Filming Delay

Unfortunately, due to the weather and actor reliabilty, My plan of action has been pushed back a few weeks as people couldn't make it for film day. I will have to wait another week to be able to get another camera on time so I have been taking some pictures for the film poster.

The Idea I had was to create a sense of mystery and keep the gender of the stalker a mystery, although i did use a girl for the photos. In the trailer, there will be a scene with a slow pan and zoom in on a wall with lots of pictures of the girls together, even when they were little. Some have a sillouette shape cut out which sparked the idea of having the stalker sat a table cutting "themselves" out of the pictures in stead of Hayley's face with a target around it. I wanted it to be dark which was difficult to do at 11 o clock in the morning on a sunny day but I will edit that when I come to designing it.
Here are some of the shots (uneditted):

This took a while to play around with the lighting and find the darkest room. I especially like the last 2 images as you can see very clearly what she is cutting out and keeps her identity a mystery which would intruge the target audience. I have posted a poll on my blog for others to decide and get some ideas on what they like and what they dont.

Progress...

This is the start of my magazine cover which I have been doing using Photoshop. First, from the original images I took of Hayley looking disorientated in the Photography area, I cut her out and tided the edges of her up. I wanted to go for the style of empire magazine where they use the background like a scene from the film. This was tricky as I started off with a blurred background with almost like a blackhole or mirage of photos of the friends in the background. It didn't really look right and hurt my eyes so I settled for a textured background which looks like a wall which gave me the idea to have the images of the best friends in a perspective point of view, tilting backwards as if Hayley is looking back on her life.

Next I added the headline. I think that it stands out from the cover and follows the theme of a movie magazine by incorporating the movie strip reel. At the moment, I haven't added much text other than the halloween special edition down the side, following the research and trends of when thrillers and horror would be released.

Magazine Cover work

These are some of the screen shots for the magazine cover which I am designing using Photoshop.

I am trying to create a disorientated background to suit the pose of Hayley once I copiedher out of the orignal shot.

I want to change the perspective, to create a wall of images on the side to make it look as if that is what Hayley is looking at. This would work well because she is disorientated, giving the perspective of looking back on her life and what happened.

The second idea I have is to create a face using parts of both her face and mine to create a collage like with the stalker in the cornor, cutting it out. Very adventurous. Due to the lack of photoshop expertise, I have fallen behind schedule and we are about to break up for christmas which isn't good.

Magazine Shoot

Today, we used the photography room to do the magazine shoot for the promotional package because I wanted to use a plain white backdrop which would make it easier to edit in photoshop.
I directed her to do a range of positions which ended up to be really fun with jump shots and close up's and getting in to character exercises.

I have narrowed it down to three images;

The first picture, although a bit fuzzy, works really well to show the character which is the character in the trailer. Looking a bit distorted and worried works really well, similar to the shot of Leonardo DiCaprio on the front of Empire magazine. I would darken the background but make her sillouette stand out by making her light which would connatate her pure soul and would interact with the reader, making them feel emotion for her.

The second is the original medium shot I had in mind. She looks really happy and cheerful which would work on a magazine cover but I'm unsure about it working as a film magazine cover and whether it would appeal to the demographic. I want the package to be intertextual, link together, and this image would be too vibrant to suit the mood set by the trailer which would create a binary opposition.

The last image was a spur of the moment shot, taken just before she wanted to sit down after jumping. I like the lighting on her face and the relaxed position.

I have posted all 3 on a message to my friends on Facebook to get their opinions on the picture to see what would appeal to the target audience.

Colour Connotations

Before starting on the text for my Magazine cover, I thought it would be best to look at some of the connotations of the colours I may use. The obvious colours being black and red, typical stereotype of a thriller movie.

BLACK- Death, Evil, Mystery, Fear, Unknown
RED- Blood, Fire, Love, Danger, Anger
WHITE- Goodness, Purity, Innocence, Cleanliness
PURPLE- Royalty, Power, Ambition
BLUE- Sky, Sea, Masculinity, Knowledge
GREEN- Nature, Greed, Jealousy
YELLOW- Sunshine, Joy, Happiness

I want the writing to be bold and stand out from the images. From last year, I know Red Black and Yellow are the colours which catch the eye the most so I think I will have to experiment with the different fonts and colours but stay within the same area for the Magazine cover and Film poster.

Design of magazine cover

Despite the quality of the image (the scanners have broken so we have been using mobile uploads on to social networking sites), this is one of the designs I have in mind for my magazine cover. I did a survey in my class to desicde on the title, giving them 3 options;
The Big Screen
Watch This
Phoenix

The Big Screen won with 2 more votes than Phoenix which is why I have been using that title in my designs. I wanted to get the main star of the trailer, Hayley, to show her personality which she has to portray in the trailer which is why I have drawn the person with one leg kicked up, connatating a bubbly, friendly persona.

I have used my research on Empire and Total Film magazines to show where I wanted to put my plugs and strap line but I think I will play with them when I come to constructing it all together.

Action Plan

Look for locations for filming
Create script
Shoot for magazine cover
Shoot for film poster
Experiement with creating fake blood
Filming
Upload pictures

What I have done;

Found actors/actresses
Set out a time schedule for filming
Decided on camera and booked it out

Regulation

When creating this promotional package, it is important to consider the impact it could have on society; Regulation needs to be considered. The BBFC is strict on film trailers as well as the films themselves but because the trailer is a marketing technique to advertise the film, I think there must be an agreement between the BBFC and the ASA. Since I have targeted this film at the ages 15-30, I think the audience would respond well because they can sympathize and empathize with the characters which could lead to them then going and watching the film once it has been distributed.

To decide on the 15 rating, I wanted to compare my storyline with similar films such as the Blair witch project and the Stepfather, both of which have a 15 rating. Being a psychological thriller, the Blair witch project is easiest to relate to mine following the BBFC guidelines because it falls in to the similar categories of strong threats and menace as well as the theme of horror which covers the mind playing elements the film portrays. It also contains some strong language which would be too explicit for a 12 but there aren’t quite enough elements to make it an 18 rating.

The Stepfather, on the other hand, is still a 15 rating but contains much more violence and horror than what would be expected. The trailer is a good example for a horror genre film and again shows how the audience relates to the young teenagers who are the main characters in the film.

These comparisons made me feel confident about the rating because the film would contain the elements of horror and imitable behavior which would also make the trailer a 15, meaning that the trailer would have to be shown after the watershed time of 9pm to protect young children.

[Watershed- time period in television schedule where adult content may be shown]

The ethnicity of the cast will be Caucasian, not to be discriminative but because it is based in Norfolk, the countryside of England, mixed ethnicities are rare around this area still. It is also linked to the representation of the characters; two white, heterosexual, teenage girls being stalked by an inferior class member who wears baggy clothing (while the girls wear provocative, attractive clothing) and is very reserved.

 

Start of Storyboard

This is the first draft of my storyboard for the film trailer. I haven't included many of the Mise-en-scene macro elements which will be in the shot but will include it in the second draft before filming.

I have tried to include some semitotics as well which would foreshadow the film and lead the audience to speculate.

I really liked the idea used in the Blair Witch, creating a film within a film. I used this idea as my base and developed the rest of the ideas from there so it starts with the 2 best friends making a film about one of their lives.

The trailer will start with 2 girls giggling around, on filming, one on camera, to introduce their project, "the life of Hayley".-Take one. From there, we get the idea that they are filming a documentary for a project, a close up on the girl shows that she is pretty and popular- a prime target for trouble.

Black screen- Two innocent girls...

There is then a montage of short filming in town, walking home, in her room etc which speeds up in sync with a laugh getting louder in the background before stopping on a silhouette in a dark room in front of a computer screen. The frame tightens as the voice over starts (to be decided and posted at a later date).

Black Screen- That are about to be in big trouble...

Voice over starts while a pan around the room shows pictures of the girls on the wall. The pan ends on the silhouette and zooms over the shoulder on to a Face Book page for Hayley, the main character.

Elliptical cut to restart the scene on the same page but in one of the girls bedroom which focuses on a friend request. "ooh someones popular" says the Filmer friends who then tracks the other with the camera as she walks in to the room. "OH shut up you" (throws pillow). Dialogue between them about filming and crushes. Hayley has enough and turns to the screen.

Black screen- Most gripping film for years (5 stars)

Few days has passed (change of costume) Filmer arrives at Hayley's home, camera rolling while merrily bouncing around saying "its time to film, Hayley? Where are you? We have a dead line you know."Rings phone, hears ringing outside. She walks through the Kitchen to the back door where she sees Hayley on the ground with blood on her hands and face (Screams)

Black Screen- The definition of twisted (4 stars)

Flashes of the silhouette between a steady zoom in on a newspaper bulletin reading "Dead teenager found by friend". (Voice over)

Montage of clips of the body on the ground (still shots?) mixed in with the pin board of photos in the room with the stalker.

Black screen as a doorbell rings. We see that the camera has been but on the side board as the girl (Filmer) gets up to answer the door. (Camera is recording).

We see someone barge through and hit the girl as she falls. Ruffles as the camera is turned off.

Black Screen- From the Academy Award winning director

Trailer recommences with the Filmer tied or huddled in the cornor of the room.

Black Screen- Kill to Be...
Out October 28th

We see a glint which looks like a knife and hear the voice over laughing as the camera approaches the girl and switches off.

Black Screen- roll credits


Subject to have screens added or edited out but this is the draft ill use while filming but worked this out to last around 1 minute twenty seconds- 1 minute thirty seconds.
List of items and clothing will be added

Genre development

Over the past week, I have made some progress, deciding on the genre and what could happen.

I'm going to follow the genre of a thriller, more specifically a pysocoloical thriller about stalkers. After the feedback I got from the target audience at the cinema, I feel that this will be appealing to them and that there is a gap on the market for this type of film.

The top ten stalker films are as follows;
1. Fatal Attraction [1987]
2. Scream [1996]
3. Taxi Driver [1976]
4. Cape Fear [1991]
5. The Fan [1996]
6. Fear [1996]
7. One Hour Photo [2002]
8. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle [1992]
9. Single White Female [1992]
10. Sleeping with the Enemy [1991]

There has been an eight year gap since One Hour Photo made the list, reinforcing the fact that there is a gap on the market for this type of film, usually released around October time to tie in with Halloween- the time for all horrors and thrillers to be released because of the connotations it will portray with the halloween holiday.

After studying the trailers, posters and other marketing techniques of these films, I have come to the following conclusion;

• I will need to use red writing on the poster, and possibly the magazine and film trailer as it signifys danger, blood and death- a typical convention of a horror/thriller
• Use young people (teenagers) as they are the most vulnerable and always the target in a horror film. (Hard Candy is similar in this meaning, a peadophile grooming a young teenage girl)
•  To build up suspense and keep the storyline a mystery, I will need to use a range of shot types such as establishing shot, wide shots,  mainly close ups to show the emotion of the characters. I really likes the trailer for Single White Female- after the credits at the 'end' of the trailer, there is an added shot on the end which makes the audience jump because it is unexpected.
• Faded transitions are very strong in keeping the running of the trailer instead of fast cuts. It builds up suspense for the films, the opposite of what would be expected. For example, Shutter Island trailer uses faded transitions which work extremely well with the close ups of DiCaprio's face.
• Music and pace would change midway through the trailer and become more fast paced which is another convention of the horror/thriller genre
• Music is usually slow paced and quiet, gradually building up, some with voiceovers- an element I would like to incorporate.

Interaction

To incorporate the views of my peers and others, I have posted my blog URL on my Face book account, Included polls on this blog and created my own YouTube account so my work can reach a larger audience. I think this is the best way to interact with others so you can tailor your work to suit the demographic stereotype.

Lights, Camera, Action

We had a camera workshop to get aquainted with the equipment we may like to use. I tried with the big HD camera's to film some vox pops to send me down the right path for when it comes to planning the promotional package. I prefered using the hand held camera though due to the practicality of it.

Below are the edited Vox Pops I created and posted on YouTube for people to comment. Watching them back I realised I should have checked the white balance before filiming as everyone looks like a simpson character but I will learn from this when it comes to filming the trailer and to clear the background to help with the finished product to create a more proffessional scene. I changed from holding it myself to using a tripod which stops the consistency of the voxpops and a change of location. All of this has effected the end quality which is poor but considering it was my first camera time and first time editing, I can take all this on board and develop before filming for the trailer.

Idea's

Research; questionnaires

I stood outside my local cinema last week on half price night so I could get a range of people's opinion. The films that were on were 'Resident Evil' and 'The Other Guys'. The results were interesting to see a wide demographic turning out, not just the typical target audience which worked in my favour as I got varied results.
I asked around 30-40 people these questions;

Gender and age (help with demographic)
Favourite genre of film ( Ideas for me to chose from)
Favourite film of that genre
Favourite film in general
Why
Do you like fast paced trailers which build suspense
Favourite film magazine
What do you look for when buying a film magazine
What do you look for in a film poster

The results;

From these results, I can start planning the genre of my trailer and look at what is already on the market. This feedback has been incredibly helpful for the planning stages so now I can research into my target audience, look at specific conventions ect..

Research; existing products

This is the film trialer for Shutter Island, appealing to a similar demographic I have in mind. I love how the editing in this is short and snappy with fading transitions which make it very effective and builds up suspense which would work well for an apocolyptic/thriller/horror genre of film.
It begins with the distrubuters logo and then an establishing shot of a boat surrounded by mist which indicates the suspisuos nature of the film, foreshadowing the events. It uses faded transitions between every shot which disrupts the flow but is effective in showing some of the plot, if not the trailer would be difficult to dennotate. There isn't too much camera movement, but uses a range of camera shots (over the shoulder, 2 shot, establishing shots, wide shots) before the pace increases at around 1 minutes 50 seconds when the shots become a lot shorter before the title. There is then an additional shot where a man jumps on  DiCaprio's back before the credits which is jumpy. There is alot of Dim lighting surrounding the shots which are taken around the mental insistute which is an important factor of setting the scene, provoking the audience to be aligned with DiCaprio.




This trailer was the one used to promote the blair witch project, a film with in a film, all shot by a held hand camera. I really like the idea of using the a hand held camera to shoot a documentary or film trialer as it can see more than the average camera, moving with the person on their eye line and in the sight. The idea of interviewing the citizens at the beginning is a nice element to the film, giving the target audience a feel about the story line and characters. I think that the hand cam could only work for a horror/thriller/documentary film though becuase of the jumpy movement which gives away the type of camera used which wouldn't work for a romantic comedy for instance because they are all clean shots.

It begins with a black scene with background information on it before interviewing people, in both black and white and colour shots, giving the impression that the legend of the blair witch has been around for a while. Reviews then come on scene while there is a shot of woods and forestry. Black transitions are effective pauses in  this, connatating mystery and danger before tracking shots of the people at night in the woods. The close up of the girl is an interesting point of mood change, the close up of half her face demonstarates the hand held camera and amatuer handling while aslo showing the fear in her eye. The fact of their being no music, unlike most trailers, is very creepy but forces the audience to focus on what is said and the ambient/diegtic sounds.

Conventions

Above are the conventions which need to be included when designing and creating my magazine cover and film poster. There are also certain conventions which need to be included in the film trailer but can be in any order the producer wishes.

Studio/distributors logo
Images/clips from the film itself
Contain background information without giving the story away (voiceover/text/dialogue)
Music (suited to genre)
Directors name
Actresses and Actors in the film
(NB promote the name that people would recognise more such as James Cameron for Avatar, they played on the fact that he was director of Titanic)
Rythem change (suit the pace increase)
Title of the film
Release date (research when blockbusters and such are released)
Credits and Website

What I like the most about this film poster is the way the elements and positioning of the people already tell the story. We can clearly see how the woman in the red dress is alienated from the couple who seem protective of each other by their body language. It looks very plain with a white backgroud though which I am undecided about whether it is too light if I was to do a horror/thriller but Obsessed is also a thriller so I think it would come down to what is more powerful and how it would be deconstructed by the audience.

It is clear from just one glance at this poster that it is a thriller/horror. I love the way that it looks like a still shot from the film while still looking posed. Again, as I said on the magazine cover, I like the way which the writing is centralised as it will catch the audiences eye straight away as well as the expression on the face. The dim lighting works well here to create shadows which again connotates danger which would automatically entice the target audience.

Research; existing products

Before starting production, I decided to research some of the existing products out there which will incidently be the competion. What follows will be the products that have shaped and influcenced my decison making;

 This is the cover of Empire magazine, one of the biggest film reviewing magazines in the world. It is one of the more tamed covers as opposed to the dinamic covers they usually use. I love the medium close up they used here with the characters in costume, promoting the new Star Trek film. I think the simplistic look of the cover works in context with the genre of the sci-fi film which I think would work well with the idea of a medium close up of the star of my trailer.

On the other hand, the Total Film magazine cover is much more dynamic that Empire which I

like. The way they make Tom Cruise pop from the cover by busting and bleeding thje pictures and headers together is very effective. The layout is more centrulised which I like as well in a layout as the eye is automatically drawn to the centre. The thing which I would like to include when it comes to shooting the cover is props. I like the idea of including a prop from the film on the cover with the star.

 

Shot types

Low Angle
A Low Angle shot is used to make the subject appear taller and more imposing. These are normally used to portray someone as powerful or authoritive.

High Angle
A High Angle shot is shot from above the subject, making them appear smaller than they are. These are used to make the subject appear vulnerable and over powered

Long Shot/ Wide Shot
This shows the subject entirely at a wide angle. Usually used for group shots or to show important elements within the Mise-en-scene

Medium Shot
A medium shot is one most commonly used, showing the subject from the waist up. It allows more detail to be shown or show who is talking within a shot

Close Up
The subject's face and maybe shoulders fill the frame allowing more detail to be shown. These are usually used to show emotion in scenes and draw attention to detail.

Extreme Close Up
This allows the camera to go more deeper in to a person and show a particular detail or highlight something in depth.

Two Shot
This is used for conversations, showing two people in a shot together.

Over-The-Shoulder
The camera literally looks over the subjects shoulder, again used in coversation shots between 2 shots.

POV (Point-Of-View)
This takes the perspective of the subject, showing what they see. These can be as a tracking shot as well when the audience is aligned with the subject.

Introduction and Brief

Produce a viral marketing campaign for a new film, aiming to attract an audience primarily through social networking sites and youtube. The trailer and website will be the primary marketing tools to be disseminated via the internet. The poster and magazine cover will be the secondary phrase, adopting mainstream 'above and below the line' marketing techniques after the viral marketing campaign has secured media interest.

This is the criteria to follow regarding the production of a film trailer for the A2 media studies coursework. I will (hopefully) produce a film trailer as the primary marketing tool along with a magazine cover and film poster as the secondary marketing tools. I plan to use the internet as much as i can by posting my work and linking to it on twitter, facebook and youtube which will create a buzz around the trailer as it would if it were an actual film.

If all goes to plan, this blog will be updated regualry to keep up to date with the research, desicion making and production. So, stay tuned and check back soon.