Stunt Research

We practiced the kidnapping with a professional stuntman to demonstrate the correct way to handle a person when imitating a struggle scene. We were then able to recreate what was taught with our actual actor in a safe and controlled way. We also filmed the situation in order to watch it back and pick up techniques again. 

We looked at front fall tutorials because during the scenes where Emily is running through the woods, we wanted to have Emily trip slightly, and just in case she was to fall completely over, we wanted her to be careful in the position she lands to restrict causing injury.

Colour Analysis

They key colours used within our film trailer and ancillary texts are black, grey, red and blue. We chose to include these colours heavily due to the meanings we discovered in our research. Below are the key connotations of each of the colours that we have incorporated into our film products which we found in psychology reports and colourist specialist websites;

RED

Red is the colour of blood and fire and so it is associated with danger, energy, power, and determination. Red is an emotional colour, used for danger signs and the colour can be found in national flags showing power. It is a stimulant colour which makes us make quick decisions. 


BLUE

Blue is the colour of the sky and the water. It symbolises intelligence and wisdom. Blue is regarded as a masculine colour, although used in Victorian times as a feminine colour. It can also connote isolation which links well with our film trailer as the point of view camera shots allow the audience to empathise with the character. When we slowed down the shot of the spinning sky at the end of the climax, it is implied that she has been drugged and is unaware. It also suggests that she has given up hope due to the slow eerie music played in sync with the footage of the sky. 


GREY

Grey is a timeless and practical colour that is often associated with loss or depression. Dark, charcoal grey communicates some of the strength and mystery of black. It is a sophisticated colour that lacks the negativity of the color black. Light greys can carry some of the attributes of the colour white. We have consistent themes of the colour grey in our film trailer due to the colour saturation effects on the images and footage. We have used this colour to illustrate our thriller genre clearly. 

BLACK

Black is associated with elegance, power, death, mystery and evil. It is a mysterious colour, it normally has a negative connotation, also black is the symbol of grief. Black is a good contrasting colour, as it contrasts with any colour. We have chosen to have a black background for the credits to allow the font to stand out as we have a white font. It makes the credits more eye catching for the audience when watching the film trailer. We have also incorporated this colour theme on our website and poster. 

Audience Feedback

I asked for feedback on our trailer by posting the link on Facebook, YouTube and showing family and friends. Below are some extracts of the comments left;

"Thrilling and intense" 

"Sound was simple and effective, great atmosphere and added to tension"

"The ending when she was closed in the boot, it was ominous and creepy"

"I really loved the white flashes throughout, it was a really good effect!"

"Awesome!"

"The editing was really good"

"Chilling..."

Shot names and examples of where we have used them

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music Inspiration - Ian Brown F. E. A. R.

Ian Brown - Fear 

For each a road
For everyman a religion
Find everybody and rule
For everything and rumble
Forget everything and remember
For everything a reason
Forgive everybody and remember

For each a road
For everyman a religion
Face everybody and rule
For everything and rumble
Forget everything and remember
For everything a reason

You got the fear
You got the fear
You got the fear
You got the fear
You got the fear
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)

Final eternity arouses reactions
Freeing excellence affects reality
Fallen empires are ruling
Find earth and reef

Fantastic expectations
Amazing revelations
Final execution and resurrection
Free expression as revolution
Finding everything and realizing

You got the fear
You got the fear
You got the fear
You got the fear
You got the fear
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)

(Fantastic expectations
Amazing revelations
Finding everything and realizing
For everything a reason)

F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)
You got the fear
You got the fear
You got the fear
You got the fear


Our TagLine is "Forget Everything And Run", inspired by the lyrics from this song where FEAR is the main focus. Ian Brown cleverly uses the letters in 'fear' as acronyms for each line of the song and we wanted to use this effect as it emphasises our genre, leaving the trailer in suspense and drawing the audience in further. The word play not only highlights the key emotions portrayed in the film but is also a reflection on the film, as the intelligent title foreshadows an intelligent narrative.

Existing Film Websites Slideshow

Codes and Conventions of Film Websites

Key theorists to consider

Syd Field

According to Field, the typical Hollywood film can be separated into 3 dramatic sections/acts.
-The set-up (Within the first 10 minutes the audience decide their opinion of the film and are unlikely to change their minds. Therefore its important to establish main character, why the audience should like/dislike them and hint at what the film is going to be about)
-The confrontation (Longest act of the film, see main character often and in extreme situations or problems, confronting enemies and normally helpless)
-The resolution (Hero finally takes control of struggle, often by confrontation and on home territory, and achieve a final, desired victory)

'Plot points' are what he describes as important pieces of the plot which transform the lives of the characters, change relationships and the overall tone of the film.


Barthes' Code

Text needs unravelling, so audience can encounter  plurality and potential meaning.
Can start by looking at narrative from one viewpoint, drawing on previous experiences, creating one meaning for the text.
The narrative can be continuously unravelled from various angles and thus creating different meanings.
Texts may be 'open' (available for various interpretations) or 'closed' (only one obvious meaning).
These aspects to unravel are called 'narrative codes' and can be categorised into:
-The enigma code (i.e. answers and questions)
-Symbols and Signs
-Points of cultural references
-Simple description/reproduction


Todorov

He suggested that conventional narratives are structured in 5 stages;
-State of equilibrium
-Disruption of equilibrium at outset
-Recognition of disruption
-Attempt to repair disruption
-Reinstatement of equilibrium


Vladamir Propp

Suggested that characters took on the role of narrative 'spheres of action'
1) The Hero - usually male, restores natural equilibrium, often embarks on a quest, saves princess, centre of villain's attention, protagonist.
2) The Villain - creates narrative disruption.
3) The Donor - gives hero something, helps resolution of narrative.

4) The Princess - the reward/motivation for the hero

5) the Dispatcher - Sets the hero on their way

Laura Mulvey 

States that women are often objectified and seen as sex objects, portrayed through the male gaze. She also suggests that's women are seen in one of two ways; as a virgin or a whore. This is the virgin:whore dichotomy. 

Angela McRobbie

McRobbie says that men and women are often represented through stereotypes in the media. This means that traditional gender roles are used, such as women shown as victims, mothers, carers, weaker, etc. and men as aggressive, strong, leaders, etc. 

Allan Cameron 

Says that there are different kinds of unusual narratives including the following:

 - Anachronic Narrative includes flashbacks and flash forwards

 - Forking Path Narrative shows two different outcomes that are different only because of a small change or decision

 - Episodic Narrative separate narratives that have a link in some way

 - Split Screen Narrative different stories, linked by the fact that they are shown on screen simultaneously

Website Inspiration

Before creating a website of our own for our trailer we researched existing films and their sites in order to establish ideas, presentation and key features.

A sample of the websites we used include;

- Paranormal Activity 

Black background, writing made bold by using white and red colouring, thumbnails of multiple pictures to show a variety of shots and scenarios, options to watch trailer, view poster and see tickets and showtimes written on far right hand side with adjoining photos, tagline written under the title, 'now in cinemas'

-Now You See Me 

Grey background with faded title text, film title contrasted with yellow font at the top of the screen, photos of DVD boxes and packaging in order to promote further purchase of the film, trailer to the right in centre screen, release dates written under trailer, links to pages 'watch trailer', 'special features', 'enter site' and 'buy the movie'.


-Shutter Island

We really liked the dark, eerie nature of this website, with the black base colour and three key images. The face of the main character is illuminated by a flame, with the island image and picture of the DVD placed below it. The photos have blurred edges to highlight the unknown elements within the film, and the colour us is dark and cold, including blues and blacks. The website is easy to navigate with key links and information placed in the centre of the site. 

Researching Film Tag Lines

A Tag Line = a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand, product or text. 

1. Alien - In space no one can hear you scream.

2. Maniac Cop - You have the right to remain silent. Forever.

3. Psycho - Check in. Unpack. Relax. Take a shower.

4. A Nightmare on Elm Street - If Nancy doesn't wake up screaming. She wont at all.

5. House - Ding Dong. You're Dead. 

6. Final Destination - Death doesn't take no for an answer. 

When researching previous horror/thriller film tag lines, these were most memorable. When relating these to our film trailer I like the idea of two sentences as it is easy to say and can be catchy. I like the length of the tag line for A Nightmare on Elm Street as it think that having longer sentences look appealing underneath the film title on the film poster.

With our film trailer, as the main themes represented are escaping, capturing and stalking, we would like to incorporate these into our tag line. We like the idea of having a question as the first sentence and then a vague answer after. However, we are not set on having a question in the tagline as we like the idea of the tagline below.

For example - "Just when you think you're alone, you're at your weakest"

Storyboard Version 2

Make Up Tutorial

This video shows how we applied the female characters make up before filming her 'escaping' scenes. We applied mascara below her eyes to make it look like she had been crying or her eyes had been rubbed in distress. After this video we also applied red blush powder to her nose, under eyes and her face to also enhance that she is distressed. We wanted to make her appear to look distressed in order to create tension as well as match the atmosphere of the film trailer.

Transition Editing

Within the trailer we have decided to use the Fade to Black, Fade to White, Cross Dissolve and Cross Blur. We have used the fade to black at the beginning of the trailer as the pace is slow and the fade to black enhancing to slow pace as well as the switching between scenes. When the pace begins to increase we have used fade to white transitions as it creates immediate tension whilst providing the element of thriller and would make the audience engage more with the trailer due to the short scenes and jump cuts, the fade to white enhances this.

We have also added a dissolve cut with the shots of the girl on the swing and the award nomination credit. It creates an eerie atmosphere as we have edited the sound of the screetching swing to carry on during the footage of the award nomination credit. The dissolve transition also blends the nomination credit with the empty swing scene as well.

Research into Film Trailer Credits - The Dark Knight Rises

Finding Film Trailer Sounds on YouTubbe

As we decided to use sounds from YouTube, we had to ensure they were Copyright free. The images below show the steps we followed in order to find the audio files.

In order to get the YouTube files able to be imported to iMovie to be edited to the film trailer, I had to convert the files to an MP3 first and then into iTunes on the iMacs which can then be accessed from iMovie. 

I also researched sounds on Royalty Free Music but there were some issues with this website. The first issue was that in order to access the sounds legally, we would have to create an account which required payment, and as we are a low budget production company we could not afford this. The other issue was that we did not particularly find sounds that we liked and though that could relate to our film trailer themes. 

We also got the background sound to our film trailer from the iMovie software itself as it provides basic sound effects. However we edited the sound on garage band to make it sound darker and more eerie. 

The chosen sounds that we decided to use in our film trailer are linked through SOUNDCLOUD on the another post. (Click here for link to post)

Storyboard Version 1

Character Name Planning

These three names were the agreed names of which we would name the female victim character in our film trailer. The images show the basic meanings behind each name which we can use when deciding on which name to have for the female character. I am also going to create a questionnaire with the three names and hand them out to females aged 15-17, the questionnaire will have a basic narrative plot and then the three names, in which the testers can circle which name they think works best with our narrative and their reasoning.

Below is a link to the blog post with the questionnaire results:

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Conference Analysis

On Thursday 23rd January we travelled to the BFI to participate in a 'We Media' and Democracy lecture day. It was hosted by Matthew Hall, Head of Film and Media Studies at Seven Kings High School and author of the BFI's 'Teaching Men and Film'. We were also able to contribute to interviews with Rosa Weber and Malcolm Smith.

A brief outline of the day was listed on the BFI website as:

"‘We-Media’ and democracy in the pre-digital and on-line age. What is ‘We-Media’? How does it differ from more traditional forms? Can digital media promote social democracy? This Study Day is particularly relevant to those studying OCR’s AS Media ‘Audiences and Institutions’ unit and A2 ‘We-Media’ and ‘Media in the On-Line Age’. Students will be able to hear and put questions to a range of speakers representing different perspectives on the debates surrounding ‘We-Media’."

We discussed our opinions on topics such as;

-Should social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter be classified as 'media'?

-Does 'social media' depend on the internet and digital technology?

-Can YouTube be classified as 'media'?

WeMedia was the key focus of the day, and we were exploring its meaning and purpose. The key points we took from the day included that We Media is created by a community who happily share their opinions for fun, often poor quality, consumed only by friends and posted on YouTube, Flikr and other social networking sites. It includes texts that have creative value, produced by people with creative talent but who aren't employed as a media professional, therefore lacking professional training.

Civic Value are media texts created in order to give a voice to the participants and to spread information with the overall aim of helping society, e.g. Citizen Journalism. 

Some of the case studies we looked into included Demotix, a site where citizen journalists can post pictures of their own accounts of current issues/topics, creating discussions and raising awareness. 

-Institution independent

-Open source, anyone can contribute

-Communal value, sharing with other photojournalists

-Creative value, talented news photographers, but with no formal training or direct institution employment 

-Civic value, spread information worldwide, raise awareness, allows witnessing of events maybe not accessible by professional journalists (restrictions, planning, etc), provides training and practice for amateur photographers, non-hierarchial structure

-Cross media synergy, symbiotic relationship with media institutions offering quality photojournalism

Pre-internet subcultures were a topic we discussed and we compared their development with the progress of modern subcultures with the assistance of the internet. These subcultures included Punk, HipHop, Skater culture, Trekkies/Trekkers and Ravers. 

Key Quotes/Comments taken from the day:

- Mass production for mass consumption

-We think therefore we are

-In the past, 'you are what you owned', now in present times, 'you are what you share'

-One Pound Fish original videp generated 12.6m YouTube views, is that 'We-Media'?

-TAZ (temporary autonomous zones), free spaces where normal mainstream rules don't apply, you're not    judged as you're surrounded by similar people, forming own community 

Initial Film Title Ideas

Possible Effects

Whilst watching the current television serious 'Hostages', I noticed that during flashback shots there is a soft, blurred edge.

This is really effective in enhancing nostalgia as well as being a device to distinguish between current and past story lines. 

We experimented with this blurred edge on our own footage, and it worked well to contrast the varying emotions we want to portray as well as change the mood. However, due to our footage being shot as if from a handheld camera, or on the kidnappers phone, this effect would not be a realistic editing style. The dream-like look this gives the footage wasn't appropriate for our narrative, yet we will still consider using it on the poster or another aspect of our project.