Choice of Captions

 

 

The first caption in the trailer is the question "How far would you go to save your friends?", this directly addresses the audience and therefore will get them more involved in the trailer. The next two captions are positioned very close together as they follow on from each other. They provide the audience with more information and a further insight into the film, helping them to have a firmer understanding of the diegesis. The last one is the name of the film which tells the audience what the film is and also creates brand synergy between the trailer and the ancillary products, as they all include the title in this font.

Aims and Improvements

In order to improve my trailer and convey the genre more successfully I will aim to do the following:

• Add captions that enhance the diegesis and ask the audience questions
• Increase the pace to create a heightened sense of suspense
• Add voiceovers to anchor the plot and allow the audience to understand what is happening

Creating a Montage

At the end of the trailer I made a quick montage to create a final build up of suspense. I cut the clips down so they had a short duration, to make them  quick previews into the narrative, this conveys the genre as it leaves a sense of mystery as the audience will not find out what happens. I aimed to line up the clips with the music to create a stronger rhythm and a more dramatic pace. 

I used a fade to white before the montage as they are flashbacks as this is a convention of flashbacks in existing media products. Following conventions here makes it clear to the viewer that it is a flashback, which provides them with a better understanding of the diegesis.

I included a jump cut in the montage which shows the girls running. To do this I imported the same clip twice and cut it down to different lengths to give the impression that it is the same clip and time has passed.

I ended the montage with a fade to black to leave the trailer with a sense of mystery and danger, as the colour black has these connotations. This helped to create brand synergy between the trailer and ancillary products, as they all use dark colours to convey the mystery genre. Fade to black is also a convention used in popular mystery trailers.

Change of Music

I decided to change the music of the second half of the trailer as I felt the music I had did not build up enough tension and my demographic said they wanted a quick pace in the trailer. I selected a piece of music from youtube and converted it to an mp3 file and downloaded it. Then I imported it into iMovie and lined up my shots with it. The new music I selected conveyed my mystery genre more successfully, as it has a quicker pace and more climaxes, additionally, it portrays the diegesis by having a sense of panic and tension.

Trailer Progression

In order to achieve equilibrium, I used a fairly upbeat, cheery score, in order to create a pleasant, happy tone. I selected quite a slow pace, in order to have a relaxed, laid-back mode of address. I used shot/reverse-shot in order to follow conventions, as well as a master shot and two shot to show variation. I decided to start the trailer with this tone as it will create a harsh contrast between the post-disequilibrium section and also allows the audience to get to know the characters in a more normal environment, therefore conveying the diegesis of the characters.

I then had a section with no music at all, to create a serious, dramatic tone. This point of the trailer is the disequilibrium in Todorov's narrative theory of equilibrium. This contrasts with the previous relaxed tone and therefore creates a climax and builds up tension.

Creating Disequilibrium

In order for my trailer to follow conventions, I will follow Todorov's Narrative Theory of Equilibrium. The beginning of the trailer begins in equilibrium and then it disrupted by Lizzy going missing, it is then disrupted further by the text message and I followed stages 2 and 3 when the disequilibrium occurs and there is a recognition of this. 

 In order to portray this, I increase the pace to create a more frantic, panicked feel. I shortened the length of the clips, to create a montage feel which will keep the audience on edge.

Adding Music to the Trailer

 I selected a score from the sound effect library on iMovie and that I felt had the correct ambience and mode of address to fit in with the clips I had shot. I dragged this into the trailer and dragged the volume of it down so it does not overpower the audio in the other clips.

Creating a Shot/Reverse Shot

The first thing I did was import the clips into iMovie, then drag the selected clip into the trailer. I then cut it down to the correct length, so it only had the speech in it.







I imported the next clip in the same way and then put it over the top of the clip so the person speaking was shown. I shot this clip using an over the shoulder format.






The reverse shot was filmed in the same way to show the other characters response. This overall created a conventional three-shot set up.

Choice of Costume

I wanted to create characters that were all similar ages, but with different characteristics and clear individual personalities. They are also all wearing winter coats in order to clearly convey the time of year and setting of the diegesis.

Rosie (left):

She was wearing a fairly neutral yet fashionable outfit which connotes that she is a fairly typical teenager, she appears to be fairly laid back and casual.

Amy (middle):

I selected a rock band t-shirt with ripped jeans to create a care-free, rebellious feel. This along with her jewellery and dark hair colour make her seem edgy and unique.

Lucia (right):

Her outfit was feminine and girly which makes her seem like she cares very much about her appearance. She also had quite heavy makeup to enhance this effect. 

I will try to replicate each of their individual styles in other clips throughout the trailer in order to create memorable characters.

Shooting Day One

The photos below show me directing and shooting parts of my trailer in different locations. In each location I set up the camera and tripod then shot each scene from different angles.