Start of editing

I have successfully edited the first part of my trailer and it includes the first scenes I shot in the woods. I have included conventional trailer features including panning shots, transitions and use of texts. I have successfully followed my digital story board for the first of my trailer which I am very happy with.

I will be uploading the first part of my trailer soon.

Film Pitch Questionnaire Feedback

Digital Storyboard - Pt. 2

This is the second part of my film trailer which will include the change in pace from slow to fast (and more happy). During this part of the trailer, there will be a montage of various clips showing different parts of the film. The end of the trailer will show the title sequence and a "Coming Soon". I am quite happy with my digital storyboard and I will stick to this structure when I am filming and editing my trailer.

First day of filming

I have begun the first film shoot with my actors and it went successfully. I was quite happy with the scenes I ended up with because the actors learnt their lines and executed them well. The weather during the day of the shoot was also as expected and we managed to shoot everything in a reasonable amount of time.

I will be editing the film trailer soon.

Casting Video & Auditions

In order t identify who I wanted for my film, I auditioned and filmed my potential actors.

Selection Process

Here is the selection process for the different aspects of my trailer including the actors, location and props:

Trailer Digital Storyboard Pt. I

In order for me to get an idea of what camera angles and shots I will use, I have created a digital story board for the first part of the trailer. I took pictures of how I want the trailer to look, including a short description of why I used the shot. This will help me improve my trailer.

This is only the digital story board for the first part of my trailer so I will be creating more storyboards and uploading them on my blog. The reason I have chosen to create multiple storyboards is that I can plan out each part of the trailer; I will follow the conventional structure of trailers which will have a start, middle and end. This first part will be the introduction which essentially sets tone and pacing of my film.

Script-writing - Library Scene

This scene will take place in the library as I want to show the characters revising together. The reason why I chose this location for this particular scene is because I want to portray the characters as hard-working individuals who are determined to get into university.


During this scene the characters will be having a conversation about how they are worried that they might not get into university. One of the characters is more worried than the other, so I want her dialogue to replicate that of "real life" situations which is why I reference the names of real universities in their lines. This scene will be short but it is a vital part of the movie as it will convey that they may have to depart from each other in the future, which may cause the target audience to become more persuaded to watch the film in order to find out what happens.

The Breakfast Club - Trailer Analysis 2

For my second trailer analysis, I chose to analyze the film The Breakfast Club as this is another coming of age film. For this analysis, I also focused on the same key elements as the last trailer, e.g. Mis en scene and Representation. The analysis is on Prezi.

Location Scouting (Scene 3)

For this scene, I want the two characters to be in a library because their dialogue is focused on their future and university so I want them to be in an environment where they are studying. During the scene, I will get the characters to be revising from their text books before saying their lines. I took a few pictures for possible location ideas.

Scene 3 - Library



The Perks of being a Wallflower - Trailer Analysis 1

For task 9 of my media coursework, I analyzed the trailer for a film with the same genre as mine to give me an insight as to what I may include for my trailer. I decided to analyze the trailer for 'Perks of being a Wallflower' as this is also a coming of age film which involves teenage life and growing up. I focused on 7 main elements for this semiotic analysis which are:

1. Mis en Scene
2. Institution
3. Genre
4. Representation
5. Audience
6. Ideologies
7. Narrative

For this analysis, I recorded my voice analyzing the trailer as clips and scenes from  the trailer are shown. Here is my semiotic analysis:

Outline Scripts - Feedback

I have showed a couple of my target audience my outline scripts for the first few scenes of my trailer and I have gathered their feedback for it in order to improve it or make changes. I asked my audience what they liked about the scripts and what I should change and here is what they said:

What I liked

• The dialogue sets the scene very quickly for audiences to understand, especially the first line which immediately introduces a plot point of the film "It's been 5 months since my brother died in a car accident".
• The dialogue sounds authentic because the characters are just regular teenagers venting about their problems which is what most teens do, including myself. So I like the realistic aspect of the scripts and I feel like some people will relate to the characters.
• I like the scene where one of the characters become angry because it shows that there will be some drama within the film and I like dramatic story lines. The script looks very good and I think I would enjoy the film just by reading it.

What should be improved

• Perhaps the script could be just a little bit shorter since it is only for the trailer and will not include the full scene, apart from that keep the dialogue because it's good.
• One of the scenes included a swear word. Maybe don't include the swear word in the trailer because it may not appeal to some audiences.
• Add some more scenes where the characters deal with their problems.

Conclusion

To conclude, I gained both positive and negative feedback from my outline scripts which I can now use to improve my trailer. I will do the changes that my audience have suggested because this will improve my trailer. I will also continue to write more scenes for the trailer.

Outline Scripts - Scene 1 & 2

Here is the initial scripts for the first 2 scenes I filmed; it consists of the scenes in the woods and the stairwell when the two characters are talking. I have mentioned that dialogue is a very vital aspect of my film trailer as I wanted the audience to understand what the characters are currently experiencing. In this case, an abusive relationship and the death of a brother.

I will get audience feedback from these scripts and make possible improvements for my trailer.

The Da Vinci Code - Trailer Analysis

During our lesson, we watched the trailer for the film "The Da Vinci Code" in order to identify some of the key conventions that are used to attract the target audience. The Da Vinci Code is a hybrid genre film as it consists of several genres including action, crime and romance therefore it will have a mixture of different conventions. I will be analysing the key features within the trailer and how it relates to the target audience.




Mis-en-scene

A range of different shots were used in the trailer to represent the target audience, for example the trailer starts with the Louvre in France which is often associated with high class art. This can be linked to the target audience of the film as it may be attracted towards people in the upper-class socio-economic groups A and B, as well as anyone who is educated in art. This is also backed up in the trailer by the use of different shots of ancient classical paintings and historical architectures such as churches and stained glass windows. Additional shots include scrolls, crucifix and marble floors. There is a sense of culture being shown within this trailer so it may suggest that the target audience is anyone who has a knowledge of culture, possibly more educated and upper class.

Genre

Since The Da Vinci Code is a hybrid genre, it will contain different features of several genres. Action is one of the main genres that this film includes; action is conveyed in the trailer through the use of dramatic music and fast editing to create an intense atmosphere. It also shows the characters in danger, for example an elderly man running away from the murderer and car explosions. There is also a romantic element in the film which is shown when Hank is wrapping his arms around Tautou to protect her. Crime is also shown through high angle shots of a dead body, and the characters who are detectives can be seen investigating the crime scene. Overall, this trailer conveys a range of different genres through mis-en-scene, music and editing. All of these features will attract the target audience that are most likely male and anyone who likes action.

Representation
The film contains stereotypical representations of men, religion and class throughout the trailer. Men are portrayed as dominant, powerful and brave as they often dominate the screen time and action in the film. Shots of Hank can be seen protecting the female, who may be see as the less dominant character. However, there are some scenes in the trailer which challenges the stereotypical representation of women, for example the female detective can be seen swimming under water in a dramatic way which portrays the female character to be strong and athletic similarly to the men. Religion is portrayed in a negative way in the trailer as it shows characters who have religious beliefs to be mentally ill and crazy which negatively portrays Catholicism. The trailer also conveys that God does not exist as we could see a man praying desperately and running away from the killer; we then see a shot of his corpse which suggests that God did not help him and his prayers remained unanswered. This part conveys that religion and worshipping God is pointless.

Script-writing - Stairwell Scene

For this scene, one of the characters is explaining how her ex-boyfriend wants to get back together with her whilst the other friend is explaining how she will only get hurt again. This scene will be one of the more emotional scenes in the film which means that their dialogue will have to convey sadness, confusion and even anger. Similarly to the other scenes, I want their lines to have a realistic feel so I will have to write the scene very carefully.

Location Scouting (scene 2)

For scene 2, I wanted a location which was in a stairwell. However, due to the limited access to certain locations, I had to find somewhere that was still believable and realistic for the scene so I considered this location. Here are some pictures I took:

Scene 2 - Stairwell

The reason I chose this location is because I wanted the characters to have an intimate moment where they are alone and in a secluded area.

Film Pitch Questionnaire

In order to gain a more detailed understanding of what my target audience thinks of my film, I also asked them to fill out a questionnaire containing relevant and vital questions about my film . These questions involved elements of my film including the plot, characters, tagline and representation.


Here is my questionnaire:

I think that this questionnaire will definitely help me improve my film even more because these questions are more detailed that the ones I asked in my film pitch feedback video. The questions I have provided will require my participants to actually state their opinions and ideas rather than a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer so this will definitely benefit me in terms of improving my film to garner to my target audience.

Film Pitch Feedback Video

In order to gain a better understanding of what my audience think of my film, I decided to show them my film pitch and record their opinions on it. I asked them three main questions that would help me improve my film; this will mean that I may have to change some of my initial ideas but overall it would make my film better. Here is the feedback video:

 

Location Scouting

Before shooting the trailer, it is vital that I know where to film the scenes which means that I need to go location scouting. I have a very good idea as to where I want the scenes to take place so I went to the locations and took some photographs in order to get a better look of ho the scenes will turn out. Here are the pictures I took:

Scene 1 - Woods

I will also post up pictures of the locations for my other scenes.