RESEARCH

My coursework task was to create a new film, featuring a trailer, storyboard; at least one promotional poster and DVD cover. I had free choice over my genre and I chose to use musical documentary because it’s a genre I’ve watched many films on. This made research pleasurable, because I was adding to my existing knowledge on a topic I already felt comfortable with. One feature I found in most of the films I watched was the idea of a musical journey or adventure, with many twists and turns and some surprise element in the form of a slight cliff-hanger or change of pace. In essence, my personal target was to create a fictional documentary on a strongly musical-related basis.

In order to nail my genre, watching many films to get a sense of conventions seemed to be the best idea. One film that I instantly found very useful was School of Rock. This film showed many of the genre conventions I would need and had a very formulaic structure to it. In aid of my DVD cover, I looked at many titles and found myself drawn to strong images of live scenarios, instantly showing off their music influences. A good example of this is the cover for School of Rock, which (ignoring the title) instantly linked to a musical background because of the large central image of a man (Jack Black) standing in the centre of the image with a guitar, highlighting the musical element of the film. I took strong inspiration from this, leading me to use a similar image for my cover, using a live setting and an instrument within the image. I took the image at a gig before I was given my media brief, so I was lucky that it fit my genre so well.

For me to select my target audience I looked at many film titles and their ratings. Some of these included The Commitments, Killing Bono and Bandslam Most seemed to be centred on family or teenage audiences. I thought I would look more into the teenage markets because not only is it something I could easily research, but, it meant that when planning and creating my characters they could be loosely based around myself and people I know. This allowed me to form a really accessible base for my film outline. The rating I ended up choosing was ‘15’ because it allowed me to fit some slightly more adult humour and language within it, possibly adding to the authenticity of the film. Some of the titles I looked at were ‘12’ rated, but they were more for the family audience, so in order to move to the young adult audience, I felt I needed to move the age rating up. The audience that was chosen was roughly 15 to 30. I didn’t want to limit myself with too small a range, so it was left fairly open to hit a wider demographic.

I chose to use a fairly standard and predictable setting for my film, because I didn’t want it to appear extraordinary and unbelievable. To keep the audience feeling that it is based on a true story, I tried to have it, stuck to locations people could instantly relate to if they’re into music. I tried to encapsulate many teenagers dreams of being a ‘rock star’ and by setting a film at home, as it instantly relates to so many of the viewers of the film who have probably sat in their room, using it as a hub for their dreams to go wild. The idea of the venue came from some research I did, there’s a music venue I know well down my road, so I took notes there and got a good feel for the situations my characters would go through when performing there myself.

When creating my characters, it seemed as though taking inspiration from famous musicians and my friends would make it easier to create individual character profiles. By using people I already knew or knew things about, I was able to get a much better feel for the film concept. This clear structure for me meant that when I watched films I could ‘slot’ my characters into the roles of the ones already there.

When looking at taglines they all seemed to have musical references or ‘rock and roll’ connotations of disregarding society and rebelling. For example, the tagline for School Of Rock is ‘Accept no substitutes’ which has connotation of rebelling and ‘sticking to your guns’, which is arguably related to the rock genre. It also relates to the plot of the film, where the protagonist is acting as a supply teacher. Accept No Substitutes is also an album, but it probably has little or no relevance to the use of it. So, when I was creating my concept it seemed that my title needed to hit two objectives. Have a slight musical connotation and give very small insight into the film, in whatever vague format possible, plus to add to the front image.

In order for my storyboard to be clear and concise, I made sure that the picture demonstrations were as easy to follow as possible. I ended up going around any moving objects or subjects in the frame with a red marker pen, making it easy to follow. Along side the fairly detailed

KILLING BONO (2011)
Killing Bono is a 2011 British-Irish comedy film directed by Nick Hamm, based on Neil McCormick's 2003 memoir Killing Bono: I Was Bono's Doppelgänger.
The film loosely recreates the story of young Irish rocker McCormick and his younger brother, Ivan, who attempt to become rock stars but can only look on as their secondary school friends form U2 and become the biggest band in the world. The film stars Ben Barnes as Neil McCormick, Robert Sheehan as Ivan McCormick, and Martin McCann as Irish singer Bono. It also features Pete Postlethwaite in his final film role.

IT MIGHT GET LOUD (2008)
It Might Get Loud is a 2008 American documentary film by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. It explores the careers and styles of prominent rock musicians Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. The film received a wide release on August 14, 2009 in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics.

SOUND CITY (2013)
Sound City is a 2013 documentary film produced and directed by Dave Grohl, in his directorial debut, about the history of recording studio Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Los Angeles.

SCHOOL OF ROCK (2003)
School of Rock (also called The School of Rock) is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Mike White, and starring Jack Black. The main plot follows struggling rock singer and guitarist, Dewey Finn (portrayed by Black), who is kicked out of his band and subsequently disguises himself as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. After witnessing the musical talent in his students, Dewey forms a band of fourth-graders to attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands and pay off his rent. The picture's supporting cast features Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman, and Mike White.

BANDSLAM (2009)
Bandslam is a 2009 American musical and romantic comedy film produced by Summit Entertainment and Walden Media. Written by Josh Cagan and Todd Graff, it stars Aly Michalka, Vanessa Hudgens, Gaelan Connell, Lisa Kudrow, Scott Porter, Ryan Donowho, and Tim Jo. The story revolves around Will and Charlotte, who form an unlikely bond through their shared love of music. Assembling a like-minded crew of misfits, the friends form a rock group and perform in a battle of the bands competition called "Bandslam".

THE COMMITMENTS (1991)
The Commitments is a 1991 comedy-drama film directed by Alan Parker. A film adaptation of Roddy Doyle's novel of the same name, the film tells a story of working class Dubliners who form a soul band. With a screenplay adapted by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, and Doyle himself, The Commitments is an international co-production between companies in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was filmed on location in Dublin.

BEGIN AGAIN (2013)
Begin Again is a 2013 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by John Carney and starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. Knightley plays a singer-songwriter who is discovered by a struggling record label executive (Ruffalo) and collaborates with him to produce an album recorded in public locations all over New York City.