In this storyboard I have highlighted the most important scenes to include in the promotional video, going for a comedic tone similar to that of horrible histories so I want to include juxtaposition. Having the caveman in a co-op and a Knight in full plate mail going up a train station escalator. but I also needed to include the app of Ancestree in use. So I added to my original idea in the storyboard scene cuts back and forth from these various actors in period clothing and makeup to a man using the app during there morning routine as he matches with the ancestors that appear in this seemingly normal British ton in awe and confusion to those that see them.
Overall since the video itself is aiming to be 3 minutes in length I will be adding more shots than the one's seen in this storyboard which will become clear during the scriptwriting process, but I am aiming for the shots of the man using the app to be around a minute long and the footage of the historical ancestors to be around one and a half minutes with the rest being focused on highlighting my client's taglines and other showcases of the function of the app. However, I will be using narration in my video to save on wasting screen time which I want to engage the audience with instructions that I can make comedic with the use of narration with these horrible histories type humour.
*Post-Production Notes:
During the Production this proved very useful, However, in my next production, I will take Test Footage from my location and use them to direct a more accurate blueprint for me during the filming process. If I wasn't on-site during the Location Recee re-adjusting the sequence of the final product would have been hard to adjust.
Shot List
(List of Types of Shots I Will be Using in The Promotional Video, and an estimate of footage time they will be in use)
Medium Shot, Eye-Level, 60 seconds
Medium Shot, High Angle, 25 seconds
Closeup, P.O.V (Handheld), 15 seconds
Closeup, Panning Shot (Vertical) into another Closeup, 10 seconds
Over the Shoulder, 15 seconds
Longshot, 25 Seconds
Tracking Shot (Dolly), 10 Seconds
Test Footage
Evaluation of Storyboard/Shot List
The Storyboard and Shot List are used to create a visual blueprint for the production as they showcase how a piece of visual media will be shot and what will be required for specific uses of cinematography.
The storyboard was used to create a blueprint for my promotional video by showcasing how I want the final video to look and what camera movements I would like to include, it effectively provided a visual representation of how my promotional video would look. If I was going to improve it I would use a software called Storyboarder to make a story online allowing it to be more clear and to be better shared with my crew online.
Shot List gave me and my cinematographer Jack a better understating of how long these shots were going to take in the promotional video and certain equipment required to achieve it. Allowing us to get them in before filming begins and better plan ahead, but in the future, I would go more in-depth and combine it with the shot list to create a more detailed and useful document.
Test Footage allows me and my cinematographer to see how the set looks before arriving allowing us to select certain equipment for it, light deflectors for outdoor shoots, etc. If I was going to improve it I would have used myself as a model to showcase how space will light talent on location allowing them to understand the natural lighting setting even better, to decrease setup time on the day of shooting.
Overall these stages of pre-production allow me and my crew to visually see how the final product will look and allow us to plan in advance in case of certain equipment requirements, etc. However, I think I could have made these documents more clear and precise to further ensure we are prepared for shooting with a clear vision.
A comedic showcase of a family through history as we watch a single actor play ancestors from caveman to the modern-day with different costumes, etc. Ending with him answering the door to discover himself (Split Screen) meeting with a family member he didn't know about. Text appears on-screen "Find out where family is".
Moodboard
Visual Aesthetic Example:
The Simpsons - Evolution Intro
Requirements:
Single Actor (£180.79, 8-hour Workday, around £22.5 an hour). Peopleperhour.com
Costume Designer (£20.47 per Hour) for period clothing for the scene. £1000 Costume Budget. Camera Operator/Cinematographer (Hourly rate of £61.45 to £90.35 for a Cinematographer) £2000 Equipment renting budget/insurance, but to be discussed with Cinematographer who will also act as a lightning technician, etc.
Renting Shooting Location £10.85 and £36.16, averaging £25 per day Editor (£19.88 per hour)
Breakdown/Budget Estimate
Length: Three Minutes
Time to Complete: 4 to 5 Weeks
Pre-Production Planning and setup 1 Week, casting costume and equipment booking for Tripods, Dolly or anything else needed for a shoot.
Production Depending on the complexity of footage and client feedback 1-to-2-week shoot.
Post-Production Editing should take about 4 days (workweek) due to the short length of sequence but would extend to a full week due to delays from client influence/improvements.
Budget/Cost: £9584.69 (Conservative Budget not including all cast and equipment outside of the essentials)
Idea 2 Growing Connections
Summary:
I want to use a Choreographed dance with physical theatre as I want the dancers to create the image of a tree to symbolize Ancestree app and as they form this tree it creates the theme of connection as an inspirational message with the use of politicians talking about keeping hope and sticking together during the Covid 19 pandemic. Hopefully capturing this in a Birdman (2014) style single take.
Mood Board
Visual Aesthetic Example
Climax (2018) Opening Sequence
Requirements
Dance Troupe (usually between 10 to 12 people, Average wage per Dancer £14.97 minimum per hour)
Professional Choreographer (£180.85 to £217 per dancer)
Time to make Choreography will take 2 to 3 Days and same time period for 2 to 3 Days.
Renting a Dance Studio can be between £10.85 and £36.16, averaging £25 an hour. Deda.uk.com
Editor (£19.88 per hour) Camera Operator/Cinematographer (Hourly rate of £61.45 to £90.35) plus £2000 for equipment/insurance
No cost for re-using News footage audio of politicians under the guidelines of fair use it is being used to prove your point to the audience and nothing more.
Breakdown/Budget Estimate
Length: 1 Minute and 30 Seconds
Time to Complete: 3 to 4 Weeks
Pre-Production Planning and setup 1 to 2 Week, casting dancers and equipment booking for Tripods, Dolly or anything else needed for a shoot. And for Choreographer to teach and then have dancers memorize Choreography.
Production Depending on the complexity of footage and client feedback 3-to-4-day shoot since its mostly repeating the same sequence until I am satisfied with the result as well as my client.
Post-Production Editing should take less than a week between 3 to 4 days due to the simplicity of the one-take style and only requiring the hiding of certain cuts.
Budget/Cost: £16082.92 (Conservative Budget not including all cast and equipment outside of the essentials, and for a full dance troupe which can be cut in size and scale).
Idea 3 Our Animated History
Summary:
We see the history of a single-family through animation with Non-Diegetic voiceover we watch the story transition from period to period as the style of animation changes with each decade from the early 1800's Zoetrope spinning illusion and eventually ending in current-day digital CGI (Computer Generated Imagery).
Moodboard
Visual Aesthetic Example:
The Evolution of Animation 1833 - 1990
Requirements
According to ecmstu.com for 5-10 Seconds of Animation, it will take about a day of work (about 7 ½ Hour Workday).
So, for 1 minute of Animation, this will take 6 to 12+days. Not including days for Storyboarding, etc. Twine.net where you can hire various independent animators and Work Chron.com, it costs £27.73 per one hour for an Animator would recommend 2 to help with time.
Due to my need for traditional animation training, this may cost extra. £2000 for Equipment for the animation team for recreating Zoetropes, etc.
Voice Over Artist on average cost £10.68 per hour Studio for Voiceover to Animate between £25 to £200 an hour, might have to rent separately if the needs aren't available in the same space.
Breakdown/Budget Estimate
Length: 1 Minute
Time to Complete: 3 to 4 Weeks
Pre-Production Planning/Storyboarding setting up a studio for them to work in 1 to 2 Weeks with this extra week to look for specialised equipment and resources they will need for the different animation styles.
Production Due to it being an animation team of two for a 1-minute sequence being 6 to 12 days I estimate due to the varies different animation style it will take about 2 weeks with the simple and small voiceover requirements.
Post-Production Editing should take less than a week between 3 to 4 days after the bulk of the animation and will act as them adding the finishing touches on their work to fit with the client's demands if any.
Budget/Cost: £10278.28 (Conservative Budget not including all cast and equipment outside of the essentials, with current knowledge of the creation process).
My Idea to Use Online Influencers
I had a marketing idea to include in these various promotional videos to have online influencers be part of the production and to boost engagement for there product.
This could be through sponsored content on their online platforms to promote the app, if we move forward with our animation idea we could use the animations of there videos and hire them to be a part of the animation team or even play an actor in the video. If we involve them in the promotional video in some way I know we can boost viewership from a target audience and further encourage increased engagment.
Examples of Influencers we could involve:
History Matters
How did Medieval Banking Work? (Short Animated Documentary)
The Great War
World News From 100 Years Ago - January 1921
The Infographics Show
How A Soldier Single-Handedly Liberated An Entire German Occupied City
Client Reaction to Ideas Pitched
My client decided to go with the 1st idea of my comedic history of a personal family tree, we expanded the idea together to better include the app being used. By having two different sequences one of the individuals looking over the app while we see their various ancestors from history going through the town and having modern-day interaction (my example was a caveman buying a sausage roll) and then finally the ancestors arrive at the user's front door in a humour scene of a collaboration of ancestors of different backgrounds and a confused looking user.
Ending with a tagline which we decided on "Find when family is" or their slogan "a sunny future of family history", my client also wanted me to include a more comic book style editing similar to Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010) to give it more visual appeal.
The other ideas to the client felt they were for a more established brand (like the Christmas John Lewis adverts) and since this is a promotional video to establish the product in the user's mind I need to make it more obvious for the audience, in conclusion, the meeting/pitch went well and I managed to secure funding and I can start the creation process of my first idea. And I think we can use the extra footage from this shooting day to have smaller clips for an online campaign, my client liked the idea of the caveman posting on the app and on social media to promote the app.
Reference List:
The Simpsons Created by Matt Groening
Climax Directed by Gaspar Noé
The Solomon Society "The Evolution of Animation 1833 - 1990" 2 Mar 2017 (Online), Available at:
The rules of six refer to the theory created by Walter Murch (American film editor most known for his work on Apocalypse Now, 1979) which refers to the criteria to a perfect cut within a film a cut that consists of emotion, story, rhythm, eye trace, a 2D plane of the screen, and 3D space. Nofilmschool.com
The Art of the Cut, Greg Keast. Talking about Editing
"You will be creating a psychological experience of reality and manipulating the overall mood by tempo."
The feeling of the scene and how it will affect the audience emotionally in that section of the work. Does the cut/edit match the tone of your film, if you were making a serious Drama you would edit differently to a comedy like The Hangover (2009) as you are trying to establish different emotions depending on its audience.
The Hangover (2009)
Story (23%)
How the editing furthers the narrative of the video as it continues the dialogue of a scene with a shot-reverse-shot, does it flashback to an important piece of information from a different time in the film like in Momento (2000). Or does it share important information that is needed for the audience to know what's going on? Basically, does the edit move the story along in a meaningful way?
Memento (2000)
Rhythm (10%)
Heavily connected to the emotion and story aspects of editing, the rhythm keeps the pace of a scene. By editing to the beat of the music (non-diegetic) and cutting to the energy of the scene, fast-paced quick cuts using a handheld camera/shaky camera for a car chase scene like in Baby Driver (2017).
Baby Driver (2017)
Eye Trace (7%)
When an edit keeps the most important part of the frame near where the last shot had them. For example in the film Seven when the police arrive at the scene of another homicide all the important information is in the centre of the frame. This follows Eye Trace as it easily allows the audience to keep track of the scene during the cuts from the interviewer talking about the case to the office floor painted with greed in the centre of the office carpet.
Seven (1995)
Two Dimensional Plane on Screen (5%)
This is transforming our reality into the two-dimensional reality on screen and follows the 180-degree rule as characters maintain a relationship from left to right of each other in the scene and the camera follows this line to not confuse the audience s they can easily keep track of the characters.
The physical space around the scene, positioning of certain props actor positioning, etc. This is essential in order to maintain emersion in the scene, however, it is the last rule because despite emersion being important what is more important is that a scene engages the audience's emotions and invests them in the narrative/story. An example of a great scene breaking this rule is this scene from Goodfellas (1990) as props and actors positioning constantly contradict each other.
Goodfellas (1990)
Use in Advertising/Promotional Video
We can use these editing rules from Walter Murch to help sell/advertise products by helping us engage them with narrative and emotion.
Advert Example: Diet Coke (1994)
Emotion
Advert uses editing to establish a desire from the audience as it makes the man look wanted/desired by the women on the hill as they use intimate closeups of the reactions when he takes off his shirt in combination with the shot-reverse shots. By making the audience feel this desire for the man it makes them have a desire for the product as the creators have used male gaze techniques like fragmentation to sexualise the man and the product of Diet Coke.
Story
The advert showcases the rule of the story in editing as we see the story of a group of women having a picnic as they give the gardener a diet coke. The audience watches the coke can through the grass with panning/tracking shots. We see the journey of the product to the man as it cuts back and forth along with the non-diegetic music of Etta James "I just wanna make love to you" (1960) makes the scene feel like a meet-cute from a rom-com like What if (2014) as the footage goes into slow motion and the sound effects are edited into a dream-like echo and enhanced with the high key lighting. As the story of romance and desire seduces the audience into buying the product themselves.
Rhythm
The advert follows a quick pace narrative with the music by Etta James, this is both to match together an engaging sequence as the music perfectly fits the stolen glances of seduction between the characters and for the men undressing but also allows the advert to showcase their product quickly and effectively as we see a story encouraging its consumption with the heightened sexual tension of sound and camera techniques, and keeps the add at an exact minute making it cheaper to make and buy ad space for.
Eye Trace
The editor in compilation with the cinematographer uses shots that focus on the centre of frame e and use blur effects to draw the focus of the eye to the actors and the product of the diet coke can. Keeping the audience engaged and their focus clearly drawn to the most important aspects on screen they want them to pay attention to. The product and the sexual tension between the women and the man.
Two and Three Dimensional Space on Screen
We see the characters clearly following the 180-degree rule, as the positioning on the man on the left and the women on the right allowing the audience to easily keep track of the characters positioning from each other, and the seen keeps continuity between the actors with there positioning and relationship with the setting remaining the same throughout the scene, the only continuity error being the changing lighting outlining the fragmented figure of the man as he undresses.
Overall
The advert uses the techniques of Murch to sell their product by making the audience engaged with a seductive emotion and relationship with the characters within it. By having these feeling in the advert they make them transfer to the product encouraging people to buy the product in hopes they will have a similar experience to the characters in the footage as it silently claims you will become attractive like these paid models/actors by drinking diet coke.
Overall I think the advert uses sexual references as a weapon and has quite outdated male gaze techniques like fragmentation that portray both the men and women in the advert in an unrealistic light with unnatural beauty standards and I think this advert could be greatly improved with more modern conceptions of gender and relationships.
Reference List:
Apocalypse Now (1979) Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Nofilmschool.com "6 'Rules' for Good Cutting According to Oscar-Winning Editor Walter Murch" Written by V Renée, November 30, 2016 (Online), available at:
Breakdown of Technical Conventions (Mise en Scene. Camera, Editing) and how they create Code/Conventions that further the identity of the brand and help target the Key Demographic/Target Audience.
DollarShaveClub.com - Our Blades Are F***ing Great
DollarShaveClub is an originally American subscription service that provides shaving supplies like razors, shaving cream, etc. For $1 a month and replacement for those products as they are delivered to your home.
Mise en Scene:
The promotional video uses the Setting of the companies warehouse to showcase them as a large operation as the viewer can see all of the storage and establishes them as a professional and successful business, the video also uses there setting in combination with props and Decor to create humour. Its use of costume with the man in a bear costume and the toddler shaving a man's head creates humour establishing intimacy with the customers as it humanizes there brand (much like how brands use social media to mimic individuals).
The humour is also a technique to target there demographic of millennium's adults ('20s to late '30s) who are defined by there meta humour and anti-establishment feeling on big companies like Amazon and Facebook, as DollarShaveClub.com separates from this plans by aiming with there setting to target working-class people as the setting and the performance of the Ceo is meant to mimic every day 9 to 5 jobs, which is further proven by the use of Alehondro in the video as it shows the consumer they are creating jobs for the community.
Camera:
The promotional video uses a talking head style (talking directly into the Camera) with its use of zooms in and out of the Ceo's performance as well as tracking and panning shots as we follow him around the warehouse, this establishes intimacy, as we stay on eye level with the CEO making them seem like the consumers, equals as we sympathise/relate with him. Making us want to buy the product as we see the owner as a friend rather than a superior.
Editing:
The video uses Jump Cuts to keep the video engaging and quick as we see the camera transition between sections of the factory as the Ceo breaks down the goals and benefits of the brand/product, which is further infused by cutting to there tagline at the end of the video "Shave Time. Shave Money." further keeping the product in the consumer's mind as the narrative of the video links and relates to there slogan. The length of the video itself is also short and two the point at 1 minute and 33 seconds it allows this video to be shared on multiple platforms from TV Slots to Social Media and has enough moment in the video itself that relates to the benefits of there product that this segment could be separated into smaller bite-size content to save money on advert cost buying on these various platforms.
Conclusion
The promotional video uses its short length to give an energized video that fully explains the intent of the product and blad while marketing tho their target demographic with humour and Mise en Scene. However, this product fails to create a broader demographic of men and focuses on this age group which could mean older generations would not take interest in this product despite there disposable income, but apart from that, it creates a quick and easy to understand video on the product and I can see many techniques that I will want to include in my productions.
Comparing to Competitors
Gilette
As one of the Dollar Shave Clubs competitors, Gillette uses cinematography and setting along with the use of epic non-diegetic music to make their product look and feel high end similar to car brands as they comment on the effectiveness of the product rather than the price. However, the dollar shave clubs method is clearly superior to market to a wider more affordable audience as they focus on selling to working-class consumers and keep there promotional video grounded and relatable by having the CEO shown as a person rather than a product/business (personifying the brand). This level of engagement compared to Gillette is far better as they make their product seem available to all consumers rather then Gillette whos promotional videos and advertising simply use cinematic language to make their brand seem high en and not affordable to the average consumer.
D&D Beyond Official Theme/Promo
D&D Beyond is a digital service that helps you manage Rules and Infomation when you play the tabletop R.P.G game Dungeons and Dragons, its a free app service but allows you to buy items within it for easier access.
Mise en Scene:
Since the game, D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) was released in the '80s the video uses 80s style animations like The Black Cauldron (1985) to showcase the Setting/Origins of D&D and the video use of bright colour creates a more engaging video keeping the viewer more engaged with the various imagery on screen, this also combined with the 80's Soundtrack/Non-Diegetic Music allows the video to relate to the original players of the game and its use of catchy lyrics that relate to the mechanics of the product itself with lyrics like "You need a place to track your stuff, cause your so disorganised" which is what the app/product is supposed to help the consumer organize.
The animated Costumes of the characters also reference the types of characters (also known as Classes) you can play in the game and the performances in the animation and their design are based on an online show/web series that is popular in the D&D community known as Critical Role, further garnering interest in consumers as fans of the show may now be attracted to this service as well.
Camera:
The Camera in this video consists of P.O.V and establishing shots of the setting and characters is meant to make the viewer envision themself as the "Warlock" in the video as P.O.V personifies the viewer as being in the video and makes them want to buy the product as they want to experience the display of wonderful fantasy imagery in the video that the Establishing Shot showcases the gameplay of Dungeons and Dragons linking to the mantra of D&D Beyond as helping experience take care of all of the boring parts of the game and allow me to fully experience the wonder D&D has to offer "Play with Advantage" as they simply want to help people play the game.
Editing:
The Video is entirely digitally animated and mimics the style of the 80s and creates CGI displays of the characters powers and abilities that D&D Beyond is designed to help the consumer manage with ease, further making them want to buy the product so they can experience these abilities displayed by the characters in the video. The video short length of 49 Seconds also allows it to be showcased on both Social Media platforms and TV without issue and for relatively cheap due to its short length.
Conclusion
The Promotional Video by D&D Beyond showcases the app/products goals and uses a nostalgic style of the '80s to entice viewers to buy the product as well as using characters from Critical Role known by there target demographic of D&D fans/players that they want to purchase and use the platform/app.
However, I think the promotional video can better breakdown the detail for what their product does, however, I think for a short and simple 49-second video it garners interest from those they want to use/buy there product.
Comparing to Competitors
World Anvil
World Anvil uses its promotional video to showcase the functionality and capability of the app/website as they have an employee go through everything that the app can do. This gives more information to the consumer on how the product works and what can be achieved with it unlike D&D Beyond which only creates a simple understanding of the product, but D&D Beyond uses more engaging cinematic language to engage the viewer/consumer with catchy music and vivid animation style, in conclusion, I believe that both brands created compelling promotional videos one focused on engagement and one focused on functionality however it is clear that a good promotional video requires a balance between both of them.
Purple Boys - Ideal Sleep Solutions and Zonk Strategies (Episode 1 of 6)
Purple is an American based comfort technology company specializing in mattresses pillows/cushions, etc. This promotional video, it creates a sketch comedy series about the fictional characters who represent the Purple company as they try and help the audience get better sleep as well as those they interact with this short 6 Episode series.
Mise en Scene:
The video uses the colour purple in the setting/decor and costumes as it works as a branding tool for the Purple Mattress company as it is used as the iconic colour of there products and unique plastic polymer products. The performance of the two actors Geno Purple played by Eric Wareheim and Quirky Purple who is played by Tim Heidecker, both internet personalities and comedians who have an established audience from there Podcasts like "Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker" and their presence on social media platforms like Instagram. By having them in this Promotional Video not only does it attract their audience/fans to the product but due to there audience targeting for this video being working adult by having these performers at the age of the late '20s and 30's demographic who suffer from lack of comfortable sleep and the so-called Sunday Scaries as mentioned in the dialogue.
The use of comedy to further sells their product by making the audience comfortable in the scene with its use of 80's non-diegetic music that can only be compared to a combination between a classic sitcom like Family Matters (1989-1998) and the acid trip scenes in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) which is only enhanced by the eccentric performances by Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker.
Camera:
The cinematography in the video uses a classic medium shot of a chat show with the two main actors and uses closeups on the characters in a talking head interview style with them directly addressing the audience/camera. Having this constant eye level with the characters create a relatable if a bit slightly uncomfortable relationship with the viewer as it makes us more interested in the bizarre promotional video and the product they are selling. The use of longshots as we see characters use a Purple mattress clearly showcases there product as it sells and showcases it in a creative original format.
Editing:
The use of CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) in the video makes the video seem like a promotional video from the '80s with its use of cheap-looking font style akin to the original adverts during the early invention of video software like Powerpoint in the 2000s. The use of Green Screen in the video also has this effect and by using it to duplicate these character and move them around the screen in hectic and unconventional ways along with classic transitions and image altering effects used in the most primitive of editing software like creating blur effects. This use of amateur techniques combined with the clearly large budget for the production creates a memorable promotional video that sticks in the viewer's mind.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the video successfully promotes the product by using interesting and unusual cinematic techniques, from is purposely use of amateur editing techniques and bizarre performances as it clearly caught the attention of the consumers with the over 4 million views on the first video and more than 10 million on the whole promotional video series. As it capitalised on the internet sensation of Youtubes comedy/horror video and series like "Too many cooks" (2014) and "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared" (2010). This clear use to capitalise on this strange period of entertainment of Youtube made there limited TV series method of release for this promotional video series stay in the online zeitgeist for an extended period of time and more likely garnered interest in the product due to the oddity of the campaign if nothing else. This promotional video took advantage of the online medium of Youtube and the internet trends of the time by making the product a sharable joke/meme.
Comparing to Competitors
Simba
Simba uses cinematic language to appeal to an adult audience as it uses fragmentation with its use of closeups on the mattress and the machinery being used to test it to imply a sexual undertone along with its narration stating "Because you do more in bed then just sleep" this sexualisation of the product similar to the coke promotional video/advert (in my post on Walter Murch's Editing Rules) I analyzed on my blog this use of editing style to imply these adult themes links that feeling to the product causing them to buy it thinking that because they own the product they will have these sexual experiences alluded to in the cinematic language. Comparing this to Purples use of comedy both have engaging ways to market there brand, but I feel in comparison to Purple, Simba is falling behind by failing to distinguish itself from its competitors as sexualising a product is a common place in media and advertising and need to find a way to create a distinguished online presence as Purple has done.
How these Examples will Effect my own Promotional Video
The methods I will be taking into my own Promotional Video Ideas will most likely be the convention of the Talking Heads Format into some of my pitch ideas as it seems like an easy and compelling way to identify and market to the audience. As it makes the video more sympathetic and marketable through eye-level camera angles and making the audience feel more involved.
I will also be taking on in some capacity the unique animation style of the D&D Beyond Promotional Video as well as there usage of pre-existing media personalities like The Critical Role Cast, this was also showcased in the two comedians Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker to attract audiences to teh Purple brand. This convention of using internet personalities is usually for the use of Celebrities like Kevin Bacon in various adverts like 4G. However, lesser-known internet personalities will be cheaper for my production and having them attach to my product via these interconnected influencers will also provide a boost in product interest from the demographic if I pick the correct internet personalities.
Reference List:
DollarShaveClub.com - Our Blades Are F***ing Great Available (Online):
https://www.youtube.com/user/DollarShaveClub
D&D Beyond Official Theme/Promo Available (Online):
Presentation/Powerpoint of the Creation of my Concept:
My Final Film Idea/Concept:
My film is linked to Lacan's Theory of Lack and our desire to fill this innate emptiness that we all have to deal with throughout our existence and Freud's Theory of the Self and how we all consist of three aspects that make up our personal persona.
Due to the current state of the world where we are all living in a time where we are more isolated and alone then, the majority of us have experienced so I decided to have my movie set during the this current Covid 19 pandemic (which also allows me to film it at home and abide by health safety standards of our current lockdown) as I explore the Orders of Lacan's theory (The Real, The Imaginative, The Symbolic) as we see my character go through isolation alone during Christmas and the effect this has on there mental state and how in this loneliness he has to battle his desire for companionship represented by the Id to reunite with his family for Christmas and the rules he must follow to survive this pandemic.
I want to use the composition of my cinematography to showcase my characters Isolation and fear of The Real which will both represent the fear of returning to a primal state of being like in Lacan's expression of lack like so many have done during the pandemic and the Id of Freud as his desire to be consumed by it which will be represented by my use of lighting having the darkness in my image contrasted with the natural goldern lighting and maybe even high Key-lighting of the interior.
Equipment List:
Tripod
For the majority of shots in this film, I plan to use static shots with centred composition is much like the work of Wes Anderson so I need full stability on my camera rather than handheld. Also, it comes with a panning function allowing me to use camera movement vertically for better efficiency.
Camera
I will be using my own Panasonic Hc-V380EB-KA Camcorder for this film, this has a 50x Zoom Lens and will allow me to use zoom ins and zoom outs for my camera movement and will allow me to capture my constant longshots to visualise my characters isolation.
It also has multiple setting that I can alter to better suit the environment as it has ISO and Shutter Speed setting for night time footage and since my film will be shot during night time it will help to keep my frame in focus and visible.
Lighting
Will be using the natural lighting of my setting (my home) for the film to make it seem more natural almost social realism style. However, I will try and use harsh spotlight techniques with my use of an industrial stage lamp in my living room giving me the higher contrast between high and low key lighting to demonstrate the relationship between The Real outside the house and the safe interior of the home.
Final Product
Holiday Isolation
Evaluation
My Plan Vs The Final Product:
In my opinion, I successfully used the following film techniques to showcase Lacan's Psychotherapy Theory on Lack and Freud's Theory of the Self; Mise en Scene (lighting, setting, performance, etc.) and Cinematography (Camera Angles, etc.) as well as Editing. and overall achieved my goal to explore these theories in the film as I combined my influences of The End of the F***ing World (2017-2019) with its aesthetic/tone and lighting methods and the work of Wes Anderson specifically The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) with its use of the Symmetrical Composition.
My film still follows a man as he deals with being isolated from friends and family during Christmas and how he deals with this Isolation.
Mise en Scene:
My use of Lighting created and showcased The Real Order from Lacan's Theory of Lack in psychotherapy, this was due to my use of Natural Lighting in my setting contrasting against the Low-Key Lighting of the outdoors which were often shrouded in darkness. This represented The Real due to Lacan's definition of The Real as are the most natural state which is before birth before the existence and is associated with darkness and the void as we often associate darkness with death which Lacan explains is the beginning and end of our lives. By using the Natural Goldern Coloured Lighting with this void, I am stating the inside as the Symbolic order an illusion we utilize to communicate/function in society (Gold is linked to religious ideals of innocence specifically Catholsim linking to my Setting of Christmas) as this frames the conflict of my narrative whether The Man stays inside protected from the dangers of the pandemic by The Symbolic or leaves into the void to return to his family for Christmas and return to the natural state which is also a metaphor for a time before Covid 19 (which we unfortunately at this time cannot return too).
This can also be easily linked to Freud's Theory of the Self with the Low-Key Lighting representing the Id (Desire) and The Natural Lighting to the Super-Ego (Rules of Society) which is further infused with my use of Sound in my film as I use Non-Diegetic whispers as the character looks into the Darkness outside his home to showcase Freuds Theory as they reveal the characters true thoughts and the ever-increasing fake news surrounding this virus as he must make a decision Performing as an Ego (Balance between the Id and Super-Ego) through my characters uses of Gestures and Movements as he presses himself against the window to the Darkness/Low-Key Light (id) but retreats into the safety of the natural light (Super-Ego) as the ego must make a decision between these two forces which is the conflict of my narrative.
My use of Costume also represented my character's decision between The Real/Id and The Symbolic/Super-Ego as my character throughout the film wears Brown and Yellow jumpers and long-sleeved shirts which showcases his comfort inside (as they are non-flashy lounging wear) and the Colours of his outfitsrepresent The Symbolic/Super-Ego this was to showcase my characters mind in isolation as he is complacent in the safety of his Plato Cave situation where he lives in safety and fear of the outside world, this foreshadows his decision to stay at the end of the film, however, I also show the falter in his beliefs as he answers the door when he receives his gifts during the lockdown in a Light Blue (typically representing sadness in Colour Theory) Jumper showcasing his spiral into depression which he ultimately suppresses with the consumption of the baked goods (Props) gifted to him.
My use of the Song Please Stop the Cavalry by Jona Lewie released in 1978 about a man fighting in a war and wanting to go home for Christmas, I choose this Non-Diegetic Music to play throughout my film as I thought it was a good representation of what my character and the world is going through. Fighting a war against Covid 19 as we are unable to see the ones we care about for the Holidays we usually cherish. This also links to the theory of the lack as my character lacks the companionship he needs to fill the hole that has grown present in his isolation, this is also assisted by my use of The Dog in its Performance using my own dog who is old and lacks a haircut (due to the pandemic) much like my character in the film there matching shaggy Costume/Makeup embodies the returning to the primal state of existence of The Real and succumbing to our Id's Desires to sit around and consume (which is further enforced by my montage of eating in the film). While my film could be an allegory of the outside world being The Real and The Id it can also be argued that the self-gratification of the character inside there home as a state of Regression (when a person regains traits from there past) as explained by Freud my character doesn't want to try and challenge the world and change it for the better but remain a self-pleasuring prisoner. I wanted my film to have multiple ways for it to be analyzed with these theories and I think I succeed in achieving this with my use of Mise en Scene.
However, due to my film taking on this many theories and because I wanted to create multiple ways for this film to be analysed I fear I have made the message of my final work unclear and have failed to create a clear image in my film for the Lacan and Freud's Theories and if I was to do this piece of work again in the future I would have multiple characters personify The Order (Imaginary, Symbolic and Real) and The Aspects of the Self (Id, Ego and Super-Ego) but due to the safety regulations of the current lockdown this was filmed during it was simply not possible. I would have also liked to include a more cleat example of the Imaginary Order (Illusion of what an object of desire looks like to the individual) within this film possibly by having it more obvious that it was the Prop of the Ginger Bread Christmas tree as its what inspires him to attempt his escape however this illusionary fantasy is then realized and abandoned showcased in the eating of the baked good before the end credits. To improve the metaphor I should've used more obvious High-Key Lighting techniques and use of dramatic Non-Diegetic Music when he discovers it similar to a rom-com like Sleepless in Seattle (1993) when the characters meet for the first time in person.
Editing:
In my film, I use Editing Techniques to showcase my explored Theories of Lacan and Freud. For example, I displayed The Mirror Stage from Lacan's Psychotherapy Theory of Lack which is one of the stages of development according to Freud where we as humans recognize our selves in mirrors or more accurately the outside image the world sees. I demonstrated this stage by having the character staring into the mirror Prop/Decor) during one of the scenes, I then used Split Image and by using Cropping Tools on my editing software (Premiere Pro) I overlapped two pieces of footage to make it look like his reflection was an independent character in the scene from himself. This was to represent him losing his sense of self in lockdown as the image walks out of the mirror leaving The Man without a reflection, signifying how because of being inside for so long he has forgotten what his image to others looks like and expresses his found realization of his lack that cant is filled according to Lacan.
I also demonstrated the Oral Phase, which is the stage of early adolescence birth to 1-year-old where the Id is generated as the child learns to yield satisfaction and survival from putting things in its mouth according to Freud's Theory of the Self, by using Montage Sequence Editing in my film.
I demonstrated The Man regressing into the Oral Stage as I cut between the basket full of baked goods that the character receives and a Closeups on his mouth as he consumes them I also Speed Up the footage in Post-Production to make the motion and time period seem more fast-paced and animalistic as it represents my character embracing the Id through his pleasure in consumption and by Zooming In on my characters mouth it evokes the image of a baby eating linking back to the adolescent of which this stage takes place and showcases my character at his lowest point in the film. Also, the contrast of the Shot of the orderly basket and the Cut to the chaotic unpleasant imagery of my characters chewing mouth showcases a battle between the characters inner self The Super-Ego represented by the orderly Basket of Baked goods and the characters maw symbolising the Id.
Overall I think my use of Editing successfully created the stages of development believed in Lacan and Freud's theories as I created accurate displays of self-reflection with the Mirror Stage and the Characters dive into regression into self-indulgence of the Id/Oral phase. however, I think I could have been more creative in my Transitions between scenes and if I was going to do this project again I would use more of an Edit to the Beat Style in combination with the Non-Diegetic Music to make it feel more Rhythmic and sequenced making the film seem more like a daily routine similar to prison to add to my characters feeling of isolation and living under the thumb of the orderly Super-Ego.
Camera:
I used Cinematography/Camera to showcase Expression of Lack through the theories Psychotherapy of Lacan and the Freudian theory of the Self, for example, I used Composition in my film to display fears of The Real and the Relationship between the Id and Super-Ego.
Taking inspiration from the use of Composition in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) I used cardboard cut-outs of frame shapes and Edited in frames around my footage to mimic the Aspect Ratio of my Camera changing with this I created Symmetrically Flat Composition this to make my character closed in by the darkness of outside the frame meant to represent The Real Order and how he is trapped with this Setting (home) via this outside darkness of the edges of the frame.
This becomes especially apparent in Opening Shot of the front door as we see it encompassed by this outer frame as we see the door represent the Symbolic Order and Super Ego with its symmetrical circle of the Christmas Wreath encompassed by the Id/The Real on its outskirts. This also symbolises the environment of the home surrounded by the void.
I enforced my character's relationship with the lack as I used Long Shots to make him seem encompassed by the Setting around him Isolating him and making him positioned in the door frames and archways within the Setting as well allowing the Camera to make the image feel hollow as he is unable to fill it much like Lacan explains how it cannot be filled in real life and it is a necessity to understand how we will always be misunderstood.
My use of different Camera Shots during the film showcases the conflict of the self in Freud's Theory as we see a battle between them throughout my film as we see from The Mans introduction Shot we see him framed in both a Long Shot (representing the Super-Ego) and a Closeup (Representing the Id) which continues throughout my film as we see this shots constantly contrast and follow each other. This is further proven in my last shot of The Man as we see a Long Shot film his decision to remain indoors as he exits and returns to his home during a Long Take. My use of Static Camera (by using a Tripod) with these Shots enforce the feeling of the Super-Ego as an oppressing force as the camera is stuck with the character which is why in contrast all my Camera Movement takes place outside like my Whip Pans when The Man answers the door for the basket and the Panning Shot of the Moon to reveal the shot of him in the window.
In conclusion, I used Camera to convey Freudian Theory of the Self with it displaying the conflict with the Super-Ego and Id as well as The Real and The Symbolic relationship that Lacan breakdown with the contrast of Longshots and Closeups and Camera Movement/Static. However, I feel I could have made this more obvious with this composition combined with Split Lighting to symbolise these opposing theories and I think I could have gotten more equipment (like a Dolly) to make my Vertical and Horizontal Pans more fluid and professional, however, since I was working with the equipment I had at home I think it makes the film feel more grounded much like a social realism film making it more impactful to the audience as it feels like it was filmed by someone in the pandemic right now.
Final Conclusion of Holiday Isolation
In my opinion, I achieved my goal to create a film that showcased the Theories of Lacan and Freud using Cinematic Techniques of Mise en Scene, Editing and Camerawork, however after completing this piece of work I feel I have come around to new ideas that film can represent and knowing what I know now there are multiple technical improvements I would make.
But if I was to do this again I would include The Male Gaze Theory of Mulvey in this film to better showcase my characters obsession to leave his home during the pandemic with Fragmentation Techniques used on female characters to highlight my Setting rather than a character in its Cinematography I think this could have created an interesting experimental style.
Reference List:
The End of the F***ing World (2017-2019) Created by Charles S. Forsman
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Directed by Wes Anderson
