Costumes - The Victim

The victim is young so we didn't want him to be wearing something that didn't suit his age. We wanted to have him look quite fashionable yet has the whole bad boy attitude showing as well. As he if from the good side, we wanted him to wear colors which aren't too bright but show that he is a bubbly kind child.

The following are the clothing's that we chose for him:

• A hoodie which isn't plain but has some sort of pattern on it such as stripes 

• Tracksuit bottoms (Grey or blue)

• Trainers (Black or White)

Costumes - The Antagonist

The clothes that the actors will be wearing and very significant as this also reflects other factors such as their personality or their character in whole. We also wanted the costumes to reflect back on the character so that the audience can differentiate between the two actors.

As the antagonist isn't a good person and is supposed to be someone who does bad deeds and is the evil person, we wanted him to wear dark colored clothing. Colors such as black, brown and dark blue will show this. However we needed to make sure that the costumes are fit for that time period as well such as if were filming in the dark and the actor was wearing a black hoodie then the audience will not be able to tell the difference and wont know what is going on.

These are the items that we have decided would be best for our antagonist to wear:

• A hoodie (Preferably dark blue or grey.) 

• Jeans (Black or grey)

• Gloves (Black - leather)

• Boots (Black or brown)

Casting

For our trailer, we only needed two characters which will be playing in the roles of the antagonist and the victim in the film. When we first started to look for people to play in the roles, we started to experience the same problems as last year and we were unable to find some reliable or someone who is free when we needed them.

We thought that it would be best if we could ask our family members to be in the film as this way we know that we can rely on them without them backing out on us last minute. At first we chose to use my cousin to be in the film as the victim and we had the shooting schedules planned out with him so that he knew which days to help us. However during December, he joined a school in another city and therefore would not be able to help us. We then only had 3 weeks to look for another actor to play the victim. In the end, we used my partners little brother who agreed immediately to play the victim.

The antagonist is going to be played by my partners dad who kindly agreed to be in it as he knew how much we struggle to find actors last year and wanted to help us so that we do not stress over the same problem again. This worked out well with us as we knew we could count on them and not have any problems with our filming schedules and if needed we could film with them again if necessarily.

Storyboard

We created a storyboard so that we know what we will need to do in every scene and can have everything prepared for that scene. This gave us a rough idea of how we are going to plan out how the trailer will look in the end.

Chosen Story Idea

The story that we have chosen to do is The Hood in the Wood. I found that this idea would be quite easy to do yet very effective and appealing if produced right. I thought the plot of the story is interesting and isn't your typical story that you find in every film.

Story Idea - Attack of the Killer Balloons

This idea is about a disease which has been brought from outer space. This disease then spreads throughout the whole earth slowly. It is unknown how it came or how it was started in the first but that it was created by some sort of bacteria. The cause of it is also unknown and as there isnt a cure for it; panic is created all over the world. 


The disease itself bacteria which is in a balloon shape and attacks its victims by the balloon bursting in front of them releasing a lethal toxic gas that burns its victims. Once they are melted they slowly are dissolved and they are also become part of the disease and are transformed into a lethal balloon.  

Shots that we could use: 

Story Idea - The Hood in the Wood

For this idea, we wanted to keep thing simple yet it still blows your mind away. This film will be about strange sightings in a park which no one can tell what they are. This will create panic as people start to go missing and unexplained acts happen. When people try to capture images with their cameras, nothing shows up but a black smudge. 

Story Idea - Rise of the Dead

For our next idea, we wanted something a little more creative. This idea is about is a group of people who are obsessed with the Satan and worship it greatly. This is mainly due to them being madly obsessed with violent and supernatural video games and films. They don't pay much attention to studies and are failing as college students. They decide that one day, they want to contact the devil and so go round to the graveyard as they feel that they will be closer there to it. However when they start summoning, instead of the devil they rise the dead.

Its up to them to save the day and as they have so much knowledge on this situation due to video games and films, they go on a mission to destroy these zombies. At first they try many different techniques in how to kill a zombie by stabbing them in the heart and blowing off their heads. In the end, the figure out the only way to kill them is to shoot their kneecaps which paralyses them.

The ending is sad as they all eventually die however before they die they produce a journal which consists of their mission and a 'how to kill a zombie' guide for others to read and do the same so they survive.

Shots we could use:

Horror Trailer - Grudge

Grudge is a supernatural horror film produced by Takashi Shimizu and is a remake of a Japanese film Ju-on: The Grudge. Grudge is about a curse which was is born into the world when someone dies in a violent or in powerful rage. Its one of the most scariest films of all time. 

The trailer starts off with a chilling sound and the image of the production line. It then goes on to show a house when some writing appears on pure white background saying 'in the grip of a powerful rage' which is done so that they can capture their audience's attention and so that they focus all their minds on the house shown. It then goes straight to someones screams and someone putting their hand into water which from the audience's point of view seems as if they are trying to grab the audience. Someone is screaming yet that image of whats actually happening is covered to keep the audience guessing and in suspense. The writing is shown again and the purpose of this is to let the audience know is what the film is going to be about but not letting them know whats behind it. The main actress is then introduced and and she is talking over the trailer so that we know the film is about her and from her point of view. We see various different clips of her with strange things in the background hinting to the audience of whats there.Time to time disturbing pictures of people come up which is supposed to scare the audience yet its so effective that you still want to watch ahead. The music builds up suddenly and then we see an image of a hand in the actress's hair which is quite disturbing and scary. The name of the film pops in white over a black background and then suddenly it goes back to that image with the girl getting scared and looking back to see.

This trailer was really scary and terrifying yet I still wanted to watch it know what happens as it was so effective and attracting due to the mysteriousness of it. Its not your typical kind of horror film when their is a killer on the loose but its supernatural and something that cannot be explained making it more appealing to the audience. 

Horror Trailer - Paranormal Activity 2

Paranormal activity is a parallel prequel produced by Tod Williams. It broke many box offices when it came out on 22nd of October at midnight. It instantly became a hit and scared thousands across the world in cinemas which has been recorded. The trailer only lasts for 1minute and 13seconds. The whole trailer is in black and white and not one word is spoken however there are screams from time to time.

It begins with a slow but loud thumping sound almost sounding like a heartbeat in a black background when suddenly there is a scream and someone is thrown at the camera which instantly scares you. The person falls down and the camera is also shown to have fallen as its now at a slanted angle when it slowly starts to zoom in on a door and then some writing appears saying 'In 2009, you demanded it' which is directly linking it to the audience as its talking to them. It then goes on to show people in a cinema supposedly watching the first film when suddenly someone is looks directly in to the camera leading to people in the cinemas to scream. Images of different parts of the house is shown from a camera. More writing comes up still for the audience to read as if its being said to them. We then suddenly see a woman appearing out of nowhere standing infront of a doorway. The name of the film comes up in a flashing sort of way with the '2' being emphasized on. The end scene is back to the same room with it being empty.

Personally this trailer was quite terrifying however i still wanted to watch the film as it wasn't the typical horror movies that you see. The whole atmosphere seems different especially as its been shown from the cameras point of view. Its a simple yet a powerful trailer which stays on your mind for a long time.

Shooting Schedule

We want to start to do the filming of our trailer in January time. This is because this is when we have the permission to use the location that we need. It should take us up to 6weeks to film according to the timetable of both me and my partner as well as our actors that will be in the trailer. 


It is important for us to know which days we will film as we can be prepared and our actors will know in advance when they will not be free so they don't unexpectedly make any plans on that day and time. 

Date	Time	Location	Props
Week 1	Lesson 5	The Gables	None
Week 2	Lesson 5	The Gables	None
Week 3	Lesson 2	Begbroke	Twigs
Week 4	Lesson 5	Begbroke	None
Week 5	Lesson 5	The Gables	Twigs
Week 6	Lesson 2	The Gables	None

Target Audience

It is important to know what our target audience is ranging from so that we are able to construct our film according to this. We have decided that we want quite a wide range as we don't want to restrict to a more smaller range of people as we want to attract people with different kinds of interest that like horror films.

Trailers (Horror)

As I have chosen to do a horror film, I am going to look into a couple of more horror trailers to get a better insight of how they are produced. I am going to see which techniques they use to catch their audience's attention so that I can also use them in my trailer. This would be best to see how horror trailers differentiate between other genres and whether or not they use any unique kinds of strategies to attract their audience.

Shooting Location - The Gables

For our trailer, we needed a large field in which would be a part of the trailer. We looked at various different fields around oxford that would be perfect and right for our trailer to be filmed in. Eventually we decided that we liked a field which is close by to my partners grandma's house and so we asked permission if we were allowed to use it. The owned was kind enough to let us use his field as he knew my partner and so didn't mind as long as we picked up after our mess and did not cause any problems. 

The field is known as The Gables.

Trailer Analysis - The Pacifier

The Pacifier is prodcued by Adam Shankman. The trailer overall lasts for 2minutes and 23 seconds. The film is about a man who is a tough yet professional Navy S.E.A.L who has been successful in all of his missions in different parts of the globe. However his most toughest mission to date is when he has to look after a bunch of kids which he has never done before and has the added stress of having to find out where a secret project is hidden. 

The trailer has a male narrator talking over it who is mainly focused on talking about the main actor. The narrator introduces the actor with an image of him standing in front of the Navy sign. This is done so that the audiece are able to get to the character. Throughout the whole trailer the narrator talks about the main actor and fills the audience in with the characters personality. 

It starts off with the main actor being introduced about who he is and what he does as a job. He is portrayed as a tough and strict man who's life evolves around his work which is filled with action which is done by the quick scenes at the start with him swerving the car and doing dangerous missions. However he then gets a mission which is the most difficult one he has done in his life. Ironically it involves him having to take care of children which is the opposite of what he is trained for with his sensitive side having to be introduced which he himself as a character is not aware of. It then goes into a calmer mode with the comedy side of the film being shown with his parts with the kids. The narrator also stops with the serious tone and goes more hip and funny yet at all times he is still talking about him and his work. Throughout the trailer it also highlights his relationships with the children who are also part of the main plot as they help with bringing out his sensitive side. It ends with a funny moment where one of the kids is happy to get safely out of the car as he is mad driver. 

I found that this trailer was quite appealing to me and would encourage me to watch the film in cinemas. This is because I like comedy and this trailer shows the various humorous scenes so that I know that I am going to find what I want. 

Shooting Location - Begbroke

The other location that we will be using is another field and is also close to the other location spot which will be filming in and so therefore works well for us. This location is called the Begbroke and the fields have been known to have pest problems.

Trailer Analysis - Rush Hour 3

The trailer of Rush Hour 3 lasts for 2minutes and 27 seconds however the last 7 seconds is a marketing appeal with them offering free tickets to the premiere if they are chosen in text game. The film is Brett Ratner and this is the 3rd installment of the Rush Hour film series.

The trailer starts off with the outdoor view of Paris with a man's voice talking over though we know this isn't an narrator but a scene moment in the film. The trailer has written parts to it where it picks out to highlight important facts with the first 'In the heart of Paris' letting the audience know where the film is going to be set. It then shows fast paced action scenes in a slow pace so that the audience can capture everything in. This is as effective as if it was in its original fast pace. The background music builds up sounds so that the audience is kept eager to know what going to happen next. It seems to the audience that something dark and deadly is going to happen but then it suddenly switches to a happy scene with the two main actors being introduced. This is done to mislead the audience which also keeps them entertained as they didn't expect it. This is where all the comedy scenes are brought forward to the audience. The films story-line is not mentioned but we know little bits of what to look forward to. This is done to keep the plot under wraps so that the audience will want to watch it. The ending of the actual trailer finishes off with a funny scene which has you laughing for a while and puts a smile on your facing forcing you to want to watch it.

The last 7 seconds is a market appeal to attract their audience and to also keep them happy as they get a chance to go the premiere.

Personally I found that this trailer was great and in the end I really wanted to watch the film. This is because it has both comedy and action which is a good combination to always keep you entertained with various funny moments.

Trailer Analysis - Pirates of the Caribbean

The next trailer i watch was Pirates of the Caribbean directed by Rob Marshall and lasts for 2minutes and 29seconds. This a an adventure and comedy mixed film which ended up to be very popular and broke box office records when it came out.

The trailer begins with hard hitting sounds and quick scenes flashing up with it then leading on to the main actor talking. Images are shown slowly at a slow pace however they don't last long but enough for the audience to see. It goes straight into the story of the film and then various other characters start to talk and images of the main characters been shown from different parts of the film. We see the main actor who the story evolves around at the end who the audience are looking forward to see. The music is intense yet not too dark and doesn't have a scary effect. Different funny scenes crop up from time to time where they are mostly cheeky remarks done by the main actor. The music in the background is all building up with it always been thew same volume throughout. It then goes on to introduce the characters with their names coming up on the screen one by one with clips of them coming up afterwards. The music then goes quicker and louder with fast shots coming which lasts till the end when the film title shows up and then the date of it's release.

The start of the trailer seemed a bit dull to mean and I didn't really have the urge to watch it but once it got into it and various parts pf the film came up I started to get more appealed to it. By the end of it, I wanted to watch it.

Trailer Analysis - Mirrors

The first trailer I looked at was called Mirrors by Alexandre Aja. Personally I find that this trailer was very eye catching and would easily be able to capture the audience's attention. This is because though overall the whole trailers practically shows what the film is going to be about, it still puts the whole mysterious idea into your heads and pulls you towards watching the film as you want to know what happens and why. The audience knows that the film is about mirrors and that something is wrong with them yet they want to know why they are like that as nothing in the trailer even suggests or hints what is wrong with them or why they are like that.

The trailer starts off with a voice over of man which we can't see first but then a couple of seconds in we see who's voice it is and he is surrounded a woman and kids suggesting the story is about him and that they are his family. Its quite a calm scene which allows the audience to get into the trailer picking up the small things. It then leads on to another scene where we know that he is starting a new job and from there straightaway his first comment is about mirrors which hints that is the main location of where the main plot is going to be taken place. Though its still a calm scene, the background sounds and the whole dark image starts to build up a scary suspense which slowly starts to get more and more scarier. The cuts between these images are at a normal slow pace which is done to build up the suspense. It then goes on to revealing the story-line a little bit and the audience starts to know what they story is about and who is the main actor. They cuts starts to get quicker eventually leading to the scream at the end slowing it down suddenly. The end starts off the same as the beginning at a slow calm pace still revealing the story. It ends with the date of when the film comes out.

I found that this trailer was quite simple to follow though the images of whats happening is quite complex at some points but with the main actor talking in many parts helps in keeping up with it. The building of the suspense was its best feature as it kept the audience guessing and having more of a urge to watch it fully.

Existing products – Trailers

I researched on various different trailers from as many types of genres I could find to get a more detailed insight on how a trailer of a film is produced. I looked at both A-level made trailers and those which have been made to actually air on television. These helped me in more ways than one as it showed to me which genre I would personally find easier to create and how I would go about creating it. Whilst researching up on this, I found different directors which produce the trailers use different kinds of techniques for each genre so that they can catch the audience’s attention however in various parts these techniques overlap. This helped me as I was able to see how they are produced by professional film makers and how can u use those techniques putting my trailer together.

I looked up on the A-level media trailers because I wanted to see how other students in the same position as me have been able to produce their trailers. I’ve been looking up on what kinds of techniques they are using such as the different camera angles, the kind of music/sounds they are using, any other sort of effects they have put in. This is because I will be able to use this information to my advantage as I can put all these different types of factors into my filming/editing process which will allow me to produce the trailer to the best of my ability.

Whilst doing this, I found that A-level students who have produced trailers have opted to go for the horror based genre and the professionals have produced trailers for all the genres there are.  

I also compared the trailers that were made by A-level students and those who were produced by professional film directors.

Hood in Da Wood - Magazine Cover

This is our final piece of the magazine cover. 

Creating the magazine cover

Once all my research on the magazine covers, the next step was producing my own magazine cover with our film to be on the front. Me and my partner sat down and talked about the different ways we could create the cover and in which ways we could make it appealing to our customers. We first looked in to the magazine title which should be standing out the most. We noticed that majority of the film magazines are mixed genres that have different movies from all genre categories. We wanted to be unique and decided to focus on the genre of our film which is horror so that we could really get our film to stand out as the next scariest film releasing. To emphasize on this, we wanted the name of the magazine to relate and highlight the horror behind it. We looked on the internet to find the different horror titles and played and mixed around the words. In the end we decided to go with 'Gore-Mania'.

To make it look realistic, we had to add some writing. We came up with different ideas which we would put in the actual film if we had to create it and made up little quotes and subheadings to put on the cover. Though on many magazine covers, they only have one main image we wanted to highlight that it was horror based magazine and so wanted to added more images that would pin point this. We found some images on the internet and manipulated it on Photoshop to look more bolder and so that it would go with the rest of the magazine.

Magazine Cover Analysis - Empire

Empire is a magazine produced monthly in Britain. The first issue came out in 1989 and it the biggest film magazine seller. It is also published in other countries such as Australia and Turkey. They also host there own awards. Empire is known for its unique approach to film articles and in every issue they always include a scripted scene from the latest film so that their customer's can get an idea of what there will be in a film. Its not as serious as various other film magazines and even their criticism in film reviews are brought forward in a humorous way.

• Empire also have their own title font and color which is kept the same on every cover. Their color is red which was chosen as they found that it was the best color to capture their audience's attention as its bright and bold. The size of the title is always kept the same.

• The title is always kept at the top of the page and varies between if its in front of the image or behind. 

• They also have full image of a character from a movie however they also pick their actors/actresses by interviews which are you can read in the magazine. 

• They use different colors on the magazine to highlight and attract the customers so that it isn't the same color which would put of their customers. 

• Subheadings are also put on the cover to show what is inside the magazine and only write a few words that would interest their customers so they are encouraged to by the magazine.

• Every issue has a bar code at the bottom of the page in the same place every time. 

Magazine Cover Analysis - Total Film

Total Film is a film magazine produced in Britain and is published every 4 weeks in total producing 13 magazines a year. The magazine is the second biggest seller in the UK in the film magazines.The film magazine consists of the latest movie updates that will be coming out, reviews of films and it also allows their audience there chance to win certain films.

• The title of the magazine 'Total Film' appears in every magazine the same font and the same font size. This is because this is their title logo and is how their audience can recognize it from anywhere. The color of it is most of the time white however from time to time they change the color to something else such as red or blue. 

• On every cover there is an image which is from a movie which is most of the time being the latest release out. This is done to bring the audience's attention to this film but also as they usually have a big story inside about it. The image usually covers the whole magazine however at times they create it a bit smaller so that they can fit other mini pictures on. 

• There is small quotes or subheadings on the front to highlight the main stories which are going to be inside. They pick the story pieces which they think that will attract their customers the most. 

• As they always to keep attracting customers, they try different market techniques and the best known one they use is certain offers they have on films which are splattered around the page somewhere. These offers are in bright and bold colors to really catch the customers eye but they don't want to emphasize too much on it as this encourages the customers to read the actual magazine.

Ancillary Task - Magazine Cover

For our second ancillary task, we have to create a front cover of a magazine.

To get a better insight of what is on magazine covers and what techniques are used to appeal to their target audience, I will be researching up and analyzing different magazine covers. As I will be producing a magazine cover for films, I will only look at film magazines rather than all of them as this narrows it down and makes it easier for me to acknowledge the different features on the covers.

Hood in Da Wood - Poster

Creating the poster

After getting a much better insight on what is on a poster, we wanted to use these tchniques to produce our poster. Star appeal which is used when a famous actor/actress is put on the poster to attract their audience which is a poweful technique as you instanlt get attracted to the poster. As we are not using any famous actors/actresses, we will be using strong and powerfull imagery which would be in the film. This needs to be eye catching and bold so that the audience will look at it and be persuaded to watch the film.

To create the poster, we found some imagery of a dark forest which we then would manipulate on Photoshop. Before we started however, we chose other unrelated images to play around with to get to know the different tools on it. The effects we liked best will be used on our poster for the film.

Whilst creating the poster, we had get some inspiration of other posters and see which kinds of quotes they use and are attracting. We wanted the audience to feel that it the next biggest release coming out but we still wanted to leave mystery on what the story is about and so didn't use any images that would predict the plot. We also wanted the wording to sound as if the film is being bragged about but we wanted to use comedy for those more into laughs and so added a couple of funny words and quotes. 


We wanted to use dark colors that would also reflect blood and killing and so decided to use red and black as they made the perfect match for this emotion. These colors created a chilling effect and stood out which worked well for us. However there was some problem in getting the right shade which would match everything such as the actual image and the film title. 


To make it look like a real poster, we also had to add in credits at the bottom. This made the poster look realistic and was the finishing touch for the poster. The release date was also significant to let our audience when the film is coming out.

Poster Analysis - Land of the Lost

• Overall the poster gives away what the film is most likely going to be about yet the is still stands outs. This is because the background colors are quite appealing as they present a mysterious dark atmosphere. 

• The quote at the bottom 'Right Place, Wrong Time' is quite humorous as people in general usually use the phrase 'Wrong Place, Wrong Time' yet this is trying to imply they were supposed to be there even though the title is called land of lost which is quite ironic. 

• The director is also showing the humorous side with the characters as they are all making serious yet funny faces which is trying to point out that its got its comedy which will keep the audience happy. 

• The background image collaborates with the name of the film as its supposed to be a lost land and in the image its showing a lonely dark place with no one about. 

Poster Analysis - The Tuxedo

• The use of the colors are quite effective as though they are not too bright or bold, they still are able to catch the audience attention by the color mix of green and blue which together work well to create a great color scheme.

• The artistic image at the background which is quite modernized as its being done on a computer is quite powerful and is able to attract the audience without them realizing it as its in the background. This goes on to also been shown on the actors shoes showing there is a connection. 

• The film title is also showing what the film is about which is quite a cheeky trick with the 'U' having a bow-tie on it so that the audience automatically knows there is a connection with the tuxedo. 

• The female actor is standing beside the actor suggesting that she is his sidekick or partner. 

• As an audience, we know the film will have some sort of action in it as the actor has his foot up in the air as if hes about to kick someone yet he is still smiling showing the sensitive comedy side to it. 

Poster Analysis - Pretty Woman

• The poster is quite simple as it only shows the two main actors and the title of the film however it's still quite effective and stands out with the use of the large bright colored font and the full size image of the actors.

• The male actor is wearing a black suit which is quite elegant and smart looking. This suggests that maybe the actor is a businessman and leads quite a fancy lifestyle. 

•  The actress is very much the opposite of the actor as she is presented in a less elegant way and is shown to be of a street girl living life on the edge. 

•  The phrase 'opposites attract' comes to mind when seeing this image. This is because both the characters are presented in different ways which suggests a little about their characters and lifestyles however they are still connected with their bodies stuck together back to back implying they cannot be apart.

•  The female actress is shown to have more power over the actor as she is the one holding on to his tie and pulling him towards her. This implies that in the film she could be the more controlling one however this doesn't necessarily mean in physical terms but could be implied in both mental and emotional terms.  

• The title stands out quite abit as its in a bright pink colour which could also suggest that the film is more about the actress or could be through her point of view focusing some of the main points solely on her.

Poster Analysis - Bad Boys 2

• The most eye-catching feature in this poster is the title. It's in large bold font and the use of the color black is though simple yet very effective as it stands out. The name of the film covers up 1/3 of the poster so the emphasis of the title is very important and significant. 

•  The two actors are back to back which suggests that they look out for each other and are quite close for them to do this. However as one character is facing towards the camera and the other has his back to it, could suggest that one of them turned their backs on the other. 

•  The actor in front is wearing white and the other is wearing a darker color which puts emphasis on the whole good and evil front implying that one may have more goodness than the other. The good/evil balance is also reflected in the background where one side has flames, ash and altogether is a more darker atmosphere where as the other side has more light on it. 

Pister Analysis - Bridesmaid

• The only two colours in the poster are white and pink suggesting that it’s quite a girly film.
• The name of the film gives away what the film is going to be about and it’s in a bold font trying to stand out which also suggests that the film is quite in your face sort of thing meaning it stands out and appeals to you.
• “Save the date” is quite a cheeky quote which has been specifically chosen and put there. This is because people usually remember dates that are special to them such as birthdays, anniversaries etc and so this quote is suggesting that this film is something special and unique so make sure you remember it and have time for it.  
• The girls are slouching down and showing attitude on their faces showing that’s they are not the typical girls you see in chick flicks and that they are different. The girls are also shown to be quite relaxed which suggests they are not posh high maintenance types.
• There are 6 girls on the poster and no man which shows that the film is mainly based around these women and their lives. The girls are the main stars in this film and there’s not really a main male lead.
• There is one girl who is wearing white which is different to the others maybe hinting that she’s the main lead. However she’s got a bit of pink on her dress showing that she’s part of the group.