Rough Cut of Trailer

This is the rough cut of my group and I's trailer, although some audio is missing and gaps have been made for the captions and productions logo, the footage has been edited and some sound and music has been placed.

Exploring Shot Types and Sizes

https://youtu.be/WkDxAjXJ2oU

This is a YouTube video of me explaining the theories and ideas behind the shot types we took.

SFX Practice

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Test Shots

These are different test shots for the locations we will be using within our trailer.

The location of a forest was chosen by my group and I as we thought through planning our synopsis that woods are a common convention of horror movies due to the isolation and danger of the unknown. Although we planned to film during day time, I believe that using an loose frame of woods will make the character appear more vulnerable to the audience. 

Another location which was decided to be shown in our trailer was a school as our synopsis surrounds the protagonist as this allows our target audience, teenagers ranging from 16 to 18, to connect with the events or situations. The setting of a school allows the audience to empathise and grow fear. 

Lastly, we chose a bedroom setting as where the most filming will happen as we found that it is a common convention where trailers use domestic settings such as homes as these are more intimate with the audience and provoke fear. 

Model Consent Forms

Character Names

These are tallies my group and I had done with our peers to see what names would be popular for the mother and twin.

For Azlyn's twin we chose Mara (with the Hebrew origin of 'bitter' and the biblical connotation of Naomi claiming the name Mara due to the deaths of her husband and sons therefore representing the character of the twin well as she is bitter about the life she was not able to live), Anna-Marie (holding German origins and meaning bitter grace, suiting the character due to her representation being revengeful of Azlyn and also ironic with 'grace', as she fails to have sympathy for her living twin) and Rosemary (meaning 'dew of sea' however as a compound means bitter rose again bitter due to her inability to live like her sister but also echoes the classic horror movie, 'Rosemary's Baby'). With the overall feedback, we found that Mara was most popular due to the power behind the name in echoing a bitter personality therefore reflective of the character.

For the character of the mother, my group and I chose Adrianna (originating from France, meaning Adria - the Adriatic sea region although also meaning dark which links to the idea where she is in darkness due to her daughter's early death and plagued with the unknown), Lethia (with Greek origins, meaning forgetfulness, this is appropriate for the character of Azlyn's mother due to her neglectful traits leading to the death of her child) and finally Agnes (of Greek derivation, meaning 'pure, holy' as Saint Agnes was a Roman virgin martyred by the Emperor Dicletian and as her emblem is blame, this could represent the character due to her innocence and oblivious nature being a flaw leading to her demise). Our feedback from our peers showed that Lethia was the best name out of the three due to sounding the most vulnerable and almost inferior. Other names such as Agnes sounded too powerful whereas Lethia appeared dismissive.

Character Profiles

Scripting

Scene 1

Azlyn appears by herself, the sounds of digging filling the silence surrounding her in the forest. This will be edited in itself to appear louder than the natural sounds which may be done by either enhancing the audio or recording digging by itself and adding it over.

Scene 2

Mother

No words are leaving her mouth throughout the scene as only her breathing and panting is heard. Additionally, the scene will also have sounds of footsteps and static from technology within Azlyn’s room.

Scene 3

This scene will be silent as only suspenseful music alongside the diegetic sound of breathing will be heard in order to emphasise the danger of the villain.

Scene 4

Friend 1

“Hey, you’re the girl that writes those scary stories online! They’re really good.”

Friend 2

“Why don’t you come have lunch with us?”

Azlyn

“Sure! Thank you.”

Scene 5

The scene will be filled with silence as the only audible noise will be the sound bridge of diegetic school chatter slowly fading out from the previous scene. Azlyn will be shown silent, typing on her laptop and her phone shows message she is unable to see but the audience can.

Scene 6

Azlyn again appears silent while she watches the screen of her computer, there is a lack of noise save the diegetic sound of her using the laptop and the non-diegetic track playing which will add suspense and create an atmosphere for audiences to understand something is wrong.

 Scene 7

Azlyn

 “[Under her breath, to herself] What the hell...There’s so many...”

Scene 8

With the slow start of suspenseful music playing once Azlyn reads her email, the audience will be able to hear her breath quickening in fear of what the email means. The lack of script will further emphasise a troubled atmosphere for the audience as they see the email.

Scene 9

There will be no background audio playing as the scene will be dead silent to focus on the contents of the shot. As Azlyn wakes up, the audience will hear the diegetic noise of her moving about and scratching her arms before she sees the cuts and scratches.

Scene 10

Specialist/Friend

“Just go to sleep as normal, I’ll be here looking over you all night. Don’t worry about it! Goodnight!”

Scene 11

Due to the villain appearing once again and as the trailer is progressing further to show the chaos happening around the main character, the music will be fast and of a high-pitch to further frighten yet excite the viewers. The music will also imply something is going to happen as Azlyn’s twin walks closer.

Scene 12

The diegetic sounds of the protagonist screaming to herself in a mental breakdown paired with the devices being slammed or closed down will add to the destruction of the equilibrium. Furthermore, to connect the significance of technology, we will also use a dial tone in the back to emphasise the power of her phone.

Scene 13

Azlyn

“[Staring down at her phone in alarm, panicked speaking although of a low pitch] You...You can’t get rid of me?”

Scene 14

Azlyn

“[Powerful voice to emphasise willingness to combat conflict, typing on her phone] You don’t scare me anymore, I will get rid of you.”

Scene 15

With the trailer coming close to its climax, the music will be fast and will mirror the sound of heartbeats as the protagonist will be breathing heavily; appearing to close her eyes and trying to calm down. Although the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are different, it will be done to present the danger Azlyn is in.

Scene 16

As Azlyn is holding her phone, the chosen weapon of this trailer, glitching sounds will be used to show the danger the main character is in. With the villain close behind her, although upbeat fearful music will be used, the scene will be focused on her breathing and with a short fade to black, a flicker of her arms with blood on them and a scream will appear to scare the audience.

Shot & Prop List

Trailer Synopsis & Storyboard

This is a Slideshare explaining the storyboarding and narrative of our trailer, showing the shots and what conventions these will contain.

Overall Narrative

Images Without Colour

Narrative Ideas

This plot is based around the idea of the discourse of religion, relating to the theory of Moral Panic which was once seen around the years of the Exorcist and is now rising again in the form of demons. By using religious imagery, our plot idea was used as religion is often used as a form of comfort for some and playing on this will enhance fear. Additionally, using conventions such as domestic settings will further relate back to the audience. Other aspects such as the 'Big Brother' effect is used due to the demon watching the protagonist along with the idea of voyeurism of the main character being watch. 

Another plot idea we had was using the theories of moral panics regarding the paranormal, a topic which has been increasingly been used in movies, shows and more. We also found inspiration in the film Psycho, using split personalities and mental illnesses to play on the mind of our audiences to create a type of psychological paranormal trailer. To do this, we found common conventions such as the dark and domestic settings worked best as well as some character types such as the aid, villain and hero seen in Propp's theory. 

Overall, although both related to fears of our target audience as seen in our individual audience researches, we found that these were not effective due to their lack of engagement with current fears of our target audience.

This is our final narrative which we decided was the most effective narrative out of the other two we had planned. We found that with the increasing use and dependence on technology, using this in our trailer will create a connection between our plot and the audience to increase fear. Additionally, this is also done through using social medias such as Tumblr or FaceBook due to the fear of who you are talking to and the protection of data/information. Again, Propp's theory of character types are seen throughout the narrative with the helper being the 'Specialist' however the hero is the damsel in distress which contrasts this. Furthermore, using common conventions such as domestic settings still use traditional ideas in horror however the use of technology modernises the narrative. We also will use voyeurism to further increase suspense with the audience while the twin being an entity enforces the idea of the fear of the Unknown and paranormal. 

Final Production Logo

This is our Company's logo used with Photoshop and Premier.

Making of the Company's Logo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjaMnNIIFVM


https://youtu.be/Lo-vvOZNHiQ

This is a 'behind the scenes' video showing the making of our logo and how it was done.

Company Name

These are screenshots from not only our discussions throughout class but also within social media such as WhatsApp regarding the name of our company. My group and I initially formulised the idea of Fallen Productions on our first concept of the narrative surrounding the idea of religion and paranormal. However, as we used our market/audience research, we found that popular concepts tend to be paranormal and psychological. As the screenshots above explain our discussions, we finally decided upon Omniscient Productions. This is because as our sub-genre will be paranormal based with aspects of psychological movie themes, the idea of 'all-seeing' and 'all-knowing' not only emphasises the idea of the Unknown but also heightens fear around a powerful entity. Our narrative is based around a twin who is dead and now an angry entity following her sister trying to possess her which therefore reinforces the idea of an all-knowing entity as it is always present.

Decision of Sub-Genre

This is a SoundCloud showing the discussion my group and I had when deciding the sub-genre for our horror trailer. 

Analysis of Research (Overall)

This is a SoundCloud discussing the research I have done overall, the importance and what I plan to do with it.

Trailer Conventions

This is a Slideshare showing the different conventions throughout four trailers, focusing on different aspects.

Audience Fears

https://youtu.be/yZOe0qDvJko

  Analysis: By asking questions of the fears of my target audience and why this may be, I was able to visualise what genres in horror would interest them to benefit the making of my trailer. I found that fears are often manifestations of the Unknown through experiences or fears such as demons, commitment and loneliness. When creating my trailer, I believe that the paranormal genre will be the most effective genre to engage with the audience. 

Horror Movies Quotes

Analysis:

Exploring different quotes from horror movies such as Chucky, Psycho and Sixth Sense has impacted my research for initial ideas in making my trailer, poster and magazine cover. As relating quotes back to horror movies, I was able to identify what movies were favoured across generations. For example Psycho still upholds memorable quotes and scenes from the movie that people of different generations continue to enjoy. It is important to recognise quotes that are considered popular in the genre as this therefore implies what types of dialogue is considered popular like rhetorical questions which add to suspense and doubt.  

Film Aesthetics

This is an Animoto showing different aesthetics and images relating to horror which will therefore influence the visuals and mise-en-scene of my trailer.

Survey into Horror

Create your own user feedback survey

This is a Prezi analysing the research I found in my survey for my audience using SurveyMonkey.

Real Media Texts: 2016 Posters and Magazine Covers

Research Rationale

This is a YouTube video explaining and walking through the introduction of my research for my brief.

PRELIM: Director's Commentary

This is a YouTube video with my partner and I discussing and commenting on the final product.

PRELIM: Remake Clip

PRELIM: Editing

PRELIM: Evidence of Shooting

PRELIM: Storyboard

This is the storyboard my partner and I made when discussing and mapping out our clip and understanding what scenes happened.

PRELIM: Schedule

PRELIM: Unfriended Analysis

This is a YouTube video of my partner and I analysing and discussing the clip of Unfriended we are choosing to recreate.

https://youtu.be/2Iq1xIjKGS0?t=3m1s

Above is the chosen clip.

Barthes' Enigma Code

This is an EMaze explaining Barthes' Enigma code which shows the importance of understanding the mind of the audience as well as how to keep their attention on the movie which can help in creating my trailer by knowing what to put in and what to leave out.

Ferdinand Saussure