Planning for Publication

Who is the primary audience for my trailer?

Lighting Techniques

Three point lighting

In this lesson I learnt standard way of lighting an object with a key light, back light and fill light. The three different positions of light illuminate the shots subject, which control the shadows created by the direct light. I also learnt that
the use of dark light is predominately used in horror, the technique used is called chiaroscuro as the contrast between light and dark is shown.

Lighting creates many different effects and illusions as it draws audience member into the shot.

In class we used coloured filters to manipulate the main source of light using red and blue to create different moods and changes in the atmosphere. The red lighting came across as a theme of horror - death and blood. While the blur lighting created a cold feeling as if a mystical is happening.
ISO - film sensitivity is also called film speed. 150 100 - low sensitivity but good quality. 1600 - very sensitive meaning low quality making it more grainy.

 

Camera Techniques

Camera Setting/Techniques

The aperture - Is known as  the circular curtain inside the lens. It is the unit of measurement that defines the size of the opening in the lens that can be adjusted to control the amount of light reaching the film or digital sensor.

The F-Stop refers to the 'lens focal length'. This is used to manipulate the amount of light that comes into the camera.

The smaller the F-Stop (camera number) there will be less light going into the camera, this allows everything to be more focused as well as for a wider depth of field.

 

Depth of field is how much of the shot is in focus. The more the depth of field (wide depth) means the more you will have in focus in your image. The smaller the depth of field (narrow depth) means only certain parts of the shot are in focus and the background is mainly blurred.

Using Jing to analise a trailer

Analysis_of_Carrie_Trailer_

Texas Chainsaw - Shot type analysis

Analysis and shot recreations

In todays lesson I watched the 'Texas Chainsaw' Trailer and thought about the shots I would like to use in my own trailer and production work. I then took a few screenshots from the trailer and analysed each image explaining my personal thoughts about the shots and what they could possibly show.

Script

 

Using Celtx

What is the Celtx software used for?

 

 

 

It is a professional pre-production software/program that is used to create scripts from drafts to your last shot. It includes the breakdowns of story boards to schedules and budgets. This software is designed for creating and organising projects such as screenplays, stage plays and films. 
Today I used this as a starter for writing parts of my script for my trailer production. Based on the previous part of my lesson analysing my trailer structure made its a lot better to begin writing the script.

 

Trailer Structure of Production Work

 

In my group we split the structure of our script plan into sections
- Temi - writing for the Opening 
- Me - writing for the Build Up 
- Mabinty - writing for the Problem 
- All - writing for the Events 

Summary of Trailer

It is the day of graduation and there are 2 boys Kian and Joshua with 3 girls, Blessing, Amber and Nina.

So Blessing finds these people and forms an attachment with them and they all become good friends. So because she really likes them as friends she wants to keep them by her side forever. So terrifying deaths mysteriously start to happen. 

In fact Blessing is a victim in a coach accident and unfortunately she was the only person who passed away and she was soon to be graduate. This means shes a dead student that is 'invisible' but she can be seen.  So Blessing kills Nina, Kian and Joshua. But the final girl who is Amber survives. She kills them for her own good so they can stay with her on her lonely days as a 'human' student so they too cannot move on with their lives like her. 

This was the original plan. However giving this thought us as a group had questions such as, how can the teachers not know that the students are going missing.

So we thought that Blessing could have died because she didn't want to move onto university and wanted to stay in her year because she was having a good time. Her friends at the time wanted to move on and continue their lives. So this stressed out Blessing so she got really stressed and killed herself. 

Films Cool - Session 4

Film's Cool with Kate and Jesse

This session was very good must most challenging as most of ideas were dropped and left behind known as 'killing your babies'. Although everything was for a good cause because from this we were able to develop our ideas and make them stronger as a group.

My group and I wanted to create a party scene for our trailer. To make this effective Kate suggested that we should record people running down a corridor having voice over recordings over the footage. In which we should include party drinks and cups.

"As a scriptwriter you have to ask yourself questions from an audiences point of view" This had a dramatic effect on how I thought about things after Kate said this, as I would now put myself in the audience shoes to see if something makes sense or not.  

In this session our theme changed from New years to Graduation due to that fact that making New Years had many downfalls and didn't flow from an audiences point of view.

'Graduhate' then developed from this idea as our antagonist hates graduation as all her friends move on and leave her behind

Film's Cool - Session 3

CBMA

 

Before going to the session I had questions that I wanted to ask, having inspiration from other horror movies. Also how to create trothing effect from the mouth.

I aim to use what I've learnt from todays session in my production work

Synopsis

New Tears
Protagonist
Stock Characters
Plot and Stock Situations
IconBackground and Décor
Theme

 

On the night of New Years a group of friends go out to create a memory, to have fun and go wild. They notice a lonely girl standing by herself who attends Acland Burghley School. She goes by the name Jessica Bane, she becomes paler and paler over the past few month. The group of friends decided to explore and break into their school were they had just graduated from. When they started to notice something wrong about Jessica Bane.  Nina wonders off from the rest of the group to the office looking through files and recognises a familiar face that she sees in every group photo coming up every decade in Acland Burghley School. This face never seems to age. however her features change. She recognises that the girl is Jessica Bane. The girls started to going missing one by one.

Five Deaths for Production

Deaths for Production:

In my production I aim to make each death look realistic having that 'slasher' effect making it look horrid and gruesome. The main reason why the death starts to take place is because our antagonist feels the need to kill one another so they become close to her as she is a ghost. Killing them will make them only see the world like she does.

For my next Film's Cool session I have noted questions in order to make my production successful.

Q: How to create a ghostly look on someone using make-up ?
What techniques are used and how are they staged ?
How do we use school related objects (pens, rulers, pencils, Bunsen burners) to make wounds and stabbing look real ?



Ways death takes place:
- Slitting throat
- Breaking neck
- Stabbing
- Getting burnt - fireworks - glue gun
- Hockey stick thrown to the head

Planning for a producation

My group came up with various holidays in which we can base our horror trailer on. In terms of the antagonist having a background story based on a particular day where something went wrong for him or her basing all their deaths on that particular day. We done this by following up all the holidays that come around yearly then shortlisting them down to two options.


Holidays:
- News Years *
- Valentines day
- Easter
- New term (academic year) for students being in September
- Halloween/ Black History Month
- Bonfire Night *
- Christmas

Planning for a production

Planning for a production from martinaconteh

Research into Stock Characters Profiles

Stock Character Profiles

This task was to do research of stock character profiles across a number of Horror Slasher movies, finding the definition for the different type of stock characters and where they were found.

Character Profiles Using Celtx

Planning Process using Celtx 

In today's lesson I had to navigate Celtx into creating character profiles for my production. This involved creating and coming up with different ideas that can then be developed into further ideas by the help of my group when discussed, as we had to individually create character profiles then come together deciding on what we will keep or change . 

Character profile development

Planning of character profile

From the second Film's Cool session I used the information Jesse gave me on my character profile development.

- Personality type: Conniving, very sly as she doesn't show 'the real her' to her friends
- Love Problems: Not able to hold on to real friendships because she continues to relive the academic years. In which this means she meets a new set of friends.
- Life Profession, wants and needs: Feels the need to kill everyone close to her so they can stay with her and not move on, in terms of going to University

"If your not able to put your work into one name or title this suggest that your work can be improved" Jesse - Said this to my group on the day of our session. This has had a positive effect on my planning in terms of what and how I can do things to improve my work.

Film's Cool - Sesssion 2

Today's session was really exciting for me. In Film's Cool we were introduced to a successful and professional writer called Jesse O'Mahoney.
In the first half of the session he gave the class an insight of what he does and some of the work he has done. Jesse has written for TV soaps such as Eastenders and Hollyoaks.

After having a conversation with him with my group on our ideas and production work Jesse gave us advice on what to consider in which building our character profiles. This consisted of the 3P's:
- Personality type
- Love problem
- Life profession

In the second half of the session a podcast was done on Jesse where the class asked him questions about his career and how it begun and he answered them in a professional manner.  

Planning for a production - My Group

My Group

The first step of my production plan was to choose a group I would like to work with to develop ideas to be successful throughout the duration of the course.

The two individuals that I decided to work with were; Mabinty and Temi. My reasons for this is because they both have numerous amount of strengths and skills that can be brought to the group in order to have a successful production

Temi's Strengths
- Analysis skills
- Storyboards
- Performing arts A level
- Creating set pieces

My Interest/Strengths
- Good acting skills - Performing arts A level
- Pitching and developing various ideas
- Potentially interested in Make-Up
- Script writing
- Interest in Music

Mabinty's strengths
- Good camera use - Digital photography
- Software - Photoshop and InDesign
- Navigating digital camera
- Up to date knowledge on Horror films
- Good at creating a plot

In my group we are all interested in the genre Horror this will benefit us all because we have a general idea of what they all have to offer in terms of the outcomes. Myself and Mabinty are really close and have great organisation and communication skills in terms of us meeting up on a regular basis to complete work. While Temi and I have good experience in performing in terms of all three aspects of performing arts; Music, Drama and Dance.

Plan of Narrative Structure

From the first Film's Cool session the creative task was to use what we learnt from Kate Hardy then use this as a guideline to can come up with different ideas individually. From this I developed three ideas

Film's Cool - Session 1

Telling your story

Today was my first session with Film's Cool. I found it very interesting but different to my normal media lessons.
We had a small lecture from Kate Hardie about generating small ideas into what could possibly become great ideas as well as the writing process/industry.

I learnt when telling a story there is always three main points that may start you off. This being;

• To think of what story is it? Is it a recognisable genre (Comedy, Romantic, Horror) Bring new perspectives to different genres, familiar tales and subjects 
• To know why your writing this particular idea and why its important to you - the Theme. What are you exploring and hoping to communicate from this
• Don't write anything you don't care about!!

From the lecture I learnt and understood a lot more about genre. 'Genre is just a framework the story is important and gets you thinking' by this it will only make the story more interesting and accessible.

Below are a few images from the first Films Cool session.

Representation of Women in A Horror Trailer

Mulvey's Male gaze - Audience Theory

The Male Gaze 

In today's lesson I had to explore and understand the theory of 'The Male Gaze' considering the strength and effects of this theory, by which applying it to a trailer production.

The concept of the male gaze is one that deals with how an audience views the people that are presented e.g. through film.

Feminist view  

• How men look at woman 
• How women look at themselves
• How women look at other women

The term 'male gaze' was coined by Laura Mulvey (1975) she suggested and also believed that the male point of view is created and also adopted from the perspective of a heterosexual male audience by the camera.

Features of the male gaze include:

The practice of the camera 'lingers' on the curves of the female bodies where by women are viewed as 'sexual objects' to give pleasure and satisfy the desires of the opposite sex. - this automatically forces the audience to look at the woman through the shot types, editing and close ups.

In most film the central active characters are male whereas the females are more passive seen as the 'physic' or back up in which the male audience identifies them in their viewing of this. Woman are also seen as subordinate to men through the 'male's eyes'. 

HOWEVER! This theory can be challenged due to the fact that not all 'central heroic characters' in film are male as some may be female too, although Mulvey denies the existence of the female gaze. Which questions, How would 'the female gaze' change film as we see it ?
There has also been many changes to the representation of women which has resulted in challenges to stereotypical gender roles  

Killers in Horror Films

Killers is Horror Films

This task was to explore key characters in Horror Film by investigating conventional characteristics of the protagonist in which I will apply my research and findings to my own Horror production.

Genre, Iconography and Ideology

In today's lesson I looked at two specific film posters that I have been exploring in which I analysed one in full detail which shows how genre us used to promote films.

Recognising Film Trailer Structure

Recognising Film Trailer Structure

In todays lesson the task was to break down the genre conventions and structure of a film trailer of my own choice, using a table to record my finding. The genre was Horror and I decided to look at the trailer called 'Dark Touch'.



 

Testing Burton's Formula

Testing Burton's Formula

In today's lesson I had to use Burton's formula as a guide to make a key and colour code that point out specific elements in  slash horror film plot summary's.

Colour Code:  Key Elements

•Protagonist

•Stock Characters

•Plot + stock situations                                                         

•Icons

•Background + Décor

•Themes

•  

Friday 13TH

A group of young adults set up tent near the abandoned summer camp where a series of gruesome murders are said to have taken place back in 1980. The perpetrator was a grieving mother, driven insane by the drowning of her child, Jason, whom she believed was neglected by the camp counselors. As legend has it, the last survivor of the attacks beheaded the woman. But then Jason came back, and now he is a vengeful and inexorable killer, wielding crossbows, swords, axes and other sharp instruments. The legend proves horribly true, as these campers quickly discover. Six months later, the brother of one of those campers distributes posters of his missing sister. The police believe she took off with her boyfriend; but he knows better. The brother crosses paths with an uptight young rich guy who is having his girlfriend and friends over at his parents' cabin. The brother ends up at the cabin himself just before his sister's attacker sets upon them all.

 

 

SAW

 

Two men wake up at opposite sides of a dirty, disused bathroom, chained by their ankles to pipes. Between them lies a dead man loosely clutching a hand-held tape player and a handgun. Each finds a tape the perfect fit for the player in their back pocket. They play the tapes. One is threatened, the other isn't. But they have a task: One must kill the other by 6:00, or his wife and daughter will die. They find hacksaws in a toilet, and try to cut the chains, but it doesn't work. They are the two newest victims of the Jigsaw Killer. In a flashback, we learn of Amanda, a girl who falls victim to the Jigsaw Killer. On her head is a mask, which is hooked into her lower jaw. There is a timer on it. Only one key will unlock it, and that key is in the digestive tract of her cell mate who lies paralyzed on the opposite side of the room. If she doesn't unlock the mask in time, her lower jaw will be ripped wide open. She survives, but her cell mate doesn't. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn of more victims, and of the nearly-successful capture of the Jigsaw Killer, who doesn't actually kill his victims. Instead, he finds ways to make them kill either themselves, or each other, and he thinks the entire 'game' out perfectly, with no other ways out.

 

The Card Player

Policewoman Anna Mari is forced to play a dangerous game with the title serial killer. If she loses, she witnesses the maniac's tortured victims having their throats cut in explicit close-up detail via webcam. She teams up with British cop John Brennan to find out the identity of the murderer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evil Dead

 

David, his drug-using sister Mia and his friends Eric, Olivia and Natalie travel to an isolated cabin that belonged to his parents to spend a couple of days together. Mia promises to stop using drugs and Olivia, who is a nurse, promises to help Mia in her abstinence. They discover a hidden basement with witchcraft and the Book of the Dead, and Eric reads it and unintentionally summons an evil force. Mia, Olivia and Natalie are possessed by evil and Eric reads the book trying to learn how to destroy the demon.

 

 

 

 

 

Scream

 

Peaceful town in California turns into a bloodbath when a masked killer haunts the town. Sidney Prescott, a young teenage girl, whose mother was killed a year before, becomes the target of the mask killer! Her boyfriend Billy Loomis becomes the main suspect along with Sidney's father. Local Tabloid News Reporter Gail Weathers and Woodsbroro's Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley investigate and try to figure out who the killer is and if it's the same person who killed Sid's mom the year before!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genre Exploration

What is Genre?

A Genre is a type or category of media product, for example Spy Thriller or Action, which happens to have certain distinctive main features. These features are what we understand and recognize though it being repeated over a period of time.

What is an Action Genre?

An Action genre is an area of film where action sequences, such as fighting, stunts, car chases and explosions happen to take precedence over elements like characterization or complex plotting. This involves individual efforts on the part of the heroic character in contrast with most war films. The genre is closely linked with the thriller and adventure aspects of film genres.

What do you understand by the concepts of repetition and variation of a genre?

Genre films are commercial features which use repetition and variation to tell a familiar storyline using familiar types of characters and situations. By this they may have to live up to the expectations of the genre in order to be popular. In addition to Action movies they tend to follow that heroic based story line that may happen to be at war with an army or villain or potentially putting themselves forward to save the world. For example G.I. Joe and Taken again the same features that live up to the expectations of being an action movie.


What are the Key Elements of Genre?

Protagonists – Are known as the lead character which may be a hero or a villain. The lead male character would come across as ‘courageous’ and ‘good looking’ that would most likely rescue a lady that is in distress at some point. On the oth4er hand the lead female would play a character that is a second hand to the male, being also good looking.

Stock Character - A stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. They also happen to be those that surround the main characters.

Plots and Stock Situations – In a movie there is usually a beginning middle and end which is known as the plot. In G.I. Joe  
Duke becomes the leader of the G.I. Joe unit, which is framed for stealing nuclear warheads from Pakistan by Zartan, who is impersonating the President of the United States. Duke has to prevent the nuclear warheads from exploding and hitting the other countries.   When the truth comes out, Cobra Commander escapes during the battle and Storm Shadow disappears after avenging his uncle. The real President addresses the nation at a ceremony where the team is commemorated as heroes.

Icons – This is a key symbol and aspect of the genre, when we see them this is where we immediately recognize and concentrate on knowing what territory you are in. There are three main types of icons: Objects, Backgrounds and Sometime starts.   

Backgrounds and Decor – When backgrounds in action movies become very distinctive then they automatically become icons. For example in G.I. Joe the teams ship is known as there safe territory where they plan, practice and solve things. We see this ship throughout the movie, which is known as an icon.

Themes - The theme is what connects the value of the messages that are projected towards the audience. All genre narrative says something about conflict being good and evil between alternative views of right and wrong.

-      Truth vs. Ignorance

-      Loyalty vs. Deceit

-      Self-sufficiency vs. Dependency

-      Persistence vs. Surrender

-      Integrity vs. Temptation

What do you understand by the concept of a genre ‘formula?’

All the above elements add up to what we call the formula which is the equation. In terms of Television soaps there are other elements of the formula known as matriarchal figures, conflict through misunderstandings and emotional crises. Mary Ellen Brown describes this genre as:

-      A serial form that resists narrative closure

-      Use of multiple characters and plots

-      Emphasis on dialogue, problem-solving and intimate conversation

-      Female characters who have power outside the home

-      Male characters who are ‘sensitive’ men

When you understand the formula it helps you understand what is going on which gives us the pleasure of feeling that we are on familiar grounds.

Does the fact that many products work to a formula make them boring?

Purpose of a trailer

Depth of Field

Dept of Field

Focus of camera

The Crash Movie Edit

I

The Crash Movie Edit - Montage

Montage Editing

Montage Editing

What is the Kuleshov Effect?
Creating a short film by putting images next to each other (same footage) allowing your brain to fill in meaning which is created by the viewer.





Who is Sergei Eisenstein?
Sergei Eisenstein was an early Russian film director and film theorist who was known as the 'Father of Montage'. He developed the use of montage in storytelling.








What is Montage?
The process or technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of film (short shots) to form a continuous whole. This can be speeding up or slowing down our perception of time as well as manipulating rhythm and tempo to create a response, by compressing/condensing a clip of two hours down to a few minutes. 


Where does montage occur in films trailers?
Montage in film occurs during action/horror trailers, having time being compressed, showing a flashback before someone was killed and the after effect. 

Die Hard Trailer Edit

Die hard Trailer part 1

http://www.filmeducation.org/teachingtrailers/secondary/make_a_trailer/view/1E824

Rules of Composition

Headrooom 

Good Headroom

Leaving 2/3rd of space above the head and the top of the frame, its important to not leave to much space in the composition

Bad Headroom 

Having the eyes in the middle










Nose/Looking Room  
negative space between a characters eyes and the negative space being the edge of the frame they are looking

Rules of Thirds 








Dept of Field