Attack the Block - TikTok Campaign

    As TikTok has continued to grow into arguably the largest social media platform globally, many films and film studios use TikTok to promote themselves. 

    TikTok reported that the average time a person views a TikTok video before they scroll is 5.5 seconds. This demonstrates that the viewer's attention span is very short, as well as the fact that videos must be engaging within the first 5.5 seconds in order to maintain the viewer's attention. 

    In February of this year, Buffer released an article with two very important statistics; according to data from TikTok, the "ideal length" for a TikTok video is 24 to 31 seconds long, and according to research conducted by TikTok "over 63% of all videos with the highest click-through rate (CTR) highlighted their message or product with first three seconds.

    Additionally, a Statista article released in March of this year claimed the average video length on TikTok is 36.4 seconds for smaller accounts and 42 seconds for larger accounts. 

    With all these statistics in mind, there are two overall guidelines promotional material on TikTok must follow; the video engages the viewer within the first 3-5.5 seconds and that it "ideally" is between 24 to 31 seconds. Following these guidelines, there are two TikToks that I would plan to make:

1. Teaser Trailer

This is the master shot where the group is standing over Sam after the mugging

• The TikTok opens with the master shot of Moses, Biggz, Pest, Jerome, and Tonks standing over Sam after they mugged her. 
• With the car in the background, we then see it get struck and explode from the impact - this would occur no later than 3.5 seconds into the TikTok.
• Fade transition to the boys standing around the car looking through the window trying to figure out what it was that hit the car. The music slowly builds in the background.
• There is then an abrupt jump cut to the boys' POV where the alien suddenly jumps out at them from inside the car. As it does the music stops and the screen cuts to black.
• The title "Attack the Block" shows on the black screen, as well as the subtext "Inner City vs. Outer Space" and "coming soon" below the title.

2. Actor Promotion

• John Boyega would be centered in front of the camera, talking directly directly to the audience.
• For the TikTok, he would say the following: "It's inner city vs. outer space, man! Me and the gang take on a bunch of giant gorilla dog aliens from outer space! It's our block and we gotta protect it! Watch Attack the Block in a theatre near you. It's gonna be epic, man! Believe it!"

The reason both of these TikToks are effective is due to the fact that they immediately engage the viewer in the first few seconds and are very short - fitting well within the "ideal" TikTok length.

Attack the Block - Alternative Poster

    During an interview conducted by Vice to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Attack the Block, director Joe Cornish was asked about what the biggest influences were on the film. In response to the question, Cornish said that one of the films that influenced him most was John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13. In learning this I decided to base the movie poster for Attack the Block on the original movie poster for Assault on Precinct 13.

    When analyzing the original Assualt on Precinct 13 poster we can see Napoleon Wilson's character, Darwin Joston, standing over the city as a back-lit silhouette. He possesses distinctive red highlights to outline his figure and some features while still remaining mostly hidden to add an element of mystery. Additionally, the poster includes the title as well as the director's name saying "A John Carpenter Film." The strong contrast of the colors present in the background with the silhouette of Wilson's character automatically draws the eyes to his figure. Additionally, by positioning him over an entire city it expresses the power and importance his character possesses. 

    When it came time to make my rendition of the movie poster I first got a full-frontal photo of Moses (shown below). I cut him out and placed him on the blank background. I cut out about a third of the background from the original Assualt on Precinct 13 poster and then used Photoshop's "generative fill" feature to have it cover the entire background. The final aspect of the basic layout was getting a picture of a council estate and cutting out the sky, so the red background would appear to be the sky - as it did in the Assualt on Precinct 13 poster.

    Once the basic layout was complete I had to edit lighting/color. Firstly I used the "camera raw filter" to kick up clarity, texture, and contrast on both the photo of Moses and the photo of the council estate. Kicking up those three elements exaggerates shadows and darkens the photo overall, thus better resembling the original poster. From there I made separate gradient maps which make the photo appear in only the colors that I selected - black and red. From there I added a clipping layer on the photo of Moses to add the fog/smoke around the area where his legs meet the horizon. Additionally, I added white and yellow clouds in the back to resemble the original poster. The final element of the poster was adding the title and director's name. After some research, I discovered the font used in the original Assualt on Precinct 13 poster was called "GunPlay." I then downloaded it from dafont.com and used it to type "ATTACK THE BLOCK." Additionally, using the Dharma Gothic font I typed "A JOE CORNISH FILM."

    Much the same way Attack the Block was an homage to the movie(s) that inspired the director, I wanted to make my poster an homage as well. Using images from Attack the Block while mixing them with color palettes and general layout ideas from the Assualt on Precinct 13 poster, this revised poster does a good job emphasizing the importance and power that Moses possesses - especially within the setting. Portraying him as a silhouette also emphasizes his portrayal in the film as a shadowy "vigilante" with a complicated motive and story.