Final Evaluation

The production task me and my partner chose to do was a horror trailer and this was specifically due to it being my favourite movie genre therefore I should have some expertise in ensuring that conventions are included to maintain that the trailer looks professional. Being that I am a huge fan of movies in general, I believe I would be determined due to it being an interest of mine as I have made previous videos for my YouTube channel.

As I am doing a horror trailer, I analysed some intertexts of my trailer in order to ensure conventions were used. A trailer that strongly influenced me was for paranormal activity (Shown below) as I believed some of the ideas in the trailer we could pull off exceptionally. The use of handheld shots not only creates realism and tenseness the trailer but they are also simple to do with the Legria FS306. We decided that because the camera is not full HD we could not attempt to have a strongly professional amount of camera shots therefore the realism of a lower quality camera for the trailer fitted the conventions. I came up with the specific idea of security camera footage for our trailer with proof of success from the trailer (shown below) therefore we could create enigmas and hide the narrative from the audience which would create suspense.  Alongside this, we used colour correction for our security camera clips to insure they look conventional.

From watching the trailer for the women in black, we decided that we had to have a scary/creepy setting in order to pull of the eerie vibe feeling of a haunted house. Therefore we were lucky enough to have the availability of a large Victorian house in a near location. Being that this is my partner’s house, it meant a good level of access to filming therefore making the process much easier. The inside décor of the house fits the old fashioned criteria of a scary house, for example a diamond chandelier in the middle of the room. In this trailer, the majority of the production doesn’t revolve around the house however in my trailer I would like the whole focus to be on the house location therefore more similar to paranormal activity.

After watching the opening of the film, Seven, I decided that it was very crucial to have tense and powerful music as I believed this was key in appealing to the target audience and building up the trailer. I chose two different musical pieces for the trailer, one being a slow impulse sound that is discrete behind the diegetic sound and as the pace of the trailer increased, the other music is introduced fast paced and tense thumping sounds. There is a fade between the first and second piece to show the contrast and build up in the trailer and this is commonly used in intertexts trailers such as Insidious.

For my pre-production, I decided that I wanted to do a storyboard as it enabled a good time management of the production and also was efficient for writing all technical, audio and action codes to one document. When I was completing this I decided that I would use handheld shots significantly across the trailer in order to pull of the realism however, in order to show technical capability I have also established other realistic shots that fitted the trailer to make it seem less boring.

The actors in my trailer are my friends therefore making the process of filming much easier to organize. Being that all my friends are key actors anyway and all study drama at higher education meant that as well as it being an easy process to organize, it would also be effective and realistic if the actors can create the realism of the trailer. Originally I wanted to use three characters within the trailer however having 5 characters created the more party antics atmosphere and make the film more realistic. There is specifically be two main characters, the camera man, kieran and the possessed man, matt. This therefore means there can be more depth revealing this characters specifically, for example, cloverfield.

I chose conventional iconography for my trailer using intertexts of my trailer specifically paranormal activity. The handheld camera is the main prop of the trailer being that the trailer is mainly filmed on a handheld camera and we took advantage of the camera not being HD quality to create a realistic camera shot that could be filmed by the average person. Although the camera is only shown once, it is denoted through the shakey camera shots and the OSG showing the timecode and recording symbol. The other significant prop in the trailer is the ouija board. This is a very conventional prop for horror trailers revolving around the paranormal and therefore this is why we used it. It also helps solve the enigmas in the trailer of why Matt is acting strangely.

After analysing 3 intertexts, I realised that I would need a similar audience appeal in order for the trailer to be effective. From my survey results, I found out that the majority of my audience would be male aging from 15-18 and therefore I would have to specifically target them. However being that this is a niche audience, my target audience as a whole would be from 15-25 therefore I would overall appeal the trailer to that. My survey results showing the lack of interest in going to the cinema shows how good my trailer will have to be in order to affect the audience and enthuse them into going to the cinema and watching the film. Therefore to do this, my trailer had to be enigmatic but then also eye catching to entice the audience.

After multiple drafts and on-going feedback,  there was essentially a clear narrative, effective editing and enigmas and this was very key in the trailer appeal. The majority of feedback was positive specifically the use of handheld shots and the transitions making it seem like tv static, however the negative feedback mostly revolved around the choice of title and the content in the trailer. In the first draft there was very little happening on screen and this had gone past being enigmatic and was simply confusing. Therefore in the final production, we made sure that there was a clear narrative of the whole film showed within the trailer and it was relatively clear but leaving the audience with enigmas making them want to watch the film. We also realised that in the first draft, the simple use of handheld shots on its own was boring and had to have some variety therefore in the final production, we used a variety of shots for example , the security camera shot to show technical capablity. Since the pre-production piece, me and James have completely refurbished our production and therefore other than the house scenes, it looks completely different. We did this consciously as we knew that particularly the forest scenes were unclear and unneccessary. Therefore in the final piece, we made the narrative fully focused on the house location and therefore the narrative changed.

I used a variety of different technical skills whilst making my trailer and this was specifically camera shots and OSG. A handheld camera shot would stereotypically be boring if overused however we made the shot more interesting with the use of OSG. I used timecode on video effects using Adobe Premiere CS4 and this helped establish the time in the scene so the audience doesn't get confused also it provides another sense of realism to the shot. We made a variety of different titles however this time we used Sony Vegas Pro as this gave more freedom and capabilities in creating a simple but effective title. The final title of 'Incognito' was made using a TV crash and TV simulator effect in order to make the title look as if it was on a broken clip and therefore is going distorted.

After watching the trailer for The Devil Inside, it is conventional for a possessed persons voice to be unnatural and therefore I attempted to create this effect using Adobe Premiere. It sounds like a loud booming noise which will startle the audience when they are watching the trailer as it is unexpected.

We decided to name the trailer 'Incognito' after a long dispute of whether this fitted the horror genre or thriller. Incognito meant unknown and being that the trailer is highly enigmatic we thought that this would fit that incognito would fit the narrative in that sense. Helping my decision to chose this title was the feedback from my previous drafts and being that the feedback was from people within the niche audience meant that it would appeal overall.

Overall I think that mine and my partners trailer was of a high standard and this was shown through the amount of effort and time put into the trailer. It is a simple idea which has been made effectively by using conventions from intertexts in order to make it appeal to the audience. Although some of the narrative isnt originally e.g. handheld filming of party , the majority of the trailer is unique and therefore I think with the resources available the trailer was done to the best of our capabilities. Our key aim was to make the trailer eye catching and I believe we have accomplished this.

Final Production -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_pZwe9MDjc&feature=youtu.be

Second Draft feedback and 05-16th March

I have now completed my second draft and have showed it to my class. They have given me postivie and negative feedback of which I will act upon in order to make my third and final piece successful.

Positive Feedback

• 'Found footage' are effective.
• Clear genre.
• Characters fit the target audience.
• Range of shots.
• Good voice over
• good choice of location.
• Good use of forest scenes.
• Effective flash backs
• Realistic.
• Good on-screen graphics
• Use of ouija board.
• Edited well.
• Good iconography
• Good actors.

Negative Feedback

• Unclear narrative.
• The title doesnt fit the genre and the trailer.
• Poor voice over.
• editing is bland.

For these two weeks,  I have been perfecting my final draft. I have now watched even more trailers and have realised that the majority of them show a clear narrative for the entire film, of which mine didn't. Therefore me and my partner have fully noted the narrative that will take place through the entire film and have added even more shots and editing to make this seem effective. Due to the negative feedback given for the second draft, me and my partner decided to partially re-film the content we have so far in order to make the narrative more enigmatic but remotely clear at the same time. Not only will these be easier for us to do but hopefully it will be a more effective production in the long run. In the next couple of days, I will be do finalisation to all of my work for the pre-production piece in order to entail that it makes sense for our third and final draft.

Production Update

This past week, I have been going out on set and refilming some shots in order to insure professionalism and authenticity. Also I have now completed practically all of the filming for my production except for a few shots therefore I will have to ensure continuity within these shots that I will be filming tomorrow. Now I will be editing all the shots together and my main focus for this draft is insuring that the trailer looks how I would like it to be, therefore all of the complicated transitions that I have in mind. Also I need to create my transition effects for my opening and closing credits in order to restore professionalism within my trailer.

First Draft

This is my First draft. It is only the first 50 seconds, which is only the first half of my trailer and therefore some of the narrative is unclear. So far I have got a clear understanding through with my trailer and now I want to go forth and fully enter conventional factors of horror.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5nVsxrsWIU&feature=youtu.be

First Draft Feedback

I have now completed my first draft and shown it to my class. I have done this not only to get feedback in general but also due to the fact that the majority of my class fit the demographic of my trailer. I have been given feedback of which I will use for my next draft in order to make a fuller narrative and a more appropriately conventional trailer for my genre.

We were given constructive feedback, both positive and negative and I will use this to improve my next draft:

Positives:

•Good handheld 'rec' shots

•Title appearing randomly was good.

•Cuts on music worked well.

•Music was suitable to genre.

•Interesting titles and fonts.

•Good shot at the beginning.

•Good effects

•Good camera angles

•Good location

•Effective 'fuzz'

•Full of enigma's

•Non diegetic sound was good

•Very dramatic

•Appropriate for Target Audience

•Good reversing shot at the end.

Negatives:

•Title font needs improvement

•Title itself might not be to do with genre

•Needs more long shots to show setting more.

•Some shots need to be a bit longer.

This week

I have completed my planning for the film trailer including script and editing and on Wednesday/ Thursday I will do film the two main sequences of my trailer. Hopefully I should have filmed enough shots to complete my first draft and then on Friday 27th I will begin to edit my shots together. I have already established the music I will be using in the trailer. Today I will make the OSG that I will be using for the trailer and this mainly consists of the use of the word 'Incognito'.

Music for Filming

This is the music that I have chosen to feature in my trailer. There are 20 seconds of music from each composition and I have chosen two pieces of music, one for the first sequence in the party and another for the second sequence in the forest. I have chosen these because I think they are connoting the horror genre and the enigma's in my trailer. I think that this music will be a defining factor in the trailer as it builds up the tension in the seen and creates suspense amongst the audience.

Filming Update

On sunday, I started my filming for the trailer. Being that the film should be stereotypically dark, I acknowledged that I would have to do this but in an easier and more efficient way. I started filming at 4 o'clock whilst it was still light but it was dull. I will later on edit this scene in order to make it look like it was filmed in the darkness but by doing this, the characters are still more visible. I filmed the second sequence in my trailer of which the main character wakes up in the middle of no where and then starts walking around discovering the setting.

Todays Objective

Today I am going out with the camera to my location in order to start the official preparation of the filming section of my coursework. I will establish in the location where I will film each of my shots, for example, where I will set up the tripod. In the next couple of days , I will then use this practise in order to start the beginning of the trailer. Due to the fact my trailer is in the horror genre, a conventional factor must be that it is filmed in the dark. To prevent continuity errors, I will make sure that I film each scene in chronological order.

Targets and Evaluation of Peers

Now I have completed the research and planning stage of the coursework, I have now established some targets for the production section of my work. In the next week, I hope to have started filming the beginning part of my first draft but in order to do so, I will first go to the set and establish each camera shot and how it will be set out. Therefore by the 13th of January, I hope to have filmed the first 20/30 seconds of my trailer and then start to edit the shots using Sony Vegas Pro.

From the peer evaluation lesson, I have discovered things that will help and hinder my production and therefore I will take these in to consideration when I am filming. Things such as unclear narratives and poor lighting were main faults in the evaluation and therefore I will focus on these as well as many other faults in order to improve my work. On the other hand, Intresting camera shots and dramatic music were very effective therefore I will also take this in to consideration in order to fulfil the needs of the criteria.

Submitting final draft of R&P

Today I have submitted my final draft of Research and Planning work which I have made changes on since my first draft. I have added more detail to each slide on the PowerPoint in the form of explaining all of my ideas and explaining why they are a key convention of the genre horror of which I am using as my film trailer. Also I have now finished my storyboard which includes the sound, action and editing I am going to use in my production.

Blog Update

This week, I have finally acknowledged which actors will be participating in my film trailer and I have also narrowed down the amount of characters in the trailer in order for the audience to have satisfactory understanding of each of the characters. I have also started planning in reality how I'm going to film each of the shots in the setting and have established that due to the lighting in the horror film being almost pitch black, I will have to use an artificial light source in the form of iconography such as a torch/lantern. This will make the trailer look more realistic.

I have now decided that the production company will be called Slashergore Pictures in order to keep to the stereotypes. I got this idea from the production company of the Saw series, Twisted Pictures. Therefore once again I'm sticking to the intertext conventions in order to make my trailer appeal to the demographic.