Film Trailer Update

Filming Day 1:
In today's filming session, we filmed three scenes. The first scene we shot was in the study center, which was of a student studying. The reason for choosing the study centre was that, firstly it's a quite area to study and you can get a real feel it being a study based area. This is due to what’s in its surroundings, but also the way everyone's getting on with their work at single tables. Therefore, this shot really created a major issue in teenage life.

Before we started filming we had to ensure that others, who were within the study centre, did not look at the camera as we did not want them to distract from the main character or be part of the scene. The only problems we had when filming this scene was zooming in on the character. As we didn’t want it to be too fast or slow as it had to link in with other scenes which had to have the right pace. We had to do this scene a number of times to get it right.

The second scene we shot was of two characters hugging. The process of this scene was easy to do as the characters had free periods when we was ready to film, but also as it was in a school location-the common room. The only problem with this scene was that the characters weren't really comfortable to do the hugging scene as they weren't a real couple. So we had to do the shots a number of times before they got it right. Also the angles of their faces we quite hard to shoot due to height difference, but in the end they got it right.

The last scene we shot was in the dalo at lunchtime. We did this shot as we wanted the characters to behave naturally, but also the characters we asked to do the scene didn't know when was were going to record them. So this enabled us to get natural emotions during this period. The only problem when filming this was that you'd get a few people looking at the camera when recording. In a way it was a good thing as that's what people normally do, but for our scene it was inappropriate as it took the focus away from the character, also created a loss of tension. In comparison to all the other scenes we filmed today, this last scene took the longest. This was because we had to get the camera into the right position to enable us to capture the surroundings but also to ensure that we can get our characters in without them becoming part of the background.

In today's shoot I think it went really well as we were able to do our ideas as they were in school, but also as it was a whole new idea. The only problem is as we started again we'll have less editing time, due to us having to add music and titles etc.

Filming Day Two:
In today's filming session, we filmed two scenes.
The first scene we filmed was the smoking scene. We did this scene by finding a group of smokers that felt comfortable being filmed. As we didn’t want to put in any characters that weren’t comfortable doing this scene. When filming we told them to pretend that we weren’t there as we wanted them to look as natural as possible as it is all about the aspects of teenage life. There weren’t any problems in the scene as they did what they had to do and weren’t really bothered about doing it.

In the second scene we filmed as sexual relationship scene, which we filmed at Lucy’s house as lives in a place that everyone was able to get to but also we needed the right setting, which was a bedroom. In this scene we needed two characters which would feel comfortable being in their underwear and lying on top of each other. For this scene we was able to use Toby who was in our previous film idea and was wanted take part and myself as I felt comfortable doing this scene with him as he is a good friend of mine. When filming we wanted a birds eye pan from the floor across onto the bed, however due to the seize and layout of the room, we were unable to do it exactly from on top. We had alter this shot and so it from a slight angle and cut out the pan, however when we looked back at the shot it was still jut as effective so we were happy with the shot.

Overall, I think that today went really well as we got everything done. Also, as I had a new experience of being filmed in my underwear with someone else which was so weird, as I had to pretend to be in a intimate relationship with my friend. This was due to me feeling shy at one point, but then got into it as it was just acting.

Filming Day Three:
In today’s filming scene, we filmed in the darkroom. The aim of this is so that we were able to pan across all of the pictures with the victims on them. The first time we did this the pictures were just the victim’s faces. The second time was the victim’s faces but with black ink crossed out over their faces. This was to show that the camera man that taken these pictures of the students had already taken videos of all of them and the people he targeted. When filming this scene we found it very challenging as we had the pictures hanging form a piece of string and two of us had stand on chairs to hold it whilst the others filmed. We found it difficult as our arms began to ache when holding the string up, which meant that the pictures on the string kept shaking therefore making them fall off. Another problem was with the tripod. This was because the legs on the tripod were too long to fit in the red room which was quite small. so we had to hold the tripod in a certain position so that we were able to film the photos.

Day Four:
After yesterday once we had watched back our footage, we realised that what he had filmed wasn't as effective as we had hoped, therefore we had to re-film the whole section within the dark room. However although this would set us back on time in which we would have left to edit, it also helped us as we were prepared for the space and also over the evening we had spoken to each other therefore allowing us to come up with a way which would allow us to film this shot to the ebs tof our ability. We had decided that we needed a wheely computer chair in which we could rest the camera and tripod on to slide it across to get a pan of the photos ( this would enable two of us) and then two people could stand on chairs and hold the string up. When we finally got to the dark room with the new ideas of how to film, we soon realised that it would decrease the size of the dark room again. To solve this issue I had to crawl on the floor holding the chair,and sliding it along the floor, whilst Leona had to hold the camera steady and push from the other side to enable the chair to move slowly. Jorgy and Lucy were holding the string as they are of similar heights therefore it balanced it out. Whilst we were in the dark room we still had to film the scene when the teacher is looking at the photos of the girls, but who we originally cast for this role was unable to film due to other requirements, we had to find a replacement. As the technician who looks after the keys for the darkroom was available we asked him if he was willing to participate in the film and to our luck he said yes. When we were filming this scene we, had a brainwave and thought of another shot which would be more effective when ending our trailer therefore we took the time to film this to take back to class and watch to see if it was effective. Today was a very successful day in filming as we feel we got some effective shots especially with the red lighting within the darkroom helps to create and atmosphere.

Magazine Inspiration

Now that the film trailer as well as the film poster had been completed, the next part of our practical project was to create a magazine cover for our film.

Like the previous to sections, befoe staring our group did thorough research into magazine covers before taking on the challenge of the cover on photoshop.

We went onto famous film magazine Empire's website (www.empireonline.com/magazine/covers) to look at examples of film covers and the elements found in them to promote the film.

One film poster stood out in particular to us. It was the Dark Night January 2008 issue of Empire magazine:
The cover contains the central image of the villan in this feature film. Cleverly shot from a slightly low angle, giving the character power and imbedding the Batman logo above the 'Empire' title.

The background is quite dark with the lighting's central focus on and slightly around the Joker and the bars behind suggest the situation is that The Joker has either disobeyed the law, is in prison or being questioned. This could suggest the dark nature of the film as well as cleverly portraying that Empire will be interviewing the star.

We liked the bright colours and playful font used that not only complemented what the actor was wearing in the shot but also the personality of the main character, The Joker.

The cover mainly focuses on this feature film. The word 'exclusive' to describe the content enforces this idea as well as having the sub-articles being promoted on only a quarter of the cover on the same side which helped readers to not lose focus on the 'world exclusive' article.

Weekly Updates

Update

So far we have filmed the following parts:
The scene in the dark room - the photo developing in the tray
The student
The Dalo scene

We still have to film:
The party scene
The car scene
The locker scene
The scene in dark room - the pan of photographs

We have edited the parts that we have filmed. We have created these shots as if a person was taking them on his camera; in this case a man and there is a flash and a still picture.With the deadline in two weeks, we still have alot to film and edit. Also, we have to find some suitable music that will fit into the piece.

Storyboard

Although this seems liek a lot of shots for a film trailer, a lot of them are fairly quick therefore it will still maintain the convention of the speed of a trailer.

Synopsis

The typical 13th year, where the temptation of experimenting before the leave for university begins. Sex, drugs and parties are all on the to do list which all falls nicely into photography teacher Mr Appleby's cunning plan. Having easy access to hormonal teenagers the obsession and thrill of secrecy gets to Applyeby's head, sparking his earlier OCD illness that he believed was a thing of the past. However when Appleby is willing seduced by talented photogrpahy student Julia the whirlwind begins with 16 girls to follow suspicions rise as young Julia gradually misses school and is called in for a meeting when the teachers misconduct is revealed

Target Audience

As we have a very clear representation of a group of people in our trailer, it automatically meant that we knew who we were targeting. When looking at most film trailers which were based around the same themes as ours they were ranged from 12A to 18. We feel that for our particular film that 12A would be to young especially as it has reference to sex, and influential behaviour.

Influences

As we didn’t have as much time to research into different trailers, we picked films, which we knew had a connection to the themes of our new trailer idea. As the main idea behind our trailer is teenage life, we looked at more trailers, which show these ideas.

The first trailer we looked at was ‘St Trinians’ as it clearly represents the different stereotypes, and how you are categorised, which is highly common through out teenage life.

Analysis of trailer:

• In this trailer it is an exaggeration of common stereotypes, which is clearly shown through the trailer when ‘Annabel Fritton’ gets a makeover to become more like an “ St Trinian”.
• We liked this trailer as it takes snapshots of what she looks like throughout the different makeovers, and the fact that they used a combination of filming and freeze frames to make it look like a picture has been taken, as this is also what we intend to do in our film trailer.
• The colours in the trailer are bright and bold, and also the fact that there are such a variety of colours, it almost represents different feelings and emotion which teenagers experience in everyday life.
• The music in the trailer was young and upbeat with a fast tempo which is a clear representation of teenagers, as their life flashes pass so quick where they try new things and have to be up to date with the latest craze etc.

The only thing we didn't like about this trailer was the fact that it seemed aimed at more of a family audience as of the comedy of the storyline, but also as there is a lot of younger characters in the trailer. We feel that this is to young and wider audience for our film trailer as our is more intimate.

We looked at the film trailer 'Kids' which is a slightly older film, but still represents teenage life, however we felt that this trailer represents the more wilder side of teenagers as it is mainly based around, parties, sex and alcohol.

Analysis of trailer:

Snapshots of action

• Jump cuts to show the speed of a teenagers life, but also maybe it shows how quickly alcohol and drugs can affect your behaviour.
• The music represent teenagers well as it had an angry harsh beat which could represent teenage emotions.
• This is the only trailer we watched where there was no dialogue or voice overs to tell you what the story was about which is useful as we were considering using that effect possibly.

Although we looked at a lot of film trailers which represented teenagers, we felt that they all were an exaggeration of what it is like which is why we also looked at the TV series 'Skins'.

Although the TV Series ‘Skins’ is not a film, it has had a large influence on our storyline, especially Season Three. Throughout the series, there is a different storyline based around one character, however it is about their life and the struggles and worries they face in teenage life. The two main episodes that stuck out to us were episode one (season three) as this is where we meet all the characters and automatically see what their priorities are, but also we get to see the worries from boys perspectives and girls. Immediately we find out that most of their lives revolve around their appearance, drugs, sex and events. In this particular episode we also get to see the different stereotypes represented and also the pressures of teenage life for example still being a virgin. The second would be episode four (season three) which is all about still being treated like a baby, and parents attitude towards not wanting their children to grow up. This is clearly shown through the costume used- pink, frilly and all covered up so that they are not seen in a sexual way. Also this can be seen through the activities they take part in for example making brownies. Throughout this episode it also shows how teenagers are carefree, do not pay attention and want to have fun as they repeatedly take part in things which parent would not approve and is shown as they do them all undercover and in secret. In this episode it also faces up to the fact of sexuality, and how when you’re young it is frowned upon to be gay. As most of the group have either watched all the series or just snippets of it we are all aware of what it represents, and this is what we want to get across in our film too, but with a slight twist.

Kids Trailer:

St Trinians Trailer:

Initial Ideas

We knew that we wanted soemthign that we could relate too, and somehtign that we felt we could represent well therofre we have deicded to abse our new film trailer around 'Teenage Life', before we started we deicded to note down all the thigns we felt realted to teenage life and this is the brainstorm we came up with.

Filming Day 5

Casting has always been an issue with our film, as for the roles we wanted we couldn't find any actors/actresses who were willing to come to every filming day and also because of the location people didn't want to travel. So on Tuesday like we had planned we arranged to film the second half of our trailer- the scene where the couples get intoxicated in the park. As we couldn't find actors we decided that Georgina and I would take part so that we only had the task of finding two characters. However after speaking to lots of boys to play the roles of the "boyfriends" none of them were interested or willing to help, therefore we decided that we couldn't change it to four friends as we felt it would be easier to cast girls then it would boys. Again we couldn't find people to take part due to other commitments. So it narrowed it done to just Georgina, Tobie (who has been there throughout the whole process) and myself. We felt that we could film this scene in another way to still make it effective with only the two of us however after looking back at the footage it honestly didn't have the same effect as we had liked. This has left a dent int eh groups ideas about this idea for our trailer due to all the negatives-

• The location
• Unable to find cast
• We are running out of time
• All of our footage that we had shot never worked so we would still have to re-film
• No one is excited about the idea anymore

As we will have to re-film all what we have done, we have decided to pick another idea and try and film it as quickly as possible. We have already decided on the idea and have done all new research and created a new storyboard, synopsis, screenplay and filming schedule. Although the filming deadline is Friday 16th of October we have picked to film most of it in school therefore we will be able to catchup quickly and hopefully people will be more willing to take part.

Filming Day Four

Today we was meant to film in Kelsey Park, due to the filming not going well yesterday, and because of commitments with other people, we have now arranged to go to Crystal Palace Park on Tuesday to re film everything.

Filming Day Three

On Sunday 11th October we decided to film in Crystal Palace Maze and arranged to meet at 5.30, but unfortunately we had to film at 6.00 due to several circumstances involving work. Also that we were let down by two characters due to personal reasons, so we ended up changing the cast characters. We had out to female characters, who were Alice and Juliet and changed Toby to the main character.

We thought that filimg at this time would be acceptable due to us wanting to have a fairly dark effect. But the problem with this is that it got too dark and when we was filimg you couldnt see anything on the camera, apart from two shots thats look okays. This was Alice as an dead body and the unexpected shot of the back of the maze and the clouds.

As we left the park we noticed that there was floodlights around the park, which we thoguht would look realy good if they was in the maze, but they weren't which is why it was so dark around the maze.

This is the footage that we took in the maze:

Filming:Day Two

After the lesson when we had our group discussion, we asked the two boys from year 12 and they said they would be willing to take part, therefore we resolved the issue of our casting.

However due to weather conditions today we are unable to film as it is set in an exterior location and to make it effective we need the characters to be sitting down on the grass. Also due to the weather we are unable to take the camera out as it may get damaged from the rain.

Even though this is a set back to our filming, we have now rearranged to film on Monday 12th of October, but we will still be filming on Sunday like planned.

Team Discussion After Filming

Areas of concern:
Casting: the fact that we hav yet to find the last two male actors for our trailer.

Location:
We had discussed how the gravel and the wheelchair situation was too challenging and still need to think of an alternative and will soon be decideing if we are going to do this hand-held or not at all.

Availability of actors:
Our main actor Alex is not able to make monday shoots, therfore we will be filming him on weekend shoots.Our child actor will only be able to make Saturday afternoons due to sport commitments.

Filming Dates:
Monday, 5th October 2009- Kelsey Park
Sunday, 11th October 2009- Crystal Palace Park Maze

What we need to bring with us:
Intoxicated Scene: Kelsey Park
sugar
button bags
burnt grass
palmerviolet weets

to give the appearance of drugs.

empty bottles of beer, wine, vodka (which we we fill with non acholic drink, most ikely water)
cigarettes
lighter

We are also going to be givng our actors a list of clothing requirements for them to bring.

Filming:Day One

On Monday 28th September 2009, we decided that this will be the first day we start to film in the maze. But also organize the days that we are free to film. These were Monday, Saturday and Sunday.

When we got to the maze we decided to wait until early evening to start filming due to the setting that we wanted the maze to create. As we started filming, our aim was to test out to see if the wheelchair would work on and pebbly and stony surface around the maze. We tried many different ways to try and get the shot, but it failed to work, due to the surface being too bumpy for the wheelchair to be pushed on. One of the ways we tried was to have the wheelchair being tilted at an angle, but that still didn’t work. Even though there was enough space for the wheelchair to pass through, it just wasn’t working due to the surface of the ground. We also tired some hand held shots but it was still a bit shaky, and did not work very well due to the setting we was in.

Also the thing that made it more effective was that, there was rainbow scouts who were running around the maze, and as this part of our film would be fast forwarded it would create and effect for our film. Also due to the fact that we wasn’t expecting them to be there made it be more inspiriting for us.

This is the footage form our time filming in the maze at Crystal Palace Park.                               This clip shows clearly how we struggled with the wheelchair.

 

This clip is still not steady enough, however it is slightly better purely on the basis that we managed to finally move the wheelchair around.

This clip is of some footage we did that was handheld to see if it would be any smoother.

Our Location with Pictures

We are filming in Crystal Palace Park and maze.
This is an Birdseye view of the maze

We took a trip to Crystal Palace Park ourselves, to ensure we knew were we were going when we came to filming, and also to check that the location was what we were looking for. Unfortunately the only trouble we may face is the fact that the flooring
g of the maze is quite thick gravel so we may not be able to pus
h the wheelchair around the maze.
These are pictures of our trip to the maze-



This is the entrance of the maze

Audio Update Casting

Our Location

The location we are shooting at is Crystal Palace Park Maze. It has recently been reopened on 5th September 2009 by local girl scouts and is available to the public.

Screenplay

1) EXT: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK MAZE- EARLY EVENING

First shot is of DREWS fee running through the maze.
(heavy breathing and rustling of leaves heard as feet run through paths)

2) EXT: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK MAZE- EARLY EVENING

Point of view from DREW around the maze.

3) BLACKOUT

4) EXT: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK MAZE- EARLY EVENING

Over the shoulder/ POV of DREW looking at the dead body of CLAIRE.

5) EXT: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK MAZE- EARLY EVENING

POV of DREW back through the maze.

6) EXT: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK PLAYGROUND- DAY

Mid shot of AMY playing on the swing
(voice over)
________________________________________

7) EXT: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK- EARLY EVENING

Pan aroudn the circle of teenagers whilst they are drinking and taking drugs
(laughter and natural reactions form the affects of the alchol and drugs)

8) BLACKOUT

9) EXT: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK MAZE- EARLY EVENING

Mid shot of DREW entering into the centre of the maze
(heavy breathing from the MASKED MAN)

10) EXT: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK MAZE- EARLY EVENING

Over the shoudler shot of DREW looking at the MASKED MAN

11) EXT: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK MAZE- EARLY EVENING

slipt screen of DREW and MASKED MAN lookign at eachother- move to a closeup

12) BLACKOUT

Storyboard

Initial Storyboard

Synopsis

Five teenagers on what seems like a perfect autumn evening for a double date in the park. However their luck starts to change when drugs and alchohol is thrown into the mix. Drew stirs up a bet to see who gets to the centre of the maze first. Once entered, the five have to fight not only to reach the centre but to survive against themselves. Unfortunately, the five teenagers fail to survive.

Questionaire

This questionnaire consists of questions that will help us to find out what aspects of a trailer are most appealing to our target audience. We will hand these out to a wide range of people (mainly our target age) and once the results are present we will try to adopt these ideas into our project.
This questionnaire consists of questions that will help us to find out what aspects of a trailer are most appealing to our target audience. We will hand these out to a wide range of people (mainly our target age) and once the results are present we will try to adopt these ideas into our project.

Movie Trailers

Anaylsis of 'Cloverfield' Teaser Trailer

In the Cloverfield trailer, it firstly starts with a surprise party which is set in an apartment full of friends and family with a natural atmosphere and also the lighting that is being used. The way that the camera is being hand held at this point makes the audience feel intrigued into what is going on, as people can relate to that type of scene. Due to people having a good time with everyone, but also drinking and music being played. Also the fact that someone is leaving and a hand held home video is being recorded gives the audience a sense of reality as it happens all the time and makes them feel like their actually there due to the atmosphere and the scenery that it takes places in. Also the thing that are being said into the camera.

After that there is a sudden blackout in the apartment and everything stops, all you hear is an unknown noise and a car alarm. This part is very effective as it gives the audience a sense of fear as no one knows what is going on, it’s as if the audience feel that same way as the people in the film as creates a feeling a of being lost and not knowing what to do next and you’re in a confusing situation. Then, everything turns back on again and everything seem to be clear, as the TV randomly turns on, the noises of sudden movement and destructive noises occur. The sense of atmosphere plays on people’s minds as everything seem to be so chaotic and wondering what’s actually going on and what causing it.

At the point the hand held camera gives an insight of people’s feelings due to the situation that has just taken places. As the camera steadily moves across people’s conversations and looking at the destruction of buildings being blown up and parts being knocked off. This gives a further insight to the audience of what is going on due to the atmosphere and the noises of others. When the disaster occurred you could see people being to panic but also the shaking, cuts and angles of the camera was effective as it create an intense atmosphere due to what was being seen and the audience feeling adrenaline and uncomfortable feelings due to the state of panic and fear.

At this point you see crowded and the fear of people moving away in any direction causing congestion and chaotic streets. All you see people calling out to find there lost one’s and then a massive explosion occurs and knock off the statue of liberties’ head as you see is rolling straight towards you. Also the noises of peoples fear and pain being heard makes you feel a certain way. This creates a sense of atmosphere as there is a close up of what is happening and the action that is taken place gives a sense of destruction and panic due to feeling anxious and tense about the situation.

In my opinion I think that the trailer is very effective as it puts the audience in their position due to the natural effects of everything being seen in that trailer. Also, how it creates an atmosphere for the audience as you could feel slightly disorientated and build up a sense of fear inside you that you start to panic. This is due to the effectiveness of the camera being hand held as it seem like it could happen to you next or that in your mind you’d be thinking what would you do in that situation as it’s so real life.

The only thing that is a disappointment is that some part which are hand held are really shaky to see, so you don’t get a clear view of what it going on. Even though it’s probably there for the effect but it’s quite hard to catch up as there’s so many cuts and running which makes you feel dizzy at times.

Another good point is that the trailer doesn’t give away too much information, even though it creates a massive atmosphere for the audience, due to the action taken place.

Target Audience

As the storyline of the film trailer is based on a horror, we felt that the most suitable target audience would be age 15+. This is due to the conventions we would be using which are all typical to a mainstream horror film for example dark lighting and canted angles.

Influences

The task for this project was to create a film trailer, which meant that we had to look at a large number of trailers which we could use in our film trailer which influenced us. We took the time to ensure that we all knew the main conventions of a film trailer so that we would not only know what and how to create or own but also so that we could look at the different ways in which others had used these elements but in very different styles and ways to create a different atmosphere.

We used the apple website to gather information on film trailers that would help us in our influences of our own.(www.apple.com/trailers). We looked at ten different types of trailers, which ranged form horror to thriller or fantasy to sci-fi. We also looked for conventions used in film trailers which we could then use as it applead to us.

This is the list of the 10 trailers we watched, and we noted down the positive and negative points about each trailer. Doing this allowed us to be able to pay close attention to the lighting, camera shots/angles mise-en-scene and editing of the trailers.

After watching all the trailers we found that the two trailers which stood out to us were ‘The Strangers’ and ‘Shrooms’, this was becasue they were the most interesting and eye catching trailers to watch. Also the way it made you jump and the effects in the trailer which made it even more scarier. These two trailers helped us to think what we could actaully put in our trailer as it influenced us a lot. Also the postersn used aswell.

The Strangers:

• Has a fast pace- jumpy effect to help create tension
• Alternating shots
• Use of shallow shots
• Dark ligting
• Set in a home whihc makes you feel one edge as its a regonisable place
• Characters are unaware so it makes us fear- this creates a relationship between you and the characters
• Natural sounds- e.g. the swings help create an eerie atmosphere
• Doesn’t give away too much of the story so it leaves you wanting more

Shrooms:

• Fast montages
• Snapshots- which are close-ups and highlight the face of the characters
• Blur as the shadows- good use of special effects
• Fast tempo and speed
• Made audience members confused therefore it lead to greater fear
  We felt that the tittles were not complementary towards the trailer.
  
  
  

This is the brainstorm we came up with to help us decide what genre of film we wanted to do for our trailer. Unanimously we all agreed on the horror/ indie genre which is why a lot of our the ideas on the brainstorm are related around this theme.