Planning - Equipment

This is the equipment will be used to help us film our Trailer to gain the best high quality shots possible-

Nikon DSLR d7- This camera will be used for capturing the footage for the trailer as its high quality and allows us to capture shots at a high standard. Due to Megan assessing this camera its allows us to compete different techniques such as focus pull shots and clear shots to appeal to our audience. The lens is good quality and allows us to zoom into a high definition picture in order to gain a high focused shot, zooming in to the clear detail and mise es scent of the shot.

Tripod- This tripod will be used to stabilize the camera and to avoid camera shake. This will ensure a high standard and focused shot that the audience can appeal too. The tripod is heavy and will prevent from tipping over in the strong winds as we will be shooting on field locations in rural and open stretches of ground where the winds will be strong and affect our equipment. The tripod will come in handy when capturing the establishing location shots of the farm location. The handle on the tripod allows us to fold it up and carry it round the location, making it easier to get to each shot as quick as possible.

Shoulder Rig-This Tripod shoulder rig will be used for capturing panning and moving shots that will be difficult to capture with the normal tripod. It allows stability and high definition in the shots making our work appeal to the audience. The rig goes on one shoulder while holding the handles to have stable movement in the shots. This rig can be used for panning and tilt shots.

Planning - Storyboard

Planning - Time scales

Here is a diagram of what time scales and preparation needs to be but into pre-production. for two hours of filming I worked out that there was about 10 hours of prep that needed to happen. this included items such as lighting, transport and continuity. Therefore before filming I will need to do a lot of prep work in order for my trailer to look good.

Planning - 60 second pitch

Planning - Scripts

As we will be doing a non formal interview with the farmer. the questions that we hope to use will be further up in my blog as we have not planned what questions we will be using, just that we want an informal interview to use as a voiceover.

Research: Diegetic and non-diegetic sound

The roles of diegetic and non-diegetic sound are very important as they both have totally different effects on the viewer and target audience. In this post I am going to be disguising the differences between both diegetic and non-diegetic and the effects they have on my viewers and target audience.

Diegetic 

Sound whose source is visible on the screen of whose source is implied to be present by the action on the film:

• Voices of characters
• Sounds made by objects in the story
• Music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source music)

Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from source within the film's world.
Diegetic sound can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame.
Another term for diegetic sound is actual sound.

Non-diegetic sound

Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action:

• Narrator's commentary
• Sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect
• Mood music

Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from the source outside story space.
The distinction between diegetic and non-diegetic sound depends on our understanding of the conventions of film viewing and listening. We know of that certain sounds are represented as coming from the story world, while others are represented as coming from outside the space of the story events. A play with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror), or to surprise the audience (comedy).
Another term for non-diegetic sound is commentary sound.

Planning - Target Audience

We want our target audience to be mainly young adults. The age gap will be between 14 and 23. This is because we want to make the younger generation aware of what effort there is to put food on the table. By following one day on one british farm we hope to make youngsters aware of what goes on behind the scenes.

Planning - Filming with Simon Hook

In a lesson we had a visit from the director Simon Hook. Simon is known for his work on programmes such as MIHigh and Hollyoaks. Whilst he was in the lesson he gave is some really good tips on what to focus on whilst filming our films.

Planning - mood board

With this mood board I want to show the effect I want this documentary to have and the type of shots I want t use.

Research - How research will inform product

My research will influence my planning and final product immensely. This is because I have looked at the style that documentaries have been filmed.
After looking at documentaries, I will include a section where there is an interview with the main actor. As a documentary is looking at someone else life through their eye, there will not be a set protagonist and antagonist. There will be only one person and it is like the camera is filming them through their day to day life.
I have two different ideas at the moment as to how to film this trailer. One idea is to use the camera as if that the person is using it and using it like a diary. My other initial idea is to film it as if one person is following the life of another and is interested in what they are doing.

Research - Documentry Analysis 3

Research - Documentry Analysis 2

Research - Documentry Analysis 1

Research - An introduction to documentary trailers

Research - Film Trailer 5 -

Research - Film Trailer 4 -

Research - Film Trailer 3 -

Research - Trailer 2 - The Wolfman Teaser Trailer

The Wolfman, directed by Joe Johnston and produced by Scott Stuber was domestically released on the 12th February 2010. This film was financed by Relativity Media who worked hand in hand with Universal Pictures.  The film stars Benicio Del Toro as the protagonist with supporting actors Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving. These actors are well established in their fields and have appealed to audiences across various age groups over the years. Their popularity acts as unique selling point for the producers.

The Wolfman is a remake of the 1941 classic which was also produced by Universal Pictures which was successful enough to be followed up by sequels later in the 40s. The classic Wolfman franchise brought about the popular conventions mainstream audiences have been accustomed to such as a werewolf’s vulnerability to silver, a full moon triggering a werewolf’s transformation and so on. These examples have been seen in television series such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Charmed which are now part of popular culture. It could be suggested that Joe Johnston presents modern day audiences with an adaptation of the original film yet still applying the same conventions of Lycanthropy introduced in the original Wolfman.

The narrative follows the story of an American theatre actor named Lawrence Tabolt  (Benicio Del Toro) who is persuaded by his missing brother’s fiancé Gwen (Emily Blunt) to come back to his home town in England in search of his missing brother.  Soon after finding his brother’s mutilated body, Lawrence is attacked by a werewolf and soon after becomes one. The story plays well with elements of science, myths and elements of the supernatural.

 The duration of The Wolfman teaser trailer is 1:33 seconds and this particular trailer being analysed was released as the second teaser which had extended scenes giving the audience more detail about the film. This trailer features sequences of interesting use of mise en scene,peculiar shots, camera angles and effective sound.  

About 3 seconds into the trailer, the universal logo is introduced onto the screen with creative spin on the animation. The logo has become synonymous with the universal monster pictures such as The Mummy series and Van Helsing. Rather than the globe being prominent and colourful (green, blue and brown), it has a low saturation to the point where the globe is a dull dark blue almost appearing black. This connotes a sense of lifelessness and coldness that sets the tone for the rest of the trailer. The ‘Universal’ text written across the animated globe is the conventional white bold sans serif font with the use of shadows around the text which adds to the significance of the word. The magnitude of the text is also unquestionable because the text takes up most of the space in the frame.

Then the low saturated globe begins to rotate on its axis while a glowing light beams behind it in background. This could give the impression that the globe is blocking the light, ultimately forming an eclipse. The moon also appears to have wrapped itself around the globe and thus the globe cross fades into a full, luminous moon and the text fades to scribbles written with a misty or cloud effect. The use of these motion graphic transformations gives a concise indication of one of the themes of the trailer which is the Wolfman’s metamorphosis. From this point, the audience can deduce the fact the full moon is linked with the idea of werewolves.

As the voiceover  is introduced, the shot zooms out of the computer generated moon and transitions into a smooth fade. In this shot , the narrator personifies the moon, giving it a feminine interpretation.  “She exerts enormous power, doesn’t she?” The voice over was done by one of the characters (Anthony Hopkins), possibly because the audience are introduced to the setting and characters on a more personal level rather than a generic narrator doing talking. This sentence also has foreboding tone which could give the audience the impression that there is a subliminal message encoded within the statement. ‘Exertion’ of power could imply that the moon’s luminosity and radiance has the power to create and sustain substantial visibility at night.  This could also connote that a full moon has the power to force out a man’s inner demon, hence, the involuntary transformation of a man to a werewolf.

Somewhere within 15 seconds in, there is an establishing shot that slightly tracks a secluded mansion, which is surrounded by a mist, withering trees and sheep suggesting that the era is dated back quite a few decades. The withering trees could represent the end of something and the beginning of something else, for example the change from autumn to winter.  Also, those who lived in the mansion may live a life of solitude and this can be conveyed through the bleach bypass colour grading, its gives the shot a cold reception for the audience and therefore evokes the impression that something terrible could be coming. The use of non-digetic sound is effective due to the acoustics and percussion because it’s gradual, strong and synchronous to the transition in shots. By constructing a bridge with the visual style, the non-digetic sound again reinforces the theme of death.

22 seconds into the trailer, there is a medium side close up of Hugo Weaving on a train looking down at his lap, the eyeline match shows he was looking at a small box of silver bullets. The low key soft light could be used as a tool to imply the character has a good as well as a dark side which implicates the complexity of the character. As mentioned earlier, the use of silver to kill werewolves is a reoccurring motif in the trailer, the generic conventions of the Wolfman is the use of silver bullets  or blades to kill the monster, hence is self reflective of that convention with is gothic horror.

After about 40 seconds in, the extensive and well thought out costume design adds great effect to the fact that the narrative is set several decades back in time. This detail is evident in the way Hugo Weaving is presented. There is a medium close up shot where bystanders (extras) are running away screaming and his character stays to investigate whatever caused the panic. He was wearing an old fashioned suit with a top hat of some kind and a beard that covered most of the lower half of his face; this is suggestive of the fashion of that era being formal or official.        

In addition to the characters’ wardrobe, Benicio is dressed as wealthy middle-ages man however, through the progression of the trailer, his clothes become tattered as though he is degenerating into something increasingly barbaric and truculent. For instance, there is a shot of him 16secs into the trailer with a suit but then into the first minute, he is completely stained in blood and his white shirt is full of dirt. Also, in the 43rd second, his character is strapped like a criminally insane person in a inverted shot. He wears a beige straitjacket which is supposed to help the audience conclude the state of the man’s s`anity is ‘clearly unstable’. The dramatic irony here is that the audience are aware of his ‘dark’ secret and that he would break free of the straps and buckles.      

Further more,Emily Blunt’s character, Gwen is presumably the love interest of the protagonist andshe is most certainly the ‘damsel in distress’ fitting to this monster horror. Somewhere about 25seconds into the trailer, there is a medium shot of the Emily’s back sitting on a bed with most of her body naked only covered by bed sheets and candles lit around her symmetrically. This shot gives off an erotic sensation which connotes that her character is being sexualised.  Towards the 38th second,   long, wavy brown hair down is resting on her chest and she is dressed in a white, modest old fashioned dress fitted with a corset. This white dressed is stained quite dirty and her non verb communication shows that she is frightened and lost for breath presumed she was running from something. Her long dark wavy hair could connote strength and beauty almost portraying her as a heroin; even though she fears for her life, she is still courageous.Which is a popular horror convention in films such as ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ or ‘Gothika’ where there is an independent, leading female character facing the ‘monster’.

In a sequence 1:14seconds into the trailer, the close up shot of a man transforming to a werewolf is striking because his human features are gradually morphing into something beast like. In that close up shot, the man’s molars and front teeth are still intact but the change begins to occur in the elongation of the canine which implies something beastly and animalistic. The motion capture of the man’s furrowed eyebrows and squinted eyes suggests anger and rage irrupting from the inside. Hispealing skin, massive increase in facial hair and the tearing buckles and straps denote the uncontrollable chain reaction from man to beast which would soon occur and cause terror.  Another helping tool here is the use of a growling sound effect which echoes and resonates like a lion’s roar which promotes greater realism is sound and the beast’s gradual transformation.

Research - Trailer 1 - Our Girl

Camera shot, angle, movement
Editing
Sound Elements
Inter-titles
Reliance on star system

Research: What is the difference between a trailer and a teaser trailer?

The main difference between trailer and a teaser trailer is the hype and the length of the trailer.
A teaser trailer is a lot shorter and punchier. The main aim is to create hype and for people to go mad over social media. However a trailers main purpose is to get people to go and watch the film. Whereas a teaser trailer is to advertise more and to access the target audience.

Research: What is a teaser trailer?

Definition

A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads". A teaser trailer fir an upcoming film, television programme, video game or similar is usually released long in advance of the product, so as to "tease" the audience.

A teaser trailer is normally between 0.30 and 1.30 long. They are a lot shorter, with montage editing. The main idea of a teaser trailer is to start hype and to get people talking about the film. Therefore making them want to go and watch it. Hype is normally started off with on of the dramatic scenes being publicised and people talking about it on social media and blogs.

Research: What is a trailer?

Definition

A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. the term 'trailer' comes from there having originally been shown at the end of a future filmscreaning.

A full trailer is usually between 1.30 and 5.00 long. Therefore they can go into depth of what the film is about and try to sell it to the target audience. Trailers are usually a montage of lots of different scenes in the film. They normally give an outline to the main storyline, however they leave a cliff hanger. Making the viewer want to go and see the film in the cinema or on DVD.

Reserarch: Methods of promotion

There are many different methods of promotion in the film industry

Heritage Marketing

Heritage marketing is the 'older' style of marketing. I is done through any way, apart from digitally. For example a radio advertisement would be seen as heritage marketing. As it isn't digital and has been around for years. As well as 

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is when advertisements happen in a digital format. 

Web2.0 + Viral Marketing

Web 2.0 is mainly focused around social media. this also links in with viral marketing within the way that they both work. Viral marketing normally starts a hype. Meaning that they could send out emails or sponsor themselves on a social media site. This then makes more people interested and advertises to the wider target audience without having to put a lot of work into it.
TEDS 

Introduction

This blog is going to show you how, as a young film maker, I will be making a promotional package for a new film. This package will include a trailer, film magazine front cover that features the film, as well as a poster for the film.