OUGD202: Rationale

BRIEF TITLE:

Movie Season – 5 x 10 second Television Idents.

SUBJECT AND RATIONALE:

Subject:
A movie season that encapsulates an array of contemporary World War Two themed titles. Considered films include Inglorious Basterds, Valkyrie, Pearl Harbour, Saving Private Ryan, Schlinders List, U571, Stalingrad, Flags of Our Fathers, Windtalkers, Defiance and Enemy At The Gates.

Audience:
The promotional idents will be aimed at a younger generation. 18-25’s - both male and female. The bottom age bracket may be lowered slightly depending on the final film selection and their respective BBFC certificates.

Tone of Voice:
The audio and visual terminology should include subject specific lexis with key phrases that relate to the topic directly. The language used however should not be completely alien to an audience un-familiar/un-educated with the theme of World War Two. Terms such as ‘Perestroika’ and ‘Glasnost’ illustrate this. The idents will assume the responsibility of acting as a persuasive vehicle that will encourage viewers to watch the movie season throughout. Pre-existing fans of the genre should be left excited and enthused about the movie season based on the assumption that they will have seen many of the films before and will already have their own opinions about the features.

DESIGN CONCEPTS:

Based upon preliminary research into World War Two propaganda and newspapers from the period, colours will be of a muted appearance and often faded with themes centralized around patriotism. Reds, whites and blues most commonly. This is in addition to black and white print and sepia toned images. The imagery itself will also be relevant to the period and themed upon key military iconography: Planes, tanks, guns, bullets, explosions, gas masks, soldiers, ranks and badges, Churchill, Hitler, Nazis, helmets, boots, grenades, bombs etc. Typefaces according to sourced material were often of a sans serif nature, although serifed fonts were also used. Helvetica, Clarendon, Bell Gothic and Franklin Gothic represent initial considerations regarding this. Handwritten type additionally seemed popular, commonly emulating the aesthetic of chalkboard lettering. I further intend to make use of aged cinema conventions typical of the period. Grainy film riddled with black spots and scratches is one example. As is the frequently unsteady nature of the camera. Audio should be muted in similar ways to the colours. All of the above should aim to evoke a certain sense of nostalgia, even if the viewer did not live through the specific dates of the war.