Next step

I'll be getting the actors together and dressing them up to see what'll suit them. When 'The Damned' are nice i want them wearing clean clothes mainly shirt and smart troussers. This will represent their past of what they use to be.

Also i'll start to draw up the story board so then i am able to take bits out and move it around for the trailer and to get audience feedback so then i can improve the story if necessary.

I may take still shots of the actors in the location of improvising the scene, from this if i feel it doesn't work then i can change the scene.

Edited Photos

With Photoshop i used a technique called 'Invert', which is basically using a negative setting. I would like to use this effective for a still shot within the trailer, i think this would be effective as it would emphasis the eeriness of the film.

I changed the hue/saturation and contrasting to give an obvious knowledge of what might happen, the red representing the spilling of the blood from the victims. I like the hidden meaning from this picture, the blood red over the grass suggests that death lingers there permenantly.

With this image i brightened the image emphasising the angelic aurora it portrays.

I like how the use of contrasting emphasises the cracks and mould on the gravestones, also the showing of some specks of red on the ground which could represent the blood driplets from a victim or the monsters.

Still Photos

These are the places where i feel it will be easy for the actors to hide and and merse from the trees, i carefully picked these places out because i dont want them walking all over the graves. In photoshop i will transform some photo's to show what i am going to try and achieve.

Idea developed

I went to find locations today, i first went to a graveyard where i had a brain storm and came up with an idea, i also took some still shots on where i may be positioning the actors. The trailer/film will be about the undead and not zombies, the undead won't be rotten as it would be easier for me to achieve the make-up as trying to make the skin look rotten would be very difficult or it wouldnt look very effective. The trailer will possibly start with a girl running or looking frantically around with the voice over of her having an arguement with her mum. It will have a sped up scene of the sun going down to show that the monsters only come out at night, there will be fast clips of the monsters running, or slowly creeping behind trees or gravestones. With some of the stones being Angels, they have the ability to change the monsters back to what they were, and if i decide to show this then i will have their clothes nice and clean and an angelic look upon them as they were once good teenagers but they were tempted and became part of the rest of the damned. I like the idea of the angel being able to change them back to being normal, but showing them changing and leaving the idea of them permanently good or resort back to their horrible state. Also having a few clips of their old past and what happened.

schedule

21st November - We'll be looking at various locations and take still photo's, so we can discuss more in depth which one is more practical.
22nd November - I'll be practising the zombie make-up on my partner to test out and see what will work, by then i would have researched thoroughly on zombie films and how they interpret zombies.
1st December - On this day we hope to start filming at the locations we've decided to use.

Plan for Half term

We will be getting equipment from a friend to use for the practise filming. We will also be taking photo's from my camera, of areas which we will be considering to use for our locations, we will also try to do some practise shots containing some actors. By doing this we will then discuss which areas will be suitable and why.

Changing idea

Chalice and myself have considered that with the present idea, it's not very effective, and won't be very challenging. We've reverted back to horror as we felt it will be more effective than the nerdy hunk trailer. We've been discussing what we could do, we've mainly been discussing locations, such as burnt down builings/abandoned. Just haunted/scary places in general. In the half term we'll do some practise shots at the locations to consider which ones to use and which ones have the most effective shots and atmosphere. We may consider to do a zombie based film, but we're not certain yet, i feel this may be cliche. So i may research into zombie films which have a small budget such as Shaun of the dead, so it will help me achieve what i can. I will research the make-up as well, so when it comes to the filming of the trailer it will look obvious to the audience who they are suppose to be.

Idea

We've finally figured out what our film trailer will be, it will be about a 17 year old guy who is on a chat sight talking to a beautiful 17 year old girl, who he has been talking to for a while, then eventually the girl asks the boy when they want to meet up which is a months time, the trailer will show the days counting down and what it consists of. It's basically counting down the days of him working out and putting on fake tan, him trying to attempt to transform into a gorgeous man.

Official Trailer: 500 Days of Summer

The opening scene is a typical 'Falling in Love' the sound of the harp playing in the background as he looks at the girl, this instantly shows that he has fallen for her, as it first shows a shot of her, then the camera jump-cuts to him and slowly zooms in. I feel the next scene where they are talking about their childhood gives a scope on what they were like, when the girl says something unexpected and the music instantly stops at that point, i feel the use of the music stopping at that exact point gives the impression that you subconsciously stop as well and think twice about what she had just said. I would like to use that idea within the trailer as i feel it can create tension or laughter, as the stopping of the music gives time for the audience to figure out the meaning of the actors/actress sentence. The slow gradual built of the music progressing and becoming louder suggests that we see the progression of their relationship and how it develops.

The Notebook trailer

Changed Idea

We found out that working in a four is too bigger group, and the individual roles of one another wouldn't be clear enough between us. so we've decided to split into Two's. Chalice and myself have decided to do a film trailer with romance, either with a typical 'nerd' character trying to win a particular girl's heart, or something with darker concept, like a stalker etc.

I will research romance trailer such as The Notebook, 500 Days of Summer and Youth and Revolt, and try to find other romance movies that aren't as comical.

What the group has done so far.

Within our group we have four people, Chalice, Matt, Rathe and myself.
Chalice and i have have been considering camera angles, the lighting and the possible actors we will use, also considering the costumes and make-up.

Matt and Rathe have been drawing out the story board and also a detailed written version.

Colin

Colin is a low budget movie costing just £45, the movie is unique as it is the only movie which is told through the eyes of the zombie, where as most movies that contain zombies do not have the narrative from the perspective of the zombie.

I feel i can link to this movie as we will not have a high budget like most Horror films such as The Grudge with the budget of $10 million and Final Destination with $23 Million.

This movie tells us that you do not need a high budget to have a successful film, which gives me high hopes that the film will be successful, but not as great as a mainstream, highbudgetted movie

Opening scenes/Theories

We watched a couple of movies which have many different narratives and goes against the usually typical Todorov and Propp. Some of the opening scenes containes The Hermeneutic Code, this was invented by a man called Roland Barthes, his code was to create an enigmatic ability which is basically making the audience ask questions to why the characters are in that situation and how they got there, the information isn't explained immediately at the beginning of the movie like most movies do, which explain the setting and whom the characters are.

Examples of this is Reservoir Dogs, the opening scene confuses the audience as they dont know who the main character is as the camera doesnt focus on one particular charatcer most of the time, this gives a sense of allianation towards the audience as the conversation starts off in the middle and the audience doesn't have a clue on whats going on. This is also emphasised by the fact that the lense sometimes goes unfocused, this may have been purposely used to make the audience become more curious on what is going on between all the characters.

Another movie which does this is Sunset Boulevard, the opening scene we see police cars arrive at a murder scene, we see a body in the pool and then the voice over tells us it's him. This is a great way of making the audience think and wonder how he was murdered and why, it hassortof given us information about the character, but we don't know who he truly is.

A man called Jacques Derrida had a theory of changing the typical stero type of a character to something else that we would not expect. This is perfectly shown through The Pirates of The Caribbean, where Johnny Depp is on top of a mast which seems to be a large pirate ship, the camera angel is a low angle showing us he is the Hero, this is then turned around when he jumps down and we see the whole picture of his ship which is actually a small fishing boat. For Derrida's theory to work, you would have to know the typical stero-type before hand, pirates are usually seen as cunning and witty, also the hero is seen as the smart heroic type. In one single shot all our thoughts on the typical character is turned around.

Mood Board

I really like the result of the mood board, the genre is really strong through the use of the back ground image and colour. I like how chalice and myself have created a collage type way of explaining our ideas/theme/influences. The top left are the films which have influenced us, halloween has influenced us by the fact it is low budget and the use of low angles, Nightmare On Elm Street influenced us by the 'Dream' idea of someone going into your dreams, but instead of a murderer, it will be your fears or just your dreams killing you. The music box represents the sound we will preferably use at the beginning of the trailer, i feel this is effective because it will contrast the genre or horror and emphasis how innocent and elegant the sound of the music box is. I feel if we do use the music box at the beginning it can start out sounding calm and gradually sounding more sinister, at first this would confuse the audience thinking it's nice and calming, and will trick the audience into thinking it's a happy movie, but the use of the music box turning sinister will aid the idea that the movie is actually horror. We used the clown because people tend to be afraid of clowns so this can be a nightmare where as the bear is usually a contrasted to horror, which children may tend to dream about. We put the bear there to show that it may be one of the 'dreams' we will show that will turn evil and shows that not just fears will kill them but the things they cherish as well. The man with the knife and the question mark upon his face was put on there because usually you dont know who the killer is, and i think the trailer will be effective because people will possibly think at first it is just one person and not realising is a multiple of things. The use of the house is to show that's where we will mainly be shooting most of the footage, and also that the film is based in the house, also the woman shows that the murdering will happen when you are sleeping. I do think Chalice and myself have done the mood board successfully and people will be able to know what the film is about/genre.

More Narrative notes

source - http://www.aber.ac.uk/media

There are many ways of getting information across to the audience can be given out in many ways, and not just by the protagonist talking. 'Narrative Devices' can be used to control how the information is revealed, to which character and when abouts it should be told. One form of narrative is the use of shifting time, this can include flash backs of the past of the characters previous actions or life style, flashfowards, this would probably be used in a sci-fi film with people being able to see the future such as The Dead Zone by Stephen King. Repetition of a sequence, one story shown in many P.O.V shots. Dream sequences - someone could be dreaming about their past, or a symbolic sign within their dream represents their past, this can also show someone's fear or something which they may have picked up.

Also flashbacks can alter signs in the present time, prime example is Saving Private Ryan. The whole story is basically told in Flashback, but at the end of the movie the man at the beginning has his identity revealed showing the memories belonging to him. the point-of-view in narrative had been shifted as well.

The use of shifts in narrative point-of-view and time have several effects.

• Delaying information can build up tension which in an effort to manipulate the audience


• the use of shifting point of view can shift the empathy towards the characters.


• The power between characters can change with the use of shifting point of view.

Different techniques used by Filmmakers can be seen as having a desired effect. But sometimes the intention can be interpreted in many different ways.

Technique

Flashback, Flashforward, present. 'Effect' - Information being revealed at one point in a time frame will/can alter the understanding which the audience may have in another time frame.

Saving Private Ryan is a perfect example for this.

Repetition - effect - information can sometimes be revealed by increasing the amount of times the incident is shown, or the point- of -view is changed yet on the same incident. A good example of this is Memento.

Dreams - Effect - The use of dreams can mislead people into what is real and not, sometimes giving a false belief as the audience may believe that some events are actually taking place when really they are not. Examples - Jacob's Ladder and Mulholland Drive.

Hallucinations - Effect - The use of hallucinations are great for misleading the audiences, this situtates the audience with the character as they both have the same amount of knowledge on the situtation. Example - A Beautiful Mind

Premonitions - Effect - These are the expectations on what is about to happen in the narrative but these expectations can sometimes not happen. Example Don't Look Now

Voice-Over - Effect- voice-overs can be discrepancy which is basically talking over a certain shot but not necessarily talking about what is happening in the shot. This is usually used in trailers.

Mood Board/ Development of ideas

I've basically done a draft of the mood board with one of the other group members whilst the other two are drawing out the story board. We have been considering what movies have influenced us, whom we're going to use within our movie, where we are going to have it mainly set, the style which the film will be.
We have come up with an idea of what the first shot might be, but we may change it or ulter it slightly, the opening scene of the trailer will be shot at nighttime obviously to represent and show that the character is asleep, the music will be from a mobile or from an ornament to create a calming atmosphere giving the idea that the movie is not horror, i think this is effective as this may trick the audience into thinkingit's not horror. The camera will be shot from point of view, which is often used to show through the eyes of the killer, it will look around to show where the set is and whom the character is, the camera will then slowly move over to the victim and look above them. Then the shot is in a forest, this represents on what the person is dreaming and what they are doing, the camera shot will still be in point of view and will gradually run to the victim then it will cut. I really do like this idea as it goes from a calming atmosphere to suddenly horrific, also the idea of the mobile lullaby gives a sense of vulnerability compared to the movie, emphasising how dangerous the killer is.

HalloweenSeries.com Halloween Trailer

This trailer is very effective as most of the film is dark and hardly any light shining through, except for a few clips. The high pitched, screeching music is effective as it tends to send shivers towards the audience because it is a build up to the horrifying scene. Also it has been cleverly planned out as the sound isn't always used, which creates more tension because nothing is there to guide you when something bad is about to commence. The shots which they decided to use are very effective, a point of view shot has been used at first in the eyes of the killer which you then see a few seconds later on whom it is, it's effective because you never would have thought of it to be a child as they are seen as vulnerable and innocent. This would instantly draw the audience in as it is unexpected and they would probably want to know why he did it and his motive. It is a typical horror trailer as you can not clearly see the killer, and therefore scares us more because we can not identify him properly. Also how the title sequence keeps reappearing, they may have done this so you won't forget it and it stays in your head more than if it appeared only the once. The use of the voice over is effective as it sets the scene and also one of the characters talking about the killer, the use of background information draws you in as sometimes it informs the audience how it started, or why he does it.

Sleepy Hollow trailer analysis

Tim Burton's style consist of the use of very dark setting containing no bright colours at all. The trailer is very gripping at first as the music is quiet yet it's a gradual high-pitching noise increases speed. It's very gripping as the clip at the same time is the murderer about to kill his victim, the shots start off slow as it shows the scenery of the town, then the jump cuts increase rapidly showing the pace of the victim and suggesting how fast his heart is racing and the speed of the murderer. Also the lightning sounds commences just as the weapon comes in contact with the victim, this is effective because the audience would probably jump as the music before hand wasn't very shocking yet it was quiet and building slowly. So already in the trailer the audience knows how effectively scary the movie will be and the genre. The shots are slow once more showing us the main character, the audience is also informed by the voice-over of what he does and where he comes from, which is effective as we know what his part is in the movie and what to expect of him. As each clip shows us the characters and the setting, the use of the voice-over gives the impression of telling us a story and informing us of why the main character is there but not giving away too much. Also the music becomes gradually becomes high-pitched before it goes quieter again and to a shot of the murderer, this onces again builds tension and gives the impression of you never know when something is going to happen. The use of always variety the music and also keeping tension gives the idea of that you are never safe and you must always be weary of the murderer, this suggests we are feeling what the characters feel and is effective and we are linked with their emotions as well as ours.
This is a very effective trailer, always changing the pace, the music's pitch or tempo and the lighting as well, it always keeps the audience of their seat. I would like to use the idea of changing from one tempo to the next and back again, giving the idea you can't escape.

Group discussion 2

Another idea which we may choose for our film trailer would be about teenagers having nightmares/dreams which eventually come true. We have come up with a mind map considering the scenery, angels and the characters and what dream may happen to a particular age group, such as a child's nightmare may be being chased by their favourite toy.

The angels we could use may be extreme close-ups to emphasis the terror in the victims eyes and also making it scarier as you do not know what has killed each victim, giving the idea that it's the same monster/person and not thinking that it could be something different each time. A high angel of the person sleeping to identify what the person is doing and also sets the scene and possibly time depending on the lighting within the shot. The scenery wouldn't be the same as such, we may have a victim in hospital, this emphasises how vulnerable they are as a hospital is the sign of injured. We suggested we could have a street scene where someone falls asleep after drinking too much and their nightmare happens then.

Group discussion/Ideas

Within my group we did a mind map on which genre would be easier to achieve. We felt documentary wouldn't be in our forte as you would have to be incredibly accurate with what ever you are doing it about such as historical, the amount of propps for each scene and how they spoke. Adventure would be hard as well because where we are situated you couldn't really do it and there wouldn't be a lot of angle use, and if there were it would be very hard to do.
I wanted to do something along the lines of black comedy or horror containing comedy such as Shaun of the dead, but i felt doing the humour isn't something i can easily achieve and probably wouldn't end up being as funny as i thought it would. In the end we decided to do horror. I do believe horror is the easiest the achieve with all the camera shots to give the right effect and atmosphere, the use of pacing to show a build up to something. The use of music or sound could create a very tense scene.

At first with the camera angles it was going to be hand held camera like in Blair witch project and the clover field, but we felt it was very limiting and may not create the atmoshpere we would want it to. The first idea was the trailer would start off with a couple on a beach having a fun time, then it would jumpcut to a clip of people running through woods and screaming, then flash back again to the beach and the cheerful times within the clip, then it would finally jumpcut again to the running and the camera glances back only seeing shadows running after them. I really did feel this idea had potenial but we discussed further and felt and many trailers have done this and felt the effect probably would be as horrific as we would have hoped.

Our other idea was that the end of the film would be the first clip of the trailer and would be a girl in ripped clothing drenched in blood banging on a door screaming help, someone opens the door and asks 'what happened' the girl falls to the floor and looks up at the person and as she's about to speak it jump cuts to a slow pacing shot running in the woods, the pacing of the jumpcuts gradularly becomes faster and the scenes contain clips of them running, close-ups of scared facial expressions, then the last shot could be a close up of the eyes of the monster/killer.

The locations which we could film in - Beach - where the couples are having fun, woods - a typical scene where most movies take place, graveyard - obvious scary place as where the dead rests, oldtown - historic/distorted looking buildings helps give the eeriness of the film.

Narrative

Narrative - A story is portrayed
- Sequence of events
-The means by which a story within a film is structured and organised to create a given meaning - Normally have an exposition, which is in the opening scenes of the film and presents the protagonist and their situation or predicament
- May hint a back story to that character which will shape the characters behaviour and the events that befall upon them.

Ellipsis - Change of time.
This can be shown through when a flash back appears, it's usually in black and white.
In Momento when we look back at the man writing down important facts about a murderer, the scene is in black and white.

Parallel narratives - two stories at the same time

Tzvetan Todorov is a Bulgarian philosopher and his theory was:
Equilibrium: the state of normality of someone's life.
Disequilibrium: Something which creates the imbalance of the normality state.
New equilibrium: Normality has restored, doesn't mean the life is what it used to be, living a new normality state.

Bambi - Equilibrium - Bambi happy with his mother whislt being a young deer.
- Disequilibrium - Bambi's mum is shot
- New equilibrium - His father takes him in and looks after him.

Films can also fit into another structure which is often used, Vladimir Propp was a Russian Formalist who analysised Russian Fairytales and came up with a theory that is thought to be in most stories. The theory was that a particular group of characters always appear in most stories, especially Fairytales:

Example for the use of ToyStory 1

1. Sid - The Villian -
2. Mr Potatoe head The Donor - Prepares the hero for the adventure ahead
3. All the toys - The (Magical) Helper - Helps the hero throughout the task
4. Little Bow Peep - The princess of prize - What the hero gets once defeating the villian or the task and ends up marrying the princess
5. Her Father - Gives the task to the hero
6. The Dispatcher - makes the lack known and sends the hero off
7. Woody/Buzz The hero or victim/seeker hero - reacts to the donor
8. False Hero - Takes all the credit

There is another structure which is commonly used by large Hollywood Productions which is called 'The Classic Hollywood', this contains more sections to Todorov's theory.

Exposition - tells us a little bit about the protagonist and sets the scene.
Development - the film proceeds further and tells us more about the protagonist and the relationship with others.
Complications - A problem occurs which makes the life of the protagonist harder
Climax - The situation builds up to the problem and fights it.
Resolution - All is restored the protagonist is happy once again, basically what happens after the problem has gone.

However a film called Momento goes against Todorov's theory of the three main structures of a film. Momento starts off being in a disequilibrium state, and every time the protagonist is close to finding out the problem so they are thrown back again. This film is very effective as it breaks all the rules of being an organised film, also the idea of the story flowing through, whereas in Momento as the story goes forward it keeps converting backwards as well.

Advanced Portfolio Task

To produce a promotional package for a film. To include a teaser trailer, a magazine front cover and a poster. The work must be presented on a blog format and edited to individual taste.