Ancillary Tasks: Magazine Review: Final Product: An Analysis

For the magazine article we used the programme ‘Microsoft Word’. A part of this decision was that it was a piece of software available to all of us throughout the holidays. It is also designed to deal with the collaboration of text and images so it would be capable of achieving our aims.

Text

We choose a simple font, because sans-serif styles are easier to read, we wouldn’t want to risk the chance of someone beginning to read then abandoning it because of a detail such as font. We choose the blue colour scheme of writing as it was close to the black and grey colour scheme we originated with. That splash of colour keeps the look alive On the other hand it isn’t outrageous which keeps with our aesthetic to keep sophistication.

For the title and review section, we have the letters either light blue or navy depending on the shade of the picture directly behind it. It will change halfway through some words. Part of this due to necessity for clarity. Secondly it draws emphasis to these words, demanding a reader’s interest. This review must stand out from the possible other reviews in this magazine.

Pull – Out Quotes

The use of pull-out quotes is to take potential sound bites for the reader ski-reading, it should have an appeal that is prima facie and immediate. We chose the quote ‘The film shows the madness of a man in a desperate situation’ because it summarised the film in a way that asks more questions than answers. ‘We subvert suburban images into iconography’ s to give us kudos and credibility as film makers, it shows this to be a valid production. ‘the ending will truly shock people’ is our main draw into reaching viewers , by making it a pull out quote exceedingly emphasises it.

They have been given a larger size and put into bold to signify them as separate from the article.

The Side-Bar

This column is common feature in reviews as research has shown, we believe it give a professional feel to the product, and enabled readers to assess our film within a few seconds if necessary.

Images

The constant layer of images provides detail and shows a preview of our feature.

The main picture on the first page was chosen as digging a grave coincided with the title, so you can get an immediate idea of the films plot. We also liked the contrast between the dark of the mud and the light of the sky. It makes the protagonist almost silhouette like. The deepness of the hole also creates a scale.

The pictures on the second page are used to bookend the top and bottom of the text.

By keeping them in a straight line it creates a uniformity that is essential in magazines. The Images were chosen as they have a emphasise of the side of the page they are on, for example the eyes looking up is centred and the image of John dragging the box from the left hand-side of the screen is on the left hand side of the page.

The picture of John almost in tears was chosen is that it establishes sympathy with the character and shows the gnarled trees of the wood. The shot of him standing with the sun, is iconic and signifies mystery. The shot of him in the fields contrast against the two darker shots and shows the characters discombobulation. The shot of him dragging out the box, emphasises the harsh light of the field scene. The eyes looking up demonstrates the peculiar feel to our film. The shot of John crawling down perched over the paper, symbolising the characters desperation.

On the back of each paragraph is a shot of John holding the Guide. We had the picture locked so it is at the same ratio and not stretched. We think it is an interesting detail but it should not distract the reader form the text. So we increased the contrast to make a cartoon like style of the shot. We then increased the brightness on one shot so that the text was dominant over it as well as the opposite. This is influenced from research.

Layout

The columns are an integral part of magazines, and it is what gives it the distinction between a leaflet and article. We gave it three columns as it seemed the appropriate ratio aesthetically. They are interrupted by the diagonal line of pull out quotes.

One of the flaws of using Microsoft word was that it wouldn't allow columns in a text box. So we had to add unseen text boxes above the first, we found the width of the seen text box, then divided it by three. We then had to manually calculate the capacity of each individual text box and copy and paste the text from another document into the layout.

The pull out quotes in a line again provides order and routine which is important to the presentation of the article. The layout of the first page was influenced by research.

The elements we are most proud of is the use of transparency in the layers which adds a richness and sophistication that readers come into expect in publications.

By Tim McNiven, Peter McLaughlin, Oliver Fitch & Joe Lawrence

Ancillary Tasks: Magazine Review: Final Product

Please click on the enlarge image to scale required.

By Tim McNiven, Peter McLaughlin, Oliver Fitch & Joe Lawrence

Ancillary Tasks: Magazine Preview: First Draft

All analysis of the post shall be displayed in red. This can show the reasoning behind each sentence and paragraph and how it is constructed to covey the overall effect.

Before Spielberg’s creation of the Blockbuster with ‘Jaws’, before Lucas redefined Science fiction with ‘Star Wars’ and Nolan reinvigorated the ‘Batman’ Franchise. Before these pillars in cinema history, they all started their careers with various projects largely forgotten. These lost gems are lost for the same reason – they were short films.

We believe this introduction gives short-films a perspective compared to the feature film extravaganzas of today. It also inadvertently perks the interest of the peoople who have enjoyed these projects (which would include the majority of readers reading a review of films.

This paragraph is designed to build to expectation making it sound like a potential event viewing.

Short films have made little to no impact upon popular culture, the makers of the unusually titled ‘The Quintessential Guide: To Dispose of A Body’ hope this will be a turning point. Considering it’s release being released at the turn of the decade and with the internet making the perfect forum, there has never been a better time.

This paragraph shifts the emphasis unto the film itself, giving a general opinion and a very brief synopsis.

With this heavy expectation upon it this piece holds up rather impressively. It sets up the interesting plot device of an innocent being forced into a situation where they have to dispose of a corpse.

Although never intentionally, our film crosses many genres and this in fact a USP and this paragraph is to push that forward. It would be interesting for a critic as they are often watching films heavily moulded into a particular genre.

As with many a Independent film (now commonly referred to as Indie Films) the genre is hard to pin down. It has elements of a drama, with the story focusing on singular character. Simultaneously it’s dark subject matter of dealing with a human corpse, lends itself to horror elements, specifically in the grave digging sequence. Most prominent of all are the thriller elements as the films builds enigma around various questions culminating in the viewer’s mind.

We believe that as a viewer you would view our project to a very different way you would for the filmmakers or someone who has watched it extensively. The way the view the character's circumstance is often changed by seeing another enact it at the end. For this reason we felt it important to address the issue of how the story deliberately answers some questions definitively whereas leaves others open for debate.

This short film raises some intriguing issues on what is expected of a filmmaker in terms of enigma. In particular, what questions have to be answered? This film, without a word off dialogue, makes the story consistent and offers the viewer enough information to speculate elements left unknown. Questions such as ‘Who is behind this?’ may be pressing on a viewer’s mind but, fortunately, doesn’t make for frustrated viewing.

The central character works much better as a plot device then as a viewpoint character. Though to be fair the protagonist is not allowed character moments, specifically within the time limits and constrains of the plot. That said Peter McLaughlin’s performance at least allows for sympathy for the character, he depicts the madness of a man who is in a desperate situation.

The style works intriguingly well, with the structure of a guide. The cuts, to the step by step instructions, allow for the story to skip any moments of mundaneness and get to the heart of the tale, which is essential for a short film. Additionally it is as if the film is instructing viewers, meaning they are directly addressed, it subtly makes the viewer consider what they would do in that situation.

The paragraph below is influenced by Russell T. Davies (Writer and Executive Producer of 'Casanova') who described that the use of panning wide shots and music can lead to an filmic effect.

The moments this film really shines are in the moments it goes from being standard to ineffably filmic. The shot of the box being dragged over a golden field is stunning and captivating.

It also works on an extremely relatable level, taking images of suburbia and converting them onto iconic images. These include the cardboard box, being used as a coffin. The garage becoming a claustrophobic holding cell. Most of all turning fields and woods into these alien landscapes through cantered angles and a discombobulating editorial style.

We believe it was right to be truthful and honest of niggling doubts of our finished product. Whereas they are subjective, critics will always offer a comment that is personal to their preferences.

The music is a double edged sword; it fights the obvious instinct of being thriller typical with predictable build ups. Alternatively it focuses of the tragedy of death and of the gruelling task laid out. On the other hand it can be a little jarring to have the soundtrack suddenly cease, whilst it shows shock it also makes the viewer very self aware that they are simply watching a fiction.

The conclusion summarises the major tones of the review, it also has a brief reference to the introduction to help the review feel complete and an absolute journey folowing the piece. It also has an alluding reference to the end to work as a hook to lure potential viewers.

This story is told confidently and unapologetically pulling at both the hearts strings and the brain cells. If ‘The Quintessential Guide to: Dispose of a Body’ does become another lost gem, than it should be one that is cherished. With an ending that will truly shock people this is well worth watching.

By Tim McNiven, Peter McLaughlin, Oliver Fitch & Joe Lawrence

Scene One - The Final Version

Previously i showed how we originally envisioned the first scene, I have now taken screenshots from the beginning of each shot and constructed them into a slideshow. I shall then discuss the thought-process behind the additions, removal and alterations of shots.



Tim McNiven

Storyboarding - The Opening Sequence

Whilst we storyboarded various shots for the whole piece. We found from experience that you tend to vary extremely from the storyboard as the location lends itself to certain angles. However, we extensively storyboarded the opening sequence. I have put these drawings of each shot into a slide-show style, to envision how we imagined it. Their will annotation of each shot and the thought process around it.

Concept Provided By - Timothy McNiven,Peter McLaughlin, Oliver Fitch, Joseph Lawrence

Storyboard Drawn By - Timothy McNiven

Video Slideshow By - Timothy McNiven

Narration - Timothy McNiven

Influences/Music: Batman Begins

For the character's journey across the field, carrying on through into the the second Chapter: Disposal we wanted to have a sound bridge score of music, building an emotional and atmospheric tone to the piece keeping the audience fully on board captivating their feelings. As a group we sat and browsed through various films which we believed to have strong musical soundtracks that stand alone. We watched various scenes from different films including, Hitchcock's Topaz, The Brave One, Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Pale Rider, Mongol and Batman Begins. Reviewing the film's we had watched we realised that not all pieces of music can be related to or fit in with any genre accordingly, but one of the soundtracks caught our attention, and that being from Batman Begins, the Christopher Nolan Film.

This piece of music is enchanting and brings a sorrowful feel to the scene it accompanies in Batman Begins being the death of Bruce's parents and the music is used to enhance the sadness of the loss. We browsed a copyright free music website (http://www.freeplaymusic.com/) for various tracks with similar sound tracks, searching under the following catergories:

• 
  
  Atmospheric


• 
  
  Ambient


• 
  
  Downtempo


• 
  
  Cinematic


• 
  
  Classical


• 
  
  Drama


• 
  
  Gothic/Industrial


• 
  
  Operatic

After listening to various pieces of music we found one track that was of high quality composure and gave the same emotional feeling to Batman soundtrack 'Barbastella'. This soundtrack has the ability to gain an emotional interaction with our audience and to further enhance their viewing pleasure.




Peter McLaughlin

Influences/Soundtrack: Atonement directed by Joe Wright (Music By Dario Marianelli)

The musical score of this film inspired the use of the typewriter effect within our title sequence. The sound effect gives authenticity to the piece and brings life to the title sequence making for easy and interactive viewing pleasure.

By Peter McLaughlin & Oliver Fitch