2. Existing Product
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 DUPLO announcing their intentions to invade,
due to the father allowing Finn's little sister to play with his Lego set as well.
The film ends with the cast being captured by the invading DUPLO toys.
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 THE LEGO MOVIE 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 child audience.
3. Existing Product
A movie poster should grab the viewer’s attention . This will ensure that viewers take the time to look at
what the film is called and the movie’s cast. This poster does that too – the text “WILL ARNETT IS
BATMAN” tells the audience about who plays the titular character and as it is a recognisable name to
many people. The viewer is given a visual image and thus makes it easy to remember. The approach the
LEGO BATMAN MOVIE goes with to capture potential consumers attention is to utilise a big and bold
picture of a character that will shows potential 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 does not need to be iconic because everyone more than likely knows who Batman is but it does
use this imagery to give the viewer a taste of what the movie is about without telling them exactly what
the plot is. This is 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 serious Batman but one which is more in tone with
the Batman from THE LEGO MOVIE THIS layout is a contributing factor to the iconic look of the poster.
This poster leaves the viewer with an image that makes them want more and gives them a glimpse into
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 see the movie to find out exactly. The poster caters to the
style of the specific genre of movie, This ensures a consistent use of imagery across the different aspects
of marketing and the original film, the fact that the poster is immediately recognised as Lego without
needing a huge LEGO Logo signifying it. The use of bold Yellow fonts which contrasts well with the black
colour usually synonymised with the comic book of Batman and the blue light illuminating Gotham. The
poster is bold 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 Lego world so an audience is already there
which has been carried over from the fans of The Lego Movie in which a Lego Batman 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 as with this to give a similar effect but I may also create a poster which will emulate the
one seen on the left due to it being a little more effective than the one I chose to breakdown. This
poster shows off the large cast in the movie but is also extremely bland. However for this particular
poster I think the Black, Yellow and Blue works better on the close up poster rather than the yellow
encompassing most of the poster which also makes it more appealing to look at.
4. Existing Product
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 DC Universe. The spine of the
DVD includes the logo and portraits of easily recognisable characters i,.e Batman, Robin, The
Joker and Batgirl so the movie can be picked up from that, it also has the company that made the
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 it alone.
As for THE LEGO MOVIE BLU-RAY it 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. Research Analysis
• What common features do the researched
products have?
They all use bright colours mainly Yellow, Blue and Red. Characters are the main focus of
each product in some way be it a singular character that covers the entire post or a
collection of them. They also all use bold fonts that stand out and are easily recognised in
accordance to the film.
• What aspects of the research will you include
within your own production work?
For my 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 THE LEGO MOVIE. The Poster, Blu-Ray and 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 as they may see a property
they recognise. The DVD will follow a similar style whilst I am thinking of doing a more
stylised cover for the BLU-RAY.
7. Audience research
• Observation:
There is a large majority of Females in my target audience but the Male population is not that far
behind.
• What this says about my audience:
The audience isn’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:
The audience that did my survey is mostly from the age range of 15 – 40 years.
• What this says about my audience:
The audience for my stop motion film are mature which means I can be a little more violent than would
usually be appropriate
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
The movie won’t treat the audience as if they were children and they will appreciate the tonal shift at
the end of the film where it becomes more of a horror movie.
9. Audience research
• Observation:
Comedy, Action and Adventure are the most popular genres amongst my target audience.
• What this says about my audience:
My target audience enjoys movies which are entertaining and give them a sense of adventure.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
The aspect of travelling between worlds will appeal to the adventure genre whilst the Dragon fight and
comedic elements of the film will appeal to the others which in turn will make the tonal shift more
surprising but not inappropriate for them.
10. Audience research
• Observation:
My audience like Stop Motion Movies.
• What this says about my audience:
That they like the Stop Motion genre and will hopefully enjoy my film because of that.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
It will be made with Stop Motion techniques.
11. Audience research
• Observation:
My target audience has some Knowledge of pop culture from within n the television and film industry.
• What this says about my audience:
They will have enough knowledge to understand who a few of the characters in my film are.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
It will not go too overboard with obscure characters and instead use easily recognisable ones.
12. Audience research
• Observation:
A short film of 4 – 5 minutes is the optimum length for a short film.
• What this says about my audience:
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 to be formed.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
I will aim for the length of the short film to be within the range of 4 – 5 minutes.
13. Audience research
• Observation:
A mixture of bright and darker colours would appeal the most to my target audience.
• What this says about my audience:
They would prefer a mixture of colour schemes through the film instead of focusing on just bright or
dark colours respectively.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
There will be a mixture of bright and dark colours throughout the film in the form of Blacks, Blues,
Greens, Reds etc.
14. Audience research
• Observation:
People do not mind being deceived about what a film’s plot actually is.
What this says about my audience:
They like it if the film does make them question things
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
The film 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 says about my audience:
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 this audience:
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 and music.
16. Audience research
• Observation:
Atmospheric Music is the preferred use of music within a film.
• What this says about my audience:
My target audience likes the music to not over power the scenes and instead accompany them.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
I will use the music to build up feelings within the viewers instead of have it be a major part of the
scenes, it will be almost unnoticeable.
23. Bibliography
1. Your, Name. (2018) Target Audience Research Survey (conducted on
DATE)
2. Interviewees, Name. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on
DATE)
Editor's Notes
Choose a recent product similar to your own and annotate it
Type of image- studio/location, angle, effects, post-production
Use of lighting/composition/mise en scene/costume/props/location/colours/fonts etc.
Audience appeal- how does it make its audience want to buy/watch/play it?
Why have you chosen to look at this? What have you learned that can help you in your project?
Choose a recent product similar to your own and annotate it
Type of image- studio/location, angle, effects, post-production
Use of lighting/composition/mise en scene/costume/props/location/colours/fonts etc.
Audience appeal- how does it make its audience want to buy/watch/play it?
Why have you chosen to look at this? What have you learned that can help you in your project?
Choose a recent product similar to your own and annotate it
Type of image- studio/location, angle, effects, post-production
Use of lighting/composition/mise en scene/costume/props/location/colours/fonts etc.
Audience appeal- how does it make its audience want to buy/watch/play it?
Why have you chosen to look at this? What have you learned that can help you in your project?
List all products researched in previous sections. Include anything additional you have watched/read in preparation for production. Alphabetise your list.
