Today we edited the footage for the trailer, to do this we used the program iMovie. We connected and edited clips together, the photo is mid process of editing. Editing the video allows us to use quality material, and ultimately create the best trailer possible. We also inserted black screens with text and other effect to enhance our final product. I have swapped different footage in and out of the cut for the trailer, to see which pieces of footage worked best. This is good because we shot some scenes a few times with different angles and shots to get the best clip for the final trailer.
This is the complete teaser poster for CREEP and a full poster will be completed very soon. We just wanted to create the 'creepy' feeling to set the scene and allow the audience to react to our poster. The teaser allows us to give away a small amount of information just through the picture and feel the blurred picture creates this effectively.
We have created our teaser poster. This gives very little away and gives minimal description which of course creates the 'tease'. Only the release date is given and a very blurry, unclear picture. This is the main character in the film and he is the 'creep'. This picture is linked to our trailer due to the creep being hidden throughout the trailer also. This picture was simply created by scanning his face onto the scanner, and the effect was great and exactly what we were looking for. We felt that the simple picture was a lot more effective as we didn't want to overthink the photo and for it to not work as well.
Today we continued our filming, this included test shots and actual filming footage.The first shot was of the victims entering the woods, and others included the abduction of one character and a victims phone ringing in the leaves, being retrieved by the stalker. We will use some of the footage that we filmed, however, some was of poor quality and only test shots we didn't consider successful and so wont use. We now have the most part of out filming done, but will still probably be filming more and developing our test shots to create quality footage.
This is a screenshot of one of the first rough cuts of our trailer using some of our test footage. I have tested different transitions and effects, particularly the 'day to night' effect to make our footage more suitable. Audio has also been added as a test but it is unsure whether we will use these sounds in the final cut.
We have started to develop on our poster for our film and by looking at a range of posters I have slightly put my own twist on it, yet kept the same feel to it. As you can see from an earlier blog as a group we analyzed a various amount of posters and have incorporated some of their ideas into our posters. Of course this is just a working progress and is just a tester.
Last week at night time we went into Gundymoor Woods and performed some shots for our trailer. Max is the 'creep' in our trailer and performed a scene where he had a knife which was covered in blood. We had night time vision on our camera and incorporated this into our trailer. This was a tricky task as we wanted to keep the knife visible in the scene, yet where we wanted to keep a small amount of light it was tricky to catch the light on it. However this task was possible and we created it successfully. The video shall be uploaded shortly. We shall be filming again as soon as possible!
In today's lesson, we've been to Gundymoor Wood and performed some test shots for our trailer. The idea of this was to get an idea as to how some of the shots would look in the real trailer, and doing test shots have helped hugely as it gives us an idea as to what works and what doesn't work.
The test shot videos are shown below and shows a shot of us running away from the camera and also towards the camera. We were happy with the shot and when it comes to the actual trailer we shall perform the same way. The other video also shows Max hiding in the woods as he is the 'creep' and is mostly hidden in the trailer. So he partially hid himself in the trees, yet him still being visible and again found this worked really well. However we may go deeper into the woods and find another place for him to hide. If this is the case, we shall upload another video showing the changes.
Made on Photoshop, animated in ImageReady. I made layers which showed the different movements of the axes, and then used the animator on ImageReady to thread together the frames and added a fade at the end to make it look more professional.
A more refined storyboard to give guidelines for our trailer.
The rough drawings give an outline of what our trailer may look like, including a montage of shots which would be edited as fast and short clips. I also drew in some arrows to show the direction of movement in the clips, such as the killer with the knife moving away from the camera.
During our lesson we went to Gundymoor wood to find good places to film our trailer. We went through the whole of Gundymoor and found good places and possible ideas on where to shot the trailer. I shall upload these photos I have taken onto facebook to retrieve some feedback and then from this upload my photos onto the blog.
We liked the way the path is straight and also windy. This means when the girl runs in the trailer she will be in view and then disappear when the path winds round. We also found an item of clothing in the woods which we want to incorporate into our trailer, or show a missing item in the trailer.
This was created before we decided on a title idea.
We have created a vague storyboard just to give us an idea as to what we want to involve in our trailer. This will help give us an understanding and develop into our trailer as we create it.
These are our title font ideas and we went around the class asking people what font they preferred. They then ticked which one they liked. As you can see two have the same amount of voted, yet we have decided between us that the second one is going to be our title. We can incorporate this in my ways, for example even scratching it into a tree. This logo will of course be put on the poster and our magazine front cover. It has a 'creepy' feeling and fits well into the horror genre of our film.
In our film trailer there are only three characters that will be shown as these are the main characters.
Anonymous Stalker
This character is mysterious and his face is never shown within the trailer. Not much is known about him other than he is a male and in his mid 20's. It is suggested that he lives in the woods and has cannibalistic tendencies, feeding off passers by and luring people into his trap.
Rosie
Rosie is an innocent 18 year old girl who is quite timid and feels most comfortable in the company of her friends. She has light hair and blue eyes. She has no sense of direction and therefore gets lost easily and has a fear of the dark.
Alex
Alex is the opposite to Rosie and is confident and not afraid of the dark or woods. She has dark hair and dark eyes and tries to stay in control of situations.
The teaser trailer we are going to make will keep a vague narrative to keep the audience engaged.
It will show two friends going into the woods, they receive a text saying 'party in the woods' from an unknown number and are lured into a false sense of security.
They enter Gundymoor Woods in a cheerful mood and wanting to find the party. It falls dark very quickly and they can't find a party and decide to split up. A scream is heard from one of the girls and the race is on to get them back together. It becomes clear that there is no party. A unknown man is in the woods and hopes to kill one of the girls. A series of clues will be left throughout the woods and one of the girls find this. This includes a mobile phone ringing which is covered in blood, with the name of one of the girls name popping up as they try to communicate with each other, yet this being impossible.
The stalker will appear in the background to create suspense throughout the trailer. One of the girls will be seen being dragged away, yet it will be unclear as to whether she is alive or dead.
The last shot will be one of the girls on their own screaming due to being alone and then blackout to the titles.
This is the entrance to the forest we are using. The location is next to college which is convenient for filming, and very local. It is a typical forest location, and in the darker light it will create an atmosphere that will be ideal for our trailer.
Map of chosen area
This map shows the proximity of the filming area (Gundymoor) next to college. The location offers various areas for filming such as:
main forest paths
other small paths
flat landscapes (fields)
motorway bridge
these offer a wide variety of options for filming. The area also has pylons and power lines, these could offer more opportunities to create different scenarios that can add a creepy look. The location is central to everyone taking part in the film and convenient to access.
I have used the front cover of Fangoria which immediately stood out to me as Megan Fox was on the cover, who is well known for her role in Transformers. On the front cover there is a consistent theme of the colour red, which represents blood and there is blood also around here mouth, to suggest pain or death. Also the title Fangoria is shaped in fang like ways which is connected with Jenifer's teeth which are very sharp. The tag line is Megan Fox will eat you alive! which of course links in with her teeth and the blood around her mouth. Also the captions around the picture are connected with the theme of death and blood. They also advertise horror films, with keeping in the connection of the 'halloween' themed magazine.
Helplessness: The experience of helplessness is one of the most uncomfortable things the audience can offer, an inability to react and help yourself, everyone can relate to helplessness, and it gives the audience satisfaction when the victim overcomes the odds, however in many horror films this does not happen
Urgency: A sense of urgency keeps the audience in suspense, and is a gripping and stressful for the audience, the audience feels part of the storyline.
Pressure: suspense and tension, the tension builds, peaks, then releases, the audience is kept on edge.
Intensity: Both good and bad, heightens awareness and causes characters to enjoy life. The audience feels a sense of reality, though it usually is just another level of the film that is they 'eye of the storm'.
Rhythm: a rhythm of intensity building and falling, creates a rhythm to an eventual higher intensity until it is at its peak, adds random attacks and eats away at our intensity.
Release: when our tension is released, and the viewers world is returned to normal, then tension is lowered, and the audience feels at ease and a resolution is sought.
Unknown: This leaves the audience in fear, and uneasy, it is our basic fear as it is an umbrella for all other fears. Everything emerges from the unknown, and it causes opportunities as well as fear.
Unexpected: We fear what we don't know, when we deal with something unexpected our expectations are ruined and we cannot deal with the scenario. The audience does not like to deal with the unexpected and insane, so it's uncomfortable for the viewer when they come across this.
Unbelievable: This is where the innocent main character is not believed, or the audience cannot believe the scenario, the audience suspends their beliefs and if willing to view reality in a different way, one that is going to be viewed in other realities.
Unseen: What the audience does not see in everyday reality, such as blood and gore. what is new is gripping and this allows the audience to extend their sense of reality, and we are intruiged by curiosity and morbid fascination.
Unconscious: When we watch horror films, we explore our inner sub conscious selves, enticed by the film to look within ourselves at strange regions that would otherwise be left alone. They give the audience and excuse to look within themselves at inner desires and thoughts.
Unstoppable: Things such as death, something that happens to everyone, what is displayed through the cinema in a gory way lets the audience think about their own destiny's, and allows them to explore gory and unusual endings.
All horror films follow certain conventions which make them seem more terrifying for the audience. Shots are crafted and manipulated to convey or imply ideas.
Low angle shots - these shots can make a figure look more important or more daunting - so we could use this shot type with a tilt up to make the trees look taller and more intimidating
High angle shots - these give the idea of being watched and makes people look more vulnerable. We could use this type of shot on our 'victims'
Establishing shots - these show the entire scene of the shot, we can use these in our trailer to shoe the location of our film
Close ups/extreme close ups - these can be used in our trailer to focus on certain objects (such as the mobile phone) and also on faces and eyes to portray the idea of fear
Black outs - in horror films blackouts are effective with sound over the top because they create the idea of mystery and the unknown which would fit perfectly into our teaser trailer.
POV (point of view) - we can use these shots in our trailer from both the point of view of the victims and the stalker. From the victims point a view, a handheld camera would be effective because it makes them seem more helpless and realistic. From the stalkers point of view a more stabilized camera would be ideal to show that he is in control of the situation.
Cut ins - These show a part of something or someone -for example a body part. We can use this to show the body of the stalker but not his face again concealing the mystery.
Today we have discussed with our lecturer about possible narrative ideas. We still want to keep the concept of the woods and losing somewhere in there and a series of clues being found throughout the trailer without giving too much away. However we're now really going to really push on making the mobile phone perhaps the main object and this will lead the two girls in losing each other. We discussed the idea of being lured into the woods by a perhaps so called friend or a stranger who tells us there is a party in the woods. Phone shots will be used to show the text, it will of course be filmed in the dark, but start lighter and then rapily get darker.
We have been looking at he Don't Be Afraid Of the dark trailer.
The first 48 seconds of the trailer is a black screen and a voice, this is to build up tension, and when the screen shows the film title, its intended to shock the viewer. the text showing the movie name are made of out clips of screaming people, this forces you to read the title and view the clips simultaneously which builds a new level of fear. Each scene fades in and out of black, with short clips, the clips do not give much away, but only strike fear. The scenes also show children, which are supposedly said to be more psychic than adults, and the vulnerability of a child helps set a frightening scene.
Between 1:17 and 1:28 the child is crawling underneath a duvet, which signifies safety and comfort, the dark scenes of the child crawling and the camera angles builds tension, and fades in and out of different duvet scenes. All of the scenes in the trailer are filmed in a dark light which adds a sense of morbidity, and the earlier clips are filmed in the night time rain, scary houses, and other traditionally horror movie settings, this fools you to believe that when the girl is under the duvet she is safe, and there is a brighter lighting, however she is not safe.
The text at the end of the trailer is bold and the background is foggy, with the text and background black and bold, this creates an eerie viewing, with eerie noise between each screen. there is no viewing of any monster, or culprit until the end with the girl scene, this builds up thinking its not that scary, until the girl is safe, then the shock hits.The scenes are all relatively general 'the dusty haunted mansion', and 'dark lighted vulnerable mother, protecting her child' which are template scenes for this kind of movie. The establishing shot is the black screen with the horrifying voice, this is very effective and is unusual and something I haven't seen before for such a long period of time, which is 48 seconds.
The trailer posters for Saw 3D are very clear in the fact they are connected with some sort of torture. The first poster is obviously a bear trap with the information inside of the trap, and the item that stands out the most for me is the saw logo which is directly linked to the character Jigsaw. They use the quote 'The trap comes alive' again showing a clear link with the poster due to the bear trap. So nothing is mismatched in this poster which I really like and would like to incorporate this into our trailer to keep a smooth flow. However although we know the supposed basis line of the story, the poster gives no real indication as to what will actually happen in the film, although perhaps a bear trap may be used. Yet nothing is given away.
The second poster is all in black , with the red writing which immediately draws you in due to it representing the colour of blood. They also put in capital letters 'IN HEART POUNDING 3-D' and again they link it directly to the picture used as it's a black heart with small fists punching out. Also this could represent people wanting to fight there way out of a space, they're trapped and there is no way out. Droplets are also coming out of the heart to represent blood and also sweat due to the pressure these people are under to win the 'game'.
The third poster is a lot brighter, however the statue which is exploding is darker so it stands more from the light background. Again they have used a quote 'IN MIND BLOWING 3D' which links directly to the statue which is exploding. This may link directly to the film also but they are very vague in all the posters which is a key thing I think. It keeps the audience guessing and also keeps them engaged and wanting to know more about the film. They've also kept the saw logo to of course let the audience know what the film is and keep that constant flow throughout.
What I really like about all these posters is they connect the quotes with the pictures, which I find really clever and hope to do in our posters.
I chose to look at the trailer for this film (Wrong Turn) in particular because it follows a similar plot line to our horror film - the idea of getting lost and meeting unfriendly strangers. The main thing I noticed about the trailer in general was the editing, as before the characters meet the villains, the editing is continuous and there are longer shots with less jump cuts, however afterwards the cuts get faster and instead of continuing with the plot of the story, only the scary scenes are show in quick flashes. This is something what would be really useful when we make our trailer, as it creates a tension towards the end and also gives the idea of the entire film plot within a short space of time - also managing not to give too much information away.
Sound-wise, instead of using a voice-over narrative, text is shown to explain the plot instead. This in particular is a feature which could be used on our trailer as it is extremely effective. The text is written in a plain font in white, which is slightly animated but still very simple and creates an eerie effect. Throughout the trailer there is non-diagetic sound overlaying the scenes which consists of long high-pitched notes.
However, for the film 'Wrong Turn' the advertising posters were less effective in my opinion. The poster consists of a girl who looks distressed and a fainter image of the villain behind her on the opposite side. The poster also has a sepia colour scheme with red text, which is a colour often used within the horror genre as it connotates blood. Although the red text is effective and we would be likely to use this in our own film poster. The poster would be more effective if the girl looked more scared or in pain, or if the villain looked more mysterious. The poster also gives clue to the location of the film by having the woods in the background, which is also a feature that we could consider for our poster.
I am creating a production company logo by using Photoshop. Using typical elements from the horror genre such as red for the colour and a shape such as an axe, I can create a logo which instantly illustrates our production company. I also hope to animate the logo so it can be used at the beginning of our trailer.
We have been deconstructing the teaser trailer of Saw 3D to help us create ideas for our trailer.
Saw is a typical horror and torture film and creates a very dark feeling. This is created by many things, the main event being that it's set mostly at night time where people can be hidden from the dark and it's also seen as a typical 'scary' time of the day. Also very dark colours are used, for example in the warehouse the man, is in a dirty shirt and dark trousers, and the room he's in is full of dirty rusting metal. This could be to symbolise blood, as when it ages it goes a rusty like colour and also has a metallic taste. There is a small daytime part in this trailer, this could either be to show the victims faces or to show someone is innocent in this situation.
When watching the trailer I noticed that there were never whole scenes in it, this is to create the tension for the audience as they aren't sure as to what's going on. Also it fades to black, and this indicates a change in time and a change in victim that Jigsaw has kidnapped. This keeps the reader engaged if there is a shift in time throughout the trailer. They also quickly zoom in and out of certain scenes, this is to perhaps confuse the audience as they don't know where they are. Where they flash up scenes so quickly this suggests the place of unknown, no-one knows the location they are in, which creates a scary atmosphere. When we are shown the characters and notice they are in a torturing position, the overhead voice says 'this game has been designed', so it's all about getting yourself out of these situations because it's all a game.
Throughout the trailer, writing also appears in big writing so the audience sees it and automatically reads it, for example 'ALWAYS SAVE THEIR BEST TIL LAST'. Which creates a creepy and twisted feeling towards Jigsaw, as he has handpicked his victims. The audience are also introduced into the jumpy, low and high pitched music. It becomes high pitched when a woman is a shown, to perhaps show a high pitched scream and is low pitched when a man is shown, to indicate the more manly, deep scream. Screaming is shown nearer the end of the trailer, to keep that engagement throughout the trailer and it's also from a man, this is almost like an opposite and it's usually a woman that perhaps screams as they are more vulnerable. We also have a narrative voice throughout the trailer to give the audience clues and again to keep us engaged. No lines are said by the characters but again it keeps that mystery going throughout the trailer.
As a group, we have chosen to make the plot of our film based on the idea of a 'stalker'. We previously created a mind map which gave a range of options towards creating our final idea.
Location
Our first idea for film locations are the woods, as it is atmospheric for a stalker film.
Another location idea would be a local field which has dumped appliances in it. We could also use this in a scene for our film, as a place for where the stalker lives.
We have decided to film both during the night and the day, as the different lighting will be needed to help the plot of our trailer make sense. The daylight scenes will also help to contrast with the scarier scenes in the dark.
Narrative
We have also decided that we may have some lines of narrative in our trailer, as well as some writing on the screen to tell the story.
A few ideas for writing/ sound in our trailer includes words about 'shortcuts' and 'wrong turns', talking inspiration from massively successful horror films such as 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and 'Wrong Turn'
Title Ideas
We will later work on our title ideas by making a mid map.
In our group we have discussed as to what we would like to create for our teaser trailer.
The main plot of this is to have three characters,2 girls who are friends and one man, who is the stalker. He stalks one of the girls, who then goes missing and her friend is left alone in the woods. Clues will be given as to where her friend is and the stalker will appear now and then in the backgrounds, with him wearing the colour red as a symbolic meaning.
We will extend on this further when we develop more ideas.
A film trailer is an insight into the genre and plot of the film, to create a buzz around the film and to gather the interest of the target audience.
Trailers can often be seen on television and in the cinema before films of a similar genre or audience are shown, before it is to be released - again to create a buzz around the film.
Genre conventions are key elements in trailers. For the horror genre, dull colours and the sense of mystery within the trailers (such as the concealment of the villain) are typical of the genre. Black is a colour often used as it connotations include darkness, fear and the unknown. As for sound, eerie music and perhaps screaming is often used rather than narration of the story which would be more common in a genre such as a romance. The trailers for horror films generally do not reveal the full plot of the film, so as to get the audience excited to know what the film is about and entice them to watch it.
By looking at trailers from various horror films, many do follow the conventions of concealment of the villain, such as 'The Hills Have Eyes' (2006) which only shows flashes of the mutants, and only body parts such as hands. It is also noticable that a key convention of horror is to have a 'damsel in distress' where a stereotypically weak woman becomes the victim in need of saving.
The difference between a teaser and a full trailer is that a teaser tends to give a lot less away, the complete narrative of the film is very unclear as it jumps from scene to scene very quickly. Also they tend to last up to a minute, whereas full trailers can last up for 4 minutes. So full trailers give you a more clearer picture of what is going to happen.
This mind map shows our basic ideas for what our horror film could be about. We have circled the ideas that we like, and also listed some ideas which are typical within the horror genre. One idea we particularly liked was the idea of having a stalker.
