A2 Advanced portfolio: 2012

Monday 10 December 2012

Sub genres of the horror film genre

I started filming the main shots of the film trailer today

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Test shots

Today I am going to do some thest shots for the silhouette clips.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

I liked the use of silhouettes in this video. I think silhouettes can be effective becuase they add to the sense of mystery and unknown which is especially important in horror films. It would also fit very will with my idea that the main character is writing a childrens book, which could include pop up pages.

Music

In horror films rock music is often featured on the trailers, if rock music isn't used the music is often eerie.

Below is a few examples of the music I have considered using in my film trailer.

I dont wanna set the world on fire - 0:00 to 1:35

I think this song would be a good option as it would compliment the creepy childishness of the film. Because of the style of the song it appears like it could be played from a grammerphone. It may also add to the juxtaposition.

This is another song i considered as it fits the convention of rock music appearing in horror films.

Animatic

Storyboard

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Main character information

I have asked Jess to be in my film trailer. After modelling for my music magazine last year I know she is great to work with and is able and willing to help me out when I need her to. She also lives relatively close so it is easy for us to meet up.

My friend James has also agreed to be in it and play the part of the villan

Stereotyping

Representation

My audience!

The results above show that overal my target audience prefere animated, open narrative films. However animation is very time consuming.

Overall the people who took part in my poll favour comedy and si-fi, with drama and romance being their least faverite.

The data I recived from my poll helped my to find out about the target audience i am aiming to make the film appeal to.

Target audience

Mindmap of ideas

History of film trailers

Structure of a film trailer

I began to look at the structure of various film trailers, this will help me to storyboard, film and edit my own.

Phone Booth Trailer

•Production company logo

•Fast cuts- short- diegesis

•Closer to the diagesis

• Intertitles – location – with voice over.

•Fast shots and montage editing – see the character of the location.

•Intertitle

•People using phones – links to narrative.

•Form – contrast – match.

•The protagonist and star is shown, the shot is from a low angle – shows power.

•Shows protagonists lifestyle

•Shots slow down, show lots of different angles – shows that the protagonist doesn’t know where the guy is and because it is shot from one location it maintains the audiences interest.

•The narrative then develops into the quest

•The logo of the production company and the producers name is shown again

•Development of narrative enigma

•Character development – visually

•Fast editing continues

•Cliffhanger – very fast editing, very loud sound
Title of film

•Details of film co.

Examples of film trailers

The Apparition: Lots of fast shots, parts of it appear to be filmed on a security camera.

The Unleashed: I think this trailer is less effective as it is rather repetitive

Bereavement:

Influence from music videos?

I like the use of the shadowed, negative image in this video (0:56- 0:57) I think it would look effecting in a horror film trailer.

Silhouette

Conventions of a horror film

Notes

Possible Genres

Action:

· Fast paced, a lot of physical stunts and chases, rescues, battles, difficult and tense escapes, mass destruction, adventurous,

· Protagonist is often a two-dimensional 'good-guy' heroes (more recently, heroines) battling 'bad guys' - all designed for audience escapism.

· Examples of action films are; James Bond, Batman returns and x-men.

Adventure:

· Exciting plots, with new experiences, exotic locations, searches or expeditions for lost continents.

· Jungles and tombs are common locations

· Protagonist is often of some form of treasure hunts, or a search for the unknown.

Comedies:

· Light-hearted plots designed to amuse and provoke laughter through the use of one-liners or jokes or by exaggerating the situation, language or action.

· Comedies include slapstick, spoofs and parodies, romantic comedies.

Horror:

· Designed to scare and to invoke our hidden worst fears, and often have a shocking, fast paced finale.

· Horror films feature a wide range of styles, often combining science fiction with the danger of a monster related to a corruption of technology, or when the Earth is threatened by aliens. There are also a lot of sub-genres of horror such as slasher films, mass serial killers, poltergeist and hauntings, Satanic rituals and the more classic threats such as Dracula or Frankenstein.

Musicals:

· Musical (and more recently dance films) emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routine, with a musical or dance performance usually integrated as part of the film narrative.

· There are films that are based on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography.

Science Fiction:

· Contain heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, futuristic settings and technology, , unknown forces, creatures from space (often either created by mad scientists or by nuclear mishaps)

· Science fiction often expresses the potential of technology to destroy humankind.

Westerns:

· One of the oldest, most enduring genres with very recognizable plots, elements, and characters

· Usually include guns, horses, dusty towns, cowboys, Indians, etc

· Over time westerns have been re-defined and to some extent re-invented and spoofed.

Genre convntions essay

Feedback

4 chosen media texts

Evaluation of deconstruction and reconstruction

For this small part of the project we worked in a group of 6 people. We chose to do a deconstruction and reconstruction of 30 seconds of ‘Ed sheeran – a team’. We chose this music video as the majority of the team were planning on making a music video and the different shots would give us opportunities to try filming from different angles, also as it was in black and white it gave us the opportunity to learn how to do this in editing. We chose to film from 20 seconds in as the first 30 consisted of long, slow shots which were not conventional with most music videos.

We first watched the music video in full as a group to decide on the location and see if any props would be needed, we decided to film most of it at a local parks as it was close to college and thus easy for us all to access. We then decided who was filming what scene and planned around when they were able to film, we decided to get the filming done as quickly as possible so we would have longer to edit and if there was anything wrong with any of the shots we would have enough time to re do them. During the filming we played the music video from a phone so that we could check the composition and timing of the scenes as we filmed however this sometimes took a long time to load. Overall I think we were very organised and this meant we did not have to rush anything. However I think we could have been more time effective had we made proper use of the storyboard.

When we had filmed everything we began editing. We were talked through the basics of video editing (premer pro) and how to both add a black and white filter to the video and increase the contrast of it to mimic the boldness of the dark shades in the Ed Sheeran video.

Overall I think this project went well and we worked effectively, however if we had the chance to do this project again I think I would work with a group who was focusing on a film trailer so that I could improve my skills for the next part of the project.

Deconstruction and reconstruction of a media text

This is the final reconstruction

Audience Key terms

Demographics

Thinking about my chosen audience for my film trailer, i would have to research into their demographics and the Psychographic Profile. Demographics are split into 5 groups:

A- Higher management, bankers, lawyers, doctors and other professionals
B- Middle management, teachers, creative and media people eg graphic designers
C1- Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff - white collar
C2- Skilled manual workers, plumbers, builders - blue collar
D- Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers
E- Unemployed, students, pensioners, casual workers

By using this information, i can shape my film trailer to appeal to a group with known viewing habits. Although it does not tell the media producers some things they might need to know, such as how much money each group has to spend each week. Some skileld manual workers, like electricians, earn more money each week than say a teacher, but they probably do not spend it in the same way. Also, demographics is only about the main earner in a household so young people at home (ie students) are not included.