CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

In Off the Leash, two main social groups are represented. One group is the protesters. In our trailer, the protesters go by the name of the Transparent Animals and act violently in order to fight for their cause. They are a group of animal-like people who are protesting the Covid-19 lockdown procedures, they fight for their own freedom and feel as if the government are treating their people like animals. In our trailer, the protesters are portrayed as antagonists and are the villains throughout the plot. They are seen as villainous as they chase the four boys and constantly threaten them. Furthermore, they dress in dark, black clothing and wear creepy animal masks to hide their identities, this fits in line with stereotypical horror film antagonists. The protesters are perceived as antagonists because they are the major threat to the four boys. Additionally, they are taking out their anger on the government by harming individuals who may cross their path. The fact they wear animal masks isolates them from society as they appear different and abnormal, this also portrays the protesters as antagonists. We explore the social group of protesters throughout our trailer in different ways. Most notably, we use the protest scene to show the Transparent Animals remonstration against the lockdown rules. This scene has connotations with famous protests that have happened in the past, such as anti-vax protests, highlighting the severity of the Transparent Animals.

 

We also explore current social issues within our trailer. The main social issue we investigate is covid-19 and how it has impacted peoples lives. Throughout the pandemic, lots of people still disagree with the government on their methods of controlling the virus. In our trailer, we show how government lockdown restrictions have driven people crazy and push people to extreme measures. We show this by exploring violent protesters who go to extreme measures, such as attacking people in their cars.

 

The other social group we showcase in our production is teenage boys. This social groups is represented through the four protagonists: Blake, Tommy, Kyle and Marcus. The boys all set off was an adventure in the woods as they try to track down the protesters because they are bored of staying at home and want something exciting and new to do. The four boys are all between the ages of 16 and 18, around the same age as our target audience, making the film more appealing to them. The boys all dress like typical British teenagers, wearing brands such as Nike and Adidas. This is mainstream clothing and represents the boys as average teenagers who represent their social group. Furthermore, the boys all have modern haircuts and speak modern dialect, further highlighting their social group.

Branding refers to the act of distributing a number of products/services under the same logo, symbol or parent company. Branding occurs when a consistency throughout products is established. Throughout my production, branding has been a large aspect as it is important for your brand to be recognised. For example, throughout various social media platforms, the same profile picture is used in order for audiences to recognise it and immediately associate it with our brand.

 

The majority of our branding occurred on social media. Each production team member was responsible for creating a social media page. I made an Instagram page for our film. A Twitter, TikTok and Facebook page were all created as well. We ensured that all our profile pictures were the same throughout our social medias in order to establish a strong brand, recognisable logo. This is important as it the first thing that people see when searching for your page. The profile pictures contained the same font, images and colours. Additionally, posts on social media platforms were similar across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (less so with TikTok because it is a different concept). For example, film posters, trailers and behind the scenes footage featured on the social media pages. Another branding concept I introduced was the idea of a social media hashtag. I created ‘#offtheleash’ -  a hashtag that is used across all Instagram and Twitter posts in order to create synergy and a strong brand across different networks.

 

A sense of branding was also created in other elements of our production. For example, we created merchandise such as T-shirts, hoodies, phone cases and coasters to promote and support our film. The same logo and text was used across all the merchandise in order to link them together under the same brand. A second example where branding was created was through our film posters. We all used the same font for our title and tagline in order to create synergy. If our fonts were all different people may think each poster is for a different film. Therefore, having the same font creates a strong brand.

It is vital for a film and its products to engage with its audience. Our promo pack offers multiple ways that engage us with our audience. One main way is through the cast of our film. The target demographic for Off The Leash was established to be ages 15-25, unisex but possibly slightly more male. By having four male stars that are around the ages of our target demographic, audiences can connect with the characters and engage with the adventure they find themselves on, because they can relate to the characters because they may find they have things in common with them, for example boredom during the covid-19 lockdown.

Another way that my promo pack engages with audiences is through social media. Over 95% of 15-25 year olds have a social media page such as Twitter, TikTok and Instagram. Therefore, as our target audience fits this age range precisely, it was vital that we operated across numerous social media platforms. We made an Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Twitter to accompany our films release. I was personally responsible for making the Instagram. I posted a variety of posts that engaged with our audiences. For example, behind the scenes footage that shows that the crew is working on the film and creates a sense of excitement around the films release.

Research was a vital stage when developing our products. By conducting efficient, relevant research we were able to take inspiration from similar products and implement it into our own. For example, we researched various horror trailers to get ideas for our own. One idea we had was to use found footage. Found footage is where the camera is hand-held by a cast member to give a fist person point of view of the narrative. It is useful and effective at creating meaning as it allows audiences to connect with the character and feel as if they are embarking on the adventure themselves. We came up with the idea of using found footage after watching the trailer for The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield. This shows the value of carrying out research and how it can improve your products and make them unique. Most traditional horror films do not use found footage, but ours does which makes it unique. 

Research was also very useful when designing my poster. I looked at various horror film posters on the internet such as The Dark and the Wicked and The Farm and took inspiration from them both. For example, I liked the dark red effect in the trees, but also liked the idea of having an actor wearing an animal mask in order to convert fear. Therefore, I implement both these ideas into my own poster. I believe that it worked well and I was able to create a good poster.