EVALUATION

This is the first draft of my Trailer




There are many problems with this draft that need fixing. The first is that some of the scenes are too light, such as the house, the graveyard and the figures. I must darken these to add more elements of horror and to make the figures appear to be more like sillouettes.

The second problem is is that there is no sound. I will fix this by visiting a copyright free music website to add ambient music throughtout the trailer. This is the website I will use.

http://www.freesoundtrackmusic.com/

finally, after showing this trailer to people, the most common peice of feedback I have recieved is that the title YOUR TIME IS UP is more suited to be the film's tagline than the title. I will replace this title with THE HUNTED because it has more to do with the content of the trailer.


This is the final trailer. I used Apple's Final Cut pro to edit the shots together and to darken some of the shots


Colour, Straight Cut, explain shots, framing, sound with images,


The introduction scenes are lit blue and use dark colours. This is to suggest a cold environment. Although green and red are typically associated with this genre, I find that blue has been commonly used in this manner, such as in the films Terminator, Saw,
When the masked man appears, I filled the shot with as much red as possible, to contrast with the previous scenes. This is a common in films which use blue lighting, such as the films Saw and Dead Silence, which were directed by James Wann.

Here is a clip of Dead Silence, a film which inspired this lighting choice


To cut between the shots I use fades. This is to show that time has passed between the shots, or that they are from different parts of the film. Most of the shots were filmed using a handheld camera. This makes is to give an erratic, startled mood, as if the film was found footage, or that the viewer is actually there.


The introduction shot used a specific framing as to not reveal the figure in it's entirety. This keeps his identity a mystery and for anonimity. For similar reasons, a high angled shot showing two mysterious figures who stare at the camera in front of a fire is used. Because of the lighting and heavy use of shadows, you cannot see their faces. This is again used when the man is attached. Here I used the sea as a bright background to enhance the shadows, making the shot more artistic. The shots of the dead sheep uses a medium shot, immediately followed up by a close up. This is to startle the audience and after the shock, bring them closer than they want to, when they'd rather be looking away. This is a technique used by Alfred Hitchcock in his horror film Birds, as shown in this clip. (skip to 1:05)



I used one soundtrack through out the trailer. This is to link the shots together and to add mystery. Since this is only a trailer I do not wish to reveal too much. The music is ambient and eery, which may unsettle the audience. Music had to be used in the scenes on the beach because the microphone was compromised by the noises of the wind. I finish the trailer with a bass note, to contrast the rest of the film and to add suspense.

Filming locations

To create my trailer I will need to plan where the filming will take place.

Because I wanted my trailer to be fast and full of many different shots, it is required that I visit many places.


The introduction with the rake was shot outside my house. This is because of easy access and I will not need to ask permission to shoot on my own propety.



Here is the location on google maps.




Another location was the library near the same location. I added this to the trailer early so I could immediately establish it as a horror film, as they are often associated with the genre and bring up thoughts of death or doom.




In the same town I needed a shot of a large secluded mansion, as they again can be associated with the horror genre.




Finally, I wanted to have some shots next to the sea, not only to add variety but to give the imperssion of lonelyness. I decided to shoot at alonby beach, which is not far from where I live.



This is a birds eye view picture from google maps. The circled area is an old dock where we decided to film the fight scene.





Finally, I used a studio to take shots of the masked killer. The mask adds anonimity to the killer, making him mysterious and distant.



Here I used two birdies to light the model. One behind him to highlight his outline, and one in front with a red filter, to signify danger.

Risk Assessment

Before I begin shooting my film, I need to do a risk assessment form. This is so all dangers and possibilities during filming are accounted for. Here is my Risk Assessment form.

I have decided to make a horror film teaser trailer. The working title so far is "Your Time Is Up".

Here are the Storyboards.

Magazine Research

Here is a Magazine Cover from Empire Magazine. The Cover shows the main character's face under attack by a robot hand. This shows the science fiction theme of the film and the threat that is on the main character. The brown colours and rain hint at a pessimistic and distopian atmosphere. The cover has captions for other magazine features, all of which are related to the film. None of the other features intrude on the middle image, leaving that as the main focus of the magazine. This photo uses a widely known star, Christian Bale, and uses his face on the main cover. This is not something I will use on my magazine, as I do not use a star.



Magazine Research

This magazine looks exclusively at the horror genre. There is an obvious red colour scheme here, which we assosciate with blood or danger. The magazine title however is in yellow, which is on a different side of the colour wheel, so that we can easily see it. The colour yellow itself could also be seen as a disturbing colour and it also has connotations of cowardlyness or fear. unlike the previous magazine, the image on the cover is that of the films villain, rather that of the hero. This can be common with horror, as the main threat is established. There are some effects used, as we can see the bloody chainsaw overlapping the feature column and its pictures on the left. This gives the impression that the image is jumping out at the readers, which can unsettle them. I can replecate this feature for my own magazine. The man in the mask is not a star, but instead has the murderer wearing the mask. This is often used in low bbudget horrors, such as Friday the 13th or Halloween, where there is no famous actor, but instead a memorable killer. I will use this idea in my magazine cover.