Song Choice

Song Choice

I wanted a song that would represent my teaser trailer, music that would be creepy, unsettling and would create fear within the audience; this is my plan from the start (to create fear and terror within the viewers).

I searched for the right song and found 2 song choices that I could have used. Both fitted into my ideal song choice, however whilst search for songs I also came across sound effects that could make my trailer creepy and more professional.

The song choices I picked were:

-          Call of Duty Black Ops:  Damned

-          Endless Demento

 The song choice of ‘Call of Duty Black Ops’ would have been really creepy and fitted my teaser trailer as it reflected the genre of horror. However, it is a popular music track and so it would not be original. I found that when I did try to edit my teaser trailer that it was hard to fit my clips with the instruments played, also the music  just repeats the same tune over and over again, which will give my trailer no complex or shape, which would be used for building up dramatic scenes. Without this my trailer would look plain to the audience and they would lose interest.

The song choice of ‘Endless Demento’ was also another great track to use, however again I found myself struggling to edit my clips within this piece of music. It did build up a small dramatic climax in the middle however the creepy music suddenly changes into a fast beaty tune that ruins the mood for the trailer, thus only giving me 55 seconds to create my teaser trailer which would be too short.

In the end I decided to just use loads of different sound effects and small parts of tunes that were made for the public/viewer to use for free, so no copyright material was taken. I tried to create a dramatic song that will keep the audience watching, by adding build ups in the music to create tension and to make the overall trailer look professional. I added in some sound effects that I made to make the trailer seem more real, and to let me be more involved with the production. I believe by doing this, it will make the trailer look more interesting and unique.  When text came on I tried to use a certain trend of music to create tension and suspense within the audience, as they will be wondering what scene will come on next.  Overall, I believe the music was a success as it does everything I planned out; creating fear, tension and unsettlement within the audience.

Font Choice

Font Choice

I wanted to have my font on my teaser trailer to link into the genre of the whole plot, I did not want the font to look too over the top, and yet I did not want the font to look boring, or in some ways too childish.

This is why I decided to pick a few good fonts that I liked, and compare them together to see which one gave the best effect.

The fonts I picked were:

-          Bitstream Vera Serif

-          Men in Black

-          True Blood

-          Sheffield

After look at all the fonts I thought could be a possibility, I chose ‘Bitstream Vera Serif’ as it seemed the most professional and bold font that would catch somebody’s attention.

The ‘men in black’ font did have that creepy feel to it; however it looked childish and may not have linked into the atmosphere of ‘fear’

The ‘true blood’ font also looked a bit childish and did not look unique; it also did not seem to fit into my production of my teaser trailer as this font would be suited in an action typed trailer instead.

Finally, the ‘Sheffield’ font looked a bit boring and not unique; it seemed plain for my teaser trailer. I wanted to create an intense trailer for my audience to watch as this would increase awareness of the film.  

Teaser Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vwrNC6YtrE

This is my first draft of my teaser trailer; overall I do think it has some good points as you can tell it’s a horror movie by the tone and music inputted onto the trailer, the trailer also includes some dramatic effects that build up tension, this is normally found in horror genre trailers.

I have tried to make my teaser trailer as professional as I can by looking at other teaser trailers and seeing how they have set everything out. By doing this I got more inspiration to create a better trailer and to create a trailer that would look real and worth watching.

I enjoyed editing the parts together as I could see what fitted well with the song choice also, I could see what parts when put together showed a smooth outcome of video clips that turned into a production.

The only problem I had was my editing software could not cope with size of my files and so it took a long time to render everything together, it took me 2 and a bit full days to make and edit everything; this was really stressful, I hope that when I make my improvements, my program will be able to render everything better and so I will have a better trailer.  

I don’t think I would change much in my trailer as I have tried to input every possible factor that a trailer needs into it, so when I come back to do my final teaser trailer, hopefully I won’t have to change much.

Characters

Main Character

Name:  Jordan Banks

Age: 14

I changed the character from a girl to a boy as I could only find a boy willing to play the part, plus he fitted  around the age range ( 15+ ) for the audience, so this will attract more viewers as they can relate themselves to this movie.

Dog

Name: Misty

Age: 4

I wanted to have an animal/pet in my trailer as the audience can relate to it as they may have a pet, it also brings reality to the trailer as the audience might have pets at home or have seen other people with animals.

Ill Boy

Name: ??? / Henry Danyetta

Age: 10

Hooded Woman

Name: ??? / Elizabeth Danyetta

Age: 37

Attic Girl

Name: ??? / Eleanor Danyetta

Age: 15

(This is not the characters costume because only her head shows in the scene she is in, the cape is to hide her body in the dark; in the attic.)

Key

-          ??? / (name): you don’t know the name of that character until later on in the film.

Props

Eye Contacts

I decide to use these eye contacts lenses within my teaser trailer as it will make my trailer look more professional in the special effect department and, it would make my trailer look more interesting. I bought ‘horror’ typed lenses so it would link into my trailer, and it would make my trailer seem scarier to the audience. I also wanted to have a very small part in my trailer so it is me who wears them; I wanted to put in the effort of trying eye contacts for the first time and being involved with the production of my teaser trailer.  I think this might connect me and the audience together as my trailer have thought outside the box in the ‘props’ section.

Doll

My overall story plot has a connection and continuous appearance of a doll, I wanted to buy a doll that looked old and used, this would increase the chances of making my trailer look scarier as old and rugged items are associated with fear and terror.  I believe the doll I picked represents this idea, it looks haunted within itself and might creep out the audience; affecting those who have a fear of actual living dolls. I also think my doll makes the trailer look more professional as again it adds extra interest into the mise en scene and creation of the scenery.

Costume Props

Face Paint  

I wanted to distinguish the living people from the dead, so I used face paints to try to add this difference between the characters.  I never overdid the makeup on the ‘dead’ characters as  I want the audience to question why are some of the character a grey colour whilst others are not, it will make them think, are the characters dead or are they just ill; thus making the audience connect and feel a part of the teaser trailer.  

Fake Blood

The ‘’attic girl’’ character would of wore fake blood as this links into her story line of her past, it also creates the terror effect  within the audience as they don’t know what has happened to her, it creates the suspense and this leads to the fear, which I would like to see when people watch my teaser trailer. It also makes my trailer look more professional as I am adding little details to it and this makes a big difference to the mise en scene and overall production.

Wig

I used a wig for the actress/ myself and for the audience/production, I wanted the wig to cover my hair as this is blonde and might show up in the dark ( where I am going to be filming my scene, this would give away the whole shock factor as I am creating a suspense scene ). So by having this wig; which is black, I can blend into the background and thus create the scene I want, by doing this it shows I have thought about my trailer and have considered any possible problems and the outcomes for it. However, my wig also can be for the actual teaser trailer, by having the hair colour black, the audience will associate my character as being mysterious or maybe evil as my other props/costume link into it; for example the fake blood around the mouth. This will make my trailer look more interesting and professional, creating even more fear within the viewers and linking it altogether with the genre of the trailer.

Audience Type [In Detail]

Age: 15 +
My teaser trailer will be age 15+ as my trailer might not be suitable for younger viewers as they could get scares easily.

Class: D, C2, C1.
My audience could also extend to E and B, as anybody can watch and take interest in my teaser trailer. An example of this is, my nana and granddad, love to watch horror movies and trailers and they are in the category ''E'' as they don't work anymore ( they are retired )

Gender: Men & Woman
My genre of movie can be watched and enjoyed by both genders, as most people like the feeling of feeling fear and terror. For example my mam and dad loves horror and they are different genders, also I have mixed gender friends and most love horror genre movies.

Audience Interests
My audience interests will be the feeling of fear and tension while watching horror movies. They will like to feel out of their comfort zone and into something that it supernatural and unknown to us human beings.

Diversion: my teaser trailer will be a diversion as it creates fear within yourself, so it could make you forget you’re past events and what is to come in your life, as you are more focused on the fear and tension created within my teaser trailer. If I make a good enough trailer too, the audience minds will just remember this trailer and so they will remember the movie and will want to see it, thus creating diversion as they are not thinking about them self but my teaser trailer.

Readings:
Preferred - The audience will think the ''monster'' is evil and just wants to hurt the characters in the story line. Thus creating fear within the audience.
Opposition - The audience will think the ''monster'' is misunderstood and is actually trying to reach out to the audience and characters as though asking for help.
Negotiated - The audience will think the ''monster'' is scary and evil but maybe there is a cause for it being like this, as though it needs helps.

Locations

My House

I wanted to use my house as it would be easier to get permission to film here and it would be quicker to get all the clips I need for my teaser trailer.

Nana’s House

I will use this location as again I will be able to get permission to film my teaser trailer easily, plus having different locations will make the trailer look more interesting to the audience.

Graveyard

Even though graveyards are the ‘basic’ location for a horror film, I am going to use this location because it will create a creepy vibe that will fit into the plot of my story. It will hopefully make the teaser trailer look more interesting too.

 

Story Board

This is the first page of my story board. It explains the first couple of scenes that are going to take place in my teaser trailer.

From boxes 1 – 4 the scenes show you a person finding a doll and puting it in the bin bag. Box 5 will be a ‘title’ screen where text will show up, this will make the trailer look more professional. Box 6 will then carry on with the trailer by showing you the main character putting the bag in the bin, however a shadow inside the house can be seen.

The second page of my scenes/ story board will again carry on with the story, boxes 7 – 9 are showing clips of the main character looking through a window to see what the shadow was, only to get a shock from his/her grandad banging on the glass (scaring him/her). Then box 10 is a break up of video to show another ‘title’ screen, this will build up tension within the audience and it will make the transitions from scene to scene look more realistic and professional. Boxes 11 – 12 will again carry on with the trailer, showing you the main character taking the dog for a walk where he/she see a boy; who looks sad and lost, the main character runs after the boy to be taken into a graveyard where a hooded woman is crying ove a grave stone.

Boxes 13 -14 will show video clips of the hooded woman beckoning the main character  over and his/her dog is trying to pull the owne away as it seems scared. Box 14 shows the woman dashing in inhamn speed towards the main character  ( camera view) , another ‘title’ screen will appear afterwards, then at boxes 16- 17 short clips will be shown of the main character   seeing the grave the woman was crying over and seeing the doll, this is to be followed by another ‘title’ screen.  These title screens won’t be as long as the others as reading text might bore the viewers watching.

Boxes 19- 24 show the main character going up to his/her house and when they open the stairway door the doll is sitting on the stairs, box 21 shows you; from the main character point of view, a boy; the one from the graveyard, pointing up to the attic, and then he runs off. The main character then hears bangs from the attic, and so gets torch and goes up to see if the little boy is up there. However the torch goes off when the main character reaches the attic opening.

Box 25 shows you the main character banging the torch to get it working, and when he/she gets it to work, they point it at the darkness and a face appears in front of their eyes.  This is followed by a ‘title’ screen. Boxes 27 – 30 show the main character running and in the background the doll is seen watching him/her everywhere he/she goes. It then goes onto show you the main character goes back into the granddad’s & nana’s house to find them, but they are not there. When in the sitting room, the boy; from previous occasions runs past and the door slams shut. In box 30 it shows you an over the shoulder shot/view of the main character chasing the little boy.

Box 31 will be just a black screen as the audience will only be able to hear static and voices (sound effects) this will build up tension.  Boxes 31 – 36 then show you the main character going up to the boy in the corner of the room crying; when he/she nearly touches the little boy he suddenly turns around and leaps towards the main character (camera view) with a demon face.

This is the last page for my story board, and will only take up one or two boxes. It will involve the ending scene, which will be the title of the film ‘Tortured Souls’ and maybe added effects like static and voices (sound effects)

Camera Test - Editing

I took the end part of my ‘Camera Testing 2’ video and thought I would edit it, I wanted to show how overlays and effects can change a piece of film; as you can see here, it makes it look like a different clip shown than the ending of my ‘Camera Testing 2’ video.

 I edited this clip to show you; the reader of my blog, that I will be using overlays and effects to create my teaser trailer. It will make my trailer look more professional and it will set the atmosphere of a creative piece of work.

To fit with the song I cut and rearranged some of the clips from the original video, so that when watching this film it looks well thought out and will flow nicely with the beat of the music.  I put a colouring on the overall clip to make it look unique and different from the original film, then lastly I added about 3 to 4 different overlays, that were set to ‘overlay, screen, and light’ on my editing software; Sony Vegas, to give of deep meaningful colour and texture.  I keep the same transitions from the original clip as they fitted with the music and gave the video that gentle but powerful vibe.

Overall, I think this film looks more interesting to watch than the original as these effects have been added onto it and make the film look more bold and colourful.

Camera Testing 2

This video clip is another ‘camera test’ to see how the quality of the film comes out, and if I would be able to use this camera, for the effects and shot types I need.

Again I edited the video together just so it appeals and appears more interesting to you watching it on my blog.  Instead of linking it into the genre of horror, I thought I should just film clips that would show different camera angles and different shot types, as practice for filming for me and to show you different shot types I might use in my film.

I think that this camera is much better quality than the previous camera I used; this camera was HD. So I think I will be using a HD camera for my filming as it will look more professional and, it will make my trailer look detailed as you can see clearly (no blurred vision).

In this video, I used different transitions to fit into the gentle and calming atmosphere of the video shown, this links into the overall video and so makes the whole thing look more professional and thought out more.  

Inspiration - Teaser Trailers

Atrocious

Even though this trailer is in another language, I love how it creates fear within the viewer, this is because they have created the trailer using hand held movements that make the viewer feel more a part with the footage; it makes the footage seem more realistic. By having the sudden pop ups and shocks the viewer is on the ‘edge of their seats’, and are waiting for the next shock to scare them. I love this method as it creates tension within the audience and plays tricks with their mind.  I am hoping to use this method in my teaser trailer as this will link into the genre of horror.

Alone  

I like how this trailer begins all sweet and innocent then suddenly starts to turn into the horror trailer it is; by having fast transitions link the different clips together and by having creepy music that can create tension within the audience. By using disturbing images and pop ups the viewer will want to watch the rest of the film and so the creators of the film will gain more profit.

11-11-11

This trailer starts by giving off a creepy atmosphere because of the music and the text that explains how this date is going to be the end of the world. It shows scenes of disasters that can affect a person’s mind when watching this trailer, maybe letting them reflect on their traumatic experiences over their life, thus getting them to start to feel tension.  By having the dramatic music build up at the end of the trailer, the audience will feel fear and will be on the edge of their seats, as though something big is going to happen. By doing this the audience will remember this trailer and thus will want to see this movie.  By having the noises from the film and not just sound effects, this also creates tension as you feel like the footage is more realistic; for example when the man says, ‘they are here’ you feel fear as you want to know who is here and you are suffering from the unknown.

Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark

I love how this trailer starts off with a creepy voice talking to you, making the audience feel as though they are in the trailer and that something bad is going to happen to them. The creepy sound effects also link into this effect of creating fear and tension. The sudden bang of music makes the audience jump and then the fast moving transitions also make you feel as though your heart is racing. The ending builds up all the tension as you know a pop up is going to happen but you don’t know when, this increases the fear within the audience. I believe that this trailer is a great example of a making the audiences want to see the full film, as this had the effect on me. It makes you feel involved with the trailer and you just want to see if the film is like this too.

     

                            

The Plot

By looking at the ideas I came up with to make my Media project about, I decided that I would make my plot around the idea of a haunted/possessed object.

I am going to use my Idea 5 to blend together a cocktail of horror that will hopefully be successful enough to make the audience jump, and feel fear when watching my teaser trailer; and this is not even the movie.  My Media project will also have a film poster and a film magazine front cover advertising the trailer, I will incorporate the horror genre whilst linking it into the style of the filming. Overall each part of the brief I pick will be linked together, and have a vibe of terror that will make the audience feel interested in the movie coming out.

The Story’s Plot

The basic outline for my brief is about a possessed/haunted doll that is found by the main character when cleaning out her nana’s attic; as her nana just moved in. The old lady who lived there before her nana died and as she was the last of her family, some belongings were left behind in the home too. The main character after asking her nana what to do with it puts it in the black bag for the bin with other items. She suddenly hears a dragging sound behind her, like if somebody is watching her, however when she turns nothing is there. The trailer then shows you her taking out the bag with the doll and other items in to the bin, when she puts the bag in the bin; the audience will be able to see a dark figure in the window of the house looking out at her. When the character walks past the window she hears a bang and a sudden hand print on the glass can be seen.

The next scene will show the girl taking her dog for a walk, however when she walks past the grave yard, she sees a little boy will blood on him, worried, she runs after the boy into the actual grave yard. However, there is nobody in sight apart from a hooded woman sobbing over a grave stone; she looks over to the main character and beckons her over. As the main character walks over, the dog tries to run away, pulling at the girls’ arm. The camera angle will but focused on the main character and dog but in the distance, the hooded woman starts to walk forward. The main character’s hand loses the grip on the lead for the dog and so, the dog finally runs away. When the girl turns to the woman, she is still walking towards her but in a oddly matter; I will edit the footage so the woman will disappear and reappear closer and closer to the main character, this will hopefully get the audience on the edge of their seats, as the woman is coming towards the viewers. After this, the next clip will show the girl next to the grave where the woman was, and there will be the doll sitting there; even though she had thrown it out in the nana’s house. She will pick it up and then drop it running away in fear.

The next scene will show the main character inside her house when she opens the stairwell door, and the doll is sitting on the stairs watching her, she then hears giggling and runs up the stairs to find the blooded boy smiling at her, he then points at the left of the girl and again runs away. The main character goes up the stairs and looks down to where the doll is, however it’s gone. When she reaches where the boy pointed to, she hears a loud bang in the attic. The next scene shows the girl grabbing a torch and going up the into the attic, however the light goes out and she starts to hear dragging and crying noises like what she heard in her nana’s home, she bangs the light a few times and it finally brightens up the attic, suddenly a bloody face appears in the light of the camera, crawling towards the camera view.

The next clip will show the main character running to her nana’s house, while the doll keeps appearing in the background of the shots. When she gets there she runs into the sitting room however nobody is here, nobody is actually in the house. Suddenly the bloody boy runs past the room the main character is in and the door slams shut. She quickly follows him into the corner of the room crying. Then slowly approaches him and gently grabs his shoulder. When she touches him he whips around and screams at her with a demon face that lunges at the camera that she is using.

Characters

The characters included are:

-          Main Character

-          Granddad/Nanna

-          Dog

-          Bloody Boy

-          Hooded Woman

-          Attic Girl

Camera Angles

The camera angles going to be used are:

-          Hand Held

-          Close Ups

-          Establishing shot

-          Medium Close ups

-          Long Shots

-          Zooms

-          Pans

-          Tilts

I will use these camera angles to make my trailer look more interesting to watch, and to create a sense of confusion within the audience as, for example a tilt might give the vibe of madness and the unknown. By using hand held shot types I can make the audience feel as though they are in the trailer, as though looking through somebody else’s eyes. I would also use hand held movements as this will make the audience feel as though they are really in the film, plus it makes the film seen a bit more realistic. By using close ups of facial expressions and items you will be able to see emotion from the character, giving the in-depth connection between the character and viewer; before the movie even begins. Long shots will be able to create a desired atmosphere by including the characters but also the background that shows more mise en scene and meaning within it. Zooms could be used to build up a dramatic effect or to show something of importance that will catch the viewer’s attention.

Camera Testing - Short Video

Here is a small video I edited together whilst I was testing out some of the college’s cameras. I wanted to test out the night mode and overall complexion of the camera and this is what I came up with.

I found that even though the camera had a night mode/vision on, the camera still needed light to film; this is why you get the dark parts in the small clips shown. I tried to lighten them up using my editing software; Sony Vegas Pro 8, but it effected the overall quality of the clips shown so I had to leave the editing of the light. Another point is, if you zoom in or out, or you turn the camera quickly, the camera vision goes all blurred as you can see from the clips, a number of times I tried to film the same scene but every time I did, it went blurred. Hopefully, I will try the other cameras and they may have a better quality for quick motion scenes.

The clip basically is about a girl walking in the dark, whilst somebody is following her. The first scene shows the viewer the scenery and gives off a creepy vibe as you can’t see in the dark also, somebody or something might be lurking in the shadows.  The second scene shows a figure slowly creeping around a building, you can’t see their face and so this creates the tension of the unknown. The next clip shows a girl walking up a path; this is supposed to be the eye view of the masked figure, watching the girl. The next scene is that of the girl’s vision; as you get the motion of if the person with the camera is walking.  I made the clip so that every so often the character would keep turning around; as though somebody is there but because it is that dark she can’t see anything, this will make the viewer start to feel on edge as you don’t know if something is going to jump out or run at the camera (eye view).  The scene then carries on to the character running as though somebody is chasing after her, this will make the audience feel enclosed as you put yourself in her situation; being alone in the dark and somebody chasing after you.  The character whilst running is still turning around, again creating more tension and fear in the viewers as you can’t see who’s behind her. The final scene then shows glimpses of a figure running towards the camera (eye view). Then after a short pause, a face appears in front of the camera; hopefully making the audience jump or feel shock, and the video ends with short fast moving clips as though the girl is knocked out or can’t see very well.

I used different sound effects to create more tension and fear within the audience throughout the video.  At the start of my video I used sound effects that would fit well with the creepy vibe of the scenery. Some sound are actually real, for example, the siren from the police car was recorded when I filmed this clip.  As the video progresses the score/music and sound effects get more dramatic, for example the heart beat can signal that of the characters, and in the running scene, the fast music makes the scene seem more ‘’epic’’ but yet tension is still being created.  Near the end of the video I used static sound effects to link into the static vision editing, and after the short pause to create the ‘shock’ factor I used a dramatic bang sound, and then short breaking up effects to link into the fast moving clips. By linking the sound effects with the clips used the video looks more professional and it again creates fear and tension.

When editing I used slow fades ins and fades outs ( transitions ) to conflict fear being created, however by doing this it also creates tension as you don’t know what to expect and anything could happen. I created a short gap between the clips at 00.52 – 00.54, this was to build up the tension within the audience as you don’t know if there is going to be a pop-up or if that’s the end of the clip.  After the short gap the transitions get quicker to build up a dramatic ending where a cliff hanger will be made, making the audience want to know what happened to the girl. I used overlays of static at 00.00 – 00.05 and 00.18 – 00.24 to give off that horror vibe, and to make the video seem unique.

By editing and posting this video I can see from it the good and bad points, and hopefully will be able to use these factors when I film my main Media Project; I can carry on the good points from this video to my teaser trailer.