Research and Planning: Trailer Up To Date

This is our up to date trailer that we have presented to our class in order to get feedback on the positives and negatives, this will hopefully help us to achieve a better trailer.

Research and Planning: My Work Experience Week

This week I am doing a Behind The Scenes Week at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. Each day we have a planned schedule. 

Monday
-Introduction and tour of the building (look into the different departments including sound, wardrobe, LX)
-Meet and greet for Three Birds
-A tour of the Workshop where they produce the sets and props
-Reading the play 'Orpheus Descending'

Tuesday
-Talk to the education director
-A marketing workshop where we learn the best and different ways to market and promote (look at the strengths, challenges, opportunities)
-Feedback on the script we read monday and the importance of the different areas of the play e.g. lighting
-Introduction to the the play 'The Accrington Pals' and a question/answer with the cast

Wednesday
-A demo in technical theatre
-Talk to front of house
-Watch the play 'The Accrington Pals'
-Do front of house for the play that is being performed that night

Thursday
-Department placement day in sound, lighting, workshop, wardrobe

Friday
-Talk with the artistic director
-Present a presentation from the placement day

This week will really benefit me in terms of learning new skills and more about the theatre and media. As I gain a further knowledge into the preparation that goes into a play I understand how important the different areas of the theatre are in making an overall production. On my placement day on Thursday I am specifically looking at the area of Lighting this will help me in the production of my film trailer coursework as it will give me a better insight into creating a specific mood and scene, lights can make people feel a certain way and is an important role in theatre. 

Research and Planning: Filming

Today 28/01/13, the car park scene for our trailer was filmed. This scene consisted of the villain/stalker putting the victim into the boot of the car, it was important to make it look realistic but make sure it was sake for the actors involved. A few problems happened to occur as the first part of the car park which we had previously planned to film in was unsafe due to unforeseen circumstances therefore we moved to the second half of the car park and were approached by wardens who were locking up the underground car park however we managed to get the footage we needed in order to produce and edit the trailer.

Research and Planning: Location Photos

Me and Alice filmed the stalker hideout scene today, I have taken some pictures of the location and the process of arranging the scene. 

Research and Planning: Tag Line Feedback

I have made up some tag lines for the film trailer my group are making, I did some audience research on which they like best.

The above are Twitter Responses.

The above are Facebook Responses.

Research and Planning: Poster Photos

As we are filming the shed scene tomorrow, I will also be taking some photos for time management and convenience. From the beginning of drafting up film poster ideas I have always thought up the idea of using the stalkers photograph wall as a back drop for the the photos I will use. So tomorrow after I have  set up the location, I will take some shots for the centre of my poster.

Research and Planning: Film Poster Inspiration

When I was researching film posters I came across these which I thought looked very effective. I like the extreme close up of the eye that is used.

'The Skeleton Key' not only uses the extreme close up but a medium shot of a person in the actual eye. As my film has a plot about a stalker I think a film poster with the stalkers eye and the stalkee in he centre would look very effective as it is giving the audience a glimpse into the stalkers twisted mind and what he sees. 

Research and Planning: Horror Film Poster Shot Types

I decided to look at shot types on film posters. I specifically looked at posters of the genre horror as this is the genre that my film will be based on. 

The 'Drag Me To Hell' poster I picked because I liked how the image was situated in the centre, the medium shot allows the audience to see the reaction of the the person as well as half her body to show the hands grabbing her. I  thought the flames engulfing the woman looked very effective, when I saw this poster I would immediately associate it with the horror genre. I think the woman appears to be the victim in the poster which is the same character type as the actress in my film. I would consider using a shot like this for my poster. 

The 'Insidious' poster is a medium shot  to establish the young boy in the scene, however I personally focused in on the boys strong expression. However the positioning of the boy in the poster is something I probably would not choose to replicate as there is a lot of space around him that I think is quite wasted. I would prefer to make a poster that has an image that fills a lot of the space.

The 'Frailty' poster that I found is quite unique as the eye contact grabs the audiences attention and really projects the genre. I would associate this confrontational male as the villain in the film as he is projecting certain messages across. I like the close up shot as it is simple and focuses purely on the facial expression. I think I could recreate a shot like this for my poster. 

Research and Planning: Filming

It has been organised to film another scene for the trailer on Sunday 27th January, as I am Mise en scene manager it is important for me to be there as I have to get the location looking how I want it to look. This is a scene that I think will be really effective, the photos in the shed will look like the stalkers hideout where he has took pictures and hidden them. 

I will get to the location and make sure all the pictures are set out the way it should be. Then Alice will film the scene, the best shots for this will probably be either an over the shoulder shot to show the stalker looking at the board or a point of view shot so the camera is looking through the stalkers eye. I think when editing it could possibly flick between the two shots so I will suggest these ideas to my group.

Research and Planning: Magazine Progress

This is the updated magazine, I still have quite a bit of work to do with this however I have a clear view of what I want to do with it. I will add a banner at the bottom of the page so that her body does not look like it is hovering. The reason I took the photos with the models bare shoulders only is because I feel it it more effective for a horror film. I think clothes would take away from the bruises and burn. The bare skin against the injuries creates a shocking image. 

Research and Planning: Trailer - Mise en Scene

I have gone through photo's of our actress that our group have taken in the past, I found as many angles of her when she wasn't looking at the camera as I want it to look like the stalker has taken the photographs. These will be printed out and put in our shed location on the back of the door. It will create a creepy location that the stalker can use as a hideout.

Research and Planning: Tag Lines

I have some film tag line ideas:
- You never know who to trust
- Who lurks behind your shadow
- Just behind the corner lies...

Research and Planning: Magazine Progress

I have changed my magazine around today, I found that the polaroid photos made the magazine look quite cluttered and although it was a personal creative idea it just doesn't suit the magazine conventions. Most magazines focus on one main image as they are are promoting that certain film for that issue. I have now decided to use my photo as the main image and will arrange my stories around her. 

Research and Planning: Sound Effect Trials

I have created some sounds the first part of the trailer is created by having wine glasses half filled with water and running my finger around the glass this reminds me of the start of the 'Wrong Turn' trailer. I then went on to create other sounds, Alice and me did some heavy breathing and screaming to see whether we could create sounds and possibly use them in our own trailer.

Research and Planning: Group Podcast

This is our group podcast updating on what work we have done and our plans of what we will do in the following weeks.

Research and Planning: Sound Effects

Today I have decided to research sound in film trailers to get a further idea of what type of sound effects and music horror trailers use and the effect it has on me as an audience. I like the sound created in the beginning of this trailer as it builds us suspense. I may try to recreate this sound myself and see whether it will be effective for my trailer.

Research and Planning: Filming

It has been difficult to organise filming at the moment due to actors availability and the current snowy weather. However it is important to keep to our filming deadlines and have organised with Luke and Jess to film tomorrow after college at Hyde Park.

I have checked the weather forecast and found weather should be dry and safe to film.

Research and Planning: Photo Editing

I have selected an image from my photo shoot that I think I will be using on my film magazine. I uploaded the image on photoshop and changed the brightness/contrast of the photograph. I also used the spot healing tool to remove the blemishes from the models face as my magazine will be showing more of the actresses glamourous side with hints of the film and character. So the magazine will promote the film through the actress rather than the character. I then came up with the idea of writing the film name on the wall in a graffiti sort of way, I selected different tools and changed the opacity and colour slightly as this will help to highlight the film and promote it at the same time. 

Research and Planning: Magazine Photo Audience Research

I posted my four favourite and most suitable photos for my magazine on twitter to see which people preferred. 

I also posted these four photos on facebook as the majority of my friends on facebook are the target audience age for my film so their responses and opinions are extra important as these will be the people that would view the film therefore it is important to know which photo appeals to them the most.

Research and Planning: Sound

We have started to produce sound for our trailer. As we have not got all our footage we cannot do the sound fully and are limited. However we have rough ideas of how we want the trailer to sound. We have been on GarageBand producing music for the trailer.

Research and Planning: Photoshoot One

Today I have taken the photos for my film poster, I have done all the make up with eye shadows and lip glosses/ eye liners.

The above photos show the make up process that took place for the photo shoot, I went through different stages to create this beaten up look. I started with bruises by using eyeshadow colours such as brown, yellow, black, purple. I then went on the create the burn look on the left shoulder, I did this by using vaseline, tissue, red lipstick and red lipgloss and then used the eyeshadow to create dark ones around it.

The above two photos show the eyeshadow palette I used to create the effect, I used the brown, purple, black and yellow shadows to make bruises.