Construction and Planning

Construction

For my trailer I decided to look at styles of film similar to Quentin Tarantino. This is because I liked the mysterious style development of the trailers and also the composition of camera angles. The style of film also appealed to me because of its strange themes, narratives and the enigma that surrounds it.

To achieve a similar trailer to what I had already done, I would need to use a composition of camera angles that would achieve a Tarantino effect.

I would need:

• A large cast
• A strong narrative 
• A composition editing software 
• Video editing software
• Realistic props
• 3D composting 
• Adobe After effects

I wanted to possibly mix a Tarantino style film with a sci-fic aspect. My initial idea was to perhaps do a  gangster style film, but where the main protagonist has a superpower or possibly finds an alien weapon and is then hunted by a gang for what he possesses.   

As this idea has progressed, instead of the group finding something or developing something, I feel that it would be more effective to bring in an element of horror. This would mean that the narrative would be more along the lines of: they steal something and then are hunted for it.

The Gangster genre would be the main focus of the trailer with the horror genre featuring in the later part. For a location I wanted an urban abandoned house. I found an abandoned house where I would be able to film. However, the site wasn't as urban as I would have liked and safety issues were a problem as the house was very close to falling down and the grass area around the house was littered with broken glass and other such debris. Despite this problem, while doing a location scout I was able to find a safe path though the grass and also a safe area around the house in which to film. This is not my final choice and I will continue to look for other suitable locations.                                                                                                                             The axe crazed maniac would be more than just a killer. He would be the worst possible killer imaginable. He would not just be killing people he would be exposing them to intense pain.

"The Cabin in The Woods" was my main inspiration for the the horror aspect to this trailer. The characters are being hunted down but not in a conventional way. There is the sense that something is not how it seems and this is how I wanted my trailer to come across.                                                                                                                                                                                            The five friends who were systematically hunted down, were a strong influence on my trailer as I wanted the systematic killing to come across in the second half.                                                                                                                                                  

As well as "The Cabin in The Woods" I would be taking inspiration from the 2010 film "Inception", mainly the music but also the fast paced editing speeds and the use of locations to create the atmosphere. I feel that I could mix these two genres together to produce an effective end result.

While Inception is mainly science fiction based it uses very little CGI to achieve a raw but effective end result.

The trailer mainly uses a voice over to explain the concept of the film. I will be using a voice over but it will not need to be as extensive, as my narrative will not be as advanced or as complicated. I am going for a seemingly straight forward narrative but with a twist that will be shown half way through the trailer.

                                                                 Inception

Cabin In The Woods

   

These trailers together represent two different genres. If I take the most effective points and combine them I would be able to create a strong enigma within my trailer.

The most important point of these trailers is possibly the sound. The sound creates atmosphere adding to the Mise en Scene.

This is the house that I wanted the gangsters to hide up in. It is remote but is surrounded by other houses.

This would almost be my own "Cabin In The Woods" but with a much more urban feel to it.

Synopsis

The trailer would open with a voice over saying "they stole from me" (this would be the mob leader i.e. the most powerful and most dangerous gangster you could have) .

This would be followed by a montage of the break away gangsters fighting the mob leaders goons to steal something (maybe a memory stick with sensitive information, an expensive diamond, gold ingot, prototype weapon etc.). They will be hunted and tortured by the axe crazed maniac.

There will be a key scene after the fight montage of the mob leader paying the maniac to hunt down and kill (slowly) the culprits.

The scenes that follow will be a mixture of being hunted down around the grounds of the house and eventual death of all the protagonists.

I will need a large cast for the first section of the trailer as when the item is stolen there needs to be a sense of something important being guarded.

The fight scene will need to be carefully choreographed so that it looks real and the editing will have to be of a fast pace to imply speed. The taking of the item will be key and will take a few frames to show the taking of the object.

On further thought I feel maybe a gold bar or a large diamond would be better for visual effect. Possibly even not having and object seen and just having a a briefcase and leaving the contents a mystery. However, I want it to be very visual as I needed the stolen item to clearly be worth a considerable amount of money. On further consideration the object could even be something that is never revealed.

For the taking sequence I would use the go-pro to achieve a first person shooter style. This is when the item would be stolen.

Location for the first person shooter sequence.

The location would be a series of corridors and stair cases.

When they got to the top of the stair cases there would be a landing type room. This would then lead to a series of rooms in which there would be what was being stolen.

The photos are in chronological order to show the way the thieves will run when they go through the corridors and stairs. When the reach the end of the stairs there will be a black out. The music that will accompany this will be fast paced and very dark.

This is an example of a GoPro being used to portray a characters view. This worked well as it looked good even in the dark light. This shows how a first person perspective could be used to show either the gangsters or the axe maniac.

I have chosen an axe as a prop for this trial to see how this would affect the first person feel. I was happy with the results and this is now means it will feature in my trailer. I am considering using two axes or possibly a chainsaw to portray the horror aspect. The idea of a pursuit and this is why in the trial I am running and jumping over fences. I wanted to see if the GoPro could handle the fast paced scenes.

This has often been used in other films. To see examples of this go to my research page.

This would be shown in the second part of the trailer. There would also be a first person used in the second part of the trailer.

The biggest issue when creating the axe maniac was what mask to use. This was a problem because there have been many films with masks and this meant that when trying to find one i couldn't copy ones such as the famous Jason mask or the Hannibal mask. So I tried to find a mask that would have much different connotations. I wanted one that had never been seen before but would be just as creepy.

I found a mask that looked like an Italian 16th century mask and while initially this didn't seem to look creepy after some trial filming and seemed to look the part.

I now needed a weapon of torture that would be used by the axe maniac to hunt the gangsters down. I wanted it to be an unconventional weapon such as an axe or a chain saw. These were both easy to find however, they were difficult to film with actors as the safety hazards are high and they have to be handled carefully.

The way in which this would be worked into my trailer would be that the emphasis on the trailer was not on the horror but more on the suspense and the chase that followed. At the end I wanted there to be extreme horror but not all the way through.

To organise my film shoot I used social media to communicate with people. This was effective as i was able to communicate with as many people as possible. I created an event on Facebook and this was effective as I could communicate with my whole cast and this was important as it made sure everybody knew what was going on with filming.

Clear communication with my actors and camera assistants was important because for the trailer to be completed it needed to be organised and efficient.

Facebook was a good way to communicate as the events organizer allows cast and crew to view information about the shoot and this means that everyone know what is happening.

When people had questions they were able to post them on the event and I was able to respond to them immediately.

This was my independent organisation.






Equipment.

The camera I am using is the Panasonic HC-X920 HD 1080p video camera.

With Full HD recording, Wi-Fi streaming, 3D capture and more - the Panasonic HC-X920 is made to capture every detail of those special moments. Extras like five point image stabilisation, anti-flare and digital noise reduction will also lend your footage and exceptionally clean and professional feel in virtually all situations.

The 3MOS System Pro features a totally redesigned lens, sensor and engine for vibrant full HD videos with amazing colour and detail. Built to cut down on digital noise, it gives you clear images - even in low light.

This camera has a high spec and it has come in helpful in some of the lower light conditions.

This was the main setting for the film. There were many safety concerns with the location and a full safety review was done around the areas where I was planning to film.

Music

The music for my trailer was mind heist by Zack Hemsey.

This song has very distinct parts which make it good for trailers as they can be segmented easily. It also has very heavy bass line which can mask frame changes and make them look smoother. It is also the song that first featured the sound now referred to as the angry ship noise.

This noise is now featured in nearly every action film to date. The noise when used can create tension. However, if over used it makes the trailer seem tacky and cheap.

This sound is now synonymous with action trailers in general. Its most recent appearance was in the 2014 Godzilla trailer.

This trailer is also a good example of how the noise can be over used and make the film seem disjointed and not aligned.

Zack Hemsey (born 1983) is an American recording artist and composer, whose work has been largely popularized through its use in film trailers. A notable example was "Trailer 3" of the 2010 movie Inception which included his composed piece "Mind Heist"; it is a common misconception that the piece for this trailer was composed by Hans Zimmer because Zimmer composed the official score for the movie itself. "Mind Heist" was also used for the introduction video for the video game Madden NFL 12 and is sometimes used by the show "America's Got Talent". Hemsey's music has also been used in trailers for 2 Guns, The Town, and Lincoln. "Vengeance" was featured in a trailer for the second season of the HBO program Game of Thrones, the trailer for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and the trailer for the 21st Century Fox miniseries "24: Live Another Day", the latter airing during the 2014 Super Bowl. 

Production

Once all my footage was imported in to final cut I was then able to edit it.

Once I had all of the footage I then began to trim down the clips I was going to use. 

To start with I had a two shot of the two protagonists. The slightly more important one (the leader) is on the phone talking and the somber look implies something is about to happen. 

This frame lasts for 6.5 seconds. This may seem long but for the beginning of a trailer this is fairly normal. This is because the audience need to understand who the characters are so they know who to look out for throughout the rest of the trailer. 

The long shot of the house clearly creates the setting of the film. The fade in's and out's are necessary so it is in time with the music. 

The next shot is of our minor protagonist. The shot is panning up to become a high angle shot of him. This is the first time we see the laptop. This is clearly the item being stolen and it is never not on this character. The exception to this is in the pool shots later on. 

 The next shot is a continuation of the first shot as the characters are still together. It is a long shot to show the surroundings and the camera pans round to get a full view but does not move further away or closer to them. This helps to prevent the miss interpretation of a point of view shot.

This section is a mid shot of one of the characters that have already been introduced and also another one that has not been featured yet. This is important because it gives the impression that the characters have a wide range of people they can call upon to do their dirty work. The clip is also in time with the music. When the axe hits the door the first "angry ship" noise starts. It was important that every time there was this noise. 

When filming in the house it was difficult because it was very dark and there was no power supply to plug in so I didn't have the help of artificial light. To overcome this problem I changed the position of shot to different areas of the house where there was more natural light. 

When I explored the house I discovered that people before us had written on the wall "LEAVE" in brown paint. This was effective because it portrayed an element of horror in my trailer and I didn't have to graffiti the house myself. The house its self was trashed and this created the perfect setting for my trailer. If I had done a more detailed location scout of the location I could have done a very stylised trailer with a 1950s twist. 

There is a black fade out of the directors name. In real media products this is to entice the target audience into wanting to see the film. Some directors are synonymous with different styles of film. If people like a particular style of film then they will look out for a particular directors name and go and see that film.

One of the more difficult shots to film was the tracking shot of the two protagonists. This was difficult as the camera had to be hand held and walking around them was difficult.

The writing on the wall happened to be in the house when I went in to film. I decided to use it in my trailer. I was using the location to my advantage.

To accompany this shot I used a reaction shot to show the characters reaction to the writing on the wall. This shot would be more effective if there was more light. The lack of light was due to the house not having power and the light I took with me needed a mains power supply. This meant I was unable to use them thus making the mid shot grainy. On reflection I should have brought battery operated lights in anticipation of this.

The slight turn of the camera angle is in time with the music and it makes it look like 

 

This character is nearly always seen with the laptop, this shows that he is the one with the Laptop. The other character is never seen with the laptop so it makes it look as if he is doing all the work and the other character is just there to carry what the main protagonist has stolen. 

The GoPro was used to shot a short running sequence, which by accident turned out to be in time with the music. It makes it look like the character is fleeing the scene of the "crime", and this adds to the variety of shots used.

Story Boards

On each page there was the shot, the action that was going to be taking place, the characters involved, dialogue and shot composition. However, the initial story board was too long. While on set i realized the trailer wasn't like s teaser trailer it was more like a full length trailer. I removed many scenes which contained many key plot devises. This made sure that it remained a teaser trailer and not a full length one.

Finished Trailer