Main Task- Final Page

Main Task- Evaluation & Audience Feedback (add video)

Main Task- Evaluation

Evaluation for Compulsion

Main Task- Final Draft of Compulsion (add video)

Main Task- New Compulsion Poster

I made amendments to my poster as suggested by members of my target audience. It was suggested that I made the definition watermarked and that only the key words stood out. It was also suggested that I made the title easier to see and differentiate it from the rest of the text. It is important that the poster meets the interests of the audience as it is a key way of drawing attention to the film and advertising to your audience. 

Main Task- Compulsion Poster

I chose to create a second poster for Compulsion as most films have more than one, my previous poster worked well as a teaser poster, however I felt it didn't work as a main poster as it was too disengaged. 


I chose this photo for the poster as she is facing more towards the audience, this way it is easy for the audience to identify with her. I added the actress's name to the top of the poster not only to make the poster look more professional but to intrigue the audience as to who the actress is and what character she will play.


Th photo featured in the poster shows the bloodstain on Farah's shirt, this creates interest and makes the audience wonder what is happening- they may try to connect the definition featured on the poster to what they see, it creates a sense of mystery and excitement for the audience. 


I think the poster will be successful with my target audience as it is memorable and dramatic. The contrast between the black background and the white shirt and the white shirt with the bloodstain creates a simple, yet powerful image.

Main Task- Magazine Article

My magazine article is has a basic layout of most other film articles. The eye catching image on the first page will draw the reader in and the text "In Cinemas Soon" will make readers intrigued as to what is going to be released. I added a small review box on the first page so even if some readers do not want to read the whole article there is a summary box that advertises the film- this is useful as not all people who read magazines read all the articles. Half the article is about the film itself and offers an advertisement to the film as well as creating excitement about the film, this section includes pictures from the film itself. The second half of the article is about the making of the film and a directors comment, this creates an interest around the film and many readers may want to find out more about it. 
I believe the article will be successful with my target audience as it is eye catching and easy to read, the layout is basic and you don't need to try hard to find the information you would be interesting in reading. 

Main Task- Magazine Research

I chose to create a magazine article as one of my ancillary tasks for my main production. By creating a magazine article I was able to incorporate aspects of advertising and marketing of my film as well as an insight into how I went about creating the film. I chose to study articles from magazines such as Empire and Total Film as they are renowned and popular film magazines, they also have a rage variety of articles that are written in different ways and based on different things.

Before planning my article I decided to look into existing and professional film articles to see what magazines most often wrote about films. I found that it was often commercial blockbuster films that had articles written about them as they acted as a form of advertisement. Many had interviews with the cast or the directors whereas others focused mainly on what the film was about. Most offered a review to go along with the article, they did this because not all magazine readers read all of the articles, so with a small review box the reader was able to get a small amount of information for the article, this means that it is more likely that every reader of the magazine will become aware of the film, without necessarily reading the article.

After looking into the content of articles I decided to look into how the articles were most often set out. Most of the articles I studied attracted readers with a large image to catch the reader’s attention. The image was often of the main character or an image taken form the film. This works by creating an interest around the film, by seeing what the film is like, an audience can decide if they would like to see the film or not. The article was set out in sections so it was easier to read, I noticed that large chunks of text were likely to put many readers off, so by spacing the text out it seemed as though there was less to read. Text was often broken up by images that were used to back up what was being said in the article itself. 

Main Task- Compulsion Teaser Poster

I started my poster using a photo I had taken whilst filming, the purpose of this is that my actress was in costume and the photo would be more likely to reflect the atmosphere of the film itself.

I removed the background of the picture on Photoshop as to make sure Farah would be the main focus of the poster.

I added a black background to the picture as I felt it added drama to the poster and made Farah look powerful and mysterious.

I add my title and using Steeltongs created a list of credits at the bottom of the poster, this made it look more professional and added the 'attention to detail' aspect to the poster.

I blend the picture to the background more to make it look more professional and played with the colours of the picture itself. I decided to chose a more unusual style of title because I felt the poster gave little away about the plot. I made the title into a definition of 'Compulsion' as the word is unfamiliar to many people, especially among my relatively young target audience. The definition also makes the audience ask questions such as "Who is she?" and "What is the relation between her and the definition?". I also felt that it made the poster more memorable.

I feel my poster will be successful with my target audience as it is ominous- this automatically appeals to fans of thriller. The definition is unique and gives a lot away about the storyline and character, which may encourage people to watch the film. 

Main Task- Compulsion (Draft I) Presentation Feedback

Positive Feedback:

• Well framed and interesting shots
• Good acting
• Interesting storyline
• Good presentation of idea
• Professional feel

Suggested Improvements:

• Change background music
• Colourise shots to make them stand out more
• Speed up the pace of the film 
• Lighten shots as some are quite dark

Teacher comments:

• Adjust title sequence
• Fix John's looking room (framing)
• Add foley of a busy street
• Delete supermarket shot
• Add a shot of her looking towards a weapon

Main Task- Compulsion (Draft I) (add video)

Draft I of 'Compulsion'

Main Task- Target Audience Feedback

I showed 10 members of my target audience the first draft of Compulsion and gave them a short questionnaire to complete. By doing this I aimed to gain valuable feedback directly from my audience and see areas of improvement. Using the feedback I can adapt my film to appeal more to my target audience. 


This is the questionnaire:


Compulsion Questionnaire


Compulsion Questionnaire Answered


I gave 10 members of my target audience the questionnaire and the first draft of Compulsion to watch. The feedback was similar to that I recieved when presenting my first draft. All of those I gave my questionnaire to agreed that the film fit into the thriller genre. Many praised the acting skills and build up of suspense, however, they also thought that the male actor was disappointing and the film needed colourising.

Overall, the improvements suggested can easily be done. I felt that getting feedback from the audience I aimed my film at was useful as they were able to suggest improvements that would benefit their own viewing and therefore the reception the film got. I will try to incorporate the changes to the best of my ability in order for my film to be successful.

Main Task- Similar Products Research

When coming up with the storyline for my film I tried out a few ideas and see how well they translated into script. I watched quite a lot of examples of short films that fit into the thriller genre to see how other people had managed to fit such diverse conventions into such a short space of time. I came across a YouTube channel called 'Futureshorts' which focuses on professionally made short films. I found a film that inspired the plot of 'Compulsion'.

I really liked 'Some Static Started' as the plot was very ominous and mysterious and I liked the twist at the end. I decided to try and fit my original idea of a female assassin into the atmosphere and feel of this short film and found it worked well. I liked the simplicity of what was being shown and how the audience became completely absorbed into what the character was saying. 


After I had got my storyline together I went on to create the main character in more detail. I enjoy creating strong female characters so went on to find existing and similar characters. I found that many characters Angelina Jolie plays in various films set the tone for how I saw the character of 'Farah'. 


When creating my shot list, I felt it was important to use a large variety of different and unique shots to make the film more visually interesting. However, I didn't want to litter the film with a lot of unusual shots as I felt it would distract from what the characters were saying. I chose variations of normal shots (such as wide shots, close ups, mid shots etc) for example; I did many shots from side on angles or altered the framing of the shots to make them look different from the usual shots most commonly used in films. 


When creating my set I wanted the 'hotel room' to look as warm and welcoming as possible as to create a juxtaposition to what was actually happening in the room. My adding small details such as flowers and leaflets it created a more realistic and 'normal' looking hotel. 


When editing my first draft of 'Compulsion' I wanted to keep the pace fairly slow but the atmosphere intense. I did this with the use of reaction shot in the dialogue exchanges as well as using flashbacks and straight cuts. I found it hard to keep the film from dragging on and feeling too slow as the amount of dialogue made it difficult to speed up pace in certain areas.