Review On Editing

On Friday the 27th I was using imovie HD to edit what I have filmed so far. During this time I was able to see what clips would best suit the trailer.

There was one clip in particular that I like, as it adds to the narrative of the story. This clip is the final shot, where the girl opens her eyes with an innocent smile. This makes her seem suspicious to what the viewers have seen throughout the teaser trailer.

Through the programmes on imovie HD I was able to put together clips. I was able to add transitions, with which i could experiment with while creating the storyboards.
a few that i have used are fade in, and wash out effects. i have also changed the colour of the image, to give the effect of it being at a different time, in the past. i had used a sepia colour wash.

However there have been a few changes to the storyboard, but the shots do not have many changes. I have edited the shots in a way to show the built up of the actors fears, which will in return build the viewers tensions. This is one of the conventions of the genre horror which is typically used in trailers.

Weekly Planning (23/11/09)

Filming Review (20/11/09)

On Friday I arranged to film at home with my sister. The shots that I had planned to shot were the tracking shot scene were she would be sleeping in bed, and the other was her looking into a broken mirror.
There were a few difficulties that were causing problems, which prevented me from filming. However I was able to complete one of the shots which was a tracking shot but I had to change it to a panning shot as I was unable to get hold of tracks.
Due to the battery of the camera not chargeing I was unable to complete the filming, I would then have to arrange another time for when I could complete the shotting.

Photoshot Review (20/11/09)

As Friday was a 'staff professional day', I had arranged with the photography department to take photos of my sister (Rashmeet) for the magazine front cover. I have taken many photos with which I can then experiment using different effects on photo shop.

Due to the fact that my magazine has targeted teenage women aged 15 - 20 years, I have had to look at similar magazines such as Glamour and Cosmopolitan. From looking at these I have had to look at the composition of the shot. This is more of a mid shot to a long shot, where the audience are able to see more of Rashmeet. Moreover this makes her posture to represent her as open to the audience.

Below are a few examples of some photos that would go on the magazine front cover.

Above is a black and white photo. This is an example of a photo that I will not be able to use, this is because of the position. There is a lot of space at the top of the image, and a black and white photo will not look appealing to the targeted audience, they would be attracted to bright colours, therefore a colour picture would be more suitable. Below are a few example of coloured photos that I could use.

In the photo above, I found that it was more of a closer shot that expected. In this photo, she appears to be a shy and quite girl, which is what I do not want my audience to feel about her characteristic. I want her to have a more frontal posture, with her shoulders open. As this would give a more open personality. I would also have to shot a more mid to long shot, were more of her is to been seen, this would make the audience feel comfortable with her.

In the photo above, her eyes are not open wide and are hard to look at. It is a close shot of her, which made her arm got cut out of the shot. Therefore this image will not be appropriate. Looking closely at her eyes, they seem to looking down at the camera, which is not good. This is because she would not be looking at the audience, it seems as if she is looking at something else.

Throught out the photos that were taken, I think this is an appropiate one to use. This is because it is a mid to long shot, and she is looking straight towards the centre of the camera. This gives is a more focal point to the image, as the viewers will be drawn by looking at her eyes.

changes made to storyboards

Throughout my portfolio until now, there have been a few changes and also a few add on's.

One of the changes that have been made is extra shots will be including in the teaser. Over one of the weekends I put together a board were the main actors emotions and thoughts were expressed. Below are a few photos of what was put together. resembling

The image above is shows the full board, below are close-ups to show the detail.

I have used pins/needles as it symbolises the pain that it being pierced into her heart. This shows how much hatred has been put into her mind through the years of being bullied and picked on.

In both of the above photos I have used text to express her emotions as well as colour and objects. These add the to suspense and terror of the trailer.

I have filmed some still shots with which i can then experiment with the by adding them to the sequence of my trailer.

Filming Review (19/11/09)

I had arranged to do filming with Sophie, were a few of the shots that would take place in the toilets of the school. In these scenes Sophie was shown to be scared and alone, which was successful as she was able to show her fear and vulnerability. However while filming a few difficulties came across, one of which was the scene were the door would be closing while Sophie is in the background. This I found difficult to do due to the space and the height of the tripod. The other difficulty that I came across was the fact that I was able to see my reflection in the mirror. This then meant that I had to change the position of the camera in order to shot the scene. 

Overall the scenes that I had planned to film have been completed, which means that I have one final shot that needs to be shot with Sophie. 

Sample Images For Poster and Magazine Cover

Weekly Planning (16/11/2009)

Photoshop 3

I have used the photo as an example of what I would like the setting of the poster to be, but with a different image. Through the use of tools on photoshop, I was able to create the poster of what I wish my final product to look like. Blow is the image in its original form.

In the image below shows the effect of the gradient tool. Through the use of the gradient tool I was able to create an arch of black around the focal point of the image. Using this tool enabled me to create a more mysterious feel, due to the fact that the viewers are unable to see clearly what is in the background.

I then had to place the person so she was seen as the focal point of the shot, I done this by moving it to the centre, and adjusted the gradients. The image below shows the outcome.

To finish it off I added the text. I have started of with the director, placed at the top of the poster. this is because it is an independent film, therefore the actor's names will not be familiar to the viewers, whereas the directors name will. I then continued by adding a tag line that is well recognised by the viewers, as it will be shown on the trailer as well as the poster "at night. . . the devil comes to mind". To finish it off i then typed the title of the film, which was in a bigger font. this was because I want it to stand out. Using white text on a black background is a common technique used to make something eye catching.

Filming review (11/11/09)

As I had arranged to do filming yesterday, it was achievable. This was as it went all to plan and also new ideas sprung to mind while filming. These ideas I then experimented with to find out that they worked very well with the genre horror. The few shots that I experimented with were hand held cameras and moving as the actor is moving around. This was however a bit difficult, but after a few tries I became comfortable with the technique. I got a wide range of shot, with which i could use to build up tension throughout the trailer.
There was one shot that i was unable to do, this was due to the fact as I needed a few more people who wouldn't mind to be standing in the corridor with her. Therefore another arrangement will be made to complete the shots that need to done with Huma.

Weekly Planning 9/11/2009

Updates to my weekly plan.
The new arrangements have been added onto Wednesday, were I will also do some filming during period 4 with Huma.

Weekly Planning (9/11/09)

Research on Independent Cinema

I wanted to further explore the different aspects of independent films compare to mainstream films. Research that I gathered was from a media studies revision book. The was as I wanted to come to a conclusion to whether my teaser trailer is mainstream or independent.

In my research I gathered information about independent films. It was said that "independent films will break the rules of traditional narrative and experiment with new or different ways of telling stories to create meaning in non-realist way." From this I understand that the narrative have an auteur style, this is what makes a film independent as typical conventions have been challenged by the director. One of the first film makers to move away from realist film was French director Jean-Luc Godard. He wanted to "expose the constructed nature of cinema and challenge his audience in order to make them reflect on their own lives as they watched."

Although independent films have been commercial advertised as much as mainstream films, this is what has made a few independent films successful. One of the most famous is The Blair Witch Project. It has the independent factors like unknown characters, handheld camerawork, direct address to camera, and lack of resolution.

Compared to mainstream films the narrative is used differently in an independent film, these include :-

• Action may be explicitly broken into chapters, as a novel.
• Narrative sequence is disjointed in some way.
• The narrative is not resolved.
• Well-known actors are not used.
• Audience cannot empathise with characters.
• Close-ups are not used often.
• Characters move 'outside the frame'.

Overall my teaser trailer may have aspects of both mainstream and independent films. The narrative (storyline) is mainly mainstream, this is due to the fact that the characters are represented stereotypically. However the way in which the narrative is put together has aspects of independent films, such as the flash backs, and the whole idea of it being a "dream", which leaves the narrative unresolved.

Teenage Magazine.

Here are a few magazines that I have decided to look at, as my targeted audience are teenagers. Therefore glamour and cosmopolitan are the main magazines that target the same audience. Both these magazines, are glamorous and give the women their confidence boost. The language used is quite informal, this gives the magazine a more relaxed and casual feel when reading.

Photoshop 2

Theses are similar photos that I would like to take for my magazine front cover. I want the actor to give a more personal appearance, as I would like the audience to feel like they have a connection, and relate with the actor. This will be done through the use of text, as it will be an interview on what she thinks about the film and also if it is relevant to her life.

Soundtrack Research

I have researched a few soundtrack for my teaser trailer, one which is particular interest to me is the soundtrack from Twilight.
Below are two YouTube clips, with the soundtrack of twilight, one of which is the original and the other is the piano version of it.



This one above is the original soundtrack for Twilight, and the one below is the piano version. Although twilight does not fall under the genre horror, it is a romantic fantasy, with adventure. The instruments used in the soundtrack give away a fairytale feel to the character, this is a similar technique that i wish to represent the main character.



The soundtrack is to long and repetitive, therefore I will be using snips of it, were I feel it is appropriate in my teaser trailer. This is because I want to give a combination of emotions for viewers, not only a fairytale atmosphere. I want my target audience to feel the fear in the eyes of the actors.