Audience
I think I have done well on my trailer. I like the use of music and how it fits with what is happening in the scenes. Here is some audience feedback I have recieved from my peers,
"I enjoyed the quick shots from 0:39 - 0:40 and 0:41 - 0:43, the running inbetween those two time frames was essential to help the viewer digest the scenes"
"I enjoyed how the ticking matched the pace of the scenes. I was very curious and wanted to know more about the mystery at the end that hinted at the man behind the dissapearence of the missing person"
My completed poster is presented in context for the intended audience. It looks like it could be an actual movie poster. The hand holding the phone is the main focal point of the poster, it draws the viewers eyes to that first before anything else. It also has a tag line, the netflix logo and the release date all in the Netflix font to make it seem geniune. I have compared it to other posters such as the Netflix Original movie called Bright. This is because when I placed it in a street, it looked like it would attract a similar target audience based on the simplicity of the poster. There is a title, netflix logo, the cast and it tells you when it will be streaming. There is no small writing or loads of floating heads. But instead of the cast, I have a tagline. The movie poster was being advertised on a bus stop so that makes mine seem more genuine. Based on my feedback from my peers and teachers, I believe I have successfully fulfilled the required brief.
Planning and research
I believe I have completed what I set out to do. Which was to create a trailer, poster and a press pack for a movie that would stream on Netflix. This was my original plan in my proposal. The time plan was very useful throughout this project, it helped me stay on track and keep my work organised because of the calender aspect and the list of activities I had to complete that week. It also helped me and my group stay focused while filming as we knew exactly what to film and where to film it. There were a couple times where I couldn't complete some work on time so I had to finish it at home but other than that, the time plan was very successful. My proposal helped me stay on track as well because it had my plan for the film trailer and poster.
My proposal had my plan for the filming. From what shots to use and the camera techniques to use. I stuck to my proposal and used handheld camera throughout the trailer. While editing, I refered back to my proposal to make the montage which included fast cuts and whip pans. I stuck with the plan for my poster which was to have a man holding a phone with a cracked screen, on the screen would be a picture of the missing person. My final idea for my poster was for it to have a grey filter and a gloomy look. It definetly has a gloomy look due to the woods in the background but it doesnt have a grey filter as I decided not to do that anymore because it looked better without it. My storyboard helped during filming as well because we didn't have to waste time coming up with new shot ideas while filming as we already had them planned out. My final completed trailer isn't the exact same as my storyboard because when I was editing, I moved some scenes around and changed the order at certain points. This was so they fit better with the trailer music I had chosen. This is something I didnt realise while making my proposal and storyboard. I didn't have my trailer music chosen yet and the music has to fit with whats going on on the screen, especially during the fast montage. So once I had chosen a song and started editing, I made the clips fit with the music. For example, there is a ticking sound that plays during a part of the trailer. For this bit, I put loads of quick clips in that play when the clock ticks.
Production skills
My main inspiration for this production was the 1999 movie called the Blair Witch Project which was filmed using a handheld camera and pov shots. In my production, I used both camera techniques. The handheld camera technique can sometimes end up as a shaky shot, for example when a character is in a tense situation or are being chased by something. These shaky shots are good because they add tension to the scene and if used efficiently, can be used to avoid showing the threat or monster but the viewer knows that it is there by how the actors are acting in the scene or sound effects added in while editing. Which is what the Blair Witch does well. Throughout the whole movie, you don’t see what is chasing them and looking for them. They effectively used sound to make it seem like the threat is there when it wasn’t. These techniques inspired me to do something similar. For example, there is a chase scene in my trailer where the camera is shaking so you cannot see what is chasing the characters. There is also a part of my trailer where you can hear ticking sounds, like a clock. This use of sound gives the viewers an uneasy feeling like time is running out which adds tension as they might expect time to run out for one of the characters and they could possibly be killed or something scary happen to them. The horror style music I chose for my trailer helps establish the tone of my production, which is a dark and tension building story. The music starts of slow but as soon as we learn that the main characters are going searching for their missing friend, it speeds up. This creates different feelings towards these scenes for the viewers. During the slow part of the music, the viewers won’t be on edge or anything but as it speeds up and they also hear the clock ticking, they might feel tense. Other horror movies use sound in different ways such as creepy whispering or long tones. They can also make it so the viewers expect to hear something but don’t, this adds an uneasy feeling for the viewers. The woods where we filmed is a public place so there was the occasional dog walker walking through whilst we were filming which delayed our filming a little but not enough to make us behind on the time plan. A slight problem I encountered when it came to editing was finding some good music to use in the trailer. I eventually found the perfect one which captured the tone of my production quite well, but it took a while to find which delayed my editing. This made me get a little bit behind on my time plan but I caught up not long after.
Development of skills, my project journey
After completing my final major project, many of my media skills have developed greatly. Mainly my photoshop skills because at the beginning of the year I had no idea how to use photoshop as I had never used it before. Throughout this year and mainly while working on my final major project, I have been practising using photoshop to improve my skills. For example, I practised using curves to change the lighting and editing things out of pictures, such as people or something that are out of place. Now, I can make a poster for a movie with little to no help. These skills can still be improved which I aim to do next year in level 3. My skills with a camera while filming have improved, I know a little bit more about lighting and microphones (the camera won't always pick up certain sounds depending on how far away the person is or how loud or quite they are speaking). Once again I do believe these skills can be improved even more in level 3, which I intend to do. Something else I've learnt throughout this year is the need to work professionally. Near the start of this college year, me and my group made a trailer. We didn't have a time plan, script, storyboard or any type of planning. All we had was an outline of what we were going to do. This caused problems while filming such as having to come up with ideas of what to film on the spot. Because of this, I didn't have as much time to edit my trailer and I had to choose a song as well for the trailer which takes a while anyway. By the time I got round to my final major project, I had realised that I needed a way more efficient method when it came to creating film trailers. First of all, I needed a storyboard. This helped me and my group alot because when we started filming, we knew exactly where to go and what to film and what camera angles and techniques to use. Secondly, a time plan is important. This is to keep track of when we start and finish the planning for the filming and creating a poster, what times we were filming, when we were editing and when we were evaluating and improving our work with help of feedback from my teachers and peers. If I could do this production all over again, I would make it far more scarier. I made it as tension building and scary as possible during the editing of the trailer but as director, I should've directed the cast to act alot more scared. This would've made it seem more realistic like the Blair Witch Project, because I wanted this to seem like a found footage film. I am happy with my editing and the final poster. I am also happy with how clear the narrative was from the trailer. One more thing I would've done differently is watched more horror films to prepare for it. I watched the Blair Witch but I could've watched a few more to broaden my knowledge on the horror genre.
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