Planning

This section is aimed at preparing and developing ideas for my film trailer after researching the industry and genre I have chosen to use.



Initial Planning Ideas Document
This shows our very first ideas of what we were trying to convey through our trailer, which has altered and developed significantly since.

Plot
The plot for our trailer/film altered a lot throughout this planning process as we decided whic shots were necessary to the plotline and which needed to be added according to technical difficulty and to conform to stereotypical conventions of a trailer - such as over-the-should shots to present scenes with dialogue.
here is the original plot:

This later changed drastically due to the unnecessary complications that appeared in the storyline, that would be too hard to convey in the short time allowance given for the trailer. The main purpose of our trailer, as most, was to convey the key aspects of the storyline whilst retaining enigma. Enigma is key in most trailers, but especially in those of a horror genre, as the audience wouldn't want to see a film where the villain is predictable. Consequently, we altered the cast balance and relationships between characters so that no one character was insinuated as the victim or villain. The final plot synopsis was changed to this:

Shot List

Risk Assessment
This is our Risk Assessment which was necessary to complete so as to avoid any damage to ourselves, actors, equipment and environment.

Location

For our trailer, we only used two significant locations as the simplicty of the plot meant that we only required specifically a domestic setting and then a 'woods-y' setting. However, each location needed a different time-period within the day due to the events that occured in each one.

This is the other director's house, which we used the kitchen area for some of the dialogue shots and then her drive used for further character and plot establishing. This setting was important to use as typically, adolescents would collaborate to pack for a trip together at one friend's house.

The other setting was a National Trust owned woods called Alderley Edge. This meant that permission needed to be granted by them in order to film there. Fortunately, 3 other groups amongst my peers in Media Studies were also filming at the same location and so rang the National trust and spoke to Christopher Widger who gave permission to all after discussing brief conditions about safety. It was important not to involve passers-by or unnerve them in any way (some horror shots, screams and weapons were used in the making). We used Nightvision to capture the majority of our shots and so location wasn't necessarily important, although we did use the nature such as trees, leaves and logs to effectively convey the scenery.

The final location we used was another of the actors' houses. As we added extra shots towards the deadline, it was a lot easier to film the scene of Ellie getting strangled with a stick in her garden as it was convenient and still looked woods-y with the nightvision in use.

Actors

Due to availabilty and schedules, the same actors weren't always available, which meant reshooting some aspects of our trailer with new actors playing the same character. Fortunately, as our trailer is not actor/character focussed (with a few well-established and known characters), it meant that the plot effectively controlled the trailer, although each character was integral to retaining enigma (no one portrayed as the villain). So, to keep it relatively simple for the audience we had 5 key characters:

Jen's character is mainly established with negative connotations as she is condescending and mean to Ellie about her hesitation and therefore creates an air of suspiscion.

Beckie is shown to be a quiet, 'peacekeeping' character as she reassures Ellie's character before the trip. However, throughout, her blatant effort to be nonchalant and 'under the radar' may increase the belief that she is the killer.

Ellie's character is effectively presented as the vulnerable and uncertain member of the group through her hesistation for the trip and how she is easily forced/manipulated by other members of the group. In this way, she could either be seen as a victim, or again a quietly bitter person with legitimate anger towards the rest of the group and henceforth a motive.

Imogen is a character who is not exactly built upon within the trailer. She doesn't appear in the daytime preparations for the trip and is in fact only seen in the communal campfire and tense rocking shots. The sudden appearance of another character may lead the audience to believe that she is in fact the traitor from the group.

Finally, Lisa is shown to be somewhat the leader of the group as she drives them all to the notorious woods and makes an executive choice to take control when Ellie is deciding whether to opt out of the group. Also, she tells the story that unnerves an already anxious character. Her easy leadership and happiness to indulge in harmful banter, again may persuade the audience that her steely confidence makes her the perfect villain/traitor.

When filming and creating the storyline, as a duo, my partner and I made the decision specifically not to choose which character is the traitor to ensure that we weren't biased and accidently incriminate them which would remove the essential enigma from the trailer.

Within scheduling, it was important to share the cameras fairly and effectively amongst the two classes, as there were not enough for every group to use all the time. We created a Facebook group to organise a system and manage how to distribute them.

Script
This is our draft script for the film trailer. There may be some alterations as situations may change and cause improvisation. There isn't much dialogue throughout as we are using the shots, imagery and sounds diegetic and not, to convey the genre and provoke fear amongst the audience.

Titles

For our titles we are proposing to use some small lines that question the audience and effectively positions them with the characters and also conveys the storyline. For the shots we are planning to take, we feel that only about 5 titles are necessary to create this reaction amongst the audience.

1) When the perfect plan

2) Becomes the perfect opportunity

3) Trapped in isolation

4) Who can you trust?

5) Who will survive

Main title: Traitor

6) Coming Soon

For the first 5 titles, I feel a red and black colour scheme connotes horror and danger and is so appropriate for the genre and will subconsciously affect the audience. Also, the inclusion of rhetorical questions makes the audience ask themselves what they'd do in that situation and therefore increases their interest in the film.

Music

For music, it was difficult to find an effective piece that followed the pace dictated by our film whilst making the audience subconsciously feel the emotions we were trying to convey. Also, as this piece had to be copyright free, we were limited in terms of choice. We chose to look through Freeplay music and browse the various 'feels' such as chilling, eerie, adventurous etc. We then selected a few and edited them to our trailer accordingly.

Shot schedule

Due to the availability of actors and other commitments, we chose to organise our shots by discussion as a partnership and with our actors. Laying out a calendar in hindsight may have been easier and less stressful to follow, however we managed each day well and focussed on what we wanted throughout.

Animatic
For my trailer, I have decided to follow the typical conventions in chronology.

It is essential befor ecreating the actual trailer, to plan each shot. This way you can ensure that the most technically advanced and most appropriate shots are used which effectively sell your trailer to audiences. For ours, we drew out each frame within the trailer, in the order of appearance (rather than chronological, as trailers don't usually provide events in order). They also helped us gage the sheer volume of shots we needed to create the trailer! These Post-it notes were then put in an animatic:

According to this, the trailer will utilise the typical conventions of an opening, introducing the characters to the audience and establishes the main storyline and reasons as to the use of particular settings like the woods. Then there is a few scenes that build on the plot to create enigma for the audience such as the scene in the car where many flashbacks are shown to create motives for each character and consequently leave much confusion and questioning in the plot. This then entices audiences to see the film to effectively learn who the culprit is. The problem(s) is shown with some mystery using our motif of a bloody handprint to convey a fatal discovery, but so as not to reveal significant points, like the killer(s).
Finally, the events will be shown in quick succession with pacey music to increase tension amongst the audience and to retain some secrecy in the storyline.

The conventions with highest priority are probably the build up as the audience need to know what sort of genre the film is and gain some insight into the narrative. Also, the problem(s) is important as it again gives further insight.