Thursday, 16 December 2010

Tuesday, 16 November 2010

Filming My Planned Shots (from my storyboard)


Setting - I decided to film my footage when it begun to get dark so that there would be no natural daylight because I wanted the lighting to be eerie and slightly artificial. I filmed the short shots in my house as they were mainly focused on Emma's face or body so her surroundings weren't really important. I filmed the main shot (of Emma running) outside on a grassy area with no other lights (eg streetlamps) to create a more mysterious feel.


Camera Angles&Shots -I wanted to include a range of shots that demonstrated varied angles. For example I filmed one shot that involved shooting my female character's hand from a worm's eye angle - this is an angle that is quite unusual so makes the viewer think twice about what they are seeing. As most of my shots were very short (1-3 seconds) I didn't need a tripod to steady my shots, I felt that I was able to do this with a steady hand. However, on my longer shots of Emma running I decided that I needed to use a tripod to make the camera perfectly still. On these shots (of Emma running) I wanted to film her running but from slightly different angles. Therefore I made sure she ran across the same area, so that when I come to edit these shots I can maintain continuity. As well as including different angles I wanted to include long-shots, mid-shots and close-ups to create further variety and depth to my finished product.


Lighting - I wanted to include a variety of different lighting techniques to create a contrast between light and dark, and natural and artificial. For some shots I used normal household lights to create a more realistic look to the shots. For example there is a shot of Emma sitting on a set of stairs with 'normal' light from behind her that puts her in shadow. The contrast between her shadow/almost silhouette and the realistic lighting I feel creates a more eerie atmosphere. I also used candle light in one shot as it flickered slightly which created some movement in the shot, and gave a softer light to Emma's face. As well as using these more 'normal', realistic lighting techniques I also wanted to use lighting that really played an important role in creating 'the look' of a shot. In my main shots of Emma running I attached a large light on the end of a stick which I got someone to hold behind Emma about the height of her shoulders. When filming in front of the light I was able to create lens flares which I feel created an interesting effect. The lens flares also created transparent circular blocks of colour which contrasted effectively with the darker, more rural setting.


Costume & Make-up - Being the main character in my trailer, I felt Emma's costume and make-up was important. As the main shot for the trailer involved Emma running I wanted to put her in a dress that would create more movement in the scene. I decided to put her in a khaki coloured dress that was very floaty so moved a lot when Emma did. The material was slightly sheer, so this was effective in the scene where I had a strong light behind Emma (as it shone through areas of the dress). The makeup idea for Emma was based heavily on the idea of a 'femme fatale' character; I used black eye make-up and red lipstick to give her a sophisticated edge. I feel that the combination of the makeup and costume used gave Emma a feminine look, but also a modern edge that the viewers could relate to.

Monday, 8 November 2010

Storyboard For My Teaser Trailer




(click images to enlarge)
Discussing my storyboard and plans for my teaser trailer in detail:
  • My storyboard includes a range of shots as I wanted to create as much interest that I could in a short space of time. However, I didn't include the specific timings (on the edge of the storyboard) because I didn't want to be restricted to a certain time period. Although I don't have a specific time period I know that it will be roughly 40 seconds because it is a teaser trailer that I have to create rather than a full length trailer.
  • Within my set of shots I wanted to have a certain scene that underpins the whole trailer so it isn't too disjointed. In this case it is the one of the female character (Emma) running, which in my editing I hope to rewind and put in slow motion (so it looks as if she is running backwards). I recorded a number of shots of this same scene from different angles to add variety to the trailer. To feed from this paticular set of shots I recorded a series of short (about 1-2seconds) shots that were at angles and perspectives that the viewer may find disorienating (such as dutch tilts) - this will hopefully add a sense of ambiguity to my psychological thriller teaser trailer.
  • For all my shots on the storyboard I have put 'no dialogue' in the description. This is because the only sound I want to include is a non-diegetic music track. I feel that by having no diegetic sound I can create a more eerie, detached feel where the viewer isn't necessarily focused on what's happening in the shots - rather more the look of the shots. At the moment my chosen piece of music is a Kings Of Leon remix of the song 'Closer'. The entire track has an errie, isolated feel to it, but the beginning and end of the song (with no vocals) has more of this feel. In the Adobe Premier Pro software I would be able to cut out these parts of the track to fit to my time period of roughly 40 seconds.
  • In most of my shots I want to focus on the importance of lighting and having a variety of lighting -especially in my main shots of Emma running. I want to create lighting that adds further interest to the shots (such as lens flares) and where there is a contrast between light and dark. I feel that this would contribute to the Film Noir style.

Monday, 18 October 2010

Analysing My Magazine Cover

(click image to enlarge)

Final Magazine Cover

(click image to enlarge)

Thursday, 14 October 2010

Magazine Title


For my second task I have decided to create a magazine front cover (featuring my film). I decided on the name 'NEOPOP' because it has a more modern edge to it and sounds more alternative. I'd like my magazine to be more art-house film related rather than the commercial magazines like Total Film and Empire. My magazine might also include elements of fashion and music - so may include references to soundtracks in films and fashion films. I think it is important that I've mapped out the concept for my magazine as it'll have a greater impact on how the finished front cover looks. The image above shows different fonts that I thought of using for the logo/title of the magazine...I have decided to use the third font 'Budmo Jiggler' because it stands out from the others. The 1st looks too much like the logo for 'Top Of The Pops' the 2nd doesnt stand by itself strongly as a logo and the 4th looks too abstract.

Friday, 8 October 2010

Final Poster

(click image to enlarge)

  • I used aspects from my previous poster ideas that I thought were effective in creating a professional-looking poster. For example I used a 'grainy' image, white text to contrast with the darker background - and I kept my original image that contains the main characters of the film. I also decided to make the poster look like part of a film strip to give it an older effect. I also used a typewriter font to further create this look.
  • I feel that the costumes of the figures combined with the car headlights gives a slight modern twist to the poster - which is part of the contrast I wanted to create.
  • To make the poster look more professional, I added more text below the actors names (which I hadn't included in my previous ideas). I included things such as the producers name, the screenplay writers and a film production company (where I made up the name 'Blue Road' and a logo for this company)
  • To make the poster in a more suitable format I changed the size and shape to a rectangle (rather than a square). This means that if my poster was used in the real world it would be the right shape to fit on a billboard, newspaper, magazine etc

Tuesday, 5 October 2010

Experimenting With Different Layouts/Colours/Fonts etc

E V A L U A T I N G M Y I D E A S
Poster One
This was my first idea for a poster. I decided to increase the grain effect on my poster 'base' to create an older feel. I used a white font that looks old fashioned yet classic, creating a sophisticated look to the poster. However I feel the overall poster doesn't look 'polished' and professional enough because I don't feel the font truly 'blends in' with the background. Although I added a grain effect to the whole image I feel it doesn't look like one complete image - it looks quite fragmented.

Poster Two
After completing my first idea I decided that I had to try and make the whole poster look more complete and professional. Firstly, I increased the contrast on my poster base to make the whole image look more striking and to make the whole image look more 'merged' together. I put a black rectandle across the bottom of the image on which I placed the actors' names, tagline and half the title. Although this extra 'layer' is extremely simple I feel it adds a depth to the poster - making it look more professional.

Poster Three
On this idea I added a red based tone to the whole image to give the poster a more limited colour palette (to tie in with the conventions that I noticed when analysing other thriller posters). I then decided to use a typewriter style font rather than the more 'classic' font in my previous ideas. I think this font was more effective because the eye is drawn to the picture in the poster first and then the title and other text. This is also because I used a pale peach tone rather than white to make the text stand out in a more subtle way that tied in with the background more. I also decided to turn the title upside down - to give the impression that it was being mirrored. I think this created a more modern feel which contrasts with the typewriter font that it's in. I tried to emphasise the contrast between old and contempary through putting 2 black rectangles on the top and bottom of my more modern image. This gave the effect of it looking like part of a filmstrip which gives a more 'retro' feel.

Poster Four
For this idea I experimented more with the old/new contrast. I used a very modern -urban looking font and added a sepia effect to the image. I also blurred the image slightly to make it 'glow'. This softness of the image then contrasted with the sharper font which I thought was effective in creating a poster that was more striking.
Although I feel all these posters are effective, I shall create a final poster that incorporates the ideas that I feel are the most effective and look the most professional. Also, these ideas are square - so my final idea will have a rectangular shape that has a ratio similar to a4 size paper so that in the real world my poster would be in a suitable shape,size&format to fit on billboards,adverts etc.

Friday, 24 September 2010

The 'Base' Of My Poster

(click image to enlarge)

Above is an annotation of the 'base' of my poster. I decided to make a layout of an image that I could then place a title, tagline,actors names etc on top of. By doing this I will be able to experiment with different layouts and fonts. I will also be able to alter the image itself - for example i could make add a sepia effect of put it in black and white. This is my first poster image that I think includes the conventions of of thriller posters, but I shall make another 'base' of a poster so that I can compare my ideas and decide on one that's appropriate.

Friday, 17 September 2010

Pictures Taken For My Poster

These are some of the pictures that I took for my poster. I wanted to play with light and colour (red) - so I used the headlights and reverse lights of a car to achieve this effect...

Thursday, 16 September 2010

Further Developing Ideas For My Film Poster



The poster above is for the film 'Shutter Island' (M.Scorsese 2010) - however the poster is the Japanese version. I picked out elements of the poster that I liked that I may like to include in my own poster:


Section 1 - type writer style writing that looks subtle (rather than hugely standing out). Also gives the poster a more modern edge.
Section 2 - I like the way this section looks like a collage - in my own poster I'll take on a more modern version of this by having numerous images faded over others . However I'll give the images a grainy effect to create a contrast between 'old and new' (this will link to my trailer where I plan to include flashbacks edited to look 'old')
Section 3 - A white title against a dark background. I feel that for a thriller poster this black and white mix looks more striking and mysterious.

Wednesday, 15 September 2010

Ideas For My Film Poster

From my previous research into film posters for 'The Uninvited' and 'Brick' I noticed these conventions that I would like to include in my own poster:
  • Strong contrast between light and dark -creates mystery and unease as there are strong shadows that contrast with soft (but bright) light areas...This is especially effective on faces as their identity then seems ambiguous.
  • People -rather than having a main picture of the setting, the posters I looked at are focused on a figure. As I also looked at the trailers for the films the figures featured on the posters are main characters.
  • Limited colour palette -although most of the posters I looked at included colour, the palette was very limited. For example one poster I looked at (for 'Brick') included just blue tones, whilst a poster for 'The Uninvited' had grey tones. I feel the lack of variation in colour makes the image featured more striking as the viewer isn’t distracted by a wide variation of colour.
  • Mystery the posters I looked at all had an element of mystery and ambiguity to them, through the use of shadow (that I described earlier) that may make the viewer question events in the film even before seeing it..
  • Taglines, Comments & Ratings – the comments and ratings from newspapers or film magazines are usually in a light coloured font to contrast with the darker background. The tagline is usually below the title of the film, in a very small font so as not to draw attention away from the title.
  • Grain of imagesin most of the posters I looked at (plus posters from ‘Se7en’ (D.Fincher 1995) and ‘The Silence of The Lambs’ (J.Demmes 1991) the images are quite grainy rather than crisp and sharp which gives the impression of age or a memory. This then links to a common feature of psychological thrillers – the flashback.

I hope to incorporate these main conventions of psychological thriller film posters in my own poster. I’ll use close-ups of faces of the main characters (in my trailer) illuminated very dimly to create mystery and drama. I will experiment with different compositions and layouts for the images I use and the text to feature on it. I will experiment with incorporating different images for a more complex poster, and just using one image. After exploring different layouts I will decide on one poster that best represents and suits my film.

Tuesday, 20 July 2010

Questionnaire


I have created a questionnaire that should help me find out what type of trailer people are attracted to. It should also give me some ideas on what to include in my own trailer.
(click on the image to view the questionnaire larger)

Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Ideas For My Trailer - Setting


For my trailer I would like to use urban looking settings that have a mysterious feel about them. Above is a selection of images that I created that illustrate the sorts of settting I may use. Because my options would be quite limited in terms of what setting I'd be able to access, I thought that I could use settings that are more isolated. I like the idea of using an urban-style setting that the viewer would find familiar but then making it look more isolated to challenge their views. This would make the feel of the trailer more uneasy which would tie in with the typical themes of the Thriller genre.

In the selection of images above I tried to seperate dark and light images to get an idea of the different atmospheres that would be created. Low lighting used in both an abandoned warehouse, derelict building, street or alleway creates a mysterious atmosphere and introduces ideas of fear and suspense as the viewer doesn't know what lurks in the shadows... On the other hand, the lighter images create different atmospheres. An empty alleyway or street filmed in the daytime would appear more 'comfortable' but the fact that it's empty would create underlying tones of unease. A run-down building or warehouse filmed in daylight would feel more exposed and open, so if a character was situated in this setting then they'd appear vulnerable.

Monday, 12 July 2010

Ideas For My Trailer - Characters

Considering the resources I have, I will only use afew characters. Also, after carrying out research in psychological thrillers I noticed that there are usually only afew main characters. I will probably use younger characters in my trailer as modern thrillers usually involve teenagers (this would also be easier for me as I could use people I know to be in the trailer). I will probably have a classy femme fatale character to link to the Film Noir style, a naive innocent girl to link to the stereotype of thrillers in general and a mysterious male character. I thought it would be interesting to make the two female characters look similar maybe almost identical (by using hair, makeup and costume) to further create a sense of confusion in the thriller. The use of two physically similar characters could link to psychological aspects.

Ideas for My Trailer - Shots

I really like the idea of having a contrast between dark and light in the camera shots I use in my trailer. After looking at different trailers in my research this seems to be a common element that creates an effect suitable for a psychological/film noir thriller. I also like the idea of using shots that the viewer might find disorientating and confusing such as having the camera skewed or using unusual angles. I feel that this would make the viewer want to see the film more urgently- as they would want to make sense out of what they had seen in the trailer.

Monday, 5 July 2010

Analysis of Empire and Total Film Magazine Covers

(click on images above to enlarge)
From looking numerous magazine covers of the two major British film magazines Total Film and Empire and by analysing two covers in depth I have noticed some typical conventions that appear:
  1. A large image of the main film featured in the magazine that is usually imposed over the magazine's logo giving a more professional look to the cover.
  2. Smaller images that give a preview of what's included in the magazine.
  3. Words that attract the reader to make them feel as if they are getting more than they paid for such as 'free!' 'plus!' 'exclusive!'
  4. A simple colour scheme that stands out against the main image featured on the cover - usually ties in with the main film featured.
  5. A barcode, website address of the magazine, date, issue number and magazine price
  6. A large heading of the main film featured (in a bold font)
  7. Smaller headings that may include what else is featured in the magazine or the names of famous actors, actresses and directors to grab the reader's attention.

Friday, 2 July 2010

Research Into Film Magazine Covers


I have chosen to look at the covers of two successful British film magazines to get an idea of the typical conventions they use to attract a reader, promote the film and create a professional look to the cover.
Total Film is the UK's second best-selling film magazine launched in 1997 and published every 4 weeks. Total Film contains a range of features including full-length interviews with established and new actors and directors, 'Top 100' lists, photo shoots (of actors), film stills and film previews. Each issue includes 'The Total Film Interview' which includes an in depth interview with an actor or director combined with a critique of their work and ratings of the films they have featured in.
Empire is the UK's biggest selling film magazine launched in 1989 and published every 4 weeks. Empire's features include reviews of mainstream and art films, 'Top 10' lists, 'Pint Of Milk' where celebrities answer unusual questions and 'Celebrity Mastermind' where a celebrity asked questions about a film they were in or directed. Also, every issue features a quote on the spine of the magazine that has an obvious or subtle link to the main features of the magazine.

Tuesday, 29 June 2010

Research Into Modern Film Noir Posters - 'Brick' (R.Johnson 2005)

Poster 1
This poster consists of an image of an arm in water in the centre of the poster that has been digitally manipulated to look cartoon like. The rest of the poster is dark and foreboding especially at the top of the poster. The colours of the poster are dark around the edges but then lighter in the middle where the image appears to be glowing. The contrast between dark and light in the poster is also displayed in the trailer for this film. This chiaroscuro effect is often used in Film Noir films.
The title of the film is in quite an old fashioned, classic font that seems to give an eerie edge to the poster. At the bottom is information about the film such as directors and producers and the website for the film. All the writing featured in the poster is a cream/gold colour that makes the poster look more sophisticated. This contrasts with the image in the centre that looks more raw and disturbing.
Poster 2
This poster shows the faces of the main characters as well as a low lit masculine figure in a telephone box. Large faces of the main characters take up the top left corner and seem to intertwine through the use of a smokey effect (which comes from the image of a cigarette beneath the title). The smoke effect used gives a mysterious feel to the poster as the faces seem to appear from it. The smoke also gives the faces a blue/green grey tinge which makes them look cold and harsh. The characters featured on the poster are 3 males and a female who could represent the femme fatale character.
Overall the poster is very dark and uses blue and grey colours which immediately suggests mystery to the viewer. The title in the bottom left corner is in a plain, bold white font which makes the poster seem more modern. The 'K' of the word 'BRICK' looks as if it has been burnt by the cigarette beneath it which in a way suggests danger.



As this film includes aspects of Film Noir, I tried to pick out elements of the poster that implied this. Firstly both posters include a contrast between dark and light which is often found in the camera shots in Film Noirs. Both posters suggest mystery as something negative. For example the arm in the puddle suggests death (in poster 1) and the low lit figure in the telephone box looks suspicious which could imply crime. Both posters have pale coloured text that stands out against the background making it more eye catching - attracting a larger audience. The 2nd poster includes images of younger people so would then attract a younger audience.

Research Into Pyschological Thriller Posters - 'The Uninvited' (C.Guard 2009)


Poster One
This poster consists of a window with a girl looking through it, yet the girl's face is hidden by shadow. The overall poster consists of grey tones (light and dark) which gives the poster a somber and serious feel. The fact that there is only one character featured on this poster implies to the viewer the sense of isolation.This could then link to the psychological thriller genre itself as these types of films are based heavily on the mind and perception of an individual. The woods behind the figure look deep and mysterious. Woods are often seen as a symbol of being lost or finding your way in life, so this then links again to the idea of emotional troubles and conflict (found in the psychological thriller genre). The title of the film is in a font that looks informal as if it has been written. The title is skewed slightly which gives the impression of a lack of control - again linking to themes included in the psychological thriller genre.


Poster Two
In this poster there are 4 faces, 2 of which being the same character which implies the idea of identity/identities (a common theme in psychological thrillers). In the background there is a black and white image of a girl in old fashioned clothes that appears to be blurred - which suggests the idea of a memory or history.The overall poster seems quite grainy rather than a clear image so again brings up the idea of memories (in psychological thrillers flashbacks are often used). Woods are also pictured in the poster as well as an image of a house that is well lit up which could suggest isolation (physically or mentally).

In both posters there are female characters, however they look 'stronger' and more outgoing from looking at their body language. This contrasts with the typical vulnerable female characters often seen in thriller films, so could link more to the femme fatale character found in Film Noirs. For example in the 2nd poster an attractive female figure stands in the foreground who seems to look quite confident.This combined with the mysterious connotations of the rest of the poster would then attract a male and female audience probably ranging from 15-30.

Tuesday, 22 June 2010

My Chosen Genre

After carrying out research into sub genres within the thriller genre and the Film Noir and Neo Noir styles I have decided on a genre for my teaser trailer. I have decided to combine the psychological thriller genre with aspects of Film Noir as I feel I will be able to create an effective trailer considering the resources I have. I have chosen to combine the psychological thriller genre with some elements of the Film Noir style as there seem to be links between the two. For example in my research on the Film Noir style I recognised themes of suspicion, disillusionment, paranoia that would also appear in a psychological thriller.

In Film Noir films there is often some sort of mystery and ambiguity which is also often the case in psychological thrillers. As psychological thrillers are often based on mental and emotional conflict and ambiguity I thought it would be interesting to use this with a Film Noir style as Film Noirs are usually based more on literal conflict eg. a death or crime. By combining Film Noir elements with the psychological genre I feel that a more modern edgy trailer would be the result.

Although I found similarities between the themes of Film Noirs and psychological thrillers I think it would be difficult to incorporate the two. Therefore I have decided to mainly use the themes and content of a psychological thriller such as deception, the mind, identity, death (though some of these themes overlap with those of Film Noirs) . However I like the idea of using a femme fatale character in my trailer, so I will use some Film Noir content here. I will then use the Film Noir style when it comes to the technical part of my trailer. This means that I will use things such as disorientating camera shots, a contrast between dark and light, and dark mysterious settings.

As mentioned before, I feel that the psychological thriller genre combined with Film Noir aspects would best suit the resources I have. For example, psychological thrillers don't often include many characters which means I wouldn't need many people to use as actors/actresses for my teaser trailer. Also, I would be able to go to an urban setting such as London. However if i wasn't able to then I could always use rooms in houses or dark alleyways which would give a more mysterious feel to my teaser trailer. The dark lighting and the chiaroscuro effect would also be easy to achieve as well as skewed camera shots to create the feeling of disorientation.

I think that the target audience for this genre would be large because it would appeal to males and females. I think the age group could range from about 15-30 as teenagers would be attracted by fear and tension of the psychological thriller genre whilst the older side to the audience may be attracted more to the Film Noir elements as they may be able to relate it to Film Noirs they've seen previously. The fact that my teaser trailer may appeal to a wide audience in terms of age and gender means that it could be easier to include elements in the trailer that relate to the whole audience. However a poster and film magazine front cover including my film may be harder to create in order to appeal to the whole audience. Therefore I shall carry out research on thriller posters and film magazine covers to try and investigate how they appeal to a wide audience.

Monday, 21 June 2010

Aspects of Film Noir In More Modern Trailers & The Neo Noir Style

Neo Noirs are aware of modern technology and issues, including themes such as identity crisis, memory loss and technological problems. However the Neo Noir style is more futuristic such as the film Blade Runner (1982 R.Scott) which would be hard to create in my trailer. I feel that if I was to incorporate aspects of Film Noir in my trailer then it may be hard to create a typical Film Noir feel as the style is typically associated with the 1940s-60s. Therefore, as I want my trailer to seem more modern it may be more successful if I just include aspects of Film Noir rather than trying to create a completely Film Noir style trailer.

I have looked at the trailer for 'Brick' (R.Johnson 2005) as I came across it whilst researching more modern Film Noir type films. In the trailer I concentrated on how aspects of Film Noir were made more modern. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBzX6fFvhwA
The image above shows printscreens that I selected from the trailer that I felt displayed Film Noir elements:
  • Printscreen 1 shows a chiaroscuro effect as there is a strong contrast between light and dark. This printscreen also shows a telephone box and lamps that imply a modern urban setting.


  • Printscreen 2 shows a gun being fired. In Film Noir film there is often a dramatic death usually someone being shot that shocks the viewer. A low angle shot is used to capture the hand and the gun. This unusual shot used may confuse the viewer adding to the sense of mystery that Film Noirs have.


  • Printscreen 3 displays a femme fatale character typical of Film Noir films. However, this character doesn't look as sophisticated as those found in older Film Noirs which gives the trailer a more modern edge.

  • Printscreen 4 shows a normal looking setting of a house or apartment. The low lighting used creates a more mysterious, uncomfortable atmosphere which contrasts with the 'homely' connotations of the setting. Film Noirs often include settings that are obviously 'dangerous' to the viewer such as an abandoned warehouse. The fact that this scene challenges this Film Noir stereotype making it seem more modern.


  • Printscreen 5 shows a close-up of a hand in water. The hand is pale and lifeless suggesting that it belongs to a dead body - the theme of death is used in Film Noir films. The close up bird's eye shot used creates a sense of confusion for the viewer as they wonder who the hand belongs to. This theme of confusion and mystery is a common theme in Film Noirs.


  • Printscreen 6 is a low lit shot where a hazy light reveals the highlights of a figure's face. The shot seems to have a disorientating feel as the viewer doesn't know where the light has come from. The low lit figure adds a sense of ambiguity to the shot.


  • Printscreen 7 also demonstrates the chiaroscuro effect and creates ambiguity as the figure's features aren't made obvious.


  • Printscreen 8 is an establishing shot showing the setting of an American high school. Although it could be argued that the setting is quite urban looking (the type usually found in Film Noirs) the setting isn't the kind you'd see in a typical Film Noir as it is more open and exposed - rather than being secluded and hidden like a dark alleyway.

Research Into The Film Noir Style

Film Noir is a style/mood/tone found in thriller films that became popular during the 1940s. Above is my research into typical characteristics associated with the Film Noir style. I would be able to incorporate most of the elements shown above in my teaser trailer as they would be simple yet effective to carry out.



Wednesday, 16 June 2010

Research Into My Chosen Genre

Thriller
The thriller genre can be sub-categorised into different types although they all seem to share the same basic elements such as a unpredictable plot, heroes, villains, suspense and a link to reality.
These are some of the 'sub genres' that fall under the thriller genre:
  • Action Thriller -usually invovles alot of violence, guns, explosions, fast cars etc. It would be hard to create a teaser trailer that projects an action theme as the props and effects needed would be hard to get hold of and expensive. An action thriller would have high production values as alot of money would be needed to fund things such as special effects and elaborate props.
  • Crime Thriller -focuses on criminals or police and follows failed crimes or 'successful' ones. A crime thriller could be easy to do as you wouldn't neccesarily need many actors and actresses, and the setting would have to be somewhere reasonably urban (as crime thrillers are usually set in cities and towns). However if you wanted to include the police in a trailer then it would be difficult to get hold of them or a convincing costume.
  • Disaster Thriller -usually based around a natural or artificial disaster such as an earthquake or the spreading of a deadly virus (for example in '28 days later' D.Boyle 2002) where the characters experience conflict or try to survive. This type of thriller would be hard to replicate in my teaser trailer as special effects would be needed to simulate a natural or atrifical disaster.
  • Psychological Thriller -based upon mental and emotional conflict between the main characters sometimes resulting in a violent ending (for example 'The Uninvited' C.Guard 2009). This type of thriller would probably be the easiest out of all the sub-genres to caryy out in a teaser trailer as the number of actors or the setting is flexible. For example a pyschological thriller could include many characters or just afew, and the location could range from an isolated, rural setting to a busy, urban one.

Tuesday, 15 June 2010

Initial Ideas - Inspiration

Originally I was inspired by the teaser trailer for Brazilian crime drama film 'City Of God' (F.Meirelles 2002) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6opvlPFS5_c) as it creates a fast pace, energy and suspense through the use of non diegetic sound, camera shots and editing:

Camera Shots
  • I liked the contrast between dark and light shots in the teaser trailer (shown in the image above) as the balance between the two seems to create a sense of unease about the trailer, consequently building tension.
  • There was a wide variety of shots used in the trailer ranging from extreme close-ups to tracking shots. I feel this mixture of shots gives a more lively, exciting feel to the trailer.
Sound
  • There is no dialogue in the trailer just music that begins slow then increases in pace as the movement within the shots increases.
  • At one point there is a moment of silence then non diegetic gun shots and screaming. This surprises the viewer and could portray to them that the actual film may be unpredictable and surprising too.
Editing
  • The cuts between the shots are very fast so contribute to the fast pace of the trailer and may add a sense of confusion for the viewer. This would then make them want to watch the film to find out what happens as the trailer is ambiguous.

...However I think that I would like to create a teaser trailer for a thriller film as it would be easier to do regarding:
*the resources I have
*people to feature in the teaser trailer
*the location for it
The teaser trailer for 'City Of God' includes many actors and actresses and many locations which would be hard and complex for me to achieve. Therefore I may use some aspects of the trailer even though it falls under the 'crime drama' genre, in my trailer to create the same feel of unease and suspense.

My Chosen Brief

A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with a film magazine front cover, featuring the film and a poster for the film.