Poster:
Magazine cover:
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Filming the trailer/Evaluation
We selected the actors who we thought would best suit the characters personality's and portray believable teenagers. We decided to try and film the majority of the trailer in one weekend to ensure we had enough time to edit it. We wanted to follow the storyboard accurately to make sure we didn't miss out any details. Our first shot of the trailer was the painting the number 5. This was harder to produce that originally thought as we couldn't get the whole number in shot without showing unwanted details such as the wall paper. we used the tripod for many shots to ensure a smooth professional finish. When filming the murder shots, we experimented with high angle and low angle shots to see which was the most effective, the finished shot was shot half a story of stairs above the scene. Similarly, when filming Hannah's death, we were not sure how to make it realistic without ruining or slipping on the blood. The burning of the photo scene had to be done well for the first shot as we did not have an endless supply of photos. I experimented with shots such as standing on benches to get a high angle, or lying on our back for a low angle. The wind also caused some problems as the flame kept getting blown out and the flame was not big enough to capture the emotion for the shot.Whilst filming Eleanor locked in the school gym, I had inspiration from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" to film it how they filmed one shot of Jack. This meant i lay on my back and shot Eleanor from upside down. It worked very well and was happy with the finished shot. On our storyboard, we decided to shoot an invitation scene which would display how lonely and unpopular Eleanor was. However, when we needed to shoot this in school, the weather was a major issue as there was snow everywhere. This would ruin the continuity as earlier in the trailer was sunny and clear. We decided to shoot it anyway, nevertheless when we watched it back we decided it was amateur and not necessarily needed as much as the other footage.
When we picked the music for the trailer we had difficulty finding music to increase the pace of the trailer whilst being eerie and fitting to the horror genre. We spent a lot of time searching 'Youtube' and other music sites to find the perfect soundtrack. We found the slow mysterious track early on, however we couldn't find a track which fitted in with the previous track and increased the speed and horror of the trailer. Eventually I found a remix to the Madonna song "Frozen". This worked well as the main instrument of the violin was continuous from the previous track and it increased the tempo and horror for the trailer.
I feel our trailer, magazine and poster uses the forms and conventions of a real media product in many ways. The trailer fits in with the typical horror trailer due to the fast pace and quick cuts between shots. Similarly, the music starts slow and gains speed which is also common in horror trailers. One example of this is the trailer for the film we watched "Eden lake."
One way our poster uses the forms and conventions of a real poster is by the simplicity of the design. When researching horror posters I found they tend to have one main image which presents the horror genre in a powerful way. I wanted to continue this theme when designing the poster, so i got one ordinary picture of Eleanor's face and edited it using 'Photo shop' to create a dramatic and eye catching front cover whilst also fitting in with the horror theme.
I feel we developed the forms and conventions of a real media trailer through the captions written throughout the trailer. When researching horror trailers, i found many trailers use text to describe the film, however they also use voice over to fully emphasis the plot. We decided not to use any voice over as we felt it made the trailer slightly less realistic and more amateur. We decided to use detailed yet suspenseful text to create a mysterious impact on the trailer for the audience, whilst not wanting to give too much of the plot away.
I feel the combination of our main media product (the trailer) and our ancillary texts (magazine and poster) are very effective. we ensured there was continuity between all 3 pieces such as the main character Eleanor was also the main focus on both the poster and the magazine. It is clear on all three products what the film is called and you can instantly identify the poster is supporting the trailer due to the same font being used and the expression on Eleanor.
During the making of the trailer i consistently showed the audience the developments of the trailer too see their reaction and listen to any feedback they may have. We experimented with different positions to put the screaming shot and asked different people their opinion. We all decided that by putting the screams at the beginning rather than the end, it was more of a shock to the viewer and fully grasped their attention for the rest of the trailer. After the trailer was over, I showed many people the finished product, some had never seen it before whilst other had seen the developments. Many screamed and were shocked by the screams at the beginning which suggests it was the right place to put it. Many agreed the music worked well and kept their attention. There was no negative feedback for the trailer which suggests all the decisions we made and shots we used were done correctly.
Before we filmed our official trailer, we did a preliminary task of filming a chase sequence. This gave us practice with the cameras as we got used to using them effectively and the different techniques we could use them with.
After filming that, we practiced using Imovie to edit and put the shots together. This allowed us to practice with transitions,music and general editing techniques. Then when it came to filming our horror trailer, I felt much more confident with the camera and also knowing that I could use Imovie to develop any slight issue we had such as lighting. When we edited the footage, we used the "fade to black transition" frequently. We wanted to effect to be similar to blinking to help create voyeurism, however when we watched it back this effect was not created. Nevertheless it helped speed the pace and make the trailer as a whole more dramatic. Also,after the first shot of Eleanor walking down the stairs, we used a fade to white transition. This helps introduce the trailer to the audience and starts the story for the viewer. Another frequent use of editing was with the credits. We experimented with different presentations, such as fall from the top of the screen, or just still in the middle. However, we chose the style that we used as it helped the plot flow and kept the audiences attention without drifting to long away from the footage. When we created the storyboard, I was very conscious of ensuring we used a wider enough variety of shot types. We used many over-the-shoulder shots, high and low angle shots and mid shots, however when we shot Eleanor locked in the gym i had inspiration from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" to film it with the camera upside down on the floor. This worked well and created a different effect to the other more typical shots. In order to create a professional poster and magazine cover, we used photo shop to edit the pictures in which we took.By changing the background colour and adding a higher contrast to the original poster, we were able to create a more realistic poster whilst fitting in with the horror genre.
Overall, I am happy with all three of the finished products. If I was to change anything I think I would try and make the trailer slightly more horrific by possibly adding more violent and dark scenes, however I feel with the time we had and we created an original plot whilst fitting with the forms and conventions of a typical horror trailer.
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Planning Film poster
The deep dark shade of brown for the eye is dominant but natural. it suggests the film is not supernatural and keeps the focus on the whole eye instead of the eyeball.
The white finish around the pale eye keeps the main focus on t h eye and helps create an eerie feel for the eye.
The type,text and font of "The Eye" is not as dominant as other film title posters, this allows the main focus to remain on the image, whilst the image of an eye also hints at the title of the film.
The connotations behind an eye is about always watching out, the expression in they eye suggest fear and scared. Similarly, an eye represent emotions which all build towards the story of the film.
The hand crawling out of the eye is unusual - it suggests horror and suspicion. it could suggests the story is about someone trying to get away without giving to much of the story away.
Jessica Alba is not advertised in too large a font, this allows the audience to see she is staring in it which may attract them towards the film, but it restricts the name to take main focus over the poster.
Other than the credits, there is no strap-line or any other written text,this is unusual for a film poster but suggests the film is different and keeps the suspicion of the story-line.
Red font- Horror genre maintained through the idea of blood, death and also just standing out.
The actors names do not take man focus, this keeps the focus on the image whilst allowing the audience to see if they like the actors.
In order to create the final poster, i made many drafts to experiment with a variety of photos to see which worked best://
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Planning the magazine Front Cover
The white title is bold against the grey background. This allows the magazine to instantly be recognized and all readers can become interested in the magazine or identify it against all other film magazines.
The title "Total" fits into the title "Film". This allows the main focus to be on the word 'Film' to truly identify what the genre of the magazine is, however including 'total' into the title makes the magazine name more unique and suggests the entire content of the magazine is about films and all related subjects.
The main image of Batman instantly represents what the main feature of the magazine is. Although the colour of batman is black against a grey background, the pose and expression stops him from fading in with the background.
The red graffiti stands out and is unexpected on a professional magazine front cover. The language connotes the type of humour The Joker has and also represents what the story of the film is i.e. rivalry between two characters.
"Amazing collectable cover" allows readers to see and be attracted to the rest of the content in the magazine.
"Plus...". This enables other film star to be advertised and we can see what else is on offer in the magazine and what other films are being released soon.
"Free sex and spandex". This is instantly eye catching as the bubble that it is in overlaps the main image slightly. The sibilance of the two 's' further emphasise the content being adveristed, in addition, the words chosen such as "Sex" immediately get attention as they are words not often used in film magazines.
The name of the magazine "Empire"suggests it is the best film magazine over all the others. the colour scheme used of red with red flames fits in with the horror genre whilst also remaining to ft in with the story of hell.
the red image of hellboy stands out against the red background, the domineering eyes, the pose and also the costume of the chacrter attract attention and also further represents the film genre.
The title of the film "HElboy 2" similarly stands out against the background as the font is crisp white against red.
"4o movies to get you sex". The format of being in a bubble helps the quote stand out, hwilst the lexis used such as 'sex' is unexpected in a film magazine which further grasps the readers attention.
THe image of Hellboy overlaps the title of "Emire" slightly. The mwgazie is so well established and known that a slight cover of the title doesnt effect the magazine sales, and makes the front cover more interesting and unique.
'?Natalie Portman vs Scarless Johanson.." this attracts advertisment to both actresses and also advertistes their latest films. This helps the reader see what content is inside the magazine to help them decided whether it is wort buyng or not.
"Guillermo del toro goes epic". this immediately attracts attention the the director. audiences can recognize the director and can expect to like or dislike the film according to the director and other work he has done, similarly he receives publicity from it and reminds audiences that it is not all about the actors but also the director.
"First look.." This suggests that their is some content in the magazine which is exclusive and no-one else will get to read except reader of "Empire". All readers enjoy the idea of exclusivity into film knowledge which Empire is doing directly.
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There is a continuous green and white colour scheme throughout the cover. This emphasised the eerie and ceeepyness of the film and the character of 'The Joker' who is presented on the magazine cover.
The image of The Joker is dominant and powerful. His eyes take focus with a strong glare. Similarly, the make up of white, black and red highlight the characteristics of the film and ensure audiences recognise such a unique character and associate him with the Batman films.
The quote at the top of the page "Two covers to collect" allows collectors to definitely buy both copies rather than one which increases sales. Also it suggests the importance of the film as Empire magazine has made the effort of making two different versions of the same magazine.
"Clint..." By writing just the name Clint, immediately forces the reader to associate that with Clint Eastwood. this enables him to get attention which publicising his latest film and reminding readers he is always doing a new project of work.
The black font of the title stands out against the white face paint which also fits in with the genre of the film as action and slight horror
Hancock, which is the title of the film is in green. this fits in with the colour scheme of the page and draws slight attention to it, however the details and actors such as will smith are in white. this ensures that the attention has been grasped and the details are about to be read.
"summer just got serious" suggests the realise date of the film and enables the audience to look forward to the summer and curious as to the quote.
compared to the other front covers, this is more simplistic with less details. this is because the main image is so dominant and all focus is on it that the cover does not need more information to clutter the page of tease the readers into what they are getting.,
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Friday, 12 November 2010
Narrative structure
Name: Hannah Blackmoor (Han)
Age: 17
Occupation: Sixth form Student
Appearance: Petite, blonde, pretty, big blue eyes, a tatoo behind her ear, several piercings
Personality: Caring, mature, loud around friends
Likes: Parties, make-up, going out with firends, skinny jeans, her UGGs, high heels, books
Dislikes: Outspoken people, violence, arrogance
Typical Phrase: "What are people doing this weekend?"
Charcetristics: Places fringe in a particular place, does not wear friendship bracelet which she shares with sister
Name: Eleanor Blackmoor (El)
Age: 17
Occupation: Sixth Form Student
Appearance: Dark-haired, short, slim
Personlaity: Shy, isolated, nervous deposition
Dislikes: Vanity, dominance
Yves Lamvandier is a French filmmaker, who in 1985 embarked on a script writing career. He created the idea of plotting a film in the structure as seen below. This structure ensures all the necessary elements are taken on when thinking about the film and is a clear method of setting your ideas when its time to propose and present your ideas to a producer or company.
Protagonist: Eleanor Blackmore, 17 years
Hannah Blackmore, 17years
Inciting incident: Eleanor is uninvited to a huge year group party, later she is locked in the school gym by the "popular" girls.
Objective: She becomes crazy and decides to take revenge on the popular girls and Hannah
First act/second act transition: Shots of Eleanor plotting the revenge in her bedroom. The walls in her bedroom are covered in photos of the "pray" and a calender counting down until their birthday.
Internal incident: Eleanor has a split personality which causes her to to rethink her revenge and wait until the perfect time.
External incident: Hannah always has people with her which causes no alone time of just the two twins.
Climax: While Hannah sleeps, Eleanor starts her revenge by creeping into her bedroom and in red which is made to look like blood, writes the number 5 on her wall to indicate 5 days until their birthday, but also 5 days until her revenge is complete.
Dramatic answer: Negative, Eleanor has not managed to take her revenge yet.
Twist: Hannah teases Eleanor over dinner which causes Eleanor to freak out and leap across the table whilst trying to strangle Hannah infront of her family. This causes the mother to send Eleanor to a mental institution.
Third act: Eleanor escapes from the mental institution and decides to achieve her revenge at Hannah's masked birthday party.
Third climax: Eleanor is unrecognised at the party and finally kills Hannah and the two witnesses.
Second Dramatic answer: yes, she killed her twin however with negative consequences.
Age: 17
Occupation: Sixth form Student
Appearance: Petite, blonde, pretty, big blue eyes, a tatoo behind her ear, several piercings
Personality: Caring, mature, loud around friends
Likes: Parties, make-up, going out with firends, skinny jeans, her UGGs, high heels, books
Dislikes: Outspoken people, violence, arrogance
Typical Phrase: "What are people doing this weekend?"
Charcetristics: Places fringe in a particular place, does not wear friendship bracelet which she shares with sister
Name: Eleanor Blackmoor (El)
Age: 17
Occupation: Sixth Form Student
Appearance: Dark-haired, short, slim
Personlaity: Shy, isolated, nervous deposition
Dislikes: Vanity, dominance
Yves Lamvandier is a French filmmaker, who in 1985 embarked on a script writing career. He created the idea of plotting a film in the structure as seen below. This structure ensures all the necessary elements are taken on when thinking about the film and is a clear method of setting your ideas when its time to propose and present your ideas to a producer or company.
Protagonist: Eleanor Blackmore, 17 years
Hannah Blackmore, 17years
Inciting incident: Eleanor is uninvited to a huge year group party, later she is locked in the school gym by the "popular" girls.
Objective: She becomes crazy and decides to take revenge on the popular girls and Hannah
First act/second act transition: Shots of Eleanor plotting the revenge in her bedroom. The walls in her bedroom are covered in photos of the "pray" and a calender counting down until their birthday.
Internal incident: Eleanor has a split personality which causes her to to rethink her revenge and wait until the perfect time.
External incident: Hannah always has people with her which causes no alone time of just the two twins.
Climax: While Hannah sleeps, Eleanor starts her revenge by creeping into her bedroom and in red which is made to look like blood, writes the number 5 on her wall to indicate 5 days until their birthday, but also 5 days until her revenge is complete.
Dramatic answer: Negative, Eleanor has not managed to take her revenge yet.
Twist: Hannah teases Eleanor over dinner which causes Eleanor to freak out and leap across the table whilst trying to strangle Hannah infront of her family. This causes the mother to send Eleanor to a mental institution.
Third act: Eleanor escapes from the mental institution and decides to achieve her revenge at Hannah's masked birthday party.
Third climax: Eleanor is unrecognised at the party and finally kills Hannah and the two witnesses.
Second Dramatic answer: yes, she killed her twin however with negative consequences.
Friday, 5 November 2010
Horror Treatment
The protagonists are twins, a typically popular girl Hannah and her sister, Eleanor who is always alone and quiet.
21st May 1999. Eleanor and Hannah's birthday party. Hannah is having fun with all her friends while Eleanor sits in the corner alone. A flash forward takes us to the 14th May 2000, which is represented by turning a calender, seven days until Hannah and Eleanors18th birthday. We next see Hannah and Eleanor in their school environment. Hannah is with all her friends, laughing and having a good time while Eleanor remains standing alone and we begin to see the resentment for Hannah. The mass space of the school environment emphasizes how lonely she is.
That day, at lunch time, one of the popular girls is giving out her birthday invitations. It becomes obvious that she is inviting the whole year group. This is made clear through a shot of her looking Eleanor in the eye and then walking on without hesitating to give Eleanor an invitation. This begins to make Eleanor angry and upset. Later in the week, as a practical joke, the considered "popular" girls lock Eleanor in the school changing rooms after a p.e. lesson. This truly hurts Eleanor and she decides to take the ultimate revenge on not only her sister, but also her friends.
Whilst plotting her revenge, we see her bedroom. The walls are covered in photos of her "prey". Eleanor often burns photos of younger days of her and her sister and we see her cross off days on her calender until their birthday "The Date" which is the day she plans to take revenge.
The next night, Eleanor creeps into her sisters bedroom while she is asleep and paints on the wall a number 5. This number is representative of the number of days until Eleanor's revenge will be complete; which also happens to be their birthday.
The next morning the family discover the red paint and during a family dinner, the twins have a huge fight. While Eleanor leaps over the table to try and strangle Hannah, her mum decides she must go to a local mental institution.
After three days, Eleanor manages to escape in time for her sister’s birthday party. The party is masked in which everyone is invited except Eleanor. The family are unaware of her escape and she gate crashes the party. She kills her sister and two other witnesses. All the other guests are unaware of the murders and continue to have a good time until the lights go out and Eleanor goes crazy. As she goes crazy and starts screaming and threatening all the guests, her mum happens to walk in on the party. she sends all the guests home but is still to discover Hannah's body. As she discovers the body and Eleanor is already locked in her room. Their mother has no idea what to do so send her back to the mental institution.
We see Eleanor lying on the floor in her cell; the walls are empty and the surrounding area is silent. As we look at Eleanor lying still, we see her eyes close and watch the flashbacks of happy times with her sister, after the flashbacks bring her to the current time, we see her eyes open and the film ends. We are left not knowing what her next course of action will be.
Script
Dinner scene.
Late evening
Broken Family
Homemade meal
Dim lighting
Tense atmosphere
silence
Hannah, Eleanor and their mother(Miranda) sit around a long rectangle table. Hannah sits opposite to Eleanor whilst their mum sit at the head of the table, imbetween the twins.
Miranda is trying to break the silence by making conversation.
Miranda: How was your day Eleanor? looking hopeful for some sort of topic starter
Eleanor: while continuing to look at her food, she says unwillingly, Fine.
Miranda: Is this what it has come down to, silence at the only time we're together in the day?!
Hannah: with a smirk on her face, She never speaks, she's a mute
Miranda: don't say that Hannah! looks disappointed, let Eleanor have her voice.
Hannah, No one wants to hear what she's got to say anyways laughing
Miranda: Hannah! that's enough, just let your sister be
Hannah: Come on then! speak! looking interrogating at Eleanore
Eleanor looks up briefly at her sister before making no emotion and looking back at her food.
It's quite funny to think that for half the day you were locked in the changing roms! I guess I'm not the only one to think your abnormal.
Miranda: looking shocked and raising her voice, Hannah whats come over you!
Hannah picks up some peas from her plates and slowly starts throwing them at Eleanor waiting for any type of response e
Under the table, Eleanor is tensing her hands and crunching her fingers in her palms.
Miranda: Hannah, that's it! go to your room pointing upstairs
As Hannah stands up and slowly walks pout of the room, Hannah leaps up and tries to get her hands around Hannah's neck, as she pushes her yup against the kitchen wall,Hannah begins to struggle and starts screaming before Miranda has a chance to intervene.
21st May 1999. Eleanor and Hannah's birthday party. Hannah is having fun with all her friends while Eleanor sits in the corner alone. A flash forward takes us to the 14th May 2000, which is represented by turning a calender, seven days until Hannah and Eleanors18th birthday. We next see Hannah and Eleanor in their school environment. Hannah is with all her friends, laughing and having a good time while Eleanor remains standing alone and we begin to see the resentment for Hannah. The mass space of the school environment emphasizes how lonely she is.
That day, at lunch time, one of the popular girls is giving out her birthday invitations. It becomes obvious that she is inviting the whole year group. This is made clear through a shot of her looking Eleanor in the eye and then walking on without hesitating to give Eleanor an invitation. This begins to make Eleanor angry and upset. Later in the week, as a practical joke, the considered "popular" girls lock Eleanor in the school changing rooms after a p.e. lesson. This truly hurts Eleanor and she decides to take the ultimate revenge on not only her sister, but also her friends.
Whilst plotting her revenge, we see her bedroom. The walls are covered in photos of her "prey". Eleanor often burns photos of younger days of her and her sister and we see her cross off days on her calender until their birthday "The Date" which is the day she plans to take revenge.
The next night, Eleanor creeps into her sisters bedroom while she is asleep and paints on the wall a number 5. This number is representative of the number of days until Eleanor's revenge will be complete; which also happens to be their birthday.
The next morning the family discover the red paint and during a family dinner, the twins have a huge fight. While Eleanor leaps over the table to try and strangle Hannah, her mum decides she must go to a local mental institution.
After three days, Eleanor manages to escape in time for her sister’s birthday party. The party is masked in which everyone is invited except Eleanor. The family are unaware of her escape and she gate crashes the party. She kills her sister and two other witnesses. All the other guests are unaware of the murders and continue to have a good time until the lights go out and Eleanor goes crazy. As she goes crazy and starts screaming and threatening all the guests, her mum happens to walk in on the party. she sends all the guests home but is still to discover Hannah's body. As she discovers the body and Eleanor is already locked in her room. Their mother has no idea what to do so send her back to the mental institution.
We see Eleanor lying on the floor in her cell; the walls are empty and the surrounding area is silent. As we look at Eleanor lying still, we see her eyes close and watch the flashbacks of happy times with her sister, after the flashbacks bring her to the current time, we see her eyes open and the film ends. We are left not knowing what her next course of action will be.
Script
Dinner scene.
Late evening
Broken Family
Homemade meal
Dim lighting
Tense atmosphere
silence
Hannah, Eleanor and their mother(Miranda) sit around a long rectangle table. Hannah sits opposite to Eleanor whilst their mum sit at the head of the table, imbetween the twins.
Miranda is trying to break the silence by making conversation.
Miranda: How was your day Eleanor? looking hopeful for some sort of topic starter
Eleanor: while continuing to look at her food, she says unwillingly, Fine.
Miranda: Is this what it has come down to, silence at the only time we're together in the day?!
Hannah: with a smirk on her face, She never speaks, she's a mute
Miranda: don't say that Hannah! looks disappointed, let Eleanor have her voice.
Hannah, No one wants to hear what she's got to say anyways laughing
Miranda: Hannah! that's enough, just let your sister be
Hannah: Come on then! speak! looking interrogating at Eleanore
Eleanor looks up briefly at her sister before making no emotion and looking back at her food.
It's quite funny to think that for half the day you were locked in the changing roms! I guess I'm not the only one to think your abnormal.
Miranda: looking shocked and raising her voice, Hannah whats come over you!
Hannah picks up some peas from her plates and slowly starts throwing them at Eleanor waiting for any type of response e
Under the table, Eleanor is tensing her hands and crunching her fingers in her palms.
Miranda: Hannah, that's it! go to your room pointing upstairs
As Hannah stands up and slowly walks pout of the room, Hannah leaps up and tries to get her hands around Hannah's neck, as she pushes her yup against the kitchen wall,Hannah begins to struggle and starts screaming before Miranda has a chance to intervene.
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