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.