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.

 

Call Sheet

Shooting day number: 1

Call time: 10am

Date: 2/10/16

Scene & Shot	Location	Cast	Costume
Newspaper	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bedroom scene – close up, reverse shot	Bedroom	Amy, Lucia	Casual outfit 1
Missing person poster	N/A	N/A	N/A
Park scene – long/ establishing shot	Compass Gardens	Amy, Rosie, Lucia	Casual outfit 3
Park scene – long shot, close up, mid shot, close up	Compass Gardens	Amy, Rosie, Lucia	Casual outfit 3
Park scene – close up of phone, close up of text message	Compass Gardens	N/A	N/A
Park scene - three girls running	Compass Gardens	Amy, Rosie, Lucia	Casual outfit 3
Woods – long shot, close up, perspective shot, establishing shot, group shot, long shot, close up	Franklin Fields	Amy, Rosie, Lucia, Harry	Outfit with coat
Close up, master shot, high-angle shot, mid-shot, close-up, close-up, extreme close-up, perspective shot	My house	Amy, Rosie, Lucia, Harry	Casual outfit 3
Investigator scene- action match, close-up, master shot, close-up, reverse shot, close-up	Living Room	Amy, Rosie, Lucia, Mum	Casual outfit 3

Shooting day number: 2

Call time: 10am

Date: tba

Scene & Shot	Location	Cast	Costume
Cabin scene – establishing shot	Tent	N/A	N/A
Cabin scene (evening) – group shot, close up x4, master shot, two-shot x2, cut away, close up, close up, mid shot, close up, mid shot x2, cut away, close up, establishing shot, perspective shot, mid shot, reverse shot	Tent	Lizzy, Amy, Rosie, Lucia, Harry	Casual outfit 1
Cabin scene (night) – master shot, close up x2, longshot	Tent	Lucia, Amy, Rosie	Pyjamas