Media technologies we will be using

For our film trailer
Creating our film trailer requires certain media technologies in order to complete it to a professional level. We will be using:
- A flip camera
- Final cut express
- iMovie
- Garage Band
- The internet (for research) 
- Youtube (for research)

For our magazine & poster
- Photoshop
- Power point
- Publisher
- The internet & youtube (for research)

Age certificates

The UK's film ratings are decided by the British Board of Film Classification and have been since 1912. Previously, there were no agreed rating standards, and local councils imposed their own - often differing - conditions or restrictions. For cinema releases, the BBFC has no legal power (technically, films do not even have to be submitted for classification), as it falls to councils to decide who should be admitted to a certain film, but they generally apply the BBFC's certificates, effectively making them legally-binding. In exceptional cases, councils may impose their own conditions, either raising or lowering the minimum entry age from the certificate, banning a certified film outright, or setting their own minimum entry age for films that have never been submitted for BBFC certification, or which have been refused a certificate by the Board.

U (Universal films)
The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.
Films/programmes like such as Chuggington, Teletubbies or In The Night Garden are rated as U films, as they particularly targeted at pre school children.
A U film may include brief fight scenes or moments where characters are placed in danger. However, moments of emotional stress or threat will be quickly resolved and the outcome will be reassuring.
At all categories heterosexual and homosexual sexual behaviour and activities are treated the same – so there could be occasional very mild references to gay or straight sex at U.

There may be brief scary scenes and moments where the characters are placed in danger. As with violence, however, these scenes will be balanced by reassuring elements, such as comic interludes or music. Characters may be seen kissing or cuddling and there may be references to sexual behaviour (ie to ‘making love’). However, there will be no overt focus on sexual behaviour, language or innuendo. At U there will not normally be references to illegal drugs or drugs misuse unless there is a very clear anti-drugs or educational message which will be understood by a younger audience. Drugs references which are unlikely to register with young children and are brief or passing may occasionally be passed at U – for example a verbal reference to ‘the Opium wars’ in an historical documentary.

PG films
PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. A PG film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content might upset younger or more sensitive children.
There may be mild bad language (such as ‘shit’ or ‘son of a bitch’) in a PG film, but the context and delivery are always important. For example, if the language is used aggressively or if there is too much bad language, a work may be passed at the next category.
Heterosexual and homosexual sex and sex references are treated the same – so there could be mild or undetailed references to gay or straight sex at PG. References to sex are acceptable if the activity talked about or shown is implied and lacking in detail. In addition, if a child is unlikely to understand a reference, we may allow it at PG. Comedy can also often lessen the impact of sex references and innuendo.
There should be no detail of violence in a PG work, so while there might be some blood, we would not see how the injury was inflicted in strong detail. Violence is generally more acceptable in a historical or fantasy setting, because of the distancing that this provides. It isn’t uncommon for PG films to feature ‘roller-coaster’ action or set pieces, where the emphasis is clearly on the adventure or journey of the main characters rather than the detail of violence or fighting.
There might be innocuous or passing references to illegal drugs or drugs misuse in a PG work, although there should be no strong focus on this. PG films could potentially cause a child to act in a way or a behaviour in which they have seen in the film.

12A films
12A means that anyone aged 12 or over can go and see the film unaccompanied. The A stands for 'accompanied' and 'advisory'. Children younger than 12 may see the film if they are accompanied by an adult (eg someone over the age of 18), who must watch the film with them. 
The BBFC's Guidelines state that there may be strong language (eg 'f***') at 12 or 12A, but it must be infrequent. The context of the strong language is important. Aggressive uses of strong language may result in a film or DVD being placed at the 15 category. There is some allowance for puns on strong language at this category.
Sex may be briefly and discreetly portrayed at 12 or 12A. Verbal sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Comedy may lessen the impact of some moderate sex references or innuendo but frequent crude sex references are unlikely to be accepted at this category. There may be nudity in 12A films but sexual nudity should only be brief and discreet.
At 12A, moderate violence is allowed but it should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if they can be justified by their context (for example brief sight of bloody injury in a medical drama).

15 films
No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a ‘15’ rated DVD.  15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age. 
15 films could include any of the following:

• strong violence
• frequent strong language (eg 'f***').
• portrayals of sexual activity
• strong verbal references to sex
• sexual nudity
• brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
• discriminatory language or behaviour
• drug taking

18 films
Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy/rent an 18 rated DVD. No 18 rated works are suitable for children.
18 works are for adults and can contain strong issues such as:

• very strong violence
• frequent strong language (eg 'f***') and/or very strong language (eg ‘c***’)
• strong portrayals of sexual activity
• scenes of sexual violence
• strong horror
• strong blood and gore
• real sex (in some circumstances)
• discriminatory language and behaviour

R18 films

The ‘R18’ category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. ‘R18’ videos may not be supplied by mail order.

Final Story line

Beginning

The beginning of the film consists of two best friends spending time together, they have grown up together and now they are aged 18, they are facing life changes. There are many experiences which will be shown in the footage, such as going out and having a good social life, passing a driving test, having a job, leaving school and more importantly getting into relationships. The most significant aspect of the beginning of the story is that Frankie cannot have children.

Disruption to the narrative
There are two disruptions to the narrative, in which one being more extreme than the other. The first change in the story line will be when Emily wakes up from a one night stand and this shows she has made a mistake. This then leads to Emily finding out shes pregnant a few months later, which causes distress to her.
The second disruption to the story line is when Emily dies through child labour. 

Resolution 
Frankie stands by Chloe until the very end, this part of the storyline is designed to touch the audience emotionally.

Outcome
When Emily passes away Frankie is left with baby Joshua, and decided to permanently adopt him, she is distraught from the death of her best friend but she gave her the one thing she could never have, a baby. The outcome of the story is positive in the respect that Frankie has been given something so special to her, which is part of her best friend that she will forever have. 

Initial storyline ideas

Father and Daughter scenario
One of our initial ideas was that a young girl, who has never known her father decides to go looking for him. The only thing she has to go by is a photograph of when he was aged 26. The storyline is her point of view on the search for her father, starting from basically scratch. The young girl travels into a town in which she is completely unfamiliar with, which makes things more difficult for her. She meets a boy on the search for her father, in which helps her to find what she needs. A romance blossoms between the two young individuals. At the end of the story she eventually finds her father, but he wants nothing to do with her, this is upsetting for the girl however the young lad helps her through her struggles. At the very end the father turns up at her house declaring how sorry he was and how he wants to make up for lost time.


Best friend scenario
Another one of our initial ideas was to have two best friends who in which face troubles to cause the storyline to be dramatic. From viewing a selection of trailers, a lot of films are about male-female love relationships, so we decided that we could do a female friendship in which would be a little different. We decided that we could have two female best friends in which become distant due one of the individuals getting in a relationship which makes her boy orientated. Then later on in the film they reunite due to a terminal issue. One of the girls has a terminal illness and wants to make up for lost time with her best friend in which she realised she made the wrong decision all those years ago.

Film Posters

Film posters are used as a form of advertisment to capture the audiences attention.Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text.Today's posters often feature photographs of the main actors. Prior to the 1990s, illustrations instead of photos were far more common. The text on film posters usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tag line, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, etc. Film posters are normally displayed outside cinemas or dispersed randomly around towns. However, film posters are becoming less frequently used due to most of the population having access to the internet and would rather watch a film trailer than look at a poster as a trailer tells the audience more about the film. 

This film poster displays the two characters in which have a teen romance throughout the film, Ronnie and Will. The poster is simple, but effective. The image of the two characters hugging whilst walking by the beach at the bottom shows that the storyline includes romance, and the fact that Ronnie has her arms wrapped tightly around will, suggests to the viewer that she is vulnerable and reliant on him. The image of the two characters above the title that are faded in can be seen as contradicting the bottom image. The two characters are facing away from eachother which suggests that they have some troubles throughout the film. The facial expression on the female characters face suggest that she is unhappy or distressed. The main colours used on the poster is yellow/orange which sets a calm mood. It may come to the viewers attention that the sun is between the two characters, which could mean that through the troubles the sun will come shining through; meaning everything will eventually work out. There is a short passage on the poster giving an overview on what the film is about, which is effective as it doesn't give away much about the film. 

This film poster is very simple, but works well as it does not give much away from the film. The main character in the film, which is Will Smith is displayed on the poster using a close up shot. The backdrop/background behind the character seems more significant that the actual man in this poster. In red font it says in small font 'Seven Strangers, Seven Names, One secret.' These little phrases tell the audience that the character of the film has a significant relationship with seven people, but does not give away what may of happened in the film. The clothes in which the character is wearing displays that he may be a professional man, an ordinary man. He could possibly be a buisness man that is holding a secret in which he tries to remain normal to hide. The use of red font is effective, it suggests danger, hurt and maybe violence. 

This film poster in my opinion is really effective. The colours reflect that the film is mysterious, confusing and gloomy. The island on the poster which is Shutter Island looks very isolated and imprisoned, which is exactly how it is portrayed throughout most of the film. The words 'Someone is missing' is on the poster which suggests to the audience that the film may be dangerous, if the person missing is from the mental asylum. The rain pouring down on the island suggests to the audience that there is danger awaiting, due to a storm being associated with tragedies. The title 'Shutter Island' is in red font and the edges are blurred slightly which suggests to the audience that pain could be involved in the film and maybe even as essence of gore. The colour red is usually associated with evil, pain, hurt and danger, therefore the title being red tells the audience a lot. The expression on the character on the poster played by Leonardo Dicaprio suggests that he is angry, or maybe confused. The fact that he is holding a match stick that is alight suggests he is searching for something, which ties in with the fact that in the film he is looking for a patient who has escaped. 

Film Trailers

A Trailer or a preview is an advertisement or preview of a film that will be exhibited at the cinema. The purpose of a trailer is to make an individual want to watch the film, with out giving away the entire story line. A trailer often includes snippets of the over all film including the most interesting and thrilling parts, to make its target audience want to watch the film. 

The Last Song Trailer

This film is a teen drama in which links in with the type of trailer we would like to do in our film. From the first few seconds of the trailer when there is an overvoice of Ronnies father, the audience instantly knows there has been a family issue in the past, and that her father wants to fix the problems he has caused. From the look on Ronnies face when she arrives at her fathers house which is a close up, the audience understands that she has some kind of grudge against her father and doesn't particularly want to be there. The range of camera shots are diverse and they display that her father lives in a beautiful place by the beach. Within the trailer there is an reaction shot of Ronnie smiling back at a guy she meets called Will, this already suggests to the audience that there will be a romance. Througout the trailer there are different shots of different aspects of the film, to give the audience a sense of the story line. From the trailer alone it is clear that Ronnie faces struggles with her father, and with the distraction of a romance, she doesn't spend much time with her dad. Although, in this trailer there are no suggestions that the ending of the film will be emotional, as from watching the film I know that the father falls ill and Ronnie learns to forgive him. This gives us the idea that a trailer does not have to include the main feature of the film, as this trailer is effective but does not give all of what happens in the film away.

Research into the Drama genre

Research into the Drama genre

Conventions of drama film
- Exhibits real life situations with realistic characters, settings and stories
- Intense social interaction
- Aims to move the audience emotionally
- Contains character development

The heart of the drama is the conflict. In the genre there are normally realistic struggles that the audience can relate to, which enables the audience to be emotionally attached to the characters. The films are structured climaxes and anti-climaxes to keep tension on going.

Drama films can also be interlaced with other genres such as tragedy and comedy, which changes the overall representation of the film and the characters.

Examples of drama films:

- Titanic
- The Notebook
- Forrest Gump 
- The Great Gatsby
- The Hunger Games

Research into different film genres

Action

Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and adventurous, often two-dimensional 'good-guy' heroes (or recently, heroines) battling 'bad guys' - all designed for pure audience escapism. Examples of action films are: James Bond, Law abiding citizen.

Adventure

Adventure films are usually thrilling stories, with new experiences or exotic locations, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. They can include traditional adventurers, episodic films, and historical spectacles, searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle" and "desert" epics, treasure hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown.

Comedies

Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse the audience causing them to laugh. This is usually done by the character displaying an idiotic personality with little knowledge or being a joker. This can also be done by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters.

Gangster and Crime

Crime (gangster) films are developed around the evil actions of criminals or mobsters, particularly bank robbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life. They normally reflect a specific area in which is deprived and causes the characters to behave badly to get by.

Drama
Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. Usually, they are not focused on special-effects; comedy, or action, Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subcategories.

Horror

Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged humans. They are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not usually synonymous with the horror genre.

Musicals

Musical/dance films are cinematic forms that emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routines in a significant way (usually with a musical or dance performance integrated as part of the film narrative), or they are films that are centred on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography.

Science Fiction

Sci-fi films are often visionary and imaginative - complete with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary monsters ('things or creatures from space'), either created by mad scientists or by nuclear havoc. They are sometimes an offshoot of fantasy films (or superhero films), or they share some similarities with action/adventure films.