How I will edit my trailer

When it comes to editing my trailer it is important that I edit this trailer in a way that looks professional and has an effect on the audience. Therefore this means I will need to make sure that I don't show too much of the clips at a time meaning the trailer will consist of a load of clips all cut and fading into one another. This is the most effective because it builds up suspension for the audience and they wont know what is going to happen in the clip, it just gives them a basic idea of the storyline. This means that when it comes to editing my trailer I need to follow this idea in order to make it successful.

Mood Board

Other Film Logos

This is a collection of other Film distribution companies and their logos. As you can see some of these logos are quite complex which I wouldn't be able to create with my basic skills. However the less complex ones like 'Working Title' and 'Dream Street' etc. I could recreate one similar that will look just as good. The logo I have already made look quite good and looks slightly similar, however if I can make a better logo then I will do this, if not I will keep the one I have now because it looks professional.

Possible Film Logo

This is a picture of a film Logo that I created, which will go at the start of the trailer when it lists what company made the film. This is only a possible film logo because I want to compare this to other film logos to see if it is up to their standards. I know I won’t get the logo to look as good as professional film companies but if I could make it look similar I will be happy with this. I like this logo how it is and I might use this logo but first I am going to look at other logos.

Sound Effects

Once I have filmed my trailer I will need to edit it a lot to make it look professional. Therefore it is important that one of the main things I include over my trailer is sound effects. It is important that I add these into my trailer because sound effects have a lot to do with how scary a trailer is. This means that I will need to find suitable sounds and music to add over my trailer in order to help towards scaring my audience. The main sounds I will be looking for will be bursts of loud scary music because a burst has the best effect on scaring an audience.

Time of day best suitable for filming

When filming my trailer it is important that I film it at a suitable time of day so I get a good picture quality and it contributes he horror genre. The most suitable time to film is around 4:30pm because this is the time where it begins to get dark but it isn't too dark to see. This is the best time because it means that the footage will come out quite dull making it relate to the horror genre; however it isn't too dark so this means that you can still see clearly what is happening. The last thing I want is to film good footage but it turns out you can’t see what is happening because there isn't enough light.

Trailer Questionnaire

What do you expect to see in a movie trailer?

- Highlights of the film
- Set pieces
- Cliff-hanger
- Suspense

Do you think that trailers should give away much of the storyline?

- Yes, but only the best bits because this makes a first good impression
- No, they should show hints
- No, they should just show little snippets so they get the idea

How long do you think a trailer should be?

- 1 minute 30 seconds
- 1 minute
- 1 minute 30 seconds

What do you expect to see in a Horror trailer?

- Suspense
- Screaming/Someone scared
- Blood/Gory

What is the main thing that makes you want to see a film?

- Actors
- Storyline
- The trailer

Tracking Shot

This is footage of me Tracking someone. This is a good shot to use and this one doesn't need to be filmed on a tripod because you need to follow the person. This is a good shot to use because it looks effective and I can follow someone in my trailer.

Tilt Shot

 

 



This tilt shot was also taken using tripod because it is important to use a tripod when filming still shots because you don't get any camera shake. However because the tripod I was using was broken it meant that I still had camera shake but this wouldn't happen if I had a normal tripod with no problems.

Pan Shot

This is a recording of a pan shot which I filmed using a tripod although it was broken. therefore this is why the filming isn't that good because it is quite shaky making the filming look unprofessional. I will use this shot when filming to show the setting and the surroundings to show the audience.

Zoom + Reverse Zoom

 

This is the Zoom and Reverse Zoom shot which I took while using a tripod. However we came across a problem with our tripod because it didn't have the screw on the top you use to put the camera onto. Therefore we had to compromise and use tape to strap the camera onto the tripod in order to use it and have the same effect. Although the camera was successfully strapped onto the tripod it made the image shaky because it wasn't held on as good as what a normal tripod would do. Therefore it makes the filming look unprofessional.

Locations

Locations

I think that this location is a good location to film a horror movie because this house is abandoned and has no light source apart from natural light. Therefore this means that if I was filming in this house you will be able to see the people inside but it will look spooky because the lighting is restricted. This would look good because if the filming was bright it wouldn't look like a horror movie therefore by filming it in this location the lighting is perfect for the end result to turn out good. This is also a good location because the house is abandoned therefore it already has a scary feel to it and suits the conventions of a horror movie perfectly. I will consider using this location for my movie trailer because it is a great location but I need to take into consideration other possible locations that will give me the best result.

Children

Children n horror films are usually wearing pyjamas and therefore I am going to follow this convention because it has a good effect on the audience. It makes the children look more scary especially if they are the main character that may possibly be haunted.

Female

I feel that it would look better if the women were bare feet because I have the idea that a woman would be running and therefore it wouldn't be practical for her to do this in high heels.

Costumes

It is important that the costumes my characters wear look realistic and aren't too other the top because it will look forced and not realistic. I want it to look realistic because these types of horror movies are the best as they effect the audience ore than something exaggerated. Therefore it is important that I
make sure I dress my characters in every day to day clothes but they will need to be dull not bright as this will go against the horror conventions. The clothes will need to be black and other dark colours.


Men's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Location Ideas

A location like this would be perfect for the setting of my teaser trailer. This is because it is an abandoned house which would be perfect as it looks rough and haunted but also because the lighting would be perfect because it would be restricted but would be enough to be able to see what you are recording. This sort of location would have a good effect on the trailer as well because it is important that the location I choose is suitable for a horror movie because this will make the trailer more interesting. The location of a trailer makes every difference on the final result because I don't want to choose somewhere that looks normal because it won't scare the audience as much.

Teaser Trailer Conventions

 

 

This is a mind map I created to list all of the horror teaser trailer conventions because this will help me to make my own trailer as I can follow the main important conventions.

Film Magazine Cover Research 2

Film Magazine Cover Research

 

Movie magazines are also important for promoting films that are new and coming out in cinemas. The main image on this front cover is appealing to an audience because it sends out a strong message and draws an audience in. this image will draw anyone in that like action movies as there is a well-known actor on the front of the magazine holding two guns. Therefore this automatically makes people want to see the film especially if they are a fan of Mark Wahlberg’s work.



The Woman In Black Film Poster

 

This is the film poster for the horror film The Woman in Black. This film poster is really effective and promotes the film well to and audience. The extreme close up on the characters face is really effective because it only shows part of his face and he is showing no emotion which doesn’t give anything away to the audience because you don’t know what he is feeling or whether he is scared or not. The extreme close up shows him to be serious and his eyes really stand out which may indicate his eyes are like this because of things he has seen. The edit on the main characters face is a good edit because this wouldn’t be his usual skin complexion. They have made his skin tone lighter and whiter which relates to the horror genre because it relates to the spookiness of a horror film and the main characters usually have a unusual white skin tone compare to usual people. With them using an extreme close up on the main character it means that it doesn’t give too much away about the character leaving mystery.

The cloudy effect in the background behind the character also relates to the horror genre well, because the cloudy effect adds mystery to the film poster rather than it just being a plain background. Also if you look carefully there is a face within the cloudy effect which it isn’t clear what this is but it leave suspense on the audience making them think what that could be. It allows the audience to start questioning what it might be but it is clear that it is most likely a ghost or a spirit but you don’t know what the ghost/spirit will do because the poster doesn’t allow you to figure this out.

It is really effective that next to this hidden face within the cloudy effect they have added a little sentence that says ‘Do you believe in ghosts?’ This question leaves a lot of thoughts in the audience’s head which is really effective because this is what most horror films do. The question leaves a lot of suspense on the audience because it will make them question twice whether they do believe in ghosts or not which may scare some people itself. It is also clear that this sentence will relate to the narrative of the film but it doesn’t give too much away.

In the top right corner of the poster it also has the name of the main actor which is Daniel Radcliffe. This will attract a certain audience because Daniel Radcliffe is a well-known actor and will have a lot of fans, therefore by putting his name on the main film poster it means they will attract more of an audience and get more people viewing the poster/trailer.

In the bottom right there is the biggest piece of writing on the poster which says ‘The Woman in Black’ releasing the name of the film. The title is a clever title because it doesn’t reveal much about the film it leave you thinking who is the woman in black? Could it be the face in the cloudy effect? All of the writing has a good streaky effect on it which fades into the cloudy effect. This is a good effect because it means that the writing isn’t written in neat normal writing. If it was written in neat normal writing it wouldn’t be as effective because with adding the streaky effect on all of the writing it suits the horror genre and adds more mystery. The poster altogether is a good poster because it leaves a lot of unanswered questions for the audience which will attract them and make them want to watch the film in order to find out what happens.

Paranormal Activity 2 Film Poster

 



This is the film poster for Paranormal Activity 2. This film poster has a different style to what a normal horror poster would have. The reason why this horror poster is different is because there had already been a previous Paranormal Activity that was very successful therefore they don’t need to promote the film as much as what they did the first one because they already have fans. However this film poster is still effective and will attract new fans because the poster has a lot of mystery to it. The poster makes it hard to work out what the storyline is about because the main picture doesn’t reveal much. The main picture leaves a lot of questions because it is clear that the dog is barking and the baby may be awake because someone is there but in this picture it doesn’t show what that might be. The picture is effective because it has a recording effect on it which makes the image a bit more blurry than an original camera would look like therefore it adds more mystery. Also the picture is blue rather than the normal colour it would be. All of these aspects in the poster make the film poster look very suspicious and doesn’t give anything away about the film which is the effect you want a film poster to have.

The colours they have used on the film poster are typical horror colours as they are dark which are all associated with death and

Sinister Film Poster

 

 

This is the film poster for the film Sinister which is a horror film. At first glance of the film poster it looks strange which will make the audience look twice to see what it is. It is easy to make out that when you see this poster it is advertising a horror film. This is because there is blood dripping down the wall where it is clear that the girl in the picture has scraped her hand across leaving that trail behind. There is also a creepy face hidden within the blood trail which will make the audience question what is that and want them to watch the movie to find out what it is. It will cause the audience to make predictions such as that is the face that may possess someone or haunt someone. This is effective because already before the film is released it has people thinking about the film which will cause them to want to watch the movie.

The girl in this photo is also an important factor to this poster because it is clear that from the poster that the girl is the main character because usually the people/person that is on the front of a film poster they are usually the main character in the storyline. Usually in films the children are presented as the innocent characters in a film but however there is a history in horrors that these are the ones that get possessed. As you can see by this poster it is obvious that this girl isn’t innocent because the poster makes it look like she is the one that has caused the weird, disturbing blood trail. This indicates she is will be the character in the movie that will be affected by something or she is the one that will be possessed. Horrors are also mainly set in the night because it is always dark and the front cover reflects this because the girl is in her pyjamas which you wouldn’t wear in the day therefore this indicates clues as to the film being a quite dark and scary film that will be set at night.

Usually horror film posters are quite dark to make it look scarier and adding mystery to the poster but this poster is quite light. This is the light source shows off the blood trail the girl has left behind to make it clear to the audience, but it also shows the half derelict and dirty wall behind the girl. This setting suits the horror film because it makes the storyline creepier if the setting is creepy. If a horror film was set in a perfect nice house it wouldn’t be as effective as a creepy dark derelict house. Therefore this location is made clear by the light source giving off a creepier effect to the audience.

The poster doesn’t give that much away to the audience it leaves a lot to the audiences imagination which means that people aren’t necessarily going to be right about the conclusions they make, therefore this will make them want to see the film. This fits in with Barthes Enigma Code which is a media theory that says there is a puzzle that needs to be solved. This film poster is a presents a perfect example of that.

At the top of the poster it says ‘From the producer of Paranormal Activity and Insidious’. This is effective because both of these films are really successful horror films that have been popular with an audience and made a lot of money. This means that by putting this on the poster it already attracts people that want to see this movie especially if they found the other films good.

Under this the title of the film is wrote quite big above the girl that read ‘Sinister’ written in the same effect as the dripping blood trail. The bottom of each letter is smudged down the wall which is really effective because if the writing was written perfect it wouldn’t suit the horror genre. It needs to look messy and scary therefore the text they have used to do this will make the poster more appealing. Then just under the main title there is a sentence that reads ‘Once you see him, nothing can save you’. This sentence adds suspense to the poster and makes the audience question when you see what? This sentence makes the audience question a lot of things about the film and puts loads of thoughts into their heads which is a good thing because it gets them thinking about the film, hoping that they go to see the film to find out.



The Woman In Black Trailer Research

This trailer opens with a striking shot of a train going past a station and the lead actor Daniel Radcliffe standing there on the platform with a blank stare. This immediately grabs the audience attention because it is only flashed on the screen for two seconds. This is good because it has the audience intrigued in the trailer and makes them pay attention to the rest of the trailer.

After this it flashes up with the film production companies that have helped to create the film which creates a fan base straight away. This creates fans for the movie straight away because people who like films from these certain film production companies they will be interested in the film and want to look into it more. This is a good effect because the film already has an audience especially if the film production company are well known and have a lot of successful films.

The trailer then jumps straight into a series of shots from the film that are fast paced. This gives the audience a clue of what will happen in the film however it doesn't give enough away to give away the storyline. This is effective because the clips aren't shown long enough to make you be able to tell exactly what will happen in the film but it gives you little snippets to give you a clue of the basic storyline leaving you in suspense and wondering what will happen. This is the idea of a teaser trailer because it will make people want to see the film or look into the film more which is what they want to happen.

There is an establishing shot that's sets the scene of the movie and gives you an idea of the setting. This is appealing because this setting looks freaky and relates to the horror genre well. The house looks abandoned and you wouldn't want to go into this house although the main actor is about to walk in as you can tell by this establishing shot.

Paranormal Activity 2 Trailer Research

Paranormal Activity 2 Trailer

                                                                          

The paranormal activity 2 teaser trailer leaves alt of suspense for the audience as this trailer doesn’t reveal a lot about the storyline at all. This teaser trailer has a different approach as it doesn’t have fast paced cuts revealing snippets from the film; this trailer just shows one or two clips from the film but doesn’t reveal anything about the film.

The trailer clips are separated and transitioned by this effect which is good because it relates to the horror genre and adds more suspense to the trailer. This effect has a big impact on the trailer because it is a horror and this is mainly used to relate to this genre as something may have happened to the camera filming the event occurring. Therefore the fact that they have used this in order to transition one clip to another it has a good impact on the teaser trailer.
 

 



With this film being a second of its kind and following on from the previous film it means that they have included some text into the teaser trailer that links into the previous film. This means that it will recap your memory of the events that occurred in the first film in order for you to understand the second film.

The trailer switches from different camera shots of the rooms from around the house giving you the knowledge of the setting in order for you to know where these events take place. In this case it is a house and most of the camera angles are looking down on the rooms.

Throughout the trailer there is incidental music in the background which adds suspense to the trailer. The music playing is a slow and mysterious sound which builds up to the two stings there are throughout the teaser trailer when scary events happen. This adds suspense to the trailer and means that when the sting occurs it should have an effect on the audience, which we know as the trailer reveals footage of people watching the trailer and their reactions. The cameras go close up on the audience’s faces in order to show the people watching the trailer how scared they were when something happened. This is a good idea because it shows the audience that the film is scary which will make them want to watch the movie more to find out what happens.

 

 

This teaser trailer leaves the audience on a real suspense because it hardly reveals anything about the film. I believe that if this was a teaser trailer for a horror film that hasn’t already had one released it wouldn’t be that effective because it doesn’t reveal anything at all. However because this is a follow on from the previous film it will be very effective to the people who had watched the first Paranormal Activity because they will have some idea of what is going on and will leave them in a thunder of thoughts of what may happen in this film.

The trailer then ends with one last sting which reveals a little more about the film as a woman is left standing in a door way which will automatically make the audience think who is that and what she is doing.



After the last sting it then goes to some text which reveals the title of the movie which is a good way to leave it as it finishes on an extreme cliff-hanger leaving the audience in confusion and suspense.

Sinister Trailer Research

Sinister Trailer

A teaser trailer is a trailer that is released a long time before the movie will be released with the aims of getting people excited and hyped up for the movie. A teaser trailer is different to a usual trailer because the teaser trailer is the first trailer that is released but it is usually under a minute long and doesn’t reveal much about the film. Teaser trailers consist of little snippets from the film that don’t give much away about the movie whereas the longer trailer that will follow this further down the line reveals a lot more about the storyline and goes into a bit of depth.

The teaser trailer opens with the makers of the film which automatically attracts an audience to the movie because they may become interested and like previous movies the company has made. Automatically by adding this into the film trailer as the opening image it attracts an audience straight away and will already have people thinking they want to see the film hoping it will love up to their expectations and to other movies they have created in the past.

It also includes a list of what else they have made in the past, as it says from the makers of Paranormal Activity and Insidious. This also attracts an audience because these were two other well-known horror movies that were successful. There are fans of these movies which will make them want to see this movie because the two other films were well sold movies that a lot of people found interesting. Therefore also adding what previous movies they have made it also attracts more of an audience and already has people thinking they want to see the film before they have seen snippets from the film.

The trailer consists of fast paced scenes and cuts from the movie but doesn’t give anything away. There is also a voiceover explaining the storyline but without giving too much information away. The fast cuts build suspense and makes you wonder what is going on especially when you don’t have a lot of time to look at the full image because it is so fast. This adds mystery to the trailer and the film itself because it doesn’t give too much away so that the audience will know the complete storyline it just shows snippets to leave it to your imagination.

There is a voiceover which explains the storyline vaguely enough to give you an idea of what will happen but it doesn’t tell you enough in order to know the beginning middle and end of the story. It doesn’t go into enough detail in order to do this therefore it leaves the audience with suspense and wonder of what will happen in the film which is what a teaser trailer is for.

Overall the teaser trailer is a trailer that reveals some things about the movie but not enough to make you know what is happening.