This is the final version of our film trailer for The Deviation.
Monday, 22 February 2016
LO4: Drafts of Film Trailer
First Draft
Strengths:
-Go-Pro footage creates atmosphere
-Music fits well with the theme and builds tension
-Titles look professional
Weaknesses:
-Footage needs stabilising
-Fades need adding in a couple of places
-Audio needs recording
Second Draft
Strengths:
-Jump-cutting fits well with the music
-Night-time and evening filters are effective
Weaknesses:
-Special effects need adding such as the meteor and white eyes
-Alistair's voice recording needs to be added
Third Draft
Strengths:
-Meteor and white-eyes special effects added
-All titles added and all clips inserted and edited
Weaknesses:
-Cutting needs to be even quicker after the tempo speeds up
LO4: Offline Edit
An offline edit is a version of a video/film which doesn't include any effects or transitions.
LO4: Evidence of Editing
Evidence of Editing
Video
1. This part of the video shows me importing footage of the sky into Adobe Premiere Pro. A meteor effect will later be added to this using After Effects.
2. Here, I add the useable piece of footage from the three takes onto the timeline, ready for editing.
3. In this section, I use the Razor Tool to cut off some of the start of the clip. This is because the camera hadn't started moving yet, so it wasn't useful or meaningful footage. It would have slowed down the film trailer greatly if it had been left in, so by doing this I was able to speed up the pace of the the trailer. A fast pace is a convention of thriller films and their trailers, as it creates a panicky and exciting atmosphere. The film trailers The Blair Witch Project and Area 51, which I analysed in LO1, both have a very fast pace. In addition, a quick pace is good for the target audience of young people, aged around 16-25, because they want thrills and excitement.
4. Finally, I shorten the length of a "dip to black" effect that I added to the clip using Effect Controls. This is to keep the trailer fast-paced and to-the-point, which is a classic element of the thriller genre. It is seen in almost all of the trailers I analysed in LO1. Also, a transition like this, instead of just a plain cut, keeps the trailer interesting and makes it flow. It deepens the meaning of tension and mystery as the audience is gripped by ever-changing shots.
This screenshot shows the useable meteor-sky footage in the timeline, ready to be edited.
Monochrome
The above screenshots show how I added a monochrome effect to a section of the film trailer. In the effects menu, I selected the channel mixer, before dragging it onto the section of the trailer that I wanted on the timeline. I then went into effect controls and ticked the "monochrome" box under the new "channel mixer" heading, which turned the clip black and white. Using the monochrome feature gave this section of the trailer the effect of a flashback, while also adding a new dimension of interest. It keeps the audience mystified and confused about what is going on, hopefully enticing them to watch the film.
Zooming in on the Warp Films title
Here, I am about to add keyframes in order to zoom in on the "Warp Films" title seen in the bottom screenshot. It is the very first thing seen in the trailer, and the zoom, done using the "scale" option, goes well with the eerie music playing at the beginning. A zoom in on the creator's name at the beginning is a convention of all film trailers, not just horror thrillers. Also, the slow speed of the zoom builds up atmosphere and tension for the rest of the trailer. This is something which is done in the Campfire Tales and Hush trailers which I analysed in LO1.
Before and After - After Effects Filters
This screenshot shows a comparison between some original footage (left) and the same footage with an evening filter on (right). Matthew Milan, who I worked with on this project, added the filter in Adobe After Effects. When he rendered out the shot with the filter on, I made sure it was in time with the rest of the footage in Adobe Premiere Pro, before deleting the original shot without the filter. The effect of this filter is a sense of upcoming disequilibrium as we can see it is evening, approaching night-time. A convention of horror thrillers is many night-time scenes, because they make viewers frightened and nervous, which is how young people aged around 16-25 want to feel when going to see a film like this.
This is another screenshot showing a comparison between some original footage (left) and the same footage with a night-time filter on (right). Again, Matthew Milan added the filter in After Effects before I replaced the original footage with it in Premiere Pro. The night-time filter he added here is very dark and makes the trailer much more atmospheric, because the darker shot is more frightening and has a sense of the unknown - in the clearly lit shot, everything can be seen clearly and there is no mystery. As I said above, night-time is a convention of films of the horror genre, and night-time shots can be seen in every single one of the five trailers I analysed in LO1.
Friday, 19 February 2016
LO2: Music for our Film Trailer
Unnatural Situation - Kevin McLeod
Kevin Macleod Music Copyright Permission: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/about_copyright.html
Chase Scene Music 2 - FesliyanStudios
FesliyanStudios Copyright:
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LO2: Shoot Plan
We haven't filmed the majority of what we need to yet as we have been unable to find actors. This means we are behind schedule. However, once we get somebody to be in our trailer, we will be filming the following things on the following dates:
-Monday 22nd February 9:15 - 10:20
SHOTS 1-10
-Friday 26th February
SHOTS 10-20
-Monday 29th February
SHOTS 20-30
-Friday 4th March
SHOTS 30-34 and any re-filming that is needed.
Wednesday, 17 February 2016
LO3: Rushes
Strengths of our footage:
- We stuck closely to our screenplay document when filming, meaning the footage is how we imagined it to be and the dialogue is good.
- We used different camera angles and movements throughout.
- We took each scene multiple times, so we made sure that we had one version which would be right.
- The quality of the footage is sharp and high-definition.
- The tripod is accidentally captured in some of our footage, meaning those sections are not useable.
- Some of James' (Alister) dialogue is not picked up very loudly on the camera's microphone.
- Some of the footage is quite shaky where the tripod is not used. However, this maybe could be used to our advantage - it might create atmosphere.
Friday, 5 February 2016
Monday, 1 February 2016
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Friday, 22 January 2016
LO2: Permissions
Emails to/from Louise from StandBy Method Acting Studio:
I emailed the following to the Carney Academy in Sheffield to try to get actors from there:
Hi there,
this isn't really a course enquiry, but I wasn't sure how else to contact you. A friend and I attend UTC Sheffield not far from where you are based, and we are currently producing a film trailer as part of our course. We need to find three actors for this, but have struggled so far! If it is possible, we would really appreciate it if you could put our message out to your students. While we aren't able to pay them, the trailer could be good acting experience for their career. The actors need to be:
-male
-any ethnicity
-aged 18-21
The film trailer is going to be entitled "The Deviation" and it is of the horror thriller genre. The following is a basic synopsis of the film:
-Three university friends go camping in the woods.
-A small meteorite lands early morning and the friends don’t notice it as they are in their tent.
-They come out of the tent in the morning and they need to cook breakfast, so two of them send one of the guys to collect rocks to keep the grill suspended.
-He goes alone into the woods slightly, and picks up a few rocks one after the other. Tracking shot as he does so.
-The last rock (in fact, the small meteorite)- he picks it up, drops the rock, shivers a little before taking it back and returning to the group. First sense of something going wrong.
-Static shot of their car driving away after breakfast, then a cut to the rock and a white light comes on with smoke.
-11pm, back at their accommodation, the one who picked up the rock is laid in bed. He opens his eyes, they glow white and he stands up to look over one of his friends, jump cuts as he does so.
-The one who picked up the meteorite appears dead in the morning, so they leave him and head back to the woods to investigate the rock and what happened to their friend. Similar to earlier shot, we see the car driving away then a cut to the door, white eyes man standing in it.
-He follows them to the woods.
-They find the meteor letting out the white light but are afraid to touch it. Hearing a sound behind them, they turn around, seeing the infected person behind them.
-Fade to black as he takes a swipe at one, moans heard.
-At the end we see one of the characters running away, being chased by the infected. The camera tilts and titles show.
Obviously this is in a linear order but we have come up with a non-linear order for these events, which is necessary for the trailer.
Character Names:
Terry,
George,
James.
We really hope that you can pass this information on to your older students and see if anyone is interested. The times we are available for filming are:
Friday 19th February 09:00 - 13:00
Monday 22nd February 09:00 - 11:00
Friday 26th February 09:00 - 13:00
The locations we will be filming in:
-Norfolk Heritage Park
-The house of either me or my colleague, Matt
Thank you for reading. We would be really grateful if you could pass this information on.
this isn't really a course enquiry, but I wasn't sure how else to contact you. A friend and I attend UTC Sheffield not far from where you are based, and we are currently producing a film trailer as part of our course. We need to find three actors for this, but have struggled so far! If it is possible, we would really appreciate it if you could put our message out to your students. While we aren't able to pay them, the trailer could be good acting experience for their career. The actors need to be:
-male
-any ethnicity
-aged 18-21
The film trailer is going to be entitled "The Deviation" and it is of the horror thriller genre. The following is a basic synopsis of the film:
-Three university friends go camping in the woods.
-A small meteorite lands early morning and the friends don’t notice it as they are in their tent.
-They come out of the tent in the morning and they need to cook breakfast, so two of them send one of the guys to collect rocks to keep the grill suspended.
-He goes alone into the woods slightly, and picks up a few rocks one after the other. Tracking shot as he does so.
-The last rock (in fact, the small meteorite)- he picks it up, drops the rock, shivers a little before taking it back and returning to the group. First sense of something going wrong.
-Static shot of their car driving away after breakfast, then a cut to the rock and a white light comes on with smoke.
-11pm, back at their accommodation, the one who picked up the rock is laid in bed. He opens his eyes, they glow white and he stands up to look over one of his friends, jump cuts as he does so.
-The one who picked up the meteorite appears dead in the morning, so they leave him and head back to the woods to investigate the rock and what happened to their friend. Similar to earlier shot, we see the car driving away then a cut to the door, white eyes man standing in it.
-He follows them to the woods.
-They find the meteor letting out the white light but are afraid to touch it. Hearing a sound behind them, they turn around, seeing the infected person behind them.
-Fade to black as he takes a swipe at one, moans heard.
-At the end we see one of the characters running away, being chased by the infected. The camera tilts and titles show.
Obviously this is in a linear order but we have come up with a non-linear order for these events, which is necessary for the trailer.
Character Names:
Terry,
George,
James.
We really hope that you can pass this information on to your older students and see if anyone is interested. The times we are available for filming are:
Friday 19th February 09:00 - 13:00
Monday 22nd February 09:00 - 11:00
Friday 26th February 09:00 - 13:00
The locations we will be filming in:
-Norfolk Heritage Park
-The house of either me or my colleague, Matt
Thank you for reading. We would be really grateful if you could pass this information on.
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
LO2: Hugh Mann (Let There be Light Productions) Presentation
This morning (Wednesday 13th January) we are going to have a presentation from Hugh Mann of Let There be Light Productions. He is a director, and his presentation is going to be on pre-production.
Five questions I want to ask:
-What does your job involve?
Hugh's job mainly involves sitting in front of a computer 9-5, as 80% of being a filmmaker is the planning. It is really important because if you get the planning right, the actual filming goes smoothly, the finished product looks great and it doesn't take too long, saving money.
-What are some things to avoid as a filmmaker?
It is important to avoid "promising the world" - don't say yes to everything that your client asks for, because then you will try to do things that aren't your strong point and your production will be sub-standard as a result. You should say no to the things that you aren't good at, and be the "captain of the ship" by building a good team around you to help you. You should read up on the areas that you want to improve on and surround yourself with talented people.
-How do you make things realistic for your audience?
In order to make things realistic, you should have experience of the types of people you are going to be including in your production, because that way their dialogue will be realistic and sound genuine. It is no good having a 17 year-old write the script for a pensioner if they have no experience of what pensioners are like! A general rule is to say yes to things that you feel uncomfortable about - it is the only way to gain experience and knowledge of the world around you, making you a better filmmaker. You should also make sure that props are realistic for their surroundings.
-Who do you look up to?
Hugh says that he looks up to his parents, and generally people who have worked from the bottom to the top (rags-to-riches stories). He doesn't look up to celebrities, but instead has respect for people who have made themselves into something from a non-privileged background, like he himself has.
-How do you source actors?
Hugh says that the best way to source actors is to go to colleges and universities which run acting courses, as well as local theatres. There, you can find talented actors who might be willing to work for you for free, or for not much money, in order to gain more experience. Find the talent and sign them up, then keep them working for you. It is difficult to find talented actors who don't need to be paid a lot of money.
General notes:
-Keep morale high in the group at all times, appear relaxed (even if you're not), appear in control of the situation, and feed everyone. Be prepared to lie at times if you need to seem like you are in control!
-Always have a business card and have a portfolio e.g. YouTube.
-Production is 80% planning, 20% shooting.
-Get the client to sign things off before you go ahead, to make sure they agree to what you are going to do.
-Scripts, storyboards, animatics and even actors need approval / signing off from the client.
-Make sure that everyone involved has signed a consent form to appear in the production, to avoid catastrophe if there is a falling out in the group.
-Shot lists are important for everyone on the shoot so that everyone knows what to do and when, saving time and money.
-Keep camera and sound logs recording everything that is filmed / recorded, making the editor's job easier.
-Continuity is key, and differentiates between the amateurs and the professionals.
-If you didn't fill in health and safety documents, you are responsible for any injuries.
-Think fast and on your feet if something goes wrong - don't panic and find another solution.
Five questions I want to ask:
-What does your job involve?
Hugh's job mainly involves sitting in front of a computer 9-5, as 80% of being a filmmaker is the planning. It is really important because if you get the planning right, the actual filming goes smoothly, the finished product looks great and it doesn't take too long, saving money.
-What are some things to avoid as a filmmaker?
It is important to avoid "promising the world" - don't say yes to everything that your client asks for, because then you will try to do things that aren't your strong point and your production will be sub-standard as a result. You should say no to the things that you aren't good at, and be the "captain of the ship" by building a good team around you to help you. You should read up on the areas that you want to improve on and surround yourself with talented people.
-How do you make things realistic for your audience?
In order to make things realistic, you should have experience of the types of people you are going to be including in your production, because that way their dialogue will be realistic and sound genuine. It is no good having a 17 year-old write the script for a pensioner if they have no experience of what pensioners are like! A general rule is to say yes to things that you feel uncomfortable about - it is the only way to gain experience and knowledge of the world around you, making you a better filmmaker. You should also make sure that props are realistic for their surroundings.
-Who do you look up to?
Hugh says that he looks up to his parents, and generally people who have worked from the bottom to the top (rags-to-riches stories). He doesn't look up to celebrities, but instead has respect for people who have made themselves into something from a non-privileged background, like he himself has.
-How do you source actors?
Hugh says that the best way to source actors is to go to colleges and universities which run acting courses, as well as local theatres. There, you can find talented actors who might be willing to work for you for free, or for not much money, in order to gain more experience. Find the talent and sign them up, then keep them working for you. It is difficult to find talented actors who don't need to be paid a lot of money.
General notes:
-Keep morale high in the group at all times, appear relaxed (even if you're not), appear in control of the situation, and feed everyone. Be prepared to lie at times if you need to seem like you are in control!
-Always have a business card and have a portfolio e.g. YouTube.
-Production is 80% planning, 20% shooting.
-Get the client to sign things off before you go ahead, to make sure they agree to what you are going to do.
-Scripts, storyboards, animatics and even actors need approval / signing off from the client.
-Make sure that everyone involved has signed a consent form to appear in the production, to avoid catastrophe if there is a falling out in the group.
-Shot lists are important for everyone on the shoot so that everyone knows what to do and when, saving time and money.
-Keep camera and sound logs recording everything that is filmed / recorded, making the editor's job easier.
-Continuity is key, and differentiates between the amateurs and the professionals.
-If you didn't fill in health and safety documents, you are responsible for any injuries.
-Think fast and on your feet if something goes wrong - don't panic and find another solution.
Monday, 4 January 2016
LO2: Film Synopsis
Story Plot -:
-Three friends camping in the woods - equilibrium. They are all happy.
-Meteorite lands (small) early morning and the people don’t notice it as they are in their tent.
-They come out of the tent in the morning and they need to cook breakfast, so two of them send one of the guys to collect rocks to keep the grill off the ground.
-He goes alone into the woods slightly, and picks up a few rocks one after the other. Tracking shot as he does so.
-The last rock - he picks it up, drops the rock, shivers a little before taking it back and returning to the group. Disequilibrium.
-Static shot of car driving away, then a cut to the rock and a white light comes on with smoke.
-11pm, pan / tilt from clock to guy sleeping. Laid in bed, he opens his eyes, they glow white and he stands up to look over another guy, jump cuts as he does so.
-11pm, pan / tilt from clock to guy sleeping. Laid in bed, he opens his eyes, they glow white and he stands up to look over another guy, jump cuts as he does so.
-Guy appears dead, so they leave him and head back to the woods to investigate the rock and what happened to their friend. Similar to earlier shot, we see the car driving away then a cut to the door, white eyes guy standing in it.
-He follows them to the woods. Fade to black as he takes a swipe.
-Non-linear, so take shots from different times and jumble up. Use quick cuts.
LO2: Location release form
Norfolk Heritage Park is a public place, so we don't need a release form for it.
LO2: Release and consent forms
Norfolk Heritage Park is a public place, so we don't need a release and consent form for it.
Release and consent form, signed by Alister Martin, showing that we are allowed to have him in our film trailer:
Release and consent form, signed by Alister Martin, showing that we are allowed to have him in our film trailer:
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