Film pitch - 'Unauthorised personnel'

Unauthorised Personnel is a crime/action/drama story about 17 year old student Clyde Kennedy, the son of Gerald Kennedy - a middle-aged criminal mastermind and reputed member of anti-government organisation: 'RTTS'. Gerald discovers that type U-235 enriched uranium is securely cached at Clyde's college site, which leads to a high-priority stealth operation executed by the academically successful and socially-anxious teenager; alongside unexpected personnel. Unauthorised Personnel offers an all-action element to the film Spy Kids. The film provides appeal to late-teen audiences with an effective coalition of serious crime, teen drama and explosive action. 

Clyde Kennedy has an established reputation of being the son in a criminal family and is neglected among his social groups for his intellect and shady background. Clyde commits the mistake (which he very soon regrets) of informing his father regarding the storage of type U-235 enriched uranium at his college. This develops interest for Gerald and results into Clyde having to operate a series of tasks under the surveillance of RTTS to obtain intel of accessing the lethal substance - tasks which could not only sabotage his reputation but also kill the 17 year old.

"A brilliant addition to the Christmas watch-list for the stealthy action fanatics" - TIME 

"Ferociously suspenseful" - EMPIRE
"An ideal approach to the teenage mind" - The Telegraph 

Log-line : 'Unauthorised Personnel'

'Unauthorised Personnel' is a crime/action/drama story about 17 year old student Clyde Kennedy, the son of Gerald Kennedy - a middle-aged criminal mastermind and reputed member of anti-government organisation: 'RTTS'. Gerald discovers that type U-235 enriched uranium is securely cached at Clyde's college site, which leads to a high-priority stealth operation executed by the academically successful and socially-anxious teenager; alongside unexpected personnel. 

Genre: Crime/Drama

Initial Ideas

Genre & setting initial ideas for Assignment 2 

Advertising of films via posters & trailers

1. Street Dreams 

Genre: Drama/Sport

Key conventions (poster): Relevant and eye-catching central image, relevantly manipulated film title, cleverly constructed film tagline, flash names and production blurb. 

Key conventions (trailer): Key scenes, film title latency, names of main stars, on-screen text, music.

Target audience: 11-30 years, primarily skateboarding enthusiasts.

Reasons for this being successful promotion: The poster features a skateboarder's deck being confiscated by a police officer. This represents the general rejection of skaters in society for no valid reason but to commit to their passion. Skateboarding enthusiasts can relate to the lifestyle of the characters presented in the trailer, therefore successfully appealing to the target audience and more.

_____________________________________________________

2. Gravity

Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi/Thriller 

Key conventions (poster): Relevant and eye-catching central image, relevantly manipulated film title, cleverly constructed film tagline, flash names and production blurb. 

Key conventions (trailer): Key scenes, film title latency, names of directors/producers.

Target audience: 13-45 years, primarily male, sci-fi enthusiasts. 

Reasons for this being successful promotion: The poster is highly surreal and eye-catching. The surrealism of an astronaut falling out into space creates curiosity for the audience as well as suggesting the plot of the film storyline. The trailer highlights the climax/plot of the film which is regarded as exciting and will fascinate audiences. 

_______________________________________________________

3. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi

Key conventions (poster): Relevant and eye-catching central image, relevantly manipulated film title, cleverly constructed film tagline and production blurb. 

Key conventions (trailer): Key scenes, film title latency, powerful voice-over, on-screen text, music.

Target audience: 13-21 years, primarily female.

Reasons for this being successful promotion: Successfully follows the prequel Hunger Games film. Creates suspense with the trailer with the use of the gradual on-screen text being a form of information being revealed to the audience. The poster's central image is elegantly manipulated and suits the 'fire' theme. Overally appeals to the target audiences and Hunger Games established fan-base from prequel success.

_______________________________________________

Key conventions of film posters & trailers

Key conventions of film posters

• Attractive image/compilation of images; often related to the stars/characters and/or setting of the film.

• Film title; considerably manipulated in terms of font, size, colour, effects, placement and genre correspondence.

• Film Tagline; catchy advertisement slogan; offers insight into genre and main theme and content of film.

• Flash names; known associates such as lead actors/directors/producers who are acknowledged for previous production and specialities in a specific film genre.

• Critic review(s); (for example. Empire magazine) giving their comments such as ‘an unmissable film’ and commonly ratings such as '8 out of 10', '5/5'.

• Awards and/or award nominations; clearly placed on the poster to highlight positive aspects of the film.

• The production blurb; information, in tiny print, that lists the production and distribution companies as well as other information.

Key conventions of film trailers

• Key scenes; do not give away any crucial plot details (some trailers are criticised for giving away too many details); inserted strategically to market film in a certain way.

• Film title latency; not usually put on screen until the end of the trailer, often followed by the release date.

• Names of main stars; put on screen early on in the trailer. This is important as it lets audiences know who they can expect to see in the film. Audiences will often decide they want to see a film just because of the stars in it.

• Names of the director and/or producer; with phrases such as ‘from the director/makers of…’ This helps the audience to make connections between the film being trailed and previously successful and recognised films.

• Powerful voice-over; draws our attention to the key points of the film.

• On screen text; gives important information about the film, including the stars, director/producers, tagline, title and release date. 

• Music; essential in trailers as it can suggest the genre, style and plot of the film.

Assignment 1 - Magazine cover - production & analysis

Final production of custom magazine cover - 'Calibre' 

Final analysis (page 3/3) of custom magazine cover - 'Calibre'