Evaluation- Screenshot analysis

Screenshot 1- This is our primary establishing shot which introduces our trailer, 'Betrayal'. This was shown through a fade in transition, with diegetic hip hop music from the car. This was an effective way to introduce our characters without physical revealing their identity to begin with. This is due to the association of loud, hip hop music and youths, being seen as irresponsible and stereotypically careless individuals. We used a long shot to medium panning shot to ensure that the focal point was on the car, to emphasis the importance of it and the people within inside it. The natural lighting allows us emphasis the the change in atmosphere, which is shown in later sections of the trailer. We have angled the camera so that you can see slightly down the road however the car is initially out of shot. As the car comes onto the shot the non - diagetic sound comes in from quiet to loud, this goes with the flow of the car as the camera pans slowly following the car round. The main reason we wanted to show our characters in a car was so that the audience could get a feel for the age of the characters and therefore  sympathize or relate to them. This will make the impact on the audience even stronger.

Screenshot 2
Screenshot 2 is of our institution. We were able to design and create this institution our self which enabled us to make the institution suit the genre of the film, horror. The main reason for this is because we have dark and gloomy colours shown which conforms to the conventions of a horror institution.

Screenshot 3
Screenshot three is of two of our protagonists. It is a medium shot and allows the audience see the characters which will allow them to relate and get to know the characters. Due to the closeness of the characters, it shows that they have close and good relationship, therefore making the audience relate to them. This will then allow them to find the trailer more scary and intimidating to watch as they will either feel as if they know the characters of feel as if it is happening to them as they can relate to them. This therefore means they would continue watching the film.

Screenshot 4
This screenshot is of our font. The simplistic and old looking font makes the font eerie and suitable for a horror genre. We have kept it the same font as our main title which allows us to have a recognizable feature of our film and therefore when the audience see's this font title they will be reminded of our film. We have chosen to have our font colour white with a black background because it means that there is a high contrast in colour and therefore means that the writing stands out well and is easy to see for the audience. Having the background black and the font white has different colour connotations which could reflect the film. The white connotes to purity and innocence, in which its engulfed in evil, death black, which are the connotation of this colour.
Screenshot 5
The reason I have taken a screenshot of this shot is because it is one of my favourite shots within the trailer. This is because its the first shot which initiates the first pace editing of the trailer. The use of the diegetic music of the axe dragging against the concrete creates an unnerving sound, which is very effective for our horror trailer as it creates suspense and conforms well to the typical conventions of a
horror film. The camera angle and the duration of the shot  make this shot effective because we have used deep music with the non diegetic sound of a heavily breathing gas mask and also due to the length of the shot being quite long, it makes the audience sit on edge as they think something is going to happen. As this shot is one of our longest shots, we wanted to make sure the suspense was built up the correct amount in the audience to make sure that the finale shot where we want the audience to be most scared is effective.
Screenshot 6
The reason I have screen-shotted this shot in our trailer is because I think that it is a very effective shot. It has been put in during our fast pase editing part of the trailer which means it can only be viewed for a short period of time by the audience however I think that this makes it even more effective. the way that we have angled the camera (low angle) helps emphasize to the audience that the antagonist is extremely terrifying because the low angle makes the audience feel vulnerable
because they are being looked down on by the antagonist. I like how there are the outlines of the trees in the background as it reminds the audience that they are in the middle of the woods which can make them feel even more scared as they'll know that the protagonist is isolated with no one to help them.
Screenshot 7
This next screenshot is one of my favourite shots of the trailer and has also been one of the most recognisable and favourite shots from the public. The main reason for this is because it leaves an
enigma, creates suspense and causes the audience to jump during the fast pase editing, this intrigues them into watching it and makes it very memorable. By having the shot at a low angle it means you can really see the girl being dragged however can not see who is dragging her. This leaves an enigma and make it even creepier as there is a hidden identity.

Screenshot 8
This is a long shot of our antagonist swinging on a swing in a park. This comes across as a establishing shot because it is a change in location which leaves an enigma to the audience as to why and how he got there. However, this could make the audience confused as this location is only seen once. On the other hand it could reflect the youthfulness of the antagonist and provides an additional disturbance ot the character. The gloomy sky on the background makes the shot even better as it conforms to the conventions of horror films as they tend to have gloomy dark skies.

Screenshot 9
This was our last shot of the trailer. This, in my opinion was a very effective ending to the traiel. This is because its memorable due to the scare factor we created. The close up shot we used was to
provide minimal vision (with the addition to dark lighting) which makes the audience feel frightened as they are expecting something to happen- ideal for a horror trailer. The close up shot also allows us to reflect and emphasis how terrified the protagonist is as you can see the fear in her eyes and expression.

Screenshot 10
This is a screenshot of out main titles. We have used one of our main antagonists as the background image to make it flow into our trailer better as we decided to have a different shot as our ending shot. This has been done in a few other horror trailers however we decided to do it to make out film original and not the same as all of the other horror films. We have put an effect on the titles so that it flashes an inverted colour. This looks creepy an can link into the flashes between life and death which makes the audience be intrigued into seeing what happens in the actual film.

black is because it will them easily flow into our next shot as we have tried to keep our shots fairly dark so that it conforms to the conventions of horror films and will come across more creepy to the

audience. The font at the end of the trailer was altered slightly, in fomr of colour scheme used. We
used white and red font, which makes this shot effective. This is because the important information is in red therefore expressing and emphasising the importance of it, therefore would stay in the audience's mind. Adding this marketing to the end of the trialer would make the audience want to research it, and therefore find out more, and creating more of a 'hype' for the film.

Evaluation- Commentary overview

This is a running commentary of our trailer 'Betrayal'. This is to show our self analysis of our production, on why we chose certain shots and the effectiveness of different aspects within it; mise en scene, camera shots, lighting...

Evaluation- Equipment Used

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Camera:Nikon D3200
We used this to film and capture all our shots within and behind the scenes of our trailer. We used this because it provided us with a high defined picture, which would make our production even more professional. This camera also has its benefits as it has many features which aided us to producing 'Betrayal'. Firstly, this camera allowed us to alter the exposure, which made our duration of filming easier as it allowed us to ensure all the lighting was the same within all shots. This meant that we didn't have to continuously return to film, therefore avoid time wasting. Another benefit to using this camera was that it had adjustable and changeable lens, which ensured consistently high resolution within different shots; as if we used the same lens for all shots it would mean that extreme close up would be blurry and not as clear. Also the Nikon D3200 is also a manual camera which means we can change the featrues to suit what we want to portray. For example we can manually
change the focus, colour saturation, exposure and attach flashes and lens to it, enabling us to capture the best shot possible. For example when the protagonist is in the foreground of the shot, blurred within the background is the antagonist. This camera also allows us to attach a tripod to the base of it so we can produce a steady and stable shot, therefore would not disrupt the continuity of the trailer. This camera also allowed us to take picture of which was perfect during the research and planning stages of this process. This is because it allowed us to take pictures of different locations and angles, so we could compare and decide which locations and shots we should use for the final production. The final advantage of using this camera was that it is lightweight, therefore easy to transport and carry. This provided us with the ability to vary our shots, for high to low, as it was easy to transport.

Computer Software- iMovie and Adobe Premiere Elements 10
At the beginning of the editing stage, we used Adobe Premiere elements 10, which we used to cut each shot to desired duration. However, collectively as a group, we decided not to use this software for further use, This is because we felt that from our AS year, iMovie was more beneficial to use as we know everything about how to use it, so therefore what would make our final production effective. This would mean that editng would not be as time consuming as if we used Premiere Elements. There are many features on this software which made our production what it is, for
example, the discrete non diegetic sound effects was part of this software. This software also alloowed us to create our own institutions so it wouls make our trailer appear professional and allowed us to show our creative abilities. In comparison with our peers, they found it difficult to produce their own as they were restriected ones they had to choose from, therefore some didn't suit their genre. However, this was not a problem for our team as we were able to design our institution the way we desired. This therefore made our trailer increasingly more professional.
Other cross platform software such as 'YouTube', allowed us to broadcast our trailer to the whole world. This software means that it would increase the popularity of our film and therefore increase our target audience.

Evaluation- Audience Feedback

This is our audience feedback for our trailer 'Betrayal'. This is a vital process which occurs, so we know what our audience liked, didn't like and therefore improve upon. We asked our peers to watch our trailer and inform us the strengths aspects present within our production and what we could improve on, so it would be even more professional and successful. From this process we were given many positives, which gives us confidence of what we produced. A few positives were:
-The use of sounds creates an atmospheric situation of the correct genre, horror. Therefore indugling the audience within our trailer
-The use of various of sounds, e.g the hip hop music at the beginning, would draw in the younger audience of our large target audience.
-The use of conventions were used well, instantly telling the audience it is a horror trailer.
-The variety of shots and fast paced editing creates a sense of mystery and suspense. Having the whole trailer build up to face pace editing was effctive and it created tension.

Although we have had many positives, we have also had a few negatives, in which we hope to improve on within the future. The negatives consisted of:
- A consistent appearance of characters throughout trailer. Some characters were only seen in the beginning of the trailer, could cause confusion of the importance of those characters or give certain events away, for example; audience could think they are dead.
-Could use even more camera shots, varying the juxaposition of them
-Could of drawn out the sounds more to make it flow better.

From this feedback we can pinpoint the few mistakes and weaknesses of our porduction, allowing us the ability to improve them. This would continuously aid us to develop our skills of film-making, which will be vital for our future we wish to take.

Evaluation- Theory Links with our trailer

Cultivation Theory- George Gerbner
George Gerbner's Cultivation theory suggests that television is responsible for shaping or 'cultivating viewers conceptions of social reality, resulting in 'Mean World Syndrome'. He believes that what you see on television or within the media causes this world mean syndrome; making the world a horrible place.
This theory links with our production of our theatrical trailer, 'Betrayal' as we have shaped our audiences conceptions of reality, by the use of mise en scene, location and characters. The location within our trailer was based in the woods, which acted as the campsite for the protagonist'within the production. By using this location within a horror genre film, makes our audience believe that the events they see could happen to them, therefore cultivating their outlook on a wood location. Having used a campsite location, which is stereotypically associated with a family friendly location, within a horror makes creates a fear for the audience due to the two contrasting ideas of the location. This therefore creates a conception for the audience that the woods should not be entered alone at night as dangerous and murderous events could happen. The use of mise en scene, through the mask also reinforces this 'Cultivation theory'. It achieves this by connoting that people who wears mask and hides their identity are bad individuals who gain satisfaction through violent acts; making the passive audience believe this (linking hypodermic needle theory).

The Hypodermic Needle Theory
This theory suggests that a media text injects its message straight into the passive audience. This therefore applies to our theatrical trailer via the certificate of it. The certificate of the film is deemed as an '15', due to frightening and disturbing events which occur during the production, therefore not suitable for younger audiences. Also as the audience is seen as a passive mass who would immediately accept the conception of events which occurs, it means the audience would believe our trailer. When watching our trailer, 'Betrayal', the audience would believe that the character's are trying to create mishap and spill blood, which is reinforced by the use of mise en scene; masks, axes, hooded dark clothing. Using mundane realism (normal circumstances:group of friends within a wood, camping) and using masked antagonists causing horrifying events, makes the audience feel as though this could happen to them. This therefore means that they believe these antagonist's representation; following the hypodermic needle theory. Using this theory, meant that our passive audience believed our representations within our trailer, resulting in it being realistic and believable. If this theory was not applied, then our representations would be questioned, which follows Stuart Hall's 'Reception Theory', that the audience are either negotiated or oppositional audiences.

The Uses and Gratification Theory
This theory was presented in 1970's by media theorists Blumler and Katz, which declared that there were five main reasons why audiences consumed media text. The Uses and Gratification Theory has five categories; to be informed and educated, to be entertained, escapism, to enable socialism and identify with characters situations. When watching our trailer the audience would seek for excitement, due to the numerous enigmas created through the use of juxtaposition and camera shots. Due to making our audience excited it would make them want to watch the whole film to be informed about what actually happens; therefore supporting this theory of the uses and gratification theory. For a more passive audience, our trailer could be used for escapism from reality, as our trailer would allow them to feel as though they are in this situation, therefore a release from everyday worries and concerns.

The Male Gaze
'The Male Gaze' was explored by Laura Mulvey, who argues that  in films the audience view is predominantly from a heterosexual male point of view. Therefore she continues to state that women are objectified in films for the pleasure of a male viewer, for example through an attractive character or narrative. However, this theory applies to males in both ways; through the use of females and males. For example, using attractive female, which are seen as damsel in distress would appeal to the male audience as they would want to protect and save her. Using confidence, classy and muscular males, would make male audiences associate themselves with the character or makes them want to be like them. Within our trailer 'The Male Gaze' is seen through the use of our protagonist's. This is because they are seen as the Damsels in Distress due murderous unknown events which the audience assumes from the trailer. This therefore makes the male audience want to see them safe and avoid harm. This vulnerability was reinforced by the use of mise en scene from the girls having blonde hair and wearing white clothing (connoting to innocence and purity).

Claude Steele's Theory of Stereotype Threat
Claude Steele's theory is based on the concept of stereotype threat. This is where a perceived stereotype is popularised then the member of the stereotype social group become increasingly at risk of living up to the characteristics of the stereotype. This means that the stereotype has become normalised. Within our trailer, the protagonist's are a good example of this theory. Through years of horrors and thrillers, women have always been seen as the Damsel in Distress, where they always need to assistance from, stereotypically a man. Within our trailer we use female protagonists to follow this trend of which is used in horrors; this has become normalised. This also links to the 'Male Gaze' theory of which makes the male audience attracted to her, therefore wanting her to survive.

Adorno's Theory
Adorno's theory argues that people are almost slaves to the media and that mass media has a lot of damging power over people. To a certain extent this theory was shown within our trailer. It was shown within our trailer by the use of our antagonist, wearing an oversized hoodie, carrying weapons and having a hidden identity. Due to the media coverage reporting on crimes where stereotypically the criminal are youths and are described as this, it makes our plot seem very realistic, as the media has used their power to make the audience believe that people like this are dangerous. Therefore through the use of mise en scene we make the audience feel horrified and scared of what this murderous individual will do within the film.

WMJC Productions Presents Our Theatrical Film Trailer: Betrayal

This is our final edition of our trailer, 'Betrayal'.

WMJC Production presents Our Final Poster 'Betrayal'

WMJC Presents Our Final Poster.

We decided to go with this photo as we like the simplicity of it and how that made it very effective. When we first started to create our film we thought that the main mask we would use was going to be gas mask because generally they are very effective in horror films, but we enjoyed working with the white hockey mask more and therefore chose it for the film poster. The colour of mask is what we thought was most effective, light bounced off and reflected on it which meant that it caught shadows. The main reason we used this photo was because we liked how the camera only grabbed the light of half the mask leaving us with a striking eye looking straight at us but also with the other eye in the dark making the character look even more creepy. we took this photo at night time which meant for this photo especially we didn't have to do much editing because we could use the dark lighting to our advantage at the time. This meant that we only really had to make the background a little dark but also fade out the jumper of the antagonist. We chose to keep the numbers on the jumper on display because they looked a bit like a concentration camp identity badge which we thought would give off enigmas to the audience. Who is this person? Where are they from? and What are they doing here?  if you look closely you can see that around the mask there seems to a ring of light, this made it look like there was a light shining just on the mask. The blood stains on the mask make it clear to the audience that this is a horror film and that killing or abuse is shown in the film.

The font we used for the title of our film is called 'Ring bearer' . we used this font because it was simple yet is still showed a hint of the stereotypical horror film font with the pieces of the letters being left out, this gave the font a distressed look. We chose the font to be white because it stands out against the black background but also matches the colour of the mask. Having a light text also means that the distressed look stands out more. We chose to have the title at the bottom of the poster because we had a lot of spare space that we needed to fill but it also meant that we were able to have it larger and more central making it stands out even more. We didn't want to go down the really stereotypical path of using a lot of red because it has started to become a bit tacky, however we used it for our slogan and for the release date but made it a very deep red rather than bright. The slogan we made up is quite evil sounding so the colour red works well with it because it the colour of the devil. We also used it on the release date because we chose to have a that in a small font but the red means that it stands out enough for the audience to notice when the film is coming out. Friday 13th is also very well known to be used in or for horror films because its supposedly an unlucky day and therefore the colour red connotes blood, fear and danger. We chose to have the slogan, release date and actor names in a very similar font to our title font because we didn't want to make it to complicated and busy.

WMJC Production Presents Our Final Magazine Cover

This is the magazine cover that we all created together.


Main Picture
The picture we chose what taken whilst filming scenes for our trailer, we thought this was a good photo for a magazine cover because it shows one of our main antagonists but also lets the audience get a better idea of what this character is like. The background is of the woods were we filmed, this a great background because it conforms to creepy conventions of a horror movie. We chose to dress our antagonists in dark clothes such as the grey hoodie and black gas mask that you can see in the magazine cover because it will make them blend in more with the surrounding but also hind their identity. What we really liked about this photo is that it subverts the normal choice of photo, most people would choose a picture that is face on with the character looking straight into the audience to make it seem more personal however we thought that our choice of photo went better with the idea that the person is hiding their identity.Choosing our weapon was quite a quick choice because we thought it made the character seem dominant and scary, but it also is a clear indicator to the audience about what genre of film the magazine is promoting.

Font/Puffs

We also went with the grey/dark theme for our text as we didn't want the poster to stand out because of bright colours because this wouldn't suit our genre of film, instead we went for strong bold fonts that will make the cover stand out instead. Although most of our text is in grey/white we used different shades so they would all stand out still, for example our puff is dark grey so we put a light grey font over this so you could still clearly see the text. We would of rather of used a wider variety of dark colours such as black and dark green however the background was too dark for them to be shown clearly enough. We chose to have the 'Empire' placed because our antagonists head because it gives a 3D effect to the cover and make it look like they are coming off the page.We added the glow to the font because it gave a supernatural effect that would work well with the horror genre. We were unable to use our official font that we used in our trailer for "BETRAYAL" so instead we chose one similar enough but also one that was different enough from the other fonts so it stood out the most.

Underneath our title we added some photo's from both of our old opening 2 minutes we thought this would be a great way to incorporate both 2 years of our work but also make it seem like those films are coming out in cinema and the audience can see a sneak peak. Putting the photo's in a film roll lets the audience know that these pictures are from a film.

Essentials

Like all magazines there needs to be a price, bar-code and issue date. We added these using a standard font so it didn't stand out but made the buyers aware. We chose to price the magazine at £3.99 because from our research of film magazines we found that they were quite pricey, so we continued this to make it seem realistic.

Soundtrack production

To make our soundtrack more unique and special we have decided to create our own music. The sound will be created using a ukulele and will be played by Charlotte C's brother. Making our own sound track comes with both benefits and disadvantages. The benefits mean that we are able to base our music on our plot, but making it also means that we need to right the music but also organised the time to make and edit it. The main reason we want to create our music is so that it works well with the pace of the trailer. This means we are able to finish the trailer without the music then base the music around the pace of the clips on the trailer ,if we hadn't made our own we would find it hard to find music that would match the trailer well. We are planning to make the soundtrack so it has a variation in speeds and pitch's to create tension.

Not only will we have a creepy soundtrack we are also planning to start our trailer with a typical teenage pop song. This music will be played by the protagonists, therefore is diegetic music, and will be put on over clips of the teenagers driving to the common, this will reflect their excitement and eagerness for the days ahead.

The juxtaposition between the two types of music will also put an emphasis on how they were feeling before and what's going to happen to them. It help to make the trailer more interesting and not bland.

Institution- WMJC Production

This is our final institution we are using for our theatrical trailer. As you can see we have used a 'Vignette' effect on the out edge of the screen, which creates a eerie daunting atmosphere due to the black shadows created. This makes the institution effective, especially for a film with the genre of horror.
As you can see, from the comparison with our AS level institution, we have changed the image, animation and the name. The name is due to having an additional person who joined MJC Productions', therefore we thought it was only right to add her to the institution. The means that the institution stands for: 'Welsh, Marskell, Jones, Clark Productions'; emphasising how we are a team.
We also changed the image from clouds to icy mountains. This was to make the institution appear more eerie, which would suit a genre of horror more effectively. From our research into trailers, we discovered that horror institution were repeated dark, which is why we changed the image into something which connotes to more danger and eeriness. We also changed the typeface we used, which is due to following conventions of a horror as they usually use bolder and white coloured font. This institution was also made by us, which involved finding the image of the mountains, adding the vignette effect and adding thr animation for the font. This didn't take to long as we used Adobe Premiere to do this section, as it provided us with all the resources needed to achieve this. We added the stars to act like a rating, which we though looked fairly professional. This institution will be within and during a our trailer, so the audience would know who made this trailer and therefore increase popularity of our company and the film.

Final Costume- Antagonist

These are our final costumes for our antagonists, of which there are three. Two of them consist of the grey hoodie and white mask, and the other consists of a black hoodie and a gas mask. These grey hoodie antagonists, act as the sidekick of the gas mask one, which creates an unnerving atmosphere as it makes them seem as they are a family- a murderous family. The use of the hoodies, creates a vibe that these antagonists could be anyone, which adds to the scare factor, ideal for a horror trailer. We used white masks, to firstly hide their identity so would create enigmas of who they are and why are they doing this. Secondly, we thought within darker shots where lighting is low, this mask would stand out and contrast so would be visible, but would create an image of darkness surrounding evil. On the white masks there is also blood smears and splatters, to illustrate that blood will be shred but from who...
This is the leader of the antagonists, due to wearing a distinctive gas mask, contrasting from the other antagonists. We chose the gas mask due to seeing a gas mask used repeatedly in actual horror films, therefore we were following the conventions of a horror. During the editing stages we also would darken the eye holes so you could not see anything but darkness for their eyes. This would create a scary atmosphere of which would make the character effective, as these will be the last eyes you see. This mask also hides the identity of the character therefore suggesting it could be anyone behind it. The gas masked antagonist is also wearing a black hoodie, which connotes to death and murder. this connotation was to suggest that this antagonist is the ring leader and the most evil of them all.
So next time you're camping in the woods, you may not be camping on your own...

Final font analysis

Final Font/ Titles 

We decided very early on the process that we wanted to use a simplistic choice of font. We found that the more simple it was the more sophisticated and grown up it looked. In the 80's a lot of horror films used very detailed and intricate fonts in a bright read to signify blood, now that's it’s become over used it has started to look incredible tacky and cheap looking. Because the film is a mix between horror and thriller it also means that we have to combine ideas from both genres. Although simple is normally portrayed as bold, we have chosen a quite thin text which makes it seem more sophisticated, but so it’s clear what genre of film our trailer is for there is a bit 'wear and tear' making it look scarier. The text is also not completely straight which makes it looks like someone may of wrote it the uneven look could signify the ups and downs in the story. Like I said earlier in the 80's they used red fonts however we have chosen very plain colours, black and white depending on what looks best with the background. Both colours go with anything however one may work better or stand out more than the other. Having the font in capital letters also means it will stand out more and make more of a statement.

Final Font- Producing our final font

Producing our final font

Titles are vital for trailers as help maintain the continity of the trailer, but also broadcasts the sdlogan and the title of the film. This means that it is essential for them to be readable and clear so that they contrast from the background and can be read from different distances; close to far. 

The first step into making our font was finding the font we wanted to edit. We did this by using 'Microsoft Word' to find our bold font we wanted to use for our trailer. The font we chose was to use was 'Yu Mincho Light', which provided us with a block bold typeface, which was ideal for what we wanted to do with it. 

The next step we did was to copy and paste the font into 'Paint' which would allow us to add small texture into the font. We did this by adding little cuts in the lettering, by using the 'line tool', which was white, so it would match the colour of the background. This would provide texture within the font, which would create a slight eerie and old effect, connoting that it horror events may occur, therefore following the conventions of a horror film. 

We copied this image into a document in the software called 'Photoshop'. This is basically a much more advanced editing software than 'Paint', as it allows you to edit it with fine detail and definition, altering images drastically by the range of advance editing tools. What we did was we used the 'select tool' on which allowed us to individually select letters . This therefore allowed us to stretch the letters to make them thinner and longer, which we thought would make the font look more ideal for a horror. We also smoothed the white gaps we made in 'Paint' as we wanted the font to look professional. As you can see from this picture, the background was white, in which would mean if we placed it onto a shot, there would be a white block background; this would not look professional and would disrupt the continuity of the film trailer. This meant we used the 'Magic Wand Tool', that you can see in image above. This allowed us to remove the background colour, therefore making the background transparent. This meant when we edited the titles onto our trailer you could see the shot behind them, therefore not disrupting the atmosphere of the film trailer.

This is our final font, on which we are using throughout the trailer and on the poster/magazine (due to making the title recognisable). It is black and bold which is ideal for our horror trailer. Having it in capitals furthermore makes it stand out but also emphasises the negativeness of the word 'BETRAYAL'. 

Final Costume- Protagonists

Final Costume- Protagonists
This is the final costumes we decided for our protagonists to wear within our theatrical trailer. As you can see, we chose everyday clothes which would make the protagonists relatable and realistic as this is what people would usually wear when going camping- especially when it's freezing cold!
The uses of the coat connotes to the weather being of a cold climate but also does not reveal what is underneath, which could be important within the film as they could be used to identify each character. The cold climate is also reinforced by the use of scarves and gloves. We also had them carrying props, such as the D of E bags and roll mat, as these are the items which are usually taken when camping.
Our protagonists consist of blondes and brown hair girls, which makes them come across innocent due to them both being females. Having the use of blonde hair automatically makes her seem innocent and needing protection, as this is a stereotypical view of a protagonist within horrors. The use of colours also connotes many things, the use of the white t-shirts connotes to purity and innocence which we want to continuously present as that is the stereotypical view which is portrayed in horror films. Also the use of blue connotes to sadness and despair, therefore suggesting sad events will feature within our film. Red colours would connote to death, love and blood, which could create enigmas due to two opposing connotations; blood and love. However it is the stereotypical colour of which is used within horrors, as well as the colour black, which is also used to connote murder.   Within our trailer there are other protagonist's which all have similar costumes, of everyday camping clothing.

Overall Evaluation of Questionnaire

Evaluation of Questionnaire
The questionnaire was very helpful for us in deciding some critical decisions in the making of our film. For example, it was very useful having the audience views and opinions in what they think would be best for our film. We found out the main people who were answering our questions were between the age group of 15-24. This is good as this is our target audience for our film as we are doing a horror and studies have shown that this particular age group are the one who are most interested in horror film.

Some questions that we asked in the questionnaire was "What do you think the elements of horror should be set - daytime or night time?", the majority of the answers were in the night time.
This was initially very helpful as we were then able to make sure we timed when we went out to film correctly. This is because we were able to make sure we filmed when it was just getting dark, however not too dark that you couldn't see anything. We were also able to use torches to create the right lighting when it got slightly too dark, this meant the lighting that was created showed suspense and tension as you could only see the protagonist or antagonist depending on what the shot was.

Another very successful question that we asked was about the title of our film. We had seven different potential names that we showed them and got them to say which one they thought suited our film best. 'Betrayal' was the most successful title. I think that the reason for this is because the name itself comes across quite creepy and leaves an enigma to the audience before they have even watched it. For example,they do not know who is betraying who and will want to find out. Campsite 31 was another companion however was the least successful. I think this is because it is quite similar   - least amount of votes

Animated titles- experimenting with titles

Titles within trailers would have to suit the film's genre as they should not affect the continuity of the trailer. This explains why we experimented with different titles and transitions on how it is shown on screen, so we can avoid disrupting the atmosphere we create during the theatrical trailer. 

Title One -  We created all the titles on IMovie as we felt it had the right effects and tools to create a title we would be satisfied with. Our first idea is to incorporate the settings and location of the movie with the titles so the theme is consistent, by cropping one of photographs we took when creating the shoot for our poster, it left us with a sinister background that was good to experiment and work with. We then changed the this image to black and white by double clicking on the shot and adjusting the saturation to -100%. We then added our title on top with our chosen font; the title stands out well against the white cracks between the trees but is still camouflaged against the trees. To make the entire word stand out we decided to make the background image blurred. We then added the sound effects of the gas mask and the sound of a broken TV. The end transition we used is fading to black as it leaves an effect on the audience but also finishes the trailer in a conclusive way.

Title Two - This second edit was more complicated to achieve as we decided to incorporate one of our favourite shots of the less dominant antagonists. The reason we didn’t use our main antagonist (gasmask) is so we could hide his/her identity to create enigmas on who they are, allowing the audience to question the characters and plot. The natural lighting takes away the tension from the shot as it is idyllic; however we have edited it to invert the colours to increase fear. We only used this effect for seconds at a time to create a flashing effect; this also allows the title to stand out as we didn’t show the text in the whole clip. We decided to create the flashes increase the tension as it links into pathetic fallacy as it connotes the shock of a lightning strike. We used the same sound effects for each title ending as it relates to our theme of the gas mask and hints the main antagonist without actually showing him/her on screen.

Title Three - Edit three is effective because of the simplistic visuals which makes the sounds more noticeable, creating a more lasting effect on the audience. Again we used the same sounds as the other two titles because we feel they link best with our theme. To create this title we first made the background black with no image which connotes mystery and the unknown. We then decided to make the font white as it stands out against the black and also connotes the slight innocence we see in the trailer of the protagonists. The transition of the text links to one of the sounds (the static TV) as they both show the bad communication between where the movie is located and the "outside world" because it is known that there is never any good connection when you're located in a forest especially in a horror movie. The text also zooms forward towards the audience slowly, this is to create suspense even when the trailer is over. 

Soundtrack Research

Soundtrack research

Hoodie Allan - No Interruption

 This was one of the non - copy right music that we found. We found it on YouTube which was helpful as we were able to find a rang of songs easily and able to download them quickly without any trouble.  This was the first track that stood out to us as a group. We like how it is quite Hip-Hop/ pop as this conforms to the stereotypical music that teenagers listen to and makes their age group stand out to the audience. As this song will be playing for the first few seconds in the trailer when the group of friends are in the car driving to their destination, it will allow the audience to link it into their lives as they would most likely of experienced driving in the car with their friends with loud music playing. This will allow it to be more effective towards them when things begin to go wrong as they will see it as themselves. this is mainly because of the link into mundane realism. The music is sound bridged across the three different shots that we are using in our trailer of the car driving and pulling up into the destination of the car park that is in the camping site that they are staying in. 

Soundtrack 2

This is another non - copyright music that we found through YouTube. However, although we liked the music, we didn't think it flowed well in our trailer as it didn't link into the stereotypical conventions of music that teenagers would be listening to in horror films. This therefore meant that if we were to use it, it would mean that the audience wouldn't be able to link their own lives into it as they wouldn't have listened to it as much as the conventional music that we have also looked at. Therefore making it be less effective on the audience which would make the creepy things that happen in the film not be successful as the audience wouldn't feel it the way that the characters in the film would be showing it. However, we did the the fast paste beat that was in the music, the main reason for this is because it would go with the fast driving that would be shown in the trailer as it is teenagers driving with friends in the car. This is one thing that we made sure we looked for when we did further research into finding a soundtrack that suited our trailer and all the conventions that we want to show.

Soundtrack 3

This was the third soundtrack that we found, Although it could possibly link into our trailer, we decided to go against it. The main reason for this is because it had no lyrics in the music. This meant it would be harder for the audience to link and put them selves in the characters shoes as they will not be able to compare there own music into the music that they are listening to in the trailer. It also took away the scene that we are trying to create as it makes it seem as if the teenagers will be set in a club when in fact they are driving to a campsite which is completely different.

Overall

We decided to choose our first sound track that we found (Hoodie Allan - No Interruption) because we thought it went well with the setting of our trailer and linked well. It also created the right atmosphere that we wanted it to create within the audience which builds on the effect and tension that we want the trailer to further show.

Video Diary #3

Questionnaire results- Graphs and explanations

These questionnaire's gave us an insight and guidance on how to distribute and produce our theatrical trailer. The first graph shows us what age certificate our film should be and what age we should aim our film trailer at. From these results we found that we should aim our trailer at 15 to 24 year old partly due to these results but also to the regulations from the BBFC.
The second graph shows that the horror genre is mainly aimed at males rather than females, however they are similar results. This tells us that we should have an equal amounts that appeal to both gender. This would make our trailer more effective and increase popularity of our film as it creates a wider audience as there would be elements which appeal to both genders. For example, we could have strong masculine characters which appeal to the female audience whereas for the females we could use blood, gore, action (through fast pace editing). These first two questions are very important as it is essential to portray the film to the correct age group successfully.
 The third question is quite a broad question as to what people prefer to see in a horror. 'Jumpy' was the most popular as shown through the results. This tells us that we should have frequent jump and scary parts within the film/ trailer as it would appeal to the audience. This question is fairly weak and not that effective as there are many other options a horror film could be, such as horror thriller, psychological horror etc. However we would be editing scary shots within the film.
The location question provide us with the insight on where we should set our film trailer. The results tells us that we should have the location within the countryside or city. This is due to countrysides being a very hostile secluded area, suggesting there is no escape or help from the horrifying events which could happen to the protagonists. The city location could also be used so that the trailer would show there are different locations within the film. Also people can relate to the city locations as some of the audience would be residence within cities. Also having set a horror film within these location would make the trailer ore scary as the audience would think these events could happen to them. From this research we will be using location similar tot he results as it would make our trailer scary therefore following conventions of a horror trailer but also appealing to our target audience.
The editing question provides us with the information vital for the post production stage. In our minds as media students and from previous research, having a mixture of editing paces makes a horror trailer more frightening and appealing to horror audiences and fans. From our questionnaire results, they support our finding and therefore gives us confidence into using different editing lengths; slow pace editing and fast pace editing.
From these questionnaires the general public had a mixed response on to what is the most important factor within a horror film. The options for this was; locations, actors, characters, music and plot. Plot resulted in the highest meaning that our audience prefers to having a decent story behind the film more than the other factors. This tells us that through our theatrical trailer, we should provide a sense of a good plot to our film. Actors and music came close second which therefore important information we should consider when making our film. Good actors would lead to good characters, which would make the trailer seem professional and more realistic. This reinforces why we interview different people, so we could get an understanding of who they were and if they would fit into our production. The music is another factor we need to consider the music would emphasis the scare factor which are captured within the shots. This means would have to do a lot of research into which music would be suitable for our trailer. Location was the feature which resulted in the lowest, which could be due to the other features being more important. From our horror trailer research we discovered using everyday locations would be ideal for a horror trailer as it would be easier for the target audience to relate too. From this questionnaire, we have decided to use different locations throughout our trailer so that it would be more realistic and suggest that there is plot/story-line to the film. Also during the planning process of making our trailer also agreed that the plot and music would be vital for a successful trailer as the music would create and aid tension to the shots but the plot would entice the audience into watching our production. This questionnaire therefore has aided us into the right direction of what our trailer should consist of and what the audience would like to see.
The general public stated that they would prefer a film to be more realistic than surreal. This could be due to the genre being a horror as, they need to be relatable to provide the scare factor which they set out to achieve. If the trailer was surreal it would mean that the audience wouldn't believe or feel as if it could happen to them, which is the opposite response of what a horror film wants to do. Making our trailer realistic would, firstly attract our target audience (15-24 year old) due to it being relatable, but secondly; due to what we found in our research into horror films as they are all very realistic and could happen to people. From these results we will be ensuring that our trailer is as realistic as possible.
The next question we asked was vital as we wanted to ensure we got the right music for the correct shots but also to keep continuity within the trailer.  From our results we found out that they would prefer mixed pace; slow and fast. This was also our initial thought as it would build adrenaline if we used both. as going from slow deep toned music to a sharp fast tune. This means during our music research we should concentrate on finding fast and slow music which both flow together but also emphasis the scare factor within the shots.
The final question we asked was what name our trailer could be called. From our results 'Silent Scream' and 'Betrayal' were the most popular. These both provide enigmas which would follow the conventions of a horror film which would be ideal. 'Pitch 31' was the least popular, which could be due to connoting a sci fi like genre film. Getting information and feedback from the general public gives us an indication of what they would like to see in a horror, therefore giving us the ability to provide it as best we can.

Script for trailer

Cast in car


1 - Establishing shot [2/3 seconds]

2 slow/ long shots showing the car from the outside (Diegetic sound of pop music) [1/2 seconds]


(Sound bridge)


3 - Mid shot of characters laughing, looking happy and having fun, breaking alcohol (stereotypical view). (fast paste shots) [5/6 seconds]


Mandy - "They'll be there when we arrive right?"


Pandey - "yeah"


4- Black fade out transition Titles [From the makers of The Woods and Intrusion]

Black fade in transition- car turning into location, (long/medium deep focus shot) revealing the name of the camp site location (black fade out transition) 

 - (Fade in transition) Match on action of character getting out of car and looking at the area (only 2-3 seconds duration). (Music stops suddenly) [2 seconds] (Then fades out)


Arrive in woods


5 - Bags drop on floor - loud thump (big effect on audience) [1 second]


6 - shots of them laughing, sitting around a camp fire, drinking and laughing. [4/5 seconds]


7 - Black transition. [8/9 seconds]


- Diegetic sound bridge of antagonist on phone. Complete black screen (creates enigma)


Voice on phone: “Help me... someone... Help me (panting crying whimpering voice)"

Mandy: “Jack, what's happening... where you are?" (Concerned voice)

Voice on phone: “Help me...  (Heavily breathing, muffled) ...please someone ... help me, they're coming"

Mandy - " Where are you!?" (Panicking voice)" Who's coming?" (Panicked voice)


Voice on phone - (gasp)”They’re here” (Panicked voice) scream... 

Phone Cuts off (dial tone) (Black transition lasts for 2-3 second for suspense)

-Diegetic sound of heavy breathing through gas mask

Fast pace editing begins:

Light behind three antagonists flashes on screen, revealing silhouette of them. 

Shots of people getting dragged, hiding behind trees, screaming, axe hitting against things, knife dragged against the wall. All these shots fastening up so fast the screen goes black. 

Diegetic noise of a lighter flicking- Girl appears, flame goes out.

Diegetic noise of the lighter flicking again, girl appears but closer as the camera is continuing zooming inwards and towards the girl. Flame goes out 

Diegetic noise of the lighter again, close up of girl face, flame stays light, and girl looks to the left. While she does that, gas mask antagonist face is revealed behind. Diegetic sound of the flame being blown out. As this happens screen goes black. 

Title of film fades on to black background 'Betrayal' 

Final costume- Mask prop

Mask Research

Having the right type of mask is vital to the storyline of the film which is lead us to researching in depth about costumes . Our film is based round a group of young teenagers who are camping in the woods for spring break; therefore we need to be realistic in our choices. Most recently the gas mask has been a very popular and effective choice of mask in films, for example, it was used in 'My Bloody Valentine'. This therefore means people may go against the idea as it may become to repetitive or stereotypical. However because our characters are teenagers ,their age group are generally aware of the new and upcoming horror/thriller films and because of this its pretty easy to get hold of a mask online for a reasonable price. Although our film is going to be scary, the antagonists are teenagers (however the trailer won't reveal this) so they are not going to be particularly organised or creative so will be easily influenced by films they have seen themselves. This means that the choice of a gas mask is a realistic option for a group of teenagers to choose, especially as it hides the identity of the antagonist. The main antagonists will be wearing this mask as it stands out more and its scarier. The dark colour means that the character will be more camouflaged at night and will help create a scary atmosphere. The black colour also connotes to evil, death, darkness, which all follows the conventions of the horror genre. Gas masks are well known for the creepy sound of breathing hence, this will become a big feature in the trailer as when you hear the noise you know he is around...

Our second choice of mask is the hockey mask, again this easy, assessable and cheap choice therefore it would make a perfect option for a group of teenagers. We were inspired to use this from the film 'Friday 13th' which 'Jason' the antagonist wore to hunt his prey and victims. The colour of it means that it will reflect light, which in some way makes it not as suitable choice because the antagonist will be more visible and easy to find, however a group of teenagers probably wouldn't think that through. Only having the eyes on show puts an emphasis on them and makes it seem even scarier as these will be the last eyes you see if caught. The breathing holes are pretty small so the sound of the person breathing will be quite loud and will give a scary effect. The two other antagonists will be wearing this mask. Having used two types of masks would create a sense that they are family which creates a unnerving atmosphere for the audience. However, as our plot twist is that the antagonist's are their friends, this would keep the audience on their seats until the very end.