Filming Schedule

We have discussed the shots that we need and which locations we need to get these from. We have drawn up a filming schedule for the weeks beginning from January:

January 6th
Location: Meg's house
Filming: pillow fight scene, girl door scene, strangling scene, boy screaming

January 20th
Location: Tunbridge Wells
Filming: Boy train, time lapse on high street, boy screaming, walking

January 29th
Location: Meg's house
Filming: re-filming girl door scene, strangling, play fighting, zip up body bag shot

Februarys 4th
Location: Emma's house
Filming: shed scenes, water shot, dragging body, external shed shots

Trailer Deconstruction 9 frame analysis

Potential Locations

We have researched possible locations for shooting our trailer.

 

We would like to film the happy flashbacks of the couple around Brighton as we think that this would be a good location for portraying a positive relationship between the characters. We would like to shoot on the pier where there is a fun fair and also on the beach.

We would also like to film a time lapse in Trafalgar square as we believe this busy and hectic environment would work perfectly for our time lapse as we need a bustling area to make the shot effective and realistic.

Final Narrative Idea

The structure of our final narrative idea:


1. Weird boy, loner at school, messed up
2. Finds girl, seems to have changed him
3. Happy relationship
4. He gets a bit controlling
5. She cheats on him
6. He kills her
7. Find out about his dark past
8. Parents try to find killer
9. Tries to make a move on mum but she rejects him
10. Kidnaps mum
11. Police catch him and rescue mum

Initial Narrative Ideas

As a group we discussed many possible narrative ideas for our film. We shortlisted them into the strongest three to be able to consider the positives and negatives of each idea. 
After much consideration we are most likely to go with idea 3 as it has the most potential for a unique and interesting story line.

Horror/Thriller Genre

Storyline
Thrillers will typically feature a disruption of an equilibrium and the storyline often needs to stay with a linear format otherwise it could confuse the audience, however features such as flashbacks can be very effective. As we are creating a horror and thriller hybrid, we will also need to include elements of a horror storyline including death and frightening scenes.

Characters
The main protagonist, the hero/victim of the film
The antagonist, a villain
Authority figures, such as police

Setting
The setting is usually where the murder takes place, also many scenes may include the victim's house and the antagonist's 'evil lair'

Camerawork and Editing
Fades can be used to show the emotional side of a murder or crime. Faster cuts can be used to show more action packed scenes. Close ups are needed to focus on props to aid the narrative, cross cutting could also be used to show different scenes happening simultaneously, Canted angles to create confusion and disorientation
Slow editing can create suspense and an unsettling feeling, POV shots to show what the protagonist or antagonist sees.

Sound
Mellow ,orchestrated music is very suited for murder mystery whilst tense dramatic music is common in thrillers. Some quiet scenes with sudden sounds to create tension

Conventions:
-low key lighting
-shadows
-tense music
-quick, fast-paced cuts
-lots of diegetic sound (breathing etc)
-Colours such as black and red to connote death, evil, danger and blood
-Props such as weapons show there is violence, danger and characters will need to fight off evil

Interstellar Poster Analysis

Interstellar Trailer Analysis

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Promotional Package

Trailer

• Grungy
• Tense
• Quick cuts
• Fast paced editing
• Natural lighting
• Thriller/mystery mood
• Suitable music

Poster

• Dull colours (greys, whites, blacks)
• Introduces main characters
• Simplistic - doesn't give much away
• Helps add to brand identity
• Details of main actors

Website

• Eerie website fits in well with genre and mood of trailer
• Fonts, colours fit with poster and trailer
• Images from film

Font used for poster, trailer and website. Synergy between different platforms.

Genre Theorists

Poster Analysis

Genre Change

We looked at the history of genre change within film, looking at many famous genre-changing films including Psycho and other iconic events considering technology, the outside world and what came before we organised them into three categorise to define genre change.

Todorov's theory applied to The Notebook

T H E  N O T E B O O K

The Notebook trailer partially conforms to Todorov’s theory of the five stages of a narrative. The beginning of the trailer shows normality and happiness through the colourful mise en scene and uplifting music. This follows Todorov’s theory of a ‘state of equilibrium’ from the start where all is as it should be. The voiceover sets up the storyline with ‘it was a magical summer’ reflecting the contentment of the characters.

As the trailer goes on, again the trailer follows Todorov’s formula for a narrative with the ‘disruption’. In The Notebook this arrives in the form of parental disapproval, therefore disturbing the peace and happiness of the characters we saw at the beginning. Emotions of anger and hatred are seen as the disruption is recognised and dealt with.

In the attempt to repair the damage of the disruption we see Ally accept her removal from her true love and try to create a new life with a new man. This conforms to Todorov’s theory as he states the fourth stage of a narrative as being an ‘attempt to repair the disruption’ and starts towards a positive or happy ending to the film which is what we expect from most narratives.

Other effective elements of the trailer include the fades at the beginning which create a relaxed and calm feel, showing the state of equilibrium again.

The trailer doesn’t follow the typical structure of a theatrical trailer, below is a timeline of editing within the trailer:

(Orange = fade, Green = cut)

The timeline shows the equilibrium at the start as it begins with slow fades and goes onto faster cuts, ‘the disruption’ conforming to Todorov’s theory. The rest of the trailer’s editing format doesn’t entirely follow Todorov’s theory as fades and cuts are both used to create drama as the trailer ends.

Todorov's Narrative Theory

In 1969 Todorov came up with a theory which he said could be applied to any film narrative. He suggested that there are five main stages the narrative can progress through:

1. A state of equilibrium

2. A disruption of that order

3. Recognition of the disruption

4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption

5. Restoration of a new equilibrium

Theatrical vs Teaser Trailers

Logo Development

When choosing the name of our production company, we brainstormed ideas together and tried out different names and logos to see what we felt would be best for our brand. The shortlist of names we decided on were:

• Forest
• Offwhite
• Skyline
• Gradient

We have experimented with possible logos for our company name using suitable images.

After carrying out a survey asking people which name they liked best and considering our own opinions we have decided on the name 'Skyline Studios'.

After experimenting with different layouts of the logo we have decided to use this one:

 

Brief

The Brief

we intend to create a promotional package for a film, which will include a trailer, poster and website homepage. 

we hope to end this year with a more developed idea of the effect that promotional packages have on our society today, and we feel, as team that this coursework will be successful in aiding our process of finding this knowledge.