Character profiles

TV static noise for opening titles

The above sound is what I will be using for my opening titles as it links in well with the sound of the antagonist character as he sounds like a robot, I am also thinking of it starting of in the dark lit room and this character playing the music that goes really slow for a little bit then this sound kicks in to show the name of the film.

Trestle mask for antagonist character

I am wanting to use one of these trestle masks for my antagonist character, who has an unknown identity and a robotic voice. This then helps to create a sinister atmosphere because by wearing this the person then becomes more creepier and up to no good, this in turn helps the audience to understand portray this character as the villain who is gonna make someone's life living hell. As well as this by having a creepy looking face like the one on the bottom left helps to create a picture of what might be going on in this persons head and we will know that the antagonist character is a male by the way he is dressed but every other personality trait is unknown.

Technology that I am going to use

Looking back at action plan

From the above I have looked back at what I have done so far for my coursework and I am nearly ready to start filming, as I have done a lot of research and planning to help me film to a high standard.

Film treatment

Setting and Location

Masked Man scene

The above room is the scenes that I will use for when the man with the mask is looking at his pictures that he has taken and this is also his secret hide out. Also I made sure that the atmosphere was in a way calming to link with the idea that this antagonist character is a normal person with issues associated to murdering people. In addition, linking to the Propp theory I wanted to show that the person in these scenes was a danger to the innocent Samantha when it comes to the sound change in the scenes and causes a disruption in Samantha's safety.

The woods scenes

From these pictures above I wanted the audience to see that Samantha was walking home from school (evidence from mise-en-scene references, black trousers and a back pack) and minding her own business by sitting down and admiring the wildlife around her and taking her headphones out. Also using this location allows there to be created an eery atmosphere of loneliness and innocence, from the narrative theorist Todorov suggests that most narratives start with a state of equilibrium in which life is 'normal' and happy and this shown from the beginning scenes where she walks down the woods minding her own business by having everything calm and silent and then something unexpected happening which will be the antagonist character attacking her then trying to get away. 

Final script

Final storyboard without titling

From the above storyboard I have come up with the overall narrative as this is extremely important for my intended audience, I have also tried to make sure that there is evidence of a disjointed narrative that may not be in the order of the actual film if it got created.

Fonts for title of film

From the above information I have decided to go for font three as it links in very nicely to one of main antagonist characters who will have a robotic voice to make more eerie and create tension throughout the trailer.

Practice go at doing double exposure

from the above image I have done it step by step to the YouTube video that is shown below, but I then changed the brightness to vivid light to show the contrast between big ben and the main person in the image and by doing this practice run I am going to try and do something like this for my film trailer poster overall for my ancillary product.





Example of a character profile

From looking at the above video I have discovered that you need to think a lot about the tiny details of the character and the personality traits that they have throughout the film or in this case in a TV Drama 'Game Of Thrones'. Also even though one of my characters might not show their identity I will still show the personality of this person and also show personality traits, likes and dislikes etc. of Samantha as her identity is not hidden. This links to the Propp theory where typical characters need to be put into different categories:

• Hero - a character that seeks something
• Villain - who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest
• Donor - who provides a object with magical properties
• Dispatcher - who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message
• False hero - who disrupts the hero's success by making false claims
• Helper - who aids the hero
• Princess - acts as the rewards for the hero and the object of the villains plot
• Her Father - who acts to reward the hero for his effort

In my trailer there will be a villain, however there won't be any clear evidence of a hero as this then effects the whole plot of the film and I want to show ambiguity and make the audience guess what might happen, so they then go and watch the whole film. As well as this, I need to understand exactly what my character wears, likes and dislikes and all of the other important features that they may portray but not show too much to the audience because all they are interested in is the narrative.

 http://www.slideshare.net/LauraaRobinson/propp-theory

Survey - possible name for my film trailer

Overall for the name of my Film trailer I have gone for "Samantha" as this creates an enigma code towards who might be in the film and why this name may be significant. From doing this questionnaire with my peers, they thought this name would be the best as it gives connotations towards this girl being the main character. Also, it got a total of 5 overall and I decided not to name the trailer"My Girl" because there is already a film out their called this and I wanted something different to be used so it would make the product unconventional and stand out to the public. 

idea for ancillary poster

Double exposure examples:

 

Step-by-step instructions on how to make a double exposure picture:

From these examples and tutorial I have come to a decision that I will do this for my poster as I can have two contrasting features from elements of the film and this also links to postmodernism of Bricolage, which refers to the adaption of improvisation where aspects of one style are given quite different meanings when compared with stylistic features from another. Also I will add two of the main characters in one picture to show two different personalities and to make the audience wonder who the person may be in the background using the double exposure technique and this gives the poster two meanings.

Trailer examples - full marks

From looking at the above trailer it shows shooting material that is appropriate to the trailer task that this person decided to do and it includes controlled use of the camera, very high attention to framing the different scenes by focusing on the different issues at hand rather than on a particular topic and giving 

• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot sizes and close attention to mise-en-scene

• editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects

• recording and editing sound with images appropriately.

This has helped me to understand exactly what a trailer on the top mark sheet band needs to look like and I will use this example to help create a trailer that goes with its connotations of how a trailer should be shown.

Non-Linear storytelling

Storyboard - draft

Draft storyboard

Above I have done a draft storyboard but focusing on the narrative and plot at the moment for my trailer as this is important for my intended audience and I want to get this accurate for when I film.

Sarah's opinion

There needs to be establishing shots at the beginning with trees and the forest - no music needs to be played in these parts and there should be silence and then after this to make it creepy the record player should start playing the slow scary version. As well as this there needs to be scenes back and forth between the person with the mask and the young girl Samantha. After that, there needs to be close ups for the second to last clip of the man with the mask saying "She will never get away from me, she is my girl!" then near the end the picture of Samantha needs to be shown. However, to show different parts of a film there needs to be a bit evidenced where Samantha tries to get away from her kidnapper, but at the same time doesn't give anything away whether she does or not. Finally, needs to be less like a short story and jumbled up a lot more so the audience have to watch the film to know what order it goes in.

Sam Howard's opinion

Too much like a short film and needs to have snippets of bits of scenes from the film, as if I have actually made a blockbuster film, without giving too much away.

Mrs Fisher's opinion

Attempt to repair something but not show an exact happy ending and to also do more research on filming at night. Like the other ideas from Sam and Sarah there needs to be more snippets from the film to make it more exciting.

Stylistic influence - The Missing

From watching this program and absolutely loving how it is shot, as well as this when you think you have the answer then something else happens, I want to do my film a bit like this TV drama The Missing, as it helps the audience to want to understand what has exactly happened to this girl and whether there is anyone else? Also it helps me to create my own narrative but without making it too similar but there is a girl who will get kidnapped in my trailer so this will help me a lot.

Script - draft

Haven't come to a decision yet towards production company names and the name of the film, at the moment just focusing on the plot and the narrative because from my Questionnaire my intended audience said that this is important when it comes to a trailer.

Questionnaire and results analysis

From the above many people don't enjoy most Horror trailers and that is why I have come up with the idea of making sure it isn't too scary and shows two genre elements of a Horror and a Thriller trailer. As it would be a lot more easier to present a 15 rating, without the extremely scary elements with blood guts and gore from Horror.

Mainly needs to be 3-4 minutes long showing snippets of exciting parts of the film. Also even though my intended audience suggested they like US films, my trailer won't represent any particular region/area.

Even though there is mixed opinions, 4 people really like a Horror genre and even though 3 people liked the Thriller genre I am going to use this genre in the trailer too. Also many people prefer a good narrative to the trailer as this will help them to become more likely to watch the film, linking to Todorov's Narrative theory of most narratives starting with a state of equilibrium in which life is normal, this is then disrupted and fought against in order to return to a state of equilibrium and I will try and show bits of this in my trailer while remembering to not give everything away.

In my trailer the antagonist will have an unknown identity as that is very popular from my intended audience, the antagonist should be shown but briefly or hinted at and finally I am not going to use a predictable scary location and it will be unconventional and not expected or seen in the trailer.

Fianlly, I will use a voice over to help the audience understand exactly what is going on giving little tiny hints a long the way and this sets up an array of proaeretic questions such as "will the young girl ever get away from this person?" and "Who exactly is the unknown person?".

Advanced google search for music - my girl by the temptations

Above I have made sure that I looked for a song that can be free to use or share, this is important because all my songs need to be copyright free. At the moment I am now editing this song to make it slow and spooky for my Horror/Thriller trailer.



Asking for permission for using "My Girl - The Temptations"

From the above I have sent an email to Motown company for the music that was created by The Temptations and I made sure that I said how much I enjoyed the music as well to help the produce understand that it is useful for my work, and I will reference this song underneath my trailer that I have created when publishing it on YouTube.

Music idea for trailer

By having this song I am going to slow it down to 0.5 for the speed and to see how it is done you can click on watch on YouTube, then settings and click speed to 0.5 because I want to have the music quite slow and right at the end it will go even slower to 0.25. Also in one scene I will have a record player playing music with with candles around it like a shrine to add a bit more of a creepy atmosphere, near the end the antagonist character will blow the candles out and everything goes pitch black.

Horror/thriller trailer - initial ideas

Email asking for a mask for my antagonist character

Above I have sent an email out to my teacher asking her whether I will be able to use one of the Drama Masks for my Media trailer.

Differences between Thriller and Horror trailer

From looking at both pieces the difference are:

• Horror has people who get possessed and sometimes the crucifix is involved to get rid of bad spirits
• Thriller genres often use the police and Horror movies use a lot of violence that creates an atmosphere of everyone being helpless
• Horror movies are set in an isolated places and Thrillers can happen anywhere
• Fast and loud music is often used in a Horror trailer to create tension
• Violence in a Thriller trailer is not as horrific as a Horror trailer and they shouldn't give too much away

From what I have learnt I will try and do a Horror/Thriller trailer, as this would be a lot easier because I don't want too much blood cuts and gore involved in it as it would be difficult to do and won't meet the audiences needs. I have also created a questionnaire to help me to decide exactly what the plot will be like including key characters and their characteristics.

The above idea links in well with the Steve Neale theory where genres are instances of repetition and differences, this is proven from above because some genres are shown in a similar way and from a Horror and genre perspective they create suspense. often dark and eery music is used and it is dark and dull throughout to create a sinister atmosphere. But there is always a difference as well - this helps the audience become more interested. Finally, it also links to Miller's theory with the perception of genres being different when it comes to the audiences point of view for genres and their may be specific ones that are preferred more than others.

How to do a storyboard

From the above video I have learnt that you don't have to be an expert at drawing to be able to create a storyboard, also this man in the YouTube video discusses about how to exactly show each bit of a scene with tips and tricks to show every little bit of detail to help when it comes to the actually filming process. A well as this, I am wanting to see what the best option is for creating a storyboard whether that is online or on paper and I feel paper is the easiest option by far.

Call Sheet examples

Reference: http://www.starboardmedia.co.uk/call-sheet-templates/

From looking at the above website about how to do a call sheet it is important to know how to get to and from the setting and location, what time everyone needs to be there for, who might need to be there and how to contact these people and what the preparations they will need in terms of clothing, equipment etc. (mise-en-scene). Also the things that need to be separate from this is having a risk assessment, shooting schedules, scripts, in depth travel and accommodation information. To do this I will have to explain these in more depth on a massive document file, however the call sheet will be all the crew and cast and there doesn't need to be a lot of massive detail in this and I will make sure that I keep this in mind for when I get towards my planning.

Organisation to-do list for filming

Above I have done a class discussion with my peers towards what organisation skills need to be taken into place to make sure everything is filmed as accurate as possible, and to also create a professional touch as well, as if it was a blockbuster film being created. From the above list I will be make sure that every bit of this is shown throughout my planning, to help make every little detail the best it can be and nothing also goes wrong while going through the filming process.

How to write a film treatment

From the hyperlink below I have learnt that you need to be able to:

1. Know the length - treatments can be around 30-40 pages, there is no correct length for a treatment as they are for a certain audience.
2. Creating the log line - most screenwriters begin with one-to-two sentences description of their story. Ideally it should include a main character, the main antagonist, the nature of their conflict, genre elements and hints of the plot through, but you shouldn't reveal the end in it.
3. Some writers expand the story outline, letting each bullet point represent a story beat or a scene, so then the final product approximates a rough scene outline of a story. Other writers prefer a categorical approach, where they explore different aspects separately not usually in chronological order
4. understand that the form should suit the reason for which you are creating the treatment - make it as simple as possible, while making sure to convey the elements that make it stand out

From learning how to do a film treatment I will make sure that there is a short story that is created on it without giving the ending away and it should be set out a bit like a script. Also the overall treatment needs to summed down as simple as possible, to then be able to convey the elements that make it stand out and not make it too boring and it is important to have it in chronological order as I feel if this wasn't done then it would become incredibly confusing.

Reference: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Script-Treatment

Extended analysis on my intended audience

Personality traits
- Moody
- Hormonal
- Depressed
- Happy
- Try to fit in with the crowd
- Looking for a relationship
- Bubbly
- Friendship is important to them
- Open with their feelings


Popular websites they would visit
- Social networking sites
- YouTube
- Forums
- Google
- Yahoo
- Wikipedia
- EBay
- Amazon
- Microsoft
- Pinterest


Music that they might like
- 80s music
- Rock
- Pop
- Indie
- Classical
- Blue's
- Swing
- Rap


Where they would live - use Acorn
- In the city
- Town
- Working class background
- Middle class background

Questionnaire to my intended audience

From doing previous questionnaires I have discovered that many people find it difficult to understand exactly what my questions where aiming towards, as they needed it to be more specific and less media terminology needed to be used as well. Many of the people who I would of asked might not have the full broad knowledge of different Media terms and phrases as much as I would at A level. Instead I will be asking my intended audience which are 15 year old's as I don't want the horror trailer to have too much blood cuts and gore involved in it, below shows my questionnaire that I have thought a lot about that will overall help me with the creation of my actual trailer:

Identification of audience

Moodboard | Quickly build beautiful moodboards and easily share the results

The above mood-board, that I have created, is giving detailed information about what my chosen audience of teenagers aged 15+ would like to do, eat and wear etc. also my overall Horror movie isn't gonna have a lot of blood cuts and gore in it, but instead mostly jump scares. I feel as though I have now understood exactly what my audience are like and how I think they are represented in a stereotypical way.

Different horror characters analysis

From looking at this the narrative theory Propp: character functions suggests that:

• The hero that seeks something
• The villain opposes or blocks the hero's quest
• Donor provides the object or info that helps the hero
• Dispatcher sends the hero on his/hers quest via a message
• False hero, disrupts the hero success
• The helper who aids the hero
• Princess acts as a reward
• Princesses father rewards the hero
• Discovers the struggle scene and recognition scene = Hero
• Struggle between hero and villain is unmasked

From the above of the main antagonist character their may not have all of the above criteria shown, this is because in a trailer giving too much away will make the audience not want to go and watch the film. However I will keep the above theory in mind to help me create a narrative for my Horror/Thriller trailer.

Steve Neale theory 1980 &1990

Reference: http://www.slideshare.net/HeworthMedia/genre-theory

Having another look at my action plan

From looking back at my action plan for the second time I have added more posts on my blog, showing that I have good time management skills and also by doing all of these posts it allows me to get enough information and findings as possible because this helps make my trailer the best it can be.

Note to self month/day/year

OCR coursework brief

http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/ocr-a2-media-studies-g324-brief-two-promotional-package-coursework-guide/

From the above website I have learnt that in this A2 coursework there needs to be:

• Planning and research evident on Blogger (this is worth 20 marks)
• Production Portfolio 2 x Ancillary (10 marks each) and main task (40 marks)
• Evaluation (20 marks)
• Main task: Film and edit a trailer
• Ancillary Task 1 = Design new independent film magazine front cover featuring promoting the film
• Ancillary task 2 = design a film poster promoting the film

Throughout my research and planning I will be making sure that I understand how a trailer should look like and what it can and can't show. Also I will be explaining in more detail about the package of a whole film giving evidence for each and individually looking at film posters, magazines and trailers so I have a organised game plan of exactly how I want to come about making my overall product.

Film poster analysis #3

When analysing this poster I won't have as much money to spend on my poster that I am going to make and definitely won't use CGI or SPF as this is too expensive. But this poster is really useful in giving maybe an idea of what the film may be about and it is also very simple to figure out that it is a sic-fi adventure film.

Self Assessment feedback on R&P

Above is the self assessment that I have filled out and my teacher has filled out too and from my teachers feedback I have found out that I need to make sure that I proof read all written responses, concepts and theories as possible, compare work to exam board examples, audit mark scheme and cross reference with the blog and improve structure of textual analysis by using sub-headings. By understanding what needs improving, I will make sure that I will do these improvements to help make my coursework sound and look professional. 

Film poster analysis #2

From looking at this poster I have figured out that lighting used is important to distinguish what exactly the film is going on, in this case it shows that darkness is coming but our only hope is Harry Potter and I will be using this type of idea for my overall coursework.

Film poster analysis #1

From analysing this poster I have discovered that the poster uses images relating to what happens in the film and usually the main actors are on the poster too, by doing this analysis it gives me some ideas on what I should do for my Horror poster.

Industry regulations for a film

Used the above information from my AS coursework as it is relevant to help me give an age group for the audience I am wanting to aim my trailer at, at a later date I will identify specifically what audience I am going to aim my trailer at.

reference: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification

Downloading classification study - audience feedback from a secondary source:

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/Downloading%20classification%20study_0.pdf
From the above link I have discovered that many audiences don't watch something if it hasn't been approved with the specific age group that have been approved to watch it, and this helps me to discover how people choose what film they want to look at and how it may be syntactically packaged determines whether the person wants to buy it or not. Also this data is right as it uses the adults who are concerned about the age rating and doesn't talk about the youngsters who illegally download or don't care what the age of the film is, so really they haven't asked the most important age group which are mostly teenagers.

Semantic/Syntactic approach on filming - Altman (1984)

Above I have analysed exactly what audiences may expect a film trailer to look like and what things need adding to keep them guessing, thinking about the location and plot I want to not give too much away and then ruin exactly what happens and I need to make sure that the genre is shown throughout this trailer to give the product a package and identity.

Analysing film package

Package of films analysis from Megan Ladds

From the above analysis I have figured out that when creating a package for the film every little detail like the poster and the magazine needs to link in with exactly what goes on in the trailer, so then it can get the different audiences to guess exactly what might happen in the film and each bit of it needs to show the most important parts of the film to get audiences to go and watch it. But most of the films mostly use well known actors to get the publicity up to a high amount and this allows the director to show off these actors when it comes to advertisement, the reason being many films become popular due to the fact that they have actors that have been doing films for a long time and know what they are doing and this makes the film brilliant to the watching audience. However, I won't be able to include this as I can't afford to get well known actors and instead I will be using my friends and family instead in the trailer.

Trailer for Inception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM
Trailer for Avatar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PSNL1qE6VY
Trailer for The Day of the Doctor - Doctor Who: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z6FMCqYrBo

Audience Effects Theory

From creating this above video I am going to use these theories when it comes to identifying my audience and to also make sure that I understand exactly what each one means, as this is important when I want to know what audiences like and how they may interpret different pieces of texts or film etc. that have been created throughout the film industry.

Example on how to categorise a specific audience

From the above I have found out that there is many categories that different groups of people go in and this will help me identify my specific audience. For example, I will know what they like to do, where they may live what they wear etc. and use the example picture above to make an all round decision on the appropriate audience for the Horror trailer I want to do.

Reference: http://acorn.caci.co.uk

Audience feedback - expectations of Horror trailer

Audience Expectations from Megan Ladds

Filming at night

From the above tutorial I have learnt that if I want to film my trailer at night then it needs to be on the correct camera focus and there needs to be enough light flowing through the camera so you can see the image, this may mean that when I film I will need to use lighting that is effective with what is going off in bits of the trailer. This may be by using a key light (highlights the main object), fill light (softer than the key light and lessens shadows around the subject), back light (placed behind the subject, creating a silhouette effect), high key lighting (reduces the amount of contrast, creating a happy scene) or even Chiaroscuro (contrast between light and dark and creates depth and volume). These will be useful to think about too by having different pieces of light, this can help add effect towards what is going on a piece of footage and this video helps me a lot towards how to film at night professionally.

Looking at examples of Horror trailers

From the above trailers I have discovered that many of them start off happy and jolly and it is just a normal average day and then hell breaks loose, this shows that the director wants the audience to feel calm and then out of the blue something unexpected to happen. This shows exactly how Horror trailers are created and the audiences expectations then start to increase towards what might happen when they go and see it, plus I will be using some of these examples to help me with my trailer as they show a really good style for the genre and give me great ideas for the plot that I want to create.

Research on specific Media Industry

Brief history of Horror films throughout the years

The History of Horror from FilmmakerIQ.com on Vimeo.

Above the man on this talks about the different films that are made and the Industries that are involved in created each film as well, this is very helpful as it gives me a little background information of how Horror films have been made throughout the years. It also shows how much Horror films have changed throughout the years and this genre has had an extremely low budget as well, most films in the 1940's used shadows instead of make up and special effects as this creates a scary atmosphere. I feel as though I could use shadows in my film as I haven't got a large budget either, so doing this idea will give it a horror edge and this idea is effective in showing a dark atmosphere and something terrifying is going to happen to the main character.

Looking back at my action plan

From the above Spreadsheet I have gotten to the point where I need to start researching my package as everything that is made in the Media Industry should all link together including the magazine and poster. Also I am going to start looking at different industries and their industry regulations, but I feel as though I am on top of everything and organised with what I am wanting to do overall for my coursework as I am aiming towards creating a trailer.


Note to self: Month/Date/Year

How to make a horror film - example for trailer

From the above Prezi presentation which I have summed down to the important parts, I have learnt that when focusing on the Horror genre you need to make sure the villain is the main focus. This then can mean that the trailer can be good or really bad depending on how scary this villain really is. Also when having a Horror there needs to be long takes for a scene to be able to build tension before seeing the villain, otherwise it can be boring and not make the audience scared enough. In addition, this is what I am mostly trying to aim towards and these key ideas is what I will keep in mind as I feel as though for my trailer the genre will be a horror.

I have paraphrased the above information from http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Horror-Film as it will help me with how to get a Horror film look. 

Stylistic Influences

From the textual analysis of the three trailers I found out that I need to make sure that a variety of camera shot angles, mise-en-scene and editing needs to be done precisely so the music and dialogue used flows correctly, plus at the same time not confusing anyone watching it. Also I will be using ideas like a POV shot from a character, as I really loved this from the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies trailer as it showed the point of view from the zombie as Mr.Darcey killed it and it was just filmed brilliantly, making it feel as if the audience members had all turned into a death eating zombie. As well as this, I have found out that the dialogue used links in really well with the scenes that are shown, to help make people understand a little bit of what is going on but not everything as they will see this when they see the actual film. Many trailers also start with an establishing shot to show where everything is set except from Before I Go To Sleep as this was supposed to show that she didn't know where she was; she kept forgetting everything the next day. This would then be understood by the audience that she can't remember her past life and something suspicious is going on in her present life.

My idea so far...

From learning what a trailer should look like, I would like to do something Horror or Thriller related as then I can add tension and make the target audience that I am aiming towards want to know exactly what happens. I will also have a lot of fun filming this by playing about with what type of Horror I want to do as there are many films out there I can look at and the same with Thriller movies too and I can give it my own identity. However I haven't come to a decision yet between both of these genres, so to help me make a decision I will start to look at both genres to then see which one is best for me to be able to film easily.

How to create a brand image

From looking at the below hyperlinked website, the things that I need to look out for when it comes to creating a brand should include...

• Have strategies towards what I want to do from the start, making sure that I create questionnaires to see whether my peers think it is a good idea or not and this will help me have a clear idea for what people want to make something successful. 
• Need to work with a brief, do research on brands that are already out there and understand exactly what audiences like to see a trailer to look like for a specific genre otherwise it won't stand out
• Know the audiences expectations
• Check the competition for my coursework by getting ideas from what my other class mates have done or past year 13s work
• Consider the bigger picture of the brand and don't just focus on the logo as it needs to all one thing
• Don't ignore the target audience as you want the trailer to appeal to them 
• Spot what everyone looks for as I want to connect with people that I am making my trailer for.

Reference: http://www.creativebloq.com/branding/create-brand-identity-1233282

How to Develop a great story

Above I have used an app called CamScanner, to allow me to use this information to help me with how to develop a story for my Media work. From this information I have found out that it needs to engage the audience and audiences want to have connections with the character with the characters. Also from this book it says that there needs to be a lot of research into the genre, otherwise there won't be a clear plot that is organised and because I am doing a trailer it still needs to flow and have a clear identity so by doing this the audience can then fall in love with it leading to popularity.

Reference of book: Digital Filmmaking Handbook by Mark Brindle, Foreword by Chris Jones, publish date 28/02/2013 and pages 120 - 121

Textual analysis of existing products #3

Star Wars - The Force Awakens - Trailer

Narrative

This film is set 30 years after the destruction of the second death star. Luke Skywalker is the only person still remaining and he is a Jedi, but has disappeared away from everyone who needs his help. Two new characters fin, who was a Stormtrooper, and Rey, who is an ordinary girl but has amazing powers of the mind, meet up out of no where to discover BB8 with a very important map. He firstly, discovers Rey near a junkyard settlement and Fin meets Poe BB8's master who was a prisoner and tried to kill the first order. Rey and Fin meet and they suddenly figure out what everything that is going on is to do with and what they discover is extraordinary. Following on from this, many well known characters from the old Star Wars movies are back in it again including Hans Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). This gains a lot more popularity as the audiences know how good these actors act and they have also been involved in Star Wars ever since it started, this links in nicely to 'The Star System' because certain actors can be an important part of a films iconography.

Mise-en-scene

For this trailer the Mise-en-scene is used very frequently throughout from the way each character is dressed, the props (especially the well known light-sabers), the lighting and the sound creates each character as an individual as they all have their own identity. Linking still to Mise-en-scene we also see Stormtroopers near the beginning as the costumes they wear stand out a lot as danger, towards making the audience wonder what is going to happen next? What are they planning? Also we see a unique Stormtrooper as he says "he has nothing to fight for" this suggests that he is against whatever is getting planned and is unique to all the others, as he is taking is life into his own hands by doing the right thing.

Camera Shots

Also at the beginning of this film trailer there is a close up of the character wearing a mask around their face, this shows that this person is in a humid environment trying to protect themselves from something or might want to even hide their identity at first so the fans can keep guessing towards who they think it might be. The Director might of done this to suggest that everything is calm and nothing dangerous is happening yet, to also link to this person's unknown identity dialogue is used from a character who asks "Who are you?" showing that she might be one of the new characters. We then as an audience see a long shot of this person, still not sure whether she is female or male yet and then when we hear her voice we know it is a female "I'm no one" suggesting that she feels as though she isn't unique in any way and the audience wonders why she might have said this. Is it because she doesn't want the attention? We then see her doing her day-to-day job with a medium shot in the next scene, suggesting she is minding her own business and just likes being on her own without an identity.

Editing

When we see all the main characters the music then picks up as the lighting is dark red representing something dangerous is just around the corner, this even have a symbolic meaning towards a someone getting killed, this foreshadows something unexpected is going to happen. We also have a close up of the dead Darf Vader, this shows that something treacherous is going to happen as there is a new villain involved. As well as this we see a man being tortured be we don't know what for, this then links to a destruction of a planet, giving a symbolic meaning that whatever this person is getting out of him it can only mean death and destruction is coming. On the other hand, diegetic sound is used when we see the Millennium Falcon and this gives the spaceship identity and we understand exactly what it is when we hear this well known sound. When we also hear the Star Wars music being used it shows all of the fighting going off and the camera is mostly aimed at the main characters, especially Fin as there is a tracking shot used of him to show everything that is going off around him but most of all it is now down to him to get everything sorted and stop this war for good. In addition, when more dialogue is used "the force it's calling to you" the audience doesn't know who this person may be as every character is shown at the same time it is said, this makes the audience want to find out by going to see the film at the cinemas or buying the film on DVD to see who this person may be.

Extra information

Overall, there is a lot of special effects used in this piece as it is a sci-fi film, often made by computer generated images (CGI) to create meaning. This helps make the film look like it is set in space and different worlds that we have never seen before, creating a picture of what exactly is going off without making it too confusing and this takes a lot of time and effort to get perfect plus a lot of money is paid out for special effects as well.

Richard Dyer's Star Theory Analysis

Richard Dyer’s Star Theory from Megan Ladds

Above is a really helpful PowerPoint, as it gives background information towards what audiences are looking for and what makes a product stand out as well. Following on from this, even though I haven't got well known celebrities that will be in my trailer I will have merchandise to help make it popular for example a magazine etc.

Reference: http://www.slideshare.net/conmann2997/richard-dyers-star-theory-36585778

Textual analysis of existing products #2

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies - Trailer

Narrative

This film is set in the 19th century, where a mysterious plague turns the English countryside into a war zone of the dead. No one is safe as the dead are coming back to live from the black plaque that broke out many years ago. Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) join forces with Mr. Darcey (Sam Riley), a handsome gentleman that doesn't listen to what people tell him to do. However, Elizabeth can't stand Darcy, but does respect how skilful he is at killing the death eating zombies. But they do unite when it comes to blood being soaked on the battlefield, so they can save their country once and for all. Also in this film many well known actors are used to help make it more popular to the audience, as the people have seen the celebrities before and they know that they have a lot of experience in this field and the director looks mostly for people who have a lot of experience to give the film the publicity it deserves.

Mise-en-scene

In this trailer the women are dominant than the males as they know how to fight and have been learning to do so all of their lives, this symbolic code shows that the female has a higher hierarchy over the males as they can look after themselves and don't need a knight in shining army to help them when in danger. Also this links to Maslow's hierarchy theory, when the theorist mentions about physiological needs this is certainly shown in this trailer where the women needs physical requirements for human survival and in this case to fight and to also reproduce more humans to over power the zombies. Showing that the characters are trying to survive a zombie apocalypse without getting killed. The Mise-en-scene that is used in this trailer is mostly aimed towards the make up being used and the special effects of the zombie characters as this helps the audience to understand that these characters are evil and are only there to cause trouble and eat human flesh, the director as especially done this at the beginning to help the audience to pick out exactly what is going on. In this scene the zombie even has it's own sound that helps give connotations towards it being a zombie as the audience might of heard of this sound before.

Editing

Editing is used in this piece to show a montage of a series of shots and shows continuity of editing to make sure that the narrative that it is being spoken from the character flows on easily linking to each word that is being said "a women must have a thorough knowledge of singing, dancing and the art of war" when this is said from the character Mr. Dacey there are matched and jump cut scenes that flow from this speech to show exactly what happens in the story as this is key information leading up to a climax but we aren't sure what yet as the director doesn't want to give too much away to the audience. 

Camera Shot angles

Many shot types are used including an establishing shot at the beginning to set the scene towards exactly where everything is going to be set, and the day seems normal until there is something mysterious that happens and we then see a young girl with a medium shot opening her bedroom door, to then see a close up of the zombie which makes it unusual and makes the audience set up an array of proaeretic questions such as 'why is this happening?' 'Who exactly is this girl?' Linking to shot types there is a really brilliant point of view shot from the zombie when the main character Mr. Darcey cuts it's throat open and you can see all the blood coming out, I know this bit is gruesome but I really like how it is shot and might do something like this for my trailer.

Preliminary Evaluation

From what was created in my preliminary the things that went well was that we used many different shots to help each scene flow on and to be in sync with the music that is also being played in the background. Also there was a bit of humour that made it interact with the audience to understanding more about the dangers of being on a phone and not watching what you are doing, also you interact with anyone around you because you are clued to the phone. Following on from this, it did have long shots and medium shots within the piece to help the audience understand exactly what is going on and every image was in focus so you could see the writing as well on the different pieces of paper as the girl walked straight passed it all. However it did lack professionalization at the beginning when the bit of the video jumps to the character suddenly being in a different place, plus the planning as well wasn't well organised and as a group we all just made up what we were going to do.

For my main product there needs to a lot more time and effort put into research and planning and the actually film needs to be crisp and clear and easy to understand, as this is extremely important in getting the best grade possible. As well as this, I have also learnt that there needs to be more professional titling that doesn't look like it was rushed. Overall, I do think that this preliminary video was a lot better made than my last one at AS because I didn't zoom in to any characters to show emotion or have a wobbly camera either. By having help from a group of people as well helped it to be well organised and we all had different tips and tricks in filming the best preliminary we could possibly create.

Preliminary - Youth Culture Video

Above is my Preliminary video that I have created about British Youth Culture, which shows that if you use your phone this can distract you from really important things in life and even cause you to drip over something. Also this video shows a before and after of someone using a phone and someone not using a phone and this shows the negatives and positives in my Preliminary.

How to make a dramatic movie trailer - example

From watching the above video I have learnt quite a lot of knew skills, even though it is an advert for using stock footage. It is very useful in showing how a film trailer should be made and the person in this video talks about the different shots that can be used to add effect with music to help it flow. For example there is a long shot of a person in the water looking like he is getting sucked into the deep blue sea, which is a turning point in the mood. He also used a really simple base line and added tones of distortion to it, and had the volume increase over a long period of time. Following on from this, it adds a high energy montage to add a bit of danger to some of the actors in this pretend movie trailer and this example is something that I could use to help me with the trailer that I am going to create myself.

Textual analysis of existing products #1

Before I Go To Sleep - Trailer

Narrative

This trailer is a psychological thriller based on its number one best selling book about a women who has severe amnesia whenever she goes to sleep remembering nothing the following day - this happened in her past from a serious accident. However, one day she discovers many terrifying truths and this questions her thoughts towards whether everyone around her can be trusted. Also she records all of this information she has discovered on a camera, so she can remember it the next day. Before I go to sleep is aimed at teenagers, making it stand out a lot more towards young adults rather than older as this film isn't too gory and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats wanting to find out more.

Camera Shots

Many close ups and extreme close ups are seen quite a lot throughout this trailer especially at the beginning when you just see a blood shot eye, suggesting this person is suffering from stress etc. also many movies or trailers often start with setting the scene with where the main action is taking place however this isn't used in this trailer. This puts forward the fact that the person is trapped in her own house and she has no idea about whether she is or not. In addition, she doesn't remember anything at all from the past. There is also many pan shots used to show where each character is and when the women is in the bathroom there is loads of pictures up on the wall and this shot is used to remind her each day of who she is and what her life was like in the past before her accident. Following on from this, black fades are used in the trailer to show past memories she might of forgotten but are starting to come back to her again in the present, and this also quickens the pace a lot more to show that someone did something horrific to her as there is a long shot of her in bed with another man. This man seems to be forcing a sexual relationship with her, showing that he is the person who attacked her but we aren't sure exactly who this person is as there is no identity seen. This type of scene links to a theory by Laura Mulvey and she attacks the way the dominant system in film presents only certain types of pleasure, arguing that the narrative of a fiction film creates images of women for the gratification of men. This is shown from the scene where the women is vulnerable in bed with a man, but she isn't forcing him away from her as she might have done it many times before.

Editing 

Well known actors like Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth are involved in this movie making the film stand out a lot more due to the fact that many people who watch this have seen these actors/actresses before in other movies. Non-diegetic music is used to show confusion, this links in well with what happens in the movie as this women is confused and has no idea where she is every time she wakes up. Each shot is cut to keep the audience guessing what is going to happen next and this gives it more of a mystery towards what is going on. As well as this, the trailer is synchronous with the cut scenes that are being used, making it more scary and dramatic and this is shown throughout this trailer when it is slow at the beginning but as it get's to the more important parts these scenes move along quicker to make it look like they were never there and this again links in nicely with the plot. Dialogue is spoken clearly by the main actors that are involved in this production and the speech is often overlapped by different scenes not just one, and this focuses attention on what they are saying. Many of the audience members might be asking questions like why has the director set it out like this? What might be the significance of these cut scenes?

Mise-en-scene

Finally, the bit that seems significant to show that she has forgotten her past life is when a long shot is used for when the phone rings. One of the main characters forces is heard here (Mark Strong) who is her doctor and he says "Christine, it's Doctor Nasch. You won't remember me, we've been doing some work on your memory. I'm not certain that Ben knows". This is said to let the audience understand a bit more about what is going on and what the women is doing with the Doctor, but even her husband doesn't know about this meet up which makes it suspicious.

Decision for coursework idea

I have decided to do a trailer as I feel I am used to filming industry style pieces, I haven't decided exactly what genre I want to do yet, but I am going to be analysing existing trailers to help me decide on what type of genre I would like to do for definite. This links to the Todorov's Narrative Theory suggests that there needs to be potential opposing forces that are balanced. This then is disrupted by an event or problem that takes place with a character, and then this creates a series of events that happen to try and resolve the conflict. These difficulties are often solved to help make the characters live happy ever after and not have the audience worry too much about them, but for a trailer there will not be a ending as it will give too much of it away to the audience. Analysing these pieces will help me with how one should look and what makes a trailer successful to get people to go and see the film, also gives me a idea for what the stages are for post production to get people interested. In addition, from experience of doing my previous AS blog I know what type of things need to be improved for my A2 coursework to give me a higher grade, especially the fact that everything needs to be continuous and flow throughout making it easier for the audience to understand. Overall, these elements need to be used in my trailer, but not give too much away as the audience will discover the main plot when they go and see the film. On the other hand from this theory these key points need to be used to make it more exciting and not get the audience bored towards making them not go and watch it.

Analysing other Blogs

Above I have clearly focused on different Blogs to help me figure out what will make my research and planning gain the top band of marks. Also by doing this it will help me towards how I should present everything on my blog and to have time management as this is important.

References:

http://ocrmediastudies.weebly.com/2015-16-inset.html

http://examplesofwork13.weebly.com/moderation-activities.html

Self Assessment - AS

Above is my teacher's feedback on my Blog from last year in AS, from this feedback I feel my A2 needs to be  nearly the same as what I did last year. However it needs to be more sophisticated by using target theories and being able to apply them into work done for my coursework.