Evaluation – The Meeting

In a small group consisting of me, Craig and Dom, we were set the task to take photos of a ‘meeting’ in a way that made them look as if they were stills from a movie scene. We divided the rolls between us, I was to take the photographs and Craig and Dom were the cast involved in the scene. We conducted the final project between us. We each also came up with ideas for the story and then chose the best idea.

The meet was about two people meeting, ending in a face off and then a cliff-hanger at the end, as seen in all good action films. The scene also has an air of mystery about as it leaves certain questions unanswered. Like who was Craig waiting for and why was he so scared of Dom’s character. The first shot used was a medium shot of Craig leaning against a pillar. The shot sets the scene as there is a lot of scenery shown in the shot. There are then a few shots of Dom walking along a path. At this point you are wondering who the two characters are and how are they connected. A crane shot was used to make Dom look smaller in comparison to his surroundings. It then dissolves into a shot of Craig looking at his phone, this suggests that maybe he has been contacted, or maybe his was checking the time? It keeps the audience in the dark for the most of the time. Then it does a straight jump to a shot of Dom looking at his phone also. The audience begin to make the connection that these are contacting each other. For this shot I used a low and shot looking up at Dom to show his state of ‘Power’ and ‘Dominance’. The screen the dissolves to a shot of Dom running down the street. Why is he running? White flashes fill the screen as the shots change to show the distance doms character is covering and to show his movement. It dissolves to a first person view of Craig’s phone. This acts as the turning point of the scene as it confirms that Dom is coming to meet Craig. Then there is two straight cuts showing a series of two close ups of Dom’s and Craig’s faces to show their reactions to what has happened. Dom looks angry and Craig looks shocked/Scared. This tells you a little about the characters. Finally for the final shots we staged a stand off between the two characters. The screen dissolves to an over the shoulder view, over Craig’s shoulder looking at Dom. There is a shallow focus for the first shot and you can only see Craig’s shoulder with the things in the distance out of focus. With each shot the focus changes and the background becomes more focused as opposed to Craig’s shoulder and Dom is revealed in the distance. Then there is a wipe to another over the shoulder view from the opposite point of view; from Dom’s shoulder looking at Craig. This time everything is in focus and instead of the focus changing, the zoom changes. It starts zoomed in on Craig in the distance and with each shot zooms out showing the size of their surroundings and the distance between them.

Dark Knight - Marketing

Information taken from Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_Batman_Begins_Sequel#Marketing

Marketing
In May 2007, 42 Entertainment began a viral marketing campaign utilizing the film's "Why So Serious?" tagline with the launch of a website featuring the fictional political campaign of Harvey Dent, with the caption, "I Believe in Harvey Dent." The site aimed to interest fans by having them try to earn what they wanted to see and, on behalf of Warner Bros., 42 Entertainment also established a "vandalized" version of I Believe in Harvey Dent, called "I believe in Harvey Dent too," where e-mails sent by fans slowly removed pixels, revealing the first official image of the Joker; it was ultimately replaced with many "Haha"s and a hidden message that said "see you in December." During the 2007 Comic-Con International, 42 Entertainment launched WhySoSerious.com, sending fans on a scavenger hunt to unlock a teaser trailer and a new photo of the Joker. During that month, WhySoSerious.com featured an animated jack-o'-lantern whose mouth was shaped like a bat-logo. The candle in the jack-o'-lantern melted as time progressed, while half of the pumpkin's face simultaneously deteriorated.
On October 31, 2007, the film's website morphed into another scavenger hunt with hidden messages, instructing fans to uncover clues at certain locations in major cities throughout the United States, and to take photographs of their discoveries. The clues combined to reveal a new photograph of the Joker from the film, accompanied by an audio MP3 clip of Ledger's recorded voice saying, "And tonight, you're gonna break your one rule." Completing the scavenger hunt also led to another website called Rory's Death Kiss (referencing the false working title of Rory's First Kiss), where fans could submit photographs of themselves costumed as the Joker set in various landscapes. Those who sent photos were mailed a copy of a fictional newspaper called The Gotham Times, whose electronic version led to the discovery of numerous other websites.
The Dark Knight's opening sequence, (showing a bank raid by the Joker) and closing montage of other scenes from the film, was screened with selected IMAX screenings of I Am Legend, which was released on December 14, 2007. A theatrical teaser was also released with non-IMAX showings of I Am Legend, and also on the official website. The sequence was released on the Blu-ray Disc edition of Batman Begins on July 8, 2008. Also on July 8, 2008, the studio released Batman: Gotham Knight, a direct-to-DVD animated film, set between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and featuring six original stories, directed by Bruce Timm, co-creator and producer of Batman: The Animated Series. Each of these segments, written by Josh Olson, David S. Goyer, Brian Azzarello, Greg Rucka, Jordan Goldberg, and Alan Burnett, presents its own distinctive artistic style, paralleling numerous artists collaborating in the same DC Universe.
After the death of Heath Ledger, on January 22, 2008, Warner Bros. adjusted its promotional focus on the Joker, revising some of its websites dedicated to promoting the film and posting a memorial tribute to Ledger on the film's official website and overlaying a black memorial ribbon on the photo collage in WhySoSerious.com. On February 29, 2008, I Believe in Harvey Dent was updated to enable fans to send their e-mail addresses and phone numbers. In March 2008, Harvey Dent's fictional campaign informed fans that actual campaign buses nicknamed "Dentmobiles" would tour various cities to promote Dent's candidacy for district attorney.On May 15, 2008, Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Great Adventure theme parks opened The Dark Knight roller coaster, which cost $7.5 million to develop and which simulates being stalked by the Joker. Mattel has been producing toys and games for The Dark Knight, action figures, role play costumes, board games, puzzles, and a special-edition UNO card game, which began commercial distribution in June 2008. Also to promote the film, the Toyota Formula One team raced with a special livery featuring the Batman insignia and "The Dark Knight" at the 2008 British Grand Prix, held from July 4, 2008 to July 6, 2008.
Warner Bros. devoted six months to an anti-piracy strategy which involved tracking the people who had a pre-release copy of the film at any one time. Shipping and delivery schedules were also staggered and spot checks were carried out both domestically and overseas to ensure illegal copying of the film was not taking place in cinemas. A pirated copy was released on the Web approximately 38 hours after the film's release. BitTorrent search engine The Pirate Bay taunted the movie industry over its ability to provide the movie free, replacing its logo with a taunting message.