Teaser Trailer - Rough Cut (No voice over as of yet)

Here is the very rough version of my teaser trailer. It is not great due to problems mentioned on the previous post about shooting the scenes (bright, some shots missing etc.) but its going okay even with my limited editing software at home and conversion programmes as I have managed to attempt to desaturate the colour to one similar to that of "Daybreakers" (if a little messy) and add some simple transitions to smooth the editing between shots as the cutting capabilities of Cyperlink Power Director are good, playback makes it hard to see if its smooth until actually exported. Also I haven't had time to fix audio problems like the obvious wind in the one heard line and add the intended voice over but they will be done shortly when I gain access to the better editing software at school and use my Dictaphone for dialogue which will work on this occasion. (Update pending)

Teaser Trailer - Shooting the Required Footage

Today, I went out to shot some of the footage needed to make my teaser trailer, the one with the voice over, with help from Craig Mullen and Ellen Bradshaw. Overall, it went okay with the majority of the footage I needed shot with almost how I exactly wanted it but there were some problems. The shooting was somewhat rushed due to my two helpers needing to get to other lessons and having their own commitments so some footage is not the best quality or some key shots were missed all together. Also due to the less planning, the 180 degree was broken due to a desired part of my trailer not working according to plan so I had to resort to doing the old trick of snapping to a different shot so the actor could disappear and make it look more supernatural. Also the weather was brighter then the last time so it didn't suit the mood I was trying to create and meant I had to re-shoot earlier footage so I'll have to edit the footage by reducing the brightness and desaturating it to recreate the mood I desired originally. Also the original ending of Dacrual sipping a glass of his victims's blood had to be cut due to the time problem and the plan was to have blood flowing over my lips as I opened my mouth to bear the fangs but that too didn't work out as planned as the fangs were cheap and poorly fitting and I lacked any decent fake blood and had to resort to red grape juice which was a poor substitute.

However, it wasn't all bad due to props or effects as I did get pretty much every shot I wanted along with them of decent quality and salvageable when edited tomorrow so I make it fit in with my original vision. Plus it was done under very strict time constraints whilst being free of major errors so its giving me some practise in filming under tight conditions. I'll update this post with more information on any further problems encountered or if the work is better then I originally expected.

Teaser Trailer Practical - Preperation and Plan

For my teaser trailer, I have decided to try and make 2 different trailers to test the features that I have discovered through my research. My first one is of my old AS project and no voice over as the trailers I have watched, one uses a voice over and the others don't. So I want to test which is more apporatite for my trailer by creating this one and another which will be based of my current idea for my final trailer of a vampire genre film but has a voice over to test its effect and possible remove it for another to see the difference in affect.

For the AS one, it will mainly be composed of the footage of the original film but spliced together with some footage of the continuity project we did eariler in the year to help mix up the shots and see how the vairty of settings and shots help create a much more tense atmoshpere. It will include title cards due to no voice over in an effect akin to the effect made by "30 Days of Night" which unsettled the audeince through description and imagry alone.

The vampire one will feature a character from the actual final trailer design, Dacrual and will chronicle his violent tendicies as a vampire as the trailer ends with the death of an unknown character. It will feature a voice over by the character himself describing what its like giving into his nature and how he enjoys the killing and use mainly close up and small shots that give increasing amounts of information, like catching a glance at the characters boots, then his jacket etc, building up the tension until we see the death of the unknown character and Dacrual turns round to reveal his blood stained fangs. Obviously the efects will not be great at the time due to it being test footage of sorts and inital lack of props but it will hopefully give an idea to the tone I want to display in my final trailer and the representations I want to connote through the imagry and outfits like Matt will be wearing black like Dacrual but its more how he is repenting and regretful of the secrets and hardships the character has been carrying throughout his life. Dacrual is wearing black to connote the obvious that he is truely evil but his outfit is more refined and stylish while Matt's is more archiac or unkempt from the heavy biker jacket and longer hair, showing how all the events he has seen and done are slowly taking there toll on his body and williness to go on. In this teaser we see true side of Dacrual and how he has completely given in to vampiric side, shedding all emotion and revealing in the misery and anarchy he is causing. Another thing we see is also his twisted side from the ending scene will cut to the final title and another scene of him sitting on the edge of the hill with the body next to him and the blood of his victim in a wine glass, jokingly saying "Want to try some my dear? No? More for me then" as he takes another sip.

Research Task - Analysis of Film Magazine Front Covers

Due to the hardship of finding specific film magazine covers that show the type of genre of film I want to make, I have had to use more general examples of what a film magazine front cover looks like "Empire" and "Total Film".

 When looking at the film magazines covers, we can see they are dominated by the lead story of the biggest film at the time, the most talked about or unusual film like when we look at the "Constantine" one as it wasn't the well talked about and only achieved moderate success but gained a somewhat cult following and not to forget the magazine was out before the film's release. But the point still stands about its not always the most hyped film, smaller films sometimes get mentioned. In the cover to the left, it has "Twilight New Moon" which is an example of my chosen genre but leans more towards the Teen side while mine has elements but more horror/thriller orientated. Naturally the majority of the page is dedicated to an image of the respective film along with a title in the typography of the film, coupled with the related story the magazine has about the film. Yet the title of the magazine is still bigger then the actual headline film as it doesn't want to be overshadowed by the cover story and be easily identifiable to its usual audience.

 In this example of "Empire" magazine, the picture takes up even more of the cover due to the obvious popularity of the film at the time, "The Dark Knight" was unanimously praised for the performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker who was awarded for his performance with an Oscar posthumously since he died shortly after filming. Also the subtitles of the other stories are much less intrusive like the "Total Film" one above, not caring about if the image is too large as the title is still in large letters but with the black colour it helps convey the mood created by the image as the chaotic scene of destruction and desaturated blue make the image much more powerful to look at while retaining the magazine look through the rather awful chose of lime green for the limited titles of the other stories and the tagline relating to the main story, showing how their main pulling point of the magazine is this story.

We begin to see this recurring theme of "Empire" using the image more then "Total Film" as in this example, the film "Watchmen" is the front cover story and has the usual title in line with the film in terms of typography and other limited titles to ensure full use of the main cover story image but we something new. It says the magazine has got the exclusive of the "Watchmen" story so this is also a marketing tool as since they are the only ones to have the story then people would buy the magazine due it being the only source that has the story. While this less clutter style ensures greater use of the image, it has the drawback of making it look less value for money compared to the "Total Film" examples which pack the front cover with stories so potential buyers can look through them all and are likely to find something that interests them while "Empire" has limited options and banks heavily on the main story.

 In this example, we see the point mentioned above about a wider variety of stories to ensure it entices the buyers but while its more safe in terms of monetary returns, it makes the page look slightly more cluttered and less focused, making it look less professional in terms of presentation compared to "Empire" as the page takes focus off the central image which is meant to be the selling point but not the only one when comparing them so it seems the perfect balance is required so the page doesn't look to cluttered but not bare and risking losing buyers due to the perceived lack of content. Also when setting up the front cover, there must be a colour scheme present so attention is not drawn from the image but makes it able for the other titles to be seen with the main cover story having typography in style with the original film like the "Twilight" cover.

Research Task - Film Poster of The Lost Boys

In this film poster, we see a different style of genre combined with the vampire aspect. In this case it is more of a teen film evident by the young cast displayed in the poster and even the title itself which is a reference to the story of "Peter Pan" and "Neverland". This reference is also made by the tag line which includes the phrase "Never grow old, never die" which is similar to what peter pan says in the story about neverland. This makes vampirisim sound more glamorous, compared to other films which represent it is negative by the way it turns you into a monster but the tag line says "Sleep all day, party all night", things which at the time would appeal to the dream ideal of teenagers at that time so it does all it can to attract its intended audience and puts an interesting spin of the curse/gift which seems to prevalent many vampire films recently. The cast in the poster are also dressed in a "rock star" style fashion which again, was big at the time the film was made and a common craze that all teenagers followed, showing the very specific target audience the film is trying to capture. So with this teen styled film, it will obviously be suited and aimed towards a younger audience but still retain the horror created by the vampire side of the film, creating a unique blend of genres compared to usual vampire films which are either action/horror or just horror.

When looking at the colours and typography, we see traditional elements that are present in most, if not all, vampire films and posters. The background is red, the main signifier of all vampire films as it connotes blood, the things vampire need to survive so the audience immediately know that it is a vampire film. Also with all the characters dressed in black, it immediately connotes them as the vampires in the film from the usual connotations of black like them being evil and twisted from the power they gain from being turned but with the point from above about the rockstar style, it again tries to glamourise the idea of being immortal like rockstars try to make themselves through their music and by linking this idea through that medium, it makes them more engrossed with the way they display vampires in the film.

Another unusual thing about this film is it has two versions of its poster unlike the other films I have researched. Obviously this one is much horror orientated compared to the original as the poster has a red tint over the image, connoting the blood once again from the colour being an obvious sign of it and the carnage caused by the vampires in their pursuit for it. Yet the most terrifying element of it is the images of the vampires themselves in the background which are not present on the original, completely going against the previous idea of making vampirism look more glamorous and instead going for the more horror orientated approach which can be seen as harmful to attracting its intended audience who were teens but this poster makes it suited towards more adults. This is contributed from the chaotic style and the effects that look similar to tears or smeared blood, again linking back to the earlier point of the more destructive personality of the films vampires and not the rock star style like in the trailer above. We also get a better look at the typography which is en-keeping with the traditional Gothic writing seen on most vampire films and enforces the genre of film it is.



Research Task - Film Poster of Underworld

This film poster follows many of the now common features of a vampire genre film. Like "Daybreakers" it follows the desaturated colour scheme to connote the darker toned world that is filled with these supernatural creatures, making it easily recognisable to the audience of what type of film it is. The black outfit of the title character is used to connote her as one of these creatures through the obvious connotations of evil and the twisted nature they have and fits in with this bleak world, connoted by the sickly blue colour which bleeds over the town seen in the poster, showing the world is consumed by this battle between supernatural creatures. Also the moon that is a dominant feature in the background is very important as if you look closely, there is a silhouette of a werewolf on the moon. This shows that it isn't only vampires who terrorise the film's world as the full moon is a well known feature of the werewolf lore. It also connotes the vampires unusual fear since werewolves are one of the few things that can kill them while in their comfort zone of the dark. So the moon represents the different feelings that each type of creature since the dark is usually a safe place for vampires but its also the time when the werewolves emerge, meaning that vampires are no longer safe at anytime.

An interesting feature of this poster is that it doesnt "name drop" or have any taglines (even thought the website address at the bottom could be argued as a tagline itself). It only has the title "Underworld", the date its released and a website address. This tells the audience that the film itself is a much lower budget film compared to that of "Blade" for example which name dropped Wesley Snipes in both the poster and the trailer. Its possibly down to the actress either being not well known at that moment or that the film itself didn't get enough publicity due to the lower budget look of the film to gain a more gritty, frieghting appearance like most traditional horror/supernatural films. The title is in eletric blue and has gothic style typography which fits in with the tone of the film as we see elements of gothic archutecture in the poster like what the title character is standing on. The electric blue likely connotes how the war between the two species is the main focus of the film but yet still contained within the supernatural world as the blue clashes with the other blues present but shows that the human world know nothing about it, given the name "Underworld" as it happens underground and away from humanity so it doesnt raise suspision. The use of the website address is an example of how times have changed throughout cinema and films as in older films like "Blade", there was little emphasis on the internet until it became more popular and widely used in the 2000's so people at the time would be more likely to check the website for extra information and exclusive downloads if they sign up to the website for example. With deveolpments of chatrooms and social networking sites, websites can easily be passed on to others via Facebook showing that it has become a more common, even complusary now to develop a website for the film.

All this is down to the poster being a teaser poster, so the lack of name dropping is purposful done so when the audience see it and want to know more about the film, they are only given a website address to search for. This forces the target audeince to activily search out this film, rather then just sit back and wait for a trailer to be seen on TV etc. They learn about which actors are present in the film and wha tthe general storyline is, along with countless extra behind the scenes features so the audience become more engrossed with the film itself. When compared to the actual poster which would have been released just before or when the film was actually released, we see more of the traditional features seen in previous posters.

Research Task - Film Posters of Blade

In the "Blade" film poster, it follows many typical conventions of the vampire and action genre. It uses a limited colour scheme, composed of mainly deep reds and blacks. The red is a typical signifier of the vampire genre as many films of that nature use red in various different ways to connote the way the antagonists of the film (vampires) are represented. For example, in "30 Days of Night" its is used for the end title which has scratchy and disjointed typography as if it was carved by a claw with red splattered around the title. All this connotes the vampires as much more violent and twisted but in this poster it is much more subtle. It is used for the background which has the face of the main villain imposed on it, again connoting them as the villain due to the red being a sign of the vampires. But instead of more archaic in nature, the limited view of their face and just revealing their eyes makes them seem more imposing then the hero Blade who is in the centre. It creates the feeling that the vampires in this film are more subtle and widespread as the face takes up the majority of the poster's background, connoting the greater presence they have in this particular film but also it doesn't give too much away about them, suggesting they are hidden within the world and try to hide within humanity.

For the hero's costume, black is predominately used which can be seen as unusual from the obvious connotations it has of evil  but in this case it used to connote the secret the character has which is he is in fact half vampire. It is used to show how he is disgusted at his nature of being part of the things he hunts so wants to hunt them in an effort to feel more human as said in the tag line of the poster, "The power of an immortal, the soul of a human". This also could mean how vampires lack a soul of their own, painting them clearly as the villains as this connotes they lack any human emotions and purely making them evil creatures. The black outfit also helps display the character as an anti-hero, someone who is not completely good like traditional heroes but has their own flaws which make them more believable and unique. It helps create the usual debate of is vampirism a curse as its the only thing that gives Blade the power to hunt them so its creates an unusual situation within the film as displayed by the trailer as well.

Another feature evident on the poster is the use of a tag line which helps the audience identify the film cause they will remember the tag line and tell it to friends so its like a form of advertsing since they spread it around and make it more likely for them to see the film if they walk by and recognise the tagline for the poster. The actors names also create the same effect as if the audience are fans of the particular actor like Wesley Snipes, they are more likely to come and see the film due to already being fans of that actor. The use of naming dropping however, is only used if the actors are well known since unknowns won't generate extra income and are likely to put audeinces off.