20/03/2012 - Final Cut of the Film Trailer

Here is our finished trailer!

17/03/2012 - Volume in the trailer

The sound is an important convention of the trailer as it is present throughout even when it is extremely quiet during speech or other moments in the trailer. It is used to help build the tension rather than the film seem as if it is not going to reach a climax at the very end. The print screen shown above this text is the moment where the film trailer is a black screen and all that can be heard is Lily screaming as the audience assumes that the abductor has finally reached her. We increased the volume of her scream to a higher volume as this will scare and shock the audience and intensify this terrifying moment that they have been anticipating! The print screen below this text is the moment in the trailer when the text 'SEIZED' appears on the screen and the volume of sound is also increased at this point. The idea of increasing the sound at this part of the trailer will allow the audience to focus on the title of the film and prepare them for the next tense event in the film trailer.

15/03/2012 - Second set of photos for Poster

After taking the first set of photographs for our film poster and finding that they were either too dark or too blurry, we decided to reshoot them. This time, we used a tripod to hold the camera still and did not use flash, but increased the lighting instead. We are happy with the outcome of these images and look forward to picking a one for our poster!

13/03/2012 - In the process of finishing the final cut

Here is a picture of Kate and Charmaine editing the film and taking on the different roles of adding text and transitions to the trailer and the cutting and the organisation of the sound. I felt that it was key to document us doing this as it is perhaps the most signifcant part of the process!

12/03/2012 - Editing for the Film Poster

The screen shot below shows how I opened the chosen image up in Adobe Photoshop CS4 and began to alter the photograph for our film poster. I adjusted the brightness and contrast to make the image seem darker and to keep the figure dark and the background orange. I then tried to darken edge at the bottom of the image but found that this was unsuccessful in creating the look that I wanted.

Here is the image that we will be using to manipulate the design of our film poster. We have decided that we want the waist down of our abductor in the film seen standing at the doorway, positioned in front of the stair case for the poster. We have taken inspiration from the poster for the film 'The Sixth Sense' as it is simple yet effective. In the poster shown below, there is a figure of a child and an orange glow around him. The person looking at the poster is instantly drawn in to the focal point in the centre and an ominous mood is set by the poster.

For the film poster, I feel that it is necessary to retake the image but use a tripod to position the camera still so that the photograph being taken is not blurry or shaken. We will also make sure that the window to the right of the figure is not present and that the image is more structured.

27/02/2012 - Adding Sound to the Clips

Having filmed all parts of the trailer we decided that it was time to create a rough cut and put all of the clips so far, whether they were accurate or not, together so that we could see what was good and what needed to be improved. We used MoviePlus X3 which we found difficult to use as we had to convert some of the files so that they were compatible with this programme. We then needed to add the sound that we had recorded and music that we had researched to see how it would fit and if it was suitable. 

Once we had learnt how to use the programme it became easy and all we had to do was click 'Add Media' and select the sound file that we wanted, just like we had done for the clips for the clips that we used. We then dragged it to the audio section and cut and pasted it where it was needed to fit the trailer. 

This screenshot demonstrates how once we had mastered how to input the audio, we were able to add more audio and use three types (music, natural sounds e.g. wind and speaking). By adding the music to the trailer, tension is built and especially at the end of the trailer, the music is more dramatic and helps reinforce the 'jumpy' aspects if the trailer. 

As we decided to use Krzysztof Penderecki- Concerto Grosso No. 1 in C Minor we needed to find a way to convert the track that we had been listening to on YouTube so we used a free converting website called ZAMZAR which is easy to use as the downloaded song is sent to your email. 

                                                                                                        

24/02/2012 - Rough Cut

This is our first rough cut for our film trailer that we are producing. We evaluated the progress that we have made and have discussed a few of the issues that we had. As a group we are unhappy with this as we feel that it is more like a short film rather than a trailer for a full length film. The only section of the work that we have created so far that we think is most likely a trailer is the final scene where Lily is being held hostage by her abductor in a closet and is awaiting his arrival. We think that the trailer is too longer and therefore we need to cut the clips that we use and use more significant snapshots rather than irrelevant scenes e.g walking. The acting in our trailer is not serious enough and therefore tension is hardly built. A major issue that we had with editing was that the music did not fit the trailer and the sound effects that we had recorded were not of good quality. 

Our Media teacher and friend then watched the rough cut and gave us critiques as well as improvements that we could use to make our trailer better quality. They said that we should make it shorter and use more important moments. We should also include more jumpy parts as this will increase the tension for the audience. Reaction shots will be needed as well to reinforce the thriller genre and we can do this by zooming in and out on a character as they realise what is happening or change the position of the camera to show power. We will aim to use different shots to frame the picture of use a 1/2 shot to film a conversation. In the final scene, which we are most pleased with, we will ensure that our actress is scene to be struggling more to make it appear more realistic. 


We will be re-filming the entire film trailer on Monday the 27th February. Here is our timetable for filming that day: 

05/12/2011 - Adding Text to the Trailer

When watching the trailer to a film you will notice that text often appears throughout it e.g. the title of the film, what critics say or clues about the movie. As this is only a rough edit and we have no fully researched what kind of text is used in a film trailer we decided to include stars (rating) and the phrase 'A Modern Cat and Mouse Game' to entice the audience. The purpose of using text is to break up the clips and speed up the trailer without it seeming rushed but also remaining relevant. 

We wanted to show a star rating in the middle of the trailer to give the appearance of it being a 'must-see' at the cinema but we had issues trying to find the appropriate stars to use. To overcome this we used an image of the correct stars and cropped it suit our trailer. However, another problem arose when Photoshop would not allow us to insert this image into MoviePlus. To overcome this situation we attempted to see if their was a star symbol from a Word Document that we could use instead but there was not. As a result we just used the '*' on the keyboard and when we resized it, it looked professional and will be ideal to use.

For the text in our trailer we used an effect to make the writing glow before it fully appears in the trailer. The effect of using this makes the text seem eery and and uncertain which will hopefully create tension for the audience. It is relevant to the genre of film that we are making, a thriller, but we are still in the process of researching how other film trailers use text in theirs. 

12/12/2011 - Third Shots - Editing trial clips

Here is the intial attempt at editing our existing clips for our film trailer. We are aware that there is no sound for the film as of yet because we want to focus on perfecting the filming and especially the use of light in the opening scene. We used large torches to shine in directions surrounding our actress however, at some points it is evident of our unnatural source of light so we will reshoot this scene.

08/11/2011 - Editing the second set of clips

 For the second set of shots that we took we mainly focused on filming all of Lily's parts in the film trailer and then worked a small amount on shooting the other characters, Chelsea and Shannon, in the trailer. We filmed during daylight hours to allow us to just practise shooting these shots and to get a feel for the location. However, filming in daylight created shadows which we were unable to edit out and although we tried to use dark settings it is unrealistic and does not appear like a night time scene. Despite this, it has shown us that filming in daylight is not of use to us and we can improve our techniques by filming when it is darker and using other sources of light to create the right look.                                                                                                                                                                    

06/09/2011 - Using Premiere to edit video clips

Using Adobe Premiere Elements, I was able to practise and learn how to use the programme in order to help me edit my future filming for my trailer.

At first, I found it difficult to use the programme and manipulate the clips. I began to select three clips and cut them to suitable lengths and to pinnacle points. I changed the colour of the clips to a clinical blue shade to create tension and unease for the viewer. From this I added effects to the layers and made the first clip distorted and the next clip kept to a normal speed and frame. The final clip in the sequence focuses on the hand open the door handle close up and the effect added to it is distorted. I am still learning how to use premiere and how to link each clip to make a short film.