how people will act throughout the film. In the following high shot of a man climbing out of a hole we see that the man is wearing a bomber jacket, which is an outdated piece of clothing that makes him stand out from everyone else. When we see his face clearer we see that his mouth is covered with a mouth piece coved in tubes that attaches around his entire face, giving the audience the expression that he is separating himself from everyone else, or that he is not human.  Also because the man in the mask is hiding his face it could represent that he is covering the truth or possibly speaks lies.

In the following establishing shot the dark vignette around the screen could show the darkness is drawing closer. The dim lights on either sides of the door and inside the door itself is a polysemic image. Firstly the light could represent someone dying or secondly it could represent the good dying. The silver plate on the table could be an indication of high class; the plate is covered by a silver lid which could represent a true identity being hidden by an upper class persona. The large pieces of art on the wall are also another representation of higher class. The person with the cane that walks towards the plate could represent himself trying to uncover something that is hidden away from him. However how we don’t see him uncover the plate shows us that he might not be quite ready to yet. Next we hear someone say “you’re as precious to me as you were to your own mother and father” it is not made clear who is speaking to us yet, all we know is that it is a man’s voice, but the context of the language used could show that he is a father figure. This is then followed by a close up of an old man to further imply this idea. There is a high presence of the colour blue seen throughout the trailer; this could connotate to a sense of pain and sadness that will be seen in the clip therefore acting as a clue for the audience to the emotive element of the narrative.

Following from this there is a further establishing shot of the city, this gives the audience the sense of environment that the film is set it and also makes the audience feel like they are an outsider looking in. The different heights of the buildings could represent the different social classes of the city which could be representing a theme seen in the film. However, the buildings could just represent that a lot of the narrative in the film will be set up high. Also, it could be questioned if this shot is an establishing shot or a point of view shot. As a point of view shot it can represent that the protagonist in the film is an outsider in the city, and seeing the city through his eyes could be to make the audience sympathise with him, because most people at some time feel like an outsider. When we see the words “from Christopher Nolan” it gives the film a sense of institutions, the use of from shows us that he has a lot to do with the creation of the film. Following this we see another representation of social classes with a wide shot of a manor house.

The dialogue of “a war hero, this is peace time” hints that the genre of the film is action; it could also representation that this is a sequel to a film that has already been released. There is a sense of dramatic irony in the sentence because the audience knows that it is an action film so that this will not be “peace time”. Following from this we see a wide shot of the silhouette of a man, this could represent that he is someone who belongs in the dark, and could also give show that he has a dark personality. How he is centred in the middle of the screen and facing towards us, according to the theory of gaze, would represent that he is the main protagonist in the film. However, with him facing towards us as a silhouette is quite threatening and scary which could represent that he is someone to be feared. Following from this we see a women wearing cat ears which initially is seductive imagery, however, because the ears are black it could show that she will cause bad luck for someone. Following from this the women states “There’s a storm brewing Mr Wayne” this could represent the action that will unfold contradicting the earlier point stating that it was “peace time”, which could also represent a divide between opinions. How we hear her call the man “Mr Wayne” automatically tells us that the man she is talking to is also batman, identifying to the audience that they will be watching a batman film and that the protagonist of the film will be Mr Wayne/Batman. This also identifies that the target audience of the film will be comic book fans.

Following on from this we see a crowd of police following with a sound of an explosion, further implying the action genre. Next we see an identification of a main character with the repeated image of him. His body language and the mask covering his face that gives him an alienated appearance does represent codes and conventions of an action genre antagonist. The reflection of a woman dressed in black putting on pearls, the reflection joined with her facial expression could represent that she’s changed, giving the audience a clue to her characters story. With her dressed in black could show her as being seductive, however black could represent evil, both giving the audience information of her persona. The pearl necklace she places around her neck on further implies the idea of social classes. Following from this we see action adventure genre codes and conventions, such as men with guns and explosions, further identifying to the audience the genre of the film. The repeated image of the man who moves out of the way of the explosion could show the audience that he is a main character in the film; how he moves out of the way of the explosion easily could show the audience that he is a character that is used to dealing with action which could also imply information about his persona and character biography.

Next we see a low shot of objects that look like bodies being thrown off a balcony to a lower level; which could represent the reverse of roles, which is further enforced with the use of a low shot. The idea of the reverse of roles is further implied when we hear as women saying “how can you live so large and leave so little for the rest of us?” The rhetorical question could also be Christopher Nolan making the audience question their views of how they live and society, also implying an art house edge to the film, with a political statement included. Following from this we see convicts escaping from a hole in a prison wall with the guns, their body language and the guns are imagery that is usually associated with the police, which could enforce the idea of the reverse of roles.  There is a strong use of conventions of a film trailer especially when we see flash images that establish the main characters of the film, with the flash images of close up of people’s faces, and also enforce the action adventure genre, with the flash images of fighting. Next we see more conventions of a film trailer with the continuity between convicts and football fans chanting; this could represent a theme in the film that there will be no sense of society and that everyone will be equal.

After this we see football players falling into the ground as it falls beneath them, which could be to represent high status people falling to the bottom of society and that there will be no escape from the antagonist. The idea that it is a follow up film is further implied with the words “epic conclusion” that is seen towards the end of the film. The idea that it is a batman film is confirmed with the appearance of Bruce Wayne in the bat suit, how we don’t properly see batman towards the end of the film could be used to identify the narrative structure of the film. The words “The Dark Knight Rises” identify the title of the film and also follow convention with it appearing at the end of the trailer. The trailer ends with building rising up to form the bat symbol, enforcing that it is a batman film that the audience will be watching. This also gives us a sense of institutions; with the image of the buildings rising also being seen in the film “Inception” it tells us that the film will be from the same institution Syncopy, giving the audience a sense of the sort of film they will be seeing.

Genre Research

The most successful film following the themes of a surreal reality is that of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster The Prestige (2006) which grossed $109,676,311. His use of a nonlinear narrative structure and his obsession with creating the best stage illusion I believe makes him popular in modern day cinema, especially because he gives an art house affect to a blockbuster made film, making him different to other directors who follow this theme. His use of  surreal reality, which could be reminiscent of being dreamlike, makes audiences believe that the stories he is visually telling before him is something that could happen in real life in some situation, making the audiences feel in a dreamlike state. However this film is a mystery thriller which is not looking into the genre of film I would like to make. Focusing more into the genre of surrealistic drama Baz Luhrmann is one of films most successful directors in this genre especially with his adaption of Romeo and Juliet and his film Moulin Rouge. Luhrmann is successful in creating emotions in audiences because he makes his films accessible by audiences, through the imagery and modern behaviour in Romeo and Juliet (even though the language used is still Shakespearian) and through the use of emotive music in Moulin Rouge. Both directors have influenced me with the ideas of my film, especially with the nonlinear narrative structure and the stage illusion he uses to create a dreamlike state which is something that appeals to me. Lurhmann’s idea of portraying a traditional story but using modern imagery to make audiences empathise with the characters creating a more emotive film, which is something I could think about using in my film.

Initial Ideas

 

The Prestige by
Christopher Nolan

Batman begins by
Christopher Nolan

I believe Drama is the most effective genre to use especially when it comes to arthouse short films, directing me to use this genre in my product. The conventions in drama are easier to follow when working on a low budget, mainly because the narrative is character focused. One convention of an art house short film that is sometimes used is direct address to the audience; they use this to break normal conventions which is something I will be aiming to do with my piece. However the use of direct address can be cliché and look very amateur, which is not something I personally want my film to be like, making it a convention that works better in theater not so much moving image. A convention of drama art house films that is effective in evoking an emotional response in audiences is the use of flashbacks; this is something that I want to use in my film to drive my narrative to being more emotive. Director Christopher Nolan uses flashbacks in many of his films, some have stronger continuity with the narrative, such as in his film The Prestige, and other times they are more evident, which is seen in his film Batman Begins.  

Still from Tim Burton's Alice In
Wonderland

Christopher Nolan has influenced me with the conventions he uses in his films especially in his narrative choices of a surreal reality which has always interested me in films, especially when it is portrayed by director Tim Burton., which is seen in his adaption of Alice in Wonderland. However, his adaption of Alice in Wonderland is very highly stylized, which will be especially hard to recreate on a low budget and I believe will weaken the emotional response of the film. For my short film, even though I am a fan of Tim Burtons surreality, I would be more drawn into following Christopher Nolans style of using a surreal reality such as where magic truly exists which is seen in his film The Prestige.

The target audience my film will be aimed it will be teenage girls aged between 16-21 years old, i believe this audience will have a better understanding of the themes that will be present in my film and some audiences may be able to empathize with the protagonist in the film. The two ancillary products I will use will be the film poster and the webpage, because these are products that are usually associated with advertising art house films.