Film Trailer Information

What is a film trailer?

• A film trailer is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. It is usually played before the start of another film.

What do they consist of (genre specific)
Most film trailers consist of:

• Various shot types, edits, voice overs, sound effects, non diegetic and diegetic sounds, mise en scene, a detailed synopsis, locations, characters, shots/angles and cinematography. Most romantic comedy films include high key lighting with bright and vibrant colours due to the fact that rom coms are mostly upbeat and humorous films. Most romantic comedy trailers also consist of a male and female couple. 

My trailer

• My trailer is going to include detail synopsis, locations, characters, cinematography, shots/angles,Various shot types, edits, voice overs, sound effects and mise en scene. It is also going to include a male and female actress and about 5 other actors to use as extras. It is mostly going to have high key lighting throughout and the background score is going to be upbeat.

Meeting Post 5

This week we are going to finish filming the romantic scenes at crown point north shopping center, I have let Shafia know this as she cannot currently use I message.

Possible Film Names/Synopsis Ideas

I wrote down all of my ideas for plots and names for my film trailer:
We have decided that our film trailer will be entitled: Double take and we will be using the idea that a girl is ugly and she fantasies over a boy who never notices her and she has a makeover and then he starts to notice her, although they argue and she thinks he should have loved her when she was ugly, they eventually fall in love.

Genre Codes And Conventions For My Genre

Codes
Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic. Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the camera work in a film.Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a character's actions show you how the character is feeling.Some codes fit both categories – music for example, is both technical and symbolic.

Conventions
Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use of interviewee quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre specific.

How codes and conventions apply in media studies
Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre.For example, the technical code of lighting is used in some way in all film genres. It is a convention of the horror genre that side and back lighting is used to create mystery and suspense – an integral part of any horror movie.

Codes and conventions for a romantic comedy trailer:

• A typical boy meets girl scenario
• Inevitability of the two ending up in a relationship, (happy ending)
• Often some sexual innuendo in the script
• Often starts with a voice over explaining characters
• Two protagonists, normally male and female
• Often stylised in a particular way e.g. flowers,weddings hearts
• Normally set in an urban environment, entered around a work place, where a chance encounter would happen
• Often entered around a female character, the film is seen from her point of view.
• Characters often conform to stereotypes E.g. Geeks, The 'it' girl etc.
• Examples of Rom coms: Bridget Joneses Diary, Love Actually and Just Go With It

Weather Post For Shoots

The following gif shows the weather forecasts that have helped us to decide whether it is going to be suitable to carrying out filming/ photoshoots on the dates that we have chosen. I have used the weather app on my phone and the websites, timeanddate.com and accuweather.com in order to check the forecasts.

make animated gifs like this at MakeaGif

Extra Podcast

Trailer Drafts

These are several drafts for our trailer.

Meeting Post 4

Today I met up with my peers, Jenny and Shafia to discuss the imagery we will be using for our film magazine and where and when we are going to take the pictures. Jenny and I have decided to use Jacob as the model for our film magazines and Shafia is going to photograph me for her magazine. We have decided that we are going to take the shots and continue to film the romantic scenes on the  11th of February at crown point north shopping centre.

My Film Magazine Progress

These following screenshots show the creative process for my magazine:

Firstly I opened a plain A4 document to being the process of my film magazine. I changed the background colour to black because I wanted to add red and white text so I that the dark background would contrast well with the text and to  make it stand out to the audience. I then added the magazines title, 'The Reel', which I thought sounded professional. I went on Dafont.com in order to download this for as it didn't think any of the font styles on photoshop looked effective for a magazines header. 

I then inserted the magazines tagline, 'The ultimate movie magazine',  I think that this will persuade the audience to buy the magazine. I decided to highlight the words, 'ultimate' and 'movie' in red to show the audience the genre of the magazine (film), and I also thought that it looked effective. I used the font, 'Bebas Neue Regular' I am also going to be using this font for my cover lines to give the magazine a sense of continuity. I then added a small image of a barcode on the bottom left hand side as most magazines have a barcode on the cover.

I added a shape to the cover to give the magazine some dimension. I used the rectangle tool to create this red shape, and I then used the free transform tool to rotate the shape so that it is slightly diagonal, I then added the text, 'Exclusives inside' in black and put it over the red rectangle as I knew that this would automatically make the text stand out. It is in the same font that I have used for the tag line.

Then I added another rectangle but in white with black and red text on top of it. I have highlighted one part of text in red like I have done with the tagline because I think this looks effective. This text informs the audience of the magazines date, the issue number and the price of the magazine, all of these are vital features that need to be on the cover. 

I then added my cover lines onto the magazine again using a red and white font as this is my desired colour scheme.  I made the red cover lines to the size 45pt and the white text to 42pt so that the main cover lines would stand out to the audience and draw their attention to the main exciting articles inside the magazine which would make them want to buy the magazine.

I then started to add the main cover line using the font, 'badi MT Condensed Extra Bold Regular' then I also added a CD to the top right hand corner and added the text, 'The worlds best film reviews'. As I thought that the magazine needed an extra feature rather than just cover lines.

I then added the rest of the cover line using the same font as the text, 'Double', by using a white text to give the magazine some dimension whilst still sticking to my colour scheme of red and white text.

I then added another rectangular shape and placed it under the main cover line to make it stand out and draw the audiences attention to it and I then added the bevel and emboss effect to.

I then added the my main cover image of the main character in the film trailer and then increased the images exposure and used the curves tools to enhance the pictures vibrance.

I then added another cover line at the bottom of the left hand side of the poster because I thought that it looked empty.

I then decided to remove the image of the CD because I don't think it was needed.

By using the layer style tool I added the bevel and emboss effect to make the word, 'Double' look more three dimensional, helping it to stand out more effectively. I then decided to change the masthead font to, 'Lemon Milk' which I downloaded from daft.com. I thought that the original font that I had used looked like it was for a horror genre magazine and lemon milk looked more suitable for my film magazine.

I then added another image and placed it over the top of the first image to show the two sides of Riven (the main character in the trailer). The image portrays her as being half un attractive and the other more well presented, this fits in with the narrative of the plot of our trailer when Riven has a makeover and transforms from ugly to attractive. This image shows Riven before and after the makeover in just one image. I changed the brightness of this image by using the brightness tool and then I used the curves tool to enhance its vibrance. I then also added a cover line regarding the character in the main cover image. This is the overall finished film magazine.

My Film Poster Progress

I started off by using the, Steel Tongs font to add the credits. I had already downloaded the steel tongue font from www.fonts2u.com/steeltongs.font. 

I then added a 12A rating symbol as from my research from IMBD's highest grossing romantic comedy's I noticed that most of them were rated as a 12 or 12A. I then added some text to the top in the font, Bebas Neue.

I then added the characters names in the font, Tahoma Regular and I decided to have the first names in black and the surnames in red as I have seem this on the proposal poster and it looks effective and it also fits in with the black and red themed text that I have used for the film title, 'The bold font' which I have downloaded from daft.com.

I then added a film star rating of five stars, and added the films cover line which I thought fit in well with the plot/ narrative of Double Take. I then added a brief review from Mark Kermode, who is a well know English film critic. 

I then decided that I wasn't happy with my composition as it looked to cluttered and it didn't look like it fit in with the romantic comedy genre so I changed the font of the title and used,'The body font' which I download from Dafont.com. Then I deleted all of my other texts. I also used the layer style feature to add bevel and emboss, texture and outer glow to the title to make it stand out. I left a space out for the letter 'O' as I intend to put a love heart there. 

Once I have placed the love heart in as the letter 'O' I think that my poster has started to gain some sense of romance. I used the free transform tool to slightly rotate the love heart so that it had a slanted effect. I then added a Ribbon just to use as a background to make my black credits stand out. Once again I used the steel tongs font.

I added the characters names back on to the poster because I like the style of the font and the colour scheme. I also think they look effective in the opposite corners.

I started to added the five star film review from the guardian back onto the poster and placed this just below the title.

I also added the some other previous texts that I had deleted and placed them on the top centre of my poster.

I then added the cover line again however I made it smaller so that it fit under the title.

I then added a picture of Jacob (Gray) on the poster. I edited the images brightness and vibrance and used the free transform tool in order to rotate the image to give the effect that he is looking up.

I then added the other image of myself (Riven) and placed it in a composition so that it looked like I was looking down at Gray.

I then also enhanced the image by using the brightness and contrast and the curves feature.

I then added a slightly darker effect to the characters by using the brightness/contrast effect.

I then changed the composition of the star rating and the top line of text and deleted the Mark Kermode review as I felt that it didn't look effective and it wasn't needed.

As a last minute decision I decided to move the actors names to the top in opposite corners and change the star review to a four star as I carried out some audience research regarding how many stars I should include for the review and four was the more popular response. I also decided that the heat was a more girly source to review a romantic comedy film and this would fit in more suitably with my target audience (females). I also increased the titles size to make it stand out and fill the blank space. I then increased the boldness of the two lines of black text and this is my overall finished poster.

Meeting Post (Auditions Results)

We have decided as a group after watching over our audition videos who will be playing the part in our trailers, we have decided:

• Mia Jones (myself)- Will be playing the Role of Riven
• Brandon Evans- Will be playing the role of Hugh (although Brandon auditioned for the role of Gray we thought that he would be better suited to the role of Hugh we let him know this and he was happy to play the part).
• Jacob Axford- Will be playing the role of Gray
• Kirsty McDonald- Will be playing the part of Clancy
• Jenny Crook- As a extra holding a camera in one scene

Own Role Research (Costume)

In regards to costumes for our film trailer I have used google images, pinterest and films as inspirations whilst looking for outfits that would look suitable for the roles of our characters.

Films:

As pretty woman is my favourite romantic comedy and is a very successful film, I wanted Riven to wear a pretty woman inspired black dress in the transformation scene where she has had her makeover. Julia Roberts also wears a black dress in the scene where she has transformed in the film. I think the dress is extremely classy. I found this image off google images.

I typed in black men outfits on google images because I wanted Hugh to wear all black as he is suppose to portray a cool guy. I found this image and we are going to base Hugh's costume on this look.

As for Riven I like the cream coat with fur and the jeans. I think that this would look good for her role.

Pinterest:

On pinterest I typed in bright coat styles and this image of the woman in the red coat caught my attention and I immediately knew that this is what I want Riven to wear, ( a red cat and jeans ) in a scene because I know that the colour will make her stand out and draw the audiences attention to her as the main character. As for Gray I was looking through male outfit ideas for inspiration for his look and I found this image of a navy coat and jeans. I want Gray to wear a jacket and jeans similar to this however instead of a jumper underneath like in the image I want him to wear just a t-shirt under the coat ( an example of the t-shirt is shown underneath ) as I think that this will look more laid back and casual. In other scenes of Gray he could just wear a slightly different coloured t-shirt and jeans but in the same style just to change it up slightly so that he is not wearing the exact same costume throughout the trailer.

Own Role Research (Mise En Scene)

The definion of mis en scene: The arrangement of stage properties and scenery in a play and the setting or surrounding of an event.

The following slide that I have found on a slide share have really helped me and I have kept referring back to this information to help me.

Own Role Research (Sound)

I watched this youtube video in order to learn how work with loops on garage band as this is the feature of the software that I am going to use to make the background music for our trailer. This has been very useful as I have been referring back to this video to help me throughout the process of creating the sound track.

Last year I learn about all of the key sound features so I already knew most of the key sound features in film however I have found the key terms on a slide share and have put them onto this blog post just incase I need to refer back to any of the key sound features that I can't remember.

Own Role Research (Sound)

I watched this video of how to use premier pro regarding the sound element. This video is targeted at beginners so it was perfect for me to understand the basic features of how to work this software and hopefully this will help me to create effective non diegetic and diegetic sound throughout our film trailer.

Own Role Research (Makeup)

Before filming I did my own makeup and I also did kirsty's makeup, who plays the role of Jude, Riven's best friend. In order to create a look that was subtle for filming I watched this makeup tutorial on youtube and carried out each step in order to create our looks. I think that this really helped to make us look suitable for a romantic comedy. I thought that this look was dramatic yet it still gives an overall natural finish and helps to make the eyes stand out. Although I did not use the same makeup products as this video I used products that were very similar to what this makeup artist is using.

Own Role Research (Screenplay)

As my role is to produce the screen play I have used google to look at the brief description of a screenplay in order for me to further my understanding of the meaning of it as I think that this will help me whilst I start this creative process. I found this 5 step process to help me:

Own Role Research (Script)

As the script writer I am going to be looking for inspiration for a plot by watching the following films as they are very popular romantic comedies:

• Breakfast At Tiffanies
• Pretty Woman

From watching theses films I picked out these two key features that I could interpret into our own script:

1. The woman acts in a bosy behaviour and stands for herself
2. The male character is more laid back

So I may decide to make my male character calm and my female character to be more uptight.

I also found out the following information regarding improving my script which I have found really helpful.

Part 3 Improving Your Script
1. Research after writing your first draft. Watch plays, tv shows, and movies which are similar to the work you've just written. ... 
2. Simplify your writing. You don't need overly fancy dialogue or crazy scenes to keep your audience engaged. ... 
3. Write the plot in script format. ... 
4. Maintain your style.


I also found this example of a script/screenplay below which will help me through the process of creating our script:

Own Role Research (Cinematography)

Definition of Cinematography: Cinematography is the art of photography and camerawork in film-making.

As I am sharing the role of cinematography with Shafia I have found this follow information to help us with our production. I found some information about cinematography on a slide share so I have read through it all and put the key features into my own words so it is easier for me to understand below:

Camera angles and shots:

Close up- Head and shoulders in the frame (often shows a facial expression)

Extreme close up- These focus the audiences attention to small details for example, a characters eye.

Long shot- This shows the whole character (shows their body language and costuming)

Extreme wide shot - the subject is far away from view (this is often used as an establishing shot)

Point of view- Filming from the characters point of view this makes the audience feel intense and involved.

Mid shot- The character is shown from the waist upwards (usually used to focus on dialogue between two characters)

Medium long shot- Characters are visible from the knees upwards.

Birds eye view- The camera looks down on the setting from high above

Low angle shot- The camera is below the subject and is looking up often making the characters look dominant and powerful

High angle shot- The camera looks down on the character

Over the shoulder shot- Looking over the shoulder of one character to focus on the other  (usually used for dialogue scenes)

Two shot- A shot with two people (can be used to show their relationship status)

Canted angle- The camera can be tilted 

Camera movements:

Steadi cam- The camera is on a harness attached to the person filming to create a smooth movement

Handheld- The shots are unclear because the camera has no support

Pan- Where a scene is panned horizontally (left to right or right to left) the camera is placed on a tripod (we are going to use a pan to show our characters eyebrows before her makeover)

Crane shot- Like dolly shots but in the air, it can move right, left up or down, swooping in near the subject or moving diagonally away from it

Zoom- The camera lens is moved closer to the subject or further away from it (often used to show a characters facial expression or to heighten suspense)

Dolly/tracking shot- The camera is on a moving vehicle and moves alongside the action (gradually focusing audiences attention on a particualar subject

Tilt- A camera movement that scans a scene vertically (up and down)

Throughout I think that we are mostly going to be using many two shots and medium close ups and a few wide shots throughout the trailer are these shots are perfect for dialogue scenes and for showing the relationships between the two characters (which is important for a romantic comedy)

Alex's Audition For The Role Of Hugh

This is a video of Alex auditioning for the role of Hugh in Double Take. Once again I have used the FX app to piece the various clips into one whole video.

Jacobs Audition For The Role Of Gray

Jacobs audition for the role of Gray:
We asked Jacob to act out one short sentence from the script as the character of Gray for our trailer as we thought as a group that this would be enough to see if he was suitable for the role.

Brandons Audition For The Role Of Gray

This is brandon audition for the role of gray, we asked him to act out one short sentence from the script as the character of Gray for our trailer as we thought as a group that this would be enough to see if he was suitable for the role.

Mia And Shafia's Auditions For The Role Of Riven

I have used the FX pro app again in order to film these videos and I then uploaded them to youtube and put them on my blog.

Kirsty's Audition For The Role Of Clancy

I have used an app called FX pro in order to video Kirsty's audition, this app allowed me to pause the recording and then carrying on recording a new scene and then it automatically added it onto the end of the previous recording, this was really effective as it allowed me to video Kirsty introducing herself and then her reading her line as Clancy, and the app allowed me to make the two clips into one video, which I then uploaded the video onto youtube and uploaded it onto my blog by copying its embed code and pasting it onto the HTML feature on my post (I have also done this with all of my other audition videos in order to upload them onto my blog).

Audition Poster

I have created this poster for the auditions that our group are planning to do soon in order to find the perfect characters for our roles. I am going to be putting these posters up around college and at my dancing club as we need as many auditions as possible. I am also going to give some of the posters to a friend of mine who goes to Pendleton College which is a performing arts college, so that he can hand them out to his friends and hopefully this help us to get more responses in the hope to find actors/actresses for our film trailer. I have used microsoft powerpoint to create this poster as I think that it is a simple and easy software to use to create a bold yet plain poster.

Shooting Schedule (For The Trailer)

Jenny my peer helped me to plan the dates of shooting schedules whilst Shafia made note of the timings of the filming. We had one cancellation. 

Publication Plan For My Magazine

I have used the website Genialy.com in order to upload a small presentation regarding information about my film magazines name, 'The Reel'. I have also uploaded a powerpoint presentation that shows the rest of the publication plan information for my magazine.

Poster Post/ Social Networking Feedback

I think that this poster for, 'Love actually' is very interesting because the red ribbon makes the composition look appealing and effective. Therefor I have decided that I want to include a red ribbon in my poster because I think it will also contrast well with the red font of the text on the poster. So I went on google images and found this image of a red ribbon. I intend to add this onto my poster however I am going to edit the image by cropping it so there is only a slight sight of the bow in the left hand corner. I am also going to enlarge it so that the width of the ribbon is thicker so that I can place my credits over the top of it, I think this will look effective however I am going to ask a friend  for her opinion to to make sure it is a good idea.

I used iMessage to contact her and this was her response:

Know I have approval off one of my peers I am deciding to definitely use this image of the bow in my poster.