Final Trailer

My final trailer was constructed using the programe Final Cut Pro on my apple Mac laptop. I found the software easy to use, as opposed to Magix Movie Edit Pro. Although this is a subjective point, I personally felt that Final Cut Pro mainly involved 'copy and pasting' and consists of very graphical elements, which makes it easier to visualise my edit.

Overall, I also thought to include sound in my edit, as sound is a massive factor in order to increase the tension in particular scenes, especially towards the end of the trailer. The sound was obtained from a sound effects and music download website, which is commonly used by film professionals.

2nd Final Trailer Draft

My second draft for my final trailer obtains a more professional sense. This is evident from the new intertitles, which have been shown in red lettering to give the trailer the element of blood, death and aggression.

Looking in more detail, i have also used real actors names, such as 'George Clooney'. I have done to give myself an idea of what the final trailer will look like but will consist of other names that will not relate to the real world. 'A James Cameron film' will also be changed to my name, also including the production logo of 'AROA' as we all filmed the rough footage together.

Furthermore, I will also try and create the pace of the trailer, especially at the beginning where I felt that it dragged on and will bore the audience causing them to loose interest. In order to do increase the pace I will cut a shot out, speed some scenes up and possibly add more sound to create an edgy mood at the start to immediately grab the audiences' attention.

Final Trailer Draft

My first draft of my final trailer is one minute and twenty seconds long. This is a reasonable time limit but I will consider to make it shorter. However, I will only do this if I think it needs shortening as in some media film trailers, are lengthy but do still have a clinical execution of the dramatic effect created to attract their audiences.

This draft also contains no intertitles but will be added in the later stages of constructing my trailer. Although there will be changes to this trailer, I will be keeping the red tint shown in some shots, consisting of the killer, thus increasing to the intensity of the atmosphere.

Final Trailer Title Design Draft

This video shows my first draft of my title design of 'The Vanishing'. The blue font style is 'Acid Label', a typeface that has a degraded style and will be a strong possibility of representing the horror genre.

The second draft style of my trailer title is shown in the video above. The deliberate change in background from red to black is because I wanted to portray a less obvious and simple aggressive atmosphere to construct a more psychological and dark tone towards the audience. This meaning intertwines with the dark blue colour as it appears that the darkness is overshadowing the title, which connotes a strong feel of the triumph of evil. Yet again this will link back to representing the horror aspect in the trailer.

However, using the technical effects that Final Pro has to offer, I have introduced the title with 'glowing light rays'. This particular effect adds to the theme of mystery and produces a more enigmatic approach when responding with the viewers. In further detail, the white light rays, the blue colour lettering and the black background will convey a more adult target range audience. As opposed to a conventional red background with white lettering that will apply itself to a more young adult audience, ranging from fifteen to twenty-five.

Although, the design of my second final trailer title has a correct amount of effect and character, for my final trailer title design I will do a number of changes. Changes, such as I will add an atmospheric music track because I am very eager to attract my audience with the major element of sound. This will enhance the chances of the number of people who see the the movie and will also add to the professionalism of the task.

Final Trailer Print Screens

These three print screens were made from Final Cut Pro. The third print screen at the bottom shows an early stage in editing my final trailer. The timeline in this screen grab shows only the initial selection of shots prior to any audio being added. The timeline is illustrated as the horizontal pane in the lower third of the image and is a graphical representation of the edit.

The second print screen contains music, some sound effects and early title layers.

The last print screen shows the timeline containing the final edit. On closer inspection, several layers have been added to accommodate the production logo and intertitles. Also, by this stage the audio levels have been adjusted so the sound plays back correctly.

Final Production Logo

My individual production logo was created in Final Cut Pro. Prior to this, the group’s production was a more general and conventional aspect. However, I created a production logo that constructs itself to a more specific role, aiming towards the horror genre. This is evident from the red and black colours, along with horror style lettering and the tombstone representing death. Although these are less common in the modern day film industry, I still wanted to make a production logo to for fill my potential and have a sense of professionalism. However, I have also kept the ‘AROA Productions’ to maintain that sense of teamwork and meaning within the group. I found this fun and creative, which will reflect key skills in media.

Personal Blog Entry

Today, I thought to mention to the group to create an individual production logo, which can can be seen in the trailer. This further includes to keep the same name as 'AROA' but just to alternate the design and style, which also included how it is presented. This was a very useful idea that was agreed with all the team players.

Production Logo

The production logo is very important in the media industry, especially coming from film institutions, such examples are:

Warner Brothers:

Universal:

Paramount:

These production logos consist of images that have been used for a long period of time, causing them to be well connected with their audience. This has an effect of making the audience visually see what the logo is and will easily converge the visual logo with the common, well-known name. This has a knock on effect, as the target audience know which institution created the film, this will apply the viewers interest on a higher scale towards the film.

Our production logo consists of a camera having an effect that ‘AROA productions’ is being emitted from it. This is deliberately done as we wanted to get a visual aid of the filming industry to be clear and direct, therefore containing a camera in our production logo. In further detail, the production logo is simple which has an advantage which gives the logo no specific genre attached to it. Thereby telling the audience that ‘AROA productions’ produce a variety of film and attracting a wide range of audiences.

However, I will create a new production logo that supports my trailer, reflecting the horror genre and creating a more required and specific production logo.

When breaking down ‘AROA productions’, it is the initials of the first names of the group members. A- Anil, R-Rishi, O-Omrick and A for Ashwin. This created a visual aid and shows evidence of who made the film. On another level it also being the group together and enhances the groups moral.

Intertitles

Intertitles are very a common convention which are useful to the audience as they give information about the film. Intertitles such as, 'inspired by true events', 'must see' or 'nominated for three academy awards' are all common in horror trailers.

Other horror trailers also include intertitles, which involve other director's names. e.g. 'From he director who brought you' followed by another horror film. This has an effect on the audiences whereby the people who enjoyed the previous film directed by the same director will make it even more appealing through the audiences' interest.

Some examples of intertitles that can be considered in the trailer are as followed:

• Inspired by true events
• An AROA production
• Nominated for 3 nominations
• A Rishi Nahar film
• Coming Soon

Title Fonts

'The Vanishing' was chosen by the whole group as the title for our trailer. Font will also be a significant key selection of the film title, which are shown:

Font Titles on Prezi

Film Names

Horror films consists of having titles, obtaining some meaning of elements of horror which can be extracted by the audiences from the title. The group created a few names for our film. Here are the results from family and friends when given the different choices of the film:

Bat Killer 1

The Stalker 4

Forest Hunter 6

The Vanishing 7

Travel of Hell 5

Psycho 2

No Help 0

Forest Breh 2

Disguise 0

Cloak Man 0

Unstoppable 6

From these results 'The Vanishing' was a clear favourite and was worked out well as it was also a group favourite.

However, I also thought that the name of a film should be looked at and chosen with great care, as the title can contribute to a USP of the film from the audience's perception. From this great significance of a title an first impressions of the audience I have created my own table of names, including the option of 'The Vanishing' to see what other individuals would think.

Yet again 'The Vanishing' is still the clear favourite from my table above, showing 8 people like it. In further detail, when asking people what their opinion was, I deliberately asked individuals who were aged 15 to 35. The reason for this, is because the film will mostly likely apply to the targeted audience aged 15 and above, as opposed to the first questionnaire where the group asked a whole range of people.

Mood Board

This mood board is presenting the photographs taken in secific locations. Some photographs were taken in the same place, such as when taking still shots of the trees and bits of scenery in heston park, similar shots can be used for cranford park. This will be benefical as it would take less time to complete the task.
The photographs were taken by me as I supplied the 7.1 Olympus digital camera. Although the shots were taken in the dark, the flash did prove useful as it gave us a more of a distinct shot, creating a more enigmatic photo.
Overall, this mood board is a rough indication of what scenes that should be included when filming.

Mood Board on Prezi

Props

Props are essential to any promotional video, in order to obtain a strong sense of realism and expressing the signs of verisimilitude towards the audience. Different props represent specific characteristics and will symbolise certain individuals in a unique way shown to the viewers. For example, when filming at 'Heston graveyard', a black cloak and gloves were required for the villain's character. From these props, show clear representations of a that particular figure is the killer, which is enhanced from the colour of the props being black. This colour connotes a series of death and emphasises the darkness in the film, as well as causing an enigma to form, from the black cloak not fully revealing the villain's profile.

Some props were not mentioned, such as fire and a knife. This is because when using these props when shooting, these elements were very hard to see as the dark was too strong. The fire also became a problem, as it was difficult to form with small twigs. Health and safety issues were acknowledged but the fire was not created due to the poor conditions of the weather.

Props on Prezi

Production Schedule

The Production Schedule is a document which contains the task and when we will complete it. This is a significant document, looking at the location, the equipment and crew members that were required in order to complete the scene.

Staff List

The staff crew list shows the contacts of different memeberes of the group. This is very useful and will be acknowledged to contact the group and come togerher to act certain tasks, such as flming. This contact list will one again improve the team moral and provide us with experience of co-operating in a team, thus having experience working in the media field.

Filming Schedule

These seven film schedule documents consist of useful information consisting of speicfic requirements, such as the props, equipemnt and the crew memebers. This will inform us what we need when shoting a certain scene. Although the equipment is relatively the same, namely the camera and a tripod, these types of media material will allow us to convey a particular emotion. For example, a hand held shot type will create realism and and making it seem the audience is actually there in the scene, thus increasing the interest of the film.

Treatment

This manuscript shows great relevance, as it entails information on what the trailer will be about. However, other documents will show this but in a more specific aspect, the teatment document tells us what memeberes of the crew and cast will be doing what roles. Although, the document clearly states names allocated to different jobs, we all assisted eachother to improve the standard of our work. On a personal note, I too contributed to most roles, especially producing the trailer.

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is vitally important and comes in great use. This is because at each different location arises the same or some new risks, which should be carefully thought out to find a solution to the problem.
A risk assessment is a significant document as it reflects to a real life shooting of a film. From further research, when shooting a film, the crew, mainly the producer has to create a risk assessment outlining all the possible risks when filming, otherwise filming cannot commence.
Although this was ultimately a process of filling out the boxes, i felt this was a great learning curve. The reason for this is because when coming to actually shooting the film trailer, producing a risk assessment crates a more professional vibe and involves other group members for a more appealing experience.

Location Visit Sheets

Daily Filming Sheet

Other important documentations also include the daily filming sheet which will assist the group when filming, as it also indicates the different locations and shot numbers that take place there. Different locations require alternate elements, such as the variety of shots along with the cast and the props which will all be needed at different times throughout filming. It is very important that we organise our time and communicate with each other to not waste anybody's individual time, as result keeping the team moral at a successful rate. Overall, this daily filming sheet will be part of an organisational document by telling us what props the required shot needs. Too enhance this structured planned filming sheet, we have filled in one daily filming sheet for a specific and different location.

Shooting Script

The shooting script is a list of all the detailed shots consisted in the trailer. Along with the storyboards this is a more specific and pin-point approach to what type of shot that should be used for a particular scene. For instance, a key scene is when one actor tries to escape from the villain by running away, which is clearly evident from the point of view shot. This can also be analysed in greater thought, along with the point of view shot form the killer's perception, high angles can also be included. This connotes the villain to be a fairly large figure, adding to his superiority as he looks down on his cowardly and unfortunate victims.

Animatics

The animatics video was constructed to visually show us what our trailer would look like. The animatics and the storyboards show a fair difference, from shot to shot to improve the quality of the trailer. The animatics also show the film in a rough manner. While watching the animatics, we made sure that we understood it and had to show a sign of empathy, as if though we were the audience. This would be the best possible methods of knowing if the animatics made sense.

Storyboards

The storyboard is essential to any 'film sketch and making'. Without it, processes, such as filming and editing will be extremely difficult and challenging. These rough sketches were drawn by the group and were equally distributed so that each member had contributed towards a scene and did not become a time consuming task.

However, this consisted of a minor set back, as the storyboard is not numbered in the consecutive order. This was a learning a curve of producing a storyboard and will not ignored, especially when filming and editing.

Ultimately, the storyboards consisted of the shot number, the visual aid, the dialogue, the camera movement and the length of that particular shot. These significant storyboards assured us roughly what order the film should take and helped structure the trailer and our time.

Character Analysis

The character analysis consists of four males who are all eighteen years of age and the villain. These five characters have been deliberately created attaining different personalities so that individuals (audience) can relate and connect with them on a more personal stature. This will increase the volume of interest from the target audience towards the film and having a higher chance of creating 'excellent' reviews from the reflection of unique personalties within the audience and the film.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS on Prezi

Film Proposal

Film Proposal on Prezi

Narrative Structure

The narrative structure consists of four male eighteen year olds who have finished their exams and begin a trip to ‘Sunny Hill’ beach and spend their nights on the yellow sand inside their tents. Along with their camping gear, small boxes of alcohol are taken along to lift high spirits.

The journey was a long and tiring one causing some characters to fall asleep in the vehicle. Suddenly they all jerked forward, along with seat belts tightening when the car arrived at a halt. The group all thought they had hit a deer, as it was a pitch black canvas in front. In fact, a puncture was the issue caused by a sharp object. All the characters were exhausted and peered over some bushes to find a forest in the distance to camp until morning. Bal who had a camera began to film his friends and the previous incident, having the urge to film everything. The group then decided to camp for the night but come across signs saying ‘no trespassing’. With four slightly drunken teenagers ignored the signs and climbed over the fence, inflicting a few bruises and scratches from the barbed wire on top of the fence.

As they began to set up camp Bal sees a strange figure amongst the trees through his camera. He tries to zoom in but is called by Ralph to help him set up his tent. He turns back around to focus in but seem to have a different perception of his initial visual scene. He tells the rest of the group what he thought he had seen but in an immature response, most of them ignored and laughed. After tents were all set up and positioned around the bushy area, they all began to gather firewood to build a fire. One of the boys brought a lighter and lit the twigs and bits of tissue to entice the fire. After a few minutes they all sat around the fire on logs and started to tell ghost stories. Little did they know knew, they were all in one.

The fire began to die out and made Ralph order Saif to collect some more fire wood. Saif gave a subtle sigh but arose above from where he had been sitting and walked into the darkness to gather the wo0d. Meanwhile the other three members, Ralph, Bal and Josh were just casually talking and saying how relieved they all were that they had finished their exams. Suddenly a loud scream came about and disturbed the tranquil atmosphere. The three of them went scampering into the bush, calling Saif to come out and stop horsing around. As time dragged on, those shouts turned into cries of ‘Saif, where are you?’ Along with Bal’s camera Ralph and Josh stood close but Bal suddenly fell and appeared to have stumbled on what was thought to be a log. It was Saif’s body left in a bloody mess. The group were shocked, stunned and devastated but above all they all panicked and ran straight back to the camp site. Only to find their tents and belongs to be tampered with and thrown around.

Josh then saw a tainted individual in the bush a few feet away from where he was standing. He approached in a weary and cautious manner and suddenly a huge axe split his head right down the middle. This quick bloody incident was observed Ralph, Bal and his camera. They both ran for the fence but in the drastic situation both students became separated from each other and were on their own in the pitch black darkness along with some strange hostile figure that was after them.

Ralph ended up running through a nearby cemetery. He came across a church which was found to be locked but was confronted with the killer which began the chase again. Footsteps changed to rapid speeds of pace from Ralph and the killer. The sound of the antagonist’s swinging bat became stronger and stronger, as opposed to Ralph’s speed. As Ralph was about to give up he saw that the killer was not behind him. He then turned, slowly. Crack and a series of bone crunching sounds arose from the killer’s bat.
The loud cries of agony were hear by Bal who was lost feeling petrified and looking for the fence shaking from the fear of death. Bal searched and searched and yet all seemed loss but the large fence was there in sight. Bal ran for it. The distance between the fence and him seemed an eternity but he made it to the silver barricade. He started to climb and accidently dropped the camera but half way he was grabbed by a hooded figure. Bal tried to fight him off. He was overpowered. Soon before Bal could even cry for help, a loud sickening thud echoed the forest, with the killer dragging the bat and the corpse behind him.

One week later the students were reported missing and one month later their corpses were found, lying next to each other with the colour of red bathed upon them. Inspectors and officials notified their senior staff and the student’s parents who were all sitting in a room. The police also discovered a video camera, which they all watched together.



Throughout the group, we all agreed on a strong narrative structure. Although we all have the same idea for the narrative structure, I manipulated mine to create a professional aspect in my media task linking to my trailer.
From analysing my narrative structure, there are several elements of where sound plays a vital role, such as when the killer is chasing and killing his victims. As a result I will make sure I will use sufficient sound in my trailer to add intensity towards the audience, enhancing the horror genre.

The purpose of a trailer

Creating a film can be very expensive, with feature films need healthy takings at the box office to cover the costs of production, pay investors and make enough money for the next release. The film has a limited time to become a ‘box-office hit’. The marketing campaign is a significant element, as it informs the audience about the film with a purpose of attracting the people to watch the film. The companies who own the film and loan it to the cinema to show for short amount of time are called the distributors. If the film is a success it will make it easier for the distributors to construct a marketing campaign that aim to raise awareness of the film and increase interest. From this the distributors stand the best chance of making a profit on the film.

The trailer is a powerful ‘media platform’ in the marketing campaign. Posters are also important as they seek the initial interest of the audience but do not convey the excitement and tone of a film, in contras to a trailer. Combining the moving image and sound both experienced ‘larger than life’ through the advanced equipment of the cinema auditorium. The trailer is personified as it stirs our emotions and provides us with a ‘flavour’ of the film that is impossible through still images alone.

Trailer are created and produced simultaneously with the editing of the film. A very short version of the trailer, ‘teaser’ will be released early on in the marketing campaign to give people an idea of what the narrative of the film is. It is also constructed to give the audience a ‘buzz’ around release. ‘New technologies’, such as mobile phones, developing hardware and especially computers allow films to have their own websites t can be a form of communicating with the audience. From these websites, the film’s teaser trailer is often seen first online. After this, theatrical and television spots will begin to appear to maintain and strengthen the initial ‘buzz’.

When a film is being shown in a range of countries it is expressing the term of ‘global releasing’. The majority of the films we see in the UK originate from the US and the trailers have been created there, hence the use of American vocabulary and accent in the voiceover. Sometimes the trailer may be re-cut for different countries, with a different voiceover or even dubbed speech. In addition, there may be also alternative cuts of the trailer aimed at the interests of different audience groups.

‘Film piracy’ is a term that involves recording and copying a product, in this case a film. For example, a film in the USA is usually released before releasing in Europe. However, pirated versions of the film are released earlier than the original and actual film’s scheduled release date. As this can eat into box-office profits, those involved in promoting a film need to carefully control the process of release.

Along with the Internet Movie Database, Apple Movie Trailers and official websites for film titles often carry trailers that have been cut for general audience and so are suitable for viewers of any age. In contrast to the cinema, age restrictions can be very difficult to enforce. However, through blogging and social networking sites, from a film distributor’s perception, online marketing is a very effective technique to generate interest in the film before the film release.

Another element of film is its genre. Genre is significant in film marketing because our decision about what to see will partly depend upon whether we enjoyed other similar film. When we view a trailer we are automatically ‘decoding’ what we see and hear to establish the films genre. For instance, dark shadowy figures and scary music connotes a horror genre. Animated images and bright colours appeal to a simpler mind, thus attracting children.

Another indication as to the genre of a film is the stars. Different film actors and actresses link to specific genres, such as Jack Black heavily associates himself with comedy and Steven Seagal inking with action.

A trailer shows a film is worth going to see from its USP (unique selling point). This is what separates one film title from another released at a similar time or within the same genre. The USP could be the innovative use of special effects or it could be a star playing an ‘against role’. For example if an actor who normally plays a dominant hero in an action movie, he might play a weak and more emotional type of individual.

Trailers are not ‘mini-films’. They are a genre in there own right and are designed to capture our attention and hold it for a short space of time. One of the most significant aspects of this is the sound. Sound has a huge impact as it can manipulate our emotions and create a specific atmosphere. The voiceover, a feature of advertising, is used to summarise aspects of he story and emphasise credit information. The voiceover also looks to promote the film by building our anticipation.

Trailer Analysis

TRAILER ANALYSIS on Prezi

Personal Blog Entry

Today, the group and I got together to discuss our initial plan and storyboard. This meeting was very useful and molded our work and social moral between the team. We also allocated certain tasks to specific memebers of the group, making sure everyone received a fair and equal quantity of work. This involved tasks, such as the different task sheets which will give the group members enough time for their individual work and learning.

Inroduction

For my A2 Media Coursework i am going to construct a movie trailer, a poster and a magazine all relating the horror genre. In order for me to accomplish this construction of these significant media elements, I will first research horror trailers and films to acknowledge the key codes and conventions. However, I will also try and challenge the conventions, as this would come across as unique and fun. In further response to my research, I will also analyse horror trailers and look into the point and purpose of a trailer. As a result I will then begin to plan and create my own trailer within my group with the assistance of a story board.

Working in a group is also important, as this reflects the Media industry as it contains sectors in different Global institutions, such as Newscorp and Disney that require working in a team and co-operation to achieve a media platform, in this case a trailer.

Research and analysis is highly beneficial because it can help the group and I to understand the different types of a horror genre. For example, there can be forms of comedy horror (Shawn of the dead), romantic horror (Sleepy Hollow) or even psychological horror, which all have a variety of features that will have to assess before proceeding with the main the main task.

Also, to obtain a degree of creativity, I have also shot a photo from my digital camera of a individual person who's profile is not clearly shown. This is because I wanted to begin with the background having an immediate imapct of constructing an enigmatic feel. I have also added the design of the end of a role of film (the small squares on the outskirts of each photo). This is deliberatley done to portray a media film based style througout my blog, again linking to my main task.