2. ExistingProduct
Story
The story of the Lego Movie involves the concept of many different characters
interacting within different worlds. A nobody called Emmet just so happens to
come across an item which can save the world. After touching it and blacking
out he awakens in the custody of Bad Cop who Lord Business' lieutenant
(whose gimmick is that he can sometimes turn his head around to reveal his
other side which is the Good Cop personality). Whilst there Emmet learns Lord
Business' plans to destroy the world with the Kragle. Wyldstyle (A punk girl
Emmet met earlier before he fell upon the item) rescues him and takes him to
Vitruvius (An ancient wizard who originally sealed the Kragle away) who
explains that he and Wyldstyle are "Master Builders" who are capable of
building anything they want to without instruction manuals. Years before the
events of the film Lord Business rose to power and his disapproval of such
anarchic creativity resulted in him capturing many of the original master
builders. As the "Special", Emmet is destined to defeat him, yet everyone is
disappointed to find out that Emmet displays no creativity. Lord Business’ to
freeze the universe perfectly in place. Bad Cop tracks down Emmet and
Wyldstyle but they are rescued by her boyfriend, Batman. He takes them to a
meeting of the remaining Master Builders but they are also disappointed with
Emmet and refuse to fight Lord Business until Bad Cop and his forces attack,
capturing all the Master Builders except for Emmet and a few others. Emmet
comes up with a plan to infiltrate Lord Business‘ headquarters but they are
captured and imprisoned. Vitruvius attempts to fight back but is killed and for
his dying words he admits the prophecy was made up. Lord Business then
throws the Piece of Resistance off the edge of the universe and sets his
headquarters to self-destruct, leaving with the Kragle but not allowing Bad
Cop to come with him. Vitruvius' ghost tells Emmet that even if the prophecy
isn't real, Emmet can still save the world. Emmet, tied to the self-destruct
mechanism's battery, sacrifices himself for his friends, flinging himself off the
edge of the universe. Witnessing this, the Master Builders escape and rally
with the help of Bad Cop. Soon, Lego people across the universe are building
their own creative weapons which leads to the Master Builders leading the
charge against Lord Business. The world shifts to the real world and Emmet
finds himself within a Lego set, here a kid is told off by his father for mixing
several different sets together and returns Emmet to the main city scape where
he builds a giant Mech to take down Lord Business. Meanwhile In the real
world, The father looks at his son's creations again and considers himself
impressed. Realising his son based Lord Business on him, he has a change of
heart and allows his son to do whatever he wants with the Lego sets. Parallel
to this in the Lego world, Emmet convinces Lord Business that he is as special
as everyone else and because of this, Lord Business destroys the Kragle and
unfreezes his victims. After the LEGO world is safe, Everyone celebrates and
Wyldstyle (whose real name is Lucy) becomes Emmet’s girlfriend. However, the
celebrations are cut short by DUPLOannouncing their intentions to invade, due
to the father allowing Finn's little sister to play with his Lego set as well. The
film endswith the cast being captured by the invading DUPLOtoys.
Mise-En-Scene
Due to the film being computer animated, the director has limitless potential
for how they design the characters and how they move. They decided to
emulate the stop motion animation technique in the way objects move within
the frame and how they are presented for example in the scene above there
appears to be some sort of white overhead light focused above the two
characters which acts as a way of picking them out from the background and
making them the focus of the scene - this means that they needed to add a lot
of detail to the characters, which ranged from hand print smudges to the way
light reflected off objects – for example off of the LEGO ghost’s cape in the
scene above. This also reflected the "blending of worlds“ aspect of the where
LEGO world and the real world intersect. Being LEGO each of the characters
were designed differently and made to look unique apart from the specific need
for Emmet to be unoriginal. This is a good scene to analyse the lighting used in
a stop motion film as it is a part of the climax of the film with the characters
being trapped inside the antagonist's headquarters which is about to blow up.
The red lighting connotes the danger of the situation whilst the more green
lighting reflects the creepy and constructed nature of the room they're in.
Another key aspect is that all of this light appears to come from realistic
sources. As a side note, The LEGO ghost piece is known to have a glow-in-the-
dark gimmick which is where the green light being projected onto Emmett is
coming from.
I have chosen to look at THELEGOMOVIE because it is very similar to the vision
I have for my own short film with the mixing of characters and locations.
Researching this film allows me to see what elements I will need to adopt to
appeal to the audience I am aiming for to give the illusion of a happy go lucky
film before the tonal shift at the end of the film. In my own project I will emulate
the type of film making used within the film (i.e stop motion) but obviously
without the addition of CGI used to give the sense of stop motion animation to
the audience.
The Lego Movie contains characters being silly as
well as characters who are usually serious in their
own ,mediums (i.e, Batman) which is going to
make a child viewer laugh, therefore attracting
them to want to watch and pay attention the
movie. This also appeals to the adult audience as
there is humour in normally serious characters
doing funny things. The movie continues with
elements of comedy in all forms throughout the
film in both word play (for the older audience) and
slapstick (for the younger audience). It is because
of these factors that the film appeals to the child
whilst the parent is also more likely to go because
they believe it will be enjoyable for them to. The
movie also has some big action sequences in it
which could be targeting the male population but
is more aimed at the childaudience.
3. ExistingProduct
Amovie poster should grab the viewer’s attention . Thiswill ensure that viewers take the time to look at
what the film is called and the movie’s cast.Thisposter doesthat too – the text “WILL ARNETTIS
BATMAN”tells the audience about who plays the titular character and asit isa recognisablename to
many people. Theviewer is given a visual image and thus makes it easyto remember. Theapproach the
LEGOBATMANMOVIEgoeswith to capture potential consumersattention is to utilise a big and bold
picture of a character that will showspotential viewers the leading actor or actress in the film (This
being an animated movie, they instead go for a big bold picture of the titular character instead). This
poster doesnot need to be iconicbecauseeveryone more than likely knows who Batman is but it does
usethis imagery to give the viewer a taste of what the movie is about without telling them exactly what
the plot is. Thisis shown by a snarky looking Batman standing in front of a Gotham illuminated by blue
lights, it tell the audience that this is not your normal seriousBatman butone which is more in tone with
the Batman from THELEGOMOVIETHISlayout is a contributing factor to the iconic look of the poster.
Thisposter leavesthe viewer with an image that makes them want more and givesthem a glimpseinto
the world of the movie. It doesn’t give them enough that they will quite understand what is happening
before seeing it and will thus need to actually seethe movie to find out exactly. Theposter caters to the
style of the specificgenre of movie, Thisensures a consistent useof imagery across the different aspects
of marketing and the original film, the fact that the poster is immediately recognised asLegowithout
needing a huge LEGOLogo signifying it. Theuseof bold Yellow fonts which contrasts well with the black
colour usuallysynonymisedwith the comic book of Batman and the blue light illuminating Gotham. The
poster isbold and simple, gets straight to the point and tells potential viewers almost everything in a
singular image – It is a comedic movie about Batman set in a Legoworld soan audience is already there
which hasbeen carried over from the fans of TheLegoMovie in which a LegoBatman already appears.
I will be adopting a similar design style for my own poster which will involve a close up of the titular
character just aswith this to give a similar effect but I may also create a poster which willemulate the
one seenon the left due to it being a little more effective than the one I choseto breakdown. This
poster shows off the large cast in the movie but isalso extremely bland. Howeverfor this particular
poster I think the Black,Yellow and Blue works better on the closeup poster rather than the yellow
encompassingmost of the poster which also makes it more appealing to lookat.
4. ExistingProduct
Both of these share a similar colour scheme of Yellow which immediately draws the viewers eyes
to it so the initial interest in the product increases from there. They have the main characters
take centre stage so audiences know who the film will be following and who to root for. The
Batman DVD cover is made up of accumulation of a lot of the movie’s cast to show the scale of
the film. The black bat symbol contrasts well with the yellow background so it immediately
stands out when amongst other DVDs. It also has a few of the leading actors and actresses who
play key roles within the film across the top so people interested in that will pick up on them
whilst kids will just see the many recognisable characters from the DCUniverse. The spine of the
DVD includes the logo and portraits of easily recognisable characters i,.e Batman, Robin, The
Joker and Batgirl sothe movie can be picked up from that, it also has the company that madethe
film and that it is a DVD to differentiate itself from BLU-RAY version. The back of the DVD
includes a synopsis that details the plot of the movie enough to the point where the audience can
get a slight sense of what the movie is going to be about before they purchase it which is
accompanied by three stills from various points in the movie that expand upon giving the
audience an idea of what the film will be like before they watch it – However these are smaller
than the big emphasised images of Robin, Batman and The Joker who have the history to get
people to watch based on them being in italone.
As for THELEGOMOVIE BLU-RAYit shares many of the same elements as the DVD with having a
use of Yellow which contrasts well with the red and white used in the film’s logo along with the
Synopsis and screencaps from throughout the film on the back but in comparison to the DVD,
they are much larger and easier to see., as a side note – an interesting detail is that the
character actually comes out of the screencap and onto the back drop to add to the 3D effect of
this specific BLU-RAY. The front cover of THE LEGO MOVIE BLU-RAY shows the two main
characters bursting through some Lego bricks which is a way of showing to the audience that
this is a 3D compatible movie and adds an interesting dynamic to the front of the case. As will all
BLU-RAYs there is the blue strip along the top that signifies that is in fact a BLU RAY and not a
standard DVD. There is also the use of the age rating which is given by British Board of Film
Classification based on a number of factors to determine the age of audience it is appropriate
for.
5. ResearchAnalysis
• What common features do theresearched
products have?
Theyall usebright colours mainly Yellow, Blueand Red.Characters are the main focus of
each product in someway be it a singular character that coversthe entire post or a
collection of them. Theyalso all usebold fonts that stand out and are easily recognised in
accordanceto the film.
• What aspects of the research willyou include
within your own productionwork?
Formy own production I will include a similar style of choosing bright colours to give the
illusion that the film is in a similar vein to THELEGOMOVIE.ThePoster, Blu-Rayand DVD
will share this style too with having different designs for their respective medium. The
Poster will have a bunch of the most important characters on the front to show the scale
and wide cast which may help it appeal to a wider audience asthey may seea property
they recognise. TheDVDwill follow a similar style whilst I am thinking of doing a more
stylised cover for theBLU-RAY.
7. Audience research
• Observation:
Thereis a large majority of Females in my target audience but the Male population is not that far
behind.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
Theaudienceisn’t very specific and contains people from both genders.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
My product will appeal to this demographic by including elements which appeal to both i.e Bright
colours.
8. Audience research
• Observation:
Theaudiencethat did my surveyis mostly from the age range of 15 – 40years.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
Theaudiencefor my stop motion film are mature which meansI canbea little more violent thanwould
usually be appropriate
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
Themovie won’t treat the audience asif they were children and they will appreciate the tonal shift at
the end of the film where it becomesmore of a horror movie.
9. Audience research
• Observation:
Comedy,Action andAdventure are the most popular genres amongst my target audience.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
My target audienceenjoys movieswhich are entertaining and give them a senseofadventure.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
Theaspect of travelling between worlds will appeal to the adventure genrewhilst the Dragon fight and
comedicelements of the film will appeal to the others which in turn will makethe tonal shift more
surprising but not inappropriate forthem.
10. Audience research
• Observation:
My audience like StopMotion Movies.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
That they like the StopMotion genre and will hopefully enjoy my film because ofthat.
• How will your product appeal to thisaudience:
It will be made with StopMotiontechniques.
11. Audience research
• Observation:
My target audiencehassomeKnowledge of pop culture from within n the television and filmindustry.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
Theywill have enough knowledge to understand who a few of the characters in my filmare.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
It will not go too overboard withobscurecharacters and instead useeasily recognisable ones.
12. Audience research
• Observation:
Ashort film of 4 – 5 minutes is the optimum length fora short film.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
They prefer a short length film to be long enough to get invested i.e it being above 2
minutes allows for somewhat of a narrative tobe formed.
• How will your product appeal to thisaudience:
I will aim for the length of the short film to be within the range of 4 – 5 minutes.
13. Audience research
• Observation:
Amixture of bright and darker colours would appeal the most to my targetaudience.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
Theywould prefer a mixture of colour schemesthrough the film instead of focusing on just bright or
dark coloursrespectively.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
Therewill be a mixture of bright and dark colours throughout the film in the form of Blacks, Blues,
Greens,Redsetc.
14. Audience research
• Observation:
Peopledo not mind being deceived about what a film’s plotactually is.
What this saysabout myaudience:
Theylike it if the filmdoesmake them question things
• How will your product appeal to thisaudience:
Thefilm has tonal shit at the end which will deliver exactly what they are looking for.
15. Audience research
• Observation:
People prefer a film to have voice acting but it can aslo depend on what is going on in the movie which dictates the need
for it.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
My target audience would rather watch a film with voice acting than one without and find them a more enjoyable
viewing experience.
• How will your product appeal to thisaudience:
I am aiming to have some sort voice acting within the film if I have enough time to and resources but if not then they will
have to make due with sound effects andmusic.
16. Audience research
• Observation:
Atmospheric Music is the preferred useof music within afilm.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
My target audiencelikes the music to not over power the scenesand instead accompanythem.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
I will usethe music to build up feelings within the viewers instead of have it be a major part of the
scenes,it will bealmostunnoticeable.
18. Lego City Heist - Lego Stop Motion Pictures
This is a Stop Motion project from YouTube featuring a heist, the set up is rather similar to the
way I will be aiming to do my own however I won’t be exclusively using LEGO with my
theatre-esque set design but there are a lot of strong points within the short – for example
the actual stop motion aspect is down well with the movements looking quite natural,
however the fact that the timing of the images is so low leads to the video being an
uncomfortable experience which may just be a side effect of them being beginners but I will
attempt to avoid that in my own project. Another issue I have with the video is that the
lighting changes in-between shots so the creator did not account for consistent light levels
which I will do by using a portable studio, lights and the same room to make sure the
environment is consistent throughout the days of filming.
19. LEGOAvengersInfinityWar:WakandaTakestheLead|BrickChannelLegoStopMotion
This is a Stop Motion project from YouTube featuring a recreation of the Wakanda
Battle from Avengers: Infinity War, this is a lot better made than the other one and you
can tell that there is a lot of passion in it with use of different angles and
cinematography which enhances the visuals on screen and makes it far more watchable
than the other video with its fast paced movements and smooth animation. The lighting
throughout is consistent and everything is well lit so everything can be seen by the
audience. Another great addition this creator has made is with the special effects which
act as a major enhancement to the footage and leads it to be a far more memorable
product in the end. The use of sound effects also act to increase the enjoyment of
watching the admittedly long project which allows it to stand as its own production.
21. Interview 1
• What are afew of your favourite StopMotion
movies and why?
I enjoy a lot of the Tim Burton films (The Nightmare
Before Christmas, Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie)
becauseI think they are incredibly wellmade.
• Would you enjoy amovie that embracespop
culture?
I would, I am massively into that world and would
love to seeit exploredmore.
22. Interview 1
• Observation:
Theyare already an established fan of stop motion
movies and are okay with the useof popular popculture.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
My audience will most likely enjoy the type of movie I am
aiming to make asit will be created with the useof Stop
Motion and won’t be intimidated by the useof Pop
Culture.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
Themovie will be made through the technqiue ofStop
Motion and include certain PopCulture icons suchas
Godzilla and TheDoctor.
23. Interview 2
• What are afew of your favourite StopMotion
movies and why?
I am a fab of Coraline becauseeventhough itis
a kid’s movie – it still creeps me the hellout!
• Would you enjoy amovie that embracespop
culture?
Films like ReadyPlayer Onefelt like too muchfor
me soif it handles it better then I am okay with
it.
24. Interview 2
• Observation:
They are a fan of movies which scarethem even if it is a
kids film (and in stop motion) aswell asnot having too
much pop culture references thrown atthem.
• What this saysabout myaudience:
That a Kid’s film can still pull off a horror aesthetic which
appeals to an olderaudience.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
Thetonal shift towards the end of the film due to the
horror theme taking over from the lighter tone before.
