Posters Prop Practical

For our film trailer, we originally planned on having the ending as a point of view shot of the protagonist looking over a bridge and down to train tracks, as this would suggest suicide but would not definitely suggest it, and so kept a sense of enigma. However, after taking the shot using a GoPro, we reviewed the footage we obtained and discovered that it was canted, and so would not be usable.

However, rather than reshooting the footage, we discussed the ending scene and unanimously decided that it had too much finality to its tone, and so we chose to change it.
After various discussions and searching other social realist film trailers for inspiration, we decided that the final scene should be more positive and suggest hope for the protagonist, and so chose to film a scene in a nurse's office, which has implications that the protagonist is looking for help from professionals.

For this scene, we needed posters which focused on eating disorders for the mise-en-sene so as to confirm that the protagonist is at a specialist clinic. I opted to create one such poster, which would be used along with preexisting posters from real companies which help people with eating disorders.

Firstly, I used a drawing I had previously completed which featured a shackled girl wearing rags, and took a photo of it using my phone.  Using my preexisting knowledge of poster conventions, I chose to use the Golden Rule, and so photographed the image so as the place the main drawing not in the centre of the post, but on the right hand side. Then, using the editing effects already available on my phone, I changed the filter of the image to Noir Black and White, as the photo was uncoloured and the lighting made the image purple. Therefore, by changing the image to black and white I parallel the tone of the film.

 Following this, I then chose to change the lighting of the piece, particularly darkening it so as to sharpen the image and erase some of the lighter pencil strokes.

Next, I used an app titled  Color Effects, a free app which allows the user to 'recolour' any image of their choosing. This app has a variable brush size, which consists of pixels, meaning that the smallest brush size is one pixel, whereas the largest is various pixels.
Also, the app offers a rainbow spectrum of colours, and so at a glance the user can choose a simple solid colour such as red, pink, blue, orange, green, etc, and then after choosing a colour a larger screen appears which allows the user to lighten or darken the colour, with black at one end and white on the other.

Firstly, I chose a colour between orange and pink, and lightened it by a significant amount so as to get a suitable 'fleshy' colour. The app offers the user the opportunity to adjust the opacity of the recolouring, and for this I chose zero opacity, meaning the colour was non transparent, and chose a 'hard edge' brush to ensure that the lines are sharp and clear rather than blurred.
The app allows the user to zoom in significantly in order to see the individual pixels, which makes colouring the image more precise, and I coloured the skin of the character portrayed in my drawing.
The drawing I had done included lines to signify where shadows and light patches should be seen, and so I used these for guidance and alternatively darkened and lightened the colour i was using ever so slightly to show blended colour, particularly using the lighter colour on the tops of my character's arm and legs.
I then chose a generic brunette colour to colour the character's hair and coloured the clothing of the character in a light blue colour as this connotes depression but also hope.

Once this was complete, I opened up an alternative app, which was also free to purchase, and is called Photo Editor. This app allowed me to add text to the image, with the option of choosing font type, font colour, and font size.

Hence, using a traditional Times New Roman font I chose the headline 'Don't be a Slave to Your Eating Disorder' in order to convey how people often feel constricted by their eating disorders.
Then, at the footer of the page I added smaller sans serif text in white which included a phone number which would lead to a help line. This shows how the sufferer is not alone and that there are options available to them. Also, by using a white text it contrasts the black header and the dark colours of the poster, drawing attention to it and implying a semantic field of hope and positivity.

Evaluation 
Using this same technique, I took three more of my own drawings and manipulated them into posters, each with a small amount of text which aimed to inspire the reader to get help, as well as a helpline attached. However, we decided that these posters were quite harsh as they used fairly brutally honest pictures, and so may not have been used in an eating disorder clinic as they may negate any helpfulness. Therefore, we will only be using the poster above, and will pair it with some pre-existing eating disorder help posters.

Calorie Journal Practical

As we have decided that our film will focus on the moral panic of body image and how the media negatively affects it, I have chosen to create a possible prop for the mies-en-scene, namely a calorie journal.
In various films which feature body image as a main issue, one way in which film creators portray the protagonist's struggle with their weight is through using a calorie journal. This is a journal in which a person keeps track of the calories they have consumed each day, so as to minimise this total amount and to keep track of what they are eating.

For this practical task, I began with a simple, unassuming, black A5 diary, which can be easily purchased at multiple stores for a reasonable price.
I chose black as this is stereotypically considered as a gender neutral colour and so would appeal to both females and males, but is also conventionally used to symbolise disequilibrium as this colour connotes negativity. Hence, I believed that this would be a suitable colour to use as it reflects the inner turmoil of the protagonist, and so portrays the tone of the film well.

Then, inside the a5 diary I created a table titled "Food and Calorie Log" with six categories, one for dinner, one for lunch, and one for breakfast/snacks, each with their own corresponding 'calories' column. This shows a clear, logical database in which the protagonist can keep track of the food and calories they consume each day. By having a calorie journal, this shows that it is something the protagonist is conscientious of, and wishes to control.

After this I continued to fill out the first day, which I thought should be fairly unhealthy and consist of a larger sum of calories so as to contrast the last readings. Each food item listed had an approximately accurate amount of calories listed, although it will vary for portion sizes.

Following this, I then went on to fill out the food items for the next day, this time adding a few more healthier foods that altogether brought down the calorie total so as to illustrate how the protagonist is making healthier eating choices and is making a conscientious effort to change her eating habits.

Finally, I finished the table to show that by the last day her total food and calorie intake was drastically less than the initial one, hence emphasising the contrast between the two and demonstrating the sharp decline in her health due to a drastic change in eating habits. By the last day the intake more than halves, and so the audience are able to perceive the desperation of the situation and just how quickly it has changed.

Evaluation

I decided to only fill out one page due to the face that if we decide to use the diary as mise-en-scene it will only very briefly be shown during the trailer.

However, we have chosen not to feature this particular prop in our film trailer as it is not essential and  so does not need to be in it. Also, in the future, if I completed this practical task again I might perhaps choose a more conventionally feminine diary so as to appeal to the target audience more clearly, and I might manually alter the diary so as to make it more authentic and fit into the film more appropriately.

Creation of Twitter Account

In this blog post, I will explain how I created a twitter account for use within our media trailer, and discuss and evaluate how useful it will be as mise-en-scene.

How Useful Could This Be?
As part of the mise-en-scene, this twitter account could be incredibly useful as it can highlight the increasing influence of social media, especially upon teenage girls.  Every day magazines are released with images of stick thin girls, articles on how to lose weight, and these are reflected in social media as well, and it is all sending out messages to young impressionable girls around the world that they should look and act a certain way. The purpose of our piece is to fight against that, and to illustrate just how damaging an effect the media can have on someone's life.

Evaluation
We decided, however, to not use this particular account in the trailer, though had we made a full film it would definitely be included. Instead, we used a facebook account, so as to demonstrate how personal cyber bullying or 'trolling' can be.

Balloon Creation

For the scene that Ellie and I will be filming, there are two props needed in the form of balloons. Frankie, who will be acting as the younger Ellie, will be holding a white balloon with the words "Happiness", "Innocence", "Purity" and "Security" written on them. These were chosen, along with the colour white for the balloon, to symbolise the innocence of our protagonist at this age.

This then contrasts to the older version of our protagonist - Ellie- who will be holding a red balloon, to signify the loss of this innocence. This balloon will have the words "sadness", "damaged", "hatred" and "loneliness".

The creation of these probe was very simple, and did not take much time. The materials I used were:
> one red balloon
> One white balloon
> One black marker pen.

The finished balloons looked like the image below:

The white balloon is much the same as this one, though it has the alternate words written on it.

Evaluation

After receiving audience feedback, we discovered that the red balloon was difficult to read, and so we decided to reshoot with a different balloon with only the word 'hate' written on it, as shown below.