research and planning: audience interviews

research and planning: meeting post

Me and my partener Gaby made some decisions regarding to making of our horror trailer. We decided that i will be in charge of the cinematography, and that Gaby will be in charge or the Mise-En-Scene. We have not yet decided on edeting and sound yet and come to a decision soon.

We have come up with two plot ideas, one being about a stalker, another about the possession of someone. The idea about a stalker has been developed further, and is what has been though of in more depth, this will probally be the idea we use.

research and planning: interview questions

Interview Questions for trailer:

1: What would you expect to see in a horror trailer?

2: What would make you go and see a horror film?

3: Which elements in a trailer make you want to see the film?

4: Does the plot about a stalker or possession interest you? Which would you preferrer?

5: Would you rather see an eighteen rated horror film or a fifteen rated horror film?

6: What kind of background music would be suitable for a horror trailer?

7: How long would you expect the trailer to be?

8: What locations do you associate with horror films?

research and planning: Photoshop challenge film poster

This is a test trailer poster for a horror film relating to my chosen genre.
I created this by using photoshop, and used the skills and techniques I learnt last year when creating my music magazine. This task was to remind myself of photoshop.  to familurise myself with the tools, effects and ways of editing images. To create this poster I chose a photo from google images of a mysterious looking dark setting, with an girl who could act as either the stalker or  the victim of a stalker. The photo is dark and looks more horror film related by adjusting the brightness and contrast on the editing effects. I didn't need to use any cutting out tools because the image featured the right setting and fit the whole space of the page. The text off the 'Stalker' title was made on indesign using a simple font, and adjusting it with the warp tool, this makes the font look scary and relates to the genre. The other effects were simple fonts, i included this because i wanted the look on a whole to look simple and lonely, relating the the person in the photograph. The writing at the bottom is featured on all real posters which is why i included it, i downloaded the font 'Steel' tongs to get the right look. For the certificate symbol and the studio symbol i simply used the magic wand to erase the background then positioned them accordingly.

research and planning: trailer pitch

Pitch from bethhawley95

Research and planning: regulation and censorship

We have chosen to make our horror film trailer a 15 certificate because we want to attract a wide audience and feel our plot and ideas would suit people of a 15+ age bracket. Our film trailer will be a mysterious and scary trailer involving possiably a stalker character, which would be unsuitable for children under 15. Our trailer will probably be shown after the watershed as it will involve material that would be unsuitable for people under 15, showing it at this time will attract the attention of the audience intended.

Majority of horror films have an age certificate at 15 and 18, this is because the genre of film is more for adults and use techniques to attract the older audience.
The actual film of the trailer will also be a 15 certificate as the content will be the as suitability as the trailer.

research and planning: the chase

This is a short horror trailer called 'the chase', in groups we created a short trailer to test our abilities for different areas, and as a practice for creating a trailor in the upcoming weeks.

Cinematography-
When creating a test trailer we used a variety of camera angles and type of shots. Majority being long shots of the characters to show there movement and actions, this was because the trailer consisted of action rather than emotion and dialogue. The beginning shot of the victim coming out of her house blends, long shots, a close up on her bag, and the a long shot front the other side of the door to show her movement. The other shots when she’s running to college uses a long shot and an establishing shot to show her surroundings, a pan movement is used to see her running past from the stalkers view. A shot I think works well is when the victim runs up the stairs, with the camera filming rom behind her, to move to a close up of her shoes running, ending in a shot from the top of the stairs. The film inside the college combines shots of long shots of her running to different areas away from the college. The final shot I a medium shot of the victim and the stalker looking at each other, this shows emotion and the worried face of the victim, all of the cinematography shows a development within the plot and the journey of both characters.
Editing-
We used editing throughout the trailer beginning with the fade effect when the character leaves her home, to her running up the street. From the running to college scene each shot I fast forwarded along with the adding of fast music, this makes it feel more like a chase. Each shot in-between the running shots and the final shot are fast forwarded but when entering the college and the victim acknowledges the stalker, the speed is slowed down, then slowed down further to slow motion when the stalker gets nearer to the victim, creating suspense the end shot fades to black which creates an atmosphere of fear, and being caught in the chase.
Sounds-
The sound on our trailer I feel doesn’t suit to the actual trailer, and makes it look less serious and more comical. We used non diegetic sound being the background music, which is fast and upbeat relating to the running, but a slow sound like the iconic suspension music from jaws would work better. If I was to improve this trailer I would change the music to give more of an atmosphere of mystery, suspense and fear. The diegetic sound we used only features at the beginning which include, the victim putting the bag on then saying “I’m going to be late’, then the slam of the door when leaving. Towards the end shot, when the stalker catches the victim and slowly walks down the corridor, there is a slight non diegetic sound of a heartbeat, which works well although it could be more noticeable.
Mise-en-scene-
We used the college to be the setting of the trailer because it was most convenient and worked well with the plot. The beginning door was actually at college but we focused on the door and character making it seem as though it was somebody’s home. The outside shots were also near college on Clarendon Road, and looks well as the looked like she was actually running to college. The end shots were shot in college, in the main hall and made the end of the trailer look good.