CONSTRUCTION: INTERROGATING OUR CHARACTERS

During my research into the practises of professional filmmakers I came across the film website FilmEscape. On this website I discovered an article by Charlie Sierra in which she discusses the book 'Riding the Alligator' written by Hollywood director Pen Densham. She talks about a chapter in this book in which Densham describes a checklist of questions that every director should ask their actors to get a better understanding of the characters. 

Click here for the article

After reading the article we created a brief script for each character as our interrogation. We decided that we would ask each character five questions, four of which are tailored specifically for the character being asked and then the fifth question being the same for each character. The reason we chose to ask each character the same fifth question (which was "How far would you go to get what you want?") was to get a strong understanding of the contrasting personalities that the characters have.

 Adam Character Interrogation

As Adam is hopelessly in love with Eve his responses to the questions were planned to be very enthusiastic and loving even though deep within he knows that Eve doesn't feel the same way.

Eve Character Interrogation

As Eve is a very confused and unsure character we made sure that her answer were very vague and kept the audience (and Adam) wondering where her loyalty and love lies.

ULAR Character Interrogation

We created these character interrogations to help the examiner understand the thoughts, feelings and motives that our characters have. As Ular is a very mysterious character we kept his answers short and very vague.

CONSTRUCTION: EQUIPMENT

In the production of our film trailer there were many pieces of equipment that we needed to create the best possible content.

Nikon D5200 - As I already had my own camera, as a group we decided to use it instead of a camera provided to us by the school. We made this decision because it gave us a lot more freedom when it came to filming as we didn't need to wait for permission to go out and film.

GorillaPod - A Gorillapod is a very small and lightweight tripod with flexible legs that can wrap around and grip to anything you need it to. We mainly used it as a stand for the camera light we used.

Manfrotto Tripod - We used a very high end Manfrotto Tripod that the school provided us. We were very grateful to use this tripod as it is one of the best that an average consumer can buy. It was exactly what we needed to get steady still and moving shots.

On Camera LED Light - As a group we decided to invest in cheap on camera LED light to help us light our scenes. We would attach the light to a Gorillapod so we could easily set the scene and have the light in a suitable area.

Rode VideoMic Pro - During my practical work last year I discovered that sound is incredibly important. Therefore I invested in a Røde VideoMic Pro which is a very good quality on camera microphone that can really improve the sound of your film. This is was very important as an audience is more forgiving for poor video quality if the sound is good.

PLANNING: SOUNTRACK AND VOICEOVER

As a group we have decided that the majority of the sound in our trailer will be sound effects, a soundtrack and a voiceover. We decided not to have any actual film dialogue in the trailer as we discovered last year that it is too difficult to get good sound levels and quality for dialogue and in my experience sound is almost more important that a good quality video.

We have been constantly brainstorming different song choices and ideas and we still haven't come up with a concrete decision on the soundtrack yet.

For the voiceover we are currently creating the script and have also planned to use the poem 'A Sick Rose' by William Blake. We have decided to use this poem as part our voiceover as it perfectly and beautifully represents the decay of Eve's innocence and if spoken correctly can sound very sinister which is exactly what we want from it.

The Sick Rose

BY WILLIAM BLAKE

O Rose thou art sick. 

The invisible worm, 

That flies in the night 

In the howling storm: 

Has found out thy bed

Of crimson joy:

And his dark secret love

Does thy life destroy.

CONSTRUCTION: EXPERIMENTING WITH ADOBE inDESIGN

In our lesson today we had someone come in to teach us the basics of Adobe inDesign. Adobe inDesign is a professional standard software used to create publications for magazines, websites, you name it! 

We spent the lesson experimenting with all the different tools and methods of editing that we would expect to use when creating our film poster. There are an endless amount of features that can be explored and used on inDesign but we only looked at the basics. The features we looked at were mainly to help us create the text of the poster and the different effects that you can use to make your text stand out more.

Here are some screenshots of my experimentation of inDesign

PLANNING/CONSTRUCTION: inDesign PRACTICE

In todays lesson we had a special guest teacher to come in a teach us the basics of inDesign. inDesign is a programme that allows you to create professional standard publications. For this practice we used draft images that we captured yesterday to experiment with and test out the different features that can be used on inDesign. 

Here are some screenshots from my experimentation:

PLANNING/CONSTRUCTION: FILM POSTER

In this lesson we spent our time preparing different aspects of our individual film posters. We collected all of the information we need to include in the poster (social media icons, our production company name etc.) We were doing this as practise for when it comes to do our official film posters. 

In our lesson tomorrow we are going to be receiving some professional insight into how we use an Adobe tool called inDesign. inDesign is a professional standard piece of software that can be used to create all sorts of different publications. We have decided to use this software as the examiners request that professional grade software is used at some point in the creations of our coursework project. As what we will be making in our lesson tomorrow will just be a very early 1st draft of what we think we would like our posters to look like, we are not expecting the best quality image, but with the help of our inDesign tutor we can make all of the graphics and text we want to use as perfect as we possibly can.

We found that with the posters we looked at they all had everything that is needed in a film poster with slight changes from poster to poster. We focused on the film poster for 'The Book of Eli'. It helped us understand how much information is really needed on a film poster. We looked in detail at the specific cast/crew members that need to be presented on the poster. This poster also helped us gather an understanding of how a poster should be laid out and how there are many little logos that you would be able to see unless very close to the poster. These small details although quite hard to see, they are still necessary to have on the poster. This research was also very helpful for us as it gave us a strong understanding of what the tag line on a poster is used for and what the tag line should include.

Here are two images of us working as a team conducting research on the type of institutional information that needs to be included on a film poster and the construction of our own personalised institutional information. 

Character Profile 3 (Eve)

Eve is a very different character to both Ular and Adam. She is the main focus of the film but not necessarily the main character. She starts off with Adam being quite poor and wanting more out of her life and when they meet Ular she starts to change. As Ular is manipulating her she starts changing what she wears, wearing different jewellery and wearing nicer clothes.

Character Profile 2 (Adam)

The main character and anti-hero in our film trailer is Adam. As the main focus of this trailer is the allure of wealth and love we designed Adam to be a very scruffy, poor looking character to show that he is struggling financially. He wears a lot of plain tracksuits and hoodies and never looks very neat.

CHARACTER PROFILE 1 (Ular Kadir)

The antagonist in our film trailer is a very mysterious man named Ular Kadir. We chose this name because it roughly translates to 'Powerful Snake'. This name is significant as our trailer is a modern take on the Bible tale of Adam and Eve. We based the physical appearance of this character on a fashion designer called John Galliano. We chose to use him as a base for our character design because he wears very outlandish clothing and is a very mysterious looking man which is exactly what we wanted our character to look like.

CONTRUCTION: EQUIPMENT

As a group we have large variety of equipment to use to achieve the best results from our filming. The equipment we have been using includes:

- Nikon D5200

- Nikon DX 35mm Prime Lens

- Røde VideoMic Pro

- A GorillaPod Flexible Tripod

- On camera light system

All of this equipment is very lightweight and easy to transport, this really helps when it comest to filming out in the streets. The microphone is probably the best piece of equipment we have because it improves our project the most. In my opinion having good sound is as important possibly even more important than having good image quality. The GorillaPod is incredibly handy for when we need to do low angle shots as it is very small and can be placed in any position you can image and saves us from having to lay down in the dirt to get the shot we need.

Insert images below!

CONSTRUCTION: PROPS - ROOM TO RENT POSTER

I created this prop to show the process behind our main characters moving in with our mysterious antagonist. I took a photograph of the front of the house we are using for the main image of the poster. The text and borders were all created on Photoshop. We added the extra detail of "£50 for the first 3 months" as another way to indicate to the audience that our protagonists are struggling financially. We were originally going to say that it was 'free' but we realised this would not make much sense and decided to change it. 

The strips at the bottom are designed to look like tabs that you can pull of so you can keep the details of the advertisement. These tabs were very difficult to create as I struggled massively to make sure they were all even and looked correct. In the end I decided to leave two of the nine tabs uneven as I didn't want to spend too much of my work time trying to perfect a prop that will only be seen in the trailer for a split second. 

PLANNING: GOOGLE DOCS

As a group we have created several Google Docs word documents for our Treatment, Call Sheets and Shot List. Google Docs is a software created by Google that allows multiple user to view and edit documents at the same time and all the changes made will be saved for every member of the group using the document.

Google Docs is very useful as it gives the group a chance to share the work load and help keep important documents protect from accidental deletion or loss.

RESEARCH: AUDIENCE EXIT POLLS

I have done research into the BFI Exit Polls for films in genres similar to mine. My tailer is a combination between romance and thriller. These exit polls can help me understand audiences better and what different types of people enjoy watching. This research will help me decided on a specific target audience for my film trailer.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING DURING HALF TERM

During our half term break we weren't able to do much filming as there were many clashes with pre-existing commitments. What we did film was the beginning parts of our trailer. We shot our romantic park scenes which help the audience to understand the relationship that the two protagonists have. 

PLANNING: EXPERIMENTAL FOOTAGE

I spent an entire day creating a timelapse video as part of the planning of our film trailer. I decided to do this because I have seen many timelapse shots in films and film trailer and I think it could really add to our trailer as it is very innovative and out of the ordinary. It was challenging to create because as the camera is on and filming for a very long time it gets very hot, which can damage the camera. It was also difficult keeping the camera charged as the camera is running for such a long period of time. I filmed it on my GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition which has some very good filming specs and is a top of the range very high quality camera.
Below is the timelapse I created:

CALL SHEET 1: ROMANTIC SCENES IN BUSHY PARK

Below is the call sheet that we created for our shoot in Bushy Park. During this shoot we aimed to capture many different shots showing Harvey and Tammy's character having fun in a loving romantic environment to show the type of relationship that they have. We chose to shoot these scenes in Bushy Park because it is very green and open. This greenery and vastness connote links to the Garden of Eden.

On this call sheet we include all of the necessary details for the shoot except for the risk assessment. The risk assessment was left off the call sheet as there wasn't enough space to fit it in without making some of the other details too small to read. Although it is not included on the call sheet we did do a risk assessment for the shoot. 

Risk Assessment:

• Deers roam free in the park, could be aggressive, avoid getting too close.
• Big open lakes, keep all equipment away from the water and stay away from the edges to avoid injury.
• Climbing on trees, risk of actors injuring themselves falling.

All of these things are possible risks that we would face when doing this shoot. Call sheets are incredibly useful when organising a film shoot as it gives everyone involved every detail of the shoot from time and date to the risk that they might face when completing the shoot.

RESEARCH: AUDIENCE PROFILE

I have created this audience profile to try and help myself and the examiner to understand the types of people and the age range of our target audience. I have included examples of the sorts of things that I believe our target audience will be interested in or can relate to. 

The rating for our trailer is 15 therefore our target audience is that of young adults. This is why the profile is filled with social media references, tv shows and movies that people of the age range from 15-30 will enjoy.

PLANNING: UPDATE

This lesson we have been searching for songs that we could possible use for our trailer.

We have also been adding some very strong ideas to our treatment and solidifying our story to the best of our ability.

We have also started on a few call sheets and have started to mould our shot lists.

PLANNING: FILMING DURING HALF-TERM

As a group we have decided that we are all free to film our trailer during the first week of half-term commencing on the 16th October to the 25th October.

The dots underneath the dates represent the availability to film.

PLANNING: SHOT LIST

The shot list is one of the most important parts of the planning process. It is the one thing that you cannot start filming without as it is every instruction you need for filming. In a shot list you need to specify camera angles, camera movement, the actors needed, the sound being used, the costumes and many other things.

Here is a Link to our Shot List

PLANNING: Trello for PLANNING my TRAILER

I have created a second Trello to help me keep up to date and on track with the planning process of our trailer.

PLANNING: TOP LINE & TREATMENT

Here is a link to our treatment

Topline: A young couple called Adam and Evie appear to be blissfully happy together, but Evie becomes dissatisfied with her life and relationship with Adam as she becomes envious of the wealth of their tennant, Ular. This scares Adam and he does whatever he can to save their relationship.
Big Question: Will Adam turn himself in and will their relationship last?

Planning: Improving Initial Ideas

Our initial ideas were very vague and we didn't really have any specific ideas about the plot of our trailer. We have since developed the idea into a story similar to the story of Adam and Eve. A young couple living happily in bliss when suddenly the girl becomes tempted by something she knows is wrong, in our case it is wealth. The boy then is consumed with anger trying to get her back and follows her down the dark path only for them to both emerge back on top, or will they?

PLANNING: WHATSAPP

One of the very first thing we did as a group was create a WhatsApp chat. We did this to show our use of new technologies but mainly so we can all stay connected and communicate with each other with ease. 

WhatsApp is an incredibly useful communication tool as it is incredibly easy to use and use can live chat with multiple people at once. This has been very helpful when it comes to planning out shots and expanding the initial ideas of the trailer. It is also incredibly helpful when it comes to being organised and making sure everyone knows what they need to bring and where to bring it.


(Insert screenshot of whatsapp chat)

RESEARCH: Jurassic World Marketing Campaign

As another part of our research into FILM TRAILERS we decided to take a look at the marketing campaigns of big hollywood films and what part the trailer plays in the marketing scheme as a whole. I looked at the FDA website www.launchingfilms.com  in particular the presentation called 'Inside Film Distribution. Part 1 the role of the Distributer, where Mark Read (name might be wrong) stressed the importance of the trailer in reaching cinematic audiences. He stated that is was the single most important factor in drawing audiences into cinemas. This is reflected in the BFI exit polls for example the statistics for the film FRANK show that 29% of the audience were drawn into the cinema because of the trailer. 

CREATING A BLOG HEADER

This is the blog header that I have created to go at the top of my blog to make it stand out from the others. I haven't attached it to the top of my blog yet as whenever I try to attach it it doesn't look the way I want it to and I don't want it up on my blog if it looks bad.

PLANNING: Initial Ideas

This is a screenshot of our brief MindMap that shows our ideas and what we plan to do for our teaser trailer. The right hand side represents the happy and romantic side of the story and the left hand side represents the dark and twisted side of the story. The left hand side shows options of what our plot twist could be and the two highlighted ones are the ones we think are the best options, the red one is our main choice 'physical abuse' and the blue one is our second choice/back up 'Adultery/Cheating'.

RESEARCH: Film Education

Codes and Conventions of a Film Trailer

This is a questionnaire that I took on the Film Education website that allowed me to test my knowledge of the Codes and Conventions of a film trailer. Once I had answered all of the questions I checked my answers using its interactive facilities as it tells you how many of them you have answered correctly. 

This can be accessed following this link: Film Education Codes and Conventions Questionnaire

On this Film Education site there are many other tools, pages and documents of information which helped me learn about film trailers, how to make them and how to analyse them. I have used their framework to make my presentation on what I have learned about the codes and conventions of trailers.

Making A Trailer

After looking at the Codes and Conventions guidance provided by Film Education I continued to look through the website and found a portion of the website that give guidance and help on making a trailer. This page provides worksheets and the bottom that give very helpful guidance into making a film trailer. This page also gives you the chance the create your own trailer using a variety of clips, titles and soundtracks from a film. The film provided is A Good Day to Die Hard, directed by John Moore. This is an incredibly helpful activity as if gives you the chance to experiment with how a trailer is created and what needs to go into it. 

Making a Trailer Guideline document

From this document and activity I learned many things, for example I learned that a good soundtrack can make or break a trailer. This trailer maker gives you quite a few soundtrack options and depending on how you compiled the clips to make your trailer you have to be very careful on the soundtrack you choose and if it actually works with the trailer or not. I also learned that to create a successful trailer you have to have a huge array of different clips to choose from to give you enough variety when editing to create an intriguing trailer that people actually want to watch.



Link to mini trailer

The page also provides a set of 3 questions to answer about the film and to show what you need to be thinking about when analysing and making a trailer.

What information can you find out about the film online? Think about where the idea for the film comes from, and any other related films.

What sort of audience do you think this film likely to target?

In what ways might the trailer for this film be pitched to appeal to the audience/audiences for the film?

These questions are very helpful as they guide you in a very simple way to gather all the information you should have before you start to analyse or create a trailer of your own.

RESEARCH: CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A FILM TRAILER

RESEARCH: Gone Girl

RESEARCH: Legend

RESEARCH: The Perfect Guy

RESEARCH: Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens

RESEARCH: Trello

Click for my Trello

I have created a Trello to help myself stay on top of all the work that I need to do and to help me with time management.

BRIEF

For the first two weeks of our A2 Media Studies course my group and I had decided to create a Short Film and we researching and working on Brief 10. I have taken down four of my short film analyses and kept the most relevant two up. We have since developed our idea and have decided that it would work better as a fast paced film teaser trailer.We have decided to pick Brief 2 a promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with:

• A film magazine front cover, featuring the film

• A poster for the film

RESEARCH - Somebody (Short Film)

RESEARCH - GOD VIEW (Short Film)