Influences for final product

Through my research of many existing products I drew inspiration from many places. Some of these can be noticed in my adverts especially the first one. It could be said that my products are a "pastiche" to previous adverts. As seen in my very early research and relating to Christian Metz's "Language and Cinema" this means that my work reflects that of another piece of work or in other words, pays homage to previous work.

Here it can be seen that I have rapid, frequent cuts throughout my first advert where the persona is doing something very similar in each shot. This can also be seen in the FIFA 12 Christmas advert:

In my advert the persona is performing tricks in every shot but in a different setting. In the FIFA 12 advert the persona's are all professional footballers who are complaining about being given 'below standard' Christmas presents, each in a different environment. Both adverts cut frequently and quickly.

Director's Commentary - Evaluation

Final Product - Print Artefact (poster)

Final Product - Main Artefact (game cover)

This is the front cover to the game that will go on to the video game box.

The game's full cover including front, back and spine.

Final Production - 12 yards out (advert 1)

Final Production - 12 yards out (advert 1)

Task 10 ~ Filming

Production Schedule: Day 4
Date: Monday 11th November 2013
This will be my final day of production and I will finally be introducing a second character. This shoot will be of myself (the protagonist) and a friend of mine by the name of Tom Terry who will be playing the role of the protagonist's boss.
Today's filming will be of the very first scene in both adverts. We will begin with the protagonist at his desk, working tirelessly when his boss walks by and dumps an extra pile of paperwork on the table. After which we see the protagonist storm out of the building with a dejected look on his face. Out of the corner of his eye he spots a football lying on the ground, not belonging to anyone. In the next shot we see him performing some tricks and skills with the football. What follows is his fantasy of playing football and the rest of the advert continues.
I will be adding a new camera angle to the production today. For the very first shot of the protagonist I am going to use an over the shoulder shot so that it is clear what the protagonist is doing and leaves the boss as a more anonymous figure as he walks by. As well as this I will be continuing to film the other scenes as medium long shots.
More equipment and props will be needed and in use in today's filming than in any of the other days work. To film the camera and tripod will be in use meaning I can operate the camera myself and cut out the time between starting the camera and starting to act later on. In addition, another football will be needed as well as a number of stationary items and paper, to make it shown that the protagonist is working in an office. Both actors will be wearing suits to increase the authenticity of the production and elicit an office/administrative feel.

Task 10 ~ Filming

Production Schedule: Day 3
Date: Wednesday 30th October 2013
This shoot is the final one on foreign soil. Today I will be filming the protagonist coming to the conclusion of his dream.
I will be filming near a famous landmark in Paris to show that the setting of the narrative is actually in Paris. I would prefer to have filmed with the Eiffel Tower in view however I have had to settle for the Louvre art museum. This is another segment of the protagonist's footballing dream, this time being lived out in Paris.
In keeping in line with the rest of the production's narrative, this shot will comprise of a sole medium long shot. There is more cause for it in today's schedule as I need to have the landmark in the background and behind the protagonist, this can be best achieved by using a medium long shot. As part of the second advert I will also be filming a zoom in to the protagonist.
Due to the same potential issues as the work in Amsterdam, I was unable to take the tripod or a regular size 5 football so I was under the same conditions as I was in Amsterdam where I had to have the assistance of a camera person. Just as in Amsterdam, the protagonist is wearing the shirt of a local, well known football team to once again reinforce the idea that the protagonist is in Paris. The football club that this shirt belongs to is Lille OSC.

Task 10 ~ Filming

Production Schedule: Day 2
Date: Wednesday 23rd October 2013
Again, today will be the filming of the protagonist. However today's footage will only be used in the first advert.
The footage gained from this shoot will be the part of the narrative when the protagonist has dreams of playing in Europe when he begins to perform his tricks in the Dutch city of Amsterdam.
Due to logistical implications, I only brought the camera along to Amsterdam with me leaving the tripod out of my luggage. Because of this I had to have someone else in control of the camera while I was performing. To follow along with the rest of the video I used a medium long shot to capture the background and acknowledge my environment as well as fitting the protagonist in the entire shot.
The ball that I used in this shoot had to be a smaller, size 3 football rather than a standard size 5 because of other potential logistical and immigration problems. What else should be noted is the Ajax Amsterdam club shirt that the protagonist wears, this further indicates his environment and deepens the dream, possibly more to reality.

Task 10 ~ Filming

Production Schedule: Day 1
Date - Friday 18th October 2013
Here I will be filming myself (the protagonist), this will be done independently, agreeing with the "Auteur Theory" which I have been following.
The shots filmed on this day are the beginning and end of the protagonist's fantasy where he imagines himself performing tricks at home, in his casual clothing, these are the first two "dream sequences". The end of the two adverts will be filmed on this day also where the protagonist wears an England shirt, representing his desire to play international football, and takes a shot that flies towards the camera.
These shots all consist of medium long shots where the protagonist's entire body is visible onscreen. I also experimented with a low angle shot for the "backyard" scene so that I could fit my entire self in shot.
Filming equipment that I need for today is the camera and the tripod as I will be filming alone and the tripod will be there to hold the camera steady in the absence of a camera man. Other equipment that I will use in this shoot will be two different footballs, the reason for having different balls rather than the same represents the development of the dream. The use of the England football shirt in the final clip is important to show the protagonist's dream of playing for his country.

These are the two different footballs that I used for this shoot.

Filming in Paris

As mentioned in my previous post, I seized the opportunity to capture footage whilst on the continent. After Amsterdam, I visited the world renowned 'city of love' - Paris. Similar to the shots in Amsterdam I wanted to have this part of the advert with a famous landmark in the background that will make it glaringly obvious where the protagonist is dreaming of. Being in Paris I was spoilt for choice, I could have had anyone of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame or the Arc De Triomphe. Preferably I would have had the Eiffel tower as the famous landmark that is also in shot during this sequence. However, for a number of reasons I used the Louvre art museum. These reasons are as follows:
1. I visited the Louvre prior to the Eiffel Tower and decided to catch some clips while I was there too.
2. As ridiculous as it may sound the Eiffel Tower is very big and finding a suitable enough area to film (e.g. quiet, open, etc) and being able to fit the entire tower into the shot at the same time was too difficult a task.
3. When I got to the Eiffel tower I considered using a low angle, close up to film the protagonist from the crowd at an angle that would show the protagonist and the tower clearly, however, this was not possible
4. It became increasingly darker as we got closer to the tower and the quality of lighting was just too poor.

This is the exact spot outside the famous "glass pyramid" where the final cut was shot. It should be noted that the concrete blocks that tourists use to sit on or stand to take photos can be seen in the Google maps screenshot and the still from my final piece.

Filming in Amsterdam

Initially, all my shooting was to be done in and around Tamworth. However, before I went on a family break I decided to take the camera with me and utilize the opportunity to capture some shots from across Europe. The whole reason for this was on the idea that the protagonist was dreaming of even bigger and better things. On this trip I visited both Amsterdam and Paris, both capitals of their countries and massive cities of culture. My first stop was in Amsterdam and I wanted to film some footage of the protagonist performing tricks in front of a windmill, a traditional symbol of Holland. However contrary to the stereotype a windmill was particularly difficult to come across, especially in the built up urban areas of Amsterdam. In the end, I settled for a scene on a bridge over one of the cities famous canals, an image that is just as iconic to Holland as an old traditional windmill.

This is the exact bridge where I shot the piece that wade the final cut for the first advert. As seen in both of these images, there are a number of bikes that are visible, another symbol synonymous with the city of Amsterdam.

Filming In Tamworth

The majority of my footage is filmed in and around Tamworth this is due to the narrative being based in a mainly urban environment.

To film the office scenes I filmed onsite at my college, with the help of a friend who also appeared in the first advert.

The indoor scene was filmed in one of the corridors and when the protagonist storms out of the building I filmed around the back of the college building.

In relation to the narrative, the next two shots are the beginning of the protagonists daydream. Both of these shots were filmed at my home in Wilnecote, Tamworth. The first was in my back garden. This led to the inspiration for the "backyard feature" on the cover of the game.

To make the narrative more clear and concise I decided to shoot an indoor sequence for the very beginning of the first advert. This is in an office environment with equipment and props that have connotations with that field of work. These included the paper work, folders and stationary.

New storyboard

Here is the new storyboard that I will be using in my 1st advert for the final production.

Task 9 ~ Casting

Casting
In the first advert there will be 2 on screen characters and in the second advert there will be 1 on screen character however this character is represented as 3 different people. Altogether there will be two actors over both adverts.

Advert 1
Office worker (protagonist): Jack Joines
Boss: Tom Terry

Advert 2
Protagonist: Jack Joines - Plays three characters;
- The Manager
- The Player
- The Fan

A number of props and costumes will be needed during filming. This is the full list of props and costumes for each advert:

Advert 1
- Football x4 (must be different sizes and colours)
- Ringbinder
- Stationary
- Large quantities of paper
- Suits for office staff
- 4 football team shirts (Liverpool, Ajax Amsterdam, Lille OSC and England)
- Casual clothes for the fantasy shots

Advert 2
- Football
- Suit for "The Manager"
- Football shirt for "The Player" (England)
- Football shirt for "The Fan" (Lille OSC)

Production Changes

Changes to initial ideas
Since beginning my research into this project I have changed my idea and production many times. Now that I have formed the structure of my final products my initial ideas are no longer important. This means changes to the script and storyboards. The scripts are now as follows:
First advert
Male Voice: Pegi Three
*Red Sky Games*
-Office worker busy at work, boss drops extra load of paperwork on his desk-
-Storms out of office and finds football and begins to perform some tricks ("Crazy in Love" begins)-
*Protagonist begins to dream and performs tricks in various environments (fast cuts)*
-Takes a shot (Music abruptly stops) and the ball disappears off camera-
*Video game cover appears*
Female Voice: Out now
*Cuts to company logo*

Second advert
Male Voice: Pegi Three
*Red Sky Games*
-Shows three different characters: The Manager, The Player and The Fan (Chanting crowd in background)-
*Video game cover appears (Chanting fades out)*
Female Voice: Out now
*Cuts to company logo*

Neither advert has the original storyboard that I proposed however they do still contain elements of the originals such as cuts of the protagonist in different environments, camera angles, etc.

Attaining copyright for sound

Within my production I used a variation of voice, sound effects and music. For all of these I had to attain either royalty free or copyright usage for them. Here are the website's I used for my sound effects and voice's:

http://www.freesfx.co.uk/

http://www.freesound.org/

In my first advert I am going to be using the Beyonce Knowles track "Crazy in Love". To do this I have contacted the record label; Columbia Records and asked permission to use the less than 20 second, instrumental segment.

Attaining copyright for images

Most of my images used in my products are my own so I have no copyright issues with them. However for the game cover and poster I wanted to use the background to be a football stadium so I needed to find some images. Here are a number of websites I used to get these pictures. All images taken off the internet are all royalty free.

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

http://www.123rf.com/

Attaining copyright for archive footage

Here are a selection of emails and some responses to my request for use of archive footage that belong to another party. Some of the footage I requested I decided against using as they were to be used for earlier ideas which were later scrapped.

This is the email I sent to ITV Sport for permission to use footage of the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, which they own. Here is the reply I received:

I also messaged a number of YouTube accounts for access to some of their personal footage. In the end I didn't use any of their footage.

Task 8 ~ Final Proposal

Final Proposal
The name of my final product will be "Twelve Yards Out". This has connotations with football and the phrase is related to moments of high importance and value, for example a penalty which is commonly referred to as twelve yards out.
Due to copyright issues my product will have to be made for a fictional games console rather than for one of the two main computer game systems of either Xbox or PlayStation. Instead my product will be for use on the "Nova Game System". This avoids copyright issues and has futuristic connotations with the link between 'nova' and outer space.
As my video game has no scenes of graphic sex or violence and has no use of swearing or foul language it can be seen as a "family" game. For this reason my product will have an age rating of 3+ years. This agrees with health and safety laws that children of under the age of 3 should not play video games and is a code and convention of all football themed games on the market. Males will be the predominant target as football is a subject that largely appeals to them and in today's society football games are often very widely attributed to the male population. This does not discount females from playing the game, this simply complies with the codes and conventions of modern gaming. All in all my product will have a very wide target audience but will ultimately appeal more to male adults.
Because the video game my advert is based on is fictional no gameplay footage can be attained meaning my adverts will all have to be live action. I did consider using some archive footage from the current football video game FIFA 13. However due to copyright issues this idea never came to fruition. Both adverts will have a storyline to them in which the protagonist is someone who is stuck in a dead end job but dreams of playing football. His dream can be realised through the game.
The live action of the video game keeps to codes and conventions of football themed video game adverts as in almost all of them there are male personas who are found in hypothetical situations involving the product being advertised. The narrative should be easy for viewers to grasp as it is a simple yet innovative storyline where most of the audience can relate to in some way.

Task 7 ~ Role allocation - Auteur theory

Auteur theory

In 1954, the film director and critic Francois Truffaut wrote an article entitled “A Certain Tendency in French Cinema”. In this article he claimed that film is a great medium for expressing the personal ideas of the director. He suggested that this meant that the director should therefore be regarded as an ‘auteur’.

The worth of this theory has been questioned by some critics. But, it is particularly useful as a starting point for the interpretation of some films and the application of the role that I will be playing in my production

Auteur Theory suggests that a director can use film-making in the same way that a writer uses a pen or a painter uses paint and a paintbrush. It is a medium for the personal artistic expression of the director. The film critic, Andre Bazin, explained that: auteur theory was a way of choosing the personal factor in artistic creation as a standard of reference, and then assuming that it continues and even progresses from one film to the next.

Auteur Theory suggests that the best films will bear their maker’s ‘signature’.  This may be presented as itself an attribute of his or her individual personality or perhaps even focus on recurring themes within the productions. Alfred Hitchcock, an auteur himself plays this idea up in most of his movies where he makes sure that he appears on screen in a brief cameo spot. This became a game that viewers would engage in, waiting to find out when he would appear.

Task 6 ~ Storyboards

Task 5 ~ Script

First advert script

(Actor watches Drogba’s penalty)

Narrator: You’ve probably played it

*Actor celebrates*

-Cut to scene in the park-

(Actor recreates the same penalty with a friend)

Narrator: You may have even played it

*Actor imitates Drogba’s celebration*

-Cut to the actor recreating the penalty on the game-

Narrator: Now you can really play it

-Cut to game footage-

Narrator: Recreate some of the best moments, in the history of the beautiful game, “fifa” moments, out now.

-Cut to company logos-

Second advert script

(Footage plays)

*music begins in background*

-Commentary overlaps with music-

*Music abruptly stops*

Narrator: Rewrite history, with FIFA moments.

(Cut to company logos)

Task 4 ~ Audience research - Questionnaire responses

After I conducted research into my audiences preferences and views on video game advertisements, cover design and magazine reviews I collected the data and analysed it. This helped form the basis of the ideas for my project. Here are the most popular responses, not all, from my research.

1. What is your favourite genre of video game?
Sport (60%)

2. What are your most memorable video game adverts you can remember, if any?
None (70%), FIFA 12 Christmas advert (10%)

3. What do you think should be in an advert for a video game to help you remember/persuade you to buy it?
Women (50%), Catchphrase/Tagline (30%), Humour (20%)

4. What makes a good video game cover?
Gameplay stills (60%)

5. What is something that should not be in a video game advert that would put you off buying it?
Unpopular celebrity endorsing the product (40%), Irrelevance (20%)

6. What is your favourite video game ever, past or present?
FIFA (30%), Unsure (30%), Call of Duty (10%), Pokemon (10%)

7. What is your preferred games console/footage?
PlayStation (50%), Xbox (50%)

8. What is the most common age rating of video games you play?
Unsure (60%), 15 + (20%), 3+ (10%)

9. Do you like playing multiplayer games or prefer to play induvidually?
Multiplayer (80%)

10. In a TV advertisement for a video game do you prefer music, narration, silence, a mix of all three or something completley different?
Music and narration (50%), Mix of all 3 (20%)

Task 4 ~ Audience research - Video game questionnaire

Task 3 ~ Initial ideas