Sunday, 11 March 2012
Conclusion of trailer research
From the existing horror film trailers I have analysed there are a lot of codes and conventions I have noticed. There are many close up and extreme close up shots used as they give intimate and emotional details. Also, low angle shots ate used to show the protagonist and high angle shots are used to show the antagonist. Intertitles are heavily used more so than dialogue and voiceovers, particularly in teaser trailers as it gives less away about the storyline and makes the visuals have a stronger impact. The intertitles and credits always display the important information i.e. the name of the film and the release date. They also unravel the story and usually come in a sequence. An institutional logo is almost always shown at the start of a trailer so the viewer can familiarise to it and it advertises the institution.
The lighting used is very dim when horror builds up, shadows are a commonly used convention as well as black outs. The pace in a horror film trailer starts off slow and calm to set the equilibrium and as the trailer goes the shots get shorter and speed up. This shows the disturbance of the equilibrium and this is where the sounds of screams and other abnormal noises are used. The sound and music in a horror film conventionally uses thuds and orchestral music involving mainly the strings which sounds very dramatic. The main props used are knives, guns, axes etc. these are all used to hurt someone physically. I have also noticed that teaser trailers don’t have much of a storyline as they are so short however normal trailers have more of a chronological order.
The lighting used is very dim when horror builds up, shadows are a commonly used convention as well as black outs. The pace in a horror film trailer starts off slow and calm to set the equilibrium and as the trailer goes the shots get shorter and speed up. This shows the disturbance of the equilibrium and this is where the sounds of screams and other abnormal noises are used. The sound and music in a horror film conventionally uses thuds and orchestral music involving mainly the strings which sounds very dramatic. The main props used are knives, guns, axes etc. these are all used to hurt someone physically. I have also noticed that teaser trailers don’t have much of a storyline as they are so short however normal trailers have more of a chronological order.
Production role meeting
This video is of me and my production group deciding our roles and responsibitlites we will each have. We filmed this to show our progress and make our ideas clear. This also shows our team interaction and cooperation alothough we all have different opinions sometimes.
Storyboard
This is the original storyboard for the trailer, the red lines show the parts of the trailer we have adapted.
Character Analysis
Propp’s theory relates to stereotypes and archetypes because his character definitions are a widely held but fixed and oversimplified idea of a particular type of person. His characters are a very typical type of a certain person and are far from anything that would be a countertype.
Propp’s theory links to the characters in my horror film to a certain extent however some on the characters he mentions are not involved. This is because his theory is very ‘fairy-tale’ based and horror films aren’t in the same format of events. The following characters are the once that are included:
Bully – Villain
Dad – Villain
Mum – helper, false hero
Bad Rosie - Villain
Good Rosie – Victim/Hero (protagonist)
Characters not included: dispatcher and donor
The Bully:
The bully in our trailer/film is one of the antagonists (the other being the bad side of Rosie). She will be the catalyst of Rosie’s problems and as a result, she will suffer.
Bully’s Sphere of Action:
- X is 17/18, in the same year as Rosie
- X is a popular girl, she has a large group of friends
- X’s parents are rich, she flaunts their money which gains her more friends
- X does well in school, she is the polar-opposite of Rosie
- At X’s old school, she was bullied because she was the lonely quiet girl – like Rosie – but now she has friends
- X sees her old self in Rosie, that’s why she bullies her
- X’s parents are usually working, she’s home alone more often than not and she brings friends home – Rosie isn’t one of them
- X goes out of her way to make Rosie feel bad about herself
Bully’s Personality:
- Bitchy
- Loud
- Rude to those she bullies
- Two-faced
- Strong exterior is a façade, she is weak and lonely without her ‘posse’
Portraying Bully:
- Expensive clothes
- Always with a group of friends, never alone when bullying Rosie which shows that she is weak without her friends
Mum:
Mum’s Sphere of Influence:
- She’s in an abusive relationship, but doesn’t/can’t leave
- Loves Rosie a lot but finds it hard to communicate with her daughter
Personality:
- Passive
- Quiet
- Timid
Portraying Mum:
- Hair always messy
- Shabby clothing
Rosie Black (Antagonist)
In our trailer there are two sides of Rosie Black of which one is the bad side of Rosie (Antagonists). Rosie is a pretty girl who has no friends; some may say she is different from the other pupils at school.
Rosie’s Sphere of Action:
- Rosie is a 17/18 years old girl who doesn’t fit in with the rest of her classmates
- Rosie is closer to her mother then her father
- She’s always alone, no one wants to be friends with her as they consider her to be “strange”
- A result of this she is getting bullied; also Rosie’s father abuses her mother
- All this triggers the bad side of Rosie
- She becomes aggressive and does things which good Rosie wouldn’t do
Personality:
- Violent
- Loud
- Sadistic
- Dominant
- Volatile
- Evil
Portraying Rosie:
- Heavy make-up à dark eyeliner and mascara
- Baggy clothes fustration
- Usually wears dark colours like black and grey
- Keeps to herself
Rosie Black (Protagonist)
In our trailer there are two sides of Rosie Black of which one is the bad side of Rosie (Antagonists). Rosie is a pretty girl who has no friends; some may say she is different from the other pupils at school.
Rosie’s Sphere of Action:
- Rosie is a 17/18 years old girl who doesn’t fit in with the rest of her classmates
- Rosie is closer to her mother then her father
- She’s always alone, no one wants to be friends with her as they consider her to be “strange”
- A result of this she is getting bullied; also Rosie’s father abuses her mother
Personality:
- Quiet
- Introverted
- Passive
- Prefers her own company
- Shy
Portraying Rosie:
- Simple Clothing
- Natural Make-up
Dad:
Rosie’s father is a source of problems. He abuses her mother, and is rude towards her. He could be considered to be another antagonist.
Dad’s Sphere of Influence:
- Always drunk
- Never pays attention to Rosie, unless it’s to be rude
- Hits his wife in front of Rosie just to make points
- Doesn’t care about his, his wife’s or Rosie’s lives
Personality:
- Rude
- Volatile
- Abusive
- Mean
Portraying Dad:
- Messy clothes
- Unshaven
- Always with a drink in his hand
- Scruffy
I will use representation techniques and technical codes to make the audience sympathetic to my lead character (protagonist), which is the good side of Rosie. The mise en scene that will be used is her looking very simple and innocent in terms of costume and make up. A lot of high angle shots and extreme close up shots will be used with this side of Rosie and bright lighting to make it evident that it is the good side of Rosie that is the victim and the extreme close up shots will portray her emotions of fear to the audience at an intimate level. A slow pace and normal happy music will also be used with the good side. I will use significantly different representation techniques and technical codes for my ‘bad’ character, which is the bad side of Rosie. The costume and make-up will be very dull and dark, specifically the make-up will be mainly using the colour black and it will be very messy and smudged to show the dark side of her and her hair will be very untidy covering parts of her face to create enigma. A variety of low angle shots, close ups and extreme close up shots will be used when this character is involved. This is because high angle shots will show her as a superior threat and the close up shots will give the audience an intimate view. A fast pace will be used with the bad side of Rosie to create a tense ambience and the music will be very orchestral and include many thuds which is conventional to create fear amongst the audience. Also, a nursery rhyme chant will be used to portray past events and create an eerie juxtaposition.
Moodboards
This is a general moodboard based on horror as a genre and creates an overview of what my trailer will represent. The moodboard includes the main conventions of horror films such as blood, enigma, haunted houses and knives. There is an image of a bloody handprint which is one of the ideas that will be included in the trailer. Also, the half happy half sad smiley face represents the split personality theme which the trailer is heavily based around.
This moodboard represents the colours I will be including in the trailer. Red, black and white are the most apparent colours because from analysing horror film trailers these are the main colours associated with this genre and care conventionally in most films. The colour black represents darkness and enigma and red represents blood and danger. These two colours also contrast well against each other and create a dark and mysterious effect when combined. The colours displayed are colours that can be used to exaggerate certain things such as redness in eyes and darkness around the eyes which makes a person look scarier.
This moodboard displayed the types of location intended to be used in the trailer. The locations displayed are conventionally used in most horror trailers which makes the genre more apparent to the target audience. A typical example of a conventional horror location used in horror films is an isolated haunted house. Images of parks and forests after dark are also represented a lot in the horror genre as it portrays darkness and enigma. The shot types used in many of these images is low angle and establishing. This shows the location in full view and make it seem superior therefor having more of a scary effect. My horror trailer is going to follow many of these locations as they are conventional is this genre and create a more eerie atmosphere when used correctly.
This moodboard represents the type of characters the trailer will involve. Both sides of Rosie Black are shown here as the bad side is the antagonist and the good side is the protagonist. The antagonist side of Rosie is the image of the girl where her face is concealed by her hair creating a mysterious effect leaving the audience intrigued. The protagonist side of Rosie is shown in the image of the girl who is happily on the phone and is shown to be normal.
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
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