One by one film review.

Here is the finalised film review page we have made using InDesign.

Film Review production (stage 1-5)

When designing our film review page, I took inspiration from the layout used in Total Film magazine. In this screenshot I have used almost the same layout, in terms of the main image and title

placement as they have in many film reviews from their magazine.

Here i have added a section similar to total film where we have linked our short film to 5 other existing films with the same or similar genre to ours, to add more detail to the page.

In this updated version i have begun to incorporate our journalistic piece as well as other elements found on a conventional film review such as a pull quote, a film rating and details found on a magazine such as page numbers and magazine name in a small font underneath. (we decided on naming our magazine as 'Showreel')

 Here i have added the rest of the journalistic piece to complete the article as well as adding a smaller image still from out short film to help tie the page together. In the bottom right hand corner i have also added a red box where i decided to put details about the film regarding the cast, director, running time and certificate rating, however i decided against using a box to display this and instead decided on using a mix of bold and fine text.

In this version i added the details about the film regarding the cast, director, running time and certificate rating using a mix of bold and fine font, like the rest of the layout on this review i took inspiration from total film magazine.

In this final version i have added last pieces of details including the name of the magazine at the top of the page to bring the page together, as conventional film review pages do this and any other amends to the page such as lining all text with images and other paragraphs.

One by one film poster - final product.

Here is the finalised film poster we have produced.

Film Poster - Production. (Stages 11-12)

As a finishing touch i have decided to add a layer of crumpled paper to tie in with the evidence board being filled with newspaper clippings, which also helps to obscure the poster to look more blurred and out of focus to again tie in with our chosen genre.

Here in this final version i have just adjusted the brightness and contrast to make the final poster look more dark to fit in with our chosen genre. 

Film Poster - Production. (Stages 6-10)

Here i have begun to create the credits at the bottom of the film poster following the same structure using all the same positions listed as the credits at the bottom of the film poster for star trek into darkness (pictured below) 

here is the completed version of the credits that i have taken inspiration from the credits of the star trek into darkness film poster. we have decided to use a different font that we originally planned to as we felt this bold font was more conventional for a film poster and also looked more professional.

Here i have moved onto create the title of the film. Like the font of the credits i have also decided to change the font. originally we wanted a scratchy font to match the self inflicted feel to look as if the killer had carved it himself, however we could not find a suitable font and did not have the understanding create one using illustrator either. Instead i decided to use a stronger bold font to again look professional like conventional film posters.

Having played about with the placement of the title i decided it looked the best positioned above the credits again like conventional film posters. I have also adjusted the opacity levels to make the film poster look blurred/ out of focus rather than very bold. Other details i have includes are name listings of the cast which i have positioned at the top of the poster in the centre of the poster using rulers to get the names of our two actors in the correct positions.

Film Poster - Production. (Stages 1-5)

From the photography shoot we have decided to use this image as the main basis of our film poster. Changes i have made to this poster include removing the white strings from the hoodie to make this item of clothing look more dark.

Here i used an image we took while filming in the forest. This picture will be used in the bottom part of our film poster.

Here i have adjusted the picture of the forest to fit the bottom of the film poster.

To fit in with the tone of the poster that i have used a black and white filter to help the forest image fit into the background image.

Here i have lowed the opacity levels to help the forest image seem as if it has been blurred into the background image and also removed the extra edges.

One by One - Finished product Feedback.

Feedback we received came down to 3 main points all of which we took on board and included:

• Work on sound - In terms of the sound of running and footsteps to which we will make more levelled out. However this was a work in progress.
• Remove the shot reverse shot - as it removes the 'scary' feel and makes the chase anti climatic. We have decided to take this into account and have decided to removed
• Remove the scream at the end of the video - the audience felt this was unneeded as it added a comedy value, therefore we decided to get rid of the scream.

Journalistic writing - Film review.

One by One review

We all love a good thriller. We’ve all jumped back in shock, we’ve all sat on the edge of our seat in suspense and we’ve all laughed at the utter ridiculousness. The newest film to venture into the well-trodden path is “one by one” from newbie filmmakers Lazarus productions. They’re hoping to take the world by storm a la Chronicle. This indie production team has set out to bring the old school back to the thriller genre. Unlike many Hollywood flicks of recent years such as “The House at the End of the Street”.  The trio in a recent interview with us (to hear go to www.showreelfilm.co.uk) stated, “Having grown up watching horror /thriller films ourselves, we feel its loosing its credibility as a respected genre and now has become something repetitive, with countless reboots and over used storylines. Filmmakers are also responsible, as they tend not to respect the audience in terms of their intelligence, rather than dealing with the real issues shown in the films such as murder and striping back to the psychological reasoning behind it, instead think up new ways to kill a cheerleader with a chainsaw. If we can do one thing with one by one it would be to begin the revival of the good old fashion intelligent psychological horror/thriller.”

The small budgeted short film strays away from a complicated plotline and keeps it to the bare minimum. Following the route from movies of old, One by One centres on a vigilante killer out to exact his version of justice by killing convicted criminals who were released by the failure of our justice system…sounds familiar? However, despite the predictable plotline, this cliché actually works in favour of the film. With its non-existent dialogue the main tool of storytelling lies through the artful direction. This is where the film truly shines and starts to stand on its own merit. A series of blurred shots imply sinister things in the obscure parts of a deranged mind. The last scene stole the show with a powerful yet simple shot adding another metaphorical layer to the psychotic anti-hero who does what needs to be done (hear hear). Another stand out feature is the music, a brilliant piano piece composed by the legendary pianist, Ludovico Einaudi that enriched the atmosphere to creepier levels, giving thriller lovers that much needed build-up of suspense.

Similar films

1.  Disturbia (2007) - 
   A teen living under house arrest becomes convinced his neighbour is a serial killer.
2. The call (2013) - When a veteran 911 operator takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl who has just been abducted, she realises that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl's life.
3. Prisoners (2013) - When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?
4. Law abiding citizen (2009) - A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.
5. Wanted (2008) - A frustrated office worker learns that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.

Film Poster - Photo shoot

Yesterday, we had our in studio photo shoot for the main 75% of our film poster. from this shoot we have decided to use the images taken as those used on both the film poster and the film review as we were unable to take a still from our short film that we felt was clear enough to use.

(Below are the images we have decided on defiantly using on both print products.)

Film poster image.

Out of the many images we took as part of our photo shoot, we as a group feel this was the best shot and should be used on the film poster as it has the correct look about it and therefore we will not have to do as much to it using photoshop to achieve the look we want for the film poster. We feel this is the best shot as the vigilante killer is the main focus of the shot (and is the clearest in the picture) which contrast to the evidence board in the background that is slightly out of focus however not even so that the audience are unaware of what it is and what its significance is.

These 3 images we are still deciding on using for one of the images for our film review. once we have finished creating the layout we will test out how each image looks and from there we will decided which image we will be using.

Contact Sheet.

This is a contact sheet we have produced of all the images we took today as part of the photo shoot in the photography studio that features a few images we will be using on out film poster and for our film review.

Prop Preparation - Film Poster Photo shoot.

As we have decided to use our evidence board as a background for our film poster as it is significant to the plot of the film, is used as an prop and will help set up the tone of the film on the film poster through its connotations.

In preparation, i have fixed up the board since using it for film, but changing the cardboard background to new fresh boards, adding more articles to the board to make it look more filled out to add to the effect. Though we are aware it will look different to how it does in the film we feel this will contribute to the tone of the film on the poster by making it look as if the vigilante killer has taken down more of those who have escaped the justice system 'one by one' tying with the title of the film.

updated version of evidence board prop.

Other details i have included that were not their before include the links and number squares between articles. i decided to do this as it is often used on evidence boards used on police/crime television shows or films therefore i felt it would make the board look more professional while keeping its amateur/D.I.Y look we wanted. The links also give off an effect particularly to the audience making them question why selected articles are linked giving a slight backstory to the film showing the vigilante killer has done this before.

Photography call sheet

Photo-shoot described on call sheet will take place in a studio and will feature 2 of the main three images needed for our film poster. the first being the background of the evidence board and the second the close up of the hooded figure similar to the mock up film we produced and decided on for the layout of out short film.

Film Review - House Style

Here we have created 3 various of the layout we could use for our film review.

This is the first example of a film review layout we could use for our own film review inspired by Empire magazine. However we have decided not to use this layout as we would rather go for a more conventional layout.

This is the second example of a film review layout we could use for our own film review inspired by Total Film magazine. From all 3 layouts we have decided to use this layout as we are sure we would be able to use all the given space and and as if follows a more conventional layout.

This is the third example of a film review layout we could use for our own film review inspired by a double page spread by Q magazine. However we have decided not to use this layout as we doubt we would be able to make use of all the space.

Film Poster Pitch - Audience feedback/ Group response.

Here is the pitch we did to an audience regard what we plan to do for our short film, film poster.
The main aim of this pitch was to open up to the audience which film poster design they thought we should go with. the majority of the vote went to the film poster mock up idea number one as the audience felt it showed what our short film was about using the forest as a background as the majority of our short film takes place their.

However once we discussed this as a group we still preferred the mock up film poster idea number 2 but taking in account the audiences mention of the forest in the background we decided to somehow also include the forest in the second film poster, which led us to produce the poster below. As a group we felt this worked much better by include both the element of the evidence board and the forest, all locations and significant props were included. therefore we have decided that our film poster will follow the layout of the new mock up poster we have produced.

Film Poster - Pitch.

Unstoppable- Q magazine review - case study.

127 Hours. Total Film Review - Case Study

127 hours case study from Kimberley Carroll

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End. Total Film review - Case Study.

Pirates of the caribbean from Kimberley Carroll

Blair Witch Project Film Poster - Case Study

By looking at the film poster for The Blair Witch Project we have taken inspiration on a few elements present on this film poster than will will use on our own. The use of darkness and highly contrasted whites as this connotes both darkness and mystery, themes that are present in both our short film and the horror genre itself. This film posters has also inspired us as a group to use similar imagery/layout on the film poster we produce, as we feel the use of the forest helps set up the location of the film and the extreme close up of the character introduces the element of fear therefore sets up the theme of the film.

The Wolfman Film Poster- Case Study.

By looking at the poster for The Wolfman as an example we have decided to take from this its use of dark colours and high contrast in the whites of the poster, though the poster for our short film will feature colour. We have decided to use the dark element as it connotes both horror and mystery both themes present in our short film.

Friday the 13th Film Poster - Case study.

By looking at the poster for Friday the 13th, we have decided to include some elements that help add to the horror feel of the poster into our own poster. The elements we will be using include The high contrast that helps highlight the darkness of the poster helping contribute to the look of something being a mystery and unknown. Another element we will consider using on our film poster is the idea of the face of the murderer (hooded figure) covered similar to Jason's in the film poster above, again this will help contribute to the element of mystery and also tie in with our story as we do not learn anything about the murder.