Codes and Conventions of Film Posters

Test Shots

Here are some test shots we took after setting up the detectives office on location.

Location Setting 2

For our second location we required a kitchen/dinning room to be joined together so we could get the actress and actor to have there argument and also for the actress to take the plates back into the kitchen. For this we filmed in a small house that was situated in Harrow on the Hill, on the outskirts of London.

Below I have added some photos of the location that we choose to film our film trailer in.

Location Setting 1

For our film trailer we needed our location setting to be in small, cramped detectives office, that would also have enough room to fit in a bed, as the detective will not only be working in his office but also living in his office. As we were unable to find a location that suits the location setting needs, we decided to created our own office and decorate it the way we want/need. To do this we used a small room that was in the process of being decorated so that we could convert it into a living and working office the way require.

To do this we created a desk and then designed and laid out the objects that you would normally find in a detectives office and also any that we needed for the trailer, e.g. a computer, sheets of paper, evidence in bags, old stained coffee cups, dead plants, and mountains of paperwork. We either created these items, such as the work sheets and old cups of coffee or found items placed around the house.

This photo is showing the detectives desk with all the photo-
graphic evidence on and above the desk. 

The detectives unmade desk in the corner, with
dirty clothes thrown around the room.

High angle shot of the detectives desk, showing everything that
we have created to be put on the desk.

Close up shot of some of the objects placed on the
detectives desk.

Some of the Polaroid pictures showing the evidence. 

Old photo files and books gathering dust in the corner, next to
a week planner with the dates crossed out.

A side photo of the Polaroid pictures that we took and pinned
above the detectives desk.

Talent Spotting

Location Scouting

For part of our trailer we see the couples relationship break down in the home that they live together. However to achieve this we needed the perfect location for this to happen. We needed the location to be dark but also provide some light for when we do some scenes. We also needed a separate room and a small cupboard for when the girl serves dinner and also for when she hides the gifts she gets from her 'secret boyfriend'.

 

Location One:-

 

 

Location Two:-

 

 

 

Location Three:-

 

 

 

Location 4:-

 

 



 



Main Character Casting Profiles

   Jed Thompkins 

Age: 20
Height: 5ft11
Hair colour: N/A
Eye colour: brown
Ethnicity: White British
Occupation: Film student
Acting Experience: Yes (University Short Films)

We chose Jed because he looks the correct age range for our character 'Stuart' and also has some acting experience and knowledge of film.

Grace Hancock

Age: 17
Height: 5ft5
Hair colour: Dark blonde
Eye Colour: green
Ethnicity: White British
Occupation: Student
Acting Experience: Yes ('Le Fils A Jo')

We chose Grace to play 'Alex' as we found she could easily portray both a juxtaposition of innocence and anger - an element we want our character to have. She also looks the correct age range and has some acting experience.

Sound Research - Websites

For our research for sound we looked into a few websites that supply royalty free sounds that we could use for our film trailer. Free Sound is a site where members of the site can upload sounds they have recorded and download sounds other members have uploaded for free. This includes anything from musical instruments to slamming doors, and will helpful for adding sound effects to our trailer.

Incompetech is a website that supplies royalty free music by Kevin MacLeod in a number of styles to fit any genre. You can download the music from the website for free and it is uncopyrighted, meaning it can be used in media without violating any terms and conditions. This could be used to contribute towards the score of our film trailer.

Analysis of film website: Cabin in the Woods

Website analysis: Cabin in the Woods - slideshows

Character Development

In order to help develop our narrative it is necessary to get a full insight into our characters. Not only will this help us in the development of our trailer but it will also aid casting and the actors themselves so they can effectively portray their character's personality. Here is a little about our lead female and male roles.

Name: Alex Deering

Age: 23

Occupation: Child care

Alex lives on the outskirts of London with her boyfriend, Stuart, who she has been dating for 3 years. She works at the local nursery full-time and appears to be quiet and calm yet confident. However, in the past she has dealt with some anger-management issues and after her father left the household when she was 11 she struggles with feeling lonely or unloved. This leads to some sudden outbursts of emotion and seeking for attention, which can be problematic in a relationship.

Name: Stuart Triggs

Age: 25

Occupation: Journalism

Stuart works as a freelance Journalist in London, meaning he is constantly out and searching for job opportunities. He lives on the outskirts of the city with his girlfriend Alex, who he has been dating for 3 years. Stuart is a very calm and collected person and is also very trusting, yet determined. This trust, however, could be more than Alex deserves, and reflects why Stuart is so upset and angry when he believes Alex is cheating on him.

Film Certificates - And What We Chose

Chosen Genre for Our Film

Chosen Genre:-

From the research that we have completed on the different types of genre we could possibly choose/include in our film trailer, we have decided to do a Mystery-Realism film and not a thriller/horror. This is because all the codes and conventions that we would like to include in our film trailer are ones that are normally included in mystery/social realism films. This is because our film trailer  focuses on the elements of the characters lives, rather than aiming to scare the audience. Also as our films involves crime, we decided to make it a mystery as we aim to make it more mentally engaging than action.

Initial Ideas - Production Company/Title of Film Name

Title of Film:-

Final Storyboard

Facebook Questions - Audience

Whilst waiting for the survey monkey questionnaire to get as many responses as possible I took the time to post a few questions on the National Film Making Society Facebook page about our trailer to see what would entice an audience the best and encourage them to see the movie. Here are the results I have gathered so far:

From the responses to this question I have gathered that the audience watching the movie would prefer to relate to a character in some way or another, especially the protagonist. The way in which the audience relates with the character does not have to be physical - such as gender or age, but can also be with the characters way of thinking, such as the decisions they make. However, as Micah points out, whilst it is comforting to relate to a character the most important thing is that the character links well with the story so nothing is out of place. Overall, rather than adapting our characters to fit an audience, it is better to instead target an audience who can relate to our characters.

100% of people answering this question voting they would like to see a little narrative in the trailer, as long as nothing too important is given away. From this, as well as watching existing trailers, I have concluded that the initial equilibrium in a movie is important to a trailer as it helps establish the characters, as well as  posing a problem that the characters have to face without giving an end result. A good example of this would be the trailer for We're the Millers, which initially portrays the characters in their seperate lives before bringing them together and posing the problem of drug smuggling. To reflect this in our trailer, we will have to present the couple initially as happy before we break this down and pose the problem of her cheating and them arguing.

The majority of people who answered this question voted for the storyline, and so it is important in our trailer to present an interesting storyline to entice and engage the audience. Again, this also depends on personal preference, as some may prefer a fast paced storyline where as others may prefer something more mysterious and challenging. As our genre is social realism/mystery it is importance to emphasise the mystery of the storyline and that not everything may be as it seems. A way we could do this could be through the tagline which we will add at the end of our trailer.

Target Audience Research - Survey Monkey Questionnaire Results

To find out more information about our target audience, as well as what genres were most popular, we made a questionnaire on Survey Monkey and posted it on Twitter and Facebook. This is the data that we collected. From this it is clear that the genres Action, Crime/Mystery, Social Realism and Sci-Fi are the most popular genres amongst both young adults and adults 30+. This gives us a very broad target audience, especially as the results also almost came to an even amount of male and female, showing how important it is for us to relate to both genders and ages in our film, which we will take into account in our planning. 

 

 

Inspiration - Panic at the Disco

The music video for Panic at the Disco//Nicotine has inspired us in the creative process for our trailer. The directors have used the idea of using transitions such as fades and dissolves instead of straight cuts to bring in the next clip. During parts they have increased the speed of these dissolves to create a fast paced section. This is similar to the part in our trailer after the detective has hit his desk and we used iMovie to include fast, multiple snippets of the scenes shot before he throws the papers off his desk.

Evidence of Planning - Storyboarding

Here is some photo evidence of us starting to storyboard for our film trailer (with our cool camera pen). 

Music Video Inspiration

For our film trailer, we have decided to tell the narrative through the detectives perspective and what he thinks has happened. To do this, we will try and tell it through a series of polaroid pictures that the detective will be looking at/holding. To do this we will zoom into the photo that the detective is looking at; once we have zoomed into the photo, the photo will start playing out to what the detective is thinking about. To get back into the detectives office, we will zoom back out the video and into another picture which will be located in the detectives office, because of this, it means that shots will be one long continuous shot, instead of the typical fast cutting that happens in trailers.

From researching this I have found two music videos that have inspired us to this, as they both use long continuous shots. The first music video is from Taylor Swift - 'We are never ever getting back together' and the second is The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be.

These two music videos are very similar to the way we want to create our film trailer, this is because the two music videos both use very long shots which then flows into the next scene of the music video without cutting. Even though our narrative and genre are different to the ones in the music video, the concept is very similar, as they haven't used small/quick shots which are typically used in music videos and also film trailers. 

The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be

Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Inital Ideas - Mind Map

By Nicole Moulder