RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Twilight Trailer Analysis

I have chosen to analyse the trailer of the film Twilight. I think this trailer is very cleverly constructed through the use of quick cutting shots and the transitions between them. It is these effects which we are hoping to successfully apply to our trailer. That, and the clever way in which the background music fades in and out in order for the dialogue to come across clearly.

This trailer can be found through the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2T7d8j6I5I

The calm music applied in the background at the start of the trailer instantly relaxes the audience into a false sense of security. Throughout the first half of the trailer the film is portrayed as a simple love story between a human and a vampire. However as the plot pans out it becomes clear that there are complications of a more dangerous nature than those which a usual couple would encounter. The pair must overcome many obstacles and break many boundaries built between the world of humans and the world of vampires in order to stay together. However, in doing so they break the few walls of protection which Bella had from others of Edward's kind, and are forced to endure the consequences.
The first shot of the trailer instantly sets the scene for the film, showing the dark and gloomy landscape of Forks the small American town in which Stephanie Meyer chose to set her novel, Twilight. The way in which the clip is sped up, showing the fast motion of the clouds against the still and Serene countryside of the town could represent the fact that, although the setting of the film appears to be still and peaceful, it actually plays host to a fast paced and dramatic story line, the quiet landscape, mirrored in the audiences first impression of the beautiful vampires, is not all it seems to be. The first caption to inhabit the screen is the date on which the film will be released. All of the text shown through out the trailer appears in the same sparkling typography. This could be to represent the goodness and innocence of the female character Bella, in contrast with the supposedly dark nature of the vampire, Edward, which is represented by the impenetrable inky blackness which surrounds the words. This subtle reference could also represent the light which Bella has brought into a world which Edward had grown to despise.
The next few shots are simple and effective, showing quick cuts of a the two lead characters who, at first glance, seem perfectly normal. However as the scene progresses and more of the plot is revealed, it becomes clear that this is not just a simple romance film. The use of such fast editing as the action begins disorientates the audience and causes a rush of adrenaline, making the trailer seem dramatic and exiting. As the out of control vehicle spins towards the "damsel in distress" Edward rushes to her rescue. The way the image of him stopping the car flashes into negative colours, imprints the scene on the mind of the watch and emphasises it as a key point to the plot. The dramatic colours caused by this colour change seem bright and fiery, possibly representing danger. It could also signify the point in Bella's life when everything turns upside-down, and she is draw into the supposedly mythical world of Ware wolves and Vampires. The close-up shots of their faces, demonstrating how important Bella's reaction to the situation is make their emotions clear and illustrate how her character is not the typical "damsel in distress", but someone who will dive into the action headfirst and be keen to get to the bottom of the mystery around Edward's secretive life, despite the suggestion that there could be danger involved.

As the trailer then moves deeper into the plot the background music speeds up, becoming more cheerful in contrast with the setting. The scenes begin to show the two characters in the same shot, rather that have individual shots for themselves, mirroring how they have become closer together, and are beginning to understand each other. Over the shoulder shots are used in the shot of them in the restaurants, using a medium close up to show the characters faces, but also their body language towards each other. Warm lighting is used to reflect the mood of the scene and to show that, although Edwards character appears very reserved and unapproachable, he is actually caring and affectionate. As it becomes clear to the audience that Edward's character is distinctly inhuman, a composition of shots are thrown into the trailer, showing his various unusual acts as a vampire. The dramatic sound effects which are Incorporated into the music are cleverly positioned to fit perfectly with the transitions between shots. As Edward says "What if I'm not the Hero. What if I'm the bad guy?" there are several brief shots of various parts of the film before you see her reaction to this statement, shown just after a fade to black which is shown along with a harsh slicing sound in synchronisation with the scene transitions. these fades to black are shown right before a shot of a mist covered full moon, something which is often associated with fear and Halloween, showing how the narrative of the film is based on a traditional myth. However this shot then fades into a view of the couple lying in a flower strewn field, which is clearly filled with a mood of happiness and contentment, showing that everything which you think you understand, like the significance of a full moon, is about to be re-interpreted. The voice overs which follow are taken from various parts of the film, however they are matched with shots of the couple together, happy and comfortable around each other. The contrast of shots of the kiss that follows, shown before scenes of drama and violence makes the plot of the film seem even more exiting, in demonstrating that the film has a hybrid genre, ranging from romance to action, allows it to appeal to all ages. Fast dramatic clips of a murder shown interlinked with shots of Bella's father explaining that a man was found dead give the audience a taster of the action and inform them that the film may also be considered dark and dangerous as well as calm and sensitive.

As the mood darkens and Bella is in danger the lighting also grows darker. the outdoors scene is shown as if at night and others are dimly lit. Short shots of the jeep roaring through the trees match the fast pace of the music as the action draws to a climax. As the shots become shorter and the rhythm of the flashing images becomes fast the music grows ever louder to mirror the mounting tension. One word captions flash onto the screen, adding to the dramatic impression and working with the action filled images to create a rush of adrenaline. The dark scene of the fight between Edward and the evil vampire is shown in a room which is full of great shafts of light which reflect of the mirrors and disorientate the audience still further. The way the music pauses to hear Edwards heroic declaration "I'm strong enough to kill you." makes the phrase sound all the more dramatic, as it is as though everything has frozen, showing its significance. This technique is repeated as he speaks thew words "you are my life now" to a terrified Bella who is positioned just below him in the shot to show how she is the weaker character, and is completely dependant on him. The clap of thunder which echoes as the title Twilight flashes onto the screen emphasises the presence of the mist-like clouds which surround the word, another reference to moonlight and Halloween related fairy tales. The date which the film will come out is also shown in the same light-filled lettering as the title, linking the two together.

The trailer of Twilight is extremely cleverly constructed, the use of mise-en-scene, editing, and camera work all come together to portray a perfect representation of the final film, giving a taster of the plot line without revealing the ending. I hope we will be able to successfully apply some of the techniques which i have identified in our trailer production.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Shot Analysis

Whilst filming we experimented with a variety of angles for each shot so as to give us as much scope as possible for changes once we got to editing. This allows us to compare the different effects and decide which works best when in place in the final piece.

Majority of high angle shots ~ to show Jen's venerability

~ Jen's change of mind as she is in the hall and cant decide which room to go into also shows her fear which is causing confusion, the high angle shot of her shows how this confusion is putting her at even more of a disadvantage

Low angle shots ~ to show the potential of Raf's power over her and to portray him as a superior character

~ e.g. low angle shot of Raf as he picks up her letter - shows how he is meant to be coming across as gentle and kind and is therefore not in so much control as he will be.

~ we were going to put in a low angle shot of Jen as she took food from the cupboards to pack her bag to show that she was taking back control by making the decision to run away - however we decided not to include this shot as we wanted her to appear venerable all the way through.

Point of view shot ~ to allow audience to feel Jen's terror

~ after watching the opening of the horror film "Scream" we decided to use their technique of having the victim in the corner/side of the shot to disorientate the audience and make them feel as though what she feels is about to inhabit the rest of the shot.

Shot reverse shot ~ of when there's a knock on the front door and the phone is ringing - this is to show her reaction and emphasise her fear

Lucy, Nikki, Rach :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Consideration of music and sound

After searching through thousands of tracks on the copyright-free website, http://freeplaymusic.com/, I finally found a selection of music which could be suitable for our trailer. These are listed below:

Abducted ~

http://freeplaymusic.com/search/advanced_search_ext.php

Army angels ~

http://freeplaymusic.com/search/advanced_search_ext.php

Be thrilled ~

http://freeplaymusic.com/search/advanced_search_ext.php

Chili stain ~

http://freeplaymusic.com/search/advanced_search_ext.php

Cold kill ~

http://freeplaymusic.com/search/advanced_search_ext.php

Disgrace ~

http://freeplaymusic.com/search/advanced_search_ext.php

Left out Question ~

http://freeplaymusic.com/search/advanced_search_ext.php

Nightmares ~

http://freeplaymusic.com/search/advanced_search_ext.php

After discussing our options between us we came up with a variety of opinions on which we believed would be most effective, I believe the most popular choices were "Abducted" and "Left out Question". However we decided that, as the music is such a key factor of the final piece and could dramatically influence the overall impression left on the audience, that we should wait until the final editing is complete and then decide which piece fits best with our composition of shots.

In terms of sound effects we have decided to add in the main elements after filming. For example with the sound of the phone ringing and the knock on the door we plan to search the internet for a download of these free soundeffects and add them into the piece afterwards. Hopefully this will make the overall final piece more proffessional as we will not have the background noise of shots getting in the way if the key sounds. We can cut out the sound completely and add in any voiceovers and sounds afterwards along with the music sound track. This also allows us to continue the sound of the phone ringing into the last shot of the title on the screen, without the complication of splitting the clip and the audio. We will also be able to make the phone ring loud and shrill without having the background noise louder than the soundtrack, this will also be effective with the knock on the door as it will be loud enough to make the audience jump.

Lucy :)

PRELIMANARY TASK - school

EVALUATION - Extened summary of trailer

Shot 1 – Bag packing (present)
Set – Nikki’s Kitchen
In scene – Jen
Each shot about 3 seconds long, fast editing, and soundtrack – tense music.
Shots consist of Jen panicking, searching through cupboards and stuffing food into a rucksack which is on the kitchen table. Food falls on the floor, CU of her hands, low angle of her taking food out of cupboards.

Shot 2 – First meeting (flashback)
Set – Postbox on side of the main road in Ashtead
In scene – Jen and Raf
Editing a bit slower but not much as shots still have to be quick, more relaxed feel to this part of the trailer. Jen walks to postbox about to post her letter but she drops it, Raf picks up the letter, high angle shot of him (at this point he shows no signs of being dangerous), low angle shot of her (to show contrast of how she is later on), He says ‘Hi’ while he hands her the letter.

Shot 3 – Black screen
Last shot cuts to black screen (flash transition) with a caption which says ‘She thought he was a dream come true’. We spent a lot of time deciding whether or not to have just captions, or to have a voice over with captions, or to just have a voice over. We decided to just have captions as then our trailer would appeal to a wider audience.

Shot 4 – Bag packing (present)
Set – Nikki’s Kitchen
In scene – Jen
Editing is very fast, shots extremely short, shots consist of Jen grabbing important papers (passport etc), dropping everything, putting things in rucksack, shaking and looking lost etc. Mid shots of her looking around trying to think of what else she needs, CU of her looking lost, mid shot of her as she runs out, also high angle shots of Jen.

Shot 5 – First Date (flashback)
Set – Nikki’s back garden
In scene – Jen and Raf
Scene is more relaxed but tense soundtrack is still playing so audience knows something is not right. Shots show them messing around, laughing having fun, low angle shots of Raf to show contrast to bag packing scenes. The last shot of this scene slowly fades to black.

Shot 6 – Black screen
Last shot fades to black screen with caption on it that says ‘But even the sweetest of dreams’.

Shot 7 – Bag packing (present)
Set – Nikki’s Kitchen
In scene - Jen
In this scene Jen runs upstairs and there is a shot of her legs through the stairs, it then cuts to her running in and out of rooms and grabbing clothes from draws, she then freezes and there is a CU of her frightened face. Over these shots there is a voice over of Raf’s voice, he says ‘Do you promise to stay with me no matter what?’ as this sentence ends there is the shot of Jen’s frightened face looking straight forward but not directly at the camera.

Shot 8 – Sofa (flashback)
Set – Nikki’s living room
In scene – Jen and Raf
In this scene it shows Jen and Raf on the sofa together, they look very comfortable with each other, Jen turns to Raf and replies to him by saying ‘Forever’, they embrace and the screen fades to black.

Shot 9 – Black screen
The last shot fades to a black screen with the caption on it that says ‘Can form your worst nightmare’

Shot 10 – Knife
Set – Nikki’s kitchen (but will try and make it look like a different kitchen but only using close ups and angling the camera carefully.)
In scene – Raf
In this scene it shows Raf taking a kitchen knife out of a draw, shots are very quick and music becomes louder to show he is dangerous, low angle shots of him.

Shot 11 – Bag Packing
Set – Nikki’s Kitchen
In scene – Jen
This scene shows Jen stuffing clothes into the bag (the clothes she got from upstairs) and it also show’s he grabbing a penknife from a counter in the kitchen, she freezes as she hears a sharp and loud knock on her front door, there is a shot reverse shot of Jen and the door, Camera track towards the door (we are going to attempt to track as we think zoom looks unprofessional), Jen backs away from the door terrified, music grows fainter as her phone rings loudly from the other side of the kitchen, CU of phone with the name ‘Eric’ flashing on it, CU of Jen as she looks from the door to her phone, she is terrified and image fades as she sinks to the floor.

Shot 12 – Black screen
As image fades, sound of phone ringing continues and the soundtrack fades out completely, the word ‘Runaway’ flickers onto the screen along with the release date ‘2012’ the screen then cuts to complete darkness before ending.


All editing is fast so we are able to fit in all the shots we want in this short amount of time and to keep the audience interested, soundtrack is present until the last few seconds of the trailer. The ‘flashbacks’ are all brighter than the bag packing scenes to show happier times, the bag packing scenes are very dull and darkly lit.

Rachel, Lucy and Nikki

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Sleeping with the enemy trailer

I have chosen to analyse the trailer for Sleeping with the Enemy as it has a similar narrative to our teaser trailer. I could only find the full length theatrical trailer on YouTube but i still think the techniques used could be helpful to us in planning our teaser trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ombLA8Gqbpk&feature=related

This is a link to the trailer.

The trailer starts with a soundtrack of the song ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ this is a happy, upbeat love song. There is a voice over which states “She was a stranger in a small town” over a shot in which Julia Roberts is putting flowers on a window sill, this shows her innocence and that at the beginning of the film and that she is happy and content with her life at that moment. In the next shot it shows Roberts meeting a man (Kevin Anderson), the lighting is light to show that he poses no threat to her, it is clear to the audience that there will be some sort of romantic connection between the two of them. The screen then goes black and the words “Twentieth Century Fox” appear, the voice over also says this, this shows the audience who the distribution company is and would appeal to them if they have seen other 20thC Fox films. The next shots show the relationship building between Roberts and Anderson including a first date and some sort of event, the happy soundtrack is still playing in the background and the lighting shows that there is a good atmosphere; even the darker shots look romantic as they have an orange glow. The screen goes black again with the “Julia Roberts” in it, the voice over also says this; this would attract the attention of the people who have seen Julia Roberts in previous films and attract a wider audience. There is then a fast sequence of shots of Roberts laughing and having a good time, the voice over starts up again saying “Behind her smile is a secret…Behind her laughter… is fear.” When the voice over says “laughter” the soundtrack changes from ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ to tense music typical of a film from the thriller genre, the types of shots also change when the word “laughter” is mentioned. The shots are a lot darker and the editing is more dramatic, there is a shot someone banging on the door and that sound is amplified to scare the audience, there is also a CU of Roberts face as she screams. This shows a dramatic change in the films genre from romantic to thriller and therefore attracts a wider audience. The voice over continues “Behind her happiness is a past she can never forget” there is then a shot of a boat in a storm and someone falling, or jumping, off that boat, the shots still remain very dark. A new character is introduced played by Patrick Bergin, he shouts after Roberts character “Laura!”, Roberts then admits to Anderson that she had a husband, in this shot the lighting is light again, this shows that she is comfortable with her new boyfriend and feels safe with him. There is a shot reverse shot of her talking with her boyfriend to her swimming in the sea to get away from her husband (Bergin) then back again to her talking with Anderson. The lighting is a main contrast between the two shots, when she is swimming it is very dark and obviously the middle of the night, this makes the shot seem tenser. It then cuts to a CU of her husband as he says “she was the only thing I ever loved”, it then quickly cuts to a shot of Roberts running up a bank looking extremely scared and then cuts back to Roberts talking to her boyfriend. There is then a mid shot that zooms to a CU of Roberts when she is in the bath; this is trying to show the audience that no where is safer for Roberts, she is always in danger. The next shots show how her husband came to find out she was still alive, even though these shots are filmed in the day time they are still very dark. There is then a shot of Roberts in the water but the shot is in red, this could symbolize the danger she is in. There is then a high angle shot of Roberts as she tells her mum that she is no longer with her husband, this shows that even through she has left him she is still vulnerable. The voice over starts again “She changed her looks” the editing slows down a little as it shows her meeting her new boyfriend but then speeds up as her husband shouts at her mother to tell him where Roberts is and there is a very quick shot of her husband rummaging through draws, this again is very dark. The voice over continues “she changed her life”, there is now lots of shots of her new life but the music remains the audience that this is still a thriller and that things don’t stay like this from the main characters. It then cuts back to her husband and her mother, he is being very aggressive and there is a low angle shot as the camera tracks towards him to show the power he has and to show that he is dangerous. The voice over continues “the women she used to be is dead”, there is another shot of her husband before it cuts to her boyfriend asking her is she is ‘okay’, this is the second time he has asked her this in the trailer, the lighting remains dark. “But the man who always wanted her” the voice over continues, there are more shots of her husband looking powerful and him threatening a man in a car so he will tell him where is wife is to show the audience that he is ‘the bad guy’. There is then a shot through the bushes looking into Roberts’s window, “wants her back” the voice over concludes, the trailer then cuts to a shot of the window and shows that it is raining outside, all of these shots are in the night time and some has a sort of orange glow, before this could have been seen as romantic because maybe it was from candles but now only seems dangerous. There is then a CU of Roberts crying and there is a voice over of her husband saying “Nothing can keep me away, I can’t live without you”, the camera zooms towards him, he is wearing all black, it then cuts to Roberts climbing up the stairs wearing a white dress, this makes it clear to the audience how is the innocent and vulnerable character and who is the dangerous one, the trailer then cuts back to the husband as he says “and I won’t let you live without me”. The trailer cuts back to Roberts walking round the house in the white dress, it is almost pitch black as she reaches to open a door, as she does the voice over begins again by saying “Julia Roberts”, the screen then fades to black and the title of the film appears which the voice over also says “Sleeping with the Enemy”. There are then credits and at the bottom it states that the film is ‘coming this February’, the tense music continues until the trailer ends.

I think this trailer is effective as it gives the audience a clear indicator of genre, The editing is very fast so it is able to cram a lot of infomation into the trailer about the film. It promotes the film mainly by using the name of the leading actress Julia Roberts who is very famous, this is effective as it will attract all her fans who may not have gone normally to see a thriller to go and watch this film.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Twilight Clip Analysis

This clip in Twilight, where the character Bella is in a panicked fury, trying to pack her belonging to get away from her home as quickly as possible, resembles how we want our teaser trailer to be portrayed. We would like our character in the trailer to show how desperate she is to escape, and show the same drama as shown here in the Twilight clip.

As Bella enters her house, runs up the stairs. We see her dad follow her, and the handheld camera follows him up the stairs as well. This make the audience feel as though they are they’re part of the action. It cuts to her going into her room and the camera has jumped ahead so we can see the action from a side on view.

It then cuts again to her and Edward in the room cramming as many of her belongings, into a suitcase on the bed. The camera is at a medium-close up of the two characters faces, keeping focused on their pained expressions and only shows the movements of their arms packing. It doesn’t focus on what they are packing.

As she leaves her room to walk into the bathroom, the camera cuts back to the view from the landing, with her father, who is constantly questioning her, trying to make her stay. She opens the bathroom cupboard, pulling things of the shelf, shoving them in her bag. She then walks back into her room, slamming the door in her dad’s face. Immediately opens it again, walking back into the bathroom. Grabbing more things frantically from the same bathroom cupboard. As she slams the cupboard door shut, it bounces open again, showing her force in closing it. She walks out of the room looking very flustered.

Her actions, of entering and leaving the different rooms many different times, shows she’s not completely decided on what she has to pack, and is thinking in the spare of the moment, grabbing what she can.

This reflects our trailer, because our character is going to be in a panicked rush, to pack her belongings and escape from her house as well. From analysing this film clip, we can get ideas from the way in which they filmed these types of scenes, from the camera shots and movements they use, to make our shots affective, to build up the increasing tension, and show the panic of our character.

The clip is from the film Twilight and here is the link below, however i couldn't find the clip seperate so here part of the film, but the clip i analysed starts at 7.09-8.10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNKVYF5uNqg&feature=related

Nikki

EVALUATION - Evaluation of my previous blog

Analysing my previous blog,

http://www.benjleighstapevans.blogspot.com/

For our AS coursework, we borrowed ideas from many different places to create our final piece. To help us along in this process, we analysed various openings from different films to develop our ideas and create a more professional look. By doing this, we had a good understanding of the techniques used such as using various different camera angles/shots to create different effects. For example, in our media piece, ‘Eudemonia’, we created various effects to give a general sense of what had been happening to the girl. The still camera shots and the handheld shots are an example of this. After looking at the film ‘Psycho’, we chose to place the film in black and white, as I believe it helped us to represent that we were going for a Psychological Thriller approach.

It’s by analysing other media texts that we were able to develop our films. YouTube was a viable place for doing so, and didn’t require us having to purchase any films to be able to analyse them. Along the way, we also evaluated our own piece, weighing up the good points and the bad. I feel this process aided us a lot, as we continued to improve our own skills for any following films that we created. Not only did we analyse our own films, but we had other people do so too. I found this was beneficial, as it led to a more critical approach and was not so biased. It’s easy for me and my previous blog members to evaluate our own work, however we may have been a little unfair on our approach and not been critical enough.

Along the way, we have posted various details about the work we are producing such as music ideas, photographs for the location and the scripts that we had planned on using. I found this to be a good idea, as it allowed us to stay on track and focus on the task at hand. As we continued to post more, I had found the group all knew what we were doing, and we weren’t unsure about anything. Furthermore, by posting any relevant ideas, it allowed us to mind map various concepts which had helped us create our media pieces.

Despite feeling that we did a good job with our blog overall, I do believe we could have done more to it. An example of this would have been more research on the Internet. We analysed films and took into account our own opinions, however we could have seen what the general publics’ thoughts were. If we had done this, I believe we may well have been able to construct even better pieces of work. In doing so, we could have avoided any problems or issues that other people may not have liked quite so much. Over the course of this year, I will be doing this, to help us gain a better understanding and perhaps create a better piece of work.

Being part of this blog, I hope I can amend any previous mistakes and report on research, ideas and any analyses. With any luck, I’ll continue to improve as we post more on the blog.

-Dale

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Trailer analysis ~ "1 hour photo"

In studying the trailer for the film "1 hour photo" it is clear that it contains a similar narrative to the one which we have constructed. The plot is similar, in that one of the main characters comes across at the start of the film as being perfectly normal, however as the plot unravels it becomes clear that there is something very wrong. Robin Williams portrayal of the main character Seymour Parrish was very convincing, winning him a Saturn award for best actor in 2003.

The way in which the trailer is composed greatly contributes to the effect it has on the audience. The music at the star of the trailer is an instant indicator of the genre of the films, and the way it is just played discreetly in the back ground means it does not detract from the plot. The captions which intermittently flicker up onto the screen are intended to disorientate, the images so far have only indicated that the man is alone and possibly slightly unusual, but there are none that have shown him as dangerous, although that captions are suggesting he is a stalker. The clever way in which the writing flashes onto the screen like the flash of a light switch could represent the spotlessly clean science-lab-style life which he leads. By the end of the trailer the images are flashing faster and faster onto the screen, possibly demonstrating to the audience the fast paced nature of the plot line. At the very end of the trailer the use of the camera flashes as a transition between shots is a clever reference to the narrative, making the ad unique and memorable. We may use this technique at thew very end of our teaser trailer as a way of placing the title on the screen. A flash of light would be an easy, effective and memorable way of making the name of the film stick in the audiences mind, we will test various effects on the editing suit and decide which gives the most effective overall impression once the trailer is finished.

To view the trailer for "1 hour photo", follow the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjIBX5RrG4Q
Lucy :)

EVALUATION - AS Coursework Reflection

AS Coursework Reflection

We used the Internet to get ideas for the opening of our film; this was our main method of completing research. We also used the Internet to analyse film openings, the main sight we used was YouTube, we were able to access many films easily and we wrote up many reviews on our blog, for example Rebecca and Step Up. We were able to find out about different camera shots and editing styles with we wouldn’t off if we hadn’t done research on the Internet. When filming we used the schools equipment; camera and tripod, the tripod enabled us to keep the camera steady on the static shots to make our film look more professional and realistic as if this was a ‘real’ opening for a ‘real’ film. However some parts of our opening were filmed using handheld shots. We thought this would make the film look more realistic and give our film variety. We used the editing programme Ulead 7.0 in the post-production stage of our course work. This programme we used to edit our shots, make them short, turn them into stills etc and arrange them into the sequence we wanted. We were also able to add in a number of different effects to our work such as fade-to –black as a transition between slides and title sequences.

In our group we all looked at the openings of films from all different genres to get ideas and witness different styles of filming. We mainly used the Internet and the website YouTube, we also looked at iplayer and itv player so we could watch relevant murder mystery/ thriller programmes. We also looked at relevant articles in The Guardian newspaper. We used these different media forms to try and create a film opening that was new and original and we were able to use the research that we have done to our advantage.

We did do a lot of research and planning for our opening but in many ways we ‘over’ planned, if we had made our film a bit more simplistic I think it would look more effective and clean cut. We tried to include everything, but this is something we have learnt from and has therefore helped us as we are now planning our film trailer. The openings we did analyse could have been done in more detail and therefore we could have picked up more filming techniques, this is something we have also learnt from. The handheld camera parts of our opening could have been improved as it looked very amateur, we had the right idea but the execution was a little off.

We received a lot of helpful audience feedback which we have taken into account and now have a clear idea on how we can improve. We did use a good variety of different camera shots and movement but we failed to make them ‘flow’ and look as professional as they could. We are using a new editing programme this year so the problems we had using Ulead 7.0 will not be a problem any longer. One of the many problems we had with this programme was deleting the audio we didn’t want, this lowered the standard of our film but now that problem is no more.

Our product does use conventions from real media texts as we looked at and analysed many different films from different genres. When our plans became more focused we then focused on looking at horror films such as Secret Window and 28 Days Later, these helped us make our film as realistic as we knew how at the time.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Media studies AS coursework reflection

In preparing for our trailer we researched and evaluated the beginnings of many other films of the same genre. We used “BBC iplayer” to watch and analyse murder mysteries which had recently appeared on television, such as Poirot, Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes. We also used Wikipedia to research the plot lines of other films, and watched many trailers on “YouTube”. For filming we borrowed recording equipment from the school, using a handheld video camera and a tripod. However for dramatic effect in our AS coursework we didn’t use the tripod as much as me might have done, although we do plan to use it in our A2 filming to make our shots look more professional. We will use other techniques to show the genre of the film. For example when editing we will focus on the subtle transitions between shots and the lighting used in each scene, the lighting employed in our AS piece was clearly out of our control as we were filming outside, however we hope to use it to our advantage this year.
By mixing together elements from all the different forms of media we had studied we were able to compose a completely new piece of material. We borrowed techniques from various forms of media and a mix of genres, using, developing and challenging forms and conventions of real media products. Through using the internet to research public opinion of popular films we could use their feed back to our advantage. We were able to apply aspects of films which they believed to be more effective and rule out those which seem tacky and predictable to a third party observer. Although we were very imaginative in the construction of our AS piece I feel we may have been a little too creative and, had we kept the plot line simple, we may have been able to make the overall impression much more effective. We have learnt from this mistake and hope to avoid it in our final piece this year.
In terms of our research and planning I feel that had we spent more time studying our available media our final piece would have been much more successful. Although we took time to analyse other films, I do not believe we looked into them in as much depth as we could have done, and his affected our finished product. Our camera work could have been greatly improved if we had properly analysed professional shots, however due to the weather on the day of filming we were unable to spend the necessary time perfecting the result.
Our audience feedback has been extremely beneficial. Although we were fully aware that our final piece was not up to the standard that we wanted to produce, as we had been so involved in the planning and creating of the piece for so long, it was difficult to step back from it and pinpoint the exact areas which let it down. The comments provided by our fellow class mates were both positive and critical, however every comment was valid and useful to us, and we have taken all of our feedback on board and hope to iron all last year’s mistakes out of our A2 coursework.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - AS Coursework reflection

Coursework reflection

Digital technology:
The media technologies that we used for our planning of our film opening were, we used the computers to search the Internet for ideas and to analyse other film openings so that we could see what professional filmmakers we doing and use it to our advantage.
We used the recording equipment, such as cameras and tripods, which enabled us to keep the camera steady and straight for our filming to look more professional. However in our final piece of coursework, as we make a horror film opening sequence, we had the camera handheld most of the time to give the effect of the audience being involved in the film, as though they are part of the action, so we didn’t use the tripod as much as we will this year.
To construct our film we used an editing programme called Ulead 7.0, which enabled us to capture our recordings, and then edit the scenes into sequence to present the film to our liking. It was very good as it let us use different effects between clips for example fade to blacks, and title sequences.
For A2, we are using a new editing programme called Udobe Premier Element 7.0. This has many more effects, which we can use to make our coursework even better than last year.

Creativity:
We used media forms to come up with something new and original. We put our idea together from watching other film openings, and analysing the different styles of opening, and the techniques used. We watched clips on the Internet, using YouTube as our main source, watched film openings on the TV. We read article from The Guardian newspaper, and read other articles off the Internet to gain some prospective on what others people had to say about certain subjects.
We were creative in the way in which we decided to show the scary action happening, with the character being followed, and then murdered. This opening sequence would attract the audience’s attention, as its scary and gets straight into the action. We then suddenly cut back to the day before, with the next scene showing the build up to the murder and why it happened.

Researching and Planning:
The combination of our main product and ancillary texts were effective, but could have been more creative. This is because we used the ancillary texts to help create ideas for our film opening. However, we failed to pull of the professional look, as our camera work wasn’t at a very high standard.

Post-Production:
From our audience feedback, we received constructive criticism and the positive points of our film. From this we could learn what we did right and what needed improving.
I have learned that we used a good variety of different camera shots and movements, however we could have made the shots clearer as the handheld camera does make some shots blurry and the umbrella in the top of some shots isn’t very good. The sound was also another problem. This is because we didn’t know how to delete part of the audio track and keep the part which we wanted, e.g. the whistling in the background. This caused there to be lots of diagetic sound, which only certain parts were effective, such as the breathing heavily, to create a scary feeling, however some people feel that it was too unrealistic.

Using conventions from real media texts:
Our media product used forms and conventions of real media products as we looked at many film openings and took ideas from them to further develop our own ideas. Some of these opening which we analysed include, Prom Night, Blood and Chocolate, 28 Weeks Later, Secret Window, and many more. These are all horror movies, which we analysed, as we were making a horror film, so we could understand the normal conventions they follow.
We developed our ideas based on our analysed films to expand on our knowledge and to try and make our film opening as good as we could.

Nikki

EVALUATION - Summary

The summary below outlines the basic ideas of our trailer. We are planning to film the 'bag packing' scenes in Nikki's kitchen, we will take photos of the area and post them on the blog. The scenes that have to be films outside will be harder to shoot as we have to make sure the weather is the same in each shot and it is filmed around the same time of day as it gets dark very early now. We will have to take these things into account when filming.

We will take pictures of all the sets, costumes and main props to post on the blog and comment on our choices.

Jen Brook and Rafid Valenciano have kindly agreed to take part in our film, they are both studying drama at A-level and therefore are able to play the parts perfectly.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Storyboards and summary

After developing and redeveloping many story boards, we have finally come up with what we hope to be our completed running order.

Our first simple draft of our original idea can be seen below:

"Runaway - Quick cutting shots of a girl packing a large rucksack (tins of food etc, before a photo, shot of her freezing as she stares at it before shoving it in the bag, then finally her hand hovers over a penknife on the table, she picks it up and is about to put it back down again but changes her mind and shoves i tin the bag) Fast miss matched shots of her doing up the bag and tightening the straps before swinging it onto her back. Close up of her hand grabbing the car keys off counter and then shot of the door slamming, sound echos and pic fades to black

"Runaway 2012" flashes onto the screen in the silence.

Our final plan, after many alterations:

Summary:
Girl hurriedly packing a rucksack (black and white/dark colours)
Flashback - Happy shot – the girl introduced to a guy (in colour)
Blank black screen and Caption – “She thought he was a dream come true”
Cuts back to Back to Bag packing
Happy shot – picnic (first date)
Pic fades to black, 2nd Caption – “but even the sweetest of dreams…”
Bag packing shot – voice over – mans voice “do you promise to stay with me, no matter what?”
Flashback - Happy shot – sofa, TV, take away etc – girl, you see her reply to him “forever”
Picture fades - 3rd Caption – “….can form your worst nightmare”
Music becomes darker and foreboding – shot of his hand drawing a knife from a draw
Cuts back to Bag packing, quick miss-matched cuts of her running round the house – finding items
Sound of sharp knocking on the door, shot of the door, with her in the for ground, turned towards it away from her back, frozen in terror, the knock comes again
Suddenly the Phone ring other side of the room making her jump
Close up quick shot of her phone on the counter before a shot of the girls face, white, confused and terrified, image fades but the sound of the phone ringing continues as the words “Runaway 2012” flicker onto the dark screen

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Planning

For our A2 coursework we have chosen to shoot a teaser trailer of a thriller style teen-drama. After much planning and discussion we have settled on the basic plot of "girl meets guy but discovers he's not all he seems to be." Having settled on the title "Runaway" we had originally planned to have our trailer as short as possible, consisting of simple shots of a teenage girl packing a rucksack. We have learnt from our work last year that it is best to keep the construction of the footage simple and make it more interesting through the way in which we edit our filming together, this will hopefully overcome the aspects of last years piece, which were perhaps, not so successful. After further discussion however, we decided to expand upon the trailer to reveal more of the story line. We have composed story boards and sketches of what we are hoping each take will look like, and have researched films of similar story lines and genres in the hope of expanding our background knowledge.

One film we were particularly interested in was "Sleeping with the enemy" which follows the basic plot of our planned film, meaning the impact of the trailer would be similar.

Purely for composition of shots in the first few seconds of the trailer, with the captions interlinked, we have also studied the trailer of "Centre Stage" and hope to incorporate some similar editing into our teaser, as we believe it is very effective.

These trailers can be found in the links below:

Sleeping with the enemy ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ombLA8Gqbpk&feature=related

Centre Stage ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR-SC1ulJ-k

Lucy :)