Animatic for "Sleep Tight"

To be able to consider the timing aspects of our trailer, we are creating an animatic, which is a development of our storyboard. This involves taking photographs of each shot, excluding the final props, costume and setting. This task will enable us to see whether the specific shots are attainable, and to time each shot and include transitions to gather a vague idea of how long our trailer will last. Here are the completed storyboard and animatic:-

Imaginary Film Synopsis

Sleep Tight


A 17 year old girl called Libby is a regular student with a normal life, until she begins to have unusual dreams. One night she has a dream about one of her classmates getting abducted and murdered in a forest she lived close to. She woke up and went to school that day, to find a media storm about the classmate’s death. Obviously she was disturbed by this but kept the frightening dream to herself.
Two weeks passed and Libby’s life returned to normal, until one night she encountered a similar dream about a teacher’s daughter experiencing an excruciating death. Once again, she arrived at school to find her dream had come true; the teacher’s daughter was dead. This time Libby knew it wasn’t a coincidence, she confides in her mother who dismissed the problem, saying it was down to Libby’s grieving. Libby, however was increasingly disturbed by her dreams and had a feeling she was controlling these tragic events. Libby became terrified of sleeping and worried herself to a crazed state of mind, begging her parents to help her. Finally, her parents take her to see a psychiatrist who prescribes her sleeping pills and tells her to stop thinking and reading about the deaths.
However, after begrudgingly taking the sleeping pills, Libby experiences another nightmare. She begins to have a dream about her little sister; a crazed shadow in her dream abducts her from her bedroom and takes her to the same forest she had seen before in her dreams. Her sister screams for help but Libby is asleep and powerless, she dreams about the “abductor” preparing to hang her sister by tying a rope around a tree. In Libby’s distress she falls out of bed and awakes. She runs to the forest, knowing the nightmare was real. As she arrives at the scene, she hears her sister scream and sees her drop with a noose around her neck to her death. Libby blacks out. The film cuts to a scene of Libby in a mental hospital that her parents admitted her to shortly after her sisters death. Libby is now the prime suspect of the murders as she was the only person seen at the death of her sister, and her fingerprints had been found on the rope.
That night, Libby has the most disturbing nightmare yet. She dreams about a stranger inside the mental hospital coming to murder her, in desperation she tries to escape from the hospital. In a panic, Libby sneaks into the staff kitchen and sets fire to the hospital, knowing it was the only way to free her. She runs to the forest by her house, the exact place where the deaths had all happened. There is a noose hanging from a tree. She stares at it for a while, whilst having flash backs from each murder. In the flash backs, she sees herself preparing for and killing the 3 girls. In a mental craze, she ties herself in the noose and finally hangs herself.

Analysis of the trailer for "Sorority Row"

The second trailer I have analysed is the promotional counterpart of "Sorority Row". The film is also in the horror genre, it is about a group of sorority sisters trying to cover up the death of their house-sister after a prank goes wrong, only to be stalked by a serial killer.

• The audience is immediately thrown into the plot of the film due to the fast pace editing used. However, the genre is not immediately established due to the upbeat non-diegetic sound used. It isn't a conventional introduction to the trailer as the genre is not established nor the characters directly introduced.
• The trailer is 2 minutes and 30 seconds long and has 155 shots. This vast number of shots is evidence of the fast pace editing apparent. Using such short shots creates the effect of the characters not being incontrol of their circumstances which coincides with the narrative of the film. The opening shots give the audience a false sense of security which engages them in the trailer, and effectively unsettles them when the complication is revealed.
• The use of non-diegetic music in this trailer is key. It is used to transform from the innocence to horror and surprises the audience.
• A large amount of dialogue is used in this particular trailer, this is used to establish the narrative as there isn't a voice over and there a limited titles.
• Shots of the caped character or "monster" are included, which like most horror trailers, creates an enigma and establishes the genre.
• Another convention of horror film trailers is that the majority of the shots are in dark settings, this creates suspense at the unknown as well as constructing fear in the audience.
• The trailer has a linear structure, which again helps the audience to understand the narrative whilst building up the tension.
• It is brought to an abrupt finish with a shot of the "monster", this climax is essential when advertising a film as the audience will want to see more.
• There are a lot of medium shots, all fast pace. However, there are also a number of close up shots to establish the characters expressions and allow the audience to understand how the characters are feeling.
• This trailer also follows the convention of using the exact scene where the disruption of the equilibrium is shown as it raises the films dramatic appeal.

Analysis of the teaser trailer for "Jeepers Creepers"

The first of three trailers I will be analysing is the teaser trailer for "Jeepers Creepers". This particular trailer was selected as it is a horror film, in which we recreated a scene from in our previous tasks.

• The trailer establishes the genre of the film as horror effectively. The first shot shows a car driving, the establishing shot emphasises the isolated setting which is a stereotypical characteristic in a horror film. This also shows the vulnerability of the characters.
• Eerie music is Incorporated to establish the genre and capture the audiences attention. Non-diegetic sound of a heartbeat is used to coincide with the fact pace editing.
• During the beginning of the trailer, a shot of the "monster" is used. This creates an enigma early on but doesn't allow the audience to see it properly, maintaining the mystery. A crane shot of a church cross is used to incorporate religious connotations which emphasises the supernatural within the film.
• The trailer effectively targets an audience. The titles used are written in the 2nd person, this means the audience become involved in the promotion of the film by metaphorically putting themselves in the positions of the main characters.
• The teaser trailer lasts 1 minute 24 seconds, and has 31 shots including titles. It has a linear structure which means each shot chosen for the trailer are in chronological order, which creates a montage of scenes from the beginning, middle and end of the film. In addition, the linear structure means the narrative of the film is more easily grasped.
• The trailer uses mainly fade to black transitions as well as dissolves.
• Dialogue isn't used in this particular teaser trailer, perhaps this is to emphasise the characters confusion? However they do scream, this emphasises the fear within the film.
• The majority of shots used are fast pace mid-shots.
• The trailer uses the conventional aspect of using the disruption of the equilibrium from the film in the trailer, this is essential in promoting the film as it reveals the films dramatic appeal.

Analysing Film Trailers

• Before we begin to plan our film trailer, researching codes and conventions of established film trailers is essential. Trailers are used as a promotional device to advertise a film. They consist of a series of selected shots from the film being advertised. Since the purpose of a trailer is to attract an audience to the film, these shots are usually drawn from the most dramatic, exciting or otherwise noteworthy parts of the film but in abbreviated form and usually without giving away the climax in the film. The scenes are not necessarily in the order in which they appear in the film.

• Most trailers have a three part structure, much like any narrative. They start with a beginning that lays out the premise of the story. Then the middle, that drives the story further and usually entails a dramatic climax, and the end, which often consists of a powerful montage of emotional and powerful moments of the film, along with a strong piece of signature music.

• The conventions of a trailer is firstly that it establishes the setting of the film. Usually the principles of the stories are then introduced, the purpose of this is to get the audience to immediately emphasise or engage with the character. Plot development is then introduced, this can be helped by titles or a voice over which are popular devices in the construction of trailers. The action and intensity then builds into fast pace clips of the film's most dramatic scenes, this crescendo usually then comes to a close with the film title.

• For our production, we have decided on the genre of horror, primarily the sub genre of psychological horror. Psychological horror works on mentally effecting the audience by exposing common psychological vulnerabilities or fears and exposes the evil that hides behind normality. The object of the horror in these particular films doesn't take the form of a monstrous other, but rather a normal human being whose horrific identity is not usually revealed until well into the work, or even at the end of the film. As this is the aspect of film we will be focusing on it is important to analyse trailers from this genre, as well as contrasting the codes and conventions with other genre of trailers.

Skills Development

• The auxiliary tasks I undertook developed my understanding of film production due to the vast amount of planning needed for a successful production. Storyboarding is key to this process. A storyboard is a series of sketches arranged on panels to show the visual progression of the story from one scene to the next, it provides important information about the composition of individual shots. Storyboarding ensures the visual continuity of the production from start to finish and acts as a visual guide.

• Before becoming involved in the aspect of filming, I was unaware of how essential the editing stage is to the finished product. The practise tasks have allowed me to understand that editing arranges individual shots into a continuous sequence. Even in a single scene, there are dozens of different shots to be created and assembled, the order in which to place these shots has a profound effect on the appearance of the final film.

• Learning the visual language of moving images is essential to develop the skills to shoot a film. From the narrative structure to the lighting style and camera angles, learning every aspect of film making provides us with the tools to express a creative vision.

• Release forms had to be used to allow us to use the specific location. Location release forms are essential when you wish to film property which you do not own.

• I have also developed a further understanding of different camera shots and angles used during filming to create different effects. For example, a high angle shot has the effect of diminishing the subject, making them appear less powerful, vulnerable and submissive. Low angle shots gives the impression of the subject being more powerful or dominant, this is an essential device in our chosen genre of horror films, as threatening characters are key.

Skills Audit: Preliminary Tasks

1. During the planning stages, our group carried out a number of preliminary tasks. Firstly, we recorded a conversation between two people, this helped us to understand the amount of shots that were needed to create a fluid and authentic scene. Secondly, we mirrored a scene from the film "Jeepers Creepers". Attempting to recreate a scene from an existing film was very valuable as it means selection of the mise-en-scene is vital. Also, we had to be extremely specific when timing the scene and counting the number of shots needed.
Our final preliminary task was recreating a scene of our choice from any film. We chose the eminent bathroom scene from the horror film, "What lies beneath". This task enabled us to experiment with a range of shots and camera techniques, as well as working together as a team. We had to consider the appropriate mise-en-scene along with the health and safety aspects as running water was incorporated into the scene.

2. During the production stages of "What lies beneath", our group had to consider where we could film, as the original scene was set in a large bathroom. We managed to select an appropriate setting, but needed to adjust the lighting in the bathroom to create a more eerie atmosphere. Before filming, we created a storyboard, so our scene was well planned, organised and fluid. Although the dialogue in our scene was limited, we produced a script so that the male character knew exactly what to say. We also used a clapper board to keep track of each shot and the number of takes within the scene. Using a clapper board meant the editing process was much easier as we knew exactly which take was to be used in the correct order. The production of this scene was important as we had to use the camera to create the most effective atmosphere. Low angle shots were used whilst filming the male character, this presented him as threatening. High angle shots were created by holding the camera in the top corner of the bathroom, these shots perceived the female character as vulnerable which was the effect we set out to create. There was an interesting shot in which we filmed a mirror and could see the male characters reflection through a point of view shot. This shot gave the idea that the female character in the bath was trapped and isolated. Some difficulties were encountered during the process regarding the health and safety precautions. This meant we couldn't have the female character in the bath whilst the water was running, we realised this prevented the continuous sound of the water running which limited the effect of danger in the scene and damaged the continuity.

3. During the editing stage, we selected the takes that held the most similarity to the original scene and put them in the appropriate order to maintain authenticity. We realised that the continuity of the scene was flawed as the male character wasn't shown leaving the room but was shown returning to the room. We could have adjusted this but ran out of time. As a group, we have learnt the importance of continuity and authenticity when filming as well as the detail needed to create an effective piece of production.

4. During the recreation of a scene from "What lies beneath", I was primarily responsible for filming and storyboarding. I had the job of creating the high and low angle shots in the scene, and adjusting the lighting in the setting to create the most effective atmosphere.


Evaluation

1. We chose a difficult scene to recreate due to the limitations we experienced as a result of health and safety precautions. This effected the continuity of the scene, however, I think our scene did hold many similarities to the original due to the effective storyboarding and camera shots. The editing was successful and the actors were authentic, we also used a very comparable setting. Overall, as a preliminary task, our scene was a success.

2. By trying to recreate a scene from an existing film, we were exposed to effective camera angles and mise-en-scene, which allowed us to experience how effective the correct camera angles are in specific situations. It also made us realise the amount of planning a short scene takes which has prepared us for the production of our trailer.

3. The continuity could have been improved in our scene, the sound of running water could have been much more effective if it was a continuous feature in the scene to add realism.

G324 Advanced Media Production

I will be producing a promotion package for a new film. This package will include a teaser trailer together with a film magazine front cover, featuring the film, and a poster to advertise the film.
Questions I will address whilst evaluating my products will be:

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
• How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
• What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
• How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Before I begin to create my final piece, I will undertake preliminary tasks to build up a knowledge of the equipment and techniques that will be essential during my production.