Software

To create a variation of product we had to us the appropriate software during this coursework.

Blogger

The main one being blogger which is a blog publishing service that allows us to broadcast our work onto the various pages and external sources have the ability to access our work. Blogger is the perfect software as its easy and accessible as its very easy to edit posts effectively, additionally we have the ability to preview our work to see if changes are necessary before we initially publish our work. Blogger is great tool as we are able to manipulate it in the way we want people to view it .

Microsoft Word

Another tool we were able to take advantage of is Microsoft Office word this is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It allows us to make note and produce documents, it was is also able to make tables and formed the template of our shooting script it can also assist us in other tasksin the Pre-Production and Post Production stages of our coursework.

Adobe Photoshop



Photoshop is another piece of software that we used in our coursework, Adobe Photoshop is a grpahics editing program developed and published by Adobe Sysytems Incorporated. Photoshop will be used to produce our logo and mainipulate our photos in colour, size etc. to the way we want our audience to view it. The whole group are quite comfortable with using photoshop as we had to use it to our advantage during the AS media coursework.

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia inc. and then Apple inc. This piece of softwware will be used to make our end product of a Teaser Trailer. As this is a virtually new product that the group are using we are still in the learning process, get to know the basics but were slowly getting to grips with Final cut. We have shot a number of practice shots and have been manipulating them on Final cut.

Garageband

This software allows users to create music and podcasts, it wasa developed by Apple inc. Garageband is also a new software to the group and we are currently trying to learn the basics and different aspects of this software as we intend to utilise it to merge with our video footage and help create our end product.

Unedited Shots

This is a couple practice shots that we will be working with and manipulating on Final cut pro

Equipment

Troughout the film making process we will use a various amount of technology and equipment that will help enhance our Final product of a teaser trailer.

Canon EOS 7D Video Camera

 



The Canon EOS 7D Digital SLR Camera is what we will be using to shoot our teaser trailer, we will also be using it to take practice shots. The camera is built with an intelligent viewfinder to help which allows a complete and natural view when shooting our trailer, it is also 18 megapixel camera which will also help our group in delivering a high quality piece of work. Due to the camera having a high ISO with speeeds up to 6400 this will allow us to shoot in low light scenes where flash is undesirable, this is very important in  producing a trailer with low key lighting.





Gorillapod



The Gorillapod is a much more practical tripod, its flexible, wrappable legs allows us to connect it to professional camera equipment weighing up to 3 kg to virtually any surface, therefore expanding the range of shots we as are capable of capturing. The Gorilla pod consists of high quality injection moulded plastic that will stay firm after lots of action, therefore we shouldn't have any problems with continued use of the gorilla pod.

LED Liht 16 x 9

These are small LED lights 16 x 9, this will be used as hand held lights to generate the effect that we are trying to achieve as a group. They are also able to attach to DSLR Camera allowing for my flexibility and creativity in our shots. We are also able to control how powerful we would like the light to be to get our desired effect.

Kino Flo Diva Lite 400/800

The Kino Flo Diva Lite is designed specially for digital video capture and will give a professional look to our teaser trailer, it produces a broad soft and diffuse light, this piece of equipment is ideal shoot for location work as it isn't too hard to move with it. There is no need for a cool down period with these lights which will decrease the amount of time needed to shoot the film, it also has additional dimming switches to control the lighting  which will be important in our trailer.

Vinten Pro 5 Tripod

The Vinten Pro 5 tripod is what will be attached to a  DSLR camera, this tripod will enable us to shoot a staedy film it enables us to pan and tilt  effectively and efficiaently, the tripod is lightweight and therefore has practiacl advantages when switching location or moving positions.

Heres a few pictures of our team using some of the equipment:

Gradice with the Vinten Pro 5 Tripod and DSLR Camera

Gradice with the Vinten Pro 5 Tripod and DSLR Camera



Martin with the Vinten Pro 5 Tripod and DSLR Camera

 


Wendy with the Gorillapod

 

Textual Analysis of Teaser Trailer - Wendy

The StoryLine :  After the tragic death of his wife and child, famed American author Joseph Crone travels from the United States to Barcelona, Spain to reunite with his estranged brother Samuel and dying father, Richard. However, fate has a different plan for Joseph as his life becomes plagued with strange happenings, and the constant sightings of the number 11. Curiosity quickly turns to obsession, and Joseph soon realizes that this number holds a horrific meaning not only to himself but possibly to all of religion. Isolated in a foreign country with only the support of his companion, Sadie, Joseph soon realizes that 11/11/11 is more than just a date; it’s a warning.

The teaser horror trailer I decided to analyse was the film 11.11.11 which is a 2011 film written and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is a horror / thriller set on the 11th day of the 11th month and concerning an entity from another world that enters the earthly realm through Heaven's 11th gate. The film was released on November 11, 2011 hence the title of the film!

The teaser trailer starts off with a captions which is typical of many teaser trailers but the captions style is which really captures my attention as it has a really vintage look to it, I really like this effect as its something that I would like to include within my teaser as it quiet contemporary and gives off a scary vibe which quickly establishes the genre to the reader.

The next scene includes non diegetic music which flows with the storyline smooth and swiftly, the non - diegetic music performs to its purpose as it establishes the genre right away to the audience as sometimes the wrong kind of music can ruin the piece of film, so from listening to the music I shall make sure the music we create does well in flowing with the test appropriately. 

Additionally there’s a variation of shoots at the beginning with add to the shoots which add to the chilly and mysterious vibe to the film, further on the captions look like there crumbling away I like this effect as is very modern and this effect used within the teaser trailer gives me inspiration as its an effect that I haven’t seen in many teaser trailers so makes it look new and makes it possible to differentiate is self from other teasers thus helping it stand out from the rest!

Furthermore in there storyline there’s reference to biblical events thus enhancing its ability to connect with horror and develop the spooky and ambiguous feel to it. The colours used with in the captions alone are both black and white which enhances the feel as black can sometimes connate the feeling of death plus when I think of black it remember that the colour black can be absorb light so the light could represent something good , also the black can represent lack of colour and depending on the country black is worn as a sign of respect to those dead, whereas the white can broadly be seen as a contradictory and kind of a complementary aspect to the black as white can represent purity as women get married in white and a angelic nature as when you imagine angles there predominantly dressed in white plus some culture endorse the idea of being buried in white although in some country white can convey death especially in Japanese culture / Japanese teaser trailers white is used to represent death so all in a the use of black and white as there main colours seem fits it purpose as it enhance the film ability to connect to the film!

Going back to the shots used within the film and the light is amazing as the teaser has swift and fasted shots which are main conventions for teaser trailers plus the close-up shots of the characters really convey a scared and a feeling that the characters don’t know what’s going to happen next and the emotions emoted are typically seen within horror plus the use of eyes rolling back into the head symbolizes death and in the process is able to shock and disturb the audience which it successfully does.

Test music

This is a piece of music that we created on Garageband as a test:

Test Filming: chocloate advert

Progress Update 14/11/2011

Today as a group we were able to practice with the Canon, practicing different shots such as the tilt shot with each other and also creating a short scene, with one of us was walking around and our camera operator following the subject. Footage of us using the Canon will soon be uploaded to blogger.



This is our group member Titi shes learning how to navigate the Canon _____________ camera. Using cameras is very new to our group so we make sure to practise with the camera as much as possibole to help develop our skills as much as possible and to develop the quality of our teaser. Additionally on our other slides it show our test material from music to testing the camera out.




Titi This is another picture of titi actuall recording something we did this order to develop the quality of our work !



This is Wendy and Titi developing our visual idea and putting it into blogger, this is a very long and tidious job, we as a group regularly try to develop our blogs with high quality content that will reflect our work and the hard work we put into it. 

This is Gradice and Martin who are sketching ideas for the storyboard which we all did collectively althought storyboard are an important aspect of our work as it brings our ideas within our head into life/sketch form additionallly we made sure to make our sketches welll thought out and to do a numerous amount of drafts in order to construct a well thoguht out storyboard. Gradice & Martin also particiapted in the maintaince of the blog as we all collectrively decided to include a well distrubed amount of time to the blogger to reflect our hard work.

Shooting Script

Shot No.	Location	Description	Dialogue	Cast
1	Interior	Two shot of Teacher/antagonist and Pupil/ Victim	Pupil :‘I need some advice’	Antagonist: Titi Pupil:
2	Interior	Mid Shot of pupil in removing objects in locker	None	Pupil:
3	Interior	Long shot of Pupil/Victim NVC: scared.	None	Pupil:
4	Interior	Victim Running away Tracking shot NVC: Gasping, Panicking	None	Pupil:
5	Interior	Close Up of  antagonist face NVC: Angry	None	Titi
6	Interior	Close up of Antagonist face with make up (scars and blood)	None	Titi
7	Interior	Long shot of victim lying on the floor unconscious with make up (blood and  Scars)	None	Pupil:
8	Interior	Tilt shot of door (classroom)	None	None

MoodBoard

 

 A Mood board is a type of poster design that may consist of images, text and samples of objects in a composition of the mood board creators choice. I have created this Mood board with images and this demonstrates the inspiration that our group has had of horror films and our final product may show signs of the ideas we have gained from our mood board.We like the collection of images we put together as it illustrates iconic symbolizes within the horror film genre on a whole like the use of the scream mask which is a very iconic and recognizable imagery which will be sure to establish.

Editing Footage from KPE

Final Story Board

This is the first storyboard page, the first shot will be of a media door room we will be able to capture this image through school which is very convenient we are going to use this shot to reassure the audience that it's going to be centred around school life. Our second shoot will be a caption which says " behind closed doors" we did this so that the two scenes will work interdependent with each other and our 3rd shot will be of the antagonist looking a something reflective through possibly a close up shot but the shot will be blurred to hid the antagonist face as that"s the main focus of teaser trailer which will reveal at the end/ towards the end

Our second storyboard where the 4th shot will be a caption which will break up the long flow of  long film the caption will read " she/he looks like the average teacher" but this is a contradictory to the representation of teacher thus showing how teachers can in act in a different light the next shoot will show a interaction between the antagonist and the "final girl" through proberly a wide or two shot. The the sixth shot will be of  the antagonist through NVC showing a angry / revengeful face to illustrate that the antagonist is going to so something.

 

The seventh shot will illustrate a long shot of the victim looking scared this will be done through NVC , then the next shot will be a caption which says " There's More To Her ......" to create not only a cliffhanger vibe but to create a forboiding experience for the viewer of the teaser trailer. Then the next shot will be of the final girl running away which will be achieved through a long shot !

The 10th caption will read "Then What Meets The Eye" so there will be a continuity with the caption before as we want to create suspense for the audience and to put them on the edge of there seats! The 11th shot will a close up shot of thee victim looking bruised and battered to show that the antagonist has done something to her . Then we will use the opportunity to tell the audience the name of the film so that they can see through the scenes that it has a obvious connection to the title of the teaser trailer

The 13th shoot will finally establish the identity of the antagonist which will show scars, blood plus it will highlight the skills we will gain through using make up and to really capitalise on the genre of our choose we decided to reveal the antagonist identity at the end as it creates great suspense and a sense of feeling that the audience doesn't know whats going to happen next . And finally on the last will be an introduction of our production name!

Costumes & Props

Old School Desk

Wall Clock

Wrist Watch

School Shirt

School Skirt

Tie

 This is a normal school uniform that a young girl would wear, it consists of a white school shirt and a long school skirt. This is what our pupil would wear in our Teaser Trailer.

Group Treatment

                                   

                                                       Treatment

A treatment is the industry term for a written proposal, which is written in a particular way. It is seen by a commissioning editor in the media who would want to buy the idea.

Our group’s working title is”Inhumana”; this is Latin for the word “Inhuman”. We named the teaser trailer this because; we didn’t want to choose something ordinary or something that will sound common to our chosen audience. Our production name is “Chain Productions”. We had originally began to think of names of horror movie production teams’ we thought of ‘shackles’ but it sounded to cliché so we thought of ‘Chains’.

The format that we will use is Digital Video and the teaser trailer is 60 seconds in length. The genre of our teaser trailer is a Monster/ Slasher type. Our intended audience is teenagers. This is because they are the ones who are most likely to gain entertainment from a video of such nature and majority of them will be at an appropriate age to watch something of that genre.

We intend to do a montage of shots communicating to the audience the life of a human being with multiple appearances, personalities and emotions. This will be done by using a number of different software for the editing, cuts and effects we will add to the whole production as final touches. The shooting will take place in a studio provided by our media supervisor.

This teaser trailer is worth doing because through this, we will gain experience and skills in Media communication and how to shoot a video. This will help us in the future if we wanted to gain employment in any area of media and communication in society; we’ll have basic knowledge of what it entails.

The summary of the story is about a child who finds it funny to question the authority of its teacher. Little did he know the teacher had more to her than just her teaching talents but a monster that dwells in her waiting to be unleashed. The teacher searches for her the kid that troubled her like an animal searching for its prey. Whilst searching, she changes faces/ personalities. Revenge is better sweet but the moral of the story is ‘Be a good kid’.

                          

Storyboard - Titilope

This is my draft of the ideas that we came up with for my group's teaser trailer. However, this is not a detailed one because it is just how I pictured the scenes we will shoot. We are going to decide looking through other drafts in the group on which one follows the concept of our story.

Storyboard - Martin

Storyboard - Gradice

Storyboard - Wendy

This is a sketch of an idea, for what we want our trailer to look like we all individually drew out sketches to decide which one we liked best, plus the best sketch will be the one will be based around our teaser trailer and additionally if we like any ideas from other we will use aspects of the sketch!

Movie Poster Draft - Martin

This is a draft of one of our movie poster ideas it was designed by Martin and it was designed to show two sides of our villain as you can see one side is untidy and evil whereas the other side is neat and innocent.

Planning and Research - Martin

Introduction To Horror

Some Horror films are sometimes combined with the sci-fi genre, and a usual plot may be that the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when earth is threatened by aliens, demons etc. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not synonymous with the horror genre although thriller films may have some relation when they focus on the revolting and horrible acts of the killer. Horror films go back as far as the onset of films themselves, over a 100 years ago, From when we are young people have used there vivid imaginations to see ghosts or some sort of scary entity in shadowy or dark places, or rumours have been spread that a certain place has been haunted, which all adds or reinforces the fear gained from horror films.  Watching a horror film gives an opening into that scary world, into an outlet for the essence of fear itself, without actually being danger. There’s also a very real thrill and fun factor in being scared or watching disturbing, horrific images, and people like to put themselves to the test whether they are able to get through the movie without being scared, this further supports the popularity with horror films.

The conventions of Teaser Trailers

·        They are much shorter than theatrical trailers.

·        They can’t give away too much information about the film- they must leave the audience wanting to know more.

·        They don’t follow the narrative and a re usually not in chronological sequence (they usually use a non-linear structure).

·        They are released a long time before the film and are the first trailer to be released.

·        You might not see any actual characters in it.

·        A teaser trailer might not contain any footage from the film.

·        The Teaser Trailer may promote the director (sometimes known as an Auteur)

·        Montage editing is common (though not mandatory).

·        The pace is usually slow and picks up momentum.

Current Horror Films

Scream

Scream is a 1996 American slasher film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven. The film follows the character of Sidney Prescott, a high school student, who becomes the target for a mysterious killer known as ‘Ghostface’.

In this Film the protagonist and final girl is called Sidney (unisex name), and the antagonist is the masked killer known as ‘Ghostface’, which ends up being her boyfriend Billy Loomis. There are several people who can be classed as ‘red herrings’ in the film such as Sidney’s father Neil Prescott, her friend Randy Meeks and town deputy Dewey Riley. This all adds to the tension and build up to the film, which I believe added to the success of the film.

Release Date: December 20^th 1996

Director: Wes Craven

Genre: Slasher

Studio: Woods Entertainment

Distributor: Dimension Films

Running Time: 111 minutes

Budget: $15 million

Box Office: $173, 046, 663

Paranormal Activity

Paranormal activity is a 2007 American supernatural horror film written by and directed by Oren Peli. The film focuses on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. It is presented in the style of ‘found footage’ from a camera set up by the couple in an attempt to photograph what is haunting them.

Release date: October 14 2007

Director: Oren Peli

Genre: Supernatural horror

Studio: Blumhouse Productions

Distributor: Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures

Running Time: 86 minutes

Budget: $15, 000

Box Office: $193, 355, 800

Paranormal Activity 3

Paranormal Activity 3 is an upcoming 2011 American supernatural horror film and third film of the paranormal activity series, which will be set 18 years before the events of both Paranormal Activity 1 and Paranormal Activity 2.

Release Date: October 21 2011

Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman

Genre: Psychological Horror

Studio: Blumhouse Production

Distributed: Paramount Pictures

Final Destination 5

Final Destination 5 is a 2011 3D horror film written by Eric Heisserer and directed by Steven Quale. It is the fifth instalment to the Final Destination film franchise and stars Nicholas D’agasto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koecher and Tony Todd (who is only returning cast member of the series). The motion pictures world premiere was August 4, 2011 at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Canada. It was released in real 3D and digital IMAX 3D.

Release Date:  August 12, 2011

Running Time: 92 minutes

Budget: $40 - $45 million

Box Office: $102, 109, 713

Studio: New Line Cinema, Practical Pictures

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Woman in Black

The woman in black is an upcoming 2012 supernatural thriller film based on Susan Hill’s novel ‘The Woman in Black’. It is a remake of the 1989 film of the same name and will star Daniel Radcliffe as lawyer Arthur Kipps. Jane Goldman for Hammer Films is writing the film. Originally planned to be shot in 3D, it was eventually shot in 2D. It is due to release in the US on 3^rd February 2012 and in UK cinemas on 10 February 2012.

Release Date 10^th February 2012

Directors: James Atkins

Genre: Supernatural Thriller

Studio: Hammer Film productions

Distributed by: Momentum Pictures (UK) CBS Films (US)

Film Director: Oren Peli

Born in 1970 (age 41) 

Occupation: Film Director, producer and screenwriter

Oren Peli is an Israeli-born American film director and screenwriter best known as the director/creator of Paranormal Activity. He is also a video game programmer. Oren Peli has also worked on the PC version of the game Mortal Kombat 3 as a programmer. He wrote and directed paranormal Activity. He directed the film Area 51 which will be released in 2011. He also produced with Steve Schneider and Jason Blum the thriller film insidious, which is directed by Leigh Whannell. On September 22^nd 2010 it was announced he would be producing Lords of Salem and the film will be written and directed by Rob Zombie. On November 17, 2010, Dread Central reported that Paranormal Activity 3 will hit theatres on October 21 2011.

Horror Film Conventions

In Horror films there tends to be something iconic in the film whether it’s a specific colour scheme, a prop within the film, an actor etc. but it becomes iconic of the film.

Another convention is there tends to be a death in the first five minutes of the film however many films don’t follow this convention such as Paranormal Activity.

The basis of a Horror film is there’s been an intrusion of an evil force of supernatural origin, into the everyday world.

Another convention is the Final Girl Theory, which is usually associated with ‘slashers’ this refers to the last female alive to confront the killer, the one left to tell the story. They also usually have a unisex name and challenge the stereotype by gaining masculine traits to overcome the antagonist at the end of the film.

Another convention is the background or décor, most horror films are set in suburban or countryside areas where it is isolated and uncommon, and this is in contrast to what the audience may think.

Horror films are unsettling films designed to:

·        Frighten and Panic.

·        Cause dread and alarm.

·        Invoke our hidden worst fears.

·        Captivate and entertain us in a cathartic experience.

·        Often conclude in a terrifying and shocking finale.

·        Focus on the dark side of life.

Fears created by horrors

For different types of audiences it can deal with our fears of:

·        Nightmares

·        Our Vulnerability

·        Alienation

·        Terror of the Unknown

·        Fear of Death

·        Loss of Identity

·        Fear of sexuality

Characters

There is always a lead character that often results as the survivor in the film otherwise known as the protagonist.

The killer/monster otherwise known as the antagonist often has a trademark characteristic in the way they kill for example the people they kill or the weapon they use to kill them.

There are also usually stock characters, which usually fall victim to the antagonist one way or another.

There is also the ‘red herring’ this is used to make the plot of the film more interesting by fooling them to think that a particular character is the antagonist and keep the audience guessing but later revealing they aren’t in fact the antagonists.

It is usually good against evil, the two characters conflict

The outcome is the good person always survives or defeats the ‘bad guy’/Protagonist.